Canadian musicians should partner to boost online presence, Music Canada says

Canadian musicians and music companies should better partner with technology companies to make it easier to find and buy Canadian music online, a new report by Music Canada said. In the report, titled “The Next Big Bang: A New Direction for Music in Canada,” the music industry association said players in the Canadian music industry need to do more to appeal to modern, “digitally savvy” music fans who obtain their music content online. “To sell music, concert seats or merchandise, artists and music companies must promote their music in a place where the new digitally savvy fan is looking for it,” said the report, whose contributors included the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), Nordicity Group Ltd., digital expert Darlene Tonelli and Austin-based Titan Music Group. “From there, the music industry must forge new partnerships to create a variety of legal new music retailers and distributors.” The report said the industry should aim to elevate Canadian music to the same level of exposure on digital media as the CRTC’s Canadian content requirements for traditional radio. “Opportunities for made-in-Canada innovations exist when local tech companies enter partnerships with Canadian artists and music companies to build innovative products that would be difficult or not cost-effective for either the developer or the artist/music company to build on its own,” the report said. The report said organizations that fund Canadian music, such as The Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records (FACTOR) or Ontario government agency the Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC), should apply “innovation criteria” to funding streams to track, measure and reward innovative activities by artists and music companies. The goal, the report said, would be to create breakthroughs in fan experience and new business models. Among other recommendations, the report called for the development of a national music export office to help Canadian music companies and artists develop a presence in the Los Angeles market and help them expand their export markets. A Canadian music presence in Los Angeles would stimulate exports to the U.S. and attract more recording activity to Canadian studios, it said. Regions and cities in Canada should develop “music tourism” strategies, the report said, to attract listeners to local talent. —With reporting by Danika Grenier at dgrenier@thewirereport.ca and reporting and editing by Nicholas Kyonka at nkyonka@thewirereport.ca

Canadian musicians should partner to boost online presence, Music Canada says

News | 03/22/2013 6:01 pm EDT

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