CHANGES canadianmusician . com / news
MORE
Canada ’ s Arts & Entertainment Sectors Hit Hard Financially by Pandemic , But Sound Recording Industries Buck the Trend
Statistics Canada has released a new report summarizing the financial impacts of the pandemic on the culture , arts , entertainment , and recreation industries in 2020 . Unsurprisingly , the report outlines substantial declines in operating revenues and in wages , salaries , commissions , and benefit expenses across all sectors . The one outlier , though , is the sound recording industries , which actually saw a modest increase in revenue in 2020 , but that was accompanied by a slight decrease in wages and salaries .
“ The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the culture , arts , entertainment , and recreation sectors globally and in Canada . Preliminary estimates suggest that operating revenue fell in all industries in those sectors in Canada in 2020 , with the exception of the sound recording industries ,” write the report ’ s authors , Marie-Christine Bernard and Megan McMaster . “ Similarly , despite government assistance , salary , wage , commission , and benefit expenses fell in all industries . Several factors contributed to these extensive declines , including the in-person nature of the sectors ; venue closures ; the cancellation of events , festivals , and performances ; operating restrictions ; and changing consumer preferences for physically distanced , at-home , and online activities .”
The report states that digital technologies helped stem the severity of some losses for the cultural industries , thanks to the ability to create content from anywhere and for staff to work from home . The sound recording and music publishing industries were also helped by the increased sales of streaming services in the years immediately preceding the pandemic , with streamingrelated sales growing to $ 312.9 million in 2019 , up 73.4 % from 2017 .
As noted , the sound recording industries were the least affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic , and the only segment to not experience a decline . That good fortune wasn ’ t uniform across all areas , however , as recording studios were negatively impacted . While music publishers and record labels and distributors saw their revenue increase by about 2 %, Canadian recording studios experienced a sharp 16.5 % decline in revenue , accompanied by a 14.2 % decline in salaries and wages .
“ With increasing access to music on mobile platforms , revenue from streaming services accounts for a significant part of
the record production and distribution industry ’ s revenue ,” the report says . “ Overall , estimates suggest that with the exception of sound recording studios , all other segments experienced modest growth in operating revenue in 2020 , with moderate declines in salary , wage , commission , and benefit expenses .”
The full report , entitled Financial Impacts of the Pandemic on the Culture , Arts , Entertainment and Recreation Industries in 2020 , can be read on the Statistics Canada website at www . statcan . gc . ca .
14 CANADIAN MUSICIAN