Canadian Musician - September/October 2020 | Page 12

CHANGES
New Surveys: Canadians’ Concerns
About Live Events Not Abating;
Musicians’ Concern Growing
Concern among Canadian music fans about the
pandemic remains elevated, with more believing that
“the worst is yet to come” than did in April, according to
a second round of surveys conducted by Abacus Data
and commissioned by Music Canada.
The research shows that even as economies are
slowly re-opening, more Canadians expect to stay away
from live music events long after physical distancing
restrictions are lifted. Even of those who regularly
attended live music events before the pandemic, 55%
said that they will wait at least six months or longer to
attend a music festival after physical restrictions end, and
for large concert venues, it was 60%. The findings ultimately point to the prolonged threat faced by the live music industry.
These findings are made even more concerning by a separate survey of 700 professional Canadian musicians released in mid-July, again
done by Abacus Data and commissioned by Music Canada. It found that for the remainder of 2020, musicians’ average number of bookings
is down more than 90% compared to last year. As well, most of the professional musicians indicated they were reliant on government emergency
aid to get by, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). As such, professional musicians report feeling anxious, scared,
uncertain, and worried about the future.
For the full reports, go to www.abacusdata.ca/live-music-threat-pandemic-music-canada/.
CHART: COURTESY OF NIELSEN MUSIC CANADA
Pandemic Has Accelerated Streaming’s Rise & Physical
Music’s Decline
Nielsen Music and MRC Data released their 2020 Canada Mid-Year Report, which
provides a comprehensive overview of Canadians’ music consumption in the first half
of this year. Overall, it shows that recorded-music consumption has proven resilient as
audio streams are up 16.6% to over 42 billion.
Total album-equivalent audio consumption — the combination of album and song
sales with on-demand audio streams — was up 5.7% year-over-year. Country music saw
the biggest gains of any genre, with 22.7% more audio streams year-to-year.
Vinyl sales, which were already dipping before March after a decade-long revitalization,
took a big dive as record shops were forced to close. Through March 12 th , vinyl
sales in Canada were down 8%, and post-lockdown the deficit increased to 28.5% by
June 4 th ; likewise, physical music sales have taken a big post-COVID dive. A 26.2% pre-
COVID-19 deficit in physical sales from March 12 th deepened to a 48.8% year-to-date
loss through June 4 th .
CERB Extended for 1 Month, EI
Expanded & Gig-Worker Benefit
Announced
The Federal Government announced on Aug.
20 th that it’s extending the $2,000-per-month
Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) for
one more month, meaning it now ends on Sept.
27 th . Additionally, the government is amending
its employment insurance program so that more
people will qualify for financial assistance when
CERB ends. These changes include greater flexibility
on the work hours required for EI, which
makes it easier for people to qualify for a oneyear
period. After CERB ends on Sept. 27 th , those
eligible for EI will transition to that program and
those who do not qualify can apply for new
recovery benefits.
Importantly for musicians, self-employed
or gig workers can apply for a benefit of up to
$400 per week for up to 26 weeks if they have
stopped working or had reduced incomes as a
result of the pandemic. Under the new arrangement,
gig workers still earn money but will need
to repay half of every dollar earned over $38,000.
For more information, go to www.canada.ca.
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