CBC Music
Services available in Canada: CBC Music launched in 2012, adding to the programming and social elements that had previously been offered by Radio 3 with new streaming channels and an expanded offering of editorial content.
Number of Users: All of CBC Music’s content – streaming or otherwise – is available without a subscription, and Chris Boyce, executive director of radio and audio at CBC, says that most of those that have signed up for profiles are the musicians themselves rather than record companies. Though the numbers vary week by week, the site receives roughly 250,000 unique visitors who stream 500,000 hours of content every week.
Size of catalogue: Varies. In an on-demand environment, CBC Music offers 150,000 tracks, as it is up to each of the 40,000 artists on the platform to upload their tracks. Its web streams and radio programs draw from an unlimited pool of Canadian music.
Features: CBC Music delivers most of its songs through 47 different web streams that are curated by the company’s programmers based around different genres, as well as streams of all five Radio 2 regions and Radio 3. However, CBC Music is more of a music content hub than a dedicated streaming service, serving as a home for editorial content, features, fan voting contests, photo galleries and videos all centred specifically around Canada’s music environment.
Ad units available: Chris Boyce, executive director of radio at the CBC, says that, due to the diversity of content on the site, most display, video and audio ad units are available. He adds the frequency that audio ads play on the streams varies depending on the genre, but also on where the market is, having tried out different combinations of pre- and mid-roll over the years.
Brand partners in Canada: CBC Music is currently in the midst of an extended sponsorship with TD. Boyce says that the site’s brand partnerships have been growing over the last year, and several new deals will be announced in the coming months.
Integrated content opportunities: TD has taken advantage of its content offering, which has included sponsored summer and back-to-school themed playlists, sponsored editorial content and a campus music contest that includes video updates. CBC Music has also done sponsored video with Volkswagen as part of its Beetle Roadtrip series.
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