Who is it? People is meant to highlight the need to ensure that ALL people in the music industry have the opportunity to participate, including access and opportunities for equity-denied groups, as well as ensuring livability and affordability for artists and industry folks.

What it looks like according to folks we talked to…

Grants, funding, residencies awarded with equity and inclusion in mind
Festivals and music events are organized with equity and inclusion in mind (e.g., consider accessibility of venues, eligibility requirements for festival performers, etc.)
Affordable cost of living cited as a major boon in some towns and cities interviewed
Artists are present and performing on a regular basis
Diverse artists and types of music on display

Keep scrolling for ideas and examples of making music for (all!) people in your corner of Alberta.

Not sure where to start? Look for ideas with the colour associated with your role in the music industry:

Ideas

Understand why it is important to consider issues of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility when developing your music scene. See informative reports exploring various aspects of diversity in music in the next column.

Information & Examples

Resource/Info: Breaking Down Racial Barriers: Anti-Black Racism in the Canadian Music Industry (Volume 1)
Resource/Info: Closing the Gap: Impact and Representation of Indigenous, Black and People of Colour Live Music Workers in Canada
Resource/Info: Empowering Diversity: A Study Connecting Women in Leadership to Company Performance in the Canadian Music Industry
Resource/Info: Enablers and Barriers to Success in Canada’s Music Industry: A Diversity Research Report

Ensure that granting or funding application processes provide equitable opportunities. Recommendations from various reports are highlighted in the column to the right.

Resource/Info: See “Core Theme 5: Finances and Funding” (pages 25-26) in Action Plan & Framework

Resource/Info: See “Grant Funding” (page 13) in Breaking Down Racial Barriers

Resource/Info: See “Funders and Granting Bodies” (pages 45-49) in Closing the Gap

Capitalize on the advantages of music in small towns (e.g., less competition, unique character or edge to music, and the affordable cost of living)

Info: 5 Awesome Things About Being a Musician in a Small Town (discusses the advantages of being a band in a small town)

Info: Can Music Career Success Happen in a Rural Town (example of a band benefitting from moving from Austin TX, to a smaller town)

Increase local knowledge of resources so artists and music businesses find the support they need in a timely manner!

Resource/Info: ADVANCE (Canada’s Black Music Business Collective for professionals across all areas of the music industry)

Resource/Info: Alberta Foundation for the Arts (Provincial funding body with a mandate to support and contribute to the development of the Arts in Alberta)

Resource/Info: Alberta Grants Calender (not currently searchable by artistic stream, but includes many funders currently available to Albertan musical artists, updated by Rozsa Foundation)

Resource/Info: Alberta Music (provincial music association providing career counseling, programs, grants and list of grants & opportunities for Indigenous artists)

Resource/Info: Alberta Music Conference (Alberta’s premier professional development opportunity for music teachers, choral conductors, band directors, and studio instructors)

Resource/Info: Country Music Alberta (mission to educate, support, promote, and celebrate all levels of Alberta country music talent and industry)

Resource/Info: Calgary Musicians Association (provides resources and information, including access to the Musicians Pension Fund of Canada—members can be from anywhere south of Red Deer)

Resource/Info: Canada Council for the Arts (national funding body that supports the arts through grants, services, prizes and payments)

Resource/Info: Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (not for profit created to enhance and preserve the Canadian music industry, oversee the annual JUNO Awards)

Resource/Info: Canadian Federation of Musicians (negotiates fair agreements for Canadian members, works to protect ownership of recorded music, secures benefits such as health care and pension, and actively lobbies legislators on on matters of interest to professional musicians living and working in Canada)

Resource/Info: Canadian Live Music Association (advocacy, resources, programs and job board for live music industry members)

Resource/Info: Edmonton Musicians Association (provides resources and information, including access to the Musicians Pension Fund of Canada—members can be from anywhere north or Red Deer)

Resource/Info: FACTOR (private non-profit organization dedicated to providing assistance toward the growth and development of the Canadian music industry)

Resource/Info: Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (while mostly focused in Calgary and Edmonton, they do provide a mentorship program that immigrant and newcomer artists and arts & culture workers from outside the cities can access for professional advice)

Resource/Info: Music Canada (organization that supporters Canada’s major record labels, good resource for news and research)

Resource/Info: Music Publishers Canada (mission to create business opportunities for music publishers in Canada and to promote their interests)

Resource/Info: SOCAN (Canada’s largest music rights management organization)

Resource/Info: SOCAN Foundation (branch of SOCAN that offers grants and assistance to members)

Resource/Info: Unison Fund (provides emergency financial services and professional counselling to the Canadian music community)

Resource/Info: We Are Moving the Needle (non-profit supporting women recording industry professionals, audio engineers and producers)

Contact

Email: info@westanthem.com

Alberta spans five treaty territories and eight Métis settlements. Like their ancestors, many Indigenous individuals and families make their homes across the prairies, including the Blackfoot Confederacy – Kainai, Piikani, and Siksika – the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Stoney Nakoda, and the Tsuu T’ina Nation. The Métis People of Alberta include the Six Regions of the Métis Nation of Alberta. Many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, both from here and as visitors from elsewhere, have helped care for these lands for generations. We recognize they have traditions and relationships to the land far outstretching the arrival of settlers.

We are extremely grateful for these lands on which we reside, work, and play. We make this acknowledgement as an act of gratitude and reconciliation. While championing the arts in Calgary and across Alberta, we intend for our work to contribute to the valuing of traditional art forms and result in greater opportunity for the creative Indigenous talent who walk these lands today.