Streaming Fixed the Canadian Music Market; Don’t Let the CRTC Break It Warns DIMA Chief

Streaming Fixed the Canadian Music Market; Don’t Let the CRTC Break It Warns DIMA Chief

• DIMA President and CEO Graham Davies appeared before the CRTC to outline how measures in the Online Streaming Act could undo the work of streaming services to support Canadian music.
• He called on the Commission to set up roundtables to gain a better understanding of streaming and the complex ecosystem of the music industry.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@dima.org

OTTAWA, CANADA – Graham Davies, President & CEO of the Digital Media Association (DIMA), appeared in front of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) this morning (September 26), as part of a series of proceedings to implement the Online Streaming Act. He warned that imposing outdated broadcast-style quotas and new levies on music streaming
services risks undermining one of Canada’s greatest cultural and economic success stories.

The Online Streaming Act was introduced by the Trudeau Government in 2023, to impose content restrictions on broadcasters, including streaming services. The CRTC was issued with the responsibility for the implementation of the Act and the Commission is currently holding hearings to support its understanding of how best to implement it.

DIMA is the trade association that represents the world’s leading music streaming services across the Americas, including Amazon, Apple Music, Feed.fm, Sirius XM / Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube.

Streaming has revitalized Canada’s music industry, transforming piracy into prosperity
Our members have played a central role in transforming the music market in Canada for the better,” said Davies.” They have helped transform piracy into prosperity. Streaming now generates the vast majority of Canadian recorded music revenues, paying more than half a billion dollars to rights holders last year.”

Streaming’s model is both affordable and sustainable, he noted: “Seventy percent of streaming service revenues flow to the rights holders, which is the highest contribution of any music business model. Streaming delivers a win for consumers and a win for artists.”

He added: “Streaming has not just opened doors; it has removed barriers. An artist in Bedford or Burnaby can now reach listeners across the country and around the world. Success no longer depends on knowing a radio programmer. Streaming gives all music creators access to the global marketplace, while consumers enjoy unprecedented access to music across genres, languages, and cultures. This is one of the most successful stories in the history of Canadian music.”

Streaming is not radio
Davies warned that applying old broadcast-era rules to audio streaming services would backfire on the Commission. “Streaming is not radio. Trying to apply radio era rules to this interactive world will not work. It risks undermining the very outcomes the Commission is trying to encourage,” he said.

“Quotas designed for a one-to-many broadcast environment are incompatible with the reality of a one-to-one streaming environment”, he argued. “Michael Buble’s Christmas classics may not even qualify as Canadian content under today’s rules. That’s a policy problem, not a market one.”

Over-regulation risks undermining success
DIMA also highlighted the dangers of new levies and costs. “The current levy proposal adds another cost layer which poses a threat to the ongoing investments that have enabled Canada’s music industry to thrive,” said Davies. “If consumer prices rise due to  government-imposed costs, fewer people subscribe, and more users may be driven back to piracy.” He later added, “To interfere with that success without fully understanding how music streaming works puts the entire ecosystem at risk.”

A call for collaboration
Davies closed with a call for industry-led solutions and direct dialogue. “We encourage stakeholders to talk to one another directly, rather than risk talking past one another through filings. We urge the CRTC to call for a stakeholder roundtable – providing an opportunity to establish a forum for open, collaborative discussion that will help build shared understanding
and identify a more constructive path forward.”

“What we ask is balance,” he concluded. “We want Canadian and Indigenous artists to reach larger audiences. We want more Canadians to legally access royalty generating music. Canada can continue to be a global leader in digital music. That leadership will be stronger if policy fosters innovation, investment, and collaboration, rather than constraining them.”

Graham Davies’ full opening statement

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About DIMA
DIMA is the voice of music streaming advocating for the digital music innovations that have created unparalleled consumer choice and revolutionized the way music fans and artists connect. Representing the world’s leading music streaming companies and streaming innovators, DIMA’s mission is to promote and protect the ability of music fans to engage with creative content whenever and wherever they want and for artists to more easily reach old fans and make new ones. www.dima.org

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