Kyle Gann spoke briefly on what Canadian new music looks like to an outsider. Things are
good in Canada. Benefits to composers are more evenly distributed than they are in the
United States. In the USA a small group gets much support, and a very large group of
composers have no institutional support whatsoever (not a positive model.) USA envies the
Canadian scene.
Following this was a group effort at setting priorities for the next two years. Topics
included:
- 6-12 months of monitoring CBC's new programming
- examine the CNMN website to improve how it is working and how it can best function as
a portal
- effort to get more members, to build ourselves as a market / industry
- find radical different ways of mediatizing new music
- find new ways to market to and spark curiosity among young people
- education, and encouraging youth to play musical instruments
- remember that even in a digital age, not all music is digital
- encourage all forms of new music (for example, new jazz)
- examine the economics of what we do, and coming up with new models
- capitalize on the non-referential / non-narrative nature of music (its essence)
- use a non-defensive approach to promote new music
- find new models for funding recordings
- how to use media like Myspace.com, but retain independence from corporation (in this
case, Newscorp)
- put together a CNMN human resources and skill inventory
- strengthen CNMN by linking with non-new music groups that play old and new music
Three priorities, each with three volunteers:
- Marketing — Stephen Foster, Richard Simas and Sarah Watling
- Recording — Lawrence Cherney, Pierrette Gingras and Karen Sunabacka
- Education — Michel Frigon, Andrew Miller and ?????
- CNMN is legally an advocacy group that supports all new musicactivities in
Canada.
- next Forum will be in Toronto in 2009.
- should be regional (East, Quebec, Ontario, Prairie, Alberta, British Columbia)
- groups meeting regularly to uplink information the larger committee
- should be a free membership category
