Music is part of the fabric of Canada. The list of incredible Canadian musicians is practically endless, from seminal artists such as “Stompin Tom” Conners, The Band, Neil Young, k.d. lang, to Canada’s godfathers of punk D.O.A. and some of its early 90’s stars like Sloan. Not to neglect the most essential Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip, or Canada’s most prominent contribution to hip hop, Drake.
Meanwhile, music venues in Toronto like the iconic Horseshoe Tavern, El Mocambo, and Lee’s Palace have become temples of homage for fans lucky enough to see sweat-soaked shows within their walls, where some of the biggest Canadian and international artists have performed.
As great and fulfilling as it is to look at Canada’s musical past, it’s also imperative to keep an eye on the future. There was a time not too long ago when Canadian musicians lived and died with radio airtime, album sales, and concerts. Then, in 1984, the fabric of Canadian music got a new wrinkle when Much Music was launched. Not only did Canada’s answer to MTV give Canadians their own music channel, but it also gave artists new avenues to promote themselves. Suddenly, Canadian bands like Moist, The Odds, and Big Sugar could and would go from being virtually unheard of to being national superstars off the backs of music videos.
As things have continued to evolve and change in terms of technology and culture, T.V. stations like Much were replaced with things like YouTube where a certain Canadian pop star (Bieber) first gained fame.
So this begs the question, “What does the future of the Canadian music industry look like?” For starters, it’s clear that audio streaming services like Spotify, for better or worse, have had a major impact on the industry. According to a recent article, in 2023 alone, Canadian artists were discovered by first-time listeners over 3.8 billion times! Read that number again, because it’s remarkable. Beyond that, it’s estimated that between 2018 and 2023, royalties generated by Canadian artists on Spotify exceeded $435 Million CAD! Just a few short decades ago, those types of numbers would have been virtually unthinkable.
Despite the fact that a 5% tax on streaming services has recently been enacted, it hasn’t slowed things down much at all. In 2023, a song by Calgary, Alberta’s Tate Macrae called “Greedy” was played over 860 million times by global fans! No matter one’s opinions on Spotify, it’s impossible to ignore the global doors that it has opened for Canadian artists. There was a time when now legendary bands like RUSH had to fight to get radio air time outside of Canada, let alone shows. In fact, it was thanks to a D.J. in Cleveland who took a chance on the band that they were able to break south of the border in the first place with their song “Working Man”.
Compare that to the fact that, according to Andrew Cash of the Canadian Independent Music Association, “503 Canadian indie artists with new music on Canadian-based independent labels in 2023 had over 110 million unique listeners on Spotify in the month of September.” Meanwhile, recording studios like those owned by Nova Scotia’s DiaDan Holdings have provided modern, innovative environments for artists to record their music.
Despite the challenges, thanks to innovations by industry veterans and world-class infrastructure like that owned by DiaDan Holdings, the future of the Canadian music industry gets brighter every day.