Ottawa/White Rock/Fraser Valley – The Fraser Valley Blues Society has put out a public appeal to support and share a petition to support Canadian Music, Musicians and music venues needing support from COVID related issues and ongoing support for musicians.
The petition closes on Feb. 23, 2021 and you are asked to sign it now and share so it is supported by as many Canadians as possible: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Sign/e-2995
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:Music is essential to Canadian cultural identity;Scientific studies strongly indicate that music is essential to everyone’s well-being;Canada’s music industry has suffered major economic crisis due to COVID-19 shutdowns and music performance restrictions;Without significant financial relief, the majority of musicians and live music venues are at risk of losing their businesses;Our music sector’s survival is important to Canadian economic recovery;Exploitative music devaluation, due to unlimited music streaming services and ongoing pandemic restrictions to live music performances, have made it nearly impossible for most professional musicians to earn a living wage from music;
and The Broadcasting Act has not been adequately updated to ensure fair and transparent remuneration for music artists.We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:1. Create an ongoing Canadian Musicians’ Support Fund to(i) provide sustainable financial relief to professional musicians so they can earn an annual living wage,(ii) support rebuilding our music economy by providing professional live music performance incentives to venues,(iii) provide additional funding for creative grants to support new Canadian music creation, as well as for public school music education to foster the development of future Canadian musicians;2. While currently amending the Broadcasting Act, consider which regulatory tools would be most suitable to address fair and transparent remuneration for music artists.
