Following the February 2025 meeting, the following comprise our current board:

Carrying forward:

• President: Lorena Kelly
• Vice President: vacant
• Secretary/Treasurer: Carmelle Pretzlaw
• Sergeant at Arms: Joe Giesinger
• Executive Board member (seat 1): Dennis Ficor
• Executive Board member (seat 2): Brian Sklar
• Executive Board member (seat 3): Reggie Dury
  
  
• President Emeritus (non-voting): Don Young

Elections / Appointments of Delegates to the AFM and/or Canadian Conferences

The President was confirmed as delegate to the Canadian Conference 2025.

The 2023 Canadian Conference will be held June 23 to June 25 before the commencement of the AFM Convention, June 26 to 29, 2023 at the Westgate Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

Local 446 convention delegates approved for attendance by membership at the January membership meeting are president Lorena Kelly and director Brian Sklar. Due to other work commitments, Lorena has requested that Brian attend as representative for our local this year.

The Canadian delegation has met in advance to discuss proposed items for discussion at the convention. Stay tuned for more details.

A General Meeting of the Regina Musicians Association, Local 446 AFM, will be held:

Sunday, April 23, 2023, 3:30pm
In person at the Regina Public Library – Regent Place Branch, 331 Albert Street, Regina
(in the Market Mall strip mall) and via Zoom
All members in good standing are invited to attend and participate.

A Zoom link etc will be sent to members’ email addresses prior to the meeting for those who wish to join online.

Main items to be discussed are included on the agenda that has been forwarded to members. If you didn’t receive the information, please contact the office by email or call 306-352-1337.

Please attend if you are able! You may also reach out with items you would like discussed during the meeting if you cannot attend.

Important notes from the last meeting: Our local’s scale wages, and thus also the MPTF rate, were approved for increase to $175 for leader and $125 per side player. As well, a bylaw change was made to allow general meetings to take place via Zoom.

We look forward to seeing you!

New York (March 24, 2023) – In a statement commemorating the 75^th Anniversary of the recording industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund (MPTF), Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, has hailed the non-profit organization for its “unmatched” commitment and support of musicians throughout North America.

Backed by major record labels Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Walt Disney Records, the non-profit MPTF has announced a significant 33% increase in funding for the Canadian market, where it supported 1,000+ live, admission-free music events and distributed more than $1,000,000 CAD to local union musicians in the last year alone!

A minimum of $150,000 will be awarded to students in the U.S. and Canada in the Fall of 2023 through two scholarship programs, MPTF’s Music Family Scholarships and the Music’s Future Scholarship, which was established to help advance music majors. Over the previous year, more than 90 Music Family Scholarships were given to AFM musicians with family members attending college, while 30 Music’s Future Scholarships went to music students unaffiliated with the union.  

For more information on MPTF programs, live stream and in-person music events, and more, visit www.musicpf.org and www.facebook.com/the.mptf/ 

Press release:

$2500 Assistance Available

The Live Music Workers Fund will provide financial relief to qualified independent and self-employed workers in the live music sector. Successful applicants will receive a one-time payment of $2500. This fund is being administered by Unison, a registered Canadian non-profit that provides counseling, emergency relief, and assistance programs for those in the Canadian music community who face personal or professional challenges due to hardship, illness, or economic difficulties. What makes me eligible to apply for financial assistance? Music industry professionals who earned a minimum of 55% of their income from music-related activity for at least two consecutive years (prior to the pandemic), acknowledging that little to no work in the music community has taken place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants are independent, self-employed live music workers living outside Quebec who identifies their primary occupation in the music community as one or more of the following:

The portal temporarily closed as of November 1/22 to catch up on a backlog of submissions, and is expected to re-open sometime after December 1/22.

Building off the existing Unison Financial Assistance Program, The Live Music Workers Fund will provide financial relief to qualified independent and self-employed workers in the live music sector. Successful applicants will receive a one-time payment of $2500.

What makes me eligible to apply for financial assistance?

• Music industry professionals who earned a minimum of 55% of their income from music-related activity for at least two consecutive years (prior to the pandemic), acknowledging that little to no work in the music community has taken place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

LIVE MUSIC WORKERS FUND

You should apply for the Live Music Workers Fund if you are an independent, self-employed live music worker who lives outside Quebec and identifies their primary occupation in the music community as one or more of the following:

• Artist
• Booking Agent
• Composer
• Concert Photographer
• Concert Recording Engineer
• Consultant
• DJ
• Event Production/Festival
• Artist Manager/Management Company
• Marketing/Communications
• Merchandiser
• Musician
• Production Company
• Promoter
• Publisher
• Publicist/Public Relations
• Retailer (Instruments and Supplies)
• Songwriter
• Stagehand/Roadie
• Technician
• Tour Management/Operator
• Talent Buyer
• Venue Staff
• Videographer

INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE FUND

You should apply for the Industry Assistance Fund if you do not meet the eligibility criteria for the Live Music Workers Fund, but still identify as a Music Industry professional, including (but not limited to):  

• Association
• Consultant
• Distributor
• Graphic Artist
• Marketing/Communications
• Publisher
• Producer
• Trade Publication
• Publicist/Public Relations
• Music Educator
• Music Photographer
• Record Company
• Recording Studio
• Recording Engineer
• Retailer (Instruments and Supplies)
• Video
• Other

The first step to apply to the fund is to register with Unison: https://unison.smartsimple.ca/

A step-by-step tutorial is available here (PDF)

Applicants who do not qualify for financial support under the Live Music Workers Fund program will be verified and processed through the already existing Unison Financial Assistance Program. All eligible applicants, no matter their occupation in the Canadian music industry, will be supported by Unison. 

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage for the commitment of support to the Canadian live music industry. Unison will be distributing this funding to qualifying live music workers across the country as part of The Live Music Workers Fund program.  

Applicants who reside in Quebec will apply for the same funding from the Foundation Des Artistes. Their application is now live here: https://frtsssc.ca/en/

Additional associations identified to provide direct financial assistance to independent and self-employed workers in the live performance sector are:

• The AFC (Theatre sector and technical disciplines): https://afchelps.ca/
• Canadian Dance Assembly (Dance): https://www.cda-acd.ca/
• La Fondation des artistes (All sectors and disciplines within Quebec): https://fondationdesartistes.ca/en/

Applications will close (at latest) March 31, 2023.

We are very sad to learn of the passing of musician and educator Gary Borton. On June 3/2022, The Regina Symphony Orchestra reported his passing, noting in a post, “(Gary) was a mainstay in our Horn Section for over 50 years. Gary joined the symphony in March 1971 and retired in 2021. We are thinking of his family, friends, students and fellow musicians during this difficult time.”

The RMA sends our sincere condolences to Gary’s loved ones and colleagues. Gary made a great contribution to our community during his impressive career, and his impact on the music scene and the many students who benefited from his knowledge over the years will certainly leave a lasting legacy.

Congratulations to Local 446 members who picked up Saskatchewan Music Awards on January 24, 2021:
Single of the Year, Album of the Year, and Country Artist of the Year: Tenille Arts
Roots/Folk Artist of the Year: Jeffery Straker

as well as from Local 553, Indigenous Artist of the Year: The North Sound
and all the nominees! (Read more at www.saskmusicawards.com)

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Inside the November 2020 issue of Forte you’ll find a little member news from our local, a spotlight on member Tenille Arts, President’s report, Regina Symphony Orchestra update, MPTF update and more. Click below to launch or download the PDF version.