Jerome, how did Beatcave come to be?

It started in July 2019, so it’s been six years now. It mainly started for producers — to bring them together to accomplish great things and to provide them with constructive feedback. We held seven producer-focused events and then, we moved to providing opportunities for artists, engineers and all kinds of music creatives. We wanted to build that infrastructure to nurture artists because it's not really here in Canada. And we’ve been successful. Producers and artists who’ve participated in our programs have gone on to be signed and win Juno Awards.

Amber, you’re an artist. How did you find your way into Beatcave? 

I moved to Toronto in 2016 with the goal to be an artist. I was in Honey Jam [a non-profit artist development program] and I was a contestant on The Launch.

Beatcave started the year after I was on The Launch. That's when I realized that there weren't a lot of options for mobility for Canadian artists. I was running into walls as an artist and I was stuck in this kind of walking machine of the Canadian music industry. 

So when we started Beatcave, I was like, it makes sense to create some kind of mobility for artists. I transitioned more into the business side as of 2020. I'm full-time at Live Nation right now. My music career took a little bit of a backseat, but I think [that’s] because the dream was evolving.

How do you continue to have that vibe that makes people want to come back, invest and actually connect with one another?

Amber: One of the things we said from the very beginning was: “Leave your ego at the door.”

I think that really set the tone for our community in a lot of ways. It’s about commitment over competition.

When you're competing, you're not necessarily getting the best work. You're just trying to be the best. 

It's not about competition. It's about community and building community. We've done our best to support other community initiatives that are also coming up in Toronto. That's the only way we can keep growing — if we're all willing to collaborate to a certain extent and help the vision grow. At the end of the day, the vision is to build capacity in the Canadian music economy.

In what ways do you think local artists could be better supported?

Amber: To be honest, the arts have been undervalued for so many years because consumers think they should be able to access art for free. There's a lot of grant funding, but that means artists are expected to showcase for free.

We haven't really created a desire and a hunger to spend money on these things and to see that as valuable. I think that has greatly weakened our music economy.

I don’t want to tear down the grant system because it does a lot to nurture artists who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to come to light. But at the end of the day, if we're not making products that are actually economically viable, there won’t be growth in the industry. 

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.