We invited guest contributors Liam Mooney and Matthew Stella to explain their ingenius reaction to some recent changes to the rules about foreign workers entering Canada that will see out-of-country bands being charged hefty fees to perform in the country, and ultimately affect local venues from coast to coast.
Music is not created in a vacuum. It is the product of interaction, collaboration, cooperation. Making music is hard work, it requires inspiration, patience and dedication, but it is not labour. Music thrives from cooperation not competition. Sure musicians can be pushed by each other to create something better, but this is not market forces at work, it is the scene. Music thrives when the scene is strong, when people interact, share ideas and push each other to do something new. The scene does not stop at the border.
The conservative government has recently decided to impose an application fee of $275 per musician to be levied on booking agents and venues that import acts to Canada. We believe that this fee will hurt.
In response we have booked Old Monk, an American band, to headline a show at Babylon Nightclub in Ottawa on Monday, September 9. Instead of physically bringing the musicians to Ottawa (which would cost $825 in application fees alone) we will circumvent the fees by projecting their live performance from a studio in Brooklyn, NY, to a screen in Ottawa over the internet. Will the crowd enjoy the band’s performance? Probably. Old Monk is a great band. Will the crowd feel the same energy as they would if the band were actually in the building? Certainly not. Will fans be exposed to a new band as a result of the performance? Certainly. Will the band be able to meet new musicians, make contacts, sell merchandise and move on to the next Canadian city to try and establish themselves? Absolutely not.
Why have we decided to create this event?
Because these new restrictions will hurt music. They will not hurt Canadian musicians, they will not hurt American or international musicians, they will hurt music in general. This sort of trade protectionism for arts and culture does not protect Canadian bands because there are no such thing as Canadian bands. There are musicians who are part of a music scene, it is global, everyone is a part of it and making it more difficult for musicians to cross borders will stifle collaboration, innovation and cooperation. There are no Canadian bands but there are Canadian venues and promoters, people who put bands and musicians on stage and fans in front of them. These are the people who will no longer be able to afford to book acts whose musicians happen to live in countries other than Canada.
Why a video projection?
Because we can’t afford to pay this band to come to Canada. Because we want to highlight the absurdity of a band being separated from its audience by a government that has shown nothing but hostility to arts and culture. These restrictions hurt small artists and small venues, the people that help new music grow.