STARS BACK VENUES
Independents key to future
Some of Canada’s most notable musicians are lending their voices to help save the nation’s independent music venues.
A series of videos have been released recently featuring musicians supporting the Canadian Independent Venue Coalition (CIVC), urging viewers to sign petitions and contact their government representatives to help save music venues across the country.
In a two-minute video released on Canada Day, Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair of The Tragically Hip shared their thoughts on the importance of Canadian venues.
“You make your living, plying your trade in the clubs and music venues, and if they start to go under, and it’s looking like they’re going to, we’re all in trouble,” said Baker. “There will be no Tragically Hip, there will be no bands.
“It’s a pretty dire situation and I just hope people appreciate that, I hope the governments appreciate that, and we need to act immediately to support clubs and live music. And it’s a cultural issue for this country, an issue of cultural survival.”
The 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 decisive 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.
“Before we can export our culture around the world we have to make sure that young men and women from Victoria, British Columbia, know music from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and from Nunavut, and all over the country,” Sinclair said. “And that requires venues for the young musicians to come play and perform, and earn their money and preserve the great culture of this country.”
On May 8, Canada’s federal government announced a $500 million package for arts and culture COVID-19 support. However, the initiative didn’t include any funding for independent venues, instead committing $480 million to not-for-profit organizations and those who already had a pre-existing funding relationship with any level of government.
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.
“A lot of these people have been in business for a long time and they’re cultural icons, and they’re indispensable to young upcoming bands,” country musician Corb Lund said in a video released July 4. “Even more importantly, they’re important for audiences that like to go and see live music. Once those guys are gone they’re not coming back, and they’re very much an important part of the cultural fabric of the country.”
The 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 has enlisted artists to aid the cause by sharing what independent music venues mean to them.
In a video shot outside Edmonton’s Starlite Room, Terry Johnson of The Smalls stated “we live for the live venue, we live for the live show, it’s crazy when you get to see your childhood heroes playing at a venue where you played the same stage. The importance of having live music to me, you can’t put a price on it.”
Arts and culture funding measures have been enacted around the globe. On July 5, the U.K. government announced a £1.57 billion rescue package, offering a lifeline to vital cultural and heritage organizations across the country affected by the pandemic, including the performing arts, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema.
The most recent video by the CIVC features Peach Pit guitarist Chris Vanderkooy, noting “small independent venues are so important for the local music scene of each city in Canada, and for Canada’s culture as a whole. We wouldn’t have gotten our start if it wasn’t for the small venues in Vancouver that we could come up in and the local music scene that could support us at these venues.”
The #Supportcanadianvenues movement has started an online petition targeting Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault, 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 got more than 18,000 signatures, surpassing its original goal of 10,000 and now aiming to reach 25,000.
CANADIAN ARTISTS VOICE THEIR SUPPORT
Jim Cuddy: “I’m obviously a strong supporter of independent music venues in the city (Toronto), and across the country. They are absolutely essential for developing new talent.”
Shad: “As soon as this pandemic hit, I thought immediately of all of the clubs across the country that have allowed me to have a career and connect with so many of you, and the fact that they have to shut their doors for the safety of all of us.”
Dan Mangan: “This is where bands meet each other, it’s the life blood of the community. This is the exciting early days of a career where you build a following, you find people that care about your band, and it’s everything, and we need these venues.”
Bif Naked: “If it were not for independent venues and independent theatres, and little punk rock clubs all over Canada I never would have been given a chance, and I never would have got my start.”