Canada’s music industry, like the country itself, is a melting pot of diverse influences and traditions. This has led to the development of a diverse range of talent in a wide range of musical genres and created a vibrant and unique musical landscape. Over the years, Canada has produced many internationally acclaimed musical artists and has a thriving music scene.
In this article, we have collated key statistics on the Canadian music industry. Continue reading to find statistics such as the size of the Canadian music market and trends for buying music in Canada as well as globally.
Music Industry Statistics for Canadians
- Canada has the eight-largest music market in the world.
- Canada’s music market grew almost twice as fast as the United States’ music market in 2023.
- Streaming music grew by over 15.3% in 2023.
- Digital album downloads fell by 28.1% in 2023.
- CD sales fell by 15% and vinyl sales by 2.3% in 2022.
- Operating revenue in the record production and distribution industry grew to $903.3 million in 2023.
- The record sales by independent Canadian record production companies declined between 2019 and 2021.
- Approximately 75% of Canada’s audio recording industry is located in Ontario.
- The live music industry in Canada generates over 70,000 jobs.
Canada’s Music Market
According to the Global Music Report 2025 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Canada has the eighth-largest music market in the world. In 2023, the music market grew by about 12.2% and was valued at approximately US $659.6 million.
Music consumption was also up with Canadians consuming more music in 2023 compared to the previous year. Total album consumption (including physical, digital, and streaming equivalents) increased by around 15% in 2023, with on-demand audio and video streaming up by approximately 14.6%.
Music Industry Grew Faster in Canada Than in the United States in 2023
Canada’s music industry is growing each year and in 2023, in terms of percentage it grew faster compared to the United States. In 2023, the music market in the United States grew by around 7.2% compared to Canada’s growth of approximately 12.2%. However, the music market across the border is still valued considerably higher than in Canada and was about $17.1 billion in 2023. The United States remains the largest music market in the world.
Streaming is Fast Becoming the Primary Source of Music
Streaming music has become increasingly popular in Canada and more people are adopting it as their primary music source. In 2023, on-demand music streaming was up about 15.3% compared to 2022, and Canadians streamed approximately 130.2 billion audio tracks in total on licensed platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. This growth was slightly stronger than the previous year’s trend, when streaming in Canada rose 13.4% from 2021 to 2022.
The biggest surge in streaming music revenues in 2023 came from subscription audio streaming, which accounted for US $404.2 million in Canada and grew by about 10.1%, while ad-supported audio streaming increased by around 4.6% and ad-supported video streaming rose slightly to US $43.5 million.
Almost 70% of Global Recorded Music Revenue Comes From Streaming
Globally, streaming revenues exceeded USD 20.4 billion in 2024 and accounted for about 69.0% of total recorded music revenues, according to the IFPI Global Music Report 2025. Total global recorded music revenues grew 4.8% in 2024 to about USD 29.6 billion. Paid subscription streaming revenues increased about 9.5% in 2024, while ad-supported formats saw a more modest rise. There were approximately 752 million paid subscription accounts globally by the end of 2024.
In 2024, 69% of recorded music revenues came from streaming, with about 51.2% from subscription audio streams and the remainder from ad-supported streaming formats. Other revenue sources included performance rights, physical records, synchronisation, and downloads/digital formats, though the relative shares vary year-to-year with streaming continuing to dominate.
Number of Paid Downloads Is Declining
The downside to the increase in streamed music is that the number of paid downloads of whole albums fell to just 1.9 million units in 2022, an 18.5% decrease compared to 2021. Digital track sales also continued to decline; in 2023 digital downloads (albums and singles combined) fell by about 28.1% to around 25.3 million units. Canadians downloaded significantly fewer tracks in 2022 than in 2021, and this trend persisted into the following year.
People Still Buy Physical Copies of Music Albums But Sales Are Falling
The sales of CDs have been declining since downloading music became the norm. In 2022, the sales continued to fall and only 2.3 million CDs were sold in Canada. This is a 15% drop compared to 2021.
Vinyl album sales also fell in 2022 but only by 2.3% with approximately 1.1 million vinyl albums sold in Canada. However, the vinyl sales were affected by issues with supply chains and back-ups at album pressing plants, which led to higher prices. On average, people who buy vinyl spend around 300% more on music per month than average listeners. Despite the issues, revenue from vinyl sales increased by 19.4%.
While the sales of CDs and vinyl fell in 2022, the sales of cassettes were up by 27%. However, this is unlikely to signal a comeback of cassettes, as only 13,200 cassettes were sold in Canada in 2022.
Record production and distribution in Canada
Operating revenue in the record production and distribution industry grew to $903.3 million in 2023, an increase of 21.2% from 2021. Much of the growth came from the large multinational companies. They saw the total sales of their recordings grow from $460.7 million in 2021 to $545.7 million in 2023.
While multinational record companies grew their record sales, Canadian independent record production and distribution companies, which experienced a decline from 2019 to 2021, bounced back with sales rising to $107.7 million in 2023, a 25.8% increase from 2021.
Much of Canada’s Music Industry Is in Ontario
Ontario is the music capital of Canada with 75% of the country’s audio recording industry based in the province. The music revenue for Ontario, around $429 million per year, represents 82% of the total music revenue in Canada.
The sound recording and music publishing industry of Ontario generated about 2,091 jobs in 2021, according to the latest available data, accounting for around 39% of the approximately 5,309 jobs within the industry nationally. In 2021, the sound recording and distribution industry of Ontario paid approximately $54.7 million in wages, salaries, and benefits, not including music
The Live Music Industry in Canada Generates Over 70,000 Jobs
According to the Canadian Live Music Association, the live music industry in Canada generated approximately 72,000 jobs before the pandemic. The pandemic hit the live music industry hard with venues closing. It is estimated that the average loss of revenue for the live music sector was 92% and that 64% of live music venues were at risk of permanent closure.
Popular Music & Rock Is the Biggest Selling Music Category
According to Statistics Canada, the biggest-selling music category in Canada is the popular music & rock category with $308.9 million in revenue from sales of recordings in 2015. The revenue from classical music record sales was $7.7 million, jazz and blues were $4.5 million, and country and folk music was $14.9 million. Revenues from the sales of all other types of music were $42.4 million.
Celine Dion Is the Richest Musician in Canada
Canada has many multimillionaire musicians and Celine Dion is the wealthiest of them all. Her estimated net worth is $800 million. She has sold over 220 million records and her latest tour was sold out.
The second richest musician is Shania Twain with a net worth of approximately $400 million. Shania Twain has sold over 100 million records. Third on the richest musicians list in Canada is Justin Bieber. He has sold over 150 million records and his net worth is around $300 million.
Taylor Swift Topped the 2025 Physical Album Sales in Canada
The best-selling physical album of 2025 in Canada was The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift, according to year-end charts, topping the sales rankings ahead of other albums. The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift was also among the top physical sellers, highlighting Swift’s continued dominance in the Canadian market. The Life of a Showgirl and The Tortured Poets Department led a diverse list of strong sellers, including Short ’N Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter and The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan.
Benson Boone Topped the Global Singles Chart in 2025
While Taylor Swift dominated album sales in Canada, the IFPI Global Singles Chart for 2025 shows that “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone was the most streamed single worldwide. The global subscription stream equivalent for the track was about 2.11 billion — making it the top global single of the year.
At number two was “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter with 1.79 billion stream equivalents, and third was “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims with 1.70 billion. Fourth was “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” by Billie Eilish with 1.52 billion, and fifth was “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey with about 1.51 billion.
Conclusion
Canada has a vibrant music scene and has produced many internationally renowned musicians. The recording industry in Canada is heavily concentrated in Ontario, with almost 50% of the sector’s jobs located in the province.
The trends for accessing music in Canada follow the global trends with streaming on the rise and the number of downloads decreasing. Canada also follows global trends when choosing what to listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Canada have a good music scene?
Canada has a vibrant music scene and features many national and international record companies, live music venues, and music festivals. Canada has produced many internationally acclaimed artists over the years including Celine Dion and Justin Bieber.
Who is the most popular Canadian musician?
Based on record sales and net worth, Celine Dion is the most popular Canadian musician. She has sold over 220 million records and is worth $800 million.
Where is a good place to get a job in the music industry in Canada?
Much of Canada’s music industry, such as record production and distribution, is located in Ontario, making the province an ideal place for anyone wishing to work in the music industry.