Guest Comments by Lori Lancaster

The writer represents the East Coast Music Association (www.ecma.com) which promotes regional music from the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

ATLANTIC CANADA – At the East Coast Music Association (ECMA), we denounce the federal government’s recent decision to cut the ProMart (Arts Promotion) program administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and the Trade Routes Program run by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

These programs helped to support Canadian musicians, music-export companies and organizations. The announced cuts deal a devastating blow to the ECMA and to Atlantic Canada’s music industry.

The ECMA recruits dozens of international delegates to attend our awards weekend. This is crucial to provide export chances to regional musicians, and we rely heavily on these funding programs.

“Our international efforts have done tremendous things for musicians and companies,” said Wade Pinhorn, chairman of the ECMA’s board of directors. “Their loss would damage business opportunities for our musicians and for the global music industry which already struggles.”

In 2003, the ECMA launched a strategic plan with international business and export development as priorities. Since then, we’ve worked with provincial, regional, national and government partners on trade missions to domestic and international music-trade events.

For years, the ECMA has presented high-profile, successful international programs as part of its annual awards, festival and conference. Among the attendees from around the world were talent buyers, booking agents, festival programmers, film and TV music-placement supervisors, media members, distributors and record-label people.

“A $13.7-million cut in funding to the arts and culture sector of this area is devastating and totally unacceptable,” said ECMA international program manager Shelley Nordstrom.

With these cuts, the federal government will do serious damage to a large and successful part of Atlantic Canada’s music industry. But the ECMA isn’t ready to let that happen. In reaction, we’re aligning a strategy with music-industry associations and other cultural organizations.

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