Work at CSI for the day with our new Lounge Pass!

Whole Note’s COVID-19 reinvention story

For 25 seasons CSI member The Whole Note magazine has built the bulk of its content around providing 300 to 500 listings for live music — particularly classical, new, early & world music, jazz, opera and musical theatre. Each issue has been distributed via 960 shops, cafes, venues, etc around Toronto.

Then came COVID-19.

As a result of the pandemic, those 300 to 500 events were postponed or cancelled. And 960 distribution points available to the magazine shrank to 10.

As The Whole Note’s publisher David Perlman explained to the Toronto Star, he and his team have responded to this new normal by reinventing the magazine’s content:

What is different in the July-August issue is the replacement of listings with essays covering specialized subject areas, with Brian Chang, for example, writing about how choirs face the challenge of social distancing and Lydia Perovic interviewing Katherine Carleton, executive director of Orchestras Canada, on how orchestras are coping.

Just as Perlman asserts there was no actual model for his enterprise in the first place, there is obviously none for the age of COVID-19. “We are always improvising,” he says.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

So far, the improvising seems to be working! The Whole Note’s distribution numbers are creeping back up! The September issue will be available in 140 places in the city. If you are still sheltering in place (good for you!) you can read it online.

 

 

Keep Reading
A group of people are seated and standing in a circle around Tara, Community Manager at CSI Annex. Event takes place on the ground floor of CSI Annex (720 Bathurst St).
Giving Tuesday encourages us to “give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. These are some of the CSI members participating in this year’s Giving Tuesday, how your donation will support their impact work, and more information on where to donate.
Canadian Connections team poses at the back of an empty truck
We take a deep dive into the differences between nonprofits and charitable organizations in Canada and look at it through the lens of CSI Member Canadian Connections, who recently transitioned from being a nonprofit to a registered charitable organization.
orange shirt day
September 30 is Orange Shirt Day and Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It’s a day to honour the survivors and victims of the residential school system and reflect on the atrocities Canada committed against Indigenous Peoples.
Become A Member