Music Canada Commends the Ontario Government for Extending the Ontario Music Fund

TORONTO, April 23, 2015 /CNW/ - Music Canada applauds the Ontario Government for continuing to invest in one of the province's competitive advantages, the music industry.

"The Ontario Music Fund firmly places music at the forefront of Ontario's economic development and has increased substantially the amount of high-value work being done in the Province of Ontario," says Graham Henderson.  "The OMF is a competitive advantage no other province has. Music's role as a cultural powerhouse, economic driver, job creator, investment stimulus, tourism asset, and community builder has been reaffirmed with today's OMF extension."

The Ontario Music Fund has succeeded in stimulating increased economic activity, foreign direct investment, growth of live music production and a focus on music tourism.  Over the last two years, the OMF has generated private investment dollars to match the government investment dollar to dollar.

"Our members alone have invested over $3.5 Million in recording projects over the last two years that have resulted in projects being completed in Ontario that would have been bound for other provinces or the U.S., generating significant employment and raising the profile of our talented professionals here in this province," adds Henderson.

Highlights include:

• The recording of The Tenors' latest album with 80 members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, generating additional opportunities for performance and collaboration between these music ensembles;
  
  
• A Walk Off The Earth recording that would have been done in the U.S. but instead employed two Ontario producers and generated an estimated 1700 work hours;
  
  
• The recording of Scott Helman's debut EP "Augusta" and production of supporting videos has helped to launch a career.  Since the release of "Augusta", Scott has seen a drastic increase in his following across social media platforms and has toured Ontario with Colin James, played We Day in Ottawa for 17,000 fans, signed on with The Paradigm Agency for the U.S. territory, and hired Azoff Music Management to guide his career;
  
  
• The production of numerous music videos including the Fall Out Boy video for "Centuries" that employed close to 90 music video professionals for two days and funneled production costs to the historic shooting location at Fort Henry.

Renewal of the Ontario Music Fund comes just a few weeks after Premier Wynne announced the recipients of the second round of funding at an event a Coalition Music in Toronto, saying "music moves the earth."    

Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that represents the major record companies in Canada, namely Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada.  Music Canada also works with some of the leading independent record labels and distributors, recording studios, live music venues, concert promoters, managers and artists in the promotion and development of the music cluster. 

SOURCE Music Canada

Image with caption: "Music Canada (CNW Group/Music Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150423_C8090_PHOTO_EN_14729.jpg

Quentin Burgess, Manager of Digital Media, Music Canada, [email protected], 647-981-8410