From exchange rates to equipment costs, Vancouver venues, organizers and promoters say impacts of U.S.-Canada tariffs are already being felt
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
The impact of the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods are already being felt within the Vancouver entertainment industry.
Alex Grigg, director of operation at the Hollywood Theatre and the former executive director of Music B.C., says the tariffs are going to make the already difficult post-pandemic recovery of live music a lot more challenging.
New pricing on everything from bar fridges to audio equipment will impact bottom lines at venues, he notes. Add in an already extremely unfavourable exchange rate, which is likely to spiral further downward, and ticket price increases are unavoidable.
Grigg also had a secondary shock when suppliers came back to him in regard to planned technical upgrades at the popular West Broadway club. The last 48 hours, he notes, have been hard.
“I had people coming back to me to let me know that the quotes I had were likely to be higher since this or that particular piece of technical equipment just went up in price,” he said. “They are scrambling to find Canadian-made alternatives but, in most cases, they aren’t there for things like new bar fridges and so on. Eventually, those additional costs are really going to add up. And some of that will have to be passed on to the consumer.”
In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for promoters to stockpile U.S. dollars when the rates were favourable, in an attempt to better make budget predictions. Grigg says there hasn’t been an opportunity to do that post-pandemic and this has put a strain on local venues like his that are showcases for artists on their way up.
“The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that politicians are going to take a look at the fact that it costs Americans nothing to come here and costs Canadians a lot to play below the border,” he said. “You already have to figure out a way to sell an additional 30 per cent more tickets to cover the additional cost from the exchange rate. And, the more that goes up, the more you are pushed to move into larger spaces than may be possible for that artist to sell.
“So now, you are looking at another added expense that you may not be able to recover to pay the artist what they are asking.”
Noting that he’s in a great position because Vancouver has a vibrant local jazz scene with a devoted following, Reinert says that isn’t the case for others who need the support that comes from opening for touring acts an so on.
Presenting a varied lineup of local, national and international performers is an essential part of major arts and cultural drivers, such as the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the largest event of its kind in the province.
Nina Horvath, executive director of the festival’s presenting non-profit Coastal Jazz, notes the festival programming started in October and most of the artists were already confirmed or in the process of confirming before any tariff talk began.
With the tariffs in place, and the Canadian dollar trending low, major arts and cultural events are feeling squeezed to the limit. The biggest impact could be on the large marquee performers where the exchange rate can sometimes mean selling out a venue and still losing money.
“It’s the same story that we’ve been talking about since before the pandemic of all costs going up and the revenues not keeping pace with that ever widening gap,” said Horvath. “We have a bit of extra privilege being a non-profit with funding by government and donors, which means that we can fight raising ticket prices a little longer. But we have had to incrementally increase some prices.”
As to whether these challenges could lead to local festivals having to book only Canadian talent in the future, Horvath says that could happen.
“We’ve always been proud to present Canadian content and it isn’t something we see as a weakness, but I would be really disappointed if we couldn’t also bring those exciting artists in our genre coming out of the U.S.,” she said. “You won’t see any significant changes at this year’s festival, but for all of us, the future is pretty uncertain right now.”