Digital progress, but “local” still lacks homegrown flavour
When CBC’s Chris Boyce stepped into the role of executive director of radio and audio in 2011, he told Marketing he wanted CBC’s musical offerings to become more digital, more local and more Canadian. He’s made progress on his first wish; CBC Music launched just over a year ago and succeeded in ramping up digital initiatives (53 web radio channels alongside editorial content). But progress has been slow on his second and third goals. Despite a handful of attempts to reinforce the brand’s stake-in-the-ground, including a summer music festival set to take place in Toronto, CBC Music is still trying to find its footing.
CBC's Chris Boyce
That festival will be headlined by a European band, and CBC Music’s homepage—its digital headquarters—is, at any given time, dominated by big name bands on powerhouse record labels. CBC Music needs to reconcile its desire to be more Canadian with its aspiration of becoming a cross-market go-to for music content. Making these worlds collide without an earthquake is no easy feat, but Boyce says it’s not a farfetched proposition.
“We’re positioning ourselves as being about content, about context and about a curated experience,” he says. CBC Music’s potential to curate is what sets it apart from the competition, he adds. But with services like Rdio and Songza already occupying that space, what makes him so sure CBC Music can get into the ring and stay vertical?
“There are very few Canadian players in the digital music space,” he says. The marketplace is dominated by international companies who have licensed Canada without any interest in developing Canadian talent, says Boyce. The dearth of by-Canadian-for-Canadian digital music services creates a niche zone for CBC Music, so its relatively newfound interest in the same artists that dominate Pitchfork could be seen as a step away from its point.
“Nobody listens to Canadian music exclusively,” says Boyce. “It’s something that people want to hear as part of a larger music mix.” This leads to the tricky issue of CBC’s government funding. At the time of this writing, taxpayer dollars are enabling Vampire Weekend and The Strokes to rule CBC Music’s homepage. (While these bands may be popular among Canadians, they are certainly not homegrown.)
CBC is currently awaiting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s decision regarding the addition of advertising across some of its channels. If the CRTC permits the license renewal, CBC Radio 2 will welcome advertising to its platform. An ad-based model designed to replenish a depleting budget may allow CBC Music’s focus to return to Canadian artists—and help Boyce deliver on his vision.
