New National Report Calls for Boost to Indigenous Music ‘Discoverability’ in Canada’s Streaming Era

As Canada updates its rules for how streaming platforms support local culture, a key opportunity is emerging to strengthen the visibility of Indigenous music at home and abroad.

The Indigenous Music Office (IMO) has released a new study that sheds light on the challenges affecting Indigenous artists and music companies accessing international markets.

Pathways to International Markets: A Strategy to Increase Export Capacity for Indigenous Music is the music organization’s first major research project. The study establishes four key strategic directions that identify the roles that funders, music industry organizations and partners play in increasing financing, professional development and discoverability for Indigenous artists and industry professionals.

In the study, the IMO highlights that export activities generate significant career development opportunities for Indigenous music artists. However, most funds available to the Canadian music industry lack a strategic focus on assisting the development and export of Indigenous music.

“A strategy to increase the export capacity of the Indigenous music sector is timely as demand for Indigenous music is growing in Canada and around the world,” the report reads.

This includes financing the growth of a domestic Indigenous-owned and led music ecosystem, strengthening export readiness of Indigenous artists, prioritizing international showcasing, touring and networking and promoting discoverability of Indigenous music on streaming and broadcasting platforms.

The study calls for promoting “discoverability of Indigenous music on streaming and broadcasting platforms” as the most specific pathway for Indigenous artists and organizations to reach larger audiences.

Ontario Creates, Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia are all funding partners of IMO’s study.

In addition to working closely with the CRTC on the implementation of Online Streaming Act, the IMO has assisted in the development of the commission’s new Indigenous Broadcasting Policy, in partnership with First Nations, Métis and Inuit broadcasters, along with Indigenous content creators and audiences.

“The recent adoption of the Online Streaming Act in Canada presents an unprecedented opportunity to promote Indigenous music to Canadians and the world. It is anticipated that the implementation of the Act will ensure the discoverability of Indigenous music aired by Canadian radio broadcasters and streamed online by dedicated services,” IMO reports.

In its revised Commercial Radio Policy, the CRTC has laid out an expectation that commercial radio broadcasters include Indigenous music in their playlists, without setting quotas. Two years ago, Indigenous leaders called on the CRTC to impose a minimum commercial radio airplay quota of 5% for Indigenous music content. This has yet to be implemented, but could be a part of the CRTC’s in-development Indigenous Broadcasting Policy.

“In my eyes, the real benefit of our Pathways to International Markets study is its ability to show the artists and music entrepreneurs who are following in our footsteps where we’ve gone and what we’ve learned,” says Alan Greyeyes, IMO board chair. “It encourages them to break trail on the routes and ideas that still need to be explored. It’s a wonderful starting point and I’m excited to expand on it.”

The study was developed amidst the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, a once-in-a-generation update to CanCon regulations, and ongoing Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearings. In September, various Canadian music orgs voiced their opinions on the changes, one of which highlights the importance of artist discoverability for Indigenous musicians.

An important part of the hearings was last year’s CRTC decision to enforce major foreign-owned streaming services with Canadian revenues over $25 million to pay a now-paused 5% of revenues into Canadian content funds, like the Indigenous Music Office and FACTOR.

While it has been an ongoing battle between platforms, earlier this year, Leela Gilday, musician and former board chair of the Indigenous Music Office, told Billboard Canada that the IMO has plans to launch a new Indigenous Music Fund in Canada, with 0.15% of the audio payments earmarked for its launch. This fund would distribute finances directly to Indigenous creators. Another 0.35% of the funds would be designated for “direct expenditures targeting the development of Canadian and Indigenous content.”

In the meantime, the IMO has continued to champion its community, bringing its inaugural Cultural Cadence Mentorship participants to this year’s Juno Awards.

Find the full report here.