A2IM calls on the US to relax visa rules for Canadian acts

CMU Daily reports that American indie label trade group A2IM has used the Canadian Music Week conference in Toronto last week to call on the US to remove visa requirements for Canadian artists who wish to tour the States. The Canadian government last year axed the red tape American artists used to have to navigate to tour north of the border, and A2IM says its home country should return the favour, which seems reasonable. The trade group said on Friday: "Under current legislation, Canadian artists are only able to tour within the US after securing a P Visa, a practice that is mandated to be processed in two weeks but can often stretch to six months time. This can stall tours and result in artists, US clubs and restaurants losing revenue. Relaxing visa requirements would allow for an open exchange of ideas and cultural reciprocity between two neighbouring countries". Noting how this impacts on its members, A2IM added: "Our diverse membership nationwide with Canadian artists on their roster has been impacted by this practice and support eliminating the visa requirement".

Bands and promoters fight Canada’s Introduction Of "World’s Worst Music Law"

Canada has introduced strict new laws that have increased fees for international bands who wish to tour across the country, up to as much as $425 per band member at each venue they play, as part of legislation enforced by the Ministry of Employment, Social Development & Multiculturalism, as the Calgary Herald reports. Promoters in Canada hit out at the recent changes in the rules governing foreign workers in the country which will make it much more expensive to put non-Canadian talent on stage in small bar and coffee shop-type venues. Spencer Brown, booker at Calgary haunt The Palomino, says the changes came without warning, and are "anti arts and culture" and "anti small business".

Where previously, touring artists paid a one-off fee of $150 to enter the country to perform, the new regulations – which became effective as of Wednesday 31st July – now sees any venue whose primary income is not from music (rbars and clubs that serve alcohol who “happen” to book bands) charging a $275 application fee per band member and for their crew (eg. managers, publicists, roadies and son), and an additional $150 for a work permit for each member. Worse still these application fees are non-refundable fee, meaning another payment upon re-submission.

To illustrate the now "ridiculous" costs of touring, if one of Canada’s own musical successes – the Grammy-winning Arcade Fire – were to hypothetically tour their own country as foreigners, the eight-member strong lineup would be staring down the barrel of $3,400 per show, and that’s before even considering finances for their road crew and live team. Sydney metalcore five-piece Northlane, who toured Canada at the tail-end of 2012, and actually recorded part of their breakout sophomore album Singularity in the country while on the road, has urged their fans to fight the excessive new Canadian touring fees. The  Employment And Social Development Canada and Citizenship And Immigration Canada, state that the new laws will "ensure that owners and managers of those types of establishments look to hire Canadians first before hiring temporary foreign workers", adding that "musicians in a band performing several tour dates in Canada and musicians and buskers coming to Canada to perform in festivals" will be exempt from the additional charges, the main stipulation being they don't play in bars and restaurants.