Industry committee  The answer for us is yes. We took part in the consultation. Music Canada shared the position that, of course, the ingestion of music relates to copyright and, of course, the use of AI relates to copyright and that none of these frameworks will work without that being the case.

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, I thank the member for the question. Look, I think that ultimately it's very important for us at this stage to remember that the technology that can amuse us is the same that can terrify us. That site in particular is of interest, and it can make us laugh. We may one day be in a position where those things can be licensed, but when those things are stolen, basically, the information and the data needed in order to create that is stripped from the Internet and copyright is infringed.

Industry committee  Yes, absolutely. The only way copyright works is if we know what's in it. The only way we can know what's in it is if it's made broadly and widely available. As I said in my opening statement, even if that's a really big spreadsheet, that shouldn't concern anyone.

Industry committee  Good morning. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss Bill C-27 with you from the perspective of Canada's major music labels. Creating the rules of engagement for AI comes at an important time for the music industry, both here at home and abroad. I want to say, off the top, that our industry is already making use of positive elements of AI as a tool to help artists make more intriguing and interesting music, and using it, again as a tool, to help connect artists, including Canadian artists, with fans all around the world.

Canadian Heritage committee  To be clear, the digital platforms are partners with everyone in this space, not just the majors. Our colleagues are in the independent space.

Canadian Heritage committee  I thank the honourable member for the question. Look, Canadian music is global music. Canadian music is available to the whole world. We spend a lot of time, our members spend a lot of time and the Government of Canada has spent a lot of time exporting that music around the world.

Canadian Heritage committee  I am so glad someone asked me this question.

Canadian Heritage committee  In 15 seconds, I will tell you everything I know about it. The biggest point about streaming in the digital space is your ability to engage with your fans directly. That is as true for Drake and Bieber as it is for my daughter Grace's favourite group, Splash’N Boots. One of the wonderful things about streaming is that, as you put that information in, they will push back information to you that allows you to find more of that.

Canadian Heritage committee  This is one of the most important parts that our members play in the partnership with the artist. As you know, the pickup of streaming in Quebec was generally low compared with other parts of Canada. Those numbers are changing, and our members, specifically, are excited about the opportunity to partner with wonderful Quebec artists and bring the best of streaming and the best of Quebec culture to the world.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think ultimately the streaming platforms would be the best to provide that information in terms of their customers and where they're at. We know that there's a lot of opportunity throughout Canada and particularly in Quebec.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's obvious, I think, that Canada's major labels are success stories in this space. We employ Canadians in offices in Toronto and Montreal. They're full of Canadians making Canadian music for the Canadian market and around the world. It's of note because often our members are not necessarily the clients of Canadian Heritage due to their ownership structure, but it's nice to see that the structure we have is the structure that the government is pushing on other players.

Canadian Heritage committee  As I said in my opening statement, this is very much the bedrock of the Canadian music industry, which is led by the majors. We partner in distribution with indies and publishers. We make up the ecosystem, and those regulations have helped provide that. The Internet is a very different place from radio, and services that are provided digitally operate in a different function.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for the question. Obviously, government funding, or government-mandated funding, has played an important role in the music ecosystem, but I would point out that there's also great success in the industry as well. The Internet has removed a lot of gatekeepers—those who kept artists off the radio.

Canadian Heritage committee  I thank the member for the question. As of right now on radio, that is determined by the CRTC. Obviously, his contribution to the music industry is important. I think you raise an important part of what regulation of music will look like. Who will decide who is Canadian? Our members at Music Canada look forward to taking part in those discussions with the CRTC, as long as there's an understanding that starting with radio rules is not necessarily where we need to begin and that the answers are not algorithmic.

Canadian Heritage committee  Just so we're a hundred per cent clear, I don't think I'm here to say radio is dead. Radio's still an important part of our business, but Canada's now at two billion streams a week. We're excited by that. I think there's an amazing amount of opportunity to be found there—English and French, indie and major.