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Music NB releases Sound IMPACT, a profile and economic impact assessment of New Brunswick’s music industry

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Music NB has released an economic impact study of the New Brunswick music industry, including a sector profile and strategic recommendations for the industry going forward. The study, completed by Nordicity, builds upon a 2004 report and provides up to date information on the industry which has experienced significant changes over the last decade.

The study highlights the economic aspect of New Brunswick’s music industry which accounts for $65.2 million in GDP and contributes $19.6 million in tax revenues to all levels of government. The province’s music industry has also experienced an estimated 284 percent increase in revenues over the last decade, increasing from $19.9 million in 2003 to $76.5 million in 2013.

“This study will help us as an organization to better see the needs of our industry,” said Jean Surette, executive director of Music NB, in an interview with The Aquinian. “The music industry can be an economic engine to development.”

The findings of the report suggest that there are opportunities going forward for the music community and policy makers in New Brunswick to build links and work more closely. It is recommended that music industry education, identified as one of the province’s strengths, continue to be supported.

The full report is now available for download at http://www.musicnb.org/sound-impact-industry-study.

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Best Practices from ‘Mastering of a Music City’ Report Applied in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

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Music community advocates in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, have taken the Mastering of a Music City report and used it as a roadmap in the development of their own Music City.

Earlier this month, Volume One magazine published its “Music Capital of the North – Let’s Invest” themed issue. The articles within look at how The Mastering of a Music City report can be applied to Eau Claire, and makes the case for investment and support of the city’s growing music community.

Following the advice of the report, the magazine spoke with artists in the local community and took inventory of Eau Claire’s music assets, looking at how the city’s local musicians ranked Eau Claire on several key indicators: artists and musicians, the local music scene, access to spaces and places, a receptive and engaged audience, music-related businesses, government support for music, broader city infrastructure, music education, and music history.

The article goes on to outline a case for investment in Eau Claire’s music economy by examining the benefits that a Music City can bring and then proposing 13 recommendations that would help make Eau Claire a thriving Music City.

The Mastering of a Music City is a global report that is intended as a universal roadmap that can be used to create and develop Music Cities anywhere in the world. The strategies and recommendations are flexible in order to recognize local variations in music, culture, economies, and politics. They can be applied equally to well-established Music Cities seeking to further enhance their music economies and to nascent, aspiring Music Cities. They are relevant to communities both large and small.

We are thrilled at the response that The Mastering of a Music City has generated in music communities around the world. It was always our hope that the report would inspire others to build and strengthen Music Cities in their own communities, and Eau Claire is a great example of that in practice.

 

Categories: Music Tourism
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City of Toronto Addresses Postering Issue

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We are pleased to hear that Toronto’s live music venues will no longer be receiving fines for postering around the city.

On June 8, 2015, a memo from Tracey Cook, Executive Director of the Municipal Licensing and Standards Division and Mike Tanner, Music Sector Development Officer, informed the Toronto Music Advisory Council of the recent decision. This is considered just one step in the City of Toronto’s efforts to support and address the concerns of Toronto’s growing music community.

The poster ordinance prohibited postering on all city property except for designated kiosks and allowed for fines to be issued to anyone who benefited from the poster in question. Because of this, many of Toronto’s music venue owners found themselves being charged with fines of $300 to $500 for posters that they did not put up. In most cases, the fines against these venues did not hold up when challenged in court, but they continued to be issued anyways. This created an unnecessary and costly expense for live music venues operating in Toronto.

Music Canada called attention to the postering issue in March 2012 with the release of its report, Accelerating Toronto’s Music Industry Growth—Leveraging Best Practices from Austin Texas. The Austin-Toronto report led to communications with affected stakeholders in the music community, as well as with city councillors and officials to bring the postering issue to their attention and help find possible solutions.

The Toronto Music Advisory Council worked collaboratively with Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards Division, as well as the City’s Film and Entertainment Industries unit to secure this critical policy change. The City has committed to continued collaboration with the Toronto Music Advisory Council to build and support the music community in Toronto.

This is a policy change that we have looked forward to, and one which demonstrates the City and Mayor John Tory’s commitment to making Toronto one of the greatest Music Cities in the world. Music friendly policies like this are essential for the growth and continued health of Toronto’s live music scene.

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