The Canadian Indie Music Scene
How Canada is Making its Mark as the Indie Capital of the World
In recent years, independent music has been steadily gaining in popularity, and Canada, with its superior indie scene, has been reaping the benefits.
In the past few years alone, Canada has provided music lovers with Arcade Fire, Great Lake Swimmers, Wintersleep, and hundreds of other fantastic independent artists.
With the growing popularity of so-called "underground" or "indie" entertainment media, the beacon is increasingly being pointed towards Canada, a country that has been facilitating independent music and film for the past 30 years.
History of Indie Music in Canada
Starting in the 1970s, small companies serving the Canadian music industry suffered financially due to the concentration of American companies into large media conglomerates. The result of this futile competition seriously affected the ability of Canadian firms to subsidize the production of Canadian recordings.
Many Canadian record companies hit rock bottom, including Canada's oldest and largest independent label, Quality Records. Because of this, the geographical expanse of the country, and the presence of 2 distinct linguistic communities, regional distribution markets began to take precedence, making room for a predominantly independent national system.
Many of these companies specialized in the kinds of artists that had proven successful in Canada in the past. Among these are the "singer-songwriter" and the "hard rock" independent artists. Today, it is argued that the artistic careers undertaken by these independent record companies has helped to give English-Canadian music a part in creating a national cultural identity.
National Support
The goal of creating a distinct national cultural identity within Canada is something still supported by government agencies today. Much of the success of homegrown Canadian talent is due to the support coming out of the CBC and CRTC. CBC Radio 3 is a national exposer of emerging talent, and the CRTC's Canadian Content (CanCon) guidelines make it possible for Canadian music to be enjoyed on the radio and on government funded music channels like MuchMusic.
Today, many independent artists are reaping the benefits of this national support. Paul Murphy, lead singer and guitarist of the Juno Award Winning group Wintersleep, told The Movementz that, "this is the best country to make music. Factor, Starmaker, [and the] government, really support the arts in general. There are no other countries that do that to extent that Canada does."
It is really a testament to the quality of the system in place, that so many new Canadian artists can find their place in this market, especially with concentrated interests shooting upwards from the United States. Hopefully Canadians will continue to appreciate the value of variety, and continue to support Canada's diverse homegrown talent.
Sources
Straw, Will. 'The English-Canadian Recording Industry Since 1970'. Communication History in Canada. Ed. Daniel J. Robinson. 2004.
