Independent Montreal music venues appeal to parties for $4M funding boost

Montreal's independent music venues are escalating pressure on political parties to triple provincial funding for small venues and create a land trust to secure their future. The Scènes de musique alternatives du Québec (SMAQ) released three policy recommendations Monday that would reshape support for venues hosting emerging and developing artists across the province.

The first targets the SODEC's Programme d'aide aux lieux de diffusion, created after the pandemic to support venues with no more than 500 seats. SMAQ wants the program's annual envelope increased from 1 million to 4 million dollars and renewed for a guaranteed three-year term. Currently, roughly half of SMAQ's 50 member venues receive support — each receiving 50,000 dollars annually.

"Our preliminary calculations lead us to estimate that an increase to 4 million dollars is necessary for SODEC to support all venues that, in our view, deserve it, and at a level of aid that would allow them to take greater risks regarding emerging Quebec artists," said Jon Weisz, SMAQ's director general. The three-year renewal would also eliminate annual reapplication requirements, giving venue operators the predictability needed to book artists and plan seasons.

SMAQ's second recommendation targets real estate. The group wants 3 million dollars to launch a land trust — structured as a non-profit — that would acquire buildings housing independent venues. The trust aims to assemble a portfolio of five buildings within the coming years. Weisz said the group is seeking investment rather than a loan, enough to secure a down payment on the first property, which could close in 2027 or 2028. Without funding, the new organization "would be heavily indebted from the start," he said.

The third recommendation calls for a dialogue forum bringing together independent music diffusion actors across Quebec, though details remain to be defined and will be presented later this fall.

Venues in the program support artists at the relaunching or early-career stage, often offering performance space when the economics don't yet work for larger halls. "This programme is very important for our members, who are also grateful that this fund exists, but the reality is that the sums granted are not sufficient to stimulate greater risk-taking by these venues," Weisz said. "The money will serve to promote circulation of emerging artists on our territory."

The intervention comes as Quebec enters its electoral campaign.