January 20, 2025

🎶 Music fans, take note: A New York tenor has been chosen to sing at Trump’s inauguration. Whether you’re tuning in for the ceremony or the serenade, it’s a rare moment where opera steps into the political spotlight — let’s see how his performance shapes the day.

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• The big idea: The state of music in Canada: 2024 by the numbers
• Talking points:  
  — Cancelled conducting course pockets applicants’ fees
  — Jonas Kaufmann leaves agency to focus on career as festival director
• Around the web + Laugh of the week

CLASSICAL CHARTZ

Weekly selections are based on sales numbers and albums we simply love and think you NEED to hear!

For the complete top 20, tune into Classical Chartz with the New Classical FM’s Mark Wigmore every Saturday from 3-5 pm EST!

THE BIG IDEA

The State of Music in Canada: 2024 By the Numbers

The music industry's annual report card is in, and the numbers tell a fascinating story about how Canadians consume music in 2024.

Luminate, the industry's leading data tracker, has just released its comprehensive year-end report after analyzing more than 20 trillion data points from 500 verified sources. The findings paint a picture of an industry in transformation: streaming numbers are soaring, physical formats are showing surprising resilience, and superfans are reshaping how artists connect with audiences.

From AI-generated tracks to billion-stream hits, from vinyl's continued revival to the dominance of catalogue tracks over new releases, here's what the data reveals about Canada's evolving musical landscape:

The Big Picture: More Music Than Ever

• 99,000 new songs uploaded daily (down from 103,500 in 2023)

• 202 million total songs available digitally

• 92% comes from independent musicians

• Canadians streamed 145.1 billion songs (up 9.5% from 2023)

The Streaming Reality Check

Behind the impressive total streaming numbers lies a more complex reality. Nearly half of all available songs (93.2M) received 10 plays or fewer, and an astounding 87% of tracks were played under 1,000 times. This last statistic is particularly significant because Spotify, the industry's largest streaming platform, won't pay royalties for any song that fails to reach that thousand-play threshold. The data suggests that while music is more accessible than ever, breaking through the noise remains a massive challenge for most artists.

Breaking Down the Numbers:

Songs by stream count:

• 100K-1M streams: 2.1M songs

• 1M-10M streams: 427,700

• 10M-100M streams: 60,000

• 100M-1B streams: 4,800

• 1B+ streams: Just 33 songs

Classical Music Deep Dive

• Classical fans are 48% more likely than average to discover music via music-related websites like Ludwig Van

• Represents 2.5% of digital album sales

• Ranks as 11th best-performing genre

• 85% of classical consumption comes from on-demand audio streams

• Physical albums account for 8.8% of classical consumption

• Digital album sales make up 4.4%

• Millennials are the biggest spenders on classical concerts

Canada's Top Hits

• Most streamed song: "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" by Shaboozey (143.8M streams)

• Top album: Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department"

• Canadians prefer older songs (74% catalog vs. 26% new music)

The Rise of the Superfan

The data shows superfans are reshaping the music industry in 2024, and the numbers tell a compelling story. These dedicated followers are spending an average of US$113 monthly on live music events—a striking 66% more than regular fans. When it comes to physical music purchases, they're investing US$39 monthly, more than double what the average music fan spends.

Generation Z is leading the charge at festivals, while Millennials dominate overall concert spending, including classical shows. Perhaps most interesting is how hip-hop superfans stand out, showing the highest likelihood to purchase directly from artist storefronts.

This devoted group is becoming increasingly important to artists' success, suggesting that cultivating a dedicated fanbase might be more valuable than chasing viral hits. The superfan phenomenon spans all genres and age groups, proving that intense music loyalty isn't limited to pop and rock.

Fun Facts:

• One in every 100 vinyl records is bought at a concert merch table

• 39% of vinyl purchases happen at indie record stores

• The classical music documentary  “The American Symphony” was the 10th most-watched music documentary with 97.9M viewing minutes on Netflix.

The AI Factor

Watch out for "ghost artists" on Spotify - AI-generated background music is increasingly common, potentially taking streams away from human musicians. Read our separate report here.

Physical Format Revival

• Overall physical sales up 4.8% from 2023

• Combined physical and digital sales down 1%

• Shows we're buying fewer digital downloads, preferring to stream instead

International Exchange

Canadian music ranks as:

• #1 import from: US, UK, Australia

• #3 most popular import in Australia

• #3 globally for top songwriters (behind US and UK)

Looking Ahead

The 2024 numbers paint a clear picture of an industry in flux. While streaming continues its unstoppable rise with 145.1 billion plays in Canada alone, the revival of physical formats and the growing influence of superfans suggest listeners crave more than just convenient access to music. The challenges are real — from AI-generated content to the struggle for artists to break through on streaming platforms — but so are the opportunities. As we move forward, the key to success may lie not in chasing viral moments but in building genuine connections with audiences across all formats and platforms. The music industry of 2024 proves that while technology shapes how we listen, our fundamental relationship with music remains deeply personal and increasingly valuable. — MV

TOUR DE HEADLINES

Tony Ann (Photo: William Beaucardet)

🎶 Is classical music making a surprise comeback? A new CBC report cites a surge of interest among younger listeners, with some orchestras even adding TikTok-friendly mashups of Beethoven’s 5th. Critics have claimed classical music was past its prime, but the unexpected renaissance (helped by streaming and viral social clips) has concert halls humming like never before. Read more

🎼 The show must go on: The San Antonio Philharmonic is facing financial woes and organizational drama, but determined music lovers won’t let the curtain fall. According to The New York Times, local supporters hope to build a stronger, more inclusive orchestra out of the turmoil. Rebranding or not, the Philharmonic’s baton is far from laid to rest. Read more

🎹 Give a piano a home: On Canada’s Prince Edward Island, some piano owners are literally giving away their instruments for free. With fewer people learning and less space in modern homes, old uprights can be tough to keep — but potential takers are flocking for the chance to plunk out Für Elise in their living rooms. Read more

MORE NEWS TO KNOW

• Opera meets the gridiron? Canadian football fans have formed a “bantam opera” to cheer on their team. Instead of standard chants, these culture-savvy supporters perform mini arias in the bleachers — and they’re drawing new fans to the sport (and to opera). Read more

• A violin’s Holocaust survival: A newly released documentary spotlights an instrument that survived Auschwitz, performed by musicians honoring those lost. The stirring film highlights resilience, illustrating how a single violin can channel history’s darkest chapters — and still play on. Read more

TALKING POINTS

Cancelled Conducting Course Pockets Applicants’ Fees

Two conducting courses organized by Davide Cicchetti for June and November 2024 are still yet to take place. Applicants claim they have not been refunded their application fees. 

The scoop: The classical music website Musical Chairs reports that two conducting courses organized by Davide Cicchetti for November and June 2024 have yet to take place. The clincher? The organization has pocketed applicants’ application fees, although they promise to refund them at some point. Cicchetti published an online letter, citing financial difficulties and claiming not to be a pirate. He says that applicants have no right to accuse him of fraud. 

Digging deeper: During his performance career, the tenor Davide Cicchetti appeared in productions with the Opéra Comique, Opéra Vichy and Opéra de Lausanne, amongst other companies. As an organizer, he has produced competitions including the Dorati, Mendelssohn, Opéra de Nice, the EU Conducting Competition, Almaty Conducting Competition, and numerous masterclasses.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time aspiring conductors have cried fraud over expensive masterclasses held in Italy. Many festivals are known for over-promising and under-delivering at high price tags for applicants. A cautionary tale for those hoping to train in an already precarious field.  — SS

Jonas Kaufmann (Photo: Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Music)

Jonas Kaufmann Leaves Agency To Focus On Career As Festival Director

The superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann has announced he will be leaving his agency to focus on his career as a festival director. Kaufmann’s announcement suggests the tenor may be winding down his performing commitments.

What’s the buzz: After 20 years of collaboration, the tenor Jonas Kaufmann has announced he will be ceasing collaborations with the Zemsky/Green agency. Since September 2024, Kaufmann has been Festival Director of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. Kaufmann’s announcement that he will no longer collaborate with his longtime agency suggests he may be winding down his performing career. 

A few Leitmotifs: Many of Jonas Kaufmann’s years with the Zemsky/Green agency were spent with Bruce Zemsky as Kaufmann’s personal manager. In recent years, the respected agency changed considerably. In 2017, Bruce Zemsky died after a short illness, and in 2022, Alan Green dismissed his entire staff aside from his wife and daughter following a meeting during which staff voiced concerns. 

Kaufmann’s tenure with the Tiroler Festspiele Erl has been a success, already leading to record ticket sales. Perhaps the tenor is ready to manage other peoples’ performance cancellations rather than continuing to deal with audiences’ disappointment when he himself is forced to withdraw. We wish him well, regardless. — SS

GAMES

Dig in to today's mini-crossword.

AROUND THE WEB

🎼 On this day: In 1926, the prolific American composer Robert Ward was born. Known for his operas and orchestral works, he later won the Pulitzer Prize for his adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

📺 Video: Step into the hidden world of ice caves in Iceland—an otherworldly landscape shaped by shifting glaciers and brilliant blue ice — watch here.

🧩 That’s cool: Researchers have unearthed a prehistoric “board game” etched into stone in Azerbaijan, offering a window into ancient forms of play — read more.

🕹️ Game: Want to conquer the universe one paperclip at a time? Test your economic strategy skills in this oddly addictive experiment — play here.

🐕 Aww: Service dogs in training attend a live theatre show to sharpen their skills for real-world distractions—see the heartwarming scene.

LAUGH OF THE WEEK

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