Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thanks for the opportunity to speak today.
In my remarks I hope to provide a summary of some of the themes that have come through over the past months. Many ideas that have been presented to you resemble some of those that were put forward in our report, “The Next Big Bang”, which I have as a prop here, and which, in fact, previous witnesses cited it several times.
It was developed with a somewhat similar purpose in mind to your own study, and that is to identify a framework for a new industrial strategy for music. In doing so, we had to consider the context of the digital environment, trends in consumption, music discovery, and the growing importance of live performance to an artist's income. The report was generated by capturing many different voices through interviews as well as the contributions of complete chapters by experts. As such, it represents the collective thoughts of a broader community.
We focused on five key strategies: music education, digital innovation, music tourism, export expansion, and tax credits. Now, no report of any value rests idle, and since publishing in 2013 we have evolved further our thinking to include music celebration and music's role in city and community building.
Let's talk first about music education. Many witnesses have spoken passionately about the importance of music education. It develops skills such as critical thinking, spatial reasoning, cognitive development, collaboration, creativity. A study by the Information and Communications Technology Council confirms that ICT workers trained in music are better equipped to succeed in their fields.
Multiple witnesses have also expressed the belief that music education instills respect in the creative process. A national survey of schools in 2010 revealed a myriad of deficiencies, including lack of qualified teachers, insufficient class time, and under-resourced programs. Meanwhile, threatened cuts to music education has drawn intense criticism and media scrutiny in Toronto and Vancouver. Calls for a national music education strategy have been supported by witnesses as diverse as the Polaris Music Prize, Live Nation, and SiriusXM.
It was Mike Tanner of North by Northeast who suggested that the federal government has a role in “creating a cultural shift and a national identity built around music and music education.” We agree. The federal government has great authority and influence, and we would encourage you to work with music leaders to formulate a plan for leadership concerning music education.
On digital innovation, the promise of, and ability to adapt to, the digital environment have been consistent themes. The utopian promise of the Internet, however, has yet to be fully realized in Canada despite the rosy picture that has been painted by some. While the Canadian music industry in 2013 for the first time saw revenues from the digital market overtake those from the physical market, the fact remains that our digital sales are nowhere near replacing what we have lost in physical sales. Our digital market remains relatively undeveloped. Digital music sales in Canada remain nearly one and a half times lower than per capita sales in the United States. While we have recently welcomed great new digital services to Canada, we lag behind other leading music markets in launching these services. Rather than innovators, we are followers.
We are beginning to see a migration to new and exciting digital music services which offer consumers the ability to access music wherever they are and whenever they want, with new revenue models such as subscription services. Unfortunately, millions of listens on these services do not translate to a living wage for artists and those in the music industry. There has been an enormous shift in wealth away from creators into technologically driven intermediaries who are amassing fortunes on a scale that at times beggars the imagination. Intermediaries often blame the victims with tawdry accusations that creators are simply not adapting, as if we live in some kind of antediluvian adapt-or-die world. As artist-activist David Lowery said, the old boss is being replaced by a new boss. Power and wealth are now concentrated in intermediaries, technology firms that control access to the distribution system. And the artists? Lowery says that 99% are barely surviving while the top 1% prosper.
CIMA released a study that said artists earn about $10,000 a year from music and spend 29 hours a week on it. That doesn't sound like a full-time professional job to me. It's hardly a rosy landscape.
Canadian-born filmmaker, Astra Taylor, who has just published a book called The People's Platform, which you as policy-makers I would suggest absolutely must read, says that the difference between the old and new bosses is that the new bosses don't invest in artist development, and they don't pay advances. Read her book. She's critical of us, and she's critical of others, but she brings a new perspective and a balanced perspective to the debate.
The question here becomes what are we going to do about it, and what is our collective responsibility?
One way forward is to make it easier for digital services to launch and operate in Canada. Numerous witnesses have pointed to the slow nature of decisions made by the Copyright Board, through no fault of its own, and uncertainty in the legal landscape as deterrents to progress. Given the proper tools, personnel, and financing, the Copyright Board could become something more analogous to a business development office.
Parliament should also consider unleashing rights holders and digital services to do deals directly at fair market value rather than having to wait years for the Copyright Board and the courts, to whom board decisions are frequently appealed, to determine what they think the fair market value should have been. This will enable services to launch now with the certainty they require, and it will allow rights to be properly valued in Canada to ensure that being a Canadian musical artist can provide a sustainable livelihood rather than at best being a hobby.
Finally, we have the issue of piracy. Ad-supported piracy continues to plague creators. The digital landscape is littered with illegal services that do not pay artists or copyright owners. Many of them appear to consumers to be legitimate, and they are aided by the likes of intermediaries and other search engines, the search results for which, despite their claims, continue to promote illegal links. There is an opportunity here for international cooperation.
On the subject of music tourism, you have heard compelling testimony from both music presenters and tourism professionals about the power and the potential of music tourism for our country. David Goldstein of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada testified that as an international destination, we're slipping from eighth in the world to eighteenth.
He further spoke about music as a travel motivator as “one of the most compelling tourism products that spark economic growth in all regions of the country.” The Canadian Tourism Commission specifically identified music festivals and events as key motivators for young travellers. These activities would go directly to support artists and musicians in the way they are now earning more of their income, through live music.
Ottawa Bluesfest recommended commissioning a national economic impact study on live music. We fully support this idea and are currently in the process of developing such a study for the province of Ontario, and would, with the support of Canadian Heritage, happily extend it across the country.
On export expansion, export is clearly a critical piece in the development of an artist's career. “The Next Big Bang” relied heavily on input from CIMA and FACTOR. The growth of international markets for music brings forth many benefits for individual artists and music companies. In addition there is a reputational gain for Canada, as Duncan alluded to, as our musicians and artists become de facto ambassadors portraying Canada as culturally diverse and creative. As such they are an essential part of brand Canada. “The Next Big Bang” recommends a more cohesive national approach to export, with resources earmarked for a national export office.
The final area is interconnected tax credits. You have heard several witnesses suggest an update to the tax credit regime. We often point to the success of Canada's film and television production system, which has in large part occurred because of a system of stable, robust tax credits offered to domestic and foreign companies.
Tax credits are used to support industries that make significant investments in R and D. That is us. In music, artist development is our R and D, and for all the reasons previously expressed in these hearings, capturing a return on that investment is harder than ever.
I would urge you to examine the existing tax credit framework and to update it according to the testimony that came before me, which has included discussion on production, touring, awards programs, and digital development.
Thank you.