Canada needs a cultural shift. Streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have decimated the ability of musicians to make a living from their recordings. Touring is expensive and band leaders are lucky if they break even on a tour. The fee for the average gig is the same now as it was fifty years ago: about $125/performer.
BuckingJam Palace is committed to fair performance fees and gender-parity and diversity in programming.
Here’s how you can advocate for the Arts:
- Buy music and merchandise directly from artists—at shows or through websites. Buy music on the first Friday of every month at Bandcamp, when all proceeds go directly to the musicians.
- Encourage your company to hire local musicians for corporate events.
- Vote for politicians who understand the economic value of the Arts.
- Attend live music events at venues that treat musicians properly.
We are fierce in working for a culture change, where musicians are paid fairly and recognized financially and artistically for creating and sustaining our culture. Join us.
Recommended Reading:
A Canadian study published in 2025 that considers gender representation on Canadian radio in the decade 2013-2023. View the 2026 update here.
The Keychance Manifesto is a result of collaborative sessions with artists and innovators on the Keychange development programme. It serves as an invitation to imagine a better future that prioritises both humanity and the planet, providing a guiding framework to a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable industry.
Jazz Counts: Measuring the Jazz Faculty Gender Gap in Higher Education, a landmark study by researcher Lara Pellegrinelli, is the first comprehensive effort to collect and analyze data on the gender makeup of jazz faculty at colleges, conservatories, and universities across the United States. Drawing from the websites of over 200 educational institutions, Jazz Counts reveals that male-identified educators outnumber their female-identified counterparts by a factor of six. Women are underrepresented across all faculty ranks, administrative roles, popular jazz instruments, and in academic areas that include music history, theory, and composition. In addition to presenting the data, the study identifies challenges women face in academia that contribute to systemic inequalities. It offers six actionable recommendations for administrators seeking to close the gender gap and foster a more inclusive environment.
Canadian Women in Jazz
BJP partnered with CADME (Calgary Association for the Development of Music Education) to put together this poster featuring some of the top Canadian women jazz artists.
Download a web version of the poster.
Download a print version of the poster (great for classrooms!)
Change the Tune
Laugh, cry and listen to what it is like to be a woman in the music industry, then lean into the key ways we can support women musicians as theyclaim their space and make their voices heard. Running time: 30 min.
Direct link: https://vimeo.com/711772990/f3b0d2afb9?share=copy
Roots & Wings
The Ostara Project is a supergroup of award-winning Canadian jazz artists, each one a bandleader, composer and musician in her own right. The Roots & Wings project features an all-female ensemble recording original compositions composed by women. The albums will be released on Rhea Records, a female-owned record label. Cover art, graphic design, publicity, marketing and management for the project—all the work of passionate, talented women.
Watch the 5 minute video for a peek into the project!
Direct link: https://vimeo.com/1052095553/bc7a347c23?share=copy
