Indie music venues at risk of closing without government help, industry group says

Independent live music venues across Canada say they need significant financial help from the federal government to avoid shutting down – a situation that venue owners say would cause a lasting hit to the country's music industry.

At Maxwell's Concerts and Events in Waterloo, the lights have been off since the pandemic hit in mid-March.

Since then, the venue's president Paul Maxwell said staff has been doing everything they can to make ends meet. They've sold memorabilia, set the venue up as a social-distanced rehearsal space, and taken advantage of a federal loan and rent assistance.

Still, he said, it's unclear how long they can keep it up. 

"There's so much uncertainty right now, we're just taking it day by day," said Maxwell.

Why become a musician, with nowhere to perform?

According to the Canadian Independent Venue Coalition, the bulk of independent venues across country could disappear in a matter of months without a significant government aid package.

Independent, for-profit music venues don't typically receive the kind of government funding that helps keep museums and art galleries afloat, said coalition spokesperson Brodie Schwendiman, who owns The Casbah in Hamilton, Ont.

But Schwendiman said these venues are crucial to giving emerging artists a chance to refine their craft and to practice performing in front of an audience. Without those opportunities, he said, the music industry as a whole will suffer.  

"Where would the motivation for someone to become an artist, if there's nowhere to perform the music you're writing?" said Schwendiman.

Tammy Lawrence, owner of Kitchener's Rhapsody Barrel Bar, said she thinks further help from the government is the only way many venues will survive.

Once venues are allowed to reopen, Lawrence expects it will likely only be at a fraction of their current capacity. For many venues, she said it won't be worth it to open at all in that situation.  

 "We don't set up businesses to run at one-third capacity," she said. "I think there's going to be a huge loss in many communities."

Money coming, government says

In a statement, a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage said the government has set aside up to $20 million to assist companies and organizations in the live music industry, including those that don't currently receive funding from Canadian Heritage or the Canada Council for the Arts.  

Further details about that funding package will come in the coming weeks, the spokesperson said.

Maxwell said $20 million, divided among hundreds of venues across Canada, will likely be "a drop in the bucket."

Still, he has mixed feelings about asking for more. On the one hand, there are many people in need of help right now.

"Who are we to say we need it more than than than other programs? said Maxwell. 

But without some kind of further support, Maxwell said he thinks there will likely be even more people out of work in the months to come – from musicians and club operators to managers and technicians.

"There's many more people than are on the surface, that are going to be affected by this," he said.

He added that municipal governments could also consider making landlords exempt from paying property taxes if they are renting to artistic venues. Doing so would remove at least one fixed cost that landlords could pass on to tenants, he said. 

Although Maxwell said there is no single quick fix, he hopes anyone who enjoys concerts — and who hopes to attend another in the future — will let elected officials know that concert venues shouldn't be forgotten in future conversations about funding and economy recovery.

"With more collective voices, I think that we're going to have more attention," he said.