026: Think Global. Act Local.

There are a couple of ideas I’ve been thinking about over the past few weeks. The first is the question of when things will return to ‘normal’. The second is the concept of ‘Think Global. Act Local’. More importantly I’ve been thinking about how the two ideas relate, especially to all of us in the arts community.

I know all of us are eager for things to return to some sense of normality. The uncertainty of when anyone will be performing live music again is definitely stressful to everyone in this industry. However, I think there is a more important question to ask before we rush back - do we want things to return to ‘normal’? Because let’s be honest, although there are many things that are great about the arts community, I think we can all agree that there are a lot of things we can all do better. There are many of us that make a living in this community, but few that are truly prospering, and many that are barely making it by. There has to be a better way forward than returning to that ‘normal’.

The notion of ‘Think Global. Act Local’ is one that a lot of us can relate to. When we think of many of the global problems, it is hard to see how anything we do can have an affect on things. However, if each of us just focused on what we could do locally to solve some of these problems - and more importantly started to act in those ways, things would change globally.

So how do these two ideas relate? I think we need to all start thinking about the health of the arts community as a whole. We need to start thinking about the things that will benefit everyone in this community - and then make our individual (‘local’) decisions to uphold those values. In this sense local doesn’t just mean what is geographically close to you, your city or province. Those communities are important. But there are other communities you are a part of, the Canadian Arts community, the festival community - whichever pocket of this sector is close to you. Focusing on these areas that are ‘local’ to you will help the global arts community as a whole.

Let’s be brutally honest for a moment. We all know there are platforms out there that do not serve the best interest of the artists, but yet we still use them. We all know there are venues and presenters that we don’t feel good about working with, yet we still choose to perform there. We all know there are patterns of behavior we chalk up to ‘that’s the way things are’, knowing they shouldn’t be - and yet we let them slide. So why do we do it? It’s because we’re being selfish. In all these cases there is usually a potential windfall for the individual. However unlikely it is - there is a chance that we could benefit from these opportunities. We know on the whole, it’s not ideal for everyone. But every now and then someone finds success in one of these ways…..so maybe that could be me.

Now I’m not trying to call out anyone specific with this - we all do it. And that’s the problem. We all collectively let it slide, we collectively let these things happen. We can also all collectively change.

This is your call to arms. Do we want to return to ‘normal’, or do we want to collectively make a stronger industry that serves everyone better - artists, venues, presenters, fans, arts organizations, managers, agents, and everyone else who makes this community what it is. We have the ability to do that, we have the ability to create positive change. It will require individuals to make some decisions that may not be in their best interest in the short term. But those decisions will make us all better in the long term. 

This left me thinking about some of those great venues and presenters we all love to work with. You know the ones - that go above and beyond to make sure the artist gets what they need, they make sure the ticket buyers are taken care of. I’m sure we all bring to mind someone like this. They put their heart and soul into what they do. To the point we wonder if it’s sustainable. They don’t promise you the world, but they over deliver on what they promise, every time. They’re one of the ‘nice ones’. And the nice ones finish last so they say. But they finish last because we support the ones that promise us the world, but fail to deliver. 

Let’s try for a new normal and let’s all make sure it’s the nice ones that come out of this stronger. Think global, but most importantly, act local.

~ Steve