Canadian Heritage committee  Good morning, bonjour, and thank you for inviting us to speak to the standing committee today. And thank you for all of the support that the government of Canada has made over the years in fostering, developing, and sharing Canadian music. I applaud you for wanting to learn more

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would in part. I think there's a certain element of attraction to celebrity that our society is drawn to, which gets people in the door. Once they're in the door, you can start telling them about second-, third-, and fourth-tier artists and the kind of work that is evolving wit

Canadian Heritage committee  I would agree that the National Music Centre certainly supports that report, particularly two key elements of the recommendations, music education being the first. Everything we do is about music education, but it's very broad. It's not in the traditional sense. We're not a music

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes.

Canadian Heritage committee  I got cut off once, so I have to be careful.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think it's a redistribution or a reallocation of part of it to some of the recommendations of the things the three of us have spoken to: broader investment in diversity, away from certain hubs, not necessarily just in central Canada, but in other parts of Canada. I think that's

Canadian Heritage committee  I would agree that the communication of the message through education of the importance of music is what's.... You're referring to this as the seeds and we refer to this as the inspirational stories of people from this country who have created great works of art known as music th

Canadian Heritage committee  I agree with that. I know it's provincial jurisdiction, but I think there has to be a message nationally about the importance of music to this country. I think that is fundamental to.... I think it's a federal government responsibility because it's about Canada. It's not about Al

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, I would agree. I think investment certainly in innovation and digital platforms, and marketing, sort of what happens down the line after the music is made. I think ensuring that there is a distribution network that focuses on Canadian content somewhere, somehow, to get awar

Canadian Heritage committee  I can add something to that, if there's time. Brett Kissel is an extraordinary individual. He goes over and beyond most artists in his ability to reach out to people and to engage. I think other artists who don't have his personal abilities as a communicator can do other things

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank everybody for your time today and also for the opportunity to participate in this really important subject about cultural hubs and creative districts. I'm the founding president and CEO of Canada's new National Music Centre, which is lo

Canadian Heritage committee  I agree that there needs to be some latitude between non-profits and for-profits co-existing, and even some policy—and that's obviously down to legislation to, I think.... I guess I would describe it as loosening the reins a little bit, just because of the narrowing of the gap be

Canadian Heritage committee  If I may, I have a second example that relates specifically to the blending of the non-profit world and the for-profit world within the music space specifically. Traditionally, non-profit music organizations were largely funded through philanthropy and grants [Technical difficul

Canadian Heritage committee  We invented the National Music Centre charitable organization, and we've been doing work here in Calgary for well over 20 years. We invented the brand of the National Music Centre. What we've done to fulfill this national mandate is we have about half a dozen partners who we wor