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Tag archive: Music Canada Live (9)

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City of Ottawa’s Draft Budget 2018 makes significant commitment to Ottawa Music Strategy

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The City of Ottawa made a significant commitment to the city’s burgeoning Music Strategy today, as Mayor Jim Watson unveiled Ottawa’s Draft Budget 2018 at City Council. The draft budget earmarks $100,000 to support the Ottawa Music Strategy.

The Ottawa Music Strategy was announced last March, and is part of the legacy of Ottawa’s hosting of the 2017 JUNO Awards. The Strategy is being developed by the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC), with the goal of making the nation’s capital one of the world’s premier music cities. OMIC has already assembled a group of music industry representatives and local business and community leaders, known as the Ottawa Music Strategy Task Force, to develop a series of practical recommendations for the Strategy.

The announcement was applauded on Twitter by OMIC, Ottawa Councillor Jeff Leiper, and Music Canada Live.

To help guide the Strategy’s final recommendations, OMIC and the City of Ottawa are seeking public input in a brief, anonymous survey. The Strategy is expected to be presented to City Council in early 2018.

The draft budget will be voted on by City Council on Dec. 13, 2017.

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Polyphonic Ground seeks input on diversity in Toronto’s live music industry

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On July 19, a new initiative called Polyphonic Ground was announced, with the aim of strengthening Toronto’s culturally-diverse music industry. The initiative is spearheaded by Small World Music, and is composed of 12 Toronto live music presenters: Ashkenaz Foundation, Batuki Music Society, Good Kind Productions, iNative, Link Music Lab, Lula Music & Arts Centre, MonstrARTity Creative Community, Music Africa, Revolutions Per Minute, Small World Music Society, Uma Nota Culture, and World Fiddle Day Toronto. The collective plans to foster engagement with a monthly collaborative concert series and diverse professional development programming.

In partnership with Music Ontario, City Hall Live, Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) and Music Canada Live, Polyphonic Ground will be hosting a series of conversations about diversity in the live music industry. To inform these conversations, and ensure as many voices as possible are heard, Polyphonic Ground has launched an online survey.

The survey states:

The lack of gender and cultural diversity reflected by the larger Toronto music industry has been a hot topic of late. Ad hoc conversations around these issues have taken place at recent panels and forums focused on topics such as venue closures, noise bylaws, the media etc. However, there have been few opportunities to deal with these issues head on and explore how inequities can be addressed.

Have your say and help shape these important conversations. The survey closes Friday, August 11th at 5pm.

Complete Polyphonic Ground’s Diversity & Live Music Conversation Series Survey.

For more information on Polyphonic Ground, check out the press release and follow their Twitter and Facebook pages.

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New report calls for development of an Atlantic Canada Music Strategy

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A new report unveiled during the 2017 East Coast Music Awards: Festival and Conference today calls for the need to develop an Atlantic Canadian Music Strategy in an effort to strengthen the future of the region’s music sector.

Striking A New A-Chord, a report spearheaded by the East Coast Music Association (ECMA), Music Canada, and Music Canada Live, emphasizes that concentrated investment in the music industry is beneficial not only for those who work in the sector, but ultimately for the region as a whole.

“Music is fundamentally linked to Atlantic Canadian culture,” says Andy McLean, Executive Director of the ECMA. “This report clearly shows that – in addition to bolstering that identity – supporting this sector means helping small businesses, creating opportunities to attract and retain youth employment, and developing our artists to compete at an international level. The first step to harnessing these opportunities is creating a pan-Atlantic strategy.”

Delivered during a presentation at the Saint John Trade & Convention Centre this afternoon titled Stronger Together, the report also marks a landmark partnership between all five music industry associations – Musique/Music NB, Music Nova Scotia, Music NL, Music PEI, and the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative – who have committed to working with the ECMA, Music Canada, and Music Canada Live to establish this regional strategy.

“Atlantic Canada has one of the richest, most important – but fragile – music scenes in the country. Creating and executing a region-wide strategy will ensure the true economic, social and cultural potential of the industry, and its countless benefits for cities and towns, can be realized,” says Erin Benjamin, Executive Director of Music Canada Live. “This is an historic moment in the timeline of East Coast music, and huge milestone for all of the associations involved. Congratulations, Music Canada Live looks forward to supporting the hard work ahead.”

The report, which was officially commissioned at last year’s ECMAs in Sydney, NS, underscores a number of challenges facing musicians and industry professionals in Atlantic Canada including stringent liquor laws, changing business models in the industry, restrictions on live venues, and lack of industry infrastructure. The latter is a key focus for the proposed strategy, calling the shortage of music publishing companies, agents, publicists, bookers, and artist managers in the region “alarming.”

Among other recommendations, Striking A New A-Chord also calls for the development of an Atlantic Canadian Music Fund that would seek to provide resources to complement existing programs, attract investment, and develop and incentivize musicians and music related businesses to reinvest in Atlantic Canada.

“Targeted investments in other parts of Canada have strengthened those music communities and stimulated additional private spending as well, leading to increased activity in the sector,” says Amy Terrill, Executive Vice President of Music Canada. “We look forward to working with government and industry stakeholders to find ways to complement the existing programs available to the music community in Atlantic Canada in order to create a stronger, more sustainable Atlantic music sector.”

The entire Striking A New A-Chord report is available to read HERE.

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Nominations are open for the 2nd annual Live Music Industry Awards

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Music Canada Live and Canadian Music Week (CMW) have announced the second annual Live Music Industry Awards, presented by El Mocambo, will be taking place Wednesday, April 19, 2017, from 4-6pm at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. The Awards will be held during CMW 2017 and will recognize and celebrate the best of the live music business sector.

Nominations are now open until January 27, 2017. Live Music Industry Awards are presented in the following categories:

Festival

  • Family Program of the Year
  • Small Festival of the Year (6,000 and under)
  • Medium Festival of the Year (6,001 – 15,000)
  • Major Festival of the Year (15,001+)
  • Not-For-Profit Festival of the Year
  • Green Operations Festival of the Year

Venues

  • Best Teamwork in an Arena
  • Best Teamwork in a Soft Seat Theatre / Performing Arts Centre
  • Best Teamwork in a Major Club (1,000+ Capacity)
  • Best Teamwork in a Medium Club (300 to 999 Capacity)
  • Best Teamwork in a Small Club (less than 300 Capacity)

General Live Music Awards

  • Agent of the Year (Canada)
  • Agent of the Year (International)
  • Manager of the Year
  • Road Warrior of the Year (Tour Manager)
  • Production Manager of the Year (Festival/Concert)
  • Concert/Club Talent Buyer of the Year
  • Festival Buyer of the Year
  • A/V Production Company of the Year
  • Brand/Music Program of the Year
  • Sponsorship Activation of the Year
  • New Touring Artist of the Year
  • Legends of Live

Music Cities

  • Music City of the Year Canadian

“Last year the first-ever LMIA’s proved beyond a doubt that we have much to celebrate, by acknowledging lives’ incredible contributions to the industry.  This year, we continue to shine a spotlight on this passionate and dedicated community – one that works tirelessly to put artists and fans together. This effort is at the heart of what Music Canada Live is about, and we are thrilled to co-present the second annual LMIA’s in 2017 with CMW on behalf of our members and Canada’s live music industry,” said Erin Benjamin, Executive Director of Music Canada Live.

In addition to the Live Music Industry Awards, Canada’s live sector will be in greater focus during CMW 2017 with an expanded, 2-day Live Music Summit, running from April 19-20.

Visit the Live Music Industry Awards website for more information, including criteria and previous winners, or to submit nominations for 2017’s awards.

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East Coast Music Association announces new partnership with Music Canada and Music Canada Live

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Last week, over 600 performing artists and 8,000 fans gathered in Cape Breton for East Coast Music Week (ECMW). Amidst the performances music professionals and representatives from music associations from across Canada met and began an initiative to make the music industry stronger in Atlantic Canada.

As ECMW came to a close, Andy McLean, of the East Coast Music Association, announced the beginning of a process to study the east coast’s music industry. In partnership with Music Canada and Music Canada Live, this initiative will eventually lead to the production of an industry profile of Atlantic Canada which will identify its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth and development.

The ultimate goal of the initiative is to ensure that East Coast musicians can have a sustainable career without having to leave the region.

“The amount of talent in the Atlantic region is undeniable, and large events and festivals like the ECMA, bring outstanding cultural and economic benefits to the region,” says Amy Terrill, Executive Vice President of Music Canada.  “We look forward to learning more about the things that are working well in the Atlantic region and generating some new ideas that would help build a stronger, more successful music community.”

The initial report, which is expected by September 2016, has the support of all five regions and the local music industry associations (Music Nova Scotia, Music PEI, Music New Brunswick, Music Newfoundland & Labrador and the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative) who will participate in the study.

Amy Terrill spoke to the East Coast Music Week Industry Conference about Music Canada’s research—the BC Music Sector report which led to the Government of British Columbia’s recent $15 million investment in the music industry, and The Mastering of a Music City report which continues to generate discussion about how cities can make themselves more music and musician-friendly.

“It’s exciting to see the music city conversations blossoming in the Atlantic provinces,” added Terrill.  “Music has an incredible impact on community vitality and quality of life, which is critical for attracting and retaining young workers from every sector.  Working with the music community to ensure a friendly environment for the presentation of music is a win-win approach.”

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Music Canada hosts Ontario live music study launch

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On Tuesday afternoon, Music Canada hosted the launch of our new report Live Music Measures Up: An Economic Impact Analysis of Live Music in Ontario, which is the first comprehensive study of Ontario’s live music industry completed with the assistance of Nordicity and funding from the Ontario Media Development Corporation. The report provides critical data and information that will help guide decision-making within the sector, in all levels of government, and with other allied stakeholders.

Music Canada President Graham Henderson providing opening remarks at the intimate event, proclaiming, “Today marks the result of what turned out to be a herculean effort and the first-ever true measurement of live music’s impact on Ontario.”

graham3

Henderson continued to provide facts gained from the report, adding that in 2013, live music companies and the tourism activity generated by music festivals alone contributed just under $1.2 billion to Ontario’s GDP and just over $430 million dollars in combined tax revenue for all levels of government.

“In total the live music industry accounted for approximately 20,000 full time equivalent jobs in Ontario’s economy that year,” Henderson added, “almost three times what Stats Canada reported in 2010 for the entire country.”

Henderson concluded his remarks stating, “Live Music Measures Up is just a starting point. For the first time we have actual benchmarks for the industry in Ontario against which, future studies can measure. For the first time, we have a model that can be used to accurately measure live music’s impacts across the country.”

Music Canada Live Executive Director Erin Benjamin also spoke at the event, relating this day to the excitement of Christmas morning.

“30% of the known universe of Ontario’s live music industry contributed to this report,” Benjamin revealed. “83% of those say they project their revenues to increase over the next 2 years. That spells progress, growth and opportunity.”

erin

“This report will position the live music industry as critical to every economic, social and cultural policy discussion at every level of government in the country,” Benjamin concluded, “and it paves the way for new conversations, and opportunity, for all of us.”

Toronto and Whitehorse-based singer/songwriter Sarah MacDougall performed at the event, mesmerizing the attendees with her personal song lyrics and unique acoustic guitar playing. MacDougall’s performance was a reminder that Ontario’s live music industry cannot continue to grow without our underlying commitment to the artists and their creative output.

sarah3 sarah5

For full details of the new report, check out our Resources section.

Photos by Sarah Rix, OntarioLiveMusic.ca

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First-ever study of live music in Ontario is released

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Live - Newsletter Banner - 800x457 for Mailchimp - RGBToday, Music Canada releases the first comprehensive study of the live music industry in Ontario. Live Music Measures Up: An Economic Impact Analysis of Live Music in Ontario provides critical data and information that will help guide decision-making within the sector, in government and other allied stakeholders.

“This report provides a comprehensive picture of the benefits live music brings to Ontario. In fact, it only enhances our understanding of data collected in our 2012 economic impact study, and cements what we know about Ontario as a powerhouse for the music industry. It shows that a vibrant music scene drives value in many important ways, including job creation, tourism development, brand building and artistic growth. With the new data from this study, we now have the necessary benchmarks to measure and support its growth. Live Music Measures Up allows us to look at live music through a new lens, and to better understand how critical it is to the entire music ecosystem.” says Graham Henderson, President of Music Canada.

Erin Benjamin, Executive Director of Music Canada Live, participated in today’s launch. “Measuring Live Music represents an historic, timely and monumental opportunity; one which will enable us to entrench the true value of the live music economy in the minds of our stakeholders, government and audiences alike. It’s inspiring to see the sector organize, work together and build on the momentum we can all feel – here in the Province and around the world – the kind that will help guarantee live music takes its rightful place as one of Ontario’s greatest natural resources,” says Benjamin.

Prior to this study, there existed no comprehensive data set on Ontario’s live music industry. Music Canada engaged Nordicity to complete the profile, which they did after conducting interviews and surveys of artist managers, promoters, agents, music venues, and festivals in the province. The study was completed in partnership with Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and with the financial support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation through the Ontario Music Fund.

In 2012, Music Canada studied the economic impact of the sound recording industry in Canada utilizing 2010 Statistics Canada data. The new data collected for Live Music Measures Up provides a more fulsome and detailed look at the live music sector in Ontario. A more comprehensive data set is necessary to understanding where the live music sector is, has been, and will be in the future. This report will provide necessary benchmarks to understand and support the sector’s future growth.

The economic profile is organized into four key areas: revenue, audience, economic impact, and future outlook. The key takeaways are as follows:

  • Revenue: Live music companies in Ontario generated $628 million in revenue from live music activities in 2013 as well as profits of $144 million. Artist management revenue from Canadian artists totalled $34 million in 2013, 54 percent of all artist management revenue, and Canadian artists generated $75 million in ticket sales.
  • Audience: In 2013, 558 festivals across Ontario sold a total of 15.7 million tickets, representing 7 million unique visitors. Ontario’s 616 venues have a combined capacity of 3.6 million. The 775 promoters operating in the province in 2013 promoted 81,600 shows, which sold a combined total of 5.4 million tickets.
  • Economic Impact: The total economic impact of live music in Ontario’s economy is $1.2 billion. Live music companies in Ontario were responsible for $484 million in total expenditure in 2013 and contributed $432.4 million in taxes to all levels of government combined. The economic impact of live music companies includes 10,500 full-time equivalent jobs, and tourism activity accounts for an additional 9,520.
  • Future Outlook: Survey respondents reported that access to tax credits and other forms of government funding, along with the availability of local Canadian talent, were the factors that most positively impacted their company growth. And 83 percent of live music companies in the province expect revenue growth within the next two years.

“Live music is a powerful force, and we thank Music Canada for their leadership in helping to quantify the extraordinary work of the sector,” adds Benjamin.

Download the full report here.

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Live Music Industry Awards launched by Canadian Music Week

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Canadian Music Week (CMW) has announced the first annual Live Music Industry Awards, taking place on May 7, 2016 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. The awards, created by CMW in partnership with the International Festival Network and Music Canada Live, will honour outstanding individuals and achievements in the live music sector.

“We know the live music sector is driving revenue for the music industry, with festivals and concerts also increasing tourism in cities across North America,” said Cameron Wright, Vice President, Operations and Live Programming for Canadian Music Week, in a release. “We look forward to recognizing the players and decision-makers from Canada and around the world who are advancing this growth, through an award show dedicated to the live music industry. The awards will celebrate a wide range of Canada’s venues, market sizes and the artists that fill those venues as well as the infrastructure of personnel that make this happen.”

“The time has absolutely come for a comprehensive celebration of live music in this country,” said Music Canada Live Executive Director Erin Benjamin. “We are thrilled to collaborate with CMW – to highlight the important achievements of our members, and those working hard to put amazing talent in front of audiences across the country, from coast to coast to coast.”

Nominees will be posted at www.LiveMusicAwards.net, with winners determined by votes from the general public and members of the industry. The awards will cap off CMW’s Live Music Summit, which has been extended to a two-day event, running May 6-7, 2016.

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National Live Music Association Launches with Naming of Executive Director

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Music Canada Live, a new national association that will represent members of the live music community, has announced that Erin Benjamin will become its first Executive Director.

Ms. Benjamin, formerly the Executive Director of both the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA) and the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (now known as Folk Music Ontario), has spent the past 14 years of her career working on behalf of the presenting and touring sector. “It’s incredibly exciting to be a part of the emergence of a new organization at a time when governments and audiences alike are deepening their awareness of the value, impact and role of live music in and on our communities.  I look forward to working in partnership with colleagues from across the country, to shine the spotlight on the live sector – here at home, and around the world”.

Music Canada Live is a newly incorporated trade association that will represent business members engaged in the live music industry in Canada (ie. venues, promoters, festivals, agents, award shows, ticketing suppliers).  It has been formed with seed funding from its founding members, and with the support of the Government of Ontario’s Music Fund.

“Hundreds of businesses and non-profit corporations are operating across Canada in the live music sector, employing thousands of people, and yet, unlike other segments of the music industry, there is no national association devoted to representing the interests of this large and diverse group,” says Benjamin.  “With many issues affecting the live music industry specifically, including, immigration, licensing and funding, Music Canada Live will provide a forum for identifying solutions and advocating on behalf of the industry.”

Music Canada Live is in the formative stages but will seek to attract general members and additional founding members and directors from across the country, big and small, for profit and not-for-profit.  In addition to advocacy, through networking events and communications, it will provide greater opportunities for partnership and collaboration among its members.

 

Founding Members:

The Agency Group

Budweiser Gardens

Canadian Music Week

Collective Concerts

The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall

Evenko

Live Nation

NXNE

Music Canada

Ticketmaster

The Union Ltd. (Union Events)

 

Erin Benjamin will assume her new responsibilities on Monday, November 10, 2014.  A limited number of opportunities exist to join the Founding Members who will be responsible for developing the strategic plan, membership structure, and the organizational priorities for its launch.  For further information on becoming a Founding Member or for general information, please contact info@musiccanadalive.ca.

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