Music {industry} leaders in Ottawa optimistic about 2024

Article content material

When the Metropolis of Ottawa hires a nightlife commissioner, a transfer that’s anticipated this 12 months, that particular person could be good to spend extra time with the self-described “weirdos” of the Ottawa Music Trade Coalition than the bureaucrats within the mayor’s workplace.

Town’s purpose is to help exercise on the native scene in a means that may increase financial impression, and OMIC, a non-profit {industry} group with lots of of members, has been within the trenches of that exercise for nearly a decade.

Article content material

Article content material

In an interview with Ottawa Music Trade Coalition (OMIC) govt director Melanie Brulée and Susan Odle, the brand new chair of the coalition’s board of administrators, the 2 ladies, who’re additionally singer-songwriters, shared their views on the state of the Ottawa music {industry}, the challenges of the continuing post-pandemic restoration and a forecast for the long run — together with the ways in which a nightlife commissioner can assist.

Launched in 2015, OMIC was created after Megaphono, the Ottawa music convention now on indefinite hiatus, launched a report on the native {industry}, recommending the formation of an “industry-led” physique.

The report additionally instructed the creation of a municipal music technique, which got here alongside in 2018, and the appointment of a “devoted level particular person” within the municipal authorities, which is the anticipated nightlife-commissioner place.

Different cities have related positions inside their municipal governments, Brulée famous, however the distinction in Ottawa is that OMIC was established earlier than the nightlife commissioner function, and, as a result of it’s membership-driven, it displays the wants of the neighborhood.

Article content material

“In Ottawa, it’s much less top-down and extra bottom-up in bringing the neighborhood collectively,” Brulée mentioned. “We’re not going to create a scene, we simply must see it and help it and put vitality into the place it’s going.”

YEAR OF GROWTH

Regardless of the challenges of the pandemic-rattled music {industry}, OMIC noticed a 12 months of development in 2023. Membership spiked to greater than 400, representing artists, venue house owners, promoters, technicians, pageant operators and extra, whereas an increase in enterprise sponsorship supported initiatives such because the Metropolis Sounds summer time sequence, which booked native artists to offer free out of doors live shows throughout the town, and Songs from the Shed, a twice-weekly daytime live performance sequence on Sparks Avenue.

In all, OMIC paid out an unprecedented $125,000 in artists’ charges, Brulée famous, plus one other $70,000 to event-related service suppliers akin to photographers, sound engineers and graphic designers. There have been networking occasions, city halls, mentorship alternatives {and professional} growth workshops.

“The ripple impact is actual,” mentioned Brulée. “We’ve been capable of pay individuals pretty for the packages we run, which is absolutely vital as a result of there are such a lot of alternatives within the music {industry} that don’t pay nicely — and we don’t need to squash that. There nonetheless must be grassroots stuff occurring.

Article content material

“But when we are able to have well-paid exhibits, then artists are extra probably to have the ability to play different issues. All of the exercise issues.”

One splashy spotlight of 2023 was the fourth annual Capital Music Awards, the place the Angelique Francis Band was declared Ottawa’s group of the 12 months throughout a sold-out occasion at Bronson Centre Music Theatre. Extra individuals confirmed up, together with the mayor, extra awards got out, extra artists carried out and the entire thing was taped for broadcast on RogersTV.

“That was an exquisite factor that introduced a number of communities of gorgeous weirdos collectively that wouldn’t essentially know tips on how to entry one another if it wasn’t for networking occasions like that,” Brulée mentioned. “That’s the way you get the actual, artistic concepts.”

THE CHALLENGES

Submit-pandemic challenges are related throughout the live-music sector: Attendance at exhibits is difficult to foretell, particularly when new COVID variants emerge. The prices of touring and selling proceed to rise. Many expert techs acquired 9-5 jobs throughout the pandemic and by no means got here again to the gig financial system, leading to a backstage labour scarcity.

Article content material

The Ottawa scene is grappling with all of these elements, plus the fact that almost all live-music exercise is centred within the downtown core, however with the inhabitants unfold out throughout a large geographic area, dependable transit is important.

Private security is one other concern that may forestall somebody from going out to see a present, notably in the event that they’re headed to the ByWard Market space, the place some enterprise house owners have seen a rise in crime.

For artists, there’s additionally a ceiling to their growth in Ottawa, Odle observes. “We’re seen as a farm metropolis for the artistic arts,” she mentioned. “We develop a whole lot of expertise and watch it depart.”

One resolution to that dilemma is to broaden the infrastructure round dwell music by encouraging managers, brokers, publicists and different show-biz professionals to arrange store within the nation’s capital.

“We need to construct in a means that’s sustainable to maintain individuals from leaving, to begin with, after which hopefully attracting expertise and making a buzz,” Brulée added.

THE FUTURE 

Wanting forward, Odle and Brulée are optimistic. For starters, OMIC’s funding from the town was not solely renewed with out an enormous quantity of stress, but additionally bumped as much as $200,000 per 12 months over a time period that was prolonged to 2026.

Article content material

On the similar time, the board of administrators has some well-connected new faces representing a variety of industries, from Calian Group CEO Kevin Ford to lawyer/jazz crooner Antoine L. Collins. Odle has no scarcity of enterprise smarts, both. As a tech entrepreneur and writer, she believes the enterprise neighborhood could make a huge impact in nurturing the music {industry}.

“One of many concepts we discuss quite a bit is that idea of embedding music within the cloth of the town,” Odle mentioned. “It helps us take into consideration each step we take and foster the fitting connections within the native enterprise neighborhood, and totally different arts communities.”

OMIC plans to proceed in search of suggestions from members, organizing occasions to convey them collectively and gathering information to measure the financial impression of dwell music. Additionally within the works is a membership possibility for followers that might assist develop audiences.

What’s extra, they’re wanting ahead to establishing a reference to somebody at metropolis corridor who doesn’t have their fingers full with one thing else.

“It’s not going to be a simple repair, however it’s good that there’s going to be a human being pushing and doing consultations with the neighborhood,” Brulée mentioned. “If we need to have a thriving nightlife financial system, I believe that particular person could have quite a bit to do with transit, and I see them security in communities.”

Article content material

Provides Odle: “I actually do consider that what’s thrilling in regards to the highway forward is the lid is off. It’s about transparency. We’re on the floor flooring and it’s solely going to get higher. We must always all be optimistic about the way forward for music in 2024 for the town of Ottawa.”

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

Need to keep within the learn about what’s occurring in Ottawa? Join the Ottawa Citizen’s arts and life publication — Ottawa, Out of Workplace — our weekly information to consuming, listening, studying, watching, enjoying, hanging, studying and residing nicely within the capital.

Article content material