Most Of The Money At Music PEI Going To Board of Directors

If you’re not a friend of the Music PEI Board, no need to apply

By Stephen Pate – We just discovered that 84% of the grants given by Music PEI, or $123,000, in the year ending March 31, 2008 went to people related to the Board of Directors.

We’ve been reporting how the inner circle of Board members, their families and business friends are the main beneficiaries for months now. Music PEI latest awards raises questions money and equitable treatment of musicians

Music PEI, a private club with public money

We never thought the conflict of interest was so pervasive. Essentially, the money going to non-connected musicians is peripheral to the main grant money at Music PEI.

The business of Music PEI is funneling money to the directors and their friends. And the winner for most grant money is – Sandbar Music – updated

We put all the known relationships together and here’s how it looks in terms of money given directly to the Directors or musicians they manage or control:

Lloyd Doyle,  Sandbar Music,   $72,000  or 49% of the total money spent
Grady Poe, $43,000, 29%
Andrew Melzer,  Panda Digital, $4,000, 3%
Paul Milner,  Many Lives Publishing, $4,000, 3%

This is not incidental, just a few directors who are industry leaders. The Music PEI Board of Directors are essentially taking all the budget for themselves.  Seems a little greedy to us.

It is plainly corruption and should not be tolerated. Music PEI is not their sandbox.

Considering the board’s fiduciary trust to represent all musicians on PEI, we would have to conclude they failed to pass the smell test on breach of trust. Insider dealing at Music PEI

Will the Ministers Carolyn Bertram and Allan Campbell who fund Music PEI call for an audit and demand the money be put back where it belongs?

We’ve been getting both encouragement and criticism about this investigation. All we can tell musicians is that as long as this corruption is allowed to fester, the support for musicians will only go to friends of the Board of Directors and Rob Oakie. We don’t think that’s fair.