Digital media is undergoing disruption in Canada. Younger audiences are watching streaming services like Netflix instead of traditional TV, while older audiences still watch TV. This is causing local TV stations to close and $350 million less to be invested in Canadian content by 2020. Books, newspapers and magazines are also disrupted as audiences consume content online and on mobile devices. Digital advertising revenues are rising as budgets shift online. The music industry has transitioned to digital sales and streaming services like Spotify. While the games industry was always digital, Canadians are mostly employed to design games for global markets. Incubators and accelerators are helping media startups launch with resources like MaRS Discovery District and Ryerson University's Digital Media Zone.

1. Digital media at the
Crossroads
w w w. d i g i t a l m e d i a a t t h e c r o s s r o a d s . c a

2. Canadian media in
digital universe
1 Speakers:
Peter Lyman, Senior Partner, Kristian Roberts, Partner, Julie Whelan,
Manager, and Negin Zebarjad, Senior Consultant, Nordicity Group
Limited, Toronto

3. Growing digital population:
 29.4 million: total Canadian digital population
• 27.9 million are reached through desktop
 Many new models are bypassing the traditional
Canadian distribution systems (Crave TV, Shomi)
 Advertising budgets are going to digital.
• Internet spending is on the rise.

4. Film and TV:
 Older demographic is watching more TV
 Younger demographic is watching Netflix
 TV budget is in decline, as opposed to Internet
 This affects local television and stations may close as a
result.
 50% of the small to medium stations will close by
2020.
 $350 million less will be invested in the production of
content by 2020.
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5. -Peter Lyman
Senio r Pa rtner, No rdicity
Group
All is not lost, but it will not be
easy.“

6. Books, Newspapers, Magazines
 Canadian book market: total value of the market
has dropped.
 Books continue to sell. E books represent 15-20%
of the market.
 Books still appeal to the younger generation.
 In 2013, 29% of the books purchased in Canada in
any format were purchased online (Amazon, Indigo,
ibooks, audible).
 By 2015 the percentage increased to 45%.
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7. Digital disrupts this industry.
!

8. Everything is going mobile.
 Newspaper industry has experienced a sharp
decline.
 Advertisers are spending with Google and
Facebook.
 The whole competitive landscape is changing.

9. Who will step in this environment?
Buzz Feed, Huffington Post?
?

10. Books, Newspapers, Magazines
Wrap-up:
 Magazines: demand somewhat protected but risk
and pressures still evident
 Newspaper: major business loss
 Books: continue to invest
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11. Music:
 New distribution models emerge (Spotify)
 New revenue systems
 New audiences
 Apple/ Google tax is 30%
 Streaming needs market power
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12. However….
More noise, less signal: everyone is
trying to sell music online.“

13. Games:
 This industry never became digital, it was always
digital
 90% of people are employed by 5% of the top
companies
 The industry is supported by Tax Credits.
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14. Canadian stories vs. Made by
Canadians: Canadian beavers
shooting maple syrup? Not really…“
-Kristian Roberts
Pa rtner, No rdicity Gro up

15. Games (continued):
 Canadians are employed to only design the games
for the global market.
 It drives international investment and employment
in Canada.
 But much industry revenue is offshore.
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16. -Peter Lyman
Senio r Pa rtner, No rdicity
Group
There is no going back.
Consumers have spoken.“

17. The rise of digital advertising:
 OTT disrupts broadcasting regulation and takes a
large bite out of subscriber revenues
 The big challenge is discovery in the era of content.
 Self-publishing and artist entrepreneur models
work for some but place huge marketing burdens
on creators.
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b

18. The rise of digital advertising:
 We have to recapture a portion of the distribution
revenues for developing Canadian content.
 Regulatory adjustments in the broadcasting sectors
have a big impact.
 There should be corporate development support
for independent Canadian content producers and
creative entrepreneurs.
v
b

19. Digital disruption in
the Canadian music
industry
2 Moderator: Don McLean, Dean, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto
Speaker: Richard Pfohl, General Counsel, Music Canada, AVLA
Panelists: Catherine Moore, Clinical Associate Professor of Music
Business, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human
Development
Daniel G.C. Glover, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Toronto, co-author, User's
Guide to Canadian Copyright Tariffs

20. Digital sales have
overtaken physical sales.
 CD sales have gone from 54% in 2010 to 26% in 2014.
 Week in November when the top 4 in the US Charts were
Canadian artists
 Enormous amount in discovering and marketing artists
 9 in 10 of YouTube’s most watched videos are music
videos

21. The music industry has faced major
disruption, but is meeting the challenge
by diversifying and adapting to the
rapidly changing market.
.

22. Challenges to record labels in
the past 18 years:
 Much more music is available( because of user
generated content and distribution)
 Much less music is new (there are more covers,
parodies, derivations)
 Difficult to measure the market and therefore
predict it
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23. Adele’s 25:
 Digital downloads increased total sales to the
album – that`s why it broke so many records
 Record labels can still afford to pay for major retail
co - up deals (ex: Target in US)
 People are still buying CD’s
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b

24. Incubate Accelerate
and Launch
3 Moderator:Doug Barrett, Bell Media Professor in Media Management
in the Arts & Media Administration MBA Program at the Schulich
School of Business of York University
Speakers: Valerie Fox, Chief Innovation Consultant, The Pivotal Point;
Co-Founder, Digital Media Zone, Ryerson University
Kristian Roberts, Partner, Nordicity Group Limited
Salim Teja, Executive Vice-President, Venture Services, MaRS Discovery
District, Toronto

25. Start with the best talent
 Start-ups need customers
 Industry needs innovation
 Remove barriers
 Build the business - connect industry to innovation
 Build international relationships
 Incubators are needed in all educational institutions.

26. Resources for start-ups:
Mars (website: https://www.marsdd.com/)
DNZ (website: https://dmz.ryerson.ca/)
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27. Useful Links:
T he full repo rt which pres ents a review o f
the revenues , employment a nd future
trends in each s ector of the digital media
univers e in Ca na da , including televis io n,
film, mus ic, video s , ga mes a nd publis hing
(develo ped by No rdicity Gro up Limited,
co mmis s io ned by DM@X)
Click here to download it!

28. Useful Links:
Full notes , written by Martin Perez –
Pres ident o f the Humber e - BSA
Click here to view!

29. Slide show by:
Irina Gorea,
Digita l B us ines s Ma na gement Student a t
Humber Co llege
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