#ForTheLoveOfLIVE Awareness Campaign Launched by Canadian Live Music Association
MAKE SOME NOISE
#ForTheLoveOfLIVE is an awareness campaign launched by Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) to bring attention to the damage COVID-19 shutdowns have caused Canada’s live music industry – the artists, festivals, venues, promoters, clubs, concert halls, arenas, talent agencies, unions and many others working in the supply chain that connect Canadians with extraordinary live music experiences.
We know how much live music means to you and we encourage you to join us and add your voice to support your favourite artists, local venues, friends, families and neighbours working in the live music industry. Make some noise!
Read the press release HERE.
Here is how you can help:
- Follow CLMA on socials, share our digital assets found HERE, or share your own photos and tag them with #ForTheLoveOfLIVE
- Download one of our digital toolkits to help spread the word!
- I am a Fan
- I am an Artist
- I am an Industry Member
- Engage with your local MP using our sample letter.
- Become a #ForTheLoveOfLIVE partner by emailing us your logo.
- Watch the #ForTheLoveOfLIVE video HERE.
Why #ForTheLoveOfLIVE
It is now fully understood that live music will be among the last to recover, and that “when” remains unknown. Venues have closed their doors and many will never reopen. This is a significant loss to the cultural fabric of our nation that cannot be reversed without action today. We want to ensure live music remains at the forefront of recovery conversations.
Before March 2020, the Canadian live music industry provided 72,000 jobs and contributed approximately $3 billion to the national GDP. Since March 2020, the industry has reported:
- 92% average revenue loss
- 64% of the industry is at risk of permanent closure
- One in four arts, entertainment, and recreation workers lost their job in 2020. That’s 114,400 artists, technicians, marketing staff, arts administrators, and other cultural workers who could no longer earn a living out of their profession. Source: Stats Can Labour Force Survey, employment by industry, Canada. Calculations by CAPACOA
- $99M in GPP lost due to the shutdown of music venues in Toronto alone (as of October 2020). Source: Re: Venues, A Case and Path Forward for Toronto’s Live Music Industry
- 85% of professional musicians agree that if they can’t perform live, they will have a difficult time making a living Source: Crowded Out study commissioned by Music Canada
- More live music venues are predicting to close, losing jobs and the future of Canadian Music. Source: Coletto, D., Ross, M.(Feb. 2021). Live Music 2021: Where We Are and Where We’re Going. Abacus Data for Music Canada.
- More than 75 prominent music venues have permanently closed their doors. View our crowdsourced venue closures list here.
- Over three times as many individuals AND organizations report very high or high levels of stress and anxiety today (76% and 79%, respectively) as compared to before COVID-19 (26% and 25%). Source: Prairie Research Associates, National Arts and Culture Impact Survey, January 2020. Survey of individuals and organizations conducted in November 2020
- The live music industry has been dramatically impacted by the pandemic – extending to musicians, live music venues, staff, crews, music festivals, and others. Canadians believe that these sectors/professions need support from governments to help recover from the pandemic. Source: Coletto, D., Ross, M. (Feb. 2021). Live Music 2021: Where We Are and Where We’re Going. Abacus Data for Music Canada.
“As venues close, every single day jobs are lost… continuing to stay viable as a business is becoming impossible. I’m starting to realize we might never be back… that live music may never recover.” CLMA member, November 2020
Government Support is Needed
Until we can operate safely again, government support is critical to ensuring that we don’t lose a generation of live music, hundreds of venues, and thousands of live music professionals from coast to coast to coast. We are currently asking for the following government support:
- Innovating on initial Phases, a “Phase 3” should seek to protect all venues, festivals, production/sound + lights/supply companies, others whose core business is live music (talent agencies, management companies, etc.) and self-employed people working in live music who continue to fall through the cracks; targeted support should be provided quickly and qualifying expenditures should be expanded.
- Ensure extension of vital programs such as CEWS, CRB, and CERS programs for as long as necessary.
- Support the UNISON Benevolent Fund, Canada’s leading music industry charity, so that the music industry can have access to emergency funds and mental health aid.
To learn more, please read the Live Music Industry Recovery Plan.
Contact CLMA
General inquiries:
staff@canadianlivemusic.ca
Press inquiries:
Philip Vanden Brande
phil@annexe.media