ASSOCIATION UPDATE
Canadian Federation of Musicians ( CFM ) The CFM was among the Canadian cultural associations , unions , and guilds who met virtually on Dec . 17 th with MP Julie Dabrusin , parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian heritage , Matthew Gray , policy advisor to the minister of national revenue , and other representatives from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Department of National Revenue . At issue was self-employed artists ’ eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit ( CERB ) and the letter sent to more than 400,000 Canadians from the Canada Revenue Agency ( CRA ). Many of the recipients of the letter are musicians and other gig workers .
The associations were seeking clarity and a change of the CRA ’ s policy regarding CERB eligibility expressed in the letter . The associations believe the published CERB eligibility requirement to show an income threshold was gross self-employment income , not net of expenses . While the meeting did not result in a commitment from the government to change their policy or provide a clarifying public statement , a number of clarifications about the CRA letter were provided during the meeting .
Of note , artists and others who received the letter should know that it is not a determination of eligibility . Rather , it was an early warning sign that the government did not yet have enough information to confirm their eligibility for CERB . Recipients who received the CRA letter may be eligible for CERB and their 2020 tax return information will help determine eligibility in many cases .
For more information and additional clarifications , go to www . cfmusicians . afm . org .
NCRA / ANREC The NCRA / ANREC ( the association representing non-profit radio stations in Canada ) has set up a system that allows artists and labels to upload their music and submit it directly to more than 100 radio stations and their programmers . This new system , called ! earshot Distro , is a nonprofit system that replaces the need to send CDs or unsolicited emails . The NCRA /
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ANREC has secured agreements with the majority of Canada ’ s national and provincial music associations . Their members now have access to at least $ 300-worth of credits to upload their music to the system between by March 31 , 2021 . There is no maintenance fee . It ’ s 100 % free to put new and back catalogue music on the system .
For more information , go to www . earshot-distro . ca .
Canadian Independent Music Association ( CIMA ) CIMA is offering artists / bands the opportunity to be featured during its virtual professional development sessions throughout 2021 . These sessions will include panels , information sessions , lunch and learns , etc ., in front of both national and international audiences . The performances will be aired during the live portion of the events .
As well , CIMA says it will promote the selected artists / bands and their company / business representatives on its website and socials prior to the events . Artists / bands selected for these opportunities will be contacted directly by CIMA and consulted on which session their performance will be featured in . Artists will receive a performance fee for the use of their live recording in CIMA ’ s session .
As these sessions will take place throughout 2021 , CIMA is asking artists to complete the application form in order to be considered throughout the year .
For the application form , go to www . surveymonkey . com / r / 21PD . For more information , go to www . cimamusic . ca .
Canadian Private Copying Collective ( CPCC ) The CPCC , with the support of Music Managers Forum Canada ( MMF ), is asking Canadian musicians and music industry professionals to write their local MPs and let the government know that “ the Copyright Act must be updated to be ‘ tech neutral ,’ to include the copies made on phones and tablets and any future technologies that Canadians use to make copies .” This is because private copying royalties that used to flow through to the songwriters , artists , and musicians have dwindled drastically over the years as physical media becomes less popular . Now , the music industry revenues created by the private copying levy have declined from $ 38 million to just $ 1 million per year .
“ The thing is - while the revenues from the private copying levy have declined , copying activity hasn ’ t declined at all . It ’ s just happening on phones and tablets , instead of CDs ,” says the MMF . “ The problem is that as currently written , the Copyright Act ’ s private copying provisions only apply to blank CDs .”
To find out more about the issue , go to www . cpcc . ca . To sign a prewritten letter and send it your MP , go to act . newmode . net / action / cpcc .
Music Nova Scotia Between Jan . 11 th and Feb . 25 th , Music Nova Scotia will be hosting a series of Basic Training sessions via Zoom . The 12 sessions will cover such topics as : business basics , finances , funding , songwriters ’ royalties , conferences and showcasing , building an artist ’ s team , recording , streaming , and more .
For more information , go to www . musicnovascotia . ca .
Music · Musique NB As part of its Savvy Sessions series for members , Music · Musique NB has scheduled four educational webinars for early 2021 . They are : Mental Health in Music on Jan . 14 th ; Music Industry Development ( MID ): Do ’ s and Don ’ ts on Jan . 28 th ; MID : Sound Recording on Feb . 18 th ; and MID : Emerging Artists , Applicant Profile & FAQ on March 11 th . All the sessions will begin at 7 p . m . AST .
For more information and to register , go to www . musicnb . org / en / learn / savvy-sessions .
Music PEI Music PEI has announced the nominees for the 2021 Music PEI Awards . Catherine MacLellan leads with nine nominations for her latest album , Coyote , including for Album , Album Art , Entertainer , Producer , Songwriter , Solo Recording , Song , Video , and Contemporary / Traditional Roots / Country Recording of the Year .