First, there is a fundamental misunderstanding about the purpose of quotas, which are imposed on companies that have been granted the right to use a public asset such as the airwaves. We sometimes forget about that a bit.
The quotas are not intended to reflect existing demand, but rather to support and stimulate listening practices and to ensure a significant presence of French‑language content in the public space.
The fact that they hold an extremely small share of the digital market compared to their position in the world of physical sales is not an argument in favour of relaxing regulatory requirements. On the contrary, it’s more important than ever to modernize the CRTC’s regulatory framework by subjecting online broadcasting companies to promotion and recommendation obligations.
Radio still plays a fundamental role in the discovery of music by Quebeckers. Data from the Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec, or OCCQ, shows that radio usage in Quebec is positively associated with listening to songs in French.