Pollstar (01/10/25) Bliss, Karen

The Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) will soon release the findings of Canada’s first-ever Economic Impact Assessment. In an in-depth interview with Pollstar, CLMA President and CEO Erin Benjamin previews some of the key findings. Benjamin notes, "The total impact of live music which would include the tourism piece is contributing over C$10 billion to Canada’s GDP [in 2023 alone] and creating over 100,000 jobs, and we are 10% of tourism activity in this country." She notes that the report is the first ever economic impact study of live music in Canada that she's aware of. There have been regional ones, but never a national study. To this end, Benjamin is especially pleased that there's now a benchmark. A decade ago, she concludes, "we needed to quantify our ability to impact all the things economically, socially and culturally so that we can say, 'What does growth look like?' And not just growth for growth’s sake, but for artists and for fans and for communities. So, we have these numbers that will open doors because every great industry has great economic stats, and now we do."

Read the full story from Pollstar.