Chantelle Komm and Dr. Harrison Powley, Music
As proposed, I spent this summer in Quebec listening to the radio and making comparisons between the amount of French I heard on the radio, the amount of French mandated by the CRTC, and the amount of French in non-regulated spheres. The two areas I looked at for comparison were Quebec City which is the largest completely francophone area of Quebec and Hull, which situated right across the river from Ottawa, finds itself immersed in English and anglophone culture.
To understand my study, one must be aware that in Canada, unlike the United States, the government regulates public airways through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Receiving its power from the Broadcasting Act of 1991, the CRTC’s mandate is to ensure the goals of the broadcast act are realized, namely, that ownership and control of the Canadian broadcasting system remain in the auspices of Canadians, and specifically, that Canadian broadcast waves be reserved to “safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada”(1). For Canadians, this means specifically, protection of French language. In fact, the third major objective of the CRTC is “to ensure that a French-language presence in radio broadcasting is maintained” (2).
In 1998 the CRTC hosted a session of hearings to revise their radio-broadcast policy. Until the policy was changed in December of 1998, French-language radio stations were required to play 65% French musical selections, calculated during the broadcast week (6 am- midnight daily). After the hearing and government study, the requirements were changed to 55% during peak hours (6 am to 6 pm) averaging to 65% throughout the broadcast week.
My research attempted to get a taste of what the percentage of French music is in nonregulated spheres, to see how it coincides with the government-regulated radio waves. In bars/dance clubs in Hull, probably due to the large influence of Anglophone populations, I never heard any French music. All music was English pop/dance music. Clubs in Montreal were rave/techo/house, and as such played music with no lyrics. Again, Montreal, like Hull has a large anglophone influence. The only city where I found French music was Quebec City. Obviously I was not able to visit every bar/night club, but where I found live music, the singers usually sang in French with a few English songs; in dance clubs the music was predominantly English (one French song per hour maximum), but in bars where the songs were played off juke boxes, I heard no French selections.
The two radio stations that I clocked were CITF Rock Détente in Quebec City and CIMF Rock Détente in Hull, Que. Both are the most popular French pop/light rock stations in their communities. Based on my research the stations stay as close to the maximum allotment of English they can play. During the day, the percentage of English music was much higher than at night when there are fewer listeners, less add revenue money. The late hours are the times when radio stations fill up on French music so that their weekly average comes to the CRTC-required 65%.
The requirement to play a certain percentage of French music has caused much controversy by radio owners who claim that, especially in bilingual markets like Montreal, francophone listeners have flocked to English stations, resulting in a loss of advertising revenue for the French stations.
Although the government has implemented language-percents, it is not able to determine personal taste. For example, according to Archambault, the largest CD seller in Quebec, stores sell in the range of 60-80% English music, and only 40-20% French music. These stats are almost exactly the opposite of the required percentage of French-language selection on the radio. In other words, although people may be hearing French music on the radio, it is disproportionately more than what market demands show are the peoples’ real tastes.
A survey I did with 70 university/CEGEP students from all over Quebec (average age 20) revealed similar concerns over the disparity between government regulations and personal taste. When asked if they preferred English or French music, 9% answered French, 67% English, and 24% said they liked both English and French. Furthermore, when asked if they agreed with current CRTC regulations, 26% said they agreed with the 65% French language content requirement, 69% said they disagreed, saying they would rather see a 50-50 English-French split, and 6% said they would like to have more French—at least 75%.
In conclusion, although the government, through the CRTC is trying to maintain and promote the French language by mandating the percentage of French musical selections played on the radio, market forces and personal taste (French teen-ages preference for English music) show that the future of French radio may be in jeopardy, at least in bilingual markets like Montreal and Ottawa-Hull.
For me it was interesting to see that the same battle Quebec faces to maintain its language is reflective of a larger Canadian battle to maintain a sense of Canadian culture and identity through Canadian content regulations in English radio. Quebec will continue to fight to maintain its language—an island of French in a sea of Anglophones, as Canada as a whole will continue to fight against the powerful force of American pop culture.
References
- Statutes of Canada 1991, Bill C-4-, chapter 11 (3.d.i )
- Commercial Radio Policy 1998, Public Notice CRTC 1998-41 p. 5 #16.