The singer-songwriter said the Liberal government’s Online Streaming Act would raise the cost of listening to music and “make it harder for new artists to break through and share music on a global scale.” (The Logic)

Talking point: From September, online streaming services must hand over five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to several funds that pay for artists—typically ones new to the scene—to record and perform music. Domestic broadcasters already make similar contributions. Adams’s claim the requirement will increase the cost of streaming subscriptions echoes the Digital Media Association, a lobby group representing Spotify, Apple, and other tech firms. The Liberals’ law also gives the regulator the power to require that streaming services make sure Canadian songs are visible and promoted. Adams’s complaint—a longstanding one—is that the CanCon system shuts out tracks that Canadian artists make with non-Canadians. In response, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said everything the government does, it does for emerging and local artists, whom streaming services don’t pay or feature enough.