Since landing in Canada in 2014, Spotify has been the ultimate stage for Canadian artists, creators, and listeners. Yesterday, Spotify threw a party at its Toronto HQ to celebrate 10 years of connecting Canadians with the world through audio magic. It was a day filled with live music from Québec’s own Claudia Bouvette and country star Cameron Whitcomb, plus an intimate chat with author Uzma Jalaluddin for Spotify’s “Audiobook Club.” The event showcased what Spotify has always been about: putting Canada’s rich cultural diversity on the global map.
And the numbers don’t lie. Over the last decade, Canadian artists have been streaming royalty. With 20 Canadian acts racking up over a billion streams across 66 tracks, icons like Drake and The Weeknd have been dominating playlists worldwide. In fact, The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights is the most-streamed song of the decade globally with over 4 billion streams. Add Tate McRae, Patrick Watson, and Les Cowboys Fringants to the mix, and you’ve got a powerhouse of talent fueled by Spotify’s tools, like AI DJ and editorial playlists, that help artists connect with fans in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago.
Spotify isn’t just about music. This year, Canada became one of the first markets to roll out audiobooks on Spotify Premium, sparking a 2,461% increase in French-language audiobook listening in Québec. Playlists like Du Québec and Rap québ are drawing in audiences from around the globe, with Patrick Watson’s Je te laisserai des mots claiming the title of most-streamed Francophone track worldwide in 2023 and 2024.
The success doesn’t stop there. Spotify Canada’s ‘Global Impact List’ highlights hits like Tate McRae’s greedy and Ruth B.’s Dandelions, alongside The Weeknd’s chart-toppers, cementing Canada as the third-largest music exporter in the world. Canadian artists were discovered by new listeners over 3.8 billion times in 2023 alone, generating $400 million in royalties from streams outside Canada.
Spotify has redefined what it means to support Canadian music. With listeners spinning over 600,000 distinct Canadian tracks weekly—83 times more than Canadian radio—it’s clear Spotify is where Canadian talent shines. As Spotify looks to the future, it’s building a thriving audio ecosystem that amplifies Canadian voices across the globe. Here’s to the next decade of groundbreaking music and culture.
