Resources
EvMC is built on principles of cooperation and support.
Build yourself.
Build your future.
Build community.
Build a better music industry.
These resources can help musicians and professionals alike. As a member at EvMC you'll have access to our timebank, where you can receive support navigating these resources, such as website building, music rights, tours, grants and more.
Build yourself
Get involved in EvMC projects! If you have any skills that you can offer weather in a creative field or otherwise and are passionate about Toronto's vibrant arts and culture consider joining our team and contributing towards a new paradigm of conscious music. Our projects span all manner of arts and give rewarding experiences to those who participate in our ventures. Your efforts will be equitably rewarded. If you think you can help make a difference get in touch with us!
Build your Future
BUILD A BETTER MUSIC INDUSTRY
ARTISTS
NEED
A
BASIC
INCOME
Guaranteed.
According to Human Rights Law- it is every persons’ right to participate in and benefit from the creation of culture…. Article 15 of the covenant ESCR.
It is also every person’s right to choose a livelihood, but the current economic system and its’ real-world effects, making a living from the arts is extremely challenging. The public is in debt and most people can ill afford to pay fair compensation for the enjoyment of the arts. The costs of maintaining venues, studios, rehearsal spaces, travel expenses etc, contribute to the phenomenon of falling incomes for artists and performers. The ease of free access to digital media copies of artistic productions and stagnant and falling incomes make it very challenging to benefit from sales of music and videos etc. Both the artists and their audiences on the local level lack the money and resources required to create and enjoy artistic works. In addition, the time stress and chaos of a precarious labour market hinders the time people can afford to collectively create or enjoy culture.
Meanwhile good jobs are becoming a rarity and more and more people are competing for the kinds of work that have (barely) supported artists in the past. The rise of automation is a reality facing the labour market that will make some form of basic income inevitable, because without money to spend, the economy falls apart.
Artists, of all cultures and heritage are struggling to survive, yet culture is what makes any society worthwhile to live in. The few monoliths of media that buy the rights of and impose control over select artists in exchange for short-term high rewards, benefit very few. The economy of the arts is chaotic, insecure and vastly unequal. The recent Arts Stats 2019 report clearly shows the extent of this reality in Toronto. The fear despair, stress and chronic insecurity plaguing the health of our society is deeply felt in the arts community as well, there are very few supports for artists in crisis, the security of a basic income would allow the arts to flourish.
Artistic and creative labour and many of the skills, abilities and resources required prepare and present the arts to the public cannot be automated. The arts will be one of few remaining, worthwhile forms of human labour over the next few decades, so it is imperative that cultural production is able to provide meaningful and secure livelihoods. To transform the economy and society so that communities can become more resilient and adaptive to the shifting uncertainties of climate change, pollution inequality and other 21st century challenges, will require creativity and innovation on a scale never seen before. We will need the arts to help drive the hope and energy required to recreate our economy for sustainability. A basic income for artists and all people in need of the time and money to be able to benefit from the arts, and achieve their full potential, is a keystone of the foundation of a sustainable future.
Arts Stats 2019
Commissioned by Toronto Arts Foundation
KEY FINDINGS:
89% of Torontonians believe that the arts make Toronto a better place to live.
And yet...
-
80% of Toronto’s artists and arts workers believe they cannot make a living wage;
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Half of our artists make under $30K per year;
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Nearly 1 in 5 artists have been renovicted;
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73% of artists and arts workers have thought about leaving Toronto.
Toronto’s artists and arts workers create a dynamic sector that is reflective of our city’s multicultural character. Collectively, they are a highly trained and experienced work force that are integral to creating a city that is welcoming to visitors, a hub for business and a vibrant place to live and work. These are important characteristics of Toronto’s artists and arts workers that every Torontonian should know. Despite the immense value artists and arts workers give to the city and all our lives, most do not make a living wage and face extremely high costs of living and working in Toronto.
The stats reveal what we know, artists and arts workers are struggling in Toronto. EvMC has been established to help change this, especially for the music community, as best we can-collectively.