Music Fund Halved in Ontario Budget

By David Farrell

The Ontario Government released its annual Budget last week, and it has profound impacts on the Ontario Music Fund (OMF).

As a result of Ontario government cutbacks contained in the budget, the Ontario Music Fund will be reduced to $7 million per year, down from a $15 million annual fund.

The Government and Ontario Creates will be organizing industry consultations "to obtain our collective input on how the OMF should be ‘modernized’ going forward," CIMA president Stuart Johnston says.

Continuing, Johnston pledges his association “will continue to be actively engaged with the government and Ontario Creates as these consultations unfold, to ensure that our members’ voices will be heard and to help shape what the new program should look like.”

The budget document has the government stating it supports the Ontario Music Fund but it wants funding body Ontario Creates to modernize the programs "to focus on activities that bring the biggest return to the province and refocus its investments in emerging talent to create opportunities to achieve success.”

The programs affected by the $7M cutback have yet to be named.