Pandemic has silenced 11 music venues in Toronto

Report estimates scene generates $850M a year, supports 10,500 jobs

A new report suggests the COVID-19 pandemic has struck a devastating blow to Toronto’s already struggling live music sector, shutting down at least 11 venues in the city and cutting income for dozens of workers.

The city of Toronto and Canadian Live Music Association released the results of a two-year study of the city’s music sector on Thursday, estimating that live venues generate an economic impact of $850 million every year, supporting the equivalent of 10,500 jobs.

An analysis conducted by Nordicity indicates that many venues that rely on music revenues were already floundering under the pressures of rising rents and redevelopment before the outbreak silenced Toronto’s live music scene.

The Canadian Live Music Association launched a survey in May of 70 per cent of its members who said they were ineligible for pandemic-related government assistance.

The results suggest that 97 per cent of those 177 venues across Canada are at risk of business failure, and 70 per cent of respondents said they had laid off staff.

Stakeholders say they have identified at least 11 Toronto venues that have permanently closed since March, many of which were considered “core” to the city’s music scene.

In total, they say these venues hosted an estimated 5,000 musical acts every year and helped employ at least 190 people.

“Toronto’s live music venues contribute greatly to the city’s cultural, social and economic fabric, but these venues require critical support in the face of ongoing pressures that have been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor John Tory said in a news release.

The report identified eight areas in which action is being urged.

They include:

> Making it mandatory for property owners to use the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program so music venues get rent relief.

> Establishing a group insurance plan tailored to live music venues to address cost increases in liability insurance.

> Establishing a permanent tax classification that protects music venues from increasing property values and tax assessments.

> Identifying money that could be redirected to support cultural infrastructure as emergency COVID funding ends.

> Streamlining the process of applying for business licences.

> Developing a Canadian Live

Music Fund to ensure the future viability of the industry.

> Developing a guide to help Toronto councillors use Section 37 benefits — a section of the Planning Act that lets developers trade community benefits for exceeding height and density guidelines — to prioritize gaps in the city’s music ecosystem.

> Providing business skill training for venue owners.

“We call on policy-makers, industry and advocacy groups to prioritize the report recommendations and to lend their voice to an industry in dire need of support,” said Erin Benjamin, president of the Canadian Live Music Association.