The economy in Ontario has been adversely affected by the onset of Covid-19 and the quarantine measures that have been put in place in order to stop the spread of this deadly virus. Through this outbreak, many sectors of the population have been affected, including the gigging sector and musicians.

As musician’s we are reliant on gigs for our livelihood, either on a part time or full time basis.  While the CERB has been helpful for musicians and the gigging economy, we are under the understanding that we are only entitled to 6 months of coverage. As of June 6th, the City of Toronto posted the announcement that live music was prohibited in restaurants, without any clear explanation.  We are concerned that further measures have not been considered to allow for musicians to gradually begin gigging again, once the CERB funding ends. 

We are concerned that the government hasn’t considered gradually phasing musicians back into work through possible accommodations like; 1) Limiting the number of musician’s 2) Controlling the volume through the use of decibel readers, 3) The use of plexiglass to limit the spread from singers and other musicians, 4) The use of masks while performing as well as social distancing onstage and possibly 5) The use of masks by an audience attending a larger performance.

We are asking that these accommodations and limitations be considered, to allow musicians to return to performing live in smaller clubs and restaurants and progressively return back to gigging more fully in larger venues.  Musicians bring a richness to the cities they perform in, through the great music they play and the positive energy the music brings to the patrons.  The Canadian Live Music Association, which represents concert promoters, festivals, presenters, venues, agents, ticketing companies, industry associations and suppliers, says the live music industry consists of 72,000 employees — all of them impacted by the outbreak — and contributes $3.5 billion annually to Canada’s GDP.  We believe that through a careful but calculated approach, musicians can be phased back into performing in clubs and restaurants and eventually all venues much sooner, without compromising the spread and infection rate of the Covid-19 virus.  We realize that these are extremely challenging times for all sectors of the population, but feel that music brings a positive element back into our society that is dearly needed at this time.