Radio

The radio soundscape is changing, both in terms of what is heard and what it is heard on. Broadcast digital radio, heralded in news releases in the mid-1990s and the subject of advance government policy, has not become widespread, although pilot schemes have been tried in several cities. When it does turn on, it will have a profound effect on Canadian ears. Starting a radio station will be technically much cheaper, and will invite the same content specialization that has taken place in television and magazines.

What Canadians hear when they tune in to a domestic station is filtered through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which regulates both commercial and public stations. In 1999, for example, the CRTC stipulated that in most cases 35% of what those listening to popular music on English-language stations heard between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays had to be Canadian in content. For French-language stations, broadcasts had to include 65% French-language music during the same time period. In that same year, station ownership criteria were revised; one person can own two same-language FM and two AM stations in big markets. This means one person could own four stations in a single city.

In 1998, the Commission also instigated the Canadian Music Marketing and Promotion Fund to promote Canadian talent through a financial levy on station purchases.

Canadians had their ear to the radio, on average, for 20.2 hours per week in 2002. Overwhelmingly, Canadians enjoyed adult contemporary and golden oldies (accounting for 43% of their listening).