In recent weeks, there has been much talk about the decline in consumption of Quebec and French-language audiovisual content by young people, at the very time when the Senate is studying the bill on online streaming (C-11). Remember that this bill aims to make digital platforms contribute to the funding and promotion of our culture.
Posted yesterday at 3:00 p.m.
If platforms such as Netflix or Amazon have changed the way we consume TV, Spotify, Apple and YouTube have also changed the way we consume music. At a time when the supply of musical content has never been so abundant, it has never been so difficult for a Quebec artist to reach his audience, even more so the youngest.
Some remember with nostalgia the time when almost all young people listened religiously to MusiquePlus to discover the latest releases and then went to their favorite record store to get the latest album from their favorite artist.
Many still remember today the words of Jean Leloup, Roch Voisine or the BBs, because this music is associated with so many memories — they are part of our history.
As the 20-year slump in album sales illustrates, the way music is consumed has transformed, as have musical choices. Across all platforms, streaming like social media, our artists compete directly with international stars who benefit from marketing and promotion budgets that are difficult to compete with. These are the same artists who dominate the plays in streaming globally and capture the bulk of revenue.
Music and smart phone
To better understand how Quebeckers discover and consume music, ADISQ commissioned the firm Léger to survey the population last spring. Particular attention has been paid to 13 to 17 year olds, because it is at this age that musical tastes are formed and habits are anchored.
The results of this study confirm that young people listen to music mainly (84%) from their smartphone on which their favorite music and social media applications are installed.
The places of discovery are also changing. Still among 13 to 17-year-olds, YouTube’s musical suggestions service tops the list (45%) for discovering new music.
Encouragingly, a majority of them (57%) say they like being offered Québec music in French by listening services.
In addition, Léger’s study reveals that while 78% of the population explains that they often listen to French-speaking Quebec music, this percentage drops to 60% among 13-17 year olds. This figure illustrates a still significant attachment of this age group to our music, a figure which is also reflected in the success of artists such as Fouki, Roxane Bruneau or Émile Bilodeau. However, it is also indicative of an emerging trend, that of a certain loss of interest in our artists, a direct effect of the decline in exposure to our music.
Contrary to popular belief, the arrival of digital platforms for music consumption does not offer all artists the same chances of breaking through. The figures speak for themselves: today in Quebec, in streaming, French-language songs by Quebec artists capture only 5% of listening shares. By way of comparison, album sales generated market shares of around 50% for Quebec music in French. This success is largely due to the effects of the Broadcasting Act which allowed the establishment of quotas on the radio. In other words, when Quebecers are exposed to it, they like our music and choose to consume it.
Today, Bill C-11 seeks to correct this trend. It is not a question here of reducing the choice of platform users, quite the contrary. Rather, it aims to offer, particularly to the youngest, the opportunity to meet our artists, our music. Music plays a central role in the construction of personal and collective identities and we hope that local music can continue to contribute to it.