Canadian
Live Music
Association
Erin Benjamin
President &
CEO
The Canadian
Live Music As-
sociation is the
voice of Cana-
da’s live music
industry, advancing and promoting its many
economic, social, and cultural benefits.
www.canadianlivemusic.ca.
CM: What are some of the key issues or
trends currently facing your members or
the Canadian music industry as a whole
that you’ll be focusing on throughout 2019?
EB: The CLMA will address a variety of key is-
sues in 2019. We’re launching our Raising the
Bar program to bring training and best prac-
tices regarding safer spaces, harm reduction,
and event safety to members and the industry.
We’re also leading “Re:Venues: The Importance
and Impact of Toronto’s Live Music Venues,” a
groundbreaking study seeking to demonstrate
the contributions and impacts stimulated by
Toronto’s live music venues.
We’re leading discussions and advocat-
ing where necessary – for example, with
Health Canada and the cannabis industry.
We’re building a better relationship between
SOCAN and the live music sector, advocating
for fair policy and legislation on issues that
impact the sector at every level of govern-
ment. Of course, we’re also continuing to
support municipalities in their efforts to
become “music cities” and working with the
tourism sector to leverage the value of live mu-
sic more effectively and drive music tourism.
CM: What are your ideal outcomes for some
of these initiatives, and how do you plan to
work towards them?
EB: Our ideal outcomes include bringing
the sector together to advance dialogue; to
raise awareness of the economic, social, and
cultural importance of all live music stake-
holders; and entrench the value of the contri-
butions made by our members and then see
that value reflected in policy, funding, and
legislative action and change.
Canadian Music Publishers
Association
Yaka Somasunderam
Communications Coordinator
The Canadian
Music Publish-
ers Association
seeks to create
business oppor-
tunities for its
members and
promote their
interests and
those of their
songwriting
partners through
advocacy, communication, and education.
www.musicpublisher.ca.
CM: What are some of the key issues or
trends currently facing your members or
the Canadian music industry as a whole
that you’ll be focusing on throughout 2019?
YS: We are actively involved in the Federal
Government review of the Copyright Act.
Large, profit-driven tech companies have
been able to profit immensely from the
creations of rightsholders without fairly com-
pensating, if at all, the creators of the works
and the companies that invest in them. We
also have an out-of-date private copying re-
gime that doesn’t accommodate present-day
audio recording devices such as digital re-
corders and tablets, as well as technologies
that have yet to be invented.
Women make up less than three per cent
of music producers worldwide. We need to
challenge this and be part of a solution.
Export is a key driver of growth for
Canadian music publishers. 68 per cent
of our members’ revenues are now from
foreign sources compared to 28 per cent in
2005. Our 2018 Export Ready, Export Critical
report notes that fundamental elements of
publishing success anywhere in the world
are having the right songs and the right
relationships, with each of these elements
feeding the other. The report is available on
our homepage.
CM: What are your ideal outcomes for some
of these initiatives, and how do you plan to
work towards them?
YS: The Federal Government needs to fix the
exceptions in the Copyright Act that have
created a value gap and make our private
copying regime technologically neutral. This
is further outlined in the position paper on
our website’s resources page. This year, we
will be continuing our efforts to show our
government that the changes that need to
be made would have an incredibly positive
impact on the livelihoods of music creators,
their publishers, and other companies that
invest in them.
We’re launching our first Women in the
Studio Program in March. Five producer-
writers will participate in a curated series of
technical and networking opportunities at
the JUNOs, CMW, and other events through-
out the year. Follow us on social media to
hear more about the program.
We are also looking forward to 2019 with
our Create song camps and trade missions to
Nashville, the U.K., and Calgary, as well as a
return visit to the Banff World Media Festival.
Canadian
Musical
Reproduction
Rights
Agency
Veronica
Syrtash
SVP, Business
Affairs &
Corporate
Development
CMRRA, a SoundExchange company, rep-
resents nearly all music publishers doing
business in Canada, including large multi-
national and independent music publishers
and individual self-published songwriters.
www.cmrra.ca.
CM: What are some of the key issues or
trends currently facing your members or
the Canadian music industry as a whole
that you’ll be focusing on throughout 2019?
VS: CMRRA is the most reliable resource
and steadfast advocate for music publishers
– including self-published songwriters – in
Canada. CMRRA licenses dozens of digital
services, including all major online music
retailers operating in Canada, and leads
the business of licensing, collecting, and
distributing reproduction rights royalties.
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 51