We'd like to thank you for the opportunity to appear in front of you today.
The digital frontier of Canada's music industry has empowered independent artist entrepreneurs by means of a fully integrated business ecosystem. It is now viable for musical acts to establish an intimate and dedicated following through a grassroots approach without record companies. As a result of this digital progress, and due to the contracting of the traditional music industry, the last 25 years has seen the rise of the artist entrepreneur.
CIRAA provides support to these artist entrepreneurs through unique programming, such as an online music business educational series, monthly mentorships with established artists, and a monthly micro grant to reward and encourage live performances.
Our current membership exceeds 9,200 artists across the country; however, CIRAA's statistics confirm that there are approximately 19,000 active, independent recording acts in Canada. Seventy-eight per cent consider themselves professional musicians, with a staggering collective reach of 5.2 million fans, collectively performing 750,000 shows annually, or 2,000 performances every single day.
Each spend, on average, $3,400 annually on their music careers, amounting to tens of millions of dollars and triggering hundreds of millions in economic activity.