MONTREAL – A coalition of cultural organizations have banded together in “an urgent appeal” to press the federal government to shore up and protect Canada’s cultural and media industries in the digital era.
In a declaration entitled Continuity, Fairness, Support, the groups lay out three principles that they say should guide any new policy development, referencing Heritage Minister Joly’s pending CanCon policy review decisions as well as the Quebec government’s review of its cultural policy and digital strategy.
The emergence of Internet giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Spotify have further disrupted the culture and communications sectors that are still reeling from content digitization, the arrival of the Internet and of e-commerce, reads the declaration. In addition, Internet service providers and electronic hardware manufacturers profit from providing access to music, audiovisual productions and digital books without making any financial contributions to the creation of these products.
“The popularity of these devices and services has adversely affected the revenue share generated by Canadian cultural and information content”, the declaration continues. “Creators, producers, publishers and distributors no longer reap the majority of the return on their investments. It instead goes to new digital intermediaries that have no obligation to finance content or to distribute it. Faced with this reality, and after years government inaction, we believe the time has come to act so cultural and media enterprises can recover the stability essential to their success.”
The declaration asks that all possible solutions be considered, including “adequate funding” to ensure the industry’s the vitality and to preserve the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are created by cultural and media enterprises across the country.
