Music industry leaders in Ottawa optimistic about 2024

Article content

When the City of Ottawa hires a nightlife commissioner, a move that’s expected this year, that person would be smart to spend more time with the self-described “weirdos” of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition than the bureaucrats in the mayor’s office.

The city’s goal is to support activity on the local scene in a way that will boost economic impact, and OMIC, a non-profit industry organization with hundreds of members, has been in the trenches of that activity for almost a decade.

Article content

Article content

In an interview with Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC) executive director Melanie Brulée and Susan Odle, the new chair of the coalition’s board of directors, the two women, who are also singer-songwriters, shared their views on the state of the Ottawa music industry, the challenges of the ongoing post-pandemic recovery and a forecast for the future — including the ways that a nightlife commissioner can help.

Launched in 2015, OMIC was created after Megaphono, the Ottawa music conference now on indefinite hiatus, released a report on the local industry, recommending the formation of an “industry-led” body.

The report also suggested the creation of a municipal music strategy, which came along in 2018, and the appointment of a “dedicated point person” in the municipal government, which is the anticipated nightlife-commissioner position.

Other cities have similar positions within their municipal governments, Brulée noted, but the difference in Ottawa is that OMIC was established before the nightlife commissioner role, and, because it’s membership-driven, it reflects the needs of the community.

Article content

“In Ottawa, it’s less top-down and more bottom-up in bringing the community together,” Brulée said. “We are not going to create a scene, we just need to see it and support it and put energy into where it’s going.”

YEAR OF GROWTH

Despite the challenges of the pandemic-rattled music industry, OMIC saw a year of growth in 2023. Membership spiked to more than 400, representing artists, venue owners, promoters, technicians, festival operators and more, while a rise in business sponsorship supported initiatives such as the City Sounds summer series, which booked local artists to give free outdoor concerts across the city, and Songs from the Shed, a twice-weekly daytime concert series on Sparks Street.

In all, OMIC paid out an unprecedented $125,000 in artists’ fees, Brulée noted, plus another $70,000 to event-related service suppliers such as photographers, sound engineers and graphic designers. There were networking events, town halls, mentorship opportunities and professional development workshops.

“The ripple effect is real,” said Brulée. “We’ve been able to pay people fairly for the programs we run, which is really important because there are so many opportunities in the music industry that don’t pay well — and we don’t want to squash that. There still needs to be grassroots stuff happening.

Article content

“But if we can have well-paid shows, then artists are more likely to be able to play other things. All the activity matters.”

One splashy highlight of 2023 was the fourth annual Capital Music Awards, where the Angelique Francis Band was declared Ottawa’s group of the year during a sold-out event at Bronson Centre Music Theatre. More people showed up, including the mayor, more awards were given out, more artists performed and the whole thing was taped for broadcast on RogersTV.

“That was a beautiful thing that brought multiple communities of beautiful weirdos together that wouldn’t necessarily know how to access each other if it wasn’t for networking events like that,” Brulée said. “That’s how you get the real, creative ideas.”

THE CHALLENGES

Post-pandemic challenges are similar across the live-music sector: Attendance at shows is hard to predict, especially when new COVID variants emerge. The costs of touring and promoting continue to rise. Many skilled techs got 9-5 jobs during the pandemic and never came back to the gig economy, resulting in a backstage labour shortage.

Article content

The Ottawa scene is grappling with all of those factors, plus the reality that most live-music activity is centred in the downtown core, but with the population spread out across a wide geographic region, reliable transit is essential.

Personal safety is another concern that might prevent someone from going out to see a show, particularly if they’re headed to the ByWard Market area, where some business owners have seen an increase in crime.

For artists, there’s also a ceiling to their development in Ottawa, Odle observes. “We’re seen as a farm city for the creative arts,” she said. “We develop a lot of talent and watch it leave.”

One solution to that dilemma is to expand the infrastructure around live music by encouraging managers, agents, publicists and other show-biz professionals to set up shop in the nation’s capital.

“We want to build in a way that is sustainable to keep people from leaving, first of all, and then hopefully attracting talent and creating a buzz,” Brulée added.

THE FUTURE 

Looking ahead, Odle and Brulée are optimistic. For starters, OMIC’s funding from the city was not only renewed without a huge amount of pressure, but also bumped up to $200,000 per year over a term that was extended to 2026.

Article content

At the same time, the board of directors has some well-connected new faces representing a wide range of industries, from Calian Group CEO Kevin Ford to lawyer/jazz crooner Antoine L. Collins. Odle has no shortage of business smarts, either. As a tech entrepreneur and author, she believes the business community can make a big impact in nurturing the music industry.

“One of the ideas we talk about a lot is that concept of embedding music in the fabric of the city,” Odle said. “It helps us think about every step we take and foster the right connections in the local business community, and different arts communities.”

OMIC plans to continue seeking feedback from members, organizing events to bring them together and gathering data to measure the economic impact of live music. Also in the works is a membership option for fans that could help develop audiences.

What’s more, they’re looking forward to establishing a connection with someone at city hall who doesn’t have their hands full with something else.

“It’s not going to be an easy fix, but it’s good that there’s going to be a human being pushing and doing consultations with the community,” Brulée said. “If we want to have a thriving nightlife economy, I think that person will have a lot to do with transit, and I see them looking at safety in communities.”

Article content

Adds Odle: “I really do believe that what’s exciting about the road ahead is the lid is off. It’s about transparency. We’re at the ground floor and it’s only going to get better. We should all be optimistic about the future of music in 2024 for the city of Ottawa.”

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

Want to stay in the know about what’s happening in Ottawa? Sign up for the Ottawa Citizen’s arts and life newsletter — Ottawa, Out of Office — our weekly guide to eating, listening, reading, watching, playing, hanging, learning and living well in the capital.

Article content