Generally speaking, if you're talking across the board about all sectors, I would agree with you. The two challenges my members have right across the board, whether they're English or French, are cash flow and access to capital. We're not selling furniture. We're selling an intangible product. It's very difficult to get traditional business loans from the bank to continue with capital.
That's why a program such as the Canada music fund is so important. It provides the seed capital my members can leverage in the marketplace. They can then invest in artists' careers. They can discover, develop, market, commercialize, and export.
When we're talking small businesses, yes, get rid of the red tape and streamline the processes as much as possible, but we need legislation such as the Copyright Act to help protect our products here and around the world. We need programs like the Canada music fund to provide those seed dollars that are then leveraged by the industry and invested in the artists. We need a strong Broadcasting Act that recognizes some of the themes the CRTC brought forward in its report last week.
Government has a place in our industry, and I think it is a very strong partner in our industry, because, as Chris said, we are a global product. As soon as you put your music online, you're a global product. Because our market is so small in Canada, we need to be in markets around the world and we need to be able to chase those pockets of international markets where our artists are finding success. That costs time, money, and investment, so we need government to be a partner.