Music streamer Spotify tells CRTC not to regulate it like radio
OTTAWA — Music streamer Spotify says Canada's federal broadcast regulator shouldn't impose rules meant for radio on streaming services.
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Appearing before a CRTC hearing Friday, company representatives compared regulating Spotify like a radio station to treating Uber like a horse and buggy operation.
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'To apply yesterday's tools to today's platforms risks dulling Canada's success on the global music stage,' said Xenia Manning, Spotify's director of global music policy.
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'It is essential to assess whether a real problem exists that justifies regulatory intervention. In our view, the evidence is clear. There is no market failure in audio streaming that would warrant intervention by the CRTC.'
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Spotify said the Broadcasting Act doesn't give the CRTC the authority to 'regulate the terms of trade between online undertakings, including good faith negotiations and commercial disputes.'
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It said the CRTC's proposals 'would see it imposing dispute resolution and commercial negotiation requirements on online undertakings that are plainly outside the scope of broadcasting.'
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The CRTC is holding a hearing on market dynamics as part of its work to implement the Online Streaming Act, which updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms.
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During the hearing, large telecom and broadcasting companies like Bell and Rogers called on the CRTC to loosen existing rules for traditional players.
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They took aim at regulations governing how cable channels must be packaged and disputes about carriage of cable channels.
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Bell, which appeared Wednesday, asked the CRTC to get rid of the rule the regulator implemented nearly a decade ago requiring companies to offer a $25 basic cable package.
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Colette Watson, president of Rogers' media division, said less than half of Canadian households now subscribe to cable, satellite or IPTV service.
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