Government Support Urgently Needed For Live Music Sector

By David Farrell

Like most in the world, Canadians in varying degrees have been wrestling with the new world order where facemask, lockdowns, fear and mixed governmental messages have created turmoil in our personal and professional lives.

Now over a year into pandemic mode, we find ourselves wrestling with the uncomfortable shadow of doubt that our leaders have a strategy and aren’t playing pin the donkey on a problem that is beyond vexing and for many, ruinous.

For the live music industry, the vagaries of policy mandates are reaching a boiling point. Concert promoters, club owners and the acts that have relied on income from live performances have been dealt a heavy hand. While understanding that isolation orders bring down the contagion numbers, we have scratched our heads over how factories have largely been immune from shutdowns, and how big box stores until recently benefitted financially at the expense of a great many small stores that have been forced to close or awkwardly fill curbside orders.

The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) is asking us all to write our member of parliament asking for further financial support for the live industry, and venue owner Lisa Zbitnew explains in detail the issues she and her peers face in running business with threadbare or zero revenues. It’s a must-read written by Postmedia entertainment writer Jane Stevenson.