CANADIANS! Can-con a rip-off?

We have those things to in Europe and when this Can-con thing got installed in the early 80's , this sounded normal to promote the local artistes. But Canadians like Belgians or French are always complaining that the grass is geener elsewhere, when in fact it is not the case. Canadians always suffer a bit from this inferiority complex towards the gigantic US neighbor , but they have nothing to ba ashamed of!!!

From Guess Who , to Neil Young to BTO, to Rush , Triumph, Saga, FM , all of the 70's Quebec scene , Joni Mitchell, April Wine, Leonard Cohen,Streetheart, Lightfoot, Prism, The Collectors-early Chilliwack, Bruce Coburn etc.... Canada had nothing to be ashamed of....... Well maybe of Ann Murray>> the most bland artiste ever

But Can-con was needed to stop Much Music becoming a second class MTV , even though groups like Rough Trade were getting too much a spotlight, it helped plenty of Canadian groups , but never actually did it intelligently by simply ignoring a part of Canada (that very part it does not want to leave)

Sure in the late 70's we had to suffer from mediocre Zon, Moxy , Teaser , Loverboy, but there was some very stupid reason why even in Toronto (some few hundred miles away from Montreal) , a whole Quebec scene was completely snobbed and snubbed>> Harmonium was barely heard, and Maneige, Octobre, Sloche simply NEVER. Even Cano who were Ontarians were completely ignored because they sung in French (and then they wonder why Quebec wanted to separate)

Today's prog scene seems to be still quite active especially again in the Quebec scene and again this Can-con could help them a fair bit , but again , since they are from Quebec (well Nathan Mahl is from french Ontarians descent), they are probably not getting proper exposure even though they sing in English ............... Go figure............

Witchwoodhermit wrote: Lets face it, as far as rock goes Canadians hardly set the world on fire. We are mediocre, luke warm at best, in our rock output.

We also tend to be overly self critical and dismissive of any of our own artistic talent.

There's a lot of great Canadian bands out there. I guess some are good at ignoring the bland American, British, etc. music that is out there. It's amazing very few discuss the advantages of CanCon laws and the reason they were brought to being in the first place.

Just because an artist is Canadian, doesn't mean it's going to get airplay (just ask musicians like Emm Gryner and Mike Plume).

Just because a song or album is by a Canadian doesn't mean it's inferior. Also, just because a song is inferior, doesn't make it Canadian.

Just because a Canadian artist gets airplay, doesn't mean it's going to be a hit.

Just because CanCon laws are in effect, doesn't mean you are "FORCED" to listen to it (there are buttons to change stations, shut it off or you can ignore the song).

If a Canadian band has a hit, doesn't mean it's due to CanCon laws.

Just because I like an artist who is Canadian and buy the CD, doesn't mean "The Brainpolice" or some government conspiracy has brainwashed me. Otherwise, I'd own several Loverboy, Nickleback, Celine Dion and Brian Adams albums and I'd have purchased many copies of "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald". I own none of these.

I've worked in radio. If a station doesn't live up to the CanCon laws, it is not "pulled from the airwaves". The station gets fined and this sometimes happens. Most stations have no problem at all making the quota. Many stations find this a non issue as their playlists usually exceed the required content anyway with artists that the programmers want to play and people want to hear.

darren

Just because ...you dance around so nicely.

Do you not think that Canadian music should should stand on it's own two feet, rather than be constantly handicapped? If our rock stars were as up too snuff as our American or British superiors why then do we need CanCon? Could it be that our weak output is less than...great? I'm not saying get our music off the air. I'm saying let it stand alone-unaided. Canadian bands should always get a first shot at the airwaves, but if the music is poor and unrequested, stop playing it. But the music doesn't get stopped does it? No, it keeps going around and round to fill the quota. We talk here about progressive rock and how some bands use filler in their music. CanCon is filler for Canadian radio.

I don't think that these laws breed mediocrity, just
provide a level playing field.

You see, this is the rub. I don't see how this can be a level playing field. If Canadian talent is given an immediate handicap via Cancon, how can their level of airplay be concidered on par,or as popular as the "big" bands. All I'm saying is this, if I'm listening to the Tragically Hip on the radio at say ten minutes to the hour, I know I'm listening to CanCon. If I where listening to an American station and heard the Hip it would be because they like the band. Do you understand my point? This is what I mean about an even playing field.

I realize I'm very critical about our system, and believe it or not, there are many Canadian bands I listen too. I would say however that most of Canadian rock, isn't up to international standards, and thats ok. We can live with that. Lets just call a spade a spade. We can have our good stuff, but leave the "crap" on the second shelf. And certainlly not doled out in 35%( or more) propotions.

Perhaps Can-con was a "rip off" at its inception, but not for some time now, I believe.

I understand and support why the Canadian Content ("can-con") regulations were established, and I believe that overall, they have been good for the Canadian music industry and radio audiences.

It wasn't always the case, but we have many fine artists now, thus as Darren suggested, I don't think that Canadian radio stations, or the listening public, endure any "hardship" due to the regulations.

Edit: Oops! I voted incorrectly, as the thread title and poll question are opposite in thrust.

(So that should be one more "yes" and one less "no." Sorry!)

Witchwoodhermit wrote: Agh, what does it matter anyway? It's just tunes. I'm going to throw on the Headstones, grab a Moosehead and watch a North of 60 rerun.

Ooooooohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!..................

They still brew that?

Get a loadful of third rate Cony Hatch than!

Now there is one band that definitely profited from Can-con!!!!!!!!

not that they diserved it, though!!