iTunes Canada... Soon

[SilvorX]

Gordon IS a god as some of you are saying , Candian supergroup "the Guess Who" wrote a tribute song to him back in 1960 called "Lightfoot", this was before Gordon ever made it big in the states.
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=809629&selectedItemId=809472 for the Lightfoot fans who also like a touch of guess whoism

I'm waiting patiently for iTMS coming to canada so that canadian bands like Big Sugar and the Headstones will finally get their fame on it.

What's wrong with french ppl though? I'm of french ancestory, and I'm proud of it.

The late Izzy Asper brought out Cool FM to air about a year or year and half ago in Winnipeg on the radio, it's supposed to end up going national sooner or later, it's a jazz music station, to kick off the creation of the new jazz radio station back then, Randy Bachman, famous for The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive fame performed his jazzy hit "Lookin' Out for number 1", since he's a big fan of jazz himself, and he's releasing his first album in 8 years called "Jazz Thing" which is jazz of course.

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/features/cooljazz/index.html

it requires WMP9 , and pop up blocking disabled, but its a pretty good radio station.

Lenny Breau was one of the greatest jazz guitarists who ever lived, he was famous in the 1970s in the states for jazz, and he was good friends with Randy Bachman, but he ended up getting killed at his apartment about 20 years ago , but Bachman has released much of Breau's collection to cd within the last few years, some of them are on http://guitarchives.com/

 

[marckb]

Originally posted by Canuck:
> ...and a whole lot more. You right, they > don't neeed CanCon rules.
> Radiostations should be allowed to play
> whatever their listeners want to hear.
> If Canadian talent is as good as you
> say, it will get played.

> Just explain to me why some of the
> Canadian crap NEVER gets played
> anywhere else.


> 40% yes.


> BTW Shania Twain and Bryan Adams
> are not considered Canadians according
> to those who hand out Canadian Music
> Awards. Something about not enough
> Canadians on their production staff.
> Utter garbage.

Gosh you're ignorant. CanCon is 35% for english radio (+ 65% french language content for french radio). CanCon is determined on the "MAPL" system. To be deemed Canadian, recordings need only meet TWO of the 4 criteria:

M (music) - the music is composed entirely by a Canadian.

A (artist) - the music and/or the lyrics are performed principally by a Canadian.

P (production) - the musical selection consists of a live performance that is (i) recorded wholly in Canada, or (ii) performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.

L (lyrics) - the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian.

Finally, the rule that deemed Bryan Adams "non-canadian" has been fixed. Since 1991, Canadian artists who share a writing credit receive at least half the credit for MAPL requirements.

Finally, there are just as many artists that believe Canadian Content regulations help develop the industry as there are those that think it props up mediocre artists.

I personally think the most important consideration is that for profit companies (which are given the privilege of using the public's airwaves) will always play the EASIEST, most PROFITABLE music. While in many occasions this music is indeed what people want to hear, that is as much because of the MILLIONS of dollars spent on promoting those artists as the quality of the product. If Canadian artists had access to the promotional, celebrity machine that US artists do, we wouldn't need CanCon. In the meantime, it's crucial.

 

[Canuck]

Originally posted by marckb
Originally posted by Canuck:
> ...and a whole lot more. You right, they > don't neeed CanCon rules.
> Radiostations should be allowed to play
> whatever their listeners want to hear.
> If Canadian talent is as good as you
> say, it will get played.

> Just explain to me why some of the
> Canadian crap NEVER gets played
> anywhere else.


> 40% yes.


> BTW Shania Twain and Bryan Adams
> are not considered Canadians according
> to those who hand out Canadian Music
> Awards. Something about not enough
> Canadians on their production staff.
> Utter garbage.

Gosh you're ignorant. CanCon is 35% for english radio (+ 65% french language content for french radio). CanCon is determined on the "MAPL" system. To be deemed Canadian, recordings need only meet TWO of the 4 criteria:

M (music) - the music is composed entirely by a Canadian.

A (artist) - the music and/or the lyrics are performed principally by a Canadian.

P (production) - the musical selection consists of a live performance that is (i) recorded wholly in Canada, or (ii) performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.

L (lyrics) - the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian.

Finally, the rule that deemed Bryan Adams "non-canadian" has been fixed. Since 1991, Canadian artists who share a writing credit receive at least half the credit for MAPL requirements.

Finally, there are just as many artists that believe Canadian Content regulations help develop the industry as there are those that think it props up mediocre artists.

I personally think the most important consideration is that for profit companies (which are given the privilege of using the public's airwaves) will always play the EASIEST, most PROFITABLE music. While in many occasions this music is indeed what people want to hear, that is as much because of the MILLIONS of dollars spent on promoting those artists as the quality of the product. If Canadian artists had access to the promotional, celebrity machine that US artists do, we wouldn't need CanCon. In the meantime, it's crucial.

Ok 35%, but I'm surprised you think Canadian talent can't compete. If they're good enough the "promotional celebrity machine" will beat a path to their door.

I think the good entertainers can, as another poster pointed out. I just don't agree that we have to suffer through some clearly less entertaining content to the exclusion of better works, just because it's Canadian.
I want the best entertainment for my money and I don't care where it comes from any more that I care where hockey players come from. I just want to see and hear the best.
Your points are all made from the "artist's" perspective, what about the public who pay the freight and has no choice but to listen less than the best.

BTW- don't you think it absurd that the Bryan Adams fiasco had to be "fixed" at all.
If the goofy MAPL logic prevails elswhere I would guess that Mike Weir won't be considered a Canadian if he wins the Canadian Open because he plays with Americam made balls and clubs and has an American coach.

 

[marckb]

First, I never once said I don't think Canadian talent can't compete, and in an ideal world, promoters and record companies with loads of dough would indeed be beating down their doors.


But it's naive to think that success in mass media has just to do with talent. It has to do with big budget promotion. Buzz is created around new artists by flying them across the country, arranging dozens or hundreds of interviews, negotiating magazine articles, having them appear on red carpets to have their photos taken, etc. The american record companies can afford to do this on an unprecedented scale. For a Canadian artist to have to compete on the same playing field is extremely difficult. By making radio stations play 35% Canadian content, we have forced industry to look beyond the easy product provided by their American parent companies. Why would they spend the extra money to send A&R people across Canada to find new artists when it's so much cheaper to just promote pre-developed American artists?

Finally, let me reiterate that the radio waves belong to the citizens, so I have no problem forcing radio stations to do whatever we ask. If they don't like it, they are welcome to hand back their licenses. There are plenty of people who would apply for them.


> Ok 35%, but I'm surprised you think
> Canadian talent can't compete. If
> they're good enough the "promotional
> celebrity machine" will beat a path to
> their door.

> I think the good entertainers can, as
> another poster pointed out. I just don't
> agree that we have to suffer through
> some clearly less entertaining content
> to the exclusion of better works, just
> because it's Canadian.

> I want the best entertainment for my
> money and I don't care where it comes
> from any more that I care where
> hockey players come from. I just want
> to see and hear the best.

> Your points are all made from the
> "artist's" perspective, what about the
> public who pay the freight and has no
> choice but to listen less than the best.


> BTW- don't you think it absurd that the
> Bryan Adams fiasco had to be "fixed" at
> all.

> If the goofy MAPL logic prevails
> elswhere I would guess that Mike Weir
> won't be considered a Canadian if he
> wins the Canadian Open because he
> plays with Americam made balls and
> clubs and has an American coach.

 

[Canuck]

Originally posted by marckb

Finally, let me reiterate that the radio waves belong to the citizens, so I have no problem forcing radio stations to do whatever we ask. If they don't like it, they are welcome to hand back their licenses. There are plenty of people who would apply for them.

This isn't about what artists or radio stations want, it's about Canadians being entitled to the best product on our airwaves. We are being forced by a bunch of do-gooders to listen to less than the WORLD of music has to offer. I could care less if half the crap we hear on radio never gets heard, because on a world ranking it never deserved to get played.

 

[marckb]

Actually, I think that CanCon is great for the consumer. It's not as though non-Canadian music is banned! It's simply restricted to 65% on the radio, which is still a huge majority.

As a frequent purchaser of Canadian music (which I buy because I like it, not because the government mandates it), I believe however, that if CanCon didn't exist, it would be too easy for record companies to simply package up American music and market it here. Developing a Canadian artist costs way more, and CanCon forces record companies to do it. And it obviously doesn't cost the consumer anything, as records cost way less in Canada than in the US.

 

[marckb]

Checked Statistics Canada, and in 2000, 15.5% of new releases in Canada were Canadian, which could be explained by the rules (supplying artificial demand created by CanCon).

However, in 2000, 16% of sales in Canada were by Canadian artists, which, considering the size our marketing budgets compared to American artists, is huge. And you can't say people are being forced to BUY Canadian music because of CanCon, can you?

 

[Canuck]

Originally posted by marckb
Checked Statistics Canada, and in 2000, 15.5% of new releases in Canada were Canadian, which could be explained by the rules (supplying artificial demand created by CanCon).

However, in 2000, 16% of sales in Canada were by Canadian artists, which, considering the size our marketing budgets compared to American artists, is huge. And you can't say people are being forced to BUY Canadian music because of CanCon, can you?

Assuming the <>16% figure is relatively constant: You make my point, 15.5% of what the record industry is prepared to put money into releasing, and 16% of what the public buys is Canadian. This represents the saleable/tolerable music content which means that to fill CanCon rules it must be played more frequently to the exclusion of other available music.
Which is exactly what is happening.

Clearly, if there must be CanCon rules 35% is too high.

 

[marckb]

Assuming the <>16% figure is relatively constant: You make my point, 15.5% of what the record industry is prepared to put money into releasing, and 16% of what the public buys is Canadian. This represents the saleable/tolerable music content which means that to fill CanCon rules it must be played more frequently to the exclusion of other available music.
Which is exactly what is happening.

Clearly, if there must be CanCon rules 35% is too high.

Actually, the number has been going up annually from about 11% in 1992, to about 16% in 2000. Who knows how hight the number is now.

As for the CanCon regulations as they relate to radio, if we reduced the 35% play requirement, then opportunities to hear Canadian music would immediatly drop, and of course people would buy even less Canadian music, because without the big promotional machine, Radio is one of the only ways to learn about new Canadian artists.

The 35% levels the playing field slightly for Canadian artists and consumers, forcing the for-profit radio industry to make an effort to play some Canadian music.

 

[iMan]

Originally posted by Canuck
I want the best entertainment for my money and I don't care where it comes from any more that I care where hockey players come from. I just want to see and hear the best.
Your points are all made from the "artist's" perspective, what about the public who pay the freight and has no choice but to listen less than the best.

Now, as far as I know we do not have rules here in Norway for how much national content has to be played on radio. Still norwegian music is doing ok - and maybe even better than they would with a protection like CanCom is (they HAVE to be good to get airplay). But then we do have several state-owned non-commercial radios here.
Still, considering what commmercial radios would play is for the benefit of the good music is just loads of crap. Commercial stations play commercial music - the like of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera... No one will have me believe that the majority of music played on any commercial radiostation is "the best there is out there". If that was true we would never hear a Britney song played. Most of the music played is not BAD though - it is just lightweight and mindless. About the same kind as the people arguing commercial stations generally play good music

 

[marckb]

Now, as far as I know we do not have rules here in Norway for how much national content has to be played on radio. Still norwegian music is doing ok - and maybe even better than they would with a protection like CanCom is (they HAVE to be good to get airplay). But then we do have several state-owned non-commercial radios here.

That's an interesting comparison iMan. However, I don't think that the situation in Norway and Canada can be compared, mainly because of our proximity to the US, and the fact that we share many mass media (you can get all the major US TV networks over the airwaves in much of Canada).

The most important difference however is that Canada and the US speak the same language, with very similar pronunciation. For better or worse, Canadian culture is tightly intertwined with American culture. I don't think we should (or could) change this, but I do think we have a responsibility to develop Canadian music, and CanCon rules have proven to work to this end...

 

[iMan]

Originally posted by marckb
I don't think that the situation in Norway and Canada can be compared, mainly because of our proximity to the US, and the fact that we share many mass media (you can get all the major US TV networks over the airwaves in much of Canada).

The most important difference however is that Canada and the US speak the same language, with very similar pronunciation. For better or worse, Canadian culture is tightly intertwined with American culture.

Well, jokingly we usually (and with a bit of irony ) consider ourselves as the most american country outside of the US here...

My point I guess was somewhat of the french attitude: One should thrust ones culture and heritage enough that it will prevail and grow with the influence of other cultures. What I say (eventhough I must say I think Canuck is taking it a bit far) is that in having to protect ourself we also show a great deal of weakness and little belief. If you really believe you are superior (like the french do ) you might appear arrogant, but at the same time no one will be able to touch your heritage...

 

[bryanc]

Re: Re: What the smack??!!

Originally posted by Canuck

King FM out of Seattle is superior in every respect.

Having lived in both Vancouver and Seattle for years, I can say I much prefer CBC to King FM. The advertizing on King drove me crazy.

CBC is one of the many things about which I feel I'm getting good value out of my tax dollars. Obviously, YMMV.

Given that we have plenty of good orchestras and smaller ensembles in Canada, and that they play the full range of classical music, I don't see how CanCon is a problem.

I'd love for there to be more and better classical music stations (in Canada and elsewhere), but, as has already been pointed out, Classical music (and, to a lesser extent, Jazz) is a small market.

I'm looking forward to the emergence of more 'internet radio stations' which should be able to serve small markets better, both because of lower overhead costs, and access to larger audiences.

Of course, it will be interesting to see how things like CanCon play out in such a global market.

Cheers

 

[bryanc]

Originally posted by iMan
My point I guess was somewhat of the french attitude: One should thrust ones culture and heritage enough that it will prevail and grow with the influence of other cultures. What I say (eventhough I must say I think Canuck is taking it a bit far) is that in having to protect ourself we also show a great deal of weakness and little belief.

As a Canadian, I can't help getting a giggle out of this.

For those of you who don't know, one of the most constant issues in Canadian public life is the issue of protecting the french language and french culture.

I'm basically in agreement. Given a level playing field (i.e., equal access to audiences) there should be no need for rules like CanCon...good music shouldn't need to be protected by legislation. However, and this is the important point, it is *not* a level playing field. The corporate machinery that fabricates these inane pop stars, is as far removed from a level playing field as one could possibly imagine.

Given that fact, I think rules like CanCon are a pragmatic, if philosophically inelegant, solution.

Cheers

 

[SilvorX]

the #3 spot for 1970 for the iTMS charts feature can speak for itself , one of the only times in canadian history that a canadian musician/band has had a top 5 song of a year in the states, the only other artists to do so include bryan adams and shania twain. the guess who changed canadian rock forever hands down, concidering they were from the 'middle of nowhere' canada, they still made it huge worldwide, and no matter where that song is played in concert, it always gets fans up on their feet

 

[iMan]

Originally posted by bryanc
For those of you who don't know, one of the most constant issues in Canadian public life is the issue of protecting the french language and french culture.

I guess you understood I was referring to french as in France, I don't know too much of french Canada. From what I hear though they appear to have a bit of that french arrogance
I understand the awareness to the corporate industrial music machine though... but what I see you are saying is that you canadians are mindless robots that is not able to make own choices except giving in to bigtime marketing and have no sense of quality in music (I am being provocative now )

 

[marckb]

I guess you understood I was referring to french as in France, I don't know too much of french Canada. From what I hear though they appear to have a bit of that french arrogance
I understand the awareness to the corporate industrial music machine though... but what I see you are saying is that you canadians are mindless robots that is not able to make own choices except giving in to bigtime marketing and have no sense of quality in music (I am being provocative now )

I don't think it's an issue of Canadians being mindless robots. It's more a matter of access. Canada is huge, with a very dispersed population, so it's very difficult for bands to introduce themselves to the public. When you've seen an artist on TV a million times and read reviews, and seen them profiled in Rolling Stone, you're much more likely to buy their album over an artist you've never heard of. Not because you necessarily believe they are better, but because the Canadian band is often an unknown quantity.

Forcing radio networks to play a minimal amount of Canadian content (over the radio waves which are owned by the people) is the only way to build our recording industry. It's not as though the public is being forced to buy their albums! Besides, there are tonnes of fantastic Canadian bands, and most Canadians (other than Canuck) support CanCon anyway.

 

[Canuck]

Originally posted by marckb

Forcing radio networks to play a minimal amount of Canadian content (over the radio waves which are owned by the people) is the only way to build our recording industry. It's not as though the public is being forced to buy their albums! Besides, there are tonnes of fantastic Canadian bands, and most Canadians (other than Canuck) support CanCon anyway.

I will concede that CanCon is here to stay, but argue the need for 35% Canadian content, more than double what is is published.

I would argue that Canadians support CanCon. You may be correct that the age group that likes Canadian Bands are ok with CanCon, but I can assure you that the Baby Boomers in Vancouver are so fed up with the "music" radio offerings in Vancouver that no one I know listens to anything but talk radio in their cars and cable from Seattle at home.

As I pointed out before, at 35% there is not enough good Canadian content to support Jazz, New Age or Classical radio stations. And there is a demand, and the demand falls within a desirable target audiance.

If CanCon was dropped to the reflect the actual rate of Canadian publication in that genre I think we would create room for a greater variety of music offerings in radio.

My guess is that very little would change on the "rock etc." stations with my proposed CanCon rules, because it seems the majority of Canadian production is within this genre.

Twenty-odd years ago the wine industry in BC which predicted doom and gloom at their loss of protection and overcame the obstacles. Under protection BC wines were bloody awful. Today the Okanagan is arguably the best quality wine producing region in North America.

I see little reason that Canadian music cannot prform the same feat.
Besides, does anyone remember Sheila Copps being right about anything.

 

[SilvorX]

puretracks updated their "incompatibility" page:

We value our Mac audience, however the Windows Media player for the Mac
platform is not currently compatible with Microsoft protected audio content.
Puretracks is currently working to make our service available to Mac users.


does this mean they'll use acc for mac users instead of wma? or just wait until wmp10 comes out?

 

[Rower_CPU]

So, is Puretracks using something more current than the codecs listed here:
Windows Media Player 9 for OS X?

 

[merges]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
So, is Puretracks using something more current than the codecs listed here:
Windows Media Player 9 for OS X?

Apparently the Mac OS X version of WMP9 doesn't know how to work with copy-protected Windows Media files, which Puretracks seems to be using to limit burns, copies, and the like.

 

[Raid]

Hey GET ON IT APPLE!!

Maybe this article from the Globe&Mail will illustrate Canada is a pretty good market. The difference in sales looks like it can be directly related to the size of the population (and I know many people disappointed with the quality and limited library at puretracks).

link

Puretracks chalks up one million downloads

By TERRY WEBER

Just four months after its launch, Canada's Puretracks on-line music service has crossed the one million download mark and is looking to further strengthen its hold on the market by offering pre-paid user cards. In a statement Wednesday, Toronto-based Puretracks — which began service in mid October — said the addition of prepaid cards means people without credit cards will be able to use the site to buy music digitally. “Previously, Canadians without a credit card were unable to purchase music downloads, especially teens looking for a safe, high quality alternative to file-sharing sites,” Puretracks co-founder and co-chief executive officer Derek van der Plaat said. The cards come in denominations of $20 and $50 and can be bought at retailers including Zellers and Mac's convenience stores as well as CD Plus, Nicholby's Express, Avondale Food and Relay outlets. The move comes as Puretracks — with a catalogue of more than 250,000 tracks — announced that it has crossed the one-million download threshold after roughly four months of operation. By comparison, Apple Computer Corp.'s iTunes service crossed the four-month mark with 10 million downloads, although that service's U.S. customer base is also roughly 10 times the size of the comparable market in Canada. By December, iTunes had announced that downloads had topped 25 million. “Puretracks is all about delivering the best in on-line digital music, and this milestone demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of Canadian music fans and our business partners agree,” Puretracks co-CEO and founder Alistair Mitchell said.

 

[oldschool]

Puretracks isn't that great or much cheaper. On most albums i've looked at it seems they are within a dollar of the price of buying the CD from Amazon.ca.

Now I know one of the advantages of buying online is that you get to buy individual tracks, but I think its unacceptable that they don't even bring their full album prices down to meet discount levels. Future Shop sells most of these CD's at much less than either amazon.ca or Puretracks and it is an actual brick and mortar store.

 

[skrysko]

Here's what I recieved from the Canadian Recording Industry Assoc. and the CMRRA about the status of iTunes in Canada.

CMRRA

... "We are presently in negotiations with Apple to license IMS for activity in Canada, and we hope those negotiations lead us to an agreement soon." ...

You might do well to convey your interest in IMS to Apple, as I'm sure they would be interested in knowing that there's real demand for their product in this market. However, as I noted above, the timing and manner of the IMS launch in this country is entirely in Apple's hands.

CRIA

My information is that iTunes is currently in final licensing negotiations with publishers and we expect its launch early this year.