Why is Canadian content important?

Answer 1

When Canadian Content was devised, it was very controversial, and for many people, it still is, even if the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) had what they thought were good reasons for creating it. When top-40 radio took over in the late 1950s, many radio stations changed over from big band and middle-of-the-road music to playing the hits. But for the most part, the only hits that got played were either American or British. A few Canadian artists were able to break through, but not many. Even in Canada, Canadian artists had trouble getting airplay. So the CRTC, in 1971, decided to take action, to make sure that the playing field would be even and Canadian entertainers would be able to compete.

As the CRTC saw it, they were saving the Canadian music industry, by mandating that Canadian radio stations had to play a certain amount of music by Canadian artists (whether the song was written by, produced by, or sung by a Canadian, the aim was to make sure each station's playlist had the right percentage of "Canadian Content"). While some stations embraced the idea, many more were upset, since they wanted to be free to play the hits, and most of the hits were not Canadian. But the CRTC refused to budge. As a result, more Canadian artists and writers finally got their music heard on radio, and the Canadian music industry benefited. In that regard, Canadian Content was important, since it helped to launch the careers of performers who might otherwise have been ignored. But to this day, some stations believe such rulings are unfair, since they seem to force a station to play songs it would not otherwise play.