Question Period Note: Funding Support for the Music Industry

On April 17, 2020, the Prime Minister announced a $500 million investment in the creation of the COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support organizations responsible for culture, heritage and sport. The fund is an additional and temporary aid measure. This is $500 million in emergency support offered to meet the financial needs of cultural, heritage and sports organizations that are suffering significant losses as a result of COVID-19. The funding aims to ensure the continuity of the activities of organizations whose viability is in danger due to COVID-19. The fund will provide financial support that will tie in with other aid measures in place. It will be administered by Canadian Heritage with the support of its partners.

• With the cancellation of concerts, festivals and other large events and sharp declines in music sales, the music industry has faced immediate and sweeping financial challenges due to COVID-19.
• The government has already announced important measures that will help the music industry meet these challenges, including the Canada Business Emergency Account and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.
• To meet the specific needs of the cultural sector, including those of the music industry, the government also announced a $500M emergency fund for culture, heritage and sport.
• This emergency support recognizes the valuable role that the Canadian music industry plays in strengthening the social and economic fabric of our communities and country, offering meaningful relief for its continued sustainability.

• The Canada Music Fund (CMF) aims to foster an environment where a diversity of Canadian music artists connect with audiences everywhere, providing the essential up-front support needed to develop Canadian artists and sharing the risk with Canadian-owned music entrepreneurs. With an annual ongoing budget of $24.3 million (Vote 5), the CMF provides support to Canadian music artists and entrepreneurs for the production and marketing of Canadian sound recordings, domestic and international touring and showcasing, digital market development, professional conferences, and awards shows and events that enhance the visibility of Canadian artists. Budget 2019 announced additional resources of $20 million over two years, in 2019-20 and 2020-2021, for the CMF. Specifically, Budget 2019 stated that ‘With the modernized Canada Music Fund’, Canadian artists will have access to more resources and tools to market their music on digital platforms, and will be able to spend more time touring to help their music to be heard at home and abroad. The 2020-2021 fiscal year is the second and last year for the CMF to receive these additional resources.
• The 2020-2021 Vote 5 resources dedicated to the CMF amount to $36,649,231. These Vote 5 resources include $1.15 million delivered as part of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages, $2.5 million, from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023, in trade specific support through Canada’s Creative Export Strategy and, an amount of $100,000 for the CMF in 2020-2021 to improve the collection of disaggregated data and strengthen reporting requirements relating to Gender-based Analysis plus.
• All stakeholders in the music industry agree that the sector needs emergency funding given that many of the federal measures announced would not apply to the reality of organizations and companies of the industry. The music industry stakeholders will therefore welcome this additional funding,including the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and the Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ), who has been asking for an increase to the CMF budget for a number of years in the face of severe disruptions brought forth by digital distribution, including streaming services.
• It is expected that additional funds from the Emergency Culture, Heritage and Sport Fund will be granted to the CMF in 2020-2021. These resources will allow the Canadian music industry to continue to exist during and beyond the pandemic and ultimately will continue to i) produce and promote a diversity of Canadian music in a world of choice, ii) to be competitive in national and international markets and iii) and to contribute to Canada's creative economy.

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