The CRTC has issued a key decision on the future of Corus Entertainment’s Country Music Television (CMT).
Back in August, Corus submitted an application to the CRTC to modify and delete several conditions of licence relating to the service. The changes suggested by Corus included modifications to their licence that would result in less country music videos being played on Canadian airwaves, as well as the elimination of a key source of funding for Canadian country music videos.
CIMA and a coalition of partners including the Canadian Council of Music Industry Associations (CCMIA), the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA), the Canadian Music Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA), Music Managers Forum Canada (MMF) and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) filed a joint submission to oppose these changes. Read the submission here.
Yesterday, the CRTC issued a ruling that approved several of Corus’s requests, with the final result being that CMT is now no longer required (through its nature of service) to play country music-related content, nor does it have to play any music videos or music video clips.
While Corus says that it will remain a supporter of Canadian country music and will continue to play country music videos on its, it also reserves the right to stop playing country music videos or content at any time (as per the new conditions of its licence).
However, the CRTC did decide that Corus would still be required to maintain its commitment to supporting the development and production of Canadian music videos (11%). The difference is that now, this funding is no longer earmarked exclusively for Canadian country music videos.
If you’d like to read the CRTC’s full decision, please click here.
If you’d like to read CIMA and its partners’ intervention, please click here.