Case Study

Live music industry in Canada found to contribute C$10bn

The live music industry in Canada provides a C$10.92bn (£6bn/$7.4bn/€7.25bn) annual contribution to the country’s GDP and has created more than 100,000 jobs, according to a new study from the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA).

The report is titled “Here and Now: understanding the economic power and potential of Canada’s live music industry” and was commissioned by the CLMA, but led by economic analysis firm Nordicity.

“This study is a benchmark, the numbers in it have been achieved largely in the absence of any dedicated fiscal policy frameworks aimed at incentivising growth,” said CLMA president and chief executive Erin Benjamin.

“C$10.92B in combined impact from live music and tourism spending…  without trying.”

The study found that, in addition to the financial and employment value that the industry has in Canada, it also attracts millions of tourists.

In 2023 alone, live music events in Canada brought in a total of 16.69 million visitors which led to C$9.9bn in visitor spending.

A total of C$3.73bn in taxes and $5.84bn in labour income also resulted from the combined impacts of live music company operations and tourism spending.

“The findings in Here and Now make it clear that protecting and growing Canada’s live music infrastructure directly results in more jobs, major economic impact for cities and towns, and more performance opportunities for Canadian artists,” said CLMA board chair Tarun Nayar.

“It means more fans choosing Canada when deciding where to spend their (billions of, as it turns out) music tourism dollars.

“It means sold out hotels, fully booked flights, bustling shops, and restaurants.

“It means togetherness and social cohesion. It means better mental health. It means thriving downtowns. It means attracting and retaining other industries and talent to our cities. It means more revenue for artists and musicians. It means more music and memories with family and friends that change our lives.”