TAGGED AS MUSIC STREAMING
SiriusXM latest broadcaster denied relief from the CRTC
Media | 06/20/2023 5:37 pm EDT
The CRTC denied SiriusXM Canada Inc.’s request for relief from its Canadian content development (CCD) contributions on the grounds that in-person cultural events have “largely recovered” since Spring 2022, and, alternatively, it can make its discretionary contributions...
Senate committee completes work on Bill C-11
Media | 12/09/2022 5:15 pm EST
The Senate committee studying the Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11, officially completed its work after spending a total of 65 hours in clause-by-clause review and passing 25 amendments.
The Senate Committee of Transport and Communications spent Wednesday and Thursday in...
Keep CanCon requirements for Rogers community radio, FRPC tells CRTC
Media | 12/01/2022 9:35 am EST
The Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) told the...
Senate votes against including financial, subscriber, thresholds in scope of Bill C-11
Media | 11/29/2022 12:46 pm EST
The Senate committee currently engaged in a...
C-11 allows Canadian cultural sector to avoid becoming “service industry”: Canada Media Fund
Media | 10/25/2022 4:03 pm EDT
Whether or not enough content is produced in...
Sarnia, Ont., won’t see new radio stations for at least 2 years: CRTC
Media | 07/27/2022 2:32 pm EDT
The CRTC denied a request filed by Sarnia Media and Entertainment Inc....
Scott is wrong to think the CRTC can handle C-11: former CRTC vice-chair; Unifor wants local news fund added
Media | 05/24/2022 5:44 pm EDT
Former CRTC vice-chair Peter Menzies has claimed that it "makes no sense" for the CRTC to regulate content on the internet through the Online Streaming Act, despite claims by...
PIAC, Quebecor, music sector, all oppose Stingray financial relief proposal
Media | 02/01/2022 5:08 pm EST
Quebecor Inc., organizations supporting Canada music and radio sector, as...
Canadian media company expands in States with $59M acquisition
Media | 01/07/2022 4:36 pm EST
A Montreal-based media and entertainment company is expanding in the U.S....
Hedy Fry new chair of Heritage committee
Media | 12/13/2021 5:43 pm EST
OTTAWA – Veteran Liberal MP Hedy Fry was elected chair of the House of Commons committee on Canadian...
Consensus on CRTC data collection for foreign outlets; disagreement on how
Media | 08/09/2021 5:32 pm EDT
Civil groups and Canadian telecoms companies agree that the CRTC should...
Supreme Court to hear making available right dispute
Media | 04/26/2021 5:55 pm EDT
The Supreme Court of Canada has decided it will hear an appeal from Music Canada and the Society of...
Heritage Committee strikes social media exemption from C-10; moves away from 7 year licence terms
Media | 04/23/2021 8:56 pm EDT
The House of Commons Heritage committee has moved...
Canadian radio broadcasters ask CRTC for space to compete with streamers
Media | 03/30/2021 5:35 pm EDT
The CRTC needs to do away with restrictive regulations, argue multiple...
Broadcast Act updates not comprehensive enough: NDP, Conservatives
Media | 11/03/2020 6:44 pm EST
The Liberal government’s proposed updates to the Broadcasting Act have...
Henderson steps down as Music Canada CEO
Media | 05/28/2020 5:58 pm EDT
Music Canada CEO Graham Henderson will step down from the role he’s held for more than 15 years, the organization announced in a Thursday press release. In the statement, Henderson said working at Music Canada had been a “great honour and privilege.” “I have absolutely every confidence that the staff, the Board and everyone at Sony, Universal and Warner will go forward from strength to strength. I hope that my experience and insight may be of some value down the road,” Henderson said. Board chairperson Jennifer Sloan thanked Henderson for guiding the trade organization...
Quebecor launches music streaming service
Media | 05/04/2020 3:54 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc. has launched a music streaming service, QUB musique, focused on Quebec-based artists. ...
Stingray, Music Choice settle U.S. lawsuits
Media | 02/06/2020 4:50 pm EST
Stingray Group Inc. and Pennsylvania-based music company Music Choice have settled their duelling U.S. lawsuits involving patent infringement. Stingray said in its earnings press release Wednesday that it will pay Music Choice...
Bell and Stingray partner on targeted ads for radio, audio streaming
Media | 09/26/2019 5:05 pm EDT
BCE Inc. and Stingray Group Inc. have launched a targeted advertising platform that allows ads to be placed on their radio stations, audio streaming apps and podcasts. The companies said in a press...
Telecoms ‘caught off guard’ by allegations piracy promoted at retailers: Super Channel
Media | 09/16/2019 6:38 pm EDT
Allarco Entertainment 2008 Inc.’s Super Channel...
Heritage committee calls for end of ISP safe harbour copyright rules
Media | 05/16/2019 1:10 pm EDT
The House heritage committee says the government should do more to fight piracy, including holding internet service providers “accountable,” and put in place efforts to...
Music orgs suing public establishments to recover royalties
Media | 03/28/2019 5:46 pm EDT
While the Canadian music industry aims to address revenue shortfalls in the...
Public music should feature Canadian content, Stingray says
Media | 02/01/2019 1:18 pm EST
Music in public establishments such as malls, bars and restaurants should...
Stingray shelves Music Choice buy, citing price ‘disagreement’
Media | 01/03/2019 4:12 pm EST
Stingray Group Inc. said it is aborting its previously announced...
CRTC says Stingray can buy Newcap; deal to close this week
Media | 10/23/2018 1:43 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc.’s move to enter the Canadian radio market has...
Stingray names new SVP of advertising sales
Media | 09/19/2018 3:36 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has appointed Ryan Fuss its new senior vice-president of advertising sales,...
Canadians spent $8B on digital products last year: StatCan
Media | 08/29/2018 6:00 pm EDT
According to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada, 67 per cent of adult Canadians purchased a digital product, such as a subscription to a streaming service, ebooks or online newspapers, between...
CRTC opens consult on Stingray-Newcap, Quebecor-Serdy deals
Media | 08/03/2018 3:47 pm EDT
The CRTC has set Sept. 4 as the deadline for comments in two acquisitions in the broadcasting sector. It opened consultations Friday on the proposed acquisition of Groupe Serdy by Quebecor Inc. and...
Stingray offers $120M for Music Choice
Media | 08/03/2018 2:00 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. is turning from fighting Pennsylvania-based Music Choice to offering to buy...
YouTube Premium, YouTube Music available in Canada
Media | 06/18/2018 1:55 pm EDT
Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube said Monday that its subscription platform YouTube Premium and its YouTube Music service are now available in Canada.
YouTube Music includes features like personalized recommendations, music videos, and a “smart search” that allows listeners...
Copyright Act review shifts gears to radio, TV
Media | 05/25/2018 4:08 pm EDT
The ongoing review of the Copyright Act will begin focusing on the music, radio, television and film sectors next month. The House of Commons industry committee has heard from 100 stakeholders since the review began in...
Stingray to move into radio with NewCap parent buy
Media | 05/02/2018 5:33 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. will enter the radio business with the purchase of Newfoundland Capital...
CRTC denies ‘self-serving’ Sirius XM fund proposal
Media | 03/16/2018 5:27 pm EDT
The CRTC has denied a proposal by Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. to create...
iHeartRadio files for bankruptcy in U.S.
Media | 03/15/2018 5:17 pm EDT
The owner of iHeartRadio Media Inc., the company that aggregates radio content through its app, has filed...
CRTC asks digital giants for info, promises confidentiality
Media | 02/05/2018 2:02 pm EST
As part of its government-ordered proceeding on future content distribution models, the CRTC is asking a number of companies — including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Netflix Inc. — for information about their digital media broadcasting revenues, subscribers and viewing in Canada. Several years ago, during its Let’s Talk TV proceeding, those two companies refused to provide such info to the regulator, triggering conflict with the commission that saw then-chairman Jean-Pierre Blais briefly walk out of a hearing and threaten to revoke the digital-media exemption order under which Netflix...
SOCAN expects higher annual revenues for 2017
Media | 01/31/2018 5:44 pm EST
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is estimating that it has broken...
End of 2017 saw Stingray, Birch Hill reinvigorate lobby efforts
Media | 01/17/2018 4:39 pm EST
Stingray Digital Group Inc. and Birch Hill Equity Partners ramped up their lobbying in December, with both submitting their first communications reports for the year in the last weeks of 2017....
CRTC OKs ownership change for two Ont. radio stations
Media | 01/15/2018 4:05 pm EST
The CRTC has approved the acquisition of two Ontario radio stations by Byrnes Communications Inc. from...
Samsung to unlock FM chip in new smartphones
Media | 01/12/2018 3:47 pm EST
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will unlock FM chips in its newer smartphones, according to a press release...
Stingray buys concert streaming service
Media | 01/03/2018 2:05 pm EST
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has purchased the New York-based streaming service Quello Concerts in a move...
Need to be proactive, can’t be reactive on radio trends: Bell, Rogers
Media | 11/09/2017 7:04 pm EST
TORONTO — If there’s one thing radio players can do to be successful in...
International market becoming key for music publishers: panel
Media | 11/07/2017 3:56 pm EST
OTTAWA — Markets outside of Canada are increasingly important for music...
Amazon Fire TV stick launches in Canada
telecom | 11/07/2017 1:48 pm EST
Amazon.com Inc. is making available its Fire TV Stick Basic Edition plug-in streaming device available...
Music Choice patents under review in dispute with Stingray
Media | 10/24/2017 5:44 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. is challenging the validity of patents held by Pennsylvania-based Music Choice as part of a wider conflict between the two parties.
Music Choice, a multi-platform video and music network, filed a complaint for patent infringement in a Texas...
Narrow the ‘value gap,’ Music Canada tells gov’t
Media | 10/18/2017 7:50 pm EDT
Music Canada is asking the government to address the disparity between the value of creative content and the revenues that are generated from it. “The Value Gap challenges the livelihood and...
SiriusXM streaming service adds 75 channels
Media | 10/12/2017 3:38 pm EDT
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. has added 75 new channels to its SiriusXM Streaming service, it said...
SOCAN appeals decision in making-available-right case
Media | 10/03/2017 1:22 pm EDT
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has filed an appeal in Federal Court arguing that a Copyright Board decision that established the making available right under the Copyright Act applies to...
Amazon adds Alexa to music app
Media | 09/26/2017 1:22 pm EDT
Amazon.com Inc. is making its voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant Alexa available on its...
Canadian cities interested in hosting 2nd Amazon HQ
Media | 09/07/2017 4:54 pm EDT
Amazon.com Inc. issued a request for proposals Thursday for North American cities interested in hosting its second headquarters, and some of Canada’s biggest cities are planning to throw their hat into the ring.
Amazon said in a press release that the second...
Smartphone streaming flat from last year: MTM
Media | 09/01/2017 10:00 am EDT
More than half of anglophones who own smartphones use the devices to stream audio content, according to a...
Making available right established for downloads, but no rates set
Media | 08/29/2017 6:26 pm EDT
The Copyright Board has ruled that the making available right under the...
CRTC renews 11 radio stations despite non-compliance
Media | 08/24/2017 2:20 pm EDT
The CRTC has renewed the licences of 11 radio stations after it found them in non-compliance with licence conditions. On Friday, it renewed two radio stations for shorter terms — Radio Ville Marie’s French-language CIRA-FM...
‘No compromise’ on NAFTA cultural exemptions: ministers
Media | 08/23/2017 5:27 pm EDT
Canada’s heritage and culture ministers are of one mind when it comes to...
Stingray partners with Via Rail
Media | 08/08/2017 5:37 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. will offer free access to its Stingray Music mobile app to Via Rail...
Stingray Music hits 2M downloads
Media | 07/24/2017 3:38 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Monday its mobile music-streaming application has surpassed the...
32% of anglophones use music streaming services: MTM
Media | 07/20/2017 5:28 pm EDT
The popularity of music streaming platforms among anglophone Canadians has grown over the past year, with 32 per cent reporting using a music streaming service in the past month when surveyed in the spring of 2017. That’s...
Videotron offering extra data to Unlimited Music subscribers
Media | 07/04/2017 3:37 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is increasing the data limits of wireless...
Re:Sound application to overturn tariffs denied
Media | 06/29/2017 3:53 pm EDT
The Federal Court has dismissed an application by Re:Sound Music Licensing Co. for a review of tariffs set by the Copyright Board.
The group, which represents artists' and labels' royalty rights in Canada, went to court to overturn rates for 2009 to 2012 that the...
Extension request for Unlimited Music shutdown denied
Media | 06/16/2017 11:58 am EDT
The CRTC said Thursday it won’t give Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron extra time to shut down its...
CRTC rejects Toronto area radio expansion, approves SW Ont. station
Media | 06/09/2017 12:28 pm EDT
Two Ontario markets with prospective applications for broadcasting licences can’t sustain any new radio stations, the CRTC said Friday. In separate decisions posted online, the regulator said...
Videotron ‘author’ of own misfortune: consumer advocates
Media | 06/05/2017 5:01 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron made its bed and now it has to lie in it, according to consumer and digital rights advocates who opposed the company’s request for a delay in complying with the CRTC’s...
Big three take aim at Videotron customers
telecom | 05/29/2017 4:27 pm EDT
BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. are trying to lure customers of Quebecor...
Videotron asks for extension on Unlimited Music finale
Media | 05/25/2017 2:13 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is asking the CRTC for more time to comply with the decision killing its Unlimited Music service last month, when it was found to be out of step with the concurrent decision on differential pricing practices that essentially banned zero-rating....
Former Videotron customers returning from Bell: Brouillette
Media | 05/12/2017 9:53 am EDT
Manon Brouillette, president of Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, downplayed the effect that BCE Inc.’s recent move to deploy fibre-to-the-home...
Rob Farina given expanded radio role
Media | 05/04/2017 9:01 pm EDT
Rob Farina will take on the role of head of radio content, strategy and iHeartRadio for BCE Inc.’s media division, the company announced in a Thursday press release. The position, effective May 29, will...
Valery Zamuner appointed VP of mergers and acquisitions at Stingray
Media | 05/02/2017 5:11 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has named Valery Zamuner to the position of senior vice-president of mergers, acquisitions and strategic initiatives, effective May 23. “With her...
Canadian music streaming brings in $128M US: report
Media | 04/26/2017 5:43 pm EDT
Canada has become the world’s sixth-largest market for recorded music, according to a new report from the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The group’s 2017 Global Music Report said...
Joly sitting down with foreign digital companies
Media | 03/03/2017 4:05 pm EST
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is meeting this week with digital platforms, telling a CBC morning radio show Friday that she was in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., region Thursday meeting...
CBC ‘dimmer star’ in media landscape, conservative event hears
Media | 02/27/2017 6:15 pm EST
OTTAWA — When talking about CBC/Radio-Canada’s role in the media landscape, the public broadcaster is a “pygmy amongst giants,” and more focus should be aimed at large...
75% of anglophones subscribe to TV service: MTM
Media | 01/31/2017 6:58 pm EST
New data shows that the number of anglophone Canadians with TV subscriptions has continued to fall, reaching 75 per cent in the fall of 2016 — a 14-per-cent decline over the past five years. That number is down two per cent...
Marie Ginette Lepage takes SVP role at Stingray
Media | 01/26/2017 5:54 pm EST
Marie Ginette Lepage is leaving Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron to join the team at Stingray Digital Group Inc., Stingray announced. In a press release, the company said Lepage would take on the role of senior...
Sprint customers to get Tidal exclusives after acquisition
Media | 01/23/2017 5:50 pm EST
Sprint Corp. has agreed to acquire a 33-per-cent stake in music streaming service Tidal in an agreement that will see it offer exclusive music content for its customers. The deal will provide Sprint’s 45 million retail customers with unlimited access to Tidal, as well as exclusive content for existing and new customers, the company said in a press release Monday. A marketing fund for artists will also be set up as part of the partnership, according to the press release. ...
CRTC approves three channels for distribution
Media | 01/19/2017 7:27 pm EST
The CRTC said Thursday in two decisions it has approved three channels — Stingray Brava, Bestseller and Mult — for distribution in Canada. Stingray Digital Group Inc.'s Stingray Brava is an...
Rob Farina named head of iHeartRadio
Media | 12/15/2016 5:26 pm EST
BCE Inc. has named Rob Farina head of iHeartRadio, syndication and strategic initiatives at Bell Media Radio. Farina was previously brought in by the company to help advise on the launch of iHeartMedia Inc.'s free...
67% of anglophones stream music: MTM
Media | 12/02/2016 8:01 pm EST
More than two-thirds of anglophone Canadians use the Internet to listen to streaming audio, a number that rises to more than 90 per cent among students and those under 35, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor...
Artists ask Joly to ‘stand up for creators’
Media | 11/29/2016 5:41 pm EST
A coalition of artists, including authors, directors and musicians, is asking Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to consider the compensation artists receive as part of the ongoing review of Canadian content...
Bernier would streamline CBC’s mandate, remove ads as CPC leader
Media | 11/23/2016 9:22 pm EST
OTTAWA — Conservative MP Maxime Bernier said Wednesday that if he is selected as the next leader of the federal Conservative Party and the next Canadian prime minister, he would move to make changes to CBC/Radio-Canada that would keep it from competing with the private sector. “Do we need a public broadcaster that runs bad Canadian copies of American popular shows?” Bernier asked, during a press conference on Parliament Hill, also questioning the need for CBC to air...
MacDonald talks competition for radio, set-top rating system
Media | 11/10/2016 7:08 pm EST
CRTC commissioner Christopher MacDonald said radio stations must build on their strengths in order to deal with increasing competition in a speech to the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB)...
Videotron goes on defence as differential pricing hearing wraps
Media | 11/04/2016 11:49 pm EDT
GATINEAU, Que. — Those who innovate shouldn’t be penalized because their competitors can’t keep up, the CRTC heard Friday from representatives of the telecom company...
Zero-rating regime should be similar to ITMP framework: CNOC
Media | 11/01/2016 12:50 am EDT
GATINEAU — On the first day of the CRTC’s hearing on differential pricing practices, a consortium representing small telecoms asked the CRTC to allow but regulate the practice of zero-rating,...
SoundCloud Go launches in Canada
Media | 10/19/2016 4:50 pm EDT
SoundCloud has opened its subscription service, SoundCloud Go, to Canadian customers, the audio platform announced Wednesday. In a post on the company’s blog, SoundCloud said the service, which allows listeners to...
Stingray announces first ‘content distribution partner’
Media | 10/14/2016 6:36 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Friday it has purchased more than 600 hours of exclusive music and documentary content from EuroArts Music International GmbH, making it...
Amazon launches second music service in U.S.
Media | 10/12/2016 9:54 pm EDT
Amazon.com Inc. has launched a stand-alone music streaming service in the United States. While it has offered music streaming for its Prime customers since 2014, the new Amazon Music Unlimited is available to...
Some Corus talk radio stations streaming on Apple Music
Media | 10/12/2016 7:23 pm EDT
Corus Entertainment Inc. is making seven of its news talk radio stations available for free internationally on Apple Inc.’s Apple Music streaming service. The company said in...
iHeartRadio launches in Canada
Media | 10/07/2016 4:56 pm EDT
iHeartMedia Inc.'s free digital radio and music streaming service is now available in Canada, according to a press release from BCE Inc.’s media division. The free app, iHeartRadio, is available on a preview basis...
Que. music industry wants CanCon rules for streaming services, ISPs
Media | 09/30/2016 8:38 pm EDT
The Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ) is asking for regulatory action to help support the music industry as it deals with the shift to streaming music services, including the imposition of new rules for both streaming services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). “We are asking the Quebec government, the federal government, the CRTC, the Copyright Board, and other relevant bodies to put at the top of their...
Fresh lawsuit filed in Stingray, Music Choice dispute
Media | 08/30/2016 8:53 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has responded to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by competitor Music Choice and filed its own suit against Music Choice alleging illegal business activities. In June, Music Choice, a...
Stingray hires Rick Bergan to head U.S. distribution
Media | 08/02/2016 5:26 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. is expanding its management team with the appointment of a head of content distribution in the United States. Rick Bergan, who previously held the senior vice-president of distribution position at...
Twitter to live-stream out-of-market MLB games
Media | 07/25/2016 9:46 pm EDT
Canadians will be able to watch some Major League Baseball (MLB) games on Twitter Inc.’s social media service. The company said in a press release Monday that it would live-stream out-of-market games from the MLB and the National Hockey League (NHL) in the United States. Cameron Gordon, spokesman for Twitter Canada, said in an email that out-of-market MLB games will be available in Canada. That means that though Canadians won’t be able to watch Blue Jays games (the rights to which are held by Rogers Communications Inc.), they will have access to games played by the...
SOCAN purchases Audiam
Media | 07/21/2016 8:37 pm EDT
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has acquired a New York-based company specializing in tracking data of music released on streaming websites. “With Audiam, SOCAN now has a comprehensive database and metadata of all musical works and commercially...
Stingray Music reaches 1M downloads
Media | 07/05/2016 6:42 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Tuesday that its mobile streaming music app has doubled its user base in the span of a year, reaching one million downloads. Users spend an average of five hours per week listening...
Facebook, AT&T defend differential pricing in CRTC review
Media | 06/30/2016 8:23 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. and AT&T Inc. have waded into the CRTC’s review of differential pricing practices, arguing that the commission should allow carriers to offer zero-rated services...
Advocacy groups take aim at data caps in zero-rating review
Media | 06/29/2016 6:45 pm EDT
Questions around telecoms’ usage of data caps should be at the centre of the CRTC’s proceeding on differential pricing practices, advocacy groups said in interventions, calling for the...
Stingray Digital buys 4K TV channel
Media | 06/16/2016 5:24 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has acquired the Festival 4K television channel, which broadcasts live performances, including festivals, concerts and theatre productions, according to the press...
SOCAN signs on with European rights management group
Media | 06/03/2016 5:55 pm EDT
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has signed an agreement with a European partner to manage Canadian rights overseas. In a Friday press release, the French authors’...
Canadian support for CanCon doesn’t extend to online media: poll
Media | 06/03/2016 3:55 pm EDT
The majority of Canadians doesn’t believe that online media, such as Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service or music streaming services like Spotify AB's, should fall under the...
Smartphone penetration 77% among anglophones: MTM
Media | 05/17/2016 7:42 pm EDT
The number of anglophone Canadians with smartphones reached 77 per cent in the fall of 2015, up from 73 per cent in the spring of that year, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor, a project...
Modify zero-rated plans to hit net neutrality goals: Sandvine
Media | 05/16/2016 9:24 pm EDT
If communications providers stick to principles of transparency and openness, zero-rated and sponsored data services can stay out of regulatory and consumer trouble, according to a report released Monday by Sandvine Inc. “There is no single definition of Network Neutrality globally and one is unlikely to emerge in the near future. Operating within that limitation, sponsored data and application zero-rating can be tailored to meet the needs of Network Neutrality, however it is defined (or not) in a region,” Waterloo, Ont.-based Sandvine, which helps companies establish...