Justin Bieber may be one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with multiple Grammy Awards and Junos to his name. The 28-year-old Ontario-born singer-songwriter has also been named one of the most influential people in the world and a top 10 most powerful celebrity. But are his songs Canadian enough for the government’s online account? Spotify, the world’s biggest streaming platform, where Bieber’s hits have been heard millions of times, has doubts. He says songs by Bieber and other well-known Canadian artists may not count as officially Canadian under Bill C-11, which is now before Parliament. Among the tracks unlikely to qualify under Canada’s strict content rules, Spotify says, are Bieber’s “Ghost,” Tate McRae’s “She’s All I Wanna Be” and “Anybody Else” by Moroccan- Canadian singer Faouzia. The bill aims to update the Broadcasting Act to bring streaming platforms under the same rules as traditional broadcasters, including requiring them to promote Canadian content. To qualify as Canadian, songs must check a number of boxes. Under current rules, a song must meet two of the following criteria to count as Canadian: it must be written entirely by a Canadian; performed primarily by a Canadian; broadcast or performed live in Canada; or have lyrics written entirely by a Canadian. Bieber’s “Ghost,” for example, meets only one of those requirements — meaning traditional broadcasters already can’t count it as Canadian content, and if the bill passes, neither will Spotify and other streaming platforms. . Spotify says that without a more flexible definition of what qualifies as Canadian content, it could end up promoting fewer tracks from the country’s artists than it currently does on its Canadian playlists. “It’s important to understand that today’s music world is international and involves the collaboration of artists from all over the world,” says Nathan Wiszniak, Spotify’s head of Canadian artist and record label marketing. “Under current Canadian content definitions, many songs we know and love by Canadian artists would not be classified as Canadian.” However, the current rules could change. Cultural Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said he plans to ask the broadcasting regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, to review the definition of Canadian content. He said he would issue the policy direction to the CRTC after the bill is passed by the House. At that point, the CRTC will be responsible for regulating streaming platforms and ensuring that they promote qualifying Canadian content. Spotify curates 90 playlists that highlight Canadian artists across a range of genres, including country, Quebec rap and French classics. The platform says it currently uses a number of data sources to determine whether a song is Canadian, including self-reporting by the artist. “That means we’re bringing in a much broader category of tracks that we’ve identified as Canadian compared to what we think would be classified as Canadian under the current definitions,” says Wiszniak. Playlists are tailored to a listener’s musical tastes, based in part on what they tend to listen to. They’re also designed to introduce people to Canadian musicians and genres they might not have heard before, he says. “We are concerned that, if Canadian content requirements are not updated, this bill could limit the exposure of emerging and beloved Canadian artists and, in turn, cause others to be overexposed, alienating listeners.” Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair in Internet law at the University of Ottawa, says the current criteria for what counts as a Canadian song can “lead to some weird quirks.” He says the definition of Canadian content needs updating in the bill. “(This) has led to foreign artists performing covers of Canadian songs produced outside Canada being designated as Canadian because they meet the standards for music and lyrics,” he says, “while Canadian artists performing songs written by non-Canadians and produced outside Canada are not counted as Canadians because only the artist’s requirements are met.” Bill C-11 passed the House of Commons and is being scrutinized in the Senate, where it will be debated when senators return from their summer recess. Senators have been inundated with phone calls, emails and letters from opponents of the bill who claim it could affect amateur videos posted on YouTube. But supporters of the bill say it updates Canada’s broadcasting laws and will help promote Canadian artists. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2022.
