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FYI

CIMA's Andrew Cash Gongs Increased U.S. Visa Costs

American acts can cross our border freely to work but proposed new U.S. visa costs make reciprocity nearly impossible for our developing acts.

CIMA's Andrew Cash Gongs Increased U.S. Visa Costs

By David Farrell

Andrew Cash, president and CEO of the Canadian Independent Music Association, a former MP and co-founder of the band L'Étranger, hits the nail on the head in a Globe and Mail editorial that exposes the harsh financial toll U.S immigration is proposing in raising work visas by as much as 250 percent.


The increased costs make it all but prohibitive for rank-and-file musicians and crews to cross the border to work.

As Cash posits, the rub is that “In contrast to U.S. policy, Canada is open for business to U.S. touring artists. Here, there is nearly no red tape; no work permit, no visas, no problem.”

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To read the article, link to On musician touring visas, the United States needs to change its tune.

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Charlotte Cardin
Ellie Blondeau

Charlotte Cardin

Streaming

Spotify Reports Francophone Music Is One of the Top Genres On The Platform

The streaming giant’s annual Loud & Clear data finds French as one of the top-performing languages, with Quebec artists like Charlotte Cardin and Patrick Watson leading the charge.

Francophone music is thriving on Spotify — and Quebec is playing a key role.

Spotify has shared new data that highlights French-language music and content as one of the top-performing genres on the platform. 100 million global users are listening to French content, according to the report, while French music streams are up 192% since 2019.

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