OTTAWA – New media regulation that is “moderate and constructive, but resolute” is needed to promote and safeguard Quebec’s musical culture, the Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) told the CRTC Thursday at its broadcasting in new media hearing.
Saying that the music industry’s structure and business model have been “more profoundly changed than those of any other cultural industry by the deployment of new media platforms”, the ADISQ said regulatory guidelines “will promote the harmonious development of our culture and the new media companies, for the greater benefit of the general public."
"We have learned from the past," said ADISQ vice president and executive director Solange Drouin, in the press release. "We know that the regulatory guidelines implemented for traditional radio were a crucial factor in the career development of Quebec artists. They helped these artists win more than 40% of the market for album sales in Quebec, while allowing the broadcasters themselves to post solid financial results. At the moment, this reality is simply not reflected in digital music sales.”
ADISQ proposed that companies providing music programming on non-interactive platforms, (such as online music services offered by commercial radio stations), should be subject to the same regulatory provisions as traditional commercial radio stations to meet specific usage and revenue criteria.
It also asked the Commission to establish a formal framework for discussion between companies that provide an Internet access service, and the community producing Canadian cultural content, so that the two groups could collaborate on “the obligations that the companies providing an Internet access service would agree to undertake”.
ADISQ further proposed making the discussion subject to a 60-day deadline, and if no agreement were reached within that time, it would be up to the CRTC to use its powers to implement the objectives of the Broadcasting Act.
It further suggested that the CRTC, in cooperation with the various stakeholders, “set up a mechanism for continuous monitoring of the new platforms with a view to creating an objective knowledge base that could be used by all stakeholders: the cultural sector, companies providing an Internet access service, new media service developers, and others.”
And quickly please, the group concluded.
"The new media platforms are not standing still," Drouin continued. "They are developing at an ever-increasing pace. The CRTC really has to adapt its procedures and speed up its own processes."
