Over the weekend of March 23, the 2024 JUNO Awards were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to celebrate the year in Canadian music. Forty-six trophies were handed out over the two-day ceremony, which was hosted by British Columbia native, Nelly Furtado. This year’s awards highlighted a number of established and breakthrough Canadian artists who scored success at home, including Montreal singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin, Ottawa rock act Talk and Calgary’s Tate McRae, who broke through globally in 2023 with her single “Greedy,” which she performed on Saturday Night Live in November.
The Canadian public continues to rank among the world leaders in percentage of the population actively listening to music and the overall percentage of music streamers (premium and subscription). However, with an average of 11.1 hours spent with music weekly – a number that is lower than comparable markets like the U.S., France and Germany – there is an opportunity to grow the time spent listening among Canadians.
Canadians also strongly support homegrown artists, with 71% of music listeners engaging with music from Canada in 2023, compared to 66% in 2022.
This increase was certainly aided by new breakout stars like Tate McRae and the continued growth of Punjabi music in Canada, particularly from a number of Canada-based artists. Karan Aujla, who performed on the JUNO Awards’ broadcast – and was nominated for two awards himself – scored a No. 5 album in September 2023 with Making Memories, which he made and released with Ikky. Another two-time nominee, Shubh, has seen two of his albums reach the top 20 in the last nine months, plus a top 15 single on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
The success stories from these and other domestic artists showcase the diversity that represents the Canadian population.
