New funding is coming to the Canadian music industry.
Pascale St-Ongethe Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced at the Juno Awards on March 24 that the government will increase the Canada Music Fund by $32 million over the next two fiscal years.
The Canada Music Fund supports both FACTOR and Musicaction. These funding agencies provide artists, record labels and other organizations with funding for a wide range of activities including recording, touring, marketing and music video production.
The announcement — while welcomed by Canadian music associations such as the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) — falls short of the $50 million pledged by the Liberal government in 2021, and the $60 million increase requires by industrial groups.
FACTOR has historically received significant funds from Canada's private broadcasters, but as those contributions dwindle, CIMA and CLMA are sounding the alarm about the organization's ability to meet the needs of Canadian artists. FACTOR's funding challenges come at a time when many artists and organizations are struggling to stay afloat amid a cost-of-living crisis.
“CIMA welcomes the government's increased investment in the Canada Music Fund,” said the CIMA president Andrew Cash. “This is a recognition of the important contribution music makes to our cultural fabric and national economy.”
L'ADISQ, the Association of the Recording, Broadcasting and Video Industry of Quebec, points out that Musicaction — which mainly supports French-language acts — has already made cuts in recent months and this increase will prevent further reductions in capacity. The association calls the announcement a step in the right direction, but highlights the difficult financial context facing music organizations with fewer resources.
The Canadian Live Music Association echoes l'ADISQ's sentiment, calling the increase “a good start” and echoing the tough conditions facing industry members. An increase in the Canadian Music Fund was one of three recommendations submitted by CLMA for the upcoming federal budget, which the organization hoped would see “urgent action” to protect the live music sector.
With the full budget yet to come, more support measures could be in store for Canada's music sector. -Rosie Long Decter
Canada was ranked the 8th largest global music market in the new IFPI report
Canada's recorded music revenue is strong, according to a new IFPI report.
The IFPI 2024 state of the industry The report takes a deep dive into the state of recorded music around the world and ranks Canada in eighth place in terms of global music markets in 2023, maintaining the country's position in the top ten. Canada's music market grew by 12.19% last year, reaching US$659.6 million in revenue. That growth outpaced both the U.S. market, which grew by 7.2 percent, and global growth of 10.2 percent — the second-highest global growth rate on record, according to the report.
Some individual Canadian artists also fared well on a global scale: the report ranks Drake and The Weeknd at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on the Global Artist 2023 map, which takes into account artist, track and album performance . Taylor Swift took first place there, followed by South Korean groups SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids.
A statement from IFPI, which represents the global recording industry, and Music Canada, an association representing major Canadian companies, attributed much of Canada's revenue growth to streaming revenue, which rose 8.6% here, and in particular in the flow of subscriptions, which increased by 10.1 %. The associations highlight the challenges posed by stream manipulation, highlighting IFPI's recent legal complaint against nine Canadian-based websites that were selling fraudulent streams. Websites are now offline.
Beyond Canada's borders, IFPI state of the industry highlights how national markets are globally interconnected, using the growing popularity of Punjabi music in Canada and the launch of 91 North Records – a partnership between Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India – as an example. “We created 91 North Records,” says Warner's Simon Robson, as “a reaction to something happening organically and a proactive supercharger to make sure it doesn't just continue, but flourishes and finds a wider audience.” Robson points out that several of the most popular Indian songs in 2022 came from Canadian-based artists. – RLD
Karan Aujla makes history at the 2024 Junos
The 2024 Juno Awards were about the future of Canadian music while honoring its history.
A quartet of actors who made major breakthroughs this year won the major awards presented on Sunday night's (March 24) CBC telecast live from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Punjabi-Canadian global star Karan Aujla won the TikTok Fan Choice Award, the ceremony's only fan-selected award. “Sometimes I can't believe I'm the same kid who lost my parents when I was in India, went to Canada and now I'm here!” said the BC-based artist, one of Billboard of Canada opening cover stars. “If you dream, make sure you dream big.”
Dressed in a stark white outfit with four back-up dancers in red, Aujla performed early on, performing pop hits “Admirin' You” and “Softly.” Both came from his album Making memories, which made history as the highest charting Punjabi debut ever on the Canadian Albums Chart. Ikky, who made the album with Aujla, acted as the hype man on an elevated platform.
In the Advertising sign Punjabi Wave cover story AP Dhillon spoke about his performance at the 2023 Junos and how he lobbied to ensure popular Punjabi music gets a sustained platform at the awards. Apparently, they kept their word.
This year's Junos also had the most Indigenous nominees in the awards' history. Anita Landback, Tanas Sylliboy and Sarah Prosper set the scene with a land recognition crossed with a performance by Juno winner Jeremy Dutcher on Wolastoqey, who then joined Elisapie in a duet on an Inuktitut version of ” Heart of Glass” by Blondie. Along with Aujla and others, it meant that the performances included at least six different languages, including English and French.
Several other artists had big wins at this year's awards. Tate McRae, The Beaches, Charlotte Cardin and TALK all had big years on the charts and were rewarded with awards. The Junos have struggled with star power in recent years — Drake has boycotted for the past half-decade, while chart-topper Tate McRae wasn't present to accept her two awards this year — but they've made some strides in representation of it. makes Canadian music unique. -Richard Trapunsky
Last week in Canada: Shutting down streaming scam sites
