Officer Columns, Vice President from Canada

Canadian Government to Provide a Resilience Fund

March 1, 2022

On February 1, 2022, the Government of Canada made a commitment to supporting the recovery of the arts and culture sector, which has been among the hardest hit throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of renewed shutdowns and public health restrictions due to the emergence of the omicron variant have been particularly severe for the […]

Here We Go Again …

February 1, 2022

As the omicron variant pushes daily infections to the tens of thousands (in Ontario and Quebec), the provincial governments’ response has been to return to a modified Stage 2, once again precipitating capacity limits, along with complete shutdowns. This new wave of closures is particularly difficult because live performance workers were just beginning to get […]

Building Upon Youth

January 1, 2022

A recent three-day web meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) was especially interesting. It not only confirmed many of the assumptions we had about the impact of COVID internationally, but it revealed alarming similarities between countries that could not be more different socially or economically. Further, there was affirmation of the necessity for change […]

The Social Safety Net (and Other Political Foolery)

December 1, 2021

The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) ended October 23, 2021. CRB was a continuation of the Canada Emergency Recovery Benefit (CERB), first implemented April 2020, only weeks after the COVID-19 Pandemic was declared. A lifesaver for millions, the benefit saw an estimated 8.5 million Canadians accessing the $2000 per month within the first four months. Between September 2020 […]

Look Out, Spotify, the Clock’s Ticking

November 1, 2021

It’s not a secret that streaming companies and record labels profit colossally, some would say blasphemously, from the consumption of music, while artists are left savouring mere pennies. It follows as no surprise that the aforementioned entities are loathe to divulge information on how the artists’ share is calculated. In the United Kingdom, an influential […]

Border Crossing in the COVID Era

November 1, 2021

Finally, as of November 8, the US-Canada land borders are officially reopened for all types of travelers. The US border (by air, land, and sea) was open throughout COVID for essential workers (US visa holders). The issue for visa holders wasn’t so much getting across the border, but it was closed venues, no one engaging […]

Big Tech’s Big Fight

October 1, 2021

More and more, artists are tiring of the notion that platforms such as Spotify pay a ridiculous 3/100 of a cent per stream. And, because of the way payout is weighted, the majority of the money goes to only the most heavily streamed artists. This is part of the “value gap.” Online content sharing platforms […]

The Bad, the Good, and an Election

September 1, 2021

by Alan Willaert, AFM Vice President from Canada The Bad Despite the fact that we are all completely fed up with the pandemic, we continue to be hampered by the new realities COVID has served up. Venues are still limited, in terms of occupancy, and now access is often restricted to those who have received […]

Unions – Not a Spectator Sport

August 1, 2021

The AFM in Canada has members from many different backgrounds, resulting in similar diversity in their politics. The polarization of right and left in the United States over the past few years has influenced Canada, both in how politicians present their platforms and in the manner in which information is filtered prior to public ingestion. […]

Cutting Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face

July 1, 2021

As an author or songwriter, one has to love the concept of copyright. After centuries of debate, most effectively through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), there are now both domestic laws and international treaties that protect your rights as a creator (with variances called National Treatment from country to country). As the creator and […]