DiMA, the trade body that represents streaming services, has launched a campaign against the new streaming levy in Canada, urging Canadian consumers to write to their MPs opposing the measure.
“The streaming tax needs to be scrapped because Canadians are already feeling the pinch from rising inflation and economic pressures”, says DiMA CEO Graham Davies, launching the campaign. “The addition of a streaming tax is an unnecessary burden”.
The levy, which stems from Canada’s Online Streaming Act, was formally proposed earlier this year by the Canadian broadcasting regulator CRTC, which was tasked with implementing the act. The assumption is that, as happened when a similar levy was introduced in France, the services will pass the cost onto consumers, though at 5% - compared to the French levy of 1.2% - it will be more noticeable.
A template letter created by DiMA for consumers to send to their MPs reads, “It’s time to scrap this tax and focus on measures that genuinely support Canadian creators without placing additional financial strain on consumers. I urge you to take immediate action to repeal the streaming tax and advocate for a more balanced approach that benefits both consumers and creators”.
The music industry is divided about the levy. Of the money generated from audio services, half would go to schemes that support independent artists and labels. Much of the other half would go to the radio sector, funding community radio and commercial radio news, while 10% of what is raised will support Indigenous music and audio content.
The indie sector has welcomed the levy. The music industry initiatives that will benefit from it, including FACTOR and Musicaction, have a long history of providing important support for the independent community. However, the majors have sided with the streaming services in opposing the levy system.
The streaming services are not just opposing the levy through lobbying activity like this letter sending campaign, DiMA has also gone the litigation route, fighting the levy through the Canadian courts.
Video streaming services will also have to pay the levy, although that money will go to schemes supporting audio-visual productions. The video streaming services are also fighting back, and Netflix has paused its support for various professional development programmes in the Canadian film and TV industry while it reviews its sponsorship policies in light of the levy.
The CRTC is now looking into implementing other aspects of the Online Streaming Act, which includes measures to promote the discoverability of Canadian content on streaming platforms within Canada. The streaming services also oppose those measures, fearing that existing rules that apply to the radio industry will be applied to streaming platforms. Last week DiMA and major label trade body Music Canada published an open letter urging the CRTC to drop its plans.
The website set up to oppose the levy also references this other aspect of the act. It states, “The CRTC could impose more red tape soon that can impact your favourite streaming service, and your ability to afford and access the content you want to watch and listen to”. It then concludes, “join us in fighting to Scrap the Streaming Tax! Contact your local MP today and demand the repeal of this unfair legislation”.