Last month, it was announced that Canada's House of Commons had passed Bill C-11, subjecting US streamers and other foreign tech agencies to subsidize Canadian content like traditional broadcasters. (In other words, it would force tech giants to finance and market CanCon and help Canadian creators get their work onto the world market.)
However, there are some complications that come attached to the bill. Namely, the somewhat strict criteria that content must abide by in order to count as actual CanCon.
As reported by CTV, songs like Justin Bieber's "Ghost," Tate McRae's "She's All I Wanna Be" and Faouzia's "Anybody Else" don't actually fit the bill's definition of a Canadian song, meaning that they won't be supported by its new promotional regulations.
To officially qualify as Canadian, songs must meet two of the following criteria: being written entirely by a Canadian; performed principally by a Canadian; being broadcast or performed live in Canada; or having lyrics written entirely by a Canadian.
In the case of J Bieb's "Ghost," it only checks one of those boxes, meaning that traditional broadcasters already can't count it as Canadian content. And now, under Bill C-11, Spotify and other streaming platforms won't be able to either.
A spokesperson for Spotify told CTV that without a more flexible definition of "Canadian content," the streamer could actually end up promoting fewer tracks by Canadian artists than it does currently on its Canadian playlists.
"It's important to understand that today's music world is international in nature, involving the collaboration of artists from across the globe," said Nathan Wiszniak, Spotify's head of Canadian artist and label marketing. "Under current Canadian content definitions, many songs that we know and love from Canadian artists would not be classed as Canadian."
However, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says that the rules could change, as he reportedly has plans to ask the broadcast regulator — that's the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) — to review and reconsider the bill's current definition of Canadian content.
As it stands now, Spotify currently has 90 playlists spotlighting Canadian artists from a wide variety of genres, using a range of data sources to determine if a song is Canadian or not, including self-reporting by the artist.
"This means that we carry a much wider category of tracks that we have identified as Canadian compared to what we believe would be classed as Canadian under current definitions," Wiszniak told CTV.
"We are concerned that unless the Canadian content requirements are updated, this bill could limit the exposure of emerging and beloved Canadian artists and, in turn, cause the overexposure of others, pushing listeners away," he continued.
Bill C-11 has passed through the House of Commons and will be discussed when senators return from their summer break.
However, there are some complications that come attached to the bill. Namely, the somewhat strict criteria that content must abide by in order to count as actual CanCon.
As reported by CTV, songs like Justin Bieber's "Ghost," Tate McRae's "She's All I Wanna Be" and Faouzia's "Anybody Else" don't actually fit the bill's definition of a Canadian song, meaning that they won't be supported by its new promotional regulations.
To officially qualify as Canadian, songs must meet two of the following criteria: being written entirely by a Canadian; performed principally by a Canadian; being broadcast or performed live in Canada; or having lyrics written entirely by a Canadian.
In the case of J Bieb's "Ghost," it only checks one of those boxes, meaning that traditional broadcasters already can't count it as Canadian content. And now, under Bill C-11, Spotify and other streaming platforms won't be able to either.
A spokesperson for Spotify told CTV that without a more flexible definition of "Canadian content," the streamer could actually end up promoting fewer tracks by Canadian artists than it does currently on its Canadian playlists.
"It's important to understand that today's music world is international in nature, involving the collaboration of artists from across the globe," said Nathan Wiszniak, Spotify's head of Canadian artist and label marketing. "Under current Canadian content definitions, many songs that we know and love from Canadian artists would not be classed as Canadian."
However, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says that the rules could change, as he reportedly has plans to ask the broadcast regulator — that's the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) — to review and reconsider the bill's current definition of Canadian content.
As it stands now, Spotify currently has 90 playlists spotlighting Canadian artists from a wide variety of genres, using a range of data sources to determine if a song is Canadian or not, including self-reporting by the artist.
"This means that we carry a much wider category of tracks that we have identified as Canadian compared to what we believe would be classed as Canadian under current definitions," Wiszniak told CTV.
"We are concerned that unless the Canadian content requirements are updated, this bill could limit the exposure of emerging and beloved Canadian artists and, in turn, cause the overexposure of others, pushing listeners away," he continued.
Bill C-11 has passed through the House of Commons and will be discussed when senators return from their summer break.
