FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Canadian Independent Music Association Responds to Federal Budget 2025 Canada Music Fund top-up first step in stability for the music industry

[Toronto, ON -  November 5, 2025] — The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) welcomes the federal government’s recognition of the vital role that Canadian artists and music entrepreneurs play in the national economy through its renewed investment in the Canada Music Fund (CMF), announced in Budget 2025. “We’re encouraged to see the government acknowledge the importance of the Canada Music Fund,” said Andrew Cash, President and CEO of CIMA. “Canadian music companies and the artists they work with represent a dynamic economic engine powering the growth of Canada’s cultural economy. This budget announcement is an encouraging step forward.” While CIMA appreciates the government’s ongoing commitment to supporting Canada’s music ecosystem—particularly the allocation of $48 million over three years, beginning in 2026–27—this investment must be the first step in ensuring the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Canada’s independent music sector. CIMA and its partners across the country have called for an increase to the Canada Music Fund to $60 million annually to secure the future of Canadian-owned music companies, entrepreneurs, and artists in a rapidly changing global industry. For over four decades, the Canada Music Fund—delivered through FACTOR and Musicaction—has been a cornerstone of Canada’s music economy, driving innovation, export growth, and cultural exchange. The Fund supports thousands of small and medium-sized music businesses that invest in intellectual property, create jobs and build audiences for Canadian music both here at home and around the world. Canada’s arts and culture sector is vital to the Canadian economy. According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, over the past three years, GDP from the sector has grown by nearly 8%, outpacing Canada’s overall economic growth of 4%. The arts, entertainment, and recreation industries support more jobs per million dollars of output than trade, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and oil and gas combined. In 2024, Canada’s arts and culture sector directly contributed $65 billion to the economy—about 2% of nominal GDP—and supported 1.1 million jobs nationwide when accounting for total economic impacts. Research also shows that higher public investment in the arts correlates with stronger community well-being and a greater sense of meaning and purpose among Canadians. “A stable Canada Music Fund is essential to building a competitive, inclusive, and sustainable music industry that reflects and amplifies Canada’s diverse voices,” says Cash. “We look forward to continuing to work with the federal government to build permanent, long-term investment solutions that ensure Canada continues to be a leader in music innovation, talent development, and cultural export on the global stage.”

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CIMA Media Contact: For media inquiries, interviews, or additional information, please contact: Jenia Schukov Communications & Export Programming Officer p: 416-998-3705 e: jenia@cimamusic.ca About CIMA: Founded in 1975 CIMA is the not-for-profit national trade association representing over 650 Canadian-owned music companies connected to over 6,000 artists and music industry workers in every province and territory in Canada. CIMA's membership ranges from individual artists and solopreneurs to Canadian-owned global music companies. Its membership also includes music publishers, managers, agents, songwriters, as well as other industry associations, provincial MIAs, and industry-adjacent service companies including digital marketing, public relations, and content creation.