Online music listening in Quebec: only 4 Quebec songs in the top 100

BET À DAY

Over the past year, only four songs performed by Quebec artists have managed to carve out a place in the list of the 100 most listened to tracks on online listening services in Quebec, according to a new report from the Observatory. de la culture et des communications.

These data released on November 4 – the first statistics on online listening in Quebec to cover a full year – confirm what worries many Quebec artists , including Richard Séguin and Pierre Lapointe: la musique d'ici struggles to stand out in the digital world. 

Of this quartet of songs, only two broke into the top 50. by Copilot, by FouKi and Jay Scott, which has just won the Félix for song of the year, which ranks 17th, and America is crying, by the Cowboys Fringants, which is in 49th place . 

The other two titles listed are songs in English: Meaningless by Charlotte Cardin (66th) and Lullaby by Alicia Moffet (78th). 

According to this ranking based on data collected from ten music listening platforms (Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play Music, Groove, Napster, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube), the most listened to song in Quebec between October 15, 2021 and October 13, 2022 was Heat Waves, from the British group Glass Animals (see table 1). 

8% Quebec listening 

It is a little more pleasing when we observe who are the most listened to performers during the same period. Four Quebecers are in the top 50 (Les Cowboys Fringants, Charlotte Cardin, Enima and FouKi). Rapper Souldia ranks not very far in 52nd place (see table 2). 

Nevertheless, overall, the proportion of plays associated with performers from here is at a meager 8%, with peaks of 11% during the holidays and 10% during the week of the National Day. >Newspaper Richard Séguin, a few weeks ago, talking about the low rate of listening to our music on the web. I'm afraid it will become marginalized music.” 

For his part, Pierre Lapointe has been sounding the alarm for several years. Even recently, in an interview with Radio-Canada on the sidelines of the Gala de l'ADISQ, he said he was “extremely pessimistic”. 

If nothing changes, “Francophone culture will s 'extinguish, we will no longer have creators,' he said at the microphone of the show There will always be culture.

List of the most listened to songs in Quebec on streaming services, from October 15, 2021 to October 13, 2022 

1 – Heat Waves, Glass Animals 

2 – Cold Heart, Elton John and Dua Lipa 

3 – Pepas, Farruko 

4 – Shivers, Ed Sheeran 

5 – Where Are You Now, Lost Frequencies & Calum Scott 

17 – Copilot (with Jay Scott), FouKi

49 – America Cries, The Dashing Cowboys

< p>66 – Meaningless, Charlotte Cardin

78 – Lullaby, Alicia Moffet

Hits of the most listened to performers s on streaming services, from October 15, 2021 to October 13, 2022 

1 – Drake 

2 – Ed Sheeran 

3 – Taylor Swift 

4 – The Weeknd 

5 – Eminem 

16 – Les Cowboys Fringants

17 – Charlotte Cardin

19 – Enima

39 – FouKi

52 – Souldia

* Source : Observatory of Culture and Communications of Quebec

Listening to Quebec music online: the impact of QUB Musique still unknown 

Among the streaming platforms that have been used to measure the musical preferences of Quebecers, there is one missing: QUB Music. The impact of this service, resolutely in favor of local music, therefore remains unknown. 

The reason is simple. Quebecor's web music service has not yet joined the MRC Data accounting system from which the Observatory of Culture and Communications of Quebec (OCCQ) draws the data that allows it to build its charts. 

QUB's computer system, we are told, does not yet allow the transfer of its data to MRC Data. “I would like to have it next year,” says QUB Musique's senior director, Marc-André Laporte. 

He is convinced that the addition of QUB Musique, where the music Quebec occupies a prominent place, would increase the share of songs from here that are consumed online, which currently reaches 8% according to the OCCQ. 

“In 2021, 76% of listens to us will come from Quebec performers,” he points out. 

The right pairing

According to Marc -André Laporte, if we want the music of Quebec artists to be listened to, it is important to showcase them on a platform, but even more “to integrate them coherently into the playlists”. 

As an example, he says it's smart and profitable to pair a song by rapper Loud with a track by Drake. 

“A lot of people find out of reading. From the moment we mix Quebec performers with international superstars, with consistency, people will discover them.” 

Do you have a scoop for us?

Do you have something to tell us about this story?

Do you have a scoop that our readers might be interested in?

Email us at or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.