Toronto City Council approves establishment of new Toronto Industry Advisory Council
December 19th, 2013
Toronto City Council has unanimously approved the establishment of the new Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council, marking a significant success for the music community.
According to the staff report, the “Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council will provide a forum for the discussion of opportunities and challenges, exchange of ideas, input and advice, and collaborative development of recommendations and a unifying voice to advance the music sector in Toronto.”
Key among the council’s tasks will be to move forward with the Austin-Toronto alliance, the terms of reference of which were approved at the last Economic Development Committee meeting and endorsed today by City Council. The council will also be asked to “develop a strategic action plan that maximizes the impact of City support for the Toronto Music Industry.”
Members of the new council were chosen after a selection process that saw over 100 applications and dozens of interviews. The resulting list of 34 individuals includes artists and musicians, representatives of events and venues, promoters, management firms, agencies, recording studios, associations and music awards and distributors. The members have been appointed for a term that ends when the current term of City Council ends.
A music advisory board has been a key recommendation of Music Canada and 4479 and was borne out of research comparing Toronto to Austin. Generally speaking, the report pointed out that there was no dialogue between the music community and City Hall and that an advisory board would bring about a more collaborative approach to growing the music industry in Toronto.
