Since SiriusXM satellite radio changed the programming of certain French-language channels and removed that of CBC Radio 3, artists whose songs have been removed have seen their income drop considerably. In more alternative musical circles, it’s a real shock wave across the country, but also an examination of conscience: why depend so much on royalties from a private company? Explanations.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
“It’s the last check that goes directly into our pockets, so it’s brutal,” says Marie-Hélène L. Delorme, whose artist name is Foxtrott. I know people who will no longer be able to make a living from music… If the impact is so great, it’s a sign that the industry is in bad shape. »
Same story on the side of Marilyne Lacombe of the Mothland record company, which provides for a drop in income of 25 to 40%. “There are artists who live just off SiriusXM. It doesn’t make sense that everything hangs on this thread. »
That “thread” is SiriusXM’s generous royalties that actually allow artists and record companies to survive.
You should know that Canadian and American laws require SiriusXM to return a specific percentage of their income. In the United States, where there are approximately 35 million subscribers, it is 15.5% of 8 billion in revenue (in 2020), while in Canada, where there were 2.7 million subscribers in 2017 (according to a CRTC document), it is 4%.
Thus, when an artist’s song is heard on one of the SiriusXM channels in the United States, what is called the neighboring right represents a very significant sum, that is approximately US$20 for the performer and US$25 $US for the producer (regardless of the number of listeners to the channel).
Since September 30, Radio-Canada’s ICI Musique no longer programs two of SiriusXM’s three French-language music channels, while CBC Radio3 (with emerging and alternative content) was replaced a few days ago without notice by hip-hop channel Mixtape: North. The lineup was brought in-house, which explains the shuffling of songs in rotation.
“Our contract with Radio-Canada recently expired and we took advantage of the expertise of the SiriusXM programming team to update some of our channels’ programming,” SiriusXM said in a statement.
Overnight, artists whose songs were playing on CBC Radio 3 lost SiriusXM royalties of up to several hundred dollars each week.
This is the case of Foxtrott, whose double extract The Motion/Looking for Love was heard almost daily on CBC Radio 3. “The channel is really broad in terms of genre and non-commercial Canadian music. It is the entire Canadian scene that will suffer from his withdrawal. »
Julien Manaud of Lisbon Lux Records even fears that some English-language record companies may have to cease their activities. He points out that French groups like Le Couleur and Paupière are also in rotation on the CBC Radio 3 channel.
In the short term, the impact is gigantic and horrifying. For some of my Anglo artists, it was practically the only source of income with grants.
Julien Manaud, from Lisbon Lux Records
SiriusXM claims that The Verge channel “still offers the best in Canadian independent and alternative music, including many of the artists you can hear on CBC Radio 3”. The company added that CBC Radio 3 remains available on Radio-Canada platforms. SiriusXM continues its commitment to support the Canadian music scene. “We continue to meet and exceed our CRTC license conditions. »
“These are the vagaries of a program just like a station like Énergie which becomes rock”, illustrates Sébastien Charest, rights manager for some 500 Quebec artists.
If the latter believes that “diversity will remain at the rendezvous of SiriusXM channels”, he points out that SiriusXM’s paid royalties in the United States do not help in the development of a career since they do not take into account the number listeners (and that few Americans after all listen to French-language channels).
An examination of conscience
Foxtrott insists on one point: it is not normal that so many Quebec and Canadian artists depend on “Americans who listen to music in their car”.
“We’re talking about a private company that made an editorial choice,” adds Marilyne Lacombe. It’s not SiriusXM’s fault that artists live on the arm of one company. »
SiriusXM’s overly generous royalties create an “imbalance”, argues Jacynthe Plamondon-Émond of the agency InTempo Musique and Hook Records. “It’s an artificial bubble. »
A bubble over which the Quebec music industry has no control since “it’s money coming in from the United States”.
Imagine if royalties were tied to ratings. It’s too precarious to rely on a single source of income.
Jacynthe Plamondon-Émond, from InTempo Musique and Hook Records
While we are sorry for SiriusXM’s programming changes, Jacynthe Plamondon-Émond would rather think about the meager royalties from online listening services or Stingray, for example.
For his part, Foxtrott — who considers himself lucky to be able to diversify his income with commissioned music for the cinema, for example — is worried about the future of the more alternative music scene. “Music will become a sport for the children of the rich. »
Julien Manaud agrees that SiriusXM royalties are a “gift from heaven” on which we should not rely so much. Nevertheless, “there is a general post-pandemic depression and it is the blow of an ax too many”, he concludes.
SiriusXM’s three new French-language music channels are Influence Franco (pop and hip-hop), Attitude Franco (dedicated to rock in a broad sense) and Les Racines musicales (dedicated to country and folk genres). SiriusXM reminds artists that they can submit music to the programming team.