Spotify Warns CRTC: Regulating Us Like Radio Is a Big Mistake

Spotify says it doesn’t need to be regulated like a radio station, arguing that music streaming is already working well for Canadian artists and listeners.

In a presentation to the CRTC last week, Spotify said royalties paid to Canadian artists on its platform nearly doubled between 2019 and 2024, reaching $460 million in 2024 alone—more than the entire commercial radio sector contributed. The company also pointed to a decade of steady revenue growth in Canada since launching its service.

Spotify told the CRTC it believes there’s no market failure in audio streaming that would justify new regulation under the Broadcasting Act. “Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Scale what is working,” said Xenia Manning, Spotify’s Director of Global Music Policy.

The company highlighted that 80% of Canadian users say they can easily find Canadian artists, and that local musicians get 1.3 million hours of listening daily in Canada—and 15 million hours globally.

Spotify argued that streaming platforms are fundamentally different from traditional broadcasters and shouldn’t be regulated the same way. The company compared the idea to “regulating Uber like a horse and buggy.”

The streaming service also emphasized that it provides Canadian artists with free access to data, analytics, and promotional tools that help them grow their audiences without relying on traditional gatekeepers. Spotify warned that overregulation could disrupt a successful system, saying grants or quotas can’t match the scale of investment already being made through royalties.

“Spotify is not like other broadcasters. It’s an amplifier—for every voice, in every corner of Canada,” said Manning. “Let’s protect the future of Canadian music—not through regulation, but through partnership and innovation.”

The comments come as the CRTC weighs how to apply new rules to streaming services under the updated Broadcasting Act. Hearings for The Path Forward – Working towards a sustainable Canadian broadcasting system took place last week and Spotify made its remarks on Friday. Hearings will resume this Wednesday and continue through to July 4, 2025.

Spotify, along with other global streaming platforms like Apple, Amazon, Netflix and more, are taking the CRTC and its CanCon tax on news funding to court, represented by the Motion Picture Association Canada.