Public relations campaign against Online Streaming Act launches
By Ahmad Hathout
Two music organizations have sent a letter to the CRTC disagreeing with what they say is an attempt to apply radio-like regulation to audio streaming services.
Music Canada, which represents major record labels like Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music, and the Digital Media Association (DiMA), a trade group representing the likes of Amazon, Apple, Spotify, and Google’s Youtube, said they were part of CRTC-hosted engagement sessions from September 11 to 18. They said they were then encouraged to write to the regulator any thoughts and clarifications following those meetings.
“From the discussion guide to the moderated questions, there was a clear attempt to place the continuation of radio regulations on audio streaming services as an obvious next step,” the groups said in such a letter. “We do not agree.
“Today’s radio regulations were carefully crafted for Canada’s radio environment,” the letter continued. “One that is shaped by our vast geography, linguistic duality, and a willingness in an analogue system to make decisions about what is available to Canadian listeners. They also reflect the limitations of the medium: a finite number of hours, increasingly centralized programming, and a live broadcast format, and relatively small number of recordings that radio broadcasts.
“Streaming is none of these things. Being driven in terms of each consumer’s individual interest and activity, it represents nearly infinite hours of listening, a vast catalogue of recordings, a plethora of languages, and has broken down not just physical geography but international borders as well. Three of the top 10 songs streamed in India in 2022 were by Canadian artists – a fact that would be inconceivable to the founders of our terrestrial broadcasting system.”
The groups said that they hope the CRTC thinks about streaming services “not as a proxy to the broadcasting system of the 1900s.”
As part of the Online Streaming Act, the CRTC has already ordered that the large foreign platforms, including some members of DiMA, contribute a base five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to the enrichment of Canadian content, including five per cent from audio streamers.
That “base contribution” order is now being challenged by Apple, Amazon and Spotify at the Federal Court of Appeal. The music streamers allege in those filings that the CRTC arbitrarily tacked on the five per cent levy, which is far higher than what Canadian radio must contribute without explaining the discrepancy in its decision.
Following the order, the head of Music Canada warned that the decision could amount to a “cultural policy disaster.”
The major foreign streamers have long warned that the decision to impose a levy on them would harm their existing collaborations with Canadian content producers. Last week, Netflix announced it was pulling back on its film and television training and development programs, citing the base contribution decision. According to a story in iPhone in Canada, Spotify increased its prices in the country by up to 24 per cent, following a similar price increase in the United States.
DiMA this week launched a public relations campaign called “Scrap the Streaming Tax,” which asks Canadians to write to their representatives opposing the legislation that they say “could lead to higher prices for Canadians and fewer content choices.
“This new tax is just the beginning,” the campaign messaging continues. “The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) could impose more red tape soon that can impact your favourite streaming service, and your ability to afford and access the content you want to watch and listen to.”
The templated letter to members of Parliament reads, in part, that the Online Streaming Act “further increases the cost of living for Canadians, particularly at a time when inflation and economic pressures are already making daily life challenging. Streaming services have made significant contributions to promoting Canadian artists and showcasing our culture to the world, all without placing unnecessary additional costs on consumers.”
