CDs, Streaming and AI.
I’ve always been suspicious of music streaming because I knew they couldn’t adopt the performance and neighbouring rights of radio because it would make their operations unprofitable but could adopt radio’s vetting, which would cause artists to not only get almost nothing but for some to get shoved aside for recordings that have already garnered mass interest.
Now AI is flooding streaming services and resulting in no royalty payments as recordings are entirely removed because they were popular enough in the states or the United Kingdom, causing people to wonder where their favourite tracks went.
I have always recommended the purchase of film on a physical format because of how fickle the streaming services are and now the situation has worsened in music, causing compact disc sales to resurge upwards as people see other industries go digital, like Sony’s Playstation game console.
Gamers have learned that discs will no longer be produced for this console in 2028 and that the games they purchased online could suddenly disappear from their consoles, some releases having already been delisted. And this resulted in a notable consumer backlash, including a petition that reached over 360,000 signatures in less than two months.
It has become quite clear that these companies are no longer catering to their customers demands but pandering to upper middle class urbanite and sub-urbanite with high speed internet, that accept the opinions of what’s popular according to the companies.
The promise that we would have access to everything and for a reasonable cost, is now gone. And that physical media is the only way to go whilst streaming is simply a means to preview popular films, television programs and music.
For example, when New Zealand actor Sam Neill passed away last month one could easily find the vast majority of his most popular films, including Jurassic Park and my favourite of his films, The Hunt For Red October. But Australian thriller Dead Calm is not available for streaming or purchase for download in Canada, anywhere.
This film got a high ranking at Rotten Tomatoes whilst Bicentennial Man got very low rankings, yet the later is available on Apple TV for purchase because people know it and still like it, like yours truly. And this means our personal preferences are all subject to arbitrary judgements by these corporations.
Multiple generations that have grown up with VHS, DVD and blu-ray rentals are noticing the films of their childhood were either available only for a short time on the streaming services or were never on them in the first place. And they have been purchasing them on whatever physical format is available, causing them to expand their purchases to compact discs en masse since 2025.
I, for one, will probably purchase Godzilla Minus Zero after this film’s initial release in November 2026 because foreign sequels in a language other than English tend to only remain online when it has matched or surpassed the original release‘s popularity. And I will continue encouraging everyone to at least consider purchasing greatest hits compilations on compact disc, so that fans still have their very favourite singles if the streaming services decide to slim down their catalogs and replace recordings with similar sounding tracks made with artificial intelligence.
I am not discouraging the use of streaming services, which are great if you already have the recordings that you listen to on vinyl and/or compact disc and when you want to preview recordings. But if you truly love an album, consider getting it on vinyl and/or, just in case.
Steves Music Store Restructuring
Steve’s Music Store just recently celebrated their 60th anniversary and moved their Ottawa store from their downtown location to Catherine street. And unfortunately it appears that all but their Montreal store and online operations will be continuing because of the retail slump caused by the pandemic and trade issues with the states.
Liquidation sales have begun at in store. Click here for details.
What is my Spotify Age?
Those that don’t use Spotify often will probably notice that they are not provided a “Spotify Age”. And some will wonder what the point of it is anyway, questioning whether it is simply flattery based attempts to promote use of the service.
I like Spotify for it’s convenience when I have forgotten to add songs I had ripped from my compact disc collection to my cell phone’s library but I don’t use it often because I’d rather use my limited bandwidth with other apps. And this is why I have no assessment.
I also use Amazon Music more often so this trend does not apply to me, although I am somewhat curious as to what the results would be. But not enough to favour the service over the upcoming year to get an answer in late 2026.
Quite frankly I’d rather rip music from vinyl and listen to that because I know the artists actually got a fair royalty rate. And greatest hits albums are a great way to get the artists their dues, if you don’t want to buy their most popular albums.
I’m presuming my age is pretty much up there anyway because I tend to listen to classic rock from the 70s to the early 2000s. And can’t say that I like even five singles on the Billboard 100 now.
Oh well…
Michael Fisher of Heart has passed.
Heart co-founder and producer Micheal Fisher has passed according to his brother Roger:
Inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013, Heart had originally been founded as The Army in 1967 by brothers Michael and Roger Fisher and Steve Fossen, evolving into Hocus Pocus for a few weeks in 1969 and then White Heart from 1970 to 1973, when vocalist Ann Wilson joined.
By 1973, the band name was shortened to Heart and by 1974, guitarist and vocalist Nancy Wilson had joined the band, who had begun writing for their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, a Multi-platinum album that was produced and engineered by the brothers and producer Mike Flicker at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver in the summer of 1975.
With the success of this album, Michael “Magic Man” Fisher decided to forgo his management of the band and instead decided to co-produce several of the band’s subsequent albums with Mike Flicker, including 1977’s Little Queen and 1978’s Dog & Butterfly, which were two more hit albums featuring his brother Roger.
I was a child in the 70’s and only encountered their recordings from time to time on the local radio stations. But I do remember liking them as a pre-teen and had begun collecting their recordings by my mid teens, starting with the band’s Greatest Hit Live album and self titled album on cassette.
I highly recommend their official biography, Kicking and Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock & Roll, which was a New York Times Bestseller in late 2012.
The Sad State of Canadian Media
Today I learned from Ottawa radio personalities Stuntman Stu and Angie Poirier what fans of 45 radio stations across Canada have also learned from their local radio personalities, that Canadian radio is not teetering on the edge but has pretty much been toppled by other media.
These are 45 out of 103 Bell Media owned stations that are being sold and only the latest cuts in the company, which cut 9% of their work force and some local news programming recently, including the noon broadcast of CTV News here in Ottawa.
People in the industry in Ottawa were concerned after Bell Media had applied to have their commitment to local television reduced with the CRTC in June 2023, days before a massive 1300 in lay-off in the middle of the month and weeks before when two major CTV News personalities, Leanna Cusack and Joel Haslam had retired in July 2023.
All is not well with Bell Media yet people are still acting like we are in the states and have access to a sustainable amount of viewers, when American radio has their own issues according to Pew Research.
So, what will happen if no buyers are found for these stations? Will smaller, remote communities without high speed internet become dead zones? Will larger stations simply become re-transmitters for American programming?
“Tough luck” is not actually a response, especially in communities where print has disappeared, where small business advertisements, local events and important municipal, provincial and federal government information have no venue. But unfortunately this dismissiveness is being heavily promoted by American propagandists on social media, who want to control this nation’s media.
I guess some people have forgotten that weather radio is being decommissioned in many communities in Canada and that cell coverage fails during some weather emergencies, as well as internet access.
Television and radio are the more reliable information sources outside of the urban centres and suburban communities. And it’s time to stop listening to the ought-is.