CALL TO ACTION CANADA

INDEPENDENT LIVE MUSIC VENUES, PROMOTERS, AGENCIES & FESTIVALS

❤️ NEED YOUR HELP ❤️

On May 8th, 2020, CANADIAN INDEPENDENT LIVE MUSIC VENUES, INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS, INDEPENDENT AGENCIES & INDEPENDENT FESTIVALS as well as musicians and their fans, received the extremely heartbreaking news that the allocation of the Federal Government’s $500M in emergency funds for Heritage - Arts & Culture does not currently include plans of aid towards independent venues, promoters, agencies or festivals. As many as 70% of CLMA (Canadian Live Music Association) members have never been able to access federal programs due to their eligibility criteria. We need not only access in order to stabilize and support our live music industry through this unprecedented time, but we also need to rebuild a more sustainable and vibrant music economy moving forward. Our industry should not be an afterthought – we will be playing a vital role in Alberta’s economic recovery and that needs to be recognized.

WHAT THIS MEANS, with no end in sight and no support of funding or grants, this could likely be the end of days for our sector of the industry. As public gatherings, such as concerts, are in Phase 3 of our Provincial and Territorial Government’s ‘Reopen Plan’, public gathering will likely not occur again until a vaccine is available, for the health and safety of every Canadian. The Cultural and Economic impact of our sector does not depend on just one business or one city, but as a collective. The CLMA released a report, suggesting 96% of Canadian live music companies are at risk of shutting down. The screeching halt of Canada's 3.5 billion dollar concert and live music industry will cause businesses to close permanently, thousands of Canadians will remain unemployed, tens of thousands of musicians and artists will no longer have the infrastructure to hone their craft, and millions of Canadians will no longer be able to participate, enjoy and invest in the economy surrounding Arts and Culture. The closures within the independent Arts, Entertainment & Recreation economy sector, will create a ripple effect, devastating our neighbouring economies, including but not limited to; Accommodations & Food Service, Agriculture and Real Estate, Rentals & Leasing and will also drastically hurt the American concert and live music industry and their neighbouring economies.

We need EVERYONE who has ever enjoyed a night out at a live event, a festival, or enjoyed emerging artists who are not privy to Government grants, to help us ask the Federal Government and the Department of Canadian Heritage to increase and include independent, for-profit businesses that function within the Arts & Culture ecosystem PHASE 2 emergency relief funds.

Sign here

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

SIGN OUR PETITION.
This petition was created through WWW.CHANGE.ORG The petition E-2602 created on the government website WWW.PETITIONOURCOMMONS.CA has yet to be authorized for publication by the Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guilbeault.

WRITE. Write your heart out! Write to the Prime Minister, your Premier, MP’s, MLA’s and both your Provincial and Federal Ministers! Write to newspapers, write to news channels, write businesses, including non-profits that were included in the Emergency Support, they’re our family! Write recreation facilities, sports and social clubs, educators (even your second grade piano teacher!) and post secondary institutions! Write to artists and musicians, write their fan pages, and encourage them to write letters too!
SPREAD THE WORD. Please share on your Social Media, or start an email campaign! #LiveMusicCanada #ArtsCultureCanada #LiveVenuesCanada #CanadasLiveMusicScene #HeritageCanada #CountercultureCanada #CanadaTogether #CTACanada #SaveOurStages #SaveOurSoundCanada #SOSCanada #SaveOurStagesCA