The Secret History of Rock

The MAPL Symbol

Alan Cross 4 Comments 2011 Views

Have you ever wondered what that little pie-shaped symbol means on CDs issued by Canadian artists? That’s called the MAPL symbol.  

It’s a bureaucratic way of measuring the “Canadian-ness” of musical material.  Here’s how you decode it.  The M stands for “music”—and you’ll see if the music was written by a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant.  

The A means “artist”–same rules as M.  The P is for “production.”  In this case, we’re talking about a musical selection that consists of a live performance recorded in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.  

And L, obviously, is for “lyrics”–same rules as M and A.  For a song to be considered Canadian in the eyes of the government, it has to meet at least two of those criteria.

But here’s the weird thing:  if, say, Our Lady Peace, records a cover of a Green Day song in New York, that’s not enough for the song to be classified as a Canadian recording because only the artist (the A) applies.  

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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