Today is the day of the hearing regarding the cuts to the Canada Council for the Arts recording grants. Here is the letter I sent off.
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To whom it may concern,

Having been on both sides of the Canada Council recording grants as both a juror and an artist receiving the grants I am deeply disturbed by the cuts.

Being a Canadian jazz recording artist has given me the credibility to tour Nationally and Internationally, perform at festivals, teach and generally be a self-sustaining artist making a living through my own creative music.

However, if I had not received the support from the Canada Council I would not have had the opportunity to make a new recording every few years. Through that process I learn about the art of producing, recording, arranging etc. and improve upon these skills each time. Not only are these skills necessary but so are the recordings in order to continue to make a living as a musician in Canada.

Being an artist in a large country like Canada is a challenging way of life to say the least and taking away one piece of the puzzle like this is enough to slow down and perhaps even put a stop to some of our greatest artists.

Being on Canada council juries and seeing how much good music was already not getting funded was a harsh look at the reality of the arts in Canada. This cutback however to zero grants for recording is beyond harsh and should not be part of our reality.

Sincerely,






Tim Posgate
Guildwood Records
422 Shaw St.
Toronto, Ontario
M6J 2X3
416 530-0688


http://www.guildwoodrecords.com