Music News

There were a couple of goodies in yesterday’s federal budget for music fans

Budget reveals can be dry affairs with a lot of announcements designed to score political points. Yesterday’s federal budget–the first since 2020 without any pandemic measures–contained a bunch of those but also a couple of things music fans should welcome.

Junk Fees

“Junk fees” is a term (I think) coined by Joe Biden and refers to those extra charges that get tacked onto the price of a good or service upon checkout. This includes service charges and other related fees on concert tickets. The budget doesn’t go into too much detail but says that the government will amend the Competition Act in a way that will cut down on these fees. In addition to concert tickets, a target will be all those extra fees that get slapped on an airline ticket.

Mandatory USB-C Ports

Not exactly music-related, but if you have a smartphone with music on it, this is worth noting. Canada will now “work with international partners and other stakeholders to explore implementing a standard charging port in Canada.” If you’ve been following what the EU is doing, this will mean USB-C ports for all. Buh-bye Lightning and micro USB. Good riddance.

A summary of other budget promises can be found here.

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.

Alan Cross has 39696 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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