Thanks to CTV News the other night who brought attention to a recent story that I somehow missed. A new ‘tour tax’ recently brought in by the Conservative government will make it tougher for international music acts to play gigs across the boarder. And when two of my passions in life combine (Music and Politics), I just have to comment.
Now, the Harper government isn’t specifically targeting musicians but rather this an unintended side effect (a political paradox if you will) of recent changes to to the immigration act here in Canada. More specifically, the temporary foreign workers law which came into effect in August. But as I mentioned in my first post, new Government initiatives often have unintended consequences in other areas.
This new law doesn’t target the bands themselves but, rather the venues they play in. Under the new law, international acts coming into Canada are considered temporary foreign workers. Interestingly, larger international acts are exempt from this fee of $275 per band member. Why?… because big acts play larger venues who’s primary source of revenue is music. So a small bar owner who brings in a band a couple nights a week would have to pay up because music is not their main source of revenue.
Some are in favour of these changes saying that this will give Canadian bands a first crack at gigs. What these people don’t seem to understand is that Canadian acts are already getting gigs by opening for bigger international acts. In fact, this is the most common way that Canadian Indie bands gain exposure, by opening for a larger international band that people came to the bar to see. Yeah, Canadian bands may be getting a few more gigs but what good is it if no one is there to see you play?
Most of the music I listen to is on smaller labels, what passes as popular music these days baffles me. So naturally, I’m a bit upset as this. This law targets the small business owner, the small bands that are barely getting by. Yet, the big international multi-millionaire acts like Taylor Swift and One Direction get a free pass… doesn’t seem to make sense does it?