In Canada
Billboard Canada Power Players is returning in 2025, and it’s moving to Toronto’s NXNE.
The authoritative ranking of the music business’s most powerful executives — an official extension of Billboard’s Power 100 list — expanded to Canada in 2024. The event brought a who’s-who of industry leaders to a packed celebration at Toronto’s tallest building, the CN Tower. This year, the event will grow even bigger at its new home at NXNE, the beloved music festival celebrating its 30th anniversary amidst a new strategic partnership with Billboard Canada.
Nominations officially opened this week and will close on March 7, 2025.
“We’re thrilled to bring Power Players to the country’s most vibrant music conference and festival,” says Mo Ghoneim, president of Billboard Canada. “Power Players is a crucial spotlight of the executives leading the charge in Canada on a global scale, and we can’t wait to bring it to new heights in 2025.”
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Canada is home to some of the most impactful people in music, both at home and internationally. In 2024, Billboard Canada celebrated Arthur Fogel, Live Nation’s CEO of global touring, at No. 1. The Canadian industry icon who shaped the modern global touring market attended the event and spoke about the impact Canada’s live music scene had on his career.
As Canada’s market for stadium concerts and festivals continues to expand and Canadian Content regulations continue to be debated, there are many factors and stories that could play a role in this year’s Power Players list.
Billboard Canada Power Players celebrates people across the industry, including record labels, publishing, legal, streaming and radio, creative media, and more. The extremely competitive honour reflects market share, industry impact, achievements and other metrics.
The Power Players list is peer-nominated and selected by the Billboard Canada team.
Find the submissions form here. It’s also available in French here. – Richard Trapunski
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Canadian Independent Music Association Pulls Out of SXSW Amidst ‘Instability’ In the United States
One of the top showcase opportunities for Canadian musicians at SXSW will not take place this year.
The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) has canceled its Canada House event at the upcoming Austin music festival amidst rising political and economic tensions between Canada and the United States.
Andrew Cash, CIMA’s president and CEO, describes the decision as a confluence of various factors, mostly related to the relationship between the two countries since Donald Trump began his second term as U.S. President.
That includes the 25% tariffs placed on goods from Canada set to kick in on March 12, which falls during the dates of this year’s SXSW (which runs from March 7-15), as well as Trump’s repeated threats to annex the country.
“The growing instability of everything in the United States right now, plus the high cost [of putting on events in the United States] and the low [Canadian] dollar — all of these things combined made it so we couldn’t feel confident or good about what we were getting ourselves into at this particular moment,” Cash tells Billboard Canada.
“The timing is not great,” he continues. “We would be going down there just after the 30-day tariff pause has expired. We’re going to have a new Prime Minister [in Canada, following the resignation of Justin Trudeau]. I just didn’t feel comfortable putting CIMA out there in that context of instability.”
For more than a decade, Canada House has been a pivotal exporting opportunity for Canadian bands and artists at the influential American music festival. Taking over the Swan Dive music venue, it offers opportunities for Canadian musicians and entrepreneurs to network and showcase at an event well-attended by members of the local and international music industry. CIMA had planned to host a one-day daytime music showcase on March 12.
CIMA made the decision to pull out of SXSW on Feb. 13, sending emails to partners and invited artists informing them that they would not be producing the event this year.
Applications opened last fall, and four Canadian and Indigenous acts had been sent offers to play CIMA’s Canada House showcase. They learned of the cancellation last week.
“We don’t know what the climate is going to be,” Cash says. “It felt potentially dissonant to be going down to Texas and hosting an event called Canada House while the President of that country is essentially stating his intent to annex our country…We made the decision based on what we could control, because there’s so much about this situation that we can’t.”
CIMA is still offering Canadian bands spots at networking events with other international music offices and export partners from Australia, England, New Zealand and other markets. And though the Canada House showcase is on pause for 2025, they could still bring it back in future years depending on the geopolitical situation.
In the meantime, Cash says CIMA will focus its resources and investments on other international markets and opportunities within Canada. This will not affect the organization’s other Canada House activations at the German festival Reeperbahn, British festival The Great Escape or SXSW Australia.
Cash says he hopes the situation in the U.S. is resolved soon, as the country is Canada’s biggest export market — not just for music but many sectors of the economy.
“I think everyone understands that we’re in unprecedented times,” says Cash. “And I think everyone is unsure exactly how to react.”
For more on the cancellation, and how it affected artists who were invited to play, head here. – Richard Trapunski
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Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Hits No. 1 In Canada for The First Time After Super Bowl Performance
Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” is the No. 1 song in Canada this week — for the first time.
The diss track never managed to claim the top spot on the charts in Drake‘s home country like it did in the U.S. last year during the height of the stars’ heated rap beef. But after a Super Bowl halftime performance that saw record viewership, Canadians have pushed the controversial single to a new peak on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 for the chart dated Feb. 22, 2025.
Going into the Super Bowl, it wasn’t clear if Lamar was even legally allowed to perform the track, as Drake is suing Universal Music Group, the label that released it. But after teasing it throughout the night, Lamar not only played the song, he included the lines that name-drop Drake and accuse him of predatory behaviour. Serena Williams, Drake’s ex, danced alongside Lamar on the field.
Following the success of “Not Like Us” last year, Lamar dropped a surprise album, GNX, which is at No. 2 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart this week. Lamar is also all over the Canadian Hot 100, with 11 of his tracks charting there.
He performed his SZA collab from that album, “Luther,” at the halftime show as well, with the R&B star joining for the duet. That track also got a post-show boost, rising 18-2 on the Canadian Hot 100, as did SZA’s 2017 album Ctrl, which re-enters the Canadian Albums chart at No. 91. SZA’s SOS, meanwhile, drops from 2-3 behind GNX.
The two will perform together on the Grand National tour this summer, which stops in Toronto on June 12 and 13. – Rosie Long Decter
There’s a new category at the Juno Awards this year and for first-time nominee Lowell, it’s been a long time coming.
Lowell (Elizabeth Lowell Boland) has been in the industry for a decade, first as a performing artist and then as a songwriter and artist development expert. In the last two years, she’s helped break Canadian rockers The Beaches internationally and contributed to Beyoncé‘s first-ever album of the year win at the Grammys, co-writing several tracks on Cowboy Carter.
Now, she receives her first-ever Juno nomination, in the inaugural year of the new songwriter of the year (non-performer) category. The introduction of the category means that behind-the-scenes songwriters who would normally get squeezed out of the songwriter of the year category by big names like Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a. The Weeknd) are getting their due.
Last year, Billboard Canada and SOCAN introduced the Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award, which Lowell won and accepted at the Billboard Canada Power Players celebration. Lowell was a fitting first winner, as she’s also been pushing the Junos to add the category for years.
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At a Junos media conference this week following the nominations announcement, Lowell spoke about how it’s been a long road to get here, but that songwriters are starting to get some recognition.
“I’m so glad that we have this category now,” Lowell said. “I think that if it didn’t exist I probably wouldn’t be nominated at the Junos — and I always said if I get Grammys before I get Junos you know there’s something wrong.”
Lowell added that in the past, Juno nominations have been bittersweet for songwriters.
“Usually we see a lot of artists that we maybe have developed or written their hits, but know that our name won’t be up there, just kind of having to live in it,” she reflected. “I’m a fighter so I kind of took the lead on it. One thing about songwriters is we’re so used to just being walked all over, we don’t often think we can do anything about it, and I refuse to think that way.”
As songwriter royalties have declined, it’s harder to make a living, Lowell pointed out, making this kind of recognition even more significant.
“All of these labels — Universal Canada, Warner Canada — we could be in L.A. but we’re here, we’re working on your artists, and we’re writing you guys hits and we’re bringing you money and allowing you to sign more artists, so the respect that we need and have earned needs to be at the Junos too,” she continued. “And here we are. It’s good — it’s a good day.”
She’s excited to be nominated in the category alongside Nate Ferraro, her songwriting partner on Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Also nominated are Evan Blair, for work with Maren Morris and Benson Boone (including co-writing the No. 1 hit “Beautiful Things”); Shaun Frank, for work with Dua Lipa and Morgan Wallen; and Tobias Jesso Jr., for work with Camila Cabello, Morris and Lipa.
Producer Aaron Paris and recording engineer/producer Hill Kourkoutis also spoke about the importance of industry recognition for those working behind the scenes. Read more here. – Rosie Long Decter
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Junos and Polaris Prize Release Statements on Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Awards Following Order of Canada Cancellation
Though most focus was on the new Juno nominees this week, one prior winner was also under the spotlight: Buffy Sainte-Marie.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter’s Order of Canada appointment was canceled last week by The Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon. The decision came a year and a half after the CBC’s investigation into her claims of Indigenous ancestry and Canadian citizenship. Since then, there has been scrutiny into other awards Sainte-Marie has earned in the country.
CARAS, the body that governs the Junos, released a statement, saying they are aware of the decision to terminate her Order of Canada.
“We continue to consult with our Indigenous Music Advisory Committee and Indigenous stakeholders on how to best proceed as it relates to Sainte-Marie’s Juno Awards,” the organization said in a statement. “We recognize the importance of Indigenous music as a category and remain deeply committed to promoting, celebrating and honouring the contributions of Indigenous artists to the Canadian music industry.”
In 2023, a group named the Indigenous Women’s Collective called on CARAS to rescind Sainte-Marie’s 2018 Juno for Indigenous album of the year, which she won for the album Medicine Songs. The group pointed to the win over artist Kelly Fraser, who died a year later.
“We invite the Juno Awards Committee to revisit this 2018 category and explore ways of righting a past wrong,” they wrote. “All Indigenous Artists in this 2018 category, including Kelly Fraser, should be reconsidered for this rightful honour.”
Sainte-Marie won the Polaris Music Prize, which awards one album as the best in Canada of the year based solely on artistic merit, for her 2015 album, Power in the Blood. For her victory, Sainte-Marie earned a cash prize of $50,000.
The Polaris Music Prize Board released a statement.
“The Polaris Board is aware of the ongoing conversation around Buffy Sainte Marie’s Canadian status,” they said in a statement. “We have and continue to follow as new information is shared.”
Sainte-Marie has said that she has never lied about her identity. – Richard Trapunski
Canadians loomed large at Sunday’s Grammy Awards — even some who weren’t actually there in person — heading into it with many nominations for songwriting and producing.
The Weeknd’s surprise performance, ending his Grammys boycott, was probably the most notable, though Kendrick Lamar’s multiple wins for “Not Like Us” — accepted in a Canadian tuxedo, no less — made Drake a major talking point.
The most-decorated Grammy-winner of all time finally scored her white whale. Beyoncé, who holds 35 wins and 99 career nominations, had been denied album of the year four times before, losing to Taylor Swift in 2010, Beck in 2015, Adele in 2020 and Harry Styles in 2023. Each of those losses was for a culture-shaking album, from I Am…Sasha Fierce to her self-titled record, to Lemonade and Renaissance.
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This year, Beyoncé took home album of the year for her country record Cowboy Carter, also winning best country album. It was a historic win for Billboard’s greatest pop star of the 21st century, recognizing her for an album that honours the contributions of Black musicians to country as well as blurring the lines between country, pop, dance and R&B. (Not to mention, she seemed genuinely surprised by the country album win, in a reaction that has already been meme’d — a rare moment of fluster from Queen Bey).
Cowboy featured some major Canadian contributions — songwriting team Nate Ferraro, Bulow and Lowell (who also won the inaugural Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award) wrote the album’s lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” while Dave Hamelin of The Stills co-wrote and produced a half-dozen songs. For his work, Hamelin will also receive an album of the year Grammy.
Another Canadian songwriter did well in a different category — Toronto’s Scott Zhang picked up a win in best R&B song for his work on SZA’s “Saturn.” Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin was the other big Canadian winner of the night, taking home best compilation soundtrack for his work on Bradley Cooper’s Maestro.
Canadian singer and Broadway star Deborah Cox helped kick off the Premiere Ceremony, which takes place before the evening Grammy Awards. That ceremony is where the majority of awards are handed out, and Cox was nominated this year as part of the cast of Broadway musical The Wiz, up for best musical theater album.
Though the cast of Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen took home the award — Keys was also honoured during the evening ceremony with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Grammy — Cox and her Wiz co-star Wayne Brady opened up the Premiere Ceremony with a heartfelt rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
Read all of Canada’s impact on the awards here. – Rosie Long Decter
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Charlotte Cardin Scores A New ‘Feel Good’ Hit On The Billboard Canadian Hot 100
Canadian pop singer Charlotte Cardin can feel good this week.
The Quebec star has a new entry on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, with her 2023 single “Feel Good” arriving at No. 94 on the chart dated Feb. 8, 2025.
It marks her first new entry on the chart since last year’s “99 Nights” — and like that track, “Feel Good” enters well after it was initially released, making its chart debut a year and a half after it appeared on her 2023 EP Une semaine à Paris.
The song is a mellow dance-pop track in a similar vein to her top ten hit “Confetti,” but where that one was driven by party malaise, “Feel Good” finds thrills in pleasure.
With lyrics in both French and English, the song has taken on a new life throughout her international tours and with a global, especially French-speaking, audience on TikTok and other social media platforms.
The new chart entry gives Cardin some good momentum as 2025 kicks off, and the Canadian singer — and Billboard Canada inaugural Woman of the Year — continues to expand her reach globally.
Read more on this week’s chart here. – RLD
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Executive Turntable: UMG announced a major move at the top of its Canadian office on Friday (Feb. 7), with Julie Adam succeeding longtime CEO Jeffrey Remedios in the top leadership role. Full story from Billboard Canada here.
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Remembering Artist Manager/Musician Jane McGarrigle
(Laury) Jane McGarrigle, a Canadian songwriter, musician, music publisher, artist manager and author who worked extensively with her sisters, folk legends Kate & Anna McGarrigle, died on Jan. 24 of ovarian cancer. She was 84.
Jane McGarrigle managed her younger sisters’ music careers from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. As well as co-writing some songs with the duo, she performed with them in the studio and on tours of Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.
In 2015, Anna and Jane McGarrigle co-wrote Mountain City Girls, a book detailing their Quebec upbringing. Commenting on the book (published by Penguin Random House), Emmylou Harris, a longtime friend of the McGarrigle clan, wrote that “From the moment I met The Mountain City Girls, Kate, Anna and Jane, I wanted to be a part of that magical McGarrigle circle — the songs, the suppers, the families and fellow travellers, and they blessed me with it all.”
Jane McGarrigle was long active in music publishing and copyright advocacy. She served as a board member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) where she defended publishing rights for musical authors. She also served on the board of the Songwriters Association of Canada for a number of years.
McGarrigle and her family spent long periods of time living in California, and she often performed with local musicians, including s Dick Oxtot’s Golden Age Jazz Band. In recent years in Montreal, she played dobro and piano with her partner Peter Weldon in their band, The What Four. – Kerry Doole
Last Week: Live Industry Faces Venue Shortages Despite $10B Economic Impact
A new report by the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) reveals that live music contributes billions to the Canadian economy.
That’s over $10 billion in GDP during 2023 alone to be precise. Hear and Now: Understanding the economic power and potential of Canada’s live music industry is the first-ever economic impact assessment of Canada’s live music industry, identifying the significance of live music in Canada at the same time as it emphasizes major challenges.
The study, which is led by research firm Nordicity and commissioned by the CLMA, notes that these numbers have been achieved largely without a dedicated fiscal policy framework incentivizing live music. “$10.92B in combined impact from live music and tourism spending… without trying.”
Erin Benjamin, CLMA president & CEO, emphasizes that these numbers show the importance of supporting music venues.
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“More live music activity — an increase in live music activity at every rung of the venue ladder — will mean more folks spending their income in that space. It generates the tax revenue, it generates the labour income,” she told Billboard Canada at a press launch for the study at Allied Music Centre in Toronto this week (Jan. 30). “Live music is the vehicle that stimulates that kind of economic activity.”
Though the Canadian live industry is a big part of the country’s economy, it faces serious challenges.
In Canada, venues are closing down. Toronto saw roughly 15% of venues close permanently during 2020-2021 alone. A venue shortage especially impacts emerging artists, who need a venue ladder — a scale of increasingly-large venues they can work up to — as they grow their career. “The critical shortage of small and mid-sized venues restricts access to local live music,” the report states.
Benjamin tells Billboard Canada that on a policy level, she would love to see more support for the sustainability and growth of small venues. “The first few rungs on the venue ladder are the most vulnerable. We want to make sure we’re not losing our incubator spaces and our discovery spaces.” She mentions CLMA’s pilot initiative with FACTOR Canada, the Promoters Program, which supports companies presenting live music in Canada. She hopes to see the program made permanent.
Musicians and industry members are also facing increasingly tough conditions when it comes to making a living. The report estimates that in 2023, the average salary for a full-time employee in the Canadian live music industry was around $31,000 — putting music industry workers below the poverty line.
Read more on the report here.
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Canadian Airplay Charts Find a Home on Billboard Canada
Seven charts are debuting on Billboard Canada.
The Canadian Airplay Charts, all of which track Canadian radio airplay, have found a new exclusive home at Billboard Canada’s charts hub.
They’ll be updated every Thursday and live alongside the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
The charts cover seven different types of radio airplay, diving into what’s performing well in adult contemporary, country and rock across Canadian radio.
“Billboard Canada is the official home for Canadian music charts,” says Mo Ghoneim, President of Billboard Canada. “Making these airplay rankings available on our platform is part of our commitment to providing deeper insight into what’s shaping radio and music across the country.”
Together, the new charts provide a snapshot of the radio landscape, which provides a new angle on music distinct from the Canadian Hot 100.
While Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars hold the top spot on Canadian Hot 100 with “Die With a Smile,” Myles Smith’s “Stargazing” holds the No. 1 spot on the Canadian All Format Airplay chart at launch.
The radio charts regularly feature Canadian artists, thanks in part to Canadian content regulation. In Billboard Canada‘s breakdown of the 2024 year-end charts, radio’s influence on Canadian pop was clear, uplifting rising Canadian artists like LU KALA, Preston Pablo, Josh Ross, Alexander Stewart and Jamie Fine.
Weekly analysis of the radio charts will now accompany Billboard Canada’s regular chart beat stories tracking the Canadian Albums and Canadian Hot 100 charts.
The seven charts include: All Format Airplay, AC Airplay, CHR Airplay, Hot AC Airplay, Country Airplay, Mainstream Rock Airplay, and Modern Rock Airplay.
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AI-Generated Album Appears On Nova Scotia Musician Ian Janes’ Spotify Profile Without His Permission
Nova Scotia musician Ian Janes is speaking out against music by Ian Janes.
Janes, a Music Nova Scotia Award winner, says an AI-generated album was falsely added to his Spotify profile, under his name.
He tells CTV that he found out when Spotify sent him a notification urging him to promote his new release — but he hadn’t released anything new.
When he went to his Spotify profile, he says, there was indeed a new album, but not one he had recorded.
“It’s AI-generated music that you would listen to when you’re on hold,” he describes to Global. The album was removed from his profile but remains on Spotify under a separate profile, also using the name ‘Ian Janes.’ Janes’ lawyer says that it’s not technically a copyright violation unless the music uses Janes’ likeness or his actual compositions.
The album bears the hallmarks of fraudulent music designed to score streams. It has a title that means nothing but seems poetic, Street Alone, and a large number of tracks (20). Several of the songs are named after popular hits but are not actually covers of those songs, like “Ho Hey,” “Summertime Sadness,” and “Give Your Heart A Break.” The music sounds like it could be made entirely within Ableton or Logic Pro.
Last year, nine Canada-based music streaming sites were taken down for streaming manipulation. IFPI, the worldwide recording industry association, and Music Canada had filed a complaint stating that the sites were selling fake streams to boost play counts.
It’s not clear how the distributor who uploaded Street Alone was able to gain access to Janes’ profile. But Janes’ situation demonstrates a clear risk for independent musicians as these tactics proliferate.
“If a name isn’t proprietary, and titles aren’t proprietary, what’s going to keep an AI music company from using the name of existing musicians and using the names of the songs they’ve released?” Janes says.
Last Week: How Music Companies Are Fighting the ‘Streaming Tax’
Some of the biggest streaming services in music are banding together to fight against a major piece of Canadian arts legislation – in court and in the court of public opinion.
Spotify, Apple, Amazon and others are taking action against the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)’s 2024 decision that major foreign-owned streamers with Canadian revenues over $25 million will have to pay 5% of those revenues into Canadian content funds – what the streamers have termed a “Streaming Tax.”
Those funds will go towards established organizations like the non-profits FACTOR Canada and Musicaction, which financially support thousands of musicians and music companies across the country, and which have seen their own resources dramatically drop due to reduced contributions from private broadcasters. It will also go to funds supporting radio and local news.
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The CRTC decision was one of the biggest Canadian music stories of last year, and legal challenges from those services, as well as the Motion Picture Association – Canada (which includes Netflix, Disney, Prime Video and the major U.S. producers and distributors of movies and TV), have pushed it into 2025. The courts have paused the payments until the appeal is heard by the Federal Court of Appeal in June of this year.
That pause has already put at least one fund under immediate duress. The Indigenous Music Office had been directed by the CRTC to launch an Indigenous Music Fund with resources from the streamers’ base contributions, but the delay impedes the IMO’s ability to start the new fund.
The conflict over the regulation is turning into a major struggle, one that illustrates the massive changes and challenges that Canadian music is facing in an increasingly digital landscape. It’s a modern wrinkle to a debate that has spanned decades in Canadian music and media.
“At the base of it, the streamers are questioning the validity of CanCon policies,” says Leela Gilday, musician and board chair of the Indigenous Music Office.
The battle isn’t only happening in court, but in online petitions, political speeches and in Instagram posts from one of Canada’s most successful musicians.
“The Canadian government’s new music streaming tax is going to cost you more to listen to the music you love,” says Bryan Adams in a video shared on Instagram.
The “Summer of ‘69” singer, also a noted critic of Canadian Content regulations, has joined a lobby group called DIMA (the Digital Media Association) in publicly arguing against the regulation. DIMA, which represents Amazon, Apple, Spotify and YouTube, launched a campaign last fall titled “Scrap the Streaming Tax.” The campaign warns consumers that the mandated payments “could lead to higher prices for Canadians and fewer content choices” as a result of increased subscription fees.
But many within the industry have welcomed the regulation, including the membership at CIMA, the Canadian Independent Music Association.
“The question for tech companies who are making money in Canada is: is it appropriate for them to contribute to the Canadian music ecosystem?” asks Andrew Cash, president of CIMA.
Head here for much more on this story.
—Rosie Long Decter
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Canadian Music Industry Leaders Lay Out the Issues That Will Define 2025
As the music industry ramps up in the post-holiday break, the agenda is being set. A number of issues have revealed themselves as the big conversations of 2025: AI, arts funding, government policies amidst uncertainty in Ottawa, support of independent promoters and venues, mental health, the divestment of DEI budgets, and many more.
Billboard Canada gathered 10 music industry authorities from music grant FACTOR, the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA), Music Publishers Canada and many more to talk about the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Canadian music this year.
Here are just a few highlights:
“For the Canadian-owned sector, the ability to compete in a functioning market is paramount,” says Andrew Cash, president and CEO of CIMA. “However, market concentration among the large foreign-owned multi-nationals labels and tech platforms is now at over-reach. That is why CIMA lodged an official complaint with Canada’s competition bureau after TikTok walked away from its negotiations with Merlin. And it is why independent trade associations in Europe and Australia are raising serious concerns after Universal’s recent purchase of Downtown Music.”
“One of the biggest challenges facing the industry this year will be the divestment of DEI budgets, which have been a big part of the reason we have seen such great diverse talent enter the industry over the last five years,” says Keziah Myers, executive director of ADVANCE – Canada’s Black Music Business Collective. “Managing the shift away from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and reminding the industry that Equity-focused processes should be where their efforts are will be a challenge.”
“The fundamental principles of copyright continue to be challenged by artificial intelligence and the platforms that exploit it,” says Jennifer Brown, CEO of SOCAN. “Canadian music creators stand to lose more than 20% of their annual revenue to generative AI platforms by 2028 if safeguards aren’t put in place to protect their copyrights.”
Read the whole roundtable conversation here.
—Kerry Doole and Richard Trapunski
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Big Wreck Named Record Store Day Canada Ambassadors for 2025
Big Wreck have been named 2025 Record Store Day Canada ambassadors. The Canadian rock band will also be releasing their 2012 album Albatross on vinyl for the first time in deluxe 2xLP limited-edition featuring live and unreleased music as a Record Store Day exclusive. The album was certified Gold and was their biggest hit since In Loving Memory Of… in 1997 and its big shiny rock radio staple “That Song.” The title track of Albatross has also gone Platinum.
“It’s a great honour for Big Wreck to be Record Store Day Ambassadors,” says Big Wreck leader Ian Thornley. “We grew up going to record stores and building our vinyl collections and it means a lot to us to continue the tradition. It’s especially exciting to be putting Albatross out into the world for the first time on vinyl. That record holds a special place.”
Big Wreck succeeds another popular Canadian rock band of the era, The Tragically Hip, who were last year’s ambassadors. This week, Post Malone was named 2025 Record Store Day Ambassador for the U.S.
Head here for a list of participating Record Store Day Canada stores.
—Richard Trapunski
Last Week: A Closer Look at Canada’s Export Power
Canada is the third biggest exporter of music to the world.
That’s according to the inaugural “export power” ranking in Luminate’s 2024 year-end report. The music data tracking company, which also tabulates Billboard’s charts, defines export power as “a country’s ability to export recorded music globally.”
Canada is behind only the U.S. and the U.K., which hold the top two spots on the export power ranking. Canada’s top importers of music are the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, while Canada is also the number one importer of music from the U.S., emphasizing the entwined nature of Canadian and American markets.
The rest of the top ten is rounded out by South Korea, Germany, France, Puerto Rico, Australia, Sweden and Brazil.
While that might seem like good news for Canadian music, the report also includes some indicators that Canada is not in a growth period for exporting music.
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When it comes to the share of global premium (audio and video) streams, Canada saw the third largest decline last year, with its share down from 3.73% to 3.34%, also behind the U.S. and U.K. Mexico, Brazil and India had the biggest stream share growth.
That points to a trend where music from the global south — and in languages other than English — is seeing a major explosion in popularity.
The report also highlights that English and non-English-language countries are showing different trends when it comes to local vs. foreign content.
“English-speaking markets are losing local share to non-English language imports,” the report states, “while many non-English speaking markets show local content gaining share.”
That provides further evidence that non-English language music is on the rise across the board. In the U.S., Mexico and Chile (and, surprisingly, Ireland) had the biggest stream share gains, while Canada, the U.S. and Nigeria saw the biggest stream share declines. Canada also saw some of the highest stream share declines in the U.K., Australia, Japan and Brazil.
Canadian songwriters, however, are going strong, thanks in part to a few of pop’s biggest stars.
Canada ranks third for songwriter representation among 2024’s top 1000 most-streamed songs, again behind the U.S. and the U.K.
The Weeknd is a big reason for that position, ranking third amongst the most prolific and the most-streamed songwriters in the top 1000 streamed songs.
Pop comes out as the fastest-growing genre in the U.S., followed by rock, Latin music and country. That growth is led by a big year for women pop singers like Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter — and Canada’s Tate McRae, who places at No. 9 on Luminate’s Pop Artist Rank for the U.S.
Find more on Canadian data and trends in Luminate’s Year-End Report here.
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Unison Fund Launches Relief Program For Canadian Music Workers Affected By Los Angeles Fires
Canadian music industry charity Unison Fund has launched a new support program for music workers affected by the Los Angeles fires.
The Natural Disaster Relief Program provides one-time payments of $2,500 to Canadian music workers facing losses from natural disasters, including the wildfires.
The program is the latest initiative offering support to music industry members who have suffered devastating losses in the fires, which have resulted in at least 27 deaths destroyed more than 12,000 structures. The Palisades Fire is 22% contained as of Thursday, January 16, and the Eaton Fire is 45% contained.
“With so many Canadian music professionals living and working in L.A., it was important to create a program that offers meaningful support during difficult times like these,” executive director Amanda Power tells Billboard Canada.
“The Unison Fund Natural Disaster Relief Program is our way of helping our music community, providing immediate support to help rebuild lives and livelihoods after a crisis.”
Founded in 2010, Unison provides counselling and emergency relief services to Canadian musicians and the music community. The charity previously provided emergency support during 2020 and 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, disbursing over $3.5 million in pandemic assistance.
Among the Canadians affected by the fires include Grammy-winning producer Greg Wells, who lost his home, and musicians Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida who were forced to evacuate. Tim Darcy of Canadian band Cola lost his house in the fire, with friends and community members fundraising to help Darcy and his partner Amy Fort, of FSR Radio.
To qualify for the Disaster Relief Program, applicants must have worked in the music industry for five consecutive years, with a majority of their income coming from music.
First, the elephant in the room. Justin Trudeau resigned as Prime Minister after a decade as leader of the country. He’ll stay on until a leadership race elects the new head of his Liberal Party on March 9. What could this period of transition mean for Canada’s music industry and arts funding? Read more:
Meanwhile…
Warner Music Group has formed another strategic partnership to elevate and develop Punjabi music in Canada.
ADA, the company’s independent label and artist services arm, announced a worldwide distribution deal with EYP Creations INC. EYP is a major management and content company in Punjabi music and is based in both Canada and India.
Trending on Billboard
Canada has emerged as a global hub for Punjabi music, which is one of the fastest growing global genres. Artists including Karan Aujla, Shubh and Diljit Dosanjh have achieved chart success and set records in the country.
Warner has been on the forefront of the Punjabi Wave, uniting Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India to launch 91 North Records in 2023. But this partnership with EYP also aims to foster the next wave of talent so that they can eventually achieve the same heights.
The new deal includes EYP’s record label, UrDebut Canada, which has helped launch new artists like Kushagra and Tanishqa, who have had songs with millions of streams in the last year. The goal, they say, is to open emerging artists to a similarly broad and growing audience of hungry international fans.
“This partnership with EYP Creations marks a strategic step in expanding WMG’s presence within the Punjabi music landscape,” says Warner Music Canada president Kristen Burke in a statement. “This alliance not only supports the growth of Punjabi music in Canada, but also opens doors for discovering and nurturing emerging talent in this vibrant community.”
EYP Creations CEO Nikhil Dwivedi says he’s excited about the potential of working with ADA and talks about the quality distribution and marketing it can open to South Asian artists in Canada.
“We are focused on nurturing young South Asian talent together through launching them at UrDebut Canada label and building them through distribution, management, live events and collaborations around the globe,” he says.
ADA has also partnered with other Punjabi music companies in recent years, including Punjabi music content aggregator, Sky Digital, and Punjabi record label, Geet MP3.
“We’re excited to bring this Punjabi music leader into the Warner Music Group family,” says Cat Kreidich, President of ADA. “Our team is looking forward to partnering closely with Nikhil and everyone at EYP Creations to mine new opportunities in the market and bring new voices into the mix.” -Richard Trapunski
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East Coast Music Association Parts Ways With CEO
On Monday (Jan. 6), the East Coast Music Association (ECMA) issued a press release stating that “the board has conducted a thorough review of our leadership and operations, leading to the decision to part ways with CEO Blanche Israël.” The change has been made ahead of the East Coast Music Awards show in St. John’s, Newfoundland this spring.
The Canadian Press reports on the “clash over the future of the East Coast Music Awards” that led to the decision. In an online petition launched late 2024, some members called for “transparency and stability” amid changes that affected the awards and its associated festival, citing a lack of clarity and consultation around applications and other “significant modifications.” Former ECMA CEO Andy McLean has been installed as interim managing director as the search for a new CEO begins.
ECMA’s stated mission is “to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian music, its artists and its industry professionals throughout the region and around the world. We advocate for our members to ensure they can sustain music careers while based in Canada’s Atlantic region.”
This year’s ECMA awards honoured folk-rockers The East Pointers with the most awards, followed by Jenn Grant, Morgan Toney, and Tim Baker. –Kerry Doole
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Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars Score The First Post-Holiday No. 1 On The Canadian Hot 100 in 2025
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have plenty to smile about this week.
The superstar duo have landed the first post-holiday No. 1 song of 2025, topping the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 “Die With a Smile.” The sentimental ballad has had a slow burn to the top, hitting No. 1 in its 20th week on the chart, though it’s been a mainstay on the Global 200. The song also climbed to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the first time this week.
Bruno Mars holds both the No. 1 and No. 2 spot this week on the Canadian Hot 100, with his Rosé collab “Apt.” at No. 2. Shaboozey’s record-breaker “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is also back in the top 3, holding the third spot.
There’s also a pair of first-timers making their chart debuts. U.K. singer Chrystal arrives with “The Days” at No. 95. The minimalist dance track got a boost from a high-energy remix by rising Bristol producer Notion, as well as a feature on the popular TikTok account Jaxon’s Journey.
American psych-pop singer Chezile lands on the chart at No. 98 with the melancholic “Beanie,” a psych-pop song with hints of Mac DeMarco that has become a popular cover choice on TikTok. Chezile also had a bump from popular content creator Mr. Beast using the song to soundtrack his proposal announcement.
Claiming the final spot on the chart is Imogen Heap’s “Headlock.” She’s not a first-timer but the acclaimed singer-songwriter is getting some love for her 2005 track, which is also seeing a lot of traction on TikTok.
None of those songs are on the U.S. Hot 100 this week, in keeping with a trend of viral TikTok tracks showing up on the Canadian charts first. Heading into 2025, it looks like the app is still one of the leading career-boosters out there, though it is facing potential existential threats on both sides of the border. –Rosie Long Decter
TikTok is taking the Canadian government to court.
Last month, the popular social media app was ordered by the federal government to “wind down” its operations in Canada following a national security review.
“We will challenge this order in court,” TikTok said at the time.
Now, the company is following through on the promise. TikTok Canada has filed notice of application for judicial review, which is an official legal challenge to the decision.
“This order would eliminate the jobs and livelihoods of our hundreds of dedicated local employees – who support the community of more than 14 million monthly Canadian users on TikTok, including businesses, advertisers, creators, and initiatives developed especially for Canada,” the company wrote on its official website. “We believe it’s in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform.”
Trending on Billboard
TikTok posted the whole legal filing on its website, which you can read here. The document breaks down the order of events, suggesting TikTok cooperated with the security review but was surprised by the abrupt announcement.
The company is requesting a court date to challenge the decision in Vancouver, B.C., one of the two locations of its offices. The other is in Toronto.
The filing calls the order “grossly disproportionate” and says it “will result in the termination of hundreds of employees in Canada and the potential termination of over 250,000 contracts with Canadian-based advertisers.”
The legal filing also focuses on the impact to those creators who use the platform, stating that the order “will cause the destruction of significant economic opportunities and intangible benefits to Canadian creators, artists and businesses, and the Canadian cultural community more broadly.”
The federal government made the decision to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations following a review of its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., calling the operation “injurious to national security.” Canadian users would still be able to use and access TikTok, but the company would be forced to close its offices in Canada.
The filing follows a new law in the United States that would require ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19, 2025 or face a ban in the country. – Richard Trapunski
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Charlotte Day Wilson to Play Special Orchestral Concert in Toronto in 2025
Charlotte Day Wilson is preparing for a hometown concert that she calls “a dream opportunity.”
On Feb. 28, 2025, the Grammy nominated R&B/soul singer-songwriter will play a Red Bull Symphonic concert with members of the the Symphonic Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall, the home of the acclaimed Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Charlotte Day
Emily Lipson
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 13, 2024 at redbull.ca/symphonic.
Previous editions of Red Bull Symphonic in Atlanta and Los Angeles have featured Rick Ross and Metro Boomin, plus special guests including John Legend, Swae Lee and more.
It will be the first orchestral concert for Wilson, and she’s approaching it as a full vision of her current state as a musician.
“I want people to come away from it understanding the musical makeup that I have and of my sense of self within music,” Charlotte Day Wilson tells Billboard Canada over Zoom from her apartment in Toronto.
She’s still in her early 30s, but Wilson has been recording and performing for well over a decade. With two albums and multiple EPs, she has a full body of work to play from, and she’s excited to rethink it in a new context.
Her 2024 album, Cyan Blue, has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, and though Jack Rochon was the primary engineer, Wilson says the two of them made everything in the room together as “an exchange of two people producing and engineering and writing all in tandem.”
Charlotte Day Wilson’s soulful voice and songwriting chops have become a secret weapon for many renowned musicians. She’s performed and collaborated with Kaytranada, Daniel Caesar, Mustafa, BadBadNotGood and Nelly Furtado, and one of her songs was even sampled by Drake.
The Grammy recognition and the ability to do a full-scale orchestral concert feels like a mark of wider recognition in a field that can often include a lot of isolation. It also feels like a “maturing moment,” she says, which fits her mindset right now.
“It’s something I think about a lot as an artist,” she says. “In an industry that is ruthlessly obsessed with youth, how do we graduate into a next chapter of life and still maintain our integrity and relevance. That’s something I think about all the time, and it’s something I want to approach really deliberately.” – R.T.
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Patrick Watson’s ‘Je te laisserai des mots’ Becomes First French-Language Song To Hit A Billion Spotify Streams
Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson has made history on Spotify.
His 2010 song “Je te laisserai des mots” is now the first French-language song to hit a billion streams on the platform.
The song, a wistful composition led by piano and strings, was first written for the 2009 film Mères et Filles.
Listeners clearly agreed that the song has a cinematic quality: it went viral in 2021 and 2022, used by thousands of TikTokers — including Justin Bieber — to soundtrack serene or sad moments in their own lives during Covid restrictions.
Watson joins Bieber and other Canadian artists like Drake, Tate McRae, Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes in Spotify’s Billions Club. Most of the other Canadian members are major label signees with a pop-oriented sound, which makes Watson — an acclaimed indie singer-songwriter represented by Montreal’s Secret City Records — a more unusual entry into the club.
“Je te laisserai des mots” was the most-streamed French language track both in Canada and globally this year on Spotify, while the veteran songwriter and producer is the No. 6 most popular Québécois artist on Spotify this year in Canada. He finishes alongside Quebec legends Les Cowboys Fringants and Celine Dion, pop star Charlotte Cardin and rappers Souldia and Enima.
Spotify notes that since 2019, listening to music in French has jumped by 94% on the app — which means after Watson, another Billions Club French-language song could only be a matter of time. – Rosie Long Decter
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Music Business Year In Review
Swifties are trying to get last-minute tickets as Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour heads to Vancouver tonight (Dec. 6) – but resellers are beating them to the punch.
With demand sky-high for the final shows on the massively popular Eras Tour, Taylor Swift released a batch of unique ‘no view’ tickets (which offer fans a view of the screens beside the stage but not the stage itself) for her three upcoming Vancouver dates this week at just $16.50 per ticket.
As Swifties rushed to Ticketmaster to wait in large queues for the chance to hear (but not see) their favourite star, resellers were scooping up the cheap tickets.
Trending on Billboard
Before they knew it, the Ticketmaster drop had ended and many of the ‘no view’ tickets were now on StubHub – for thousands of dollars, as fans posted on social media.
Some lucky fans did manage to score the no-view tickets. But the massive resale markups of $16.50 tickets are another indicator of just how hard it is for actual Taylor Swift fans to get into the Eras Tour.
Many fans have gone through several rounds of attempts at securing tickets through Ticketmaster or ticket giveaways, spending hours waiting in queues and scouring social media for ticket tips.
Meanwhile, Vancouver is preparing for its Taylor Swift era, altering a local sign to read: Swiftcouver.
The Eras Tour concludes in Vancouver with three performances December 6-8, 2024.
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Kendrick Lamar’s ‘GNX’ Debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart
Kendrick Lamar has claimed a new No. 1 album in the home country of his biggest rival.
GNX, K-Dot’s surprise sixth studio release, arrives in the top spot on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, dated December 7.
But unlike in the U.S., Lamar didn’t manage to hit No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100.
Gracie Abrams holds onto that spot with “That’s So True” for the second week as the Eras Tour (where she’s performing as Taylor Swift’s opening act) rolls into Vancouver this week from Dec. 6-8.
Kendrick Lamar is still well represented at the top of the Canadian Hot 100, though. His sleek slow jam “Luther” featuring SZA is at No. 2, and “Squabble Up” – which claimed the No. 1 spot south of the border – is at No. 3.
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” meanwhile, drops to No. 5, indicating his record-setting run might really be done.
Those are strong numbers for Kendrick Lamar in Drake’s home country, even if the Compton rapper hasn’t hit the same highs as in the U.S. just yet.
Lamar will be taking his GNX on the road next year on the Grand National tour, with two Canadian date in Drake’s hometown, at the Rogers Centre stadium on June 12 and 13 with SZA.
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Les Cowboys Fringants, Charlotte Cardin Most Streamed Québécois Artists on Spotify in Canada in 2024
As individual Spotify Wrapped graphics take over social media feeds, the streaming giant has shared some insightful Canadian Wrapped data.
Spotify shared the top Québécois artists streamed in Canada, with rock group Les Cowboys Fringants taking the top spot, followed by Charlotte Cardin and Céline Dion.
Les Cowboys were very active this year following the 2023 death of frontman Karl Tremblay and the outpouring of support from Quebec fans showing their immense influence in the province. The new full-length Pub Royal debuted at No. 3 on the Canadian Albums chart. The group also won big at the ADISQ Awards, taking home wins for Author or Composer of the Year and Song of the Year.
Charlotte Cardin in No. 2 comes as no surprise, given the pop singer-songwriter’s international breakout following 2023’s 99 Nights. Cardin also won the first Woman of the Year award at Billboard Canada Women in Music this year.
Céline had a huge streaming moment following her comeback performance at the Paris Olympics, spiking her own catalogue as well as Edith Piaf’s. The soundtrack to her documentary I Am: Celine Dion also charted on the Canadian Albums chart, bringing back some of her immortal hits.
Canada Most-Streamed Québécois Artists
Les Cowboys Fringants
Charlotte Cardin
Céline Dion
Souldia
Enima
Patrick Watson
KAYTRANADA
Alexandra Streliski
Simple Plan
Men I Trust
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FACTOR Canada says it has fallen victim to serious cyber theft.
Court filings by the music funding body, The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings, reveal claims that $9.8 million was stolen from a Scotiabank account earlier this year.
FACTOR distributes millions in funding to thousands of artists and music organizations in Canada — last year, the organization dispensed $50 million. Now, it’s alleging that an amount equivalent to nearly a fifth of that annual distribution was transferred by a cyberthief to a numbered company.
James Campagna, shareholder for said company, then allegedly transferred $9.4 million to a cryptocurrency-owned account and converted the funds into crypto.
Trending on Billboard
Today (Nov. 29), a hearing took place at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on the matter.
In a statement on the foundation’s website titled “FACTOR’s Response to the Scotiabank Cybertheft: The Facts,” the company clarifies its side of the story that was reported on in the media and says that it aims to “defend the baseless allegations being made by Scotiabank against our systems and staff.”
“It is true that FACTOR has been a victim of a significant financial crime that occurred on June 12, 2024, by way of a one-time fraudulent wire from our Scotiabank account on ScotiaConnect in the amount of $9,772,875.33,” the statement reads.
But the response from FACTOR adds new details to the story, particularly in regards to Scotiabank’s involvement.
The organization says it reported the crime to law enforcement on June 14, but that Scotiabank “has acknowledged it has never reported this financial crime to law enforcement.”
The statement also asserts that the money transfer was 300x larger than any transfer previously made from that account, “with no alerts to FACTOR of this highly unusual, suspicious, and illegal activity.”
If the funds aren’t recovered swiftly, there’s reason to be concerned that artists — who rely on FACTOR funding for recording, music video production, touring and more — could be affected.
More on this story as it develops – Rosie Long Decter
Drake Tells Interviewer to Turn Off The Weeknd and Put on Blink-182
Drake’s got a lot of enemies right now.
After Kendrick Lamar released his new album but before news broke of Drake’s two different legal actions against his parent label Universal Music Group and Spotify, the rapper joined Quebecois streamer xQc for a livestream on Kick on Sunday (Nov. 24).
You never know what Drake will say with a live mic, so many fans tuned in to see if he’d have words about the Kendrick beef or any other hot topics. Between confirming an upcoming Australia tour and giving an update on his collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, he also threw some subtle shade at his former friend The Weeknd.
As his song “Starboy” started playing, Drake quickly told xQc to “switch that one off.” When the host asked him why he doesn’t listen to it, he answered “we’re real 6ixers, we don’t listen to that.” He told him to turn on Blink-182 instead. “I want to hear that real sh-t,” he said over the sounds of “Dammit.”
The Weeknd was born in Scarborough, Ontario, a district of Toronto, a.k.a The 6ix. The Weeknd began his career affiliated with Drake, but the two have had their own long-simmering beef. The Weeknd was spotted in the audience at Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert on Juneteenth, which included performances of all of the rapper’s diss tracks and multiple performances of the scathing “Not Like Us.”
Former Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan was also at that concert. That clearly upset Drake, who called him out on a recent game broadcast. Evidently, he still has beef with The Weeknd too.
Drake didn’t address Kendrick or his new album by name, but did reference Kendrick and his “false accusations” indirectly. “You need facts to take me out, fairy tales won’t do it,” he said. –Richard Trapunski