My brother in law and his wife own a new age spa that offers among other things Yoga and Pilate's. It is a grand, stress free place where people walk barefoot and speak in calm hush tones. Not the sort of place for a high strung person like me.
Come to think of it, my brother in law is not the sort of lad who would latch onto Buddha. On the other hand, my sister in law grew up and lived in India for a while hence...well you know.
This is besides the point.
Recently, the spa was visited by one of SOCAN's representative. The person was snooping around asking all sorts of questions that he had no business asking. My brother in law humoured him but as the snooper pressed ahead he became irritated.
"What music service do you use? Do you realize it's illegal to play your own music in public spaces? What's the square footage of your place? Subscribe to our service; it's the law. You do want to protect Canadian music right?"
My brother in law was speechless and then asked the person to leave.
Welcome to the communist side of Canada.
What is SOCAN? The whole ethos of SOCAN and for that matter CANCON (Canadian content rules) presupposes that Canadians don't get a fair shot and need to be "protected"- but therein lies the crinkle. Why don't they get a shot? Can it be that we don't measure up? Too often I read about how great our arts are only to find they have limited appeal or acclaim abroad. Nationalists and coddling organizations may get you the exposure but they can't help you father than that.
Note: Swear words on the horizon; be forewarned. Of course, it's all bull shit. You can't fabricate and manufacture quality art. When you force the market to like something all you do is water down your product in the long run.
I support Canadians by choice; by free will. I'm not going to buy someone because CANCON tells me to. If I don't want to listen to future wannabe Avril Lavigne skanks then that's my choice as a consumer of art.
It's insane how we've bureaucratized the arts. Guess what? There's a cost to all this. Indeed, someone has to pay for all these salaries.
It's odd to walk into a record shop and always find Canadian artists priced higher than international artists. How many times have I seen local artists CD's 25% more expensive than, say, Billie Holiday? So, even if I liked the musician and wanted to buy the CD my consumer instincts tell me "too bad. Would love to buy them but I ain't going to pay it. I'll buy something with a perceived higher value."
It's the same story with the wine industry in Quebec. Local wine makers are sodomized by the government owned SAQ (liquor commission). Canadian and Quebec wines are always higher in price than international wines. Why buy an unknown wine maker from Canada for $16.95 when I can buy outstanding table wine from France or Italy for $12.95? It makes little sense.
While I'm on it, can anyone explain to me how the government permits itself to monopolize liquor? We have no choices here. Just like we have no choices when it comes to our health. Imagine how much better it would be if we were allowed to freely import wines? The variety would be wider and prices would drop.
It all comes down to one argument: government do what's right for the collective good better than the private sector. Again, let's be frank here. Cover your eyes children: bull shit.
The only ones benefiting are the people behind the racket - it's no different than the ones we see in the private sector. The only difference is that they get to hide behind the wall of "social conscious" government. Government employees are vastly over paid and it would be nice to see what the market values them at.
Why stop at music, wine and health? We have it in sports to. Very few Canadians would want to see the CFL over run by American players but that's exactly what it would be if there were no Canadian roster rules. Canadians accept lower quality as a small price to pay to have homegrown Canadians play in the league. In any event, it's not like it helps Canadians at the QB position anyway.
This is fine. But what do Canadians do? They turn around and support the NFL. I'm positive that if they had to choose they would want the CFL to merge with the NFL.
It's a vicious circle. Force Canadians onto the roster but lower the overall quality. Allow coaches to decide and see the quality increase (and possible attendance) substantially.
It's the same principle in music and what SOCAN argues. It strikes me as superficially pushing the arts to fulfill an agenda.
Who gets screwed? The artist of course. Cui bono? Do I really have to ask?
I had to respond in ind, that is, in quick succession.
ReplyDeleteAs an argument, if not for CBC and Lorne Michaels (who also is Canadian, nicht wahr?) Where would I personally be without Kids in the Hall??
Michael J Fox??
Ummm... and that pop singer.. something about denying her the cross that she bears that you gave to her?
Oh! And all those great cartoons. The Cat Came Back, the British dentist (how was that Canadian, again?), the whole wheels, blocks, thing! And most importantly the evolution of species to Spanish composers.
Welcome to A Brief View of Canada - from America.
What were we talking about again?
The KOMster is back.
ReplyDeleteUm...right.
Spanish composers?
The CBC is different from SOCAN that's for sure. No one from the CBC comes around demanding we watch their shows. The only problem with the CBC is that it's a public broadcaster in name only. They behave like a full-fledged private corporation now. They should admit this. It's not cool that they don't.
As much as I would like to see the CBC either dismantled or reinvented one thing they deserve credit for is great TV and radio programming at times.
Glad to see we're still one big blur to Americans though.
Competition is hugely beneficial to the arts, sciences, and humanities - not to mention national pride. One of the greatest changes I've seen in the EU members under 40 is pride of nation, an outgrowth from the single market system. And most, still in their teens, believe that the EU has given them back the right to be proud of being Italian, Spanish, German, and the others ... What does pride of nation do in the healthy sort of places it can go? It feeds the arts, history, and the creative soul. I learned the 'shuffle' in free British museums where an outing actually includes, 'Hey, dad, lets go to the British Museum'. A far cry from what it used to be, and perhaps a light on the horizon for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteExactly and those are great artistic cultures. Though sometimes that overlaps with nationalism which always makes me uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteBut I absolutely agree with the "Hey, dad scenario." Here in Montreal we consider ourselves artistic but the Museum is the last thing on our minds. Heck, we have no theater district to speak of. Odd considering the bragging we do.
That's because we expect the government to lead the arts.
Spain has made great strides in recent years and Britain was always a great museum culture and in the case of Italy, it never ceases to amaze me to witness and read about the function and evolution of their art which is now fused with manufacturing and industry. Think Beretta, Pininfarina, Armani to name but a precious few. They mix construction with design to near perfection. What more, the country is still led by small to medium businesses run by families along dynastic lines.
In the G7 their stock market is the smallest namely because Italians remain parochial and suspicious of giving away their businesses to the public. In their minds, you get bigger and wealthier but lose the essence of your work. The classic give and take, opportunity cost thing.
Canada - specifically Quebec with its many artisans - can learn from this.
A little pride and competition never hurt anyone.
But the question remains: do organizations like SOCAN, rules like CANCON and the CRTC promote a healthy artisitc culture or actually retard it in the long run?
"Do you realize it's illegal to play your own music in public spaces?"
ReplyDeleteWTF? Is that true? If so, where is it writ?
Did that jerk not realize that a spa (or anywhere else that incorporates a fee for access) is not a public space?
SOCAN, CANCON, CRTC: Brrrrrrrrrththththphphphp! (Listen for it and you can hear the sound of a loud, wet raspberry)
Yeah I know. It went along those lines. I asked him several times. I think I'm gonna ask again because it was so outrageous. Maybe the rep was a rookie or something and got confused. But apparently there is a law governing this. I have to look into more.
ReplyDeleteMan, are we going to be forced to eat poutine one day too?