Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry

Introduction

This document is a product of the Ontario Live Music Working Group, a unique collaboration of the live music presenting industry – including promoters, presenters, managers, industry associations, and agents — with support from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. It is addressed to industry peers and partners across Ontario’s live music sector.

Live music is thriving in Ontario^{footnote 1[1]}. It resonates throughout every community, from small town venues to blockbuster stadium events. It gives voice to a diverse array of communities and cultures, through a multitude of musical genres. Enjoyment of live music is one of the most common and popular forms of entertainment for Ontarians and visitors alike.

In an age of instant digital entertainment, where virtually any music recording ever created can be played by anyone with a connected device, live music still creates a shared experience and unique connection between the audience and performer.

Professionals working in the industry – artists, managers, presenters, promoters, agents, venue operators, music organizations and others – have made Ontario a leading centre for live music, both on the national and international stage. Through mutual co-operation and dialogue we have advanced the capacity and quality of live music offerings. Now our sector is ready for the next step: a shared vision to guide its continued development and position the industry for further growth.

The Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry is an industry-led approach for the continued growth of our live music community. It identifies highpotential shared industry actions, and encourages the sharing of best practices by highlighting areas of mutual interest and fostering stronger industry collaboration. This Vision also identifies principles and priorities to inform future government policy for live music in Ontario, including the development of the Ontario Live Music Strategy. Taken together, this Vision is intended to benefit every person and organization working in the live music community, as well as the millions of Ontarians and visitors to the province who attend live music events every year.

A key goal of this Vision is to raise awareness of our sector’s 'story'. To do so, we need to spur two ongoing and simultaneous conversations: one within the industry, and the other with our partners and communities. The external conversation is about measuring and promoting our economic, social and cultural impacts to demonstrate the value and power of live music to government, the private sector and to Ontarians. We will accomplish this through collective research and advocacy. The internal conversation, critical to the success of our industry at large, is about how we can effectively work together, responding to our common needs, building trust, and agreeing that we are stronger together. Identifying and committing to common goals, be they business-oriented or otherwise, is critical for long-term growth of our live music sector.

Our aim is to ensure Ontario’s live music industry is best positioned to succeed and grow at this critical juncture in its development. With your help, this Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry will fuel the energy, knowledge, capacity and potential of our sector, and that of the dedicated professionals working in it, for an even stronger and more dynamic Ontario live music sector.

How we got here

At no time in the history of live music in Ontario has the community been more ready and able to unite and leverage its collective influence. Live music is a crucial component of any artist’s career, both as a revenue stream and as an audience development tool. Participants in the live music sector assume constant financial and artistic risk, develop artists, cultivate audiences, invest in innovation, maintain and build infrastructure, employ tens of thousands of Ontarians,^{footnote 2[2]} and contribute to the cultural, social and economic fabric of the province. This is a monumental opportunity to facilitate growth, development and further evolution of Ontario’s live music sector.

Recognizing the growing importance and potential of the live music sector, the Ontario Live Music Working Group (LMWG) was created in January 2013 as a new and unprecedented forum for collaboration between industry and government. Its goals are to ensure our sector is consulted by policy makers, to support industry research and policy development, and to develop strategies for expanding the range and impact of our industry in Ontario.

The LMWG includes representatives from across the live music industry and government. It is co-chaired by Erin Benjamin, who is widely recognized for her strong vision for the live music sector and currently serves as Executive Director of Music Canada Live, the first association created specifically to represent the interests of the live music industry. Her co-chair is a senior public servant from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Kevin Finnerty. The membership of the LMWG is drawn from music associations, concert promoters, venue owners, managers, agents, festival organizers, and three Ontario government agencies: the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the Ontario Arts Council and Destination Ontario.

The LMWG was formed to support the development of this Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry, which will ultimately serve to inform the development of an Ontario Live Music Strategy. To lead the development of the Vision, a subcommittee of the LMWG, the Live Music Task Team, was established. The Task Team developed a discussion paper and online survey and conducted an industry-focused consultation to gather input on the priorities, opportunities, and issues facing Ontario’s live music sector. This was supported by significant research and information gathering, including how other sub-national, municipal and federal jurisdictions, both domestic and international, are responding to similar trends.

The discussion paper and survey were distributed to over 100 individuals and organizations that are active participants in the province’s live music industry. They included festival and venue operators, presenters, promoters, artists, artist managers, agents, as well as leaders of music associations. Many of the individuals had experience working in multiple roles, as is common in the live music industry. The Task Team received input from people in every region of the province, from the grassroots to major live music organizations.

We are delighted to share this Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry with you. We hope you see yourself in this Vision, and we encourage you to actively participate in its realization.