PRIDE OF PLACE
Coalition kicks off movement to save independent concert venues hit by COVID-19
Canada’s live music industry has been devastated by the COVID -19 pandemic. Specifically independent music venues, which face a precarious timeline for re-opening, financial constraints, and general uncertainty surrounding the future of live music.
In an effort to save independent music venues, the Canadian Independent Venue Coalition (CIVC) has rallied hundreds of concert venues, booking agencies, independent promoters, production companies and independent music festivals from across Canada to launch the #Supportcanadianvenues movement.
The movement seeks government support for independent concert venues that have been shut down by the COVID -19 pandemic, encouraging the federal government to introduce specific relief and recovery assistance for the live music and touring sector.
“Each venue individually is sharing in this branding and message,” says Tyson Boyd, owner of the Starlite Room. “We have venues involved from all across Canada, and I think this is the first time everyone has worked together without agents involved. It’s pretty exciting to see so many people involved from coast to coast.”
Recent industry research indicates that 96 per cent of the independent music industry across Canada, including over 90 per cent of independent venues, will disappear in the next six months without receiving a significant financial aid package.
“We’re in that 90 per cent of venues that are at risk of shutting down,” says Boyd. “I feel like it would be silly to let things play out the way they’re going and have venues shut down when they could be saved.”
CIVC is calling on the federal government to enact significant emergency funding and an economic stimulus plan for the Canadian live music and touring sector. The coalition is calling on artists to aid the cause by sharing what independent music venues mean to them, as well as increasing government awareness about the role of independent concert venues, both economically and culturally.
“A big part of the problem in our industry is educating our decision-makers,” says Boyd, who notes the federal government’s $500-million package for arts and culture COVID-19 support unveiled on May 8 didn’t include any funding for independent venues. “When the federal government earmarked $480 million for arts and culture it was specifically devoted to not-for-profit organizations and people who already had a pre-existing funding relationship with any government level.
“The spot we’re fighting for is the $20 million that has been left in place for consideration to fund a very broad group of people that have been left out — arenas, festivals, Live Nation, all the way down to local independent venues. Agents have been left out, managers have been left out, and a lot of music venues are wondering what the future holds.”
Aside from the need for government funding, the uncertainty independent music venues face is compounded by the logistics behind hosting touring bands. According to Boyd, even if venues were given the opportunity to reopen it would take months to formulate concert schedules.
“We need funding to be able to turn the lights on. We’re trying to tell the government that we can’t just return once they give us a date to open up again,” says Boyd. “It’s going to be a minimum of three to five months to get a healthy calendar, but with the borders shut down for the foreseeable future it puts us in trouble because we rely on the touring industry.
“We have to book a North American tour typically five to eight months in advance. For European or international acts we have to book anywhere from eight months to 18 months in advance, so we’re not going to be able to open our doors and provide the same type of acts that people have come to expect. It’s going to be a long time between Phase 3 and whenever we get back to a healthy calendar, so we need access to grants and funding to get us to that point.”
The #Supportcanadianvenues movement has a petition online targeting the Minister of Canadian Heritage, stating “We, the citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Canadian Heritage to request that the Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sports to increase and include independent for-profit venues, independent for-profit promoters, independent for-profit agencies and independent for-profit festivals in the allocation of the Emergency Support Fund.” The petition has received more than 12,000 signatures to this point, surpassing its original goal of 10,000.
“I’m not expecting anything to come our way but I’m hopeful, and I hope the federal government is seeing some of the arts and culture funding initiatives going on around the globe,” says Boyd, noting recent arts and culture funding initiatives by the New Zealand and German governments.
Unable to host concerts due to social distancing restrictions, independent venues face an uphill climb in both their quest for government funding and a return to business as usual. Boyd says independent venues have been weathering the storm for years, with a number of them being forced to shut down long before the pandemic.
“We’ve been campaigning for a number of years. We had a live music initiative that started in 2016 when a number of venues began closing down that gained some momentum and then died off, so a lot of venues closed down,” says Boyd. “It’s been hard to gain any momentum, and now that we’re unable to host shows we’re not able to contribute to the economy and prove our case to the government.”
For more information on the Canadian Independent Venue Coalition and the #Supportcanadianvenues movement visit supportcanadianvenues.ca.