It’s the start of a new season, and as the
leaves begin to change colour, season premieres of many popular TV shows have
been rolling out. In Ottawa, the Let’s Talk TV study is underway, as cable
companies, internet giants and broadcasters debate the new realities of online television. Spotify launched in Canada at the end
of September, bringing renewed interest to the policy surrounding online music
streaming.
A recent study by the Pew Research Centre
found that a majority of arts organizations surveyed agreed “that
technology contributes to an expectation that “all digital content should be
free”.[1]” A sentiment that many, if not most,
consumers of the arts agree with. There are a plethora of legal sites to watch
tv and listen to music for free. But how do we ensure a
policy framework that supports the creators and artists while also maintaining
all of this access to content?
TV
Most of the big television networks stream
their shows on their websites.
There are still commercials in most, but far less than you would see on
TV. These Canadian companies still
comply with the CRTCs regulations on Canadian content, which is also available
to be streamed online. Because revenues for TV shows are not as affected by
online streaming as music, this availability is good news for Canadian TV.
Netflix has also become a huge player in
streaming content and now has entire series of popular shows like How I Met
Your Mother and Star Trek, The Next Generation. It’s not free, but it’s pretty hard to argue against their
very modest fee. The Let’s
Talk hearings regarding Netflix and the CRTC will be interesting to watch
unfold, as they begin to battle over the importance of Canadian content. Regardless of the outcome of these
hearings, it could herald a new era of difficulty for Canadian producers.
Music
Online streaming of music has become a
sticky issue in the wake of Tarriff 8, a controversial decision by the
Copyright Board of Canada last May.
The new rates are quite low, paying artists approximately $102.00 for
every million times their song is
played through a streaming service.
Put another way, if the entire population of Ontario streamed a song
once a month, the artist would still not be making the equivalent of minimum
wage. Granted, streaming is not, nor should be, an artist’s sole source of
income, but seeing as streaming is becoming more and more popular through sites
like Songza, 8tracks, and the much-heralded CBC Music, it does seem a little
unfair. If the average cost of a
song on iTunes is $0.99, then, using these rates, you need to listen to that
song nine thousand and seven hundred times to be getting your money’s
worth. It’s worth noting also that
these rates are 10% of royalties in the US, an especially big blow to artists
who haven’t broken into American markets.
But it’s still better than illegal
downloading. While the policy on online streaming does little to benefit
artists, there are things we can do as their audience to support them. If
you’ve enjoyed an artists’ music, consider purchasing their album. Purchasing directly from the artist is
best because they receive a much larger share of the profit, but purchasing in
general will always be more of a benefit than streaming or illegally
downloading. Many record stores
allow you to buy and download digital music, and likely give a higher portion
to the artist than iTunes.
The online world is rapidly changing the
face of the arts and culture industry.
If online arts policy is something you feel strongly about, be sure to
let your MP know, or get involved with an organization like Music Canada. They
have all kinds of information about the recent Tarriff 8 and a long list of other legal ways to access or download digital music.
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