News that the Squamish Valley Music Festival would not be adding to the sound waves that take over the province of B.C. every summer, brought with it questions about how the low Canadian dollar might affect the usual line-up of outdoor music festivals.
Locally, music festival organizers said they have had to make a few tweaks to line-ups, pricing and release dates in light of the less-than-ideal exchange rate, which will increase booking costs by 25 to 30 per cent given that most touring artists – many Canadians included – are paid in American dollars.
Terry Wickham, organizer of the always-popular Edmonton Folk Music Festival, said he was surprised that organizers decided to cancel this year’s Squamish music festival.
He suspects the decision is about more than the low loonie, but does admit that Canada’s currency quandary has managed to have an effect on even a well-oiled machine such as his.
Last year, the festival was forced to raise ticket prices to make up for the sliding Canadian dollar, which was last at par with the U.S. in 2013. Given the province’s current economic situation, Wickham said he wouldn’t do the same again this year. “We want to make living, not a killing,” he said.
By not raising ticket prices, he feels that the festival will have a better chance of attracting the same number of patrons as in previous years, despite Albertans having less spending money in their pockets.
This is a little more worrisome for Barry Bailey, organizer of the fledgling Seven Music Fest in St. Albert, who doesn’t count the same longstanding fan base. The folk music festival has been running since the ’80s and has sold out for 21 years in a row.
“(Alberta) is in a really difficult economic downturn right now, so people are making decisions about what they’re doing with their entertainment dollar,” said Bailey, who hopes the positive feedback received after last year’s inaugural event will translate to continued support.
Although the plan was always to highlight Canadian musicians primarily – as a way to be cost-effective in the first few years, but also as a matter of principle – Bailey said he’s “sure glad” the festival is in the position of booking all-Canadian talent. This will allow him to keep prices at the same level as last year.
The same can’t be said for the Edmonton International Jazz Festival, which will have to raise the prices of some its smaller venue shows this summer.
Festival director Kent Sangster also indicated that the low exchange rate had an impact on this year’s line-up – although not in a way that would be noticeable to the public.
“There are a few (artists) that are at the top of the list that we were very interested in presenting, but because of the exchange rate, it just wasn’t possible,” he said.
To help jazz lovers better budget their entertainment dollars, the festival will be releasing its lineup in bits and pieces in the upcoming months, rather than at its usual media launch in May.
Lineups for the Seven Music Fest and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival will be available in mid-April and June 1, respectively.
The low dollar has been putting pressure on St. Albert’s cultural services department as they try to balance being fiscally responsible with respecting the Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival’s mandate of bringing in talent from around the world.
“Over the last year and a half, we’ve really been trying to mitigate the impact by negotiating for artists in Canadian dollars,” said director Kelly Jerrott, “and looking at the number of Canadian artists we hire and how many international artists we look at.”
Securing corporate sponsorship has also proved interesting. While the festival has not lost any sponsors, many businesses are choosing to provide a lower level of support than before.
“We are seeing a decrease, there’s no mistaking that,” said Jerrott.
The festival relies on sponsorship dollars to put on many of its events.
