Music Canada teams with economist Will Page to launch first-of-its-kind study on the Canadian streaming market

Report details where and how Canadian artists are reaching fans today

As the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) continues its work to implement the Online Streaming Act, Music Canada has commissioned a first-of-its-kind report examining the presence and prominence of Canadian artists in Canada’s domestic audio streaming market.

The report, authored by renowned economist and streaming music market expert Will Page, analyzes Luminate data of the top 10,000 artists and top 10,000 songs listened to by Canadians on audio streaming platforms to determine the breadth and depth of Canadian artists connecting with Canadian fans. 

In the years studied, of the top 10,000 artists streamed in Canada, the report found nearly 1,000 were Canadian. Moreover, Canadian artists are well distributed throughout the top 10,000 – not just in the niche tail. Among the 1000 most-listened-to artists, 100 of them are Canadian, including a diversity of talent like Tate McRae, Karan Aujla, Lauren Spencer Smith, Fouki, Alexandra Stréliski and Josh Ross. 

“As the CRTC develops frameworks to bring streaming platforms under its regulatory purview, it’s really important they have a clear understanding of the current unregulated domestic streaming marketplace, and the wide array of Canadian artists who are finding success within it,” says Patrick Rogers, CEO, Music Canada. 

The report also considers the global nature of streaming, demonstrating how essential these platforms are to Canadians’ success around the world. It finds that, for every one stream at home, Canadian artists get almost 10 overseas. In fact, of the top 1,000 singles worldwide, Canadian artists ranked third, behind only the US and UK. 

“In a world where fans can listen to any artist, from any country in the world, and with nearly every recorded song at their fingertips, listeners are choosing Canadian music. Our regulatory framework should build on streaming’s ability to connect Canadian and Indigenous artists with fans at home and abroad,” says Rogers.

Read the full report here.