Queen, fronted by Adam Lambert, left, performing at the Air Canada Centre on July 13. The new music development officer will help promote Toronto’s live music scene.
Queen, fronted by Adam Lambert, left, performing at the Air Canada Centre on July 13. The new music development officer will help promote Toronto’s live music scene.
The City of Toronto is searching for a dedicated music sector development officer to promote the music industry and turn up the volume of Toronto’s concert scene.
“The number one reason we’re hiring that person is to help the industry — especially the live music side of it — grow and do well in Toronto,” said Michael Williams, the general manager of Economic Development and Culture at the city.
The hiring is the latest push in the city’s campaign to strengthen Toronto’s music industry and enhance the sector’s benefits to the overall economy.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Those efforts include a “music city alliance” with Austin, Texas, and the creation of the Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council, which brings together representatives from a wide cross-section of the industry, including independent artists, record labels, and organizers of major festivals such as NXNE and Luminato.
“We can rightly claim to be a world-class music city, unlike any other in the world,” said Graham Henderson, who sits on the advisory council as the president of industry association Music Canada.
“All we want is our city government to harness the power of music to attract more immigrants, more businesses, to retain young people in our city, to make our communities more vibrant.”
The music sector development officer will work with the advisory council and report to Zaib Shaikh, who was named the city’s film commissioner and director of entertainment industries in May.
“We did this over 25 years ago to help support the film industry, and the film industry now is a huge player in our economy,” Williams said. “People in the music industry feel the same kind of upside exists in the music industry.”
The new position will add music to nine other sectors represented by city economic development officers: finance, green-tech, biotech, education, film, tourism, fashion and design, food and beverage manufacturing and production, and information, communication and technology.
In the case of the music sector development officer, the role would be the go-to person at city hall for everything happening in Toronto’s music scene.
“They’d have to be up on the industry and close to the major participants,” Williams said.
Some of the job’s other responsibilities include:
Serve as a liaison with the provincial Ontario Media Development Corporation, which promotes and funds media industries.
Keep track of global music trends, to see what other cities around the world are doing.
Work with individual companies, such as producers or venue operators, that are considering moving to Toronto and explain the benefits and opportunities in the city.
The ideal candidate will have a background in the entertainment industry, know how to network, and can navigate the complexities of city hall, Williams said.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation