(Residual) Public Music Radio in the Streaming Era: Listening for Diversity and Frequency on CBC Music

Abstract

The aim of this article  is to assess whether and how the CBC’s music radio programming reflects the corporation’s mandate of showcasing a diversity of music and culture. I argue that a program logic that privileges an international corporate music industry strategy persists (particularly during the peak morning and afternoon drive time programs) and limits the capacity for public radio to imagine and project alternative musical trajectories. My aspiration is to imagine CBC Music’s over-the-air radio as a residual broadcast service, one that presents novel opportunities at a time when digital and online streaming music is dominant.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brian Fauteux

Brian Fauteux is Assistant Professor of Popular Music and Media Studies at the University of Alberta and author of Music in Range: The Culture of Canadian Campus Radio (2015). His research focuses the intersection of music industries, music scenes, and music radio.