Music Matters Survey

The “Music Matters” Economic Impact Survey

(Please scroll down for March 12 press release)

MUSIC MATTERS is an economic impact survey aiming to capture data about the last ‘regular year’ of activities in Saskatchewan's music industry pre-pandemic. We're putting out the call for all Sask's music industry artists/workers, regardless of role, genre, or musical income, to participate in this survey. Please share, and help us track music's recovery through the pandemic.

SaskMusic has engaged Nordicity to develop a profile and economic impact assessment of Saskatchewan’s music industry.

With your help, we will estimate the economic impact, social benefits, and financial health of the local music scene, as well as define its contribution to Saskatchewan’s economy.

Why is the survey important? 

• You can help SaskMusic develop an accurate baseline of the size of our sector pre-COVID. Your responses will enable us to calculate the impacts of the music sector on the economy, and will be crucial to future advocacy and rebuilding efforts post-pandemic. We currently do not have any up-to-date information about how many people are employed by Sask's music industry, nor the revenue it generates each year. Our last study was done in 2008!
• Without this accurate starting point, we will have no way to measure whether music has recovered following the pandemic, and no way to advocate for specific support (if it is needed) once restrictions have been lifted. It will help us measure both financial impacts and personal impacts, such as whether the amount of people making up our industry decreases or increases.
• It is your chance to have your activities be counted in when we look at the size and scope of the Sask music industry. This data will be useful to many organizations, as well as government and policy/funding decision-makers. 
• Your input will help make this research more suitable and useful to you. The final report will provide information about your music sector that will be helpful to you, other industry members and government alike.

Why now?

• We are looking to complete this survey now, as many individuals and companies are working on their annual taxes, and are likely have figures handy for both 2019 and 2020.
• We need to capture 'last normal year' figures before we (potentially) lose workers and businesses due to the lack of revenue in 2020-2021.

Who should complete this questionnaire?

Every individual person, company and organization that is involved in Saskatchewan's music sector, including:

• Artists, musicians, songwriters, composers
• Live crew support including sound and lighting techs, rigging, and event producers
• Agents, managers and bookers
• Labels and recording studios
• Festivals and venues
• Retail stores
• Music teachers and teaching studios
• Any individuals with activities related to music
• Funding bodies or music associations

You do not need to have earned income from music to participate in this survey (although we definitely seek engagement from all music businesses and registered bands).

It's okay if you only engaged in music activities in 2019 or 2020 (but not both). And it's okay if you only had minimal activities in those years. Emerging or established, we want to hear from EVERYONE.

PLUS those who complete this survey will have the option of being entered into several prize draws:

• 1st prize: Apple iPad Air 10.9" 64GB with Wi-Fi (retail value $780)
• 2nd prize: $500 gift certificate for Clampdown vinyl record pressing
• 3rd prize: AirPods Pro (retail value $329)
• 4-7th prizes: 2 draws for $100 gift certificate to Music Books Plus and 2 draws for $100 Bandcamp gift certificate

If you run/own multiple businesses, please fill out the survey once for each business. 

Confidentiality
All responses are confidential and anonymous. You can be assured that all the information you provide in the survey will be held securely in accordance to the principles of data protection, as set out in the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). No responses will be directly attributable to you, and no third party (including SaskMusic), nor any government department, will have access to your data.

Press Release      March 12, 2021

SaskMusic Launches “Music Matters” Economic Impact Survey

Capturing a ‘normal year’ of music urgently needed

SaskMusic is today launching a new music industry economic impact survey titled Music Matters, aiming to capture data about the last ‘normal year’ of activities in the province’s music industry prior to the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shutting down a huge segment of the industry.

“The longer the shutdown of the live music and events industry continues, the more important it becomes to measure and plan for the rebuilding of our industry,” notes SaskMusic Executive Director Mike Dawson. The last intensive economic study of the Saskatchewan music industry was undertaken by SaskMusic more than a decade ago(footnote 1) – before streaming services had even taken hold in Canada. “The landscape of the music industry changes rapidly, and we’ve seen especially large technological changes this past decade,” he continues. “We urgently need to capture a snapshot of 2019 economic activity to have up-to-date figures, and to be able to monitor the status of the industry’s rebound post-COVID.”

SaskMusic notes that live performance has made up the majority of revenue for the music industry for the past number of years, as physical albums sales have declined and been replaced by streaming consumption. Without live performances being possible on any significant scale since March 2020, artists, songwriters, venues and festivals, audio and lighting technicians, tour managers, live event planners, and many other workers associated with live event production have seen their income plummet.

Before March 2020, the Canadian live music industry provided 72,000 jobs and contributed approximately $3 billion to the national GDP. Since March 2020, the industry has reported a 92% average revenue loss drop.(2)

The survey aims to collect information on the financial and general activity of everyone working in the provincial music industry. “It’s a big ask of our industry folks to participate in yet another survey, but a very, very important one. Without this key information, it will be impossible to measure where we’re at in a year’s time, or two year’s time, compared to the past. We won’t know how much we’ve lost, nor be able to effectively advocate for support of the renewed live events industry and those rebuilding efforts,” notes SaskMusic Operations Manager, Lorena Kelly.

64% of the industry is at risk of permanent closure as a result of the pandemic(3). The many highly skilled workers and artists who have made their careers in the music industry have been supplementing where they can by teaching online music lessons, adapting into other areas of music, or entering other professions entirely as they’ve seen their income disappear. “We’re at risk of losing entire sections of the music scene, with potentially devastating consequences for music lovers,” notes Kelly.

SaskMusic is putting out the call for all music industry workers, regardless of their role, genre, or musical income, to participate in the survey which is set to close April 12 (extended). The survey is being conducted for SaskMusic by leading data firm Nordicity, which has significant experience conducting creative industry studies, to ensure accuracy of data collection and the privacy of survey respondents.

“The live music industry has been dramatically impacted by the pandemic – extending to musicians, live music venues, staff, crews, music festivals, and others. Canadians believe that these sectors/professions need support from governments to help recover from the pandemic.”(4) - Live Music 2021: Where We Are and Where We’re Going

“Beyond the impact of the pandemic on the live music sector and those who depend on it for their livelihood, Canadians also believe Canadian arts and culture more generally is at risk. 84% think the pandemic will negatively impact Canadian arts and culture. Displaced musicians will need to find new ways to make a living, impacting the production of music. 65% agree that many musicians in Canada who have been unable to make a living from their music or art will have to find new ways to make a living, risking Canada’s culture, arts, and music industry long-term.”(5)

1 Economic Impact Assessment of the Saskatchewan Music Industry, https://www.saskmusic.org/about-us/association-documents

2 Source: Canadian Live Music Association, https://canadianlivemusic.ca/fortheloveoflive/

3 Source: Canadian Live Music Association press piece, https://canadianlivemusic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CLMA_press-release_EN_final.pdf

4 Coletto, D. Ross, M. (Feb. 2021). Live Music 2021: Where We Are and Where We’re Going. Abacus Data for Music Canada. https://abacusdata.ca/

5 “The Live Community is in Crisis,” Abacus Data, February 8/2021: https://abacusdata.ca/live-music-government-support-music-canada/
 

For more information, please contact:
Mike Dawson, Executive Director, SaskMusic, or
Lorena Kelly, Communications & Operations Manager, SaskMusic