A new study just released by the Canada Live Music Association offers hard numbers that document the economic impact of the music industry on the Canadian economy. That includes an over all $10.92 billion CAD contribution to the nation’s GDP, and the creation of more than 100K jobs.
Erin Benjamin, President and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, released the report titled Here and Now: understanding the economic power and potential of Canada’s live music industry at Allied Music Centre Theatre on January 30. The report, prepared in conjunction with Nordicity, a prominent strategic analysis firm, offers an economic impact study of Canada’s live music sector
“The incredible small, medium, and large venues, clubs, concert halls, festivals, arenas, and other live music spaces that connect artists with their fans form a vast, complex, indoor and outdoor ecosystem. This is the system that facilitates live music–and its massive supply chain across Canada, be it a national arena tour, or a one-off local show in a 120-cap independent venue…and everything in-between.” said Erin Benjamin, President & CEO of the CLMA in a statement.
“Understanding and harnessing this system creates a significant and scalable competitive advantage for Canadians and for all levels of government and is essential for our artists so that they can continue to share the music we love and need. And why wouldn’t we? This study is a benchmark, the numbers in it have been achieved largely in the absence of any dedicated fiscal policy frameworks aimed at incentivizing growth. $10.92B in combined impact from live music and tourism spending… without trying.”
Among the 100,000+ jobs that live music supports in Canada are not only performers and artists, but stage technicians, promoters, venue staff and many others that spill off from related businesses. Those shows attract hundreds of thousands of tourists. Let’s not forget connected industries like hotels and restaurants, among others.
Combined totals of live music company operations and related tourism spending:
Looking at live music operations alone:
“The findings in Here and Now make it clear that protecting and growing Canada’s live music infrastructure directly results in more jobs, major economic impact for cities and towns, and more performance opportunities for Canadian artists. It means more fans choosing Canada when deciding where to spend their (billions of, as it turns out) music tourism dollars. It means sold out hotels, fully booked flights, bustling shops, and restaurants. It means togetherness and social cohesion. It means better mental health. It means thriving downtowns. It means attracting and retaining other industries and talent to our cities. It means more revenue for artists and musicians. It means more music and memories with family and friends that change our lives,” said Tarun Nayar, Co-Founder, 5X Festival; Co-Founder, Snakes x Ladders, artist, and board chair of the CLMA.
As governments worldwide cut their financial support for the arts, it’s important to counteract the false notion that culture and the arts are a drain on public finances — something that benefits only the elite few.
The report’s findings make clear that live music as an industry has a significant effect on both local and national economies, and one that extends far beyond the realm of music per se.
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