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March 13, 2023 9:11 am  #1


Did CanCon work?

The debate ebbs and flows, but I'd like to hear your opinions on whether CanCon requirements, first established in 1971 (I think)...

a) really made a difference to Canadian musicians? After all, a few had hit the big time prior to CanCon.

b) hurt Canadian radio? Did being forced to adhere to CanCon riles have an identifiable negative effect on Canadian radio?

Related question...Is there really a 'Canadian sound' in music that has attracted attention around the world; a sound that may not have been as prominent had CanCon rules not been in place?

There is some notable experience here in SOWNY. What say you?
 

 

March 13, 2023 9:45 am  #2


Re: Did CanCon work?

a) Absolutely. Many Canadian artists owe their careers to it.
b) No. Radio had a pretty captive audience.
 

 

March 13, 2023 9:45 am  #3


Re: Did CanCon work?

Back when CANCON was formed, yes it had an impact, but in 2023 with the internet, streaming and so much choice for music discovery, the CANCON rules simply do not work.   It causes some music formats to over play some artists, while others playing artists that are not really fitting and what their audience wants.   I'm not against financially supporting artists, but I think we now need to rethink the ram down your ears approach to content rules.   The market/listeners should dictate how much Canadian gets played on commercial stations.   The CBC, and other public broadcasters perhaps would be a better home for "ALL CANADIAN" so people who want that product, can get it, and new Canadian artists of all kinds can get promotion.   Commercial radio on the other hand is a business and should be allowed to play what fits their business model.   Should that model include major amounts of Cancon so be it..   The audience/market will dictate. 

Last edited by radiokid (March 13, 2023 9:47 am)

 

March 13, 2023 10:01 am  #4


Re: Did CanCon work?

radiokid wrote:

Back when CANCON was formed, yes it had an impact, but in 2023 with the internet, streaming and so much choice for music discovery, the CANCON rules simply do not work.   It causes some music formats to over play some artists, while others playing artists that are not really fitting and what their audience wants.   I'm not against financially supporting artists, but I think we now need to rethink the ram down your ears approach to content rules.   The market/listeners should dictate how much Canadian gets played on commercial stations.   The CBC, and other public broadcasters perhaps would be a better home for "ALL CANADIAN" so people who want that product, can get it, and new Canadian artists of all kinds can get promotion.   Commercial radio on the other hand is a business and should be allowed to play what fits their business model.   Should that model include major amounts of Cancon so be it..   The audience/market will dictate. 

I second that emotion. (Although that Smokey Robinson song wasn't CanCon!) I think radiokid put it very well. 

I was - and continue to be - extremely opposed to this kind of forced play regulation, because I do not believe that government should ever stick its grubby interfering fingers into programming. But I also have to admit that it worked. It got the industry not only on its feet, but thriving by creating (forcing?) into existence a nascent business that might otherwise have never been quite so robust. 

So I'm willing to admit that. But the rule has long outlived its usefulness. Canadian content will be played if it's good and it's popular. A lot of it has proven itself to be just that. And the audience is there for it. So time to either relax the regs or eliminate them altogether. They did what they were instituted to do. It's like imposing a toll on a new bridge or a highway to pay for it - and then never removing it once the money has been amassed. 

And as an occasional listener to oldies music, I think at the very least those formatted stations should get a break, so the never-ending Anne Murray-Gordon Lightfoot-Andy Kim marching brigade gets to rest for a while.  

 

March 13, 2023 10:06 am  #5


Re: Did CanCon work?

b) hurt Canadian radio? Did being forced to adhere to CanCon riles have an identifiable negative effect on Canadian radio?

RadioAaron wrote:

a) Absolutely. Many Canadian artists owe their careers to it.
b) No. Radio had a pretty captive audience.
 

b) yes, if it's a border town competing with American stations.

Last edited by Radiowiz (March 13, 2023 10:08 am)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

March 13, 2023 10:19 am  #6


Re: Did CanCon work?

Radiowiz wrote:

b) hurt Canadian radio? Did being forced to adhere to CanCon riles have an identifiable negative effect on Canadian radio?

RadioAaron wrote:

a) Absolutely. Many Canadian artists owe their careers to it.
b) No. Radio had a pretty captive audience.
 

b) yes, if it's a border town competing with American stations.

I recall a certain border station that did that just fine.
 

 

March 13, 2023 10:22 am  #7


Re: Did CanCon work?

A good measure of cancon working or not in 2023 could be displayed tonight with the JUNO Awards.  It is a bit hard to judge whether the rules are still effective or not since music and the way it is delivered now and consumed has changed so much.  One could reasonably ask if the music business itself is still working.  And what role does radio still play in music's popularity?

Did the cancon rule hurt radio?  I would say no and it still doesn't.  It was a bit disappointing with the latest radio regulation overhaul.  The CRTC could have been more daring and inventive regarding cancon.  They should have given broadcasters more flexibility, especially with all gold or classic radio and specialized programming. 

Here is a flashback to this date in 1971, shortly after the cancon rule for AM radio came out.  The CHUM chart with 4 of the top 10 songs cancon.  However, overall the chart only had 5 out of 30 songs that would have been Canadian.

 Notice CHUM was playing the CCS blues and mostly instrumental version of Whole Lotta Love which is interesting.  This song and album didn't chart much in North America but seemed to do alright on the chart in Toronto.  
 

 

March 13, 2023 10:22 am  #8


Re: Did CanCon work?

RadioAaron wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

b) hurt Canadian radio? Did being forced to adhere to CanCon riles have an identifiable negative effect on Canadian radio?

RadioAaron wrote:

a) Absolutely. Many Canadian artists owe their careers to it.
b) No. Radio had a pretty captive audience.
 

b) yes, if it's a border town competing with American stations.

I recall a certain border station that did that just fine.
 

By re-recording hits at its own studios if I recall.  Wasn’t Cancon blamed for killing CKLW as a music station?

 

March 13, 2023 10:49 am  #9


Re: Did CanCon work?

Tomas Barlow wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

b) hurt Canadian radio? Did being forced to adhere to CanCon riles have an identifiable negative effect on Canadian radio?


b) yes, if it's a border town competing with American stations.

I recall a certain border station that did that just fine.
 

By re-recording hits at its own studios if I recall. Wasn’t Cancon blamed for killing CKLW as a music station?

FM radio killed CKLW as a music station.   FM killed KHJ, WLS, WABC, WKBW and all of the other big US AM top 40 stations.  The decline of the Big 8 happened at the same time as the other US AM giants.  In the rest of Canada the decline was a bit slower since we didn't have nearly as many FM stations per capita, stations here had different rules than in the US, and Canadians seem to be more loyal to their station of choice and it is harder to get them to move. 

There were lots of crazy rumours and fables how CKLW supposedly got around the cancon rules.  The cancon haters can't seem to accept that the 30% ruling didn't really effect LW's popularity.  A pain in the butt and something that their competition didn't need to worry about?  Yes.  Did it actually hurt them?  Apparently not since CKLW had their best ratings for years after January 1971.  

 

March 13, 2023 1:40 pm  #10


Re: Did CanCon work?

While the rise of Top 40 on FM in Detroit certainly was a major contributor to the decline of CKLW, Cancon certainly didn't help. Being forced to play Canadian artists meant a decrease in R/B records being aired. The BIG 8 had always had a large black Detroit audience because of the amount of R/B records on their playlist. Then of course the CRTC forbade them from moving their format to FM to compete with the Detroit Top 40's on a more level playing field. Had they done that, I think CKLW on FM would still be around today in some type of Top 40 format.

 

March 13, 2023 3:15 pm  #11


Re: Did CanCon work?

mace wrote:

While the rise of Top 40 on FM in Detroit certainly was a major contributor to the decline of CKLW, Cancon certainly didn't help. Being forced to play Canadian artists meant a decrease in R/B records being aired. The BIG 8 had always had a large black Detroit audience because of the amount of R/B records on their playlist. Then of course the CRTC forbade them from moving their format to FM to compete with the Detroit Top 40's on a more level playing field. Had they done that, I think CKLW on FM would still be around today in some type of Top 40 format.

Not sure if CKLW actually played less R/B because of cancon, that would be debatable. Regardless it didn't effect their ratings which were going up not down.   R/B was an important part of LW's music mix but the beauty of the station was the fact that they always played all kinds of music, even some lesser known and regional hits which arguably included cancon. 

CKLW's format moving to the FM dial is a whole other topic.  If they had moved to FM in 1984 like they wanted, I actually don't think they would have transferred the AM stations existing format or even the classic Big 8.   Album rock fm in Detroit was very popular at this time and CKLW's sound was dated.  I don't think they would have attracted anywhere near what the station enjoyed back in 1967 to the late 70's. In the 90's there was an attempt to bring back the Classic Big 8 on FM but this failed. 

CKLW FM is still around today as CIDR which is a Virgin outlet.  Because of their strong signal they will get some US listenership but they are not catering the station to the American market.  I did hear some ads for JCPenny on Virgin Windsor around Christmas time however.  Virgin Windsor does come up a little on the Michigan Radio and TV Buzzboard with most people preferring when they were AAA and known as the The River.  They also get criticized for poor local on air talent and occasionally for the off air sound quality of the station. A few posters like the station's music which is somewhat different than the other CHR outlets in Detroit. 

 

March 15, 2023 2:43 am  #12


Re: Did CanCon work?

Some artists got a small boost from the cancon regs but it wasn't significant.
Yes, it definitely caused problems for radio broadcasters.
It's a failed experiment and a dated concept
Time to let it go
0% CanCon

 

March 15, 2023 12:31 pm  #13


Re: Did CanCon work?

Did it work? From who's viewpoint?
It gave exposure to some bands and songs that might not have received it without the rule. A couple of examples come to mind: Copperpenny and Major Hoople's Boarding House. Yes, they got played on Canadian radio, but to make it big you need success in the USA.

Perhaps a few songs got picked up and became big hits like Ocean's Put Your Hand in the Hand but for the most part did it make any bands more successful? Arguably probably not, it may have even prolonged the agony of waiting for the big break that never came along.

Last edited by darcyh (March 15, 2023 12:31 pm)

 

March 16, 2023 10:37 am  #14


Re: Did CanCon work?

AM 740 doesn't sound or look (website) like a station that is in financial distress at all.  They have a big on air staff, with mature and professional sounding announcers and newscasters.  A few talk shows that would be of interest to their 55+ audience.  The station is even hosting a trip for listeners to Paris and France with one of their announcers.  Zoomer hosts a lot of these tours since their audience has the money to travel. 

So I don't see evidence of this financial damage from cancon or anything else.  AM 740 has a unique sound and even though they don't show up well in the ratings is not surprising.  They get their share of government health and social advertising and local businesses that cater to their audience.  If anything 740 has hit a sweet spot with loyal advertisers and listeners that other AM stations can only dream about.