Stingray Radio kicked off the CRTC’s The Path Forward hearings on Thursday morning, calling for a significant reshaping of Canadian Content (CanCon) regulations.

The latest in a series of hearings aimed at modernizing the Broadcast Act, this round is examining the creation, distribution and discoverability of Canadian and Indigenous audio content across radio and online streaming platforms, also considering how traditional broadcasters and audio streaming services can best contribute to a sustainable broadcasting system.

Stingray, the country’s largest radio operator, presented its case for changes, including a reduction in mandated Canadian music airplay and a modernized definition of what constitutes a Canadian song. The company asserted that the current framework is pushing listeners away from traditional radio and into the arms of unregulated foreign streaming giants.

“Radio is dealing with an existential crisis,” Stingray Radio President Steve Jones told the hearing. “Industry revenues have dropped over 30% in the past decade, as our listeners abandon the medium for unregulated platforms.”

Jones highlighted CanCon’s “overexposure problem,” arguing that while the natural interest in Canadian music among listeners hovers around 10% (a figure supported by Stingray’s internal research and streaming data), radio stations are often required to broadcast significantly higher levels, up to 35%.

“We can no longer pretend that airing three and a half times the amount of Canadian music that listeners want helps the Canadian music industry grow,” Jones contended. “All this does is force radio to overplay Canadian songs and push people away from the media.”

Stingray is advocating for a return to a “more realistic” 25% Canadian content threshold for radio, a level reminiscent of FM radio requirements in the 1990s. “I think 10, 15% max is where this ultimately will end up, no matter how much Canadian content we mandate, because you just simply can’t overexpose people to something to force them to like it. They will like what they like,” Jones added.

Redefining ‘Canadian musical selection’

Another cornerstone of Stingray’s presentation was the urgent need to update the definition of a “Canadian musical selection.” The company says the current “MAPL” (Music, Artist, Performance, Lyrics) system is outdated, failing to recognize the collaborative and international nature of modern music production.

“When the song honoured as the best in Canadian music isn’t Canadian content, we have a problem,” Jones said, pointing out that five of the last seven JUNO Award winners for Canadian Single of the Year did not qualify under current CRTC rules due to foreign collaboration. He cited examples of Canadian stars like Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd, and Tate McRae whose internationally co-written hits are often disqualified.

Stingray is proposing a new points-based system that would offer two points for the artist and one point each for the composer and lyricist, paving the way for songs primarily performed or written by Canadians to automatically qualify as CanCon.

“Our proposal doesn’t disqualify a single existing Canadian song from continuing to be Canadian content,” Jones assured the commission. “It simplifies the process for everybody and makes it very clear that any song primarily written by Canadians is Canadian, any song, primarily performed by Canadians, is Canadian.”

The hearing also touched on support for emerging and Indigenous artists. Stingray maintains that mandating airplay for emerging artists is unnecessary, as they already make up a significant portion of contemporary playlists. For Indigenous music, the company argued against mandated airplay, suggesting the focus should instead be on increased funding for creation and promotion.

“The problem is a lack of commercially viable music being made by Indigenous artists,” Jones said. “Instead of mandating airplay, the commission should take meaningful steps to ensure that funding is allocated to the creation, distribution, marketing and promotion of music created by Indigenous artists in Canada.”

Set to continue on select dates through Sept. 29, others appearing include CBC/Radio-Canada, Vista Radio, Rogers Sports & Media, Corus Entertainment, Cogeco Media, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, and Bell Media, among more than 50 parties on the agenda.