What’s Happened to Canada’s Indie Music Sector & How Can It Recover?

On this week’s show we have outgoing CIMA President Stuart Johnston joining Mike to talk about the widespread, and often uneven, impact the pandemic has had on Canada’s independent music sector. The basis of the conversation is a new report commissioned by CIMA and conducted by Nordicity that shows the Canadian music industry lost $280-million this year. Stuart explains how the indie sector, specifically, was affected, including the impact that no live music has had on indie artists and labels, which groups have been hit worst, and what it will take to recover post-pandemic. Stuart and Mike also discuss the pandemic’s impact on audience development, and the report’s finding that BIPOC artists and music entrepreneurs have not seen the same funding support as the rest of their peers. Suffice to say, this is an important conversation.