The Basic Guide to CBC Can-Con
A couple of years ago I was filling in for Bill Richardson on air and in our story meeting, the executive producer came in late and breathlessly exclaimed: “We have a problem.”
My mind raced. Crap. Did I swear on air? Did I imply Newfoundland was in the Maritimes? Did I refer to the Barenaked Ladies as a “boy band?”
Nope. Turns out, we were getting close to not meeting our Can-Con requiments that week. We ended up airing a show with pretty much exclusively Canadian content and made our requirements just fine.
I don’t think most people realize how seriously CBC Radio takes its commitment to Canadian content. We monitor and log all the music we play to make sure that we’re achieving the right level. In Vancouver (and probably other plants), CDs in the music library have little orange stickers to indicate if it qualifies as can-con.
This always seems to interest people I mention it to, so I thought I’d do a primer on CBC’s commitment to Canadian content and what the rules actually are.
First, just because it’s Celine or Bryan Adams, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily officially Canadian. To qualify as ‘Canadian content,’ a song must generally fulfill at least two of the following conditions (called the MAPL code):
Music: The music is composed entirely by a Canadian- Artist: The music is, or the lyrics are, performed principally by a Canadian
- Production: The musical selection consists of a live performance that is
(i) recorded wholly in Canada, or
(ii) performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada - Lyrics: The lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian
(Check the back of any Canadian CD you have. Chances are, there’ll be that circular logo above there. The quarters that are filled in means it qualifies.
We have to make sure that over the course of a broadcast week, at least half of the “popular music” songs we play meet at least two of the MAPL codes. (Popular musi, according to the CRTC, is classified as pop, rock, dance, country, acoustic, and easy listening.
We also have to make sure that we play at least 20% of Canadian “special interest music.” That is: Classical, folk, world beat, jazz, blues, non-classical religious, and gospel.
Cuts of a minute or longer qualify as can-con, but we log all music, regardless of length.
What do you think? Is that the right balance of Canadian content in our music? (Note that we’re not the ones that set the guidelines; it’s the CRTC.)
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This piece could just as well have been written and published twenty years ago, and probably thirty.
Who asked?
Mass Music Downloading and the Desperation Sites for putting music up on the Net for grabs has ensured the non-corporate demise of “Popular” music- once the Music of the People. This has made ‘CanCon’ a cruel joke with young music seeking Canadians. Established Superstars can easily protect their product… and employ others to skim off any ditty or doo-whop off the Net for inclusion in their protected repertoires. The MAPL coding is anachronistic nonsense… it should have an “E” designated section for ‘Everything’. That way we get back to face the truth about Music in Canada (and around the world)… “MAPLE LEAVE$” describes what exists for wannabe composers and would-be musicians in Canada: No Money for your Works. Just keep playing the hits. Where will our future Stan Rogers and Buffy Ste. Maries come to us from… Walmart RapStreet? Life is what you make it. Music is what we demand of it. Get a guitar or a Keyboard and turn your back on the whole mess… and don’t put a note of it on the Net.
CanCon will ensure that Canadian culture (TV, music, etc) will remain mediocre. Promotion of this mediocre element at the expense of the true greats who must move away to achieve their true potential. There are a hundred ‘Platinum Blondes’ for each ‘Guess Who’, Brian Adams, and Anne Murray – and it’s the fault of the CBC and CanCon.