This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
Saint-Lambert, July 12, 2022 – In September 2022, Quebec’s classical music artists and organizations will be putting the Le Concert bleu digital platform through its paces. This test run will mark an exciting milestone in the deployment of this digital tool.
The Ministère de la Culture et des Communications awarded the Festival $800,000 in financial support under the Autres interventions particulières en culture et en communications (Other specific interventions in culture and communications) program. To date, $2.3 million has been invested in the project.
“A Festival Classica initiative, Le Concert bleu is a digital platform dedicated to broadcasting and promoting Quebec classical music nationally and internationally, while providing Quebec’s cultural community with an innovative and generous monetization structure,” said Marc Boucher, the Festival’s general and artistic director.
Considerable effort has already been invested in this complex project to ensure its success. In addition to developing the platform and its functionalities, which is being handled by the Festival’s technological partner, Quebec-based LCI LX, the Le Concert bleu project encompasses two other major components: the first being discoverability— to allow the public to discover artists and have access to cultural content—and the second, the identification of digital dissemination and fair monetization needs.
Ensuring the discoverability of the classical music that will be available on Le Concert bleu
Discoverability will first of all require the implementation of a metadata management strategy for Le Concert bleu. To this end, the project benefits from the expertise of Meta D, a company specializing in research and training in the field of digital culture, and Synapse C, an organization dedicated to the exploitation of data in Quebec’s and Canada’s arts and cultural sectors. Discussions took place several months ago with innovative organizations including Scène Pro, dia-log, and MétaMusique as well as the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM) and Groupe iCible, which developed the Tuxedo ticketing software, to evaluate various models and how data can be operated to better measure the demand for culture in Quebec. The resulting portrait and predictability of supply and demand will be shared.
Data sharing and potential partnerships with these organizations will also be evaluated with a view to optimizing the discoverability of the work of Quebec’s classical musicians via the Le Concert bleu platform.
Digital dissemination and fair monetization needs
To ensure the project’s acceptability and the buy-in of the music community, a working committee was formed to look into digital dissemination and fair monetization needs.
This committee took part in developing Le Concert bleu’s business plan to ensure that the project would be rallying and relevant to Quebec artists. Moreover, a preliminary consultation held with a few members of the CQM helped to identify specific issues and priorities.
With regard to fair monetization, Le Concert bleu engaged in a constructive dialogue with key industry players to develop a framework agreement that rethinks long-term remuneration for broadcasting rights in a digital environment, while ensuring generous royalties. This collaboration is an essential component in the deployment of the Le Concert bleu platform.
Le Concert bleu will require additional financial support in the order of $1.2 million over the next three years to cover its operating costs.
About Festival Classica
Founded in 2010, Festival Classica is dedicated to creating a public space that fosters encounters between classical music in its broad definition, artists, emerging musicians, and the public, while prioritizing the hiring of Quebec and Canadian artists.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
