Please note that the GMMQ offices will be closed this Friday, September 22 from 11 a.m. due to the annual employee activity. Thank you.

For several decades, the dominant model for album production has been the exclusive recording contract, also known as the album contract, record contract, exclusivity contract or phonogram production contract. Although this model has been considerably superseded by the self-production model, it is still very common and not a document to be signed lightly. Before you even enter the studio, it's vital to reach agreement with the production company* on the terms and conditions of your recording contract.

The 102^nd Convention of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada was held June 26 through June 29, 2023, at the Westgate Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme “In Unity, There Is Strength” was reflected in the various discourse among the delegates and echoed by many guest speakers.

Often overlooked, collecting societies are important organizations that anyone involved in the music business should know about. As an artist, they can be a very important source of income.

The purpose of these societies is to manage rights that would be impossible or too complicated to manage alone. For example, it would be too difficult for a copyright-holding artist to go out and get paid by every radio station that makes a copy of his or her music to play it. Not to mention the fact that there are many songs to manage, and that rights are often shared by several people on the same work, it would be easy to get lost! It's in situations like these that collecting societies are a great help, if not a necessity, since they can do all the work for you that would often be impossible individually.

We would like to pay tribute to six retiring musicians from the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Congratulations to Chantale Boivin, Sophie Dugas, Marie Doré, David Quinn, Karen Baskin and Theodore Baskin. They have enjoyed success and passion, and we wish to celebrate their professional success!

CALQ renews its contribution to the Psychosocial Support Fund.This assistance offers eligible artists and cultural workers the possibility of receiving consultations with recognized professional services through an FDA service partner, legal support or $850 to cover the fees of their own therapists. Applications can be submitted at any time.

MONTREAL, April 27, 2023 /CNW/ - This long-awaited modernization was more than necessary to protect and safeguard our culture. Bill C-11 is a major effort to modernize the Broadcasting Act. The Union des artistes (UDA), the Guilde des musiciennes et musiciens du Québec (GMMQ), the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ) and the Société des auteurs de radio, télévision et cinéma (SARTEC), quickly took a stand in favour of the process and are delighted with its adoption today. Even if this bill does not impose the same obligations on foreign platforms as on Canadian broadcasters, such a reform was important and it will be up to the CRTC to ensure that it better supports Canadian artists and their talents. [PRESS RELEASE IN FRENCH]

Montreal, April 3, 2023 – Since June 2022, $12.7 million has been awarded to 4963 artists and cultural workers through the REINFORCEMENT program created and managed by the Artists’ Foundation (AF). The AF has fulfilled its mission to support professionals in the performing arts, one of the cultural sectors most affected by the pandemic. With REINFORCEMENT, which was launched with funding from the Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund, the AF was the only organization in Quebec and one of only four in the country authorized to distribute this direct financial support. From June to March, it received no fewer than 7230 applications for this subsidy.

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We are greatly concerned with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposal to triple the fees for P (including P2’s) and O Visa applications. If implemented, this will have a devastating impact on the mobility of Canadian and International touring musicians to perform in the US. It will also disproportionately impact the cost for indie touring bands. We want to assure you that we are working with the CFM to develop an action plan to fight back and will have more to report in the weeks coming. Please note that any fee increases are likely not to come into effect until the fall of 2023. Meanwhile, the AFM is actively lobbying Homeland Security and US government.