Living with Lions controversy
I’m not sure where Ezra Levant is coming from in his article in the Toronto Sun today. I’m not sure if he’s being serious, or if he’s being satirical, because he certainly isn’t being professional. Calling someone a loser, in a national newspaper chain, there are better ways to do it. I’ve already done it.
Mr. Levant seems to be a little biased in his work, he uses the example of a punk band getting government funding. It’s easy to side against a punk band, after all punk isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Sure Living with Lions received funding from FACTOR, a music sponsorship program, but would his article carry the same weight if his example was Martha Wainwright, Gordon Lightfoot or Nickelback. Or what of the funding itself, since the program was introduced in 1982 the it has distributed just under $125 million in funds, which has seen generated more than $680 million in sales for Canadian artists world wide, had he included this fact in his article would his argument be as solid? Probably not.
FACTOR now distributes $14 million annually to Canadian artists. Mr. Levant produces and unsubstantiated comment that this funding is going to artists who’s music isn’t selling, but on the FACTOR website they have a list of artists who have received funding and have gone on to gold, platinum, and diamond status. So people are buying music that’s been publicly funded, and clearly this funding also goes to some of the best of it, contrary to what Mr. Levant will have you believe. Primarily FACTOR helps to fund the production, distribution and promotion of a commercial release, and while a band may be making money from their music it can be difficult to get a release out there, or at the very least have people know that you exist outside of your region. By skewing the facts Mr. Levant attempts to demoralize Living with Lions, a band that has achieved some success, and are now trying to take themselves to another level. They should at least thank him for some free publicity, and controversial publicity is like gold to a punk band.
Mr. Levant seems to have bought into the business model he works in, that public funding is bad, and that corporate sponsorship, and corporate control is good. It’s certainly helped with our news, retracting or not printing articles because it might offend an advertiser. Mr. Levant would probably just call it keeping your audience happy. Which is exactly what Living with Lions is doing on their album. So it’s called Holy Shit, so it has a desecration of Jesus, obviously Mr. Levant isn’t part of the bands audience, and those who are find the titling and imagery witty, and appealing. Our government itself is supposed to have a separation from the church, that’s what it means to live in a secular society. By demanding that James Moore, and FACTOR censor the music that independent bands put out is silly. What these bands are getting from FACTOR is a drop in the bucket compared to the money, time and energy they’ve already put into getting them to the point they are at now. Not every band gets funding from FACTOR, they still have to do the work, and be a band first. Censoring them would be like giving Mr. Levant five dollars and telling him that he can’t use the word Loser in an article. I’m sure he wouldn’t agree to that.
So what Mr. Levant really seems to be promoting in his article isn’t a way to save taxpayers money, but a way to limit choice in a creative market place. To Sterilize the musical scene in Canada by giving not just 90% of the market to the big multi-national corporations, but 100% by limiting independent artists ability to make a contribution within that marketplace. If Mr. Levant gets his way, the next Arcade Fires, Wolf Parades, or Sarah McLachlans may go completely unnoticed and our presence internationally will diminish. By calling Living with Lions losers he doesn’t just affect just them but also has the potential to systematically demoralize independent artists as a whole. With incomplete information, and an avoidance of research and facts behind the FACTOR program he makes it seem as though only bands that have signed, and are on contract to a label are even capable of being winners.
What Mr. Levant fails to understand is that musicians have to work very hard to get money, they always have, Living with Lions didn’t just wake up one day and say, lets apply for funding and start a band. There is no music school that one can go to that makes it much easier to get a job. It’s not law. It requires being out there sometimes several nights a week, with several more practicing, all the while having a full time job just to pay rent. I would be willing to wager Mr. Levant has a collection of music, and within that collection there are several Canadian artists who received funding from FACTOR, and that he’s had those discs for years, and that this story only came up when he took offence to a band that is outside of his musical tastes, and had imagery that offended his Christian values.
Maybe we should cut funding to sports, or cut tax breaks to the big oil companies, it’s not like they are going to abandon billions of dollars in investment, and billions of dollars in oil, but neither of these are likely to happen. Funding for sports never comes up in the discussion, but funding for arts almost always does, and everyone knows the government is in the pocket of big oil. Can we also really do without a state broadcaster? If not all we would have is the bigoted diatribe being spewed from a right wing corporate media.
Perhaps with a little understanding that our musicians more than anyone else represent Canada internationally everyday, Mr. Levant wouldn’t be so hard on funding for the arts. When our athletes represent Canada it means some international event. When our leaders represent Canada, they do so to a very targeted group of people. Music reaches everyone, and it’s our best way to separate our image from our neighbours to the south, it doesn’t require a special event, time or place. It’s everyday, and everywhere.
Dean Belder
The original article in the Toronto Sun can be found here.
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/20/levant-time-to-cut-public-funding-for-socalled-musicians
On Friday, May 20, FACTOR issued the following statement:
"FACTOR is aware of the controversy surrounding the recording Holy S--- by Living with Lions. This record was made with FACTOR support under a program funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and contributions from Canada's private radio broadcasters. Our logo appears on the cover of the album, along with the wordmark of the Government of Canada, to acknowledge our contributions to the making of the sound recording. This is mandatory.
"We realize that we have a responsibility to the public and our funders to enforce reasonable limits on the content of the projects we fund. For that reason, our contracts with funded parties include language prohibiting certain kinds of offensive material. All recipients agree to these terms prior to receiving funding.
"In this case, the record in question was packaged with graphics and liner notes that some may consider offensive. This material had not been submitted to FACTOR prior to its release. We have communicated to the record label that there has been a negative reaction from some members of the public regarding the content. We are now reviewing these complaints.
"We wish to be fair to all parties, and therefore will take the time necessary to assess the issue to determine whether further action is necessary."
Originally appeared on Vanmusic.ca