Canadian music lovers can expect fewer international musicians playing in their communities because a federal application is asking venue owners to empty their pockets.
As of July 31, venues whose secondary business is booking concerts are obligated to pay an application fee of $275 for each musician, entourage and crewmember from outside of Canada. An additional $150 work permit fee is also paid by the venue for musicians and their members to be approved to work in Canada. And if the government deny the application? The venue would not be refunded and would need to pay again to reapply to get the band across the border.
The new fees mark an 83-per-cent increase from the previous $150-application fee per musician, crew member or entourage. Venues now have two choices: either pay the newly increased application fees and increase ticket sales to make up for the costs, or tell bands to stay home.
Earlier this month, Babylon Nightclub hosted an event called BANNED to raise awareness for the payment increase local venues are facing. It is not only venue owners who will pay the price. Music fans are in danger of missing international acts playing in their backyard. The variety of live music in Canada is at risk.
Venues will see a decline in attendance and revenue if performances are limited to local musicians. Ticket prices will rise to accommodate for the application fees and audiences will be discouraged from attending. Ottawa, a community rich in smaller venues, will be unable to afford this increase as opposed to the larger stadiums and venues in Montreal and Toronto.
Jason Kenney, federal minister of employment, social development, and multiculturalism, says the fee increase will offer a silver lining for the taxpayers. If the venue pays the application fees, the taxpayer will not have to pay the government to do the necessary paperwork.
Kenney also says that this encourages local venues to feature more Canadian artists, which are plentiful in the Ottawa area. With local bands like Zoo Legacy – an up-and-coming ensemble that has tapped into a unique fusion of rock and hip-hop – popping up on posters around the city, there is no shortage of Ottawa talent willing to play.
On the other hand, local musicians depend on international acts coming to town and hiring them as opening performers. The fewer international bands that play in Canada, the less exposure a band will get with fans of those larger bands. Zoo Legacy got major recognition after playing onstage with Ms Lauryn Hill in Toronto. Her international reputation was associated with this Canadian band for an instant, and the band got a huge publicity boost. Under the new rules, bands like Zoo Legacy will have fewer opportunities to play alongside great international acts.
Some Canadians are upset over the new tax by creating a petition on Change.org asking the Canadians Government to “not ruin live music” with the application charges.
The petition urges to Kenney to amend the regulation because it “unfairly punishes international musicians and small Canadian venues.”
More than 100,000 people have signed the petition and the word continues to be spread on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites fighting to preserve the diversity of music in Canada.