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Executive of the Week: FACTOR's Meg Symsyk on Why Supporting Canadian Music Means Supporting Cultural Sovereignty
The president and CEO of FACTOR, one of Canada's most crucial music funders, explains why it's more important than ever to support homegrown culture and give it the opportunity to compete on the global stage.
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When it comes to supporting Canadian music, FACTOR's influence is immeasurable. One of the most crucial funders of art in the country, the non-profit's impact is seen with its logo across countless acclaimed records and its name shouted out at concerts and award shows. But for president & CEO Meg Symsyk, it's not just about supporting Canadian music or even Canadian artists: it's about the sovereignty and identity of the country itself.
“Buying locally is more important than ever because of that consumer awareness and structural support. Canadians need to be encouraged to be more intentional. This last year and a half with the tariffs and the trade wars has put that on everyone's front burner,” she explains.
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The company recently announced $2 million in funding for live music. At a time when streaming has upended the way artists can get paid, supporting live music is more important than ever. It's part of FACTOR's mission to support the Canadian-owned music sector and give companies the chance to compete both at home and on the world stage.
Symsyk has been a central voice during the implementation of The Online Streaming Act, also known as Bill C-11, which aims to modernize legislation around media for the first time in a generation. As major foreign-owned streaming services fight against Canadian content funding obligations, Symsyk has been there to ensure the rollout is fair and equitable and that homegrown artists are supported.
Billboard Canada Women In Music’s 2025 Champion Award winner has also made sure that FACTOR lives up to its mandate to champion diversity and inclusion and reflect the Canadian population in its programs and operations.
Alongside Music Publishers Canada (MPC), FACTOR is once again supporting the Women in the Studio National Accelerator, which provides women and non-binary producer-songwriters with technical training, industry networking and career development. FACTOR is also a key Canadian supporter of the international Keychange program, which aims to empower underrepresented genders with training, mentoring and support along with opportunities at festivals and conferences. And Symsyk proudly supported The Beaches at Billboard Women in Music 2026 as they represented Canada and accepted the Global Force award on the international stage.
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As this week’s Executive of the Week, Symsyk spoke to Billboard Canada about the initiatives that FACTOR supports, how they fund who they fund, and — maybe most importantly — why they do.
Billboard Canada Executive of the Week will return later this summer.
When announcing your $2 million support of live music through FACTOR’s Promoter Program and Festival Program, you said, “In this moment, supporting the Canadian businesses that help shape our identity is more important than ever.” Why is that?
In Canada, we understand the importance of buying local. We recognize that local investment builds resilient communities, preserves identity and establishes sovereignty. The same principle has to apply just as urgently to music. Music at its heart is storytelling. That is our culture, and it can travel globally.
Listeners aren't always making conscious choices about supporting Canadian artists. The system makes choices on their behalf. We are the stewards of our own culture, and I would love to make sure that those making programming decisions make sure that we're positioning our Canadian talent and ensure that our voices are being supported. We could have so many more Heated Rivalry success stories. We have all the talent here, we just need to support our own.
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How has FACTOR changed and adapted to align with the state of the industry?
We're constantly evaluating and updating our programs. During the pandemic, there was a huge shift where everyone couldn't travel and tour, so a lot of people were making records. We had a huge bulge of people spending money to make records. Then we had a huge bulge as soon as the restrictions were lifted to go out and tour them.
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The structural support almost couldn't handle everyone doing it at once. Our budgets had to change year to year to understand what was happening. We have to have the money for the artists when they need it for the thing that the marketplace is demanding at that point.
This year, you introduced a new funding program aimed specifically at music festivals: the Festival Program. Why was it necessary to introduce that now?
When we came out of the pandemic and we didn't have additional money for live, we pulled money out of our reserve to fund the Promoter Program so that we had data and stats to show the Department of Canadian Heritage how integral this part of the ecosystem is, and we are now pulling it into our whole funding structure.
Our commitment this year was one step further. We wanted to take music festivals underneath our umbrella to make sure that they are sustained through this tumultuous time period.
Why is it important for major foreign-owned companies like Spotify and Apple Music to support Canadian content through the Online Streaming Act?
It’s important for cultural Canadian sovereignty. It's not only about ensuring that Canadian content is discoverable. [Bill] C-11 plays a critical role in ensuring that Canadian artists have the opportunity to develop their careers to the point where they're featured on radio, in movies, across the entire cultural industry, whether that’s in sync, touring live, or getting on major broadcast stages. Those are cultural moments that everyone loves to talk about.
The Canadian government recently renewed the Canadian Music Fund through 2028. Can you speak on the significance of that federal support?
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I loved to hear that the current federal government was very clear about the fact that “culture is not on the table,” when they're talking about their upcoming trade negotiations [with the United States]. Our government is not going to allow that to be trampled upon. In fact, they're going to double down and hold the line, and I'm there with them.
What makes an artist or project stand out as a worthy investment? What qualities does FACTOR look for?
At FACTOR, we have a mandate to make sure that we're funding a diversity of talent.
We look at all the different types of genres and voices and communities to ensure that the best in each sector is getting a shot. It's all about creating opportunity. Our programs are constantly being evaluated to support where the business is going.
A lot of our decisions are based on if you’re growing your audience as an artist. If you're a label, are you growing the audience for your artists on your label or getting those songs? We’re always looking at funding against growth.
This funding is also for people who are already in the sector doing the work and are struggling because of a number of different factors that are out of their control. We are making sure that they still can make it through a tough period.
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Why is it important to support artists at every level?
It's such a critical time for culture, because online platforms have consolidated so much. Somebody else is curating what we're ingesting, seeing, hearing, what is even being given to us as options. As a personal consumer, I'm told that I can get anything and the world is at my fingertips on the internet. But I feel like I've never known less about where to go and how to get something.
Back in the day, you would know that certain records were out because you would see and feel it everywhere [at record stores, advertising, listings, and on the radio]. Now, you have to follow them on your social media. Radio comes at the end of a cycle as opposed to being the first line of discovery. It's much more hit-driven.
It's never been easier [to put out music], but it's never been harder to compete. The sheer number of songs that are being uploaded makes it that much harder. Then, the amount of AI songs that are being added into that is insane. When you look at how [streaming royalties] divide the pie, it’s divided based on how many streams all of the artists on the service got in total. If it's 1,000 streams, that’s pennies because the majority of streams went to The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Drake, etc.
Larger companies are not signing young artists like they used to. They're waiting for you to build your own [following] and then swooping in. We would love to allow artists to sustain themselves longer so if they do decide to partner, they're in a stronger negotiation position to be able to have a more equitable relationship. [They can have a stronger voice] regarding what that remuneration looks like to them as the creator.
You’ve been a part of The Beaches’ story, from their early days through their global breakthrough. What excites you about their trajectory?
What I love about the Beaches’ story is they had opportunity.
They got signed to Universal, and they were going on a path. They didn't get positioned or weren't listened to the way that they wanted, and that relationship ended. Then they were on their own. With the support of FACTOR, they built the team that they wanted and are more authentically themselves.
When you look at what they've built, they've had a quantum leap. It's their own company. They're the CEO of their own copyrights and cultural IP. That’s amazing. I wish for every artist to have those choices.
Additional reporting by Stefano Rebuli.
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