Montreal music industry rallies behind francophone artists

The music industry in Quebec gathered during Francos de Montréal to confront a shared problem: francophone artists are being crowded out by international streaming giants and major promoters. The result is an initiative called "Montreal, Faites du Bruit" (Make Some Noise) that, in its first official meeting Wednesday, unveiled roughly 50 projects aimed at giving Quebec music more oxygen.

The challenge is real. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and the promoter LiveNation dominate music discovery and live events. Smaller labels, independent artists, and emerging talent struggle to compete. The initiative brought together the ADISQ (music industry association), the Union of Artists, the Montreal Arts Council, Culture Montreal, and independent music venues to brainstorm solutions.

Several concrete projects emerged. Starting August 23, the Énergie network (Bell Média) will launch a weekly show entirely dedicated to emerging artists. Cogeco Média will introduce the Rythme de la chanson québécoise awards in September. Québecor Média, partnering with label Audiogram, will launch an initiative to integrate francophone music into public spaces through a digital advertising network.

The most significant announcement came from Evenko's foundation—a commitment to invest $1 million over five years in emerging and francophone artists. The announcement carries weight partly because it arrives four months after ICI Télé's investigation into Evenko's dominance in the festival circuit: Evenko produces both Francos and the International Jazz Festival, and LiveNation owns 49 percent of Spectra, Evenko's parent company.

Jacques-André Dupont, general director of Francos and the Jazz Festival and architect of the initiative, insisted the effort was born of genuine concern for the music community, not public relations. "If I had wanted to do a PR move, it would have been simpler to hold a press conference and announce projects that concern us," he told Le Devoir. Still, Dupont acknowledged that the industry's concerns about Evenko's outsized role in Montreal's music ecosystem motivated the broader mobilization.