- 7 Digital – MP3
This international music service offers high quality 320 kbps MP3s to Canadians for $1.29 individual tracks. Album prices differ but some specials can be found on this site.
- Amazon.ca – Soon
Amazon Canada will be offering music, audio book and ebook downloads soon, like that of their American counterpart, Amazon.com. Kindle books are available to Canadians via Amazon.com’s Canadian Kindle Store .
- AMOS TV – Relaxing Videos
– Streaming
This retailer sells Ambient videos that feature scenic footage backed by relaxing and/or lively music, most of which are in high definition. Subscriptions are available via numerous devices and a collection of DVDs is also available from this company.
- Archive.org – Free
This site contains free public domain music and film.
- Artistxite – MP3/AAC
This music download service offers mp3s at 256 kbps, either individually or by album. It is accessible via Facebook and Twitter. And purchases can be paid via Paypal.
- Audiogram – MP3/WMA
This distributor’s site sells mostly french recording in high quality Mp3 and WAV but and quite a few English artists as well. To access the download portion of the site, click on “Boutique”. Tracks are generally 99 cents.
- Audio Lunchbox – service discontinued
This American service offered indie recordings to Canadians, by subscription or by individual track purchase. Tracks were generally 99 cents in US funds but a subscription resulted in downloads for as low as 20 cents in American funds.
- Audio Book Cloud – Streaming/Free
This service provides audiobooks to public library patrons. Consult your local public library’s web site for details.
- BBM Music – Ceased Operation On June 2nd, 2013
- Beat Street Records – MP3/WAV
This is a Canadian site that distributes indie recordings in high quality MP3 or wav.
- Beatport – MP3/WAV
This is a download site specializing in dance, urban and hip hop music.
- Bell All Access Music – WMA
Formerly the Sympatico music store, this service now offers unlimited downloads via subscriptions. Unfortunately the downloaded songs will only play on PlayForSure devices and cannot be burned to CD. This service also does not support Macs or iPods.
- Bonfire – service discontinued 05/31/08
This was Future Shop’s download service, on Puretracks.
- Bullseye Records – MP3/FLAC
A new Canadian digital service whose catalogue will expand shortly.
- CinemaNow – streaming
This is CinemaNow’s Canadian web site and it offers film rentals and purchases, which can also be viewed on internet connected devices. Rentals are generally $4.99 and purchases vary in price.
- ChooseYourSongs.com – MP3
Another Puretracks site but it appears to be limited to artists and bands from the Universal Music catalogue. iCoke members can redeem points for free downloads at this site. Click here for details.
- Classical Archives – MP3/Streaming/MIDI
This classical music specialty site offers both downloads and streaming subscriptions to Canadians. Their streaming service is accessible on computers and Android devices. But downloads require the installation of Windows software.
- Concert Vault
– MP3
Classic rock fans will love this site. You can purchase full concerts in the mp3 format for US$9.98, all of which are sampled at a higher bit rate for a better sounding recording. Some concerts are also made available free, streaming from the site.
- Connect – service discontinued
This was Sony’s music download service
- CourseSmart
– eBooks
This American site offers eTextbooks and eReference material to students, some of which can be rented. And they accept Paypal as well.
- Crackle – Streaming
A Sony service offering free full length films and television programs.
- Deezer – Streaming
This is a ad supported service that started in 2009 in France that also offers subscriptions for $4.99 CAD or $9.99 CAD per month. This service is accessible on mobile devices through an iTunes App and Google APP. It as also accessible though Facebook.
- Dell Music Store – MP3
This is Dell’s Canadian music store, which redirects to ChooseYourSongs.com, a Puretracks shop. You can purchase bundles that reduce your per song cost via this site. The current priced are 10 songs for $7.99, 20 songs for $13.99 and 30 songs for $19.99. This site may not be fully compatible with the Firefox browser.
- eMusic
– MP3
This American service offers audio books and indie recordings to Canadians via several subscription plans. Details can be found at this link : What’s eMusic?
- Esounds.ca – service discontinued
This was a promotional site operated by Visa and EMI Music Canada
- East Van Digital – WAV
A Vancouver based independent label that sells House, Techno and Bass music recordings in the WAV format.
- Freegal – MP3/MP4
This free service offers music and music videos from the Sony catalogue to public library patrons. Consult you local library web site for details.
- Google Play – MP3/Video
Google Play is Google’s multimedia store. You can purchase films, music and apps from this store, as well as rent films. This service is Android compatible.
- HMV Digital Canada – MP3/ZIP/Streaming
HMV Canada is now offering music downloads like their British counterpart. Thousands of records are available in mp3 and zip, the later for album purchases, via HMV Digital. Their quality range from 192K to 320K and video downloads are also apparently available from this site. A new streaming service for computers and mobile devices is also now available.
- Hoopla Digital – Streaming
This service streams videos free to members of participating public libraries. If you’re in a major city in Canada you are likely able to access this service with your library card information.
- itrain.com
– MP3
Various exercise regiments and exercise music on Mp3. Individual programs range from 99 cents USD to $11.99 USD. This company also offers a subscription service at $9.99 USD per month.
- iTunes – AAC/MP3/HD Music Videos/Film/Movie Rentals
Great selection of music recordings and videos, including television episodes, films, audio books and educational recordings. Requires download and installation of software to use. Click here to access iTunes directly.
- Kobo Books
– Kobo eBook
This service offers eBooks to Canadians, that can be read on the Kobo eReader or other portable devices using an app.
- Librivox – MP3/OGG
This is a free audio book archive. Listen to classic literature for free.
- Magnatune – Stream/MP3/WAV
This independent music site offers free streaming music, paid album downloads (in the mp3 & wav formats) and recordings that can be licensed for use on film, television, web projects, etc.
- Masterbeat.com
– MP3
This American site offers Mp3s from thousands of artists, most of which are independent. They have a vast catalog of club remixes, along with karaoke tracks, and house/trance tracks but also have plenty of indie tracks in various genres. Individual Mp3s cost from US$1.49 to $1.99 and albums sell for $9.99 and up.
- Much Shop – service discontinued
This was the Much Music Shop, powered by Puretracks. It closed March 31st, 2011
- MusicDirectX – MP3
Indie MP3s, including some free downloads.
- Musicpass – MP3/Various
This is Sony BMG’s Musicpass service. Cards dedicated to an artist or specific release can be purchased for $12.99 from several retailers (Wal-Mart, FutureShop, Best Buy, Shoppers Drug Mart, and CD Plus), giving you access to 320 bit MP3s and bonus material.
- MyMusic.ca – service discontinued
A download service that was located in Ottawa.
- Napster Canada – Ceased Operation On December 16th, 2011
- Netflix – Stream
Unlimited film and television streaming for $7.99 per month.
- Nexus Music Library – Streaming
This site offers paid memberships to a vast catalogue of classical, jazz and classic rock recordings. This service is also free via some public library web sites. Consult your public library web site for details.
- Online Music School
– Streaming
Professional musicians offer lessons to beginners and intermediates through this site. A person can learn to play an instrument in several styles and interact with the teachers and other students. The lessons are also available for iPads and iPhones.
- OverDrive – Various
Accessible through public libraries and school libraries, this service offers music, videos, audio books and eBooks, in various formats. Some of this content is compatible with eBooks readers and mobile devices. Consult your local public library for details.
- Palmares.ca – MP3/WMA
A francophone service powered by Puretracks. Includes full MP3 catalogue of nearly three million tracks with a focus on Francophone content popular in Quebec.
- Project Opus – MP3
An independent distributor based in Vancouver that features both Canadian and international artists.
- Puretracks – MP3/WMA (CLOSED?)
– This site was started in partnership with several of the major labels but has progressed to host thousands of indie recordings as well. A great selection of nearly three million tracks, Puretracks songs download directly into your chosen music player. There is no need to install additional software with this store.
- Rara Music– Streaming
An international streaming service that offers unlimited commercial free music to computers and mobile devices, including tablets, for $4.99/month.
- Rdio – Converted into Pandora on December 22nd, 2015
- Rhino Records Canada – MP3/WMA
This is Rhino Record’s Canadian web site. They offer a good selection of MP3s from quite a few artists.
- RiffTrax.com
– MP3
This is site on which parodies of films can be downloaded, either as a complete video or soundtrack. The latter is cued and played to DVDs.
- Rogers Video Direct – Converted into Zip.ca in December 2011
- Siren Music – Streaming
This is the Android based music streaming service Public Mobile offers to their customers.
- Shop Canada – MP3/WMA
A Puretracks powered site that offers both major and indie recordings.
- Slacker – Streaming
This free and subscription based music streaming service was made available to Canadians in January 2013. It is not only accessible on computers via Facebook and Twitter but also accessible on Android devices , Apple Devices and Smart TVs. Specific apps are also available for Blackberry, Nokia and Windows phones.
- Songspark – MP3/WMA
Walmart Canada’s Puretracks powered site.
- Songza – Streaming
This free music streaming service offers playlists specific to a task or activity. It is accessible online via Facebook and is available on mobile devices through Apps at theiTunes Store , Android App Store and Kindle App Store
- Spotify – Streaming
This advertisement funded service streams music to computers and devices that use iOS and Android. A commercial free subscription is available for $9.99 CAD + tax per month.
- Telus Music Service – WMA/MP3
Telus Mobility users can access this site using a specialized media player. I believe it is a subscription based service.
- We7 – Stream
This British site offers free streaming on some limited content to international listeners.
- White Eagle Records Store – MP3
This site offers a select number of indie recordings and audio books.
- Wikipedia – OGG
This site offers free classical music downloads in the OGG file format.
- Youtube – Streaming
This site offers free and paid film rentals, though at the moment the selection is quite limited. The rental fees range up to $4.99.
- Zik.ca – MP3/WMA
A francophone music web site based in Montreal.
- Zip.ca – Closed Aug 15, 2014
This video rental company closed their door after ten years of operation. It had rented video through the mail and through kiosks.
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