December 23rd, 2015
Earlier this month, the Toronto Music Advisory Council (TMAC), in collaboration with the City of Toronto, released a draft of a highly anticipated Toronto Music Strategy for public consultation.
The City is now seeking your input on how to grow Toronto’s music sector, and you can have your say by completing this online survey by December 31, 2015.
If you do have some extra time this holiday season, we recommend you take a look through the following reading materials before submitting your results:
4479 encourages all Toronto music supporters to complete this survey and share with their friends, coworkers and family. Happy holidays!
December 18th, 2015
Photo courtesy of City of Chicago DCASE
The City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE) has just released a new venue licensing toolkit – an online roadmap that will help music events and venues navigate the City’s licensing processes.
The toolkit centralizes information from multiple city agencies – including business affairs and consumer protection, planning and zoning, public health, fire, buildings, transportation, finance, and police – all in one place. It breaks down the application process step-by-step using flowcharts, checklists, and quick links to important documents.
This policy emerged from the City’s Chicago Cultural Plan – where a toolkit was recommended in combination with other efforts to facilitate neighbourhood level planning of cultural activity. This licensing toolkit gives entrepreneurs and community organizations the ability to do so.
If you think that a toolkit like this one is something that City of Toronto entrepreneurs, venue owners, and festival organizers could benefit from, consider suggesting in the comments of the City’s music strategy survey!
December 11th, 2015
Shad performing at Field Trip 2014 at Fort York
The Toronto Music Advisory Council (TMAC), in collaboration with the City of Toronto, has released a draft of a Toronto Music Strategy for public consultation. When complete, the strategy will help guide the growth and development of Toronto’s music sector going forward.
The Toronto Music Strategy identifies six major strategic areas for focus in Toronto. These are to:
- Support an environment friendly to music creators;
- Encourage the business of music in Toronto;
- Support music education;
- Promote Toronto’s music sector locally and internationally;
- Foster alliances with other music cities around the world; and,
- Implement a process for monitoring progress and measuring success.
The proposed strategy touches on key issues for the music community, including affordable housing and rehearsal space, by-laws and regulations, music education, music tourism, and city branding.
The Music Advisory Council and the City of Toronto have also created an online survey and are seeking input from the music sector and broader community which will help shape the final strategy. The deadline for the survey is December 31, 2015.
The full Toronto Music Strategy draft can be viewed on the City of Toronto’s website..
December 8th, 2015
Photo courtesy of Universal Music Canada
Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber played a rare and intimate acoustic concert at The Danforth Music Hall Monday night benefiting the Stratford House Of Blessing, which had hundreds of adoring fans lining up around the block hoping to get to the front of all the action.
“It’s really good to be home”, said Bieber as he took to the Danforth stage in front of 1,500 excited fans. 2015’s hottest ticket also marks a symbolic end to an unprecedented year that saw international chart-topping success for Toronto-area artists like Bieber, Drake and The Weeknd.
Billed “An Evening With Justin Bieber”, the star performed a 90 minute set, which was livestreamed around the world for fans who were not able to attend. Fans shared their experiences using the hashtag #PurposeinTO, which has generated over 1 billion impressions.
Prior to the release of his critically aclaimed 2015 album Purpose, Bieber launched a pop-up shop in Toronto, which gave fans access to new and exclusive merchandise before it was made available internationally. During his set, Bieber covered Toronto rapper Drake with a stripped down rendition of “Hotline Bling”.
https://twitter.com/MLSELive/status/674040447870849024
Justin Bieber will return to Toronto in Spring 2016 for two concerts at the Air Canada Centre May 18 & 19.
December 2nd, 2015
Next Wednesday, Mike Tanner, Music Sector Development Officer at the City of Toronto, and Duncan McKie, President of FACTOR, will deliver the opening remarks at Interact, a networking mixer for the digital economy that occurs on the second Wednesday of every month. For December’s series, the focus of the discussion will be music and interactive digital media. The event is hosted by Interactive Ontario, a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario digital content industry.
Following the opening statements, FACTOR’s Tamara Dawit will discuss the organization’s Digital Marketing program, which provides funding for innovative digital media initiatives (including apps, games and other interactive projects) related to music.
Mark McQuillan of digital design and production agency Jam3 will also participate in the discussion, providing insight into some of the company’s interactive music projects including The Music Selfie Experiment, the MTV VMAs and Bjork’s Biophilia website.
Tickets are $15 (free for Interactive Ontario members) and includes a brief presentation, drink ticket, hors d’oeuvres and networking. Details and schedule info are available below:
Interact: Music + Digital Media
December 9, 2015
6-8pm
Bar Italia – 582 College Street, Toronto
Hosted by Interactive Ontario
Presenting Partner – City of Toronto
Gold Partner – FACTOR
Schedule
6pm – Doors open & networking
6:30 – Presentations begin
7:15-8pm – Networking
