Evidence of meeting #33 for Canadian Heritage in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was artists.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Noon
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
Okay, thank you.
We don't have time for another full round. I know that a round of questioning is five minutes.
Would each member like to have one question?
Noon
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
I know. Okay, then we will thank our witnesses for appearing here today, and we will recess for two minutes, because we want to make sure that we get our business done.
Thank you.
12:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
Could we get our committee back to the table, please? We have a lot of business to do here yet this morning.
Okay, we're going to start the second half of this meeting, and it will run until 12:55. Then we have to deal with some committee business.
We welcome, from the Department of Canadian Heritage, Jean-François Bernier, director general of cultural industries, and Pierre Lalonde, director of music policy and programs. Welcome, gentlemen.
If you'd like to make a presentation, go ahead, Mr. Bernier, please.
12:05 p.m.
Jean-François Bernier Director General, Cultural Industries, Department of Canadian Heritage
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning to everyone.
First, on behalf of the Department of Canadian Heritage, I wish to thank the committee for inviting us to appear today to explain the context surrounding the changes that were made to the Canada Music Fund as part of its recent renewal.
My name is Jean-François Bernier, and I am a director general at the Department of Canadian Heritage; I oversee all cultural industry programs and policies. With me is Pierre Lalonde, the director responsible for music in my branch. For those of you from Quebec, that is his real name. There is a very popular Quebec artist who is also named Pierre Lalonde.
Of course, we will be pleased to answer any questions from committee members. My presentation will take about 10 minutes or so. I know that you have heard from many witnesses, but I think that the department's presentation is important in today's context.
Canada is recognized internationally for its music-related public policies, as Mr. Angus mentioned earlier today. The Government of Canada's policy framework comprises a set of legislative measures and programs that work together to ensure that Canadians have access to a diverse range of Canadian music choices. The Canada Music Fund is a pillar of this federal policy framework. It was created in 2001 to replace the Sound Recording Development Program, which had been in place since 1986. So we have had assistance programs for the music sector in place since 1986.
The objectives of the Canada Music Fund are to enhance Canadians' access to a diverse range of Canadian music choices, to increase the opportunities available to Canadian music artists and entrepreneurs, and to ensure that Canadian music artists and entrepreneurs have the skills and tools to succeed in a digital environment. With an envelope of $27.6 million, the fund provides direct assistance to Canadian authors, composers and entrepreneurs.
The Canada Council for the Arts also supports Canadian music through a variety of programs. The council invested close to $30 million in 2008-09 for that purpose. In total, close to $57 million every year goes to support Canadian music.
In 2007 a major evaluation of the Canada Music Fund was conducted. This evaluation is part of the cycle of sound program management. The Federal Accountability Act states that departments and public agencies, such as the Canada Council, must regularly review their program spending. The evaluation report was made public in October 2007 and has been available on the department's website since then.
A separate branch of the department is responsible for the evaluations. Most evaluations, including this one, are carried out by independent experts. They provide objective information about program rationale, relevance, success, impact, and cost-effectiveness. They are used to help in decision-making for the renewal and ongoing improvement of programs, as well as resource allocation.
The 2007 evaluation of the Canada Music Fund included a survey of funding applicants, interviews with key informants from all areas of the music sector, specific case studies, and a review of statistical and financial data.
As part of the survey, more than 1,500 questionnaires were sent to funded and non-funded applicants from three components of the Canada Music Fund: the Canadian musical diversity component, the new musical awards component, and the collective initiatives component. In all, 534 decided to respond. In-depth interviews were held with more than 40 informants, including key associations representing the Canadian music industry and all Canada Music Fund administrators.
The evaluation report confirmed that the fund contributes to improving Canadians' access to a wide selection of Canadian music. It also noted improvements that could be implemented to increase the fund's efficiency. The report recommended simplifying the Canada Music Fund's structure by reducing the number of components and administrators. It also recommended broadening eligibility to promote innovation and the development of business opportunities provided by digital technology. Lastly, the report recommended increasing support for touring and international showcasing.
As you can see on page 4 of the deck that was distributed to all members, the department undertook a series of initiatives to follow up on the evaluation and in the context of renewing part of the fund's resources, which were set to expire in March 2010. The department presented the evaluation report in detail to all Canada Music Fund administrators, six of them. We also gathered comments from a number of stakeholders to identify their specific challenges and issues. National associations such as ADISQ, CIRPA, and CMPA, as well as entrepreneurs, including those in niche music sectors, were consulted. Specific groups and individuals also voluntarily offered their comments and suggestions to the department.
In June 2008 the department met with distributors, including distributors for niche music, to learn about the challenges and needs related to the online distribution and marketing of music. As part of our policy development responsibilities, we also commissioned and consulted a number of studies. In addition to these initiatives, a number of discussions were held with stakeholders in the Canadian music scene during events such as the Juno Awards, les Rencontres de l'ADISQ, and Canadian Music Week. At all the industry gatherings, we were there.
All these initiatives emphasized that the environment had changed and that the Canada Music Fund needed to be better adapted to meet the challenges of digital and international market development.
A new generation of the Canada Music Fund was announced by the minister on July 31, 2009, in the context of a major event, the FrancoFolies de Montréal. The renewal of the fund is part of an overall strategic vision to firmly support cultural industries in their transition into the digital era. This strategic approach was also reflected in other announcements, including the Canada Media Fund, the Canada Periodical Fund and the Canada Book Fund.
As of April 2010, the Canada Music Fund will continue to support a wide variety of Canadian music through a simplified structure that will be streamlined from seven components to five, and from six administrators to five. The fund will provide increased support for priority international and digital market development initiatives, and its eligibility will be expanded. The department is currently working with FACTOR and MUSICACTION to put the new approach into operation, and it will likely result in new programs with these administrators.
Lastly, in addition to supporting priority activities, the reallocation of resources will help eliminate an overlap within some of the fund's components and Canada Council for the Arts programs, which currently target similar clientèles and music genres.
In 1986, when the Sound Recording Development Program was created, the department turned to the Canada Council for the Arts to administer, on its behalf, a musical diversity program that would stimulate the recording and distribution of niche—or non-mainstream—music. The program started with a budget of $250,000, which increased to $1.4 million in 2001 with the creation of the Canada Music Fund.
Until 2005, the other components of the Canada Music Fund, those not targeting musical diversity, mainly supported larger Canadian labels, leaving little room for smaller labels or independent artists. In 2005, further to the recommendations of the fund's first evaluation, the department made major changes, which helped make funding more accessible.
These changes contributed to a considerable increase in the production of a wider variety of all genres of music—jazz, classical, world music, folk—you heard FACTOR and MUSICACTION refer to all these musical categories. The diversity of musical works of all genres was encouraged throughout the fund. Today, as a result, almost half of all albums produced through CMF components administered by FACTOR, MUSICACTION and the department are part of the “non-popular” or niche music genres.
As a further illustration of this, 26 out of 40 albums nominated for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize were funded by CMF components other than the Canadian musical diversity component. This prize honours creativity and diversity in Canadian music by recognizing high artistic integrity, without regard to genre or sales history.
In conclusion, the process leading to the renewal of the Canada Music Fund followed proper procedures. Although difficult choices had to be made, the fund's modernization offers an opportunity to be better adapted to the pressing issues of the digital and international environment, all the while preserving the musical diversity expected by Canadians.
That concludes my presentation. Thank you for your attention.
We will be pleased to answer your questions.
12:20 p.m.
Conservative
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here today.
Mr. Del Mastro, I understand your viewpoint, but I would like to remind you that the study deals with cuts to the Canadian musical diversity program. Mr. Chair, we are talking about budget cuts because that is what is being studied. That is why you are here today.
Who did you consult with?
12:20 p.m.
Director General, Cultural Industries, Department of Canadian Heritage
Pierre, can you answer that question?
12:20 p.m.
Pierre Lalonde Director, Music Policy and Programs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Yes. As Jean-François mentioned, during the summative evaluation, a survey was conducted of users of the Canada Music Fund, primarily the Canadian Musical Diversity, New Musical Works and Collective Initiatives components, which are administered by FACTOR and MUSICACTION. Fifteen hundred surveys were sent out, and we received 534 responses, 90 of which came either from assistance recipients or people who had not received funding or who had been denied funding by Canada Council for the Arts.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
12:20 p.m.
Director, Music Policy and Programs, Department of Canadian Heritage
They benefited from the Canadian Musical Diversity program.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Of those who responded, were some of them recipients of the programs that were cut?
12:20 p.m.
Director, Music Policy and Programs, Department of Canadian Heritage
The Canadian Musical Diversity program is administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.
12:20 p.m.
Director, Music Policy and Programs, Department of Canadian Heritage
We do not have access to the answers of individuals. We have access to the evaluation summary, to the summative evaluation report.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Is it possible that everyone benefiting from that program and who responded told you not to cut this good program?
12:20 p.m.
Director, Music Policy and Programs, Department of Canadian Heritage
The questions asked did not seek to determine whether or not we should have cut the program.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
What did you consult them on before the decision to cut the program was made?
12:20 p.m.
Director General, Cultural Industries, Department of Canadian Heritage
Pierre is talking about one part of the consultations. In any program evaluation, a rigorous methodology is followed...
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
I understand, but if you did not ask questions about that....
12:20 p.m.
Director General, Cultural Industries, Department of Canadian Heritage
You asked me who had been consulted.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Yes, but did you consult those people about the programs?
12:20 p.m.
Director General, Cultural Industries, Department of Canadian Heritage
I would like to respond. The independent consultant sent out 1,500 questionnaires. With regard to the evaluation, there were interviews, bilateral meetings with about 40 key informants, including key stakeholders in the music industry. Following that evaluation, we held a round table with people from the music distribution industry. I can give you names, and we can send you the rest later.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Everyone who came to testify before the committee said that they had not been consulted and that it was an excellent program. Many of them even sounded the alarm saying that it was a serious mistake, that they were being deprived of an essential program that had allowed them to succeed, in some cases, and that had opened doors for them, in others.
Now, you are talking about investing in developing international markets. I have nothing against that, but if people can no longer record a CD, that is a problem. If you make cuts at the bottom in order to try to enhance the top, I have a problem with that. It seems that we need to start somewhere. Recording a specialized music CD is also important.
12:20 p.m.
Director General, Cultural Industries, Department of Canadian Heritage
The volume of sound recordings will not drop because we are modernizing the fund.
