Murphy’s Logic: Thank CanCon for talent at the Junos

Murphy’s Logic: Praise for CanCon Steve Murphy says CanCon helped the Canadian music industry grow into an international powerhouse.

When the Junos are handed out in Halifax this weekend, the winners are likely to include some of world’s biggest recording artists.

That’s because Canada is a global superpower in the music industry, with artists like The Weeknd, Bieber, Buble, Celine, Shania, Alanis, and we have something once considered controversial called CanCon to thank for it.

In the early 1970s, the Government of Canada imposed minimums on the amount of Canadian music played on Canadian radio stations. Up until that time, our playlists were dominated by Americans and Brits. Only a few Canadians cracked the top 40. There was plenty of grumbling about Canadian content back then, including predictions that we’d hear no one but Anne Murray and Gordon Lightfoot.

But the imposition of ambitious Canadian content forced radio to demand more Canadian songs. And that led to the creation of a Canadian recording industry. Growing up in the 70s, we listened to the Guess Who, April Wine, B-T-O, Andy Kim, and countless others, without even knowing they were Canadian. They got recorded here because of CanCon, but their music also got heard in the U.S. and beyond. If you know the song “We’re here for a good time, not a long time,” it’s probably because of Canadian content regulations that allowed Tropper to get it recorded. And played.

So when the trophies are handed out, don’t just applaud the winners, applaud a Canadian initiative that set the stage for a truly world-class industry and artists we can all be proud of.