Quebec artists largely shunned on streaming platforms; Taylor Swift reigns supreme

MONTRÉAL — Less than seven per cent of music consumed in Quebec in 2024 on major streaming platforms came from Québécois artists.

Instead, songs by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift were the most popular in the province, followed by Canadian rapper Drake.

The data appear to confirm the fears of Quebec nationalist politicians, who for years have been sounding the alarm that Québécois culture is under threat by changing consumer habits.

In May, the Quebec government tabled a bill to force streaming giants such as Netflix and Spotify to boost the visibility of French-language content to encourage Quebecers to consume more local talent.

The latest information on Quebecers’ streaming habits — based on Spotify, Amazon and Tidal platforms — comes from Luminate Data and was analyzed by the province’s statistics institute.

The percentage of streams involving Quebec artists is down from 7.5 per cent in 2023 and eight per cent in 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2025.