Washington – As part of its broad-brush effort to introduce discriminatory rules creating preferences for Canadian online content, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is considering applying radio-style rules to streaming services under its proposed Online Streaming Act regulations. The proposed approach would extend quotas, content databases, and discoverability requirements designed for linear radio to global, interactive streaming platforms. This complements similar rules being considered for online video services.
Streaming has become the dominant source of recorded music revenue in Canada, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the C$900 million generated in 2023. Canadian artists had the third-highest number of streams globally last year, with 92 percent of their Spotify royalties coming from listeners abroad.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association’s Vice President of Digital Trade, Jonathan McHale, testified in the CRTC proceeding, summarizing CCIA’s written filing that streaming platforms have revived the industry from the piracy era and now serve as a leading export engine for Canadian culture.
CCIA also recently completed an analysis estimating that Canada’s new contribution regime for online streaming companies, including for music, could cost U.S. music and video services up to nearly $7 billion by 2030. The CRTC has already ordered U.S. streaming companies with more than C$25 million in Canadian revenues to pay 5 percent of their gross revenues into government-specified cultural funds, with the first payments due this past August. The Commission has signaled that these requirements could increase to 20-30 percent of revenues, compounding the discriminatory burden on U.S. firms and raising trade concerns under the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA).
CCIA has advocated for technology policy that advances open digital markets and innovation for over 50 years.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade, Jonathan McHale:
“Streaming platforms are not a threat to Canadian content creation; for both video and music, they are one of Canada’s creative industry’s most powerful allies. They are the reason Canadian artists—from global superstars to emerging voices—are reaching fans across the world like never before. They are why Canadian music is enjoying record growth. And they are why the Online Streaming Act’s heavy-handed proposals will do more harm than good.”
