Festival funding

This is a good article,"Grass always greener at the other city's festivals," in the 7/24/2006 Ottawa Business Journal on funding of music festivals in Ottawa and Montreal.

The Ottawa Bluesfest receives $33,000 (Canadian) from the city. And around $500,000 from over 50 business sponsors. It operates "with a paid staff of three people, a total budget of $4 million and a talent budget of $1.8 million."

Equipe Spectra (the blanket organization that administers the jazz fest and two other Montreal festivals) "employs over 40 full-time paid marketing people year-round, while receiving less funding-per-dollar from the City of Montreal. The Montreal Jazz Fest does pay for the several concert halls it uses, but is also allowed usage of parks and selected streets for free – a better deal than Ottawa's Bluesfest, which paid in the six-digits for use of city land this year."

According to Alain Simard, president of Equipe Spectra, "The Montreal Jazz Festival has a $20 million budget, and 12.5 per cent of that comes from the government and public funding." Private sponsorship contributes 52 per cent and 30 per cent comes from concessions and food and beverage sales.