By: Alain Pineau
Arguments like "The Vancouver Olympics opening is a good example of artists who are known around the world and will be played no matter what rule is in place" totally miss the point. How did Canada come to produce internationally renowned musicians and singers? by first creating a domestic market for them! They did not come out of a blue sky, all equipped to be international stars. Saying that we don't need CanCon regulations for traditional distribution systems and new forms of support for access to new platforms is like saying that because we have the NHL, we no longer need farm teams for up and coming talent. Yes, YouTube can produce a Justin Bieber (like him or not!) but we need to nurture our pool of talent through various mechanisms, and CanCon is one of those tools that has proved its usefulness.