'It is hurting every musician I can think of,' says local musician union rep

There is a bit of a social phenomenon happening on social media channels with known and unknown artists alike streaming performances from their homes to audiences everywhere. These videos often create a feeling of bonding and joy that belies a far more difficult discussion around the invisible financial impact of the pandemic on artists and musicians. 

Paul Leclair, Secretary-Treasurer for Local 276 Canadian Federation of Musicians and President for the Canadian Conference of Musicians (representing all Canadian Locals) has been part of the discussions of these concerns at a national level.

“It is hurting every musician I can think of,” says Leclair.  “The Sault has a rich music scene and there are a lot of people who perform. There is no one that isn’t affected. When you look at the local scene, every bar is closed. I feel bad for people who are full-time musicians in this town ... They are going to suffer because there is no employment whatsoever.”

He notes that some of the local musicians may have part-time or full-time jobs and are just “weekend warriors,” but a part of their livelihood is gone and they are often most affected by the pandemic because they often don’t qualify for Employment Insurance unless they are filling out their income tax for their income from gigs.

“There are some who do, but this is hard to do especially if you can’t prove that you have contracts. That is one of the problems we have in this city. Getting a club owner to sign a contract [with a local act] is impossible and this is the consequence. These musicians now can’t apply for E.I.”

Even in these early weeks of the pandemic, there are community musicians who have publicly begun to express that they don’t have money for groceries and rent. This financial impact is largely ignored in mainstream media and community discussions, whereas free performances are often spotlighted.

“I don’t think people really see the impact on the artists,” says Leclair. “A lot of times, the public has misconceptions about what a musician earns and that’s unfortunate. To get E.I., they have to show they have earned so much money in the past twelve months and they often can’t.”

He says that if they did file taxes it would also serve to show that they are not making a big living at it.

“Locally, you’re lucky if you make five to six thousand dollars a year as a weekend warrior. I heard an argument from one guy at the Steel Plant saying, ‘You’re a musician. You should quit your job. You’re making at least $40,000 a year playing.’  What band did he say I was with?” laughs Leclair.

The recent Music City Sault Ste. Marie concept has highlighted the musician’s value in the community, but not the risk.

“We have so much talent in this city, but we have so few venues. Those venues that were open [pre-pandemic] would get support from patrons coming to see the band and the band gets their following. A lot of people don’t realize that impact or the value of that musician performing economically, and what music is to all of us universally. And it’s not just music that is affected, but all art, from galleries to art foundations to ballet to dance schools.”

Leclair notes that this pandemic hurts everyone.

“I feel for these small businesses. Small businesses are shut down so there’s no employment. Then who can afford to go out?”

Leclair notes that it is not just the loss from live performances, as many local musicians teach music lessons, record albums to sell, and do session recording work.

“Making money online doesn’t work very well. It is hard.”

Local recording studios have also been hit hard.

“The local recording studios get hit. How many studios are going to have people in, if any? Maybe one guy to do a track. Maybe not that. No one is really booking the studios.”

While Leclair recognizes that the artists performing on social media seem to be having fun and that it’s great to have heightened community interest in their performances, but it creates a false sense of the true impact of the situation.

“If you have the technology to be able to perform and you go online to perform, you’re really not making any money off of it,” he says. “People really aren’t aware of that. Who is getting the money? YouTube and Facebook are getting the money. It’s not the artist that has studied for years. It’s not the weekend warrior.”

Leclair talks about a performance that took place earlier that day on Facebook by Michael McDonald, a well-known solo artist, formerly of Doobie Brothers.

“He was doing a little boogie-woogie and it was great. But that’s an example of someone who can afford to do it [for free] as he has made his money in his career.”

He points out that most local artists will not have that luxury.

“Many of the performances aren't actually live [but pre-recorded]. It devalues the art because people forget about the live experience. Going to a bar or concert, or listening to chamber music or listen to it live is so much better than listening to some poorly microphoned setup, on a computer or broadcasting from your phone. It takes away the quality of the work. Not the quality of the musicianship, that’s still there, but the quality of sound and the experience is lacking.”

It also creates a sense that performances should be free. Asked if he could imagine a time where people might say, “I’m not going to a concert. I’m going to watch it online,” Leclair is hopeful that it would never come to that.

“We are looking at the possibility of no concerts at all this year. They are saying maybe winter 20/21 or spring. I can’t see big crowds being in stadiums watching a band [in the short term]. I hope to hell it doesn’t go that route where the only time someone is going to see a live band is watching on YouTube or Facebook.”

Leclair notes that the One World: Together at Home event being broadcast on April 18 is still an interesting way to showcase acts via live-streaming. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is unique in having this dramatic an impact on the arts.

“Never have we come across a situation like this, even with the Asian Flu in the late 1950s and even as far back as the Spanish Flu... history has shown that even during those times they had parades and music, but people went and next thing you know 900-1000 people are sick the next day. I don’t recall anything like this in the past.”

The Canadian musician unions are working with the Canadian government to try to get support for musicians during this trying time.

“The head office of the Canadian Federation of Musicians has been meeting with the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture and the Ministry of Labour, Training, Skills Development about revenue loss.”

The group is trying to get a commitment from the government to cover the losses. (NOTE: The government made an announcement regarding further arts funding after this interview took place, but no details have been released)

“We want some answers. Sure we got the answers for those musicians who are covered by labels, Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) and whatnot. What about the weekend warriors? There are a lot more weekend warriors than there are people under CBAs. Regardless of your status as member or non-member of the union, it is still going to be a battle to get some kind of money.”

Leclair recognizes that it is going to be a tough time for musicians.

“I feel bad for musicians in this town ... I don’t want to see them start selling their instruments to pay rent and to get food. Those instruments are their livelihood.  They should go to their Member of Parliament and say ‘Hey, this is my livelihood. What about us?’ We have to keep trying to support them. In the meantime, people have to be aware that we need to take precautions to get through this pandemic sooner rather than later.”