Streaming lets Canadians find music they love – and Canadian musicians find audiences around the world

Beethoven said “music can change the world”. A couple of hundred years later, this idea is no less true, and in some ways, much easier to see happening. Technological innovations have allowed more people to enjoy music, more easily. Perhaps none have had the pace and impact that music streaming is finding today.

With more than 5 billion people having access to the Internet, and billions now using music streaming services, there has never been a time when a Canadian musician could make music and have a greater opportunity to have it heard by people in every part of the world.

Most Canadians have used music streaming services already, and satisfaction with streaming services is high. On behalf of the Digital Media Association, which represents major music streaming services such as Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube, Spark Insights conducted opinion research among a representative sample of 2,200 adults in Canada, in April 2023.

What did we find? About 9 in 10 streaming service users are pretty happy with music streaming services for making it easy to find music they love – or could love, providing abundant choice and boosting visibility of Canadian musicians. Most people are also satisfied that they are offered a good service at a price they can afford, no small accomplishment in a time when consumers are feeling the pinch of inflation and pressures on their cost of living.

For decades, national policy has been crafted to promote visibility of Canadian content, whether it be in the area of music or filmed entertainment. Music streaming services are game changers when it comes to the pursuit of this goal in music. Canadians see lots of Canadian artists on streaming services, are satisfied with “the amount of Canadian content available and recommended to them on streaming services”, and don’t find it difficult to find music by Canadian artists on streaming services.

If new government regulations ended up increasing the prices of music streaming services a majority (62%) say would cancel their subscription. Twenty-nine percent say they would pay the increase but be upset with government (38% among those 18-29) and 9% say they would pay the increased price.

As regulators consider how best to pursue national policy goals in the area of music these findings provide a good deal of insight into what’s different as the landscape for discoverability of Canadian artists has shifted from radio and retail to a much more online experience. Some of the ideas that made sense – or were essential – 60 or 70 years ago, may not make much sense today. Music streaming services are an area of innovation that offers a great deal to consumers who want to experience a world of greater musical choice, while finding plenty of Canadian content. They offer unprecedented opportunity for Canadian musicians to reach a global audience without as much financial sacrifice as was part of an earlier time.