Ottawa’s music industry is growing, but is it fast enough?

Did you know that Ottawa is home to more festivals than any other city in Canada? Every year, roughly 170 festivals take place, most of which include music programming.

Even accounting for this reality, the city still fails to compete with larger cities such as Toronto or Montreal in terms of a music scene. The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition (OMIC) isn’t trying to position Ottawa as another Toronto or Montreal, but its executive director says there is a significant opportunity to “position the city as a place of discovery” and a city in which professional musicians can build a sustainable career.

We sat down with Melanie Brulée, executive director of OMIC, to get a sense of Ottawa as a music town and where it is headed.

Brulée: I’ve been super lucky that my nomadic spirit has had an outlet. I spent all of my 20s in Australia, where I learned to play guitar while busking on the streets of Byron Bay, then spent my 30s in Toronto, minus a couple of years in Nashville, but I was mostly on the road touring during that time.

I moved to Ottawa in 2022 for this role, and what stands out to me about Ottawa goes beyond the talent. I mean, we punch above our weight for a city that is often considered outside of the major music markets, but what makes Ottawa special is the generosity of the community, the fact that people genuinely show up for one another, and the reality that there is still room to grow here — as an artist, entrepreneur, or organizer.

There is a collaborative spirit here that can be hard to find in larger centres, and I think that creates real opportunities for innovation, connection, and community-building.

Brulée: The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition is Ottawa’s bilingual non-profit music office and an arm’s-length economic development organization that works closely with the City of Ottawa.

Our mandate is to grow Ottawa’s music sector by building industry capacity, creating opportunities for artists and music businesses, and advocating for the conditions that allow music to thrive. We do this through professional development, export and showcase opportunities, research, policy advocacy, networking, industry events, and partnerships across sectors.

At its core, OMIC strengthens the local music ecosystem so music workers can build sustainable careers and Ottawa can benefit from music’s cultural, social, and economic impact.

We deliver free, family-friendly summer concert series with local BIAs, alongside year-round initiatives such as City Sounds Live and the Women in Music Career Accelerator. We also administer grants and funding opportunities that support sector growth.

Last year, we launched our marquee event, Capital Music Week (taking place October 2-10, 2026), a city-wide festival featuring live music, industry conferences, networking, educational programming, and the Capital Music Awards. Created to showcase local talent, attract visitors, and strengthen industry connections, we hope Capital Music Week will further help to position Ottawa as a music destination in Canada. 

Brulée: I think we’re moving towards that goal, but it’s no secret that Ottawa faces a shortage of industry infrastructure today. We’re lacking enough managers, labels, booking agents, and other key supporters, and we continue to lose talent to larger markets like Toronto and Montreal.

We’re realistic about that challenge. Ottawa isn’t trying to become Toronto, but we can learn from successful music cities such as Austin (Texas), where a strong technology sector complements a thriving music ecosystem. With the right long-term vision and investment, I believe Ottawa can become a place where artists and music professionals can build sustainable careers.

Ottawa is home to more festivals than any other city in Canada. While we saw the closure of the Brass Monkey last year, four new venues opened. We’re also seeing hi-fi listening rooms, vinyl bars, and other music-focused spaces emerge. There is a great deal of activity across the sector, and it genuinely feels like momentum is building. Last year, five new music venues opened. That’s a step in the right direction.

I don’t think music is yet an undeniable part of Ottawa’s external brand, but there is a significant opportunity to position the city as a place of discovery. We have unique assets, a collaborative community, and plenty of room for growth, and those are elements that create fertile ground for creatives to do what they do best: create a scene.

Brulée: Industry does not grow sustainably by accident, and the music sector is particularly complex. It is a layered ecosystem made up of artists, venues, festivals, businesses, educators, funders, and government partners. A music strategy provides a shared roadmap for all of these stakeholders, informed by the people working within the sector itself.

On a practical level, a strategy helps answer important questions: How do we protect and support venues? How do we create more performance opportunities? How do we help artists and music businesses grow? How do we use music to animate downtowns, attract visitors, retain young people, and strengthen neighbourhoods? How do we ensure that planning, bylaws, funding, transportation, tourism, and economic development are working together rather than in silos?

But beyond the individual initiatives, a music strategy is about embedding music into long-term municipal policy. That matters because it creates continuity beyond any single term of Council or election cycle. 

When you look at industries that have successfully grown over time, there is almost always public policy underpinning that growth, alongside a commitment to implementation. It may not be the most sexy or glamorous part of the work, but it is often what determines whether progress is temporary or lasting.

Brulée: Every municipality approaches music development differently. Some music offices sit within economic development departments, others fall under tourism, and Ottawa is unique in that its music office operates as a non-profit, member-based organization. 

I see that as a significant advantage because it allows us to remain closely connected to the sector while also pursuing additional revenue streams and partnerships to expand our impact.

Ottawa has many of the ingredients found in successful music cities: talented artists, strong festivals, growing investment in creative experiences and nightlife, innovative entrepreneurs, and a population that increasingly values cultural experiences.

One area we will be watching closely in the coming years is workforce development. The suspension of Algonquin College’s Music Industry Arts program has raised legitimate concerns about Ottawa’s talent pipeline and our ability to retain young people entering the industry. More broadly, Algonquin recently announced cuts to 30 programs, many of them connected to music, tourism, events, and the creative economy.

This creates an interesting challenge. At the same time that educational pathways are shrinking, the City of Ottawa is making significant investments in tourism, nightlife, festivals, and destination development, all of which rely on a skilled workforce. If Ottawa wants to grow its experience economy, we need to ensure there are pathways for people to develop the skills required to support it.

Brulée: The opening of the new History Ottawa venue this August will be an important addition to Ottawa’s venue ecosystem.

One of the biggest challenges facing many music cities, including Ottawa, is the gap between smaller clubs and larger theatres or arenas. Artists need opportunities to grow their audiences incrementally, promoters need rooms that make sense financially, and audiences need high-quality spaces where they can regularly experience live music.

A strong mid-size venue helps fill that gap. It can attract more touring artists to Ottawa, create opportunities for local artists to secure support slots, generate technical and production jobs, and contribute to a more vibrant downtown nightlife economy. It also sends an important signal that live music is a valued part of the city’s cultural and economic fabric.

That said, no single venue is a silver bullet. Its success will depend on how well it integrates into the broader ecosystem alongside independent venues, festivals, promoters, artists, and community partners. 

If History Ottawa becomes a collaborative player in the market, it has the potential to be a significant catalyst for growth. Encouragingly, we’re already seeing a willingness from Live Nation to engage with the local community and explore partnership opportunities.

Brulée: The purpose of a noise by-law is to help people live harmoniously alongside one another by creating clear expectations for residents, businesses, and event organizers. But not all sound is noise. 

Music venues need more certainty. Residents need a fair and transparent process. City staff need tools that allow them to distinguish between recurring nuisance issues and reasonable cultural activity.

For example, low-frequency sound and bass can be among the most common sources of complaints, yet measuring and managing these issues is more complex than simply assessing overall volume, and the City of Ottawa bylaw department currently does not have the tools to measure bass.

In areas where residential and nightlife uses coexist, these nuances become especially important, and again, they are part of the less glamorous work that needs to be done to support music city strategies.

This is where concepts such as the “agent of change” principle can be helpful. The idea is that whoever introduces a new use, whether it’s a venue opening near housing or housing being developed near an existing venue, takes responsibility for mitigating potential conflicts. Many music cities, like Toronto, have adopted this approach to support both cultural activity and residential growth.

We want to move away from a reactive model where venues are only discussed when complaints arise, and toward a proactive approach where sound management, planning, communication, and cultural value are considered together.

Brulée: It starts with acknowledging that both things are true: residents deserve quality of life, and cities need culture, nightlife, and places to gather.

The best solutions are usually not about choosing one over the other. They are about planning better. That can include clearer expectations for mixed-use areas, better sound mitigation, support for venues to make improvements, stronger communication between venues and neighbours, and planning policies that recognize existing cultural spaces before new residential development is approved around them.

We also need to be honest that if we want a vibrant downtown, there will be activity. The goal should not be to eliminate sound or nightlife. The goal should be to manage it responsibly and fairly.

Brulée: It ties in directly. Music is one of the most effective ways to bring people into public spaces, support local businesses, and make downtown feel safe, vibrant, and welcoming.

When people attend a show, they often also have dinner, take transit or rideshare, visit other businesses, book a hotel, or discover neighbourhoods they might not otherwise spend time in. 

That creates measurable economic impact, but it also creates social impact. Music helps build community, fosters a sense of belonging, and gives people reasons to connect with the city and with one another.

It’s also an important part of the conversation around youth retention and youth homelessness. Young people need places where they feel connected, inspired, and able to envision a future for themselves. A healthy music ecosystem creates pathways into employment, entrepreneurship, technical trades, creative careers, and community networks. For some young people, those opportunities can be life-changing. When we invest in music, we’re not just investing in entertainment. We’re investing in social connection, skills development, and pathways to economic participation.

If Ottawa wants a downtown core that is more than offices and government buildings, music needs to be part of the plan. Not as decoration, but as infrastructure. The same way we invest in transportation, sports facilities, or public spaces, we need to recognize that music contributes to economic vitality, community safety, talent retention, and quality of life. Strong music ecosystems create places where people want to live, work, visit, and build their futures.