The Spirit of Cancon: Is it Still a Valid Model?

Cafe Society
1

This one’s for the Canadians, and other interested parties, who listen to the radio and/or support Canadian musicians in their efforts to gain a wider audience via radio and TV.

Bit of background first, for those who may not be aware. Here in Canada, we have “Cancon,” which is basically a set of rules stating how much Canadian content must be present in our radio and TV programming. The Wikipedia page on Cancon gives a good introduction to the concept.

Well, over in this thread, we got to talking about the wide variety of Cancon available that Canadian stations could play, and the lack of variety in both songs and artists that they do play, and featherlou made the following comment:

I agree with featherlou, but I’ll add a bit. There is a lot of great Canadian music out there (more than just Rush, Anne Murray, Shania Twain, and Celine Dion), but I think part of the problem is that as radio turned to a genre format over the last number of years (for example, Classic Rock, Adult Contemporary, etc.), the music that would fit a particular format meant that there remained a relatively small pool of music that program directors would choose from. A classic rock station, for example, wouldn’t be playing Shania Twain; she wouldn’t even be a viable choice for them. Instead, it’s BTO, Trooper, the Guess Who, and Rush.

But when Cancon started in 1971, we had unformatted–at least in the genre sense–stations. It was possible for a Top-40 station, such as Toronto’s 1050 CHUM to play everything (and it did–see the historical CHUM charts that are linked from the main page). Olivia Newton-John countryish croonings shared the CHUM airwaves with Supertramp’s progressive rock, BTO’s hard rock, and Patsy Gallant’s disco stylings, for example. It was in this environment that Cancon was born, and it seemed to achieve the goals of the concept pretty well.

Given today’s genre format, is it time to rethink the concept? As featherlou points out, new talent isn’t getting airplay; perhaps unless it fits into a predetermined format present today, but at any rate, not in the same radio environment it would have in 1971. I’m interested in any thoughts Dopers might have on this–what does everyone think?

Note that this is not a thread to state “well, Canadian artists should turn to the internet and allow downloads of their music.” This thread has nothing to do with MP3s or downloads or the Internet–it’s about the current state of Canadian radio today, the program directors who plan the music we hear from the radio, and the Canadian artists whose music must, by CRTC regs, fill those airwaves somehow.

2

The validity of Cancon makes for interesting debate, that’s for sure. I’m for it in theory, but I agree that the current implementation is for the birds. There’s two stations I generally listen to in Montreal, CHOM 97.7 (mostly rock) and Mix 96 (mostly pop). They’ve each found their own weaselly (IMHO) way to abuse Cancon rules.

CHOM: “Let’s pick a band who made it big in the States anyway (Nickelback! Arcade Fire!) and play them until our listeners’ ears bleed.”

Mix: “This season, let’s pick one artist, declare them the Next Big Thing (Sean Paul! Rhianna!) and play them until our listeners bang their heads against the wall so hard they’ll get amnesia in time for next season.”

BTW, yes, these stations are two of the biggest in Montreal, and are owned by the same people.

I don’t listen to francophone stations* as much, but I get the impression Cancon regulations are irrelevant to them because they’re mostly going to play music by Québécois artists/producers/musicians anyway. A few “French from France” artists as well as others from elsewhere in the francophonie get some airplay, but they’re the exception rather than the rule. Because these stations have a relatively limited pool of artists to draw from in the first place, they draw pretty broadly and keep their playlists varied.

*Explanation for non-locals: Radio stations here are language-based: Francophone stations play mostly French-language music. (According to CRTC regulations they have to play 65%, but some do play more.) Anglophone stations play 99.9% English-language music. (There’s the occasional crossover artist like Pagliaro who can get a French-language song played on an anglophone station.) Why can’t they mix languages on one station? I believe non-commercial and cultural community stations can, but commercial stations are forbidden to. I’m not exactly sure why. Vaguely-remembered anecdote: During the 70s, CHOM tried bilingual broadcasts for a while, with bilingual DJs and everything. They drew in a huge proportion of the listening market before the CRTC forced them to quit. I suppose being successful is considered against the rules…

3

Not to hijack, but doesn’t this strike most peeps in Canada as kinda pathetic?

4

Even though I’m American, I find the discussions of CanCon interesting whenever they come up. I think it’s because I live in Upstate NY and I’m exposed to a ton of Canadian artists on our indie station, WBER (http://wber.monroe.edu).

Arcade Fire, Sarah Slean, Flaming Lips, Our Lady Peace, New Pornograhers, Barenaked Ladies and lots of other bands that are Canadian and I don’t even know.

So I guess my question is: Who cares if they’re big in America? If they’re Canadian, isn’t that following the spirit of the law?

5

It’s not so much whether they’re big in the US; it’s that there is a lot to choose from, but they’re not choosing it.

I may be showing my age here, because when I do listen to radio, it tends to be classic rock, but as an example, I can hear BTO’s “Takin’ Care of Business” every day (!) on the radio, but I never hear Foot in Cold Water’s “Make Me Do Anything You Want.” Same for the Guess Who’s “American Woman,” which, again, seems to be on daily, while the Stampeders’ “Running Wild” is never heard any more.

Still, even for formats that fit more recent artists, the question remains–why, in spite of Cancon regs, do some artists get overplayed, while others are rarely heard or not heard from at all? Should we be rethinking Cancon itself to make allowances for the changing radio environment?

6

I’m not seeing how the overplaying of certain Canadian artists is any failing of Cancon. Radio stations have been doing this since the first broadcasts went on the air. If they weren’t overplaying Nickelback, they’d be overplaying some other American artist that sounded just the same. When Staind’s “It’s Been Awhile” was a hit, I couldn’t go a day without hearing it three times on the radio. The complaint is the reluctance of of radio stations to expand their playlists. It’s not as if removing Cancon would stop this.

While Cancon may have some goofy rules (IIRC, the big controversy in the 90s was when a Bryan Adams song didn’t qualify when a certain Rod Stewart song did), it’s unquestionably in my mind had its desired effect - more Canadian artists are played on Canadian radio than prior to it. There is an incredible Canadian music scene these days. Contrast that to our movie industry, which, in English Canada at least, is only just starting to get some legs.

7

I don’t think so (I’m not even sure how many people are aware of its existence, or its effect on the radio we hear). It’s our reality; we have 1/10th the population of the massive entertainment industry directly south of us. If we left it completely up to radio stations to set their playlists, we’d get exactly the same short playlists of songs that you guys endure. At least with Cancon rules, as I mentioned in the other thread, we get two kinds of over-played short playlists, instead of just one.

I don’t think Canadian Content rules can have an impact on radio stations being stupid with their playlists. I’m as ancient as you, Spoons - I remember when you basically had two divisions in radio - country and everything else. I think most people listen to a variety of music and want to hear a variety of artists and songs. Commercial radio doesn’t seem to care what people actually want. I do think the genre format is detrimental to the best artists - the ones that aren’t easily pigeonholed. Colin James is definitely one of these.

8

If it helps you guys fill a quota, I’m willing to deport Avril Lavigne.

9

Australia has local content regulations as well (10%, I think)- which also includes artists from New Zealand.

I don’t support these sort of regulations. If a band or artist is any good, then they should be on radio/TV because they’re good, not because a regulation says that there has to be a minimum 10% Glorified Pub Band quota on air.

I’m also aware that this isn’t a popular viewpoint around these parts, either…

10

I think this gets to what I’m wondering. In the days of Top 40, artists came and went all the time–they might appear for two or three weeks and disappear, or they might climb to number 1, spend a couple of weeks there, and slowly make their way down again, after, oh say, 16 weeks on the charts. There was constant turnover, and none of the songs you heard today would be played six months from now. Constant turnover meant constant demand for songs; which, given the Cancon regs, also meant that Canadian artists like Colin James would get a decent chance. But in today’s formats, it seems unlikely.

Martini, I’m just wondering–why isn’t it a popular viewpoint in Australia?

11

“Give the local bands a go” etc, basically. My view: if they were any good, they’d be getting a go anyway. Being “Local” or “Aussie” does not automatically make you a good band. In fact, if anything, I’m less likely to enjoy your music because of your “localness”.

12

Okay, between this and your previous post, I think I see. Thanks, Martini!

Certainly, we have many, many, garage bands/bar bands, and while I’ve heard plenty, and they’ve been good, most haven’t been good enough. The attitude here is best summed up as, “Don’t give them a chance if they’re not good enough to deserve it.”

But at the same time, there also seems to be an attitude in Canadian radio of “Let’s also play it safe and go with the known product. Let’s not take chances.” This means that an established artists like Shania Twain can put out anything and get airplay. But at the same time, it does a disservice to people trying to break through, like Colin James, as well as folks like Cris Cuddy, Bruce Nasmith, and so many more; all of whom might have had a decent shot in the days of Top 40 radio when new product was always needed. But since there is enough “known Canadian product” to fulfil the Cancon quota in today’s genre formatting, there is no room left for James, Cuddy, Nasmith, and the rest to break through.

13

But again, this isn’t Cancon’s fault. Top 40 radio has always done this and always will.

14

Let me just hijack a wee bit and say Colin James isn’t really breaking through; he’s a well-established artist who, if there was any fairness in the world, would be a world-famous mega-star based on his talent and his volume of work. He’s just a good example of what is wrong with Top 40 genre format radio today, if a brilliant album like his second-latest, “Limelight,” gets virtually no play on Canadian radio even with the Cancon rules. He doesn’t put out easily classifiable music (he blends guitar blues, rock, and pop, and also puts out straight Big Band albums), so, in my opinion, misses getting played by most stations because he’s not rock-y enough for one station, and too pop-y for another, etc.

But I’m getting smart; I’m starting to realize that relying on commercial radio for my music fix and finding out about new music is a waste of time.

Martini, I would agree with you about letting the merit of the music speak for itself, except like I mentioned earlier, we would have nothing but playlists composed of a small selection of American Top 40 if left up to the people making up the playlists then, regardless of what people actually want to hear. Of course, once people get out of the habit of playing the radio at all, that might change everything.

15

See, and I don’t even blame radio stations so much for repetitive and narrow playlists - it actually seems to be what radio listeners want. We people who want variety are a minority, sadly.

16

Well, speaking as an American who used to live near the border, I loved Canadian radio. I was so sick of the same Madonna, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, etc. (did I just date myself?) and loved having the option of listening to CHOM-FM and CHEZ-106.

I never would have heard (for example) Jane Siberry, Luba, Blue Rodeo, Colin James, 8 Seconds, Bruce Cochburn, and of course The Tragically Hip*.

Is it a valid model? I’m not sure, since I haven’t lived close enough to listen in about 10 years. Cancon shouldn’t mean putting shitty music on the air just because the artist is Canadian, but it also shouldn’t be like xnylder’s example of taking a Canadian artist that became popular in the US and playing them to death, either. There’s got to be a happy medium in there somewhere. I really enjoyed Canadian radio in the 80s.

*I just saw The Hip in a bar in Upstate NY last week. I hadn’t seen them in about 6 years. It was good to see that Gord Downie is still an eccentric nutcase. I was right up front for a fantastic show! And I only paid $20. :stuck_out_tongue:

17

No, and I’m not saying it’s Cancon’s fault. What I am saying is that there is no longer Top 40 radio–at least, not in the sense that there was when the Cancon regs came into force. Then, radio stations could, and often did, take chances on new artists; mainly because of the constant turnover in music that the Top 40 format demanded. Sometimes, artists took off (Five Man Electrical Band, Andy Kim, Trooper), and sometimes they didn’t (Gary & Dave, Shooter, Joey Gregorash). But due to the necessary turnover in Top 40 radio, there was enough demand for new product that even mediocre artists would at least get a chance. That doesn’t happen any more. Maybe the Cancon regs should adapt to the new model, or maybe some other change should occur. But I don’t see the 1971 Cancon model working very well in 2007.

Featherlou makes a good point about not knowing where to put some artists. (Note that I don’t mean “breaking through” as in “just beginning”; I mean “breaking through” as in “getting airplay.”) I’m familiar with Colin James’ work, and I agree–it’s terrific stuff, but it’s hard to classify. Same with Cris Cuddy; you don’t know if he’s country, or rock, or blues, or sometimes all three. We seem to be very good at producing such people, so perhaps the problem lies in the classification and/or the narrow genres that stations have formatted themselves into.

I don’t know about that. Maybe it’s just the model that garners the fewest complaints. A narrow playlist may not overly offend anybody while making the program director’s job a lot easier. Heck, I’m one to talk–I want variety, but I’m not willing to call a local station’s PD and demand it. I deal. Still, I do miss the days of Album-Oriented Rock, when you could hear three or four cuts from a single album, none of which were the heavily-promoted hit single. But I digress.

18

You really think that’s all the average listener wants? That does make me sad. People so willing to settle for so little.

I think the music industry is on the brink of massive, sweeping changes. The recording industry has been very shitty to artists for a while now (and getting worse from what I hear - no one gets time to develop as an artist; if you don’t hit right out of the gate, you’re done), and artists are developing new means of getting their music to the people who want music, and shutting record companies out altogether (parasitic bastards).

I guess from that perspective, Cancon really is an outdated model. I can’t imagine a Canadian government agency being able to tell me who to download from, and how much Cancon I have to have in my iTunes library. (I can just see it now - the Cancon police showing up at my door, with a warrant to inspect my iTunes. Fortunately, I have a TON of Canadian music in it - I think I’m safe. :smiley: )

19

Sure it is. If it wasn’t, someone would have come along with a different model that would defeat it. (Technically, this may be satellite radio, but I digress)
It’s no different in any entertainment medium, TV, movies, what have you. Generally, people want something that just like the thing they just liked.

20

True enough - people are comfortable with the familiar, and they like doing what everyone else is doing. Just look at Beigeburbia.