In Canada: Canada Music Fund to Receive $67M Boost; Women in Music Executive Award Winners Share Their Wisdom

The Canada Music Fund is getting a new boost from the federal government.

At last night’s ADISQ Gala in Montreal (Nov. 8), the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, Marc Miller, announced that the federal government will invest $67 million to the Canada Music Fund, as part of the government’s promised $600 million investment into the cultural sector. The sum was first announced in June to provide “immediate relief” to the country’s audio and audiovisual sector and confirmed for 2026-27 in the latest federal budget, which was tabled last week. Over the weekend, Ottawa gave a long-awaited breakdown of how the funds will be allocated.

The music sector will receive its share of the relief investment through the Canada Music Fund, which was renewed through 2028 last year. The $67 million sum will be distributed to the five organizations that the fund supports, with FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) receiving $31.5 million, Musicaction (which funds and supports Francophone music and music companies) receiving $21 million, the Canadian Starmaker Fund receiving $5.7 million, the RadioStar fund receiving $3.8 million and the Indigenous Music Office (IMO) receiving $5 million.

Last November, the IMO released a new national report outlining ways in which the federal government could help Indigenous artists and their music connect with bigger audiences, notably through increased discoverability on streaming platforms. Each of the funds will help support and foster emerging Canadian acts and help them compete on the world stage.

“Canada’s cultural sovereignty depends on our willingness to invest in our own voices,” says Meg Symsyk, president and CEO of FACTOR. “We have extraordinary talent in this country. Our responsibility is to give that talent the opportunity to be heard, to build lasting careers and to reach audiences here at home and around the world. This investment in the Canada Music Fund backs Canadian artists and the independent businesses that help bring their music to life. We thank Prime Minister Carney, Minister Champagne, Minister Miller and the Government of Canada for recognizing that investing in Canadian music is an investment in who we are.”

FACTOR, along with the Indigenous Music Office, CIMA, ADISQ, Bell Media, Spotify and more all participated in CRTC public hearings last year to discuss how to support Canadian Content.

Now, FACTOR welcomes the government’s investment and highlights how it will support the Canadian music sector.

“Behind every dollar invested in Canadian music are artists taking the next step in their careers and Canadian companies helping them get there,” says Symsyk. “Sustained investment makes it possible to look beyond the next release or tour and build for the future.”

Several other music organizations across Canada are celebrating the news, with the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) saying it is “thrilled to see government recognize the value that music brings to Canada, its businesses, and its communities.” The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) calls the additional funding an “important step toward strengthening the industrial ecosystem that supports the development of great Canadian artists.”

“For years, CIMA has argued that the best way to ensure Canadians hear Canadian voices is to build a strong ecosystem of dynamic, globally competitive Canadian music companies serving excellent Canadian artists,” says Andrew Cash, president and CEO of CIMA. “These are the businesses that discover, develop and nurture artists, produce and promote Canadian music, help build audiences and create opportunities for Canadian artists to reach listeners both at home and around the world. This investment is an important commitment, and a clear indication that the government has listened to the music sector.”

The federal government’s new investment intends to bring stability to the cultural sector as “longer-term policy, regulatory and market conditions evolve,” such as the Online Streaming Act, whose implementation continues to be the subject of much debate between the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), streaming giants and the United States, which has made the CanCon fund requirements for major foreign-owned streaming services a sticking point in trade negotiations.

Read more here. —Stefano Rebuli

Billboard Canada Women In Music Executive Award Winners Share Their Wisdom

The live music sector is thriving more than ever in Canada. In her role as chief commercial officer of Live Nation Canada, Melissa Bubb-Clarke is helping it soar towards new heights.

On Nov. 24, she will accept the Executive of the Year Award at Billboard Canada Women In Music, recognizing the important work she does behind the scenes, helping Canada’s live music giant scale its operations amid a rapidly growing industry, through collaborating and partnering with corporate brands.

The market leader in the country, Live Nation Canada has seen record success and revenue figures over the last few years, but in many ways Bubb-Clarke and the team she works with are just laying the foundation for an even bigger future.

In its second season this summer, the 50,000-capacity Rogers Stadium welcomed a new record number of 20 concerts to Toronto, drawing record-setting tours by headliners like Bruno Mars, BTS, Karol G and more. RBC Amphitheatre also kicked off its first season under its new name and partnership with RBC, which arrived alongside plans to become a year-round venue by 2030. There are more A-list artists coming to town than ever, but beyond welcoming shows, Bubb-Clarke is vying to create venues that offer an optimal experience for not just the artists playing them, but also the fans coming to see their favourite artist.

Preparing to accept the Billboard Canada Executive of the Year Award has given Bubb-Clarke the opportunity to reflect on the major strides she and her team have been making in the live music landscape over the past several years.

In an interview with Billboard Canada, Bubb-Clarke compares music to her work in sports at her previous company Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors.

“I can give you a million reasons why I think music is as much of a compelling offering, if not more, than sports. There are more concerts at Scotiabank Arena than there are [Maple] Leafs and Raptors games combined. From a demographic standpoint, we’re serving everything to everybody with our 4,000+ shows that we do across Canada here with Live Nation. We do every demographic, every age group, all sorts of styles of music, I think we are super fan-friendly in that way.”

“I think we have been able to understand what the fans have come to get, what they have been able to experience at a sports venue. They’re looking for a similar experience at a show. They want to be able to have nice food and go to a specific place post-show or pre-show and have a great overall experience.”

Read the full interview here.

In her dual role as the president of MusiCounts and the chief operating officer of CARAS, the organization behind the Juno Awards and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Kristy Fletcher influences every stage of a Canadian musician’s career.

Through music education charity MusiCounts, she’s there at the beginning, providing access to instruments and musical education to give youth a chance to make music in the first place. At CARAS, she’s able to foster and develop the industry and recognize artists at the Juno Awards. That continues all the way until the later stages of their career, when they become Hall of Famers.

On Nov. 24, Fletcher will accept the Impact Award at Billboard Canada Women In Music, recognizing the important work she does affecting musicians both onstage and in classrooms, from Rush’s surprise comeback performance at the 2026 Juno Awards to young students who might be Canada’s next breakthrough rock stars.

This year, MusiCounts announced a $1.4 million donation to support music education in Canadian schools, the biggest investment in the company’s history. Through the MusiCounts School Music Funding Programs, 96 schools across the country will receive support for their music programs amid increasing budget cuts and deficits in Ontario and throughout Canada.

“Music is such a foundational and fundamental part of development and growth for kids,” Fletcher says. “Think of all of the incredible benefits that music has on kids. It’s a way to sort out their emotions or express their feelings and thoughts, and it can improve mental health among youth. We have seen so many studies [showing how] music supports strong and healthy mental health, and develops positive self-esteem. There are studies showing improved cognitive abilities with playing music.

“MusiCounts has to be there to help fill in some of those gaps, and the gaps do grow. We’ve been doing this work for almost 30 years and we’ve allocated over $22 million to schools and community programs across the country. You would think we would maybe be nearing the end of the work we have to do, and that’s just not the case. We’re just scratching the surface. But that has allowed us to increase our programming.”

Read the full interview here. — Richard Trapunski

Sean Paul Stars in First Episode of Billboard Canada News

“Canada has influenced my music in many ways,” says Sean Paul.

The Jamaican star is the subject of the first episode of Billboard Canada News, live now.

In a revealing half-hour interview hosted by Alicia West, Paul talks about the important role that Canada played in his come-up. He guested on the Baby Blue Sound Crew song “Money Jane”with Toronto hip-hop and R&B heroes Kardinal Offishall and Jully Black.

“I was just telling somebody last night. They asked me who was the first person to put you on, give you a collab? And I said Kardi. Kardi Offishall,” he says. “First person to pay me, first person to put me on a track, I always say.”

He also talks about shooting important breakthrough music videos “Gimme The Light” and “Get Busy” with Canadian director Director X (then Little X) and dancer/choreographer Tanisha Scott, both longtime collaborators. His connection goes back even further, with his grandfather living in Scarborough, Ontario when he was young.

It’s a wide-ranging conversation about his whole career, from his biggest chart hits to his collaborations with major pop stars like Rihanna and Sia. He also talks about his support of Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa.

Watch the full interview on Billboard Canada News below. —Richard Trapunski