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Help Save Canadian Music
| Message Board > Music Chitchat - Heavy > Help Save Canadian Music |
| Fred the Dragon User Info... | I'm copying and pasting this from an email I received... With the state of present consumer demand for what some consider reality conceptual television shows and world-related government agendas, reality isn't reality anymore. In the Canadian Music Industry, our reality and agenda is to be a viable force domestically and internationally and to ensure we support our artists and industry from within first and foremost, while at the same time giving the Canadian consumer what they want. On March 31st, 2005, FACTOR's contract with the Department of Canadian Heritage expires and without this program and funding being stabilized the Canadian Music Industry is in jeopardy. Without stabilization, many great albums won't be recorded; domestic and international tours will often be impossible. Canadian music won't be showcased and supported internationally to the degree it is today. And then there's the trickle down effect that includes recording studios and engineers, video producers and directors, agents and managers, independent labels, publicists and publishers, concert promoters and club venues from coast to coast, cd manufactures and distributors, live production companies and crews, vehicle rental companies, hotel and accommodation providers, equipment manufacturers and retail music stores. FACTOR is the launch pad of tomorrow's stars. It's the place where an artist can receive a solid ground starting point and where they can enhance their budgets drastically on marketing and promotion, touring, recording, press kits, small business development and the list continues. In the Canadian music scene, approx. 60% of professional artists have received funding through FACTOR at some point in their career and approx. 49% of this year's Juno Nominee list are funding recipients. As you are reading this letter, please think for one moment about the list of artists and industry that you personally know, that would never have achieved their level of recognition and success without the financial support of the FACTOR programs. And now take another moment to think about what present and future projects you are planning in which you are hoping to obtain financial assistance from FACTOR. Welcome to reality. A group of industry peers have rallied together to see what we can do about convincing the new Liberal Government to continue the funding. Not an easy task but we are committed. We are coming to you, as a representative of the Canadian music community, to help us in our endeavors. Guaranteed this is not a hot topic of conversation or debate in City Halls or on Parliament Hill at this present time. We want it to be. We are requesting that you send a letter to the local, regional and provincial MPs making them aware of our concerns, as well as passing this letter along to your contacts and peers. We will provide you with the names and contact information of the Members of Parliament for your province, as well as the basic form letter, but we'd like you to personalize it with your own FACTOR-related examples of support received and results obtained. A website http://www.savecanadianmusic.com has been designed to give you the tools to get involved. It will give you contact information for your local MP, the stats on what FACTOR gives to the industry and what the committee is committing to do. There will also be a discussion form where everyone is welcome to put his or her two cents in. Let's ensure that the Government is at least aware of this serious problem and through seeing how the community has rallied together, hopefully realize that they should stabilize the FACTOR funding programs. Please assist us and thus making reality a realization. For further information, contact: [email protected] - Mon, 7 Jun 2004 11:26am | ||
| Zippgunn User Info... | Good riddance, I say. A waste of tax dollars. - Tue, 8 Jun 2004 6:59am | ||
| HELL 'n User Info... | I agree. Good riddance. - Tue, 8 Jun 2004 8:09am | ||
| Fred the Dragon User Info... | Are you fucking joking? Factor has helped soooooo many Canadian artists... I'm shocked that musicians would feel this way. Is this a general consensus or is it just a few people? - Tue, 8 Jun 2004 11:47am | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | I think Factor is great! I hope to get a few grants from them before it's shut down by the morons who want to do away with it. How does money given to musicians to use for recording, promotion and touring relate in any way to a bad idea? It's about time musicians who pay taxes got something back for their own benefit. I have sent personalized letters to all the email addresses listed at the site. I am also curious as to why some people think it should be killed off. That outlook coming from a musician makes no sense to me. Please explain. - Tue, 8 Jun 2004 1:57pm | ||
| Shaggy User Info... | Well comedians, or any other form of self expression that people pay for to enjoy, should gain something in the form of a grant then too right? That is where most people find fault with it, since they all pay taxes as well and aren't privy to the same parity when it comes to government handouts. - Tue, 8 Jun 2004 2:05pm | ||
| Fred the Dragon User Info... | So, what you're saying is that if the government can't give grants out to everyone, then no one should have any money? Explain your logic. - Tue, 8 Jun 2004 4:06pm | ||
| Shaggy User Info... | Pretty self explanatory. What puts music above any other form of entertainment? If they want to dole out cash for 'artists' to hone their craft then there needs to be parity amongst all arts not just a select few. - Wed, 9 Jun 2004 2:42am | ||
| purtle User Info... | Although it's been nice being able to get help from our government to promote our music, our tax dollars should be spent on things that are a bit more meaningful like poverty, hunger, heathcare, etc. - Wed, 9 Jun 2004 4:28am | ||
| ML7Mike User Info... | Factor is designed for musicians. There ARE other grants available for comedians or actors etc. Bravo for instance hand out grants for directors, producers, actors and musicians. There are other Canadian grants and only some that are govt. related. Did you know the Trailer Park Boys is largely sustained by Govt money? At the end of the show it even says Created By The Canadian Govt or similar. Factor covers alot of bases,, Domestic touring, International touring, loans and grants for recording costs, cd development costs, cd reduplication costs, promotional expenses, up to 50% of video costs, the list goes on. One band I can think of who have used Factor grants to tour their way into a career are 3 Inches Of Blood. personally I think its a good thing, and the opinions that some people have as to the quality of bands that get chosen is purely subjective. Zippy for instance feels that alot of the bands chosen do not deserve it thus are a waste of his tax dollars. But a band that he thinks is worthy, I may think sucks ass, and vice versa. Anyways, Govt support of musicians loans and grants is very important, and Id like to hear some of the Factor naysayers tell me what system should replace Factor. Or if they think we should just do away with such grants/loans all together. Anyone ever wonder why so many bands come from Sweden? They have a LOT of govt. support there.. - Wed, 9 Jun 2004 5:19am | ||
| Zippgunn User Info... | Factor money is never awarded on any kind of merit system; it's all about what fixer you have hired to fill out the forms and who you know on the jury. The fixer routinely takes 10%-15% just to fill out the forms in a way that impresses the Factor jury. As a general rule of thumb, the Factor logo on the back of a CD means that it is unmitigated shit, usually a direct copy of a style or band that made it big on their own. I can think of no innovative artist that has ever gotten a Factor grant, but I can name a whole slew of 'em that were turned down. And for what reasons! Ford Pier was told that his "lyrics need work"!!!! Somehow artists like Sarah McLauglin get these grants with their lyrics; even though they are all but illiterate they are also on the charts and making big dough. Another band toured 12 countries in (pre-Euro) Europe (using 12 different currencies)and ballanced their books to $2 Cdn; they were told that their bookeeping wasn't good enough, even though at that moment a hardcore band from Van was touring Europe and didn't keep a single reciept; they made it up as they went along. Somehow they always get their grant. The European models are very different; the governments over there tend to actually nurture people who are clearly doing well by themselves but aren't making much in the way of money; the Factor crowd tends to either pick total unknowns who have connections or artists that have already broken and don't need the government funding (Sarah got a couple hundred thou to tour the UK even though she was #1 on the North American charts because she "hadn't broken" there yet). And finally it seems that bands/artists who get to regularly suck on the Factor titty turn into uniform, conventional artists who create "art" that is palatable to the government powers that be, whether it's a song cycle about Emily Carr or a suite about the beauty of the Yukon or some other Canadian feelgood kind of thing; I'm pretty sure if I did a song cycle based on Mussollini I wouldn't get any Factor money for it but if I changed the lyrics to make it about Louis Riel it would be a no-brainer for the Factor jury. This is an evil thing in art and should be rejected out of hand by any self respecting artist in ANY country. I'd rather dig ditches than live off Factor money. - Wed, 9 Jun 2004 8:13am | ||
| Shaggy User Info... | YAY! So they cover film and music at the expense of the taxpayer. You want to do music and film? Pay for it out of your own pocket for christ sakes. Can't do so? Not my problem nor any other taxpayer. Wanna tour and can't afford to? Get another job to cover the costs or find a sugar momma/daddy. Welfare for musicians and film makers is exactly what it sounds like. Sorry, but as Purtle said there's a hell of a lot better things peoples tax dollars can be spent on. - Wed, 9 Jun 2004 9:37am | ||
| Grain fed User Info... | Hmmmmm.... let me think.....well I never go to the hospital and if I do get sick I drink lots of fluids and rest so why should my tax dollars go to funding the hospitals I never use. Of course this is an extreme example as I really like the whole health care thing but giving grant's to musicians for those really expensive thing like making an album or touring doesn't seem like a bad thing. I do agree somwhat with Zipgun on the fact that Sarah Mcglauclan (sp)? could afford herself a tour of the UK so yes that's money wasted but I'm sure some viable needing bands were helped through the program. I just got back from Norway and my cousin was telling me of similar programs over there and they have them for several music and art genres. The bottom line is about cultural development which I think factor isn't doing a good enough job especially when giving money to artists who clearly don't need it. If they scrap the program I really hope they can come up with a better replacement that's aimed at the little guy. And after saying all this. WHERE THE HELL IS MY GRANT! - Wed, 9 Jun 2004 2:38pm | ||
| Fred the Dragon User Info... | I know quite a few bands who have gotten Factor grants without using this "fixer" that you speak of. And besides, if people feel that using a professional to fill out their forms is necessary and beneficial, then that's their choice. It's like coming down on people for using an accountant to fill out your taxes. The fact of the matter is that if the money wasn't being given to musicians, it would squandered away on other stupid shit. Don't kid yourself and think that's it's going to be put into health care and/or education. And the way the election is shaping up, soon-to-be new PM Stephen Harper is going to use the money to put 50 new Mounties on the street, outlaw abortion and gay marriage, and fund "peacekeeping" troops in Iraq. - Thu, 10 Jun 2004 4:54am | ||
| Lucius User Info... | "The fact of the matter is that if the money wasn't being given to musicians, it would squandered away on other stupid shit" This is the reason our tax dollars are fucked away. The silly attitude that if I can't have it no one can. I think having a job to support your music is part of the whole starving musician thing. - Thu, 10 Jun 2004 1:42pm | ||
| Fred the Dragon User Info... | I'm not saying that if I can't have it no one can. I'm saying that I'd rather have some taxpayer money going to musicians rather than for more RCMP officers on the street, for example. I wouldn't want grant money earmarked for athletics to be eliminated either. Or for theatre, visual arts, student grants, etc. But I do appreciate you calling my attitude "silly". Very considerate of you. - Thu, 10 Jun 2004 1:57pm | ||
| Lucius User Info... | I just watched Much Vote 2004 with Good Old Jack Layton from NDP saying he supports and will continue to support the Factor program. I am an NDP supporter(I should point that out). I am not totally opposed to the program, as long as bands that actually "NEED" the money get it, which is not always the case. I don't kid myself about the way Government funds are spent (I work in government) and what happens with the money if it is not spent during that fiscal year is, your budget for the next year is decreased. So there is always a big spending surge at the end of the year to get rid of surplus. So if someone was to go after any government grant then apply at the end of the fiscal year when they are throwing money away. Oh ya, no one that can have an informed opinion doesn't need to be degraded. Even if that opinion may seem silly to me! So there are no informed "STUPID" opinions. No offense meant Fred. Cheers Lucius - Fri, 11 Jun 2004 4:02am | ||
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