Stingray Music is a

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

-based international multi-platform audio service that broadcasts continuous streaming music and other forms of audio on multiple channel feeds. The service is owned by Stingray Digital. It was originally founded in 1997 as Galaxie by the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

before it was acquired by Stingray in 2011; but adopted its present name in 2014. While a song is playing on the audio, channel name, artist, song, Stingray's web address and genre-themed clip art are displayed on every music channel.

History

The service's beginnings in Canada started in December 1995, when the

was granted approval from the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

(CRTC) to launch a national pay audio service named ''Galaxie'' consisting of 30 channels in both English and French. The service launched as Galaxie on September 10, 1997, under the ownership of the

by offering 30 music channels. Galaxie TV logo 3

Because of service duplication, in 2002, Galaxie and Max Trax (a similar television service owned by

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

at the time) agreed to provide a joint 40-channel audio distribution service to satellite and digital cable television providers called Galaxie Max Trax. The package consisted of 20 Galaxie and 20 Max Trax channels. At the end of December 2008, Stingray Digital held a sound broadcasting license from the CRTC. On February 13, 2009, Corus Entertainment sold its equipment and the Max Trax brand to Stingray so that the service was offered without interruption until Stingray launched its own service. On October 1, 2009, the Max Trax brand was discontinued, like its owners, Stingray Digital and the CBC merged the two services together under the Galaxie brand. Stingray Digital, who had been operating as the exclusive sales and development agent for Galaxie since late 2007, officially took over as managing partner in the service upon completion of merger. According to

(CRTC) records, Stingray purchased Galaxie from the CBC in May 2011 for a reported $65 million. On November 18, 2011, Stingray announced it had expanded the number of Galaxie channels available to be offered to distributors to 100. On January 10, 2012,

Shaw Cable Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

was the first distributor in Canada to launch 15 of those additional channels, the majority of which were focused on various genres of multicultural and multilingual music. The full slate of new channels were rolled out to consumers when

SaskTel Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provinci ...

became the first distributor to carry all 100 channels in May 2012. On September 30, 2014, Stingray announced it was uniting all of its properties under the Stingray brand, effective immediately, with Galaxie rebranded as Stingray Music, albeit with audio channels still Galaxie branded until early 2015 and the

OnDemand OnDemand is a brand name for a video-on-demand, London-based company owned by the On Demand Group, who provide mobile video services such as pay-per-view to over 25 million subscribers. Their product is sold through middleware to smart TV compan ...

music video service is still branded Galaxie with only some music videos Stingray branded. In 2014, Stingray Music launched a mobile app. The app was later updated in 2015 with 1,500+ personalized channels known as "Vibes" and these channels are also available later on some TV providers, for instance

Bell MTS Bell MTS Inc. (formerly Manitoba Telecom Services) is a subsidiary of BCE Inc. that operates telecommunications services in Manitoba. Originally established as Manitoba Government Telephones after the Government of Manitoba purchased the Manit ...

.David Friend
"Montreal's Stingray Digital wades into music streaming waters,"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', July 6, 2015.Bertrand Marotte
"Stingray ups ante in mobile music sphere with new version of its app,"
''The Globe and Mail'', July 6, 2015. In 2019, it was announced that the Stingray Music's mobile app was made available for free in the U.S. and

. Users can choose to listen to the ad-supported service or pay $0.99 (made-for-students discount)/$3.99 to access the premium service that was already made available to participating TV providers' subscribers. Unlimited skips are also available, whereas before only 6 skips were authorized hourly. In August 2020, the company announced the launch of Stingray Music - with six leading platforms - in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In September 2020, it was announced that Stingray's holdings in the company AppDirect, which was about to launch its own

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

, were valued at 26 million.

Programming

Stingray Music primarily broadcasts music across over 150 uninterrupted channel feeds available worldwide, carefully curated by 25

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based music programmers and 175 more globally. Each channel is programmed around a particular musical

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

or theme, and carries a playlist containing somewhere between 150 and over 3,000 songs. The channels cover a wide range of genres and sub-genres including pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, electronic, classical, and more. Programming is primarily in English, however, multiple channels feature programming in French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Punjabi, among others. The majority of channels broadcasts music, however, other audio feeds are available that broadcast instrumentals, nature sounds, and others. Stingray Music programmers select the music based on music trends and feedback from viewers. The sequence of tracks and the tracks themselves are constantly updated and scheduled at exact times using professional computer programs, with no block of programming repeats exactly itself and no random playing.

A sample list of channels

''Note: Ratings of the TV-MA channels are sourced from U.S.'s AT&T U-verse, if they are carried on the provider (such channels are noted in asterisks). Channels with (G) note denotes it (or its format) has been carried since the beginning. Channels with (M) note denotes it's been carried over from Max Trax after the two services merged. The channels offered varies from one provider to another.'' * (G) Adult Alternative* * Afro Beat * All Day Party * Alt-Country / Americana * Alt Rock Classics * (G) Alternative* * Alternative Dance * Around the World * (G) Baroque * Bass, Breaks & Beats * Big Band * Bluegrass * Bollywood Hits * Broadway * Canadian Indie* * Canadiana * Caribbean Vintage Vibes * (G) Chamber Music * (M) Christian Pop & Rock * Chillout * (G) Classic Masters * Classic Hip-Hop * Classic R&B & Soul * (G) Classic Rock * Classical Calm * Classical India * Cocktail Lounge * Cool Jazz * (G) Country Classics * Dance Classics * (G) Dance Clubbin'* * Dancefloor Fillers * Dancehall Session * Deep House * Drive * (G) Easy Listening * Eclectic Electronic* * (G) En Marge * Euro Hits * Éxitos del Momento * Éxitos Regional Mexicanos * Éxitos Tropicales * (G) Flashback '70s * Folk Roots * (G) Franco Country * Franco Rétro * (G) Franco Pop * Freedom * Gospel * Greatest Hits * Groove * Guangdong * Hard Rock* * Headbangers* * Heavy Metal* * Hindi Gold * (G) Hit List * Hip Hop* * (M) Hip-Hop/R&B* * (G) Hot Country * Indie Classics * Indie Rock * Jammin' * Jazz Latino * (G) Jazz Masters * (G) Jazz Now * (G) Jukebox Oldies * (G) Kids' Stuff * Latin Lounge * (M) Le Palmarès * Mando Popular * (M) Maximum Party * (G) Mousses Musique * Motown * Nature * Nederpop * New Age * No Fences * (G) Nostalgie * Nothin' but '90s * OMG * Opéra Plus * (G) Pop Adult * Popcorn * (G) Popular Classical * Punjabi * (G) Remember the '80s * Reggaeton* * Retro Latino * Retro R&B * Ritmos Urbanos* * Revival 60's - 70's * Rewind 80's - 90's * (M) Rock* * Rock en Español * Romance Latino * Salsa/Merengue * Samba & Pagode * Soca Motion * Solo para Peques * Sounds of South India * (G) Souvenirs * Soul Storm * Southern Jams * (M) Smooth Jazz * (M) Swinging Standards * Swiss Hits * Tango * Tagalog * Tejano y Tex-Mex * The Asian Flavour * (G) The Blues * The Chill Lounge * The Spa * Today's K-Pop * Total Hits Austria * Total Hits Brazil * Total Hits France * Total Hits Italy * Total Hits Germany * Total Hits Holland * Total Hits Poland * Total Hits Russia * Total Hits Spain * Total Hits UK * Trance* * Viva México * World Carnival * Y2K

Defunct channels

* Ambient ''(replaced by The Chill Lounge)'' * Bande à part ''(renamed Franco Attitude)'' * Blues * Blues' Street ''(merged with Blues to form The Blues)'' * Contemporary Christian ''(renamed The Light)'' * CMT ''(absorbed into Hot Country)'' * Dance ''(merged with Rave to form Dance Clubbin')'' * Franco Attitude ''(renamed En Marge in 2020)'' * Franco Énergie ''(absorbed into Franco Pop)'' * Franco Relax * Gold Rock ''(renamed Classic Rock)'' * Instrumental/New Age ''(renamed The Spa; New Age later returned as a standalone channel)'' * Latin Pop ''(renamed Éxitos del Momento in 2020)'' * Latino Tejano ''(renamed Tejano y Tex-Mex in 2020)'' * Latino Tropical ''(renamed Éxitos Tropicales in 2020)'' * Latino Urbana ''(renamed Ritmos Urbanos in 2020)'' * Le Top Détente ''(renamed Le Palmarès in 2020)'' * Master Works ''(absorbed into Classic Masters)'' * Max Trax Party ''(renamed Maximum Party)'' * Memories ''(absorbed into Easy Listening)'' * Musique Bout'Choux ''(absorbed into Mousses Musique)'' * Rap/Hip-Hop ''(absorbed into The Beat)'' * Rave * Regional Mexican ''(renamed Éxitos Regional Mexicanos in 2020)'' * Rock and Roll ''(renamed Jukebox Oldies)'' * Rock Alternative ''(renamed Alternative in 2020)'' * The '70s ''(absorbed into Flashback '70s in 2009)'' * The '80s ''(renamed Remember the '80s)'' * The '90s ''(renamed Nothin' but '90s)'' * The Beat ''(renamed Urban Beats)'' * The Edge ''(absorbed into Rock Alternative)'' * The Light ''(renamed Christian Pop & Rock in 2020)'' * Treehouse ''(absorbed into Kids' Stuff)'' * UK Chart-Toppers ''(renamed Total Hits UK)'' * Urban Beats ''(renamed Hip-Hop/R&B in 2020)'' * World ''(renamed Around the World)''

Artist development

Stingray Music sponsors a number of "Stingray Rising Stars Awards" (formerly Galaxie Rising Stars) presented at a variety of music festivals and awards presentations each year, including Canadian Music Week's Indie Awards, the East Coast Music Awards, and the Western Canadian Music Awards, among numerous others. Stingray also sponsors an annual Songs from the Heart competition for new and emerging songwriters. The Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award is presented to the winner of the competition.

International

Americas

Stingray Music is also carried in both the

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

via various television providers. Expansion began in 2009 with the addition of Stingray to various smaller market television providers in the U.S. and in 2010, Galaxie was added to WIV Cable TV in the

Turks and Caicos The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

as well as Trinidad and Tobago. In April 2011, Galaxie further expanded their reach in the US when American cable company Insight Communications chose Galaxie as their new radio provider to replace

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks is the division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after MTV. It would be known under this ...

' defunct Urge service across their service area in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Galaxie further expanded into the Caribbean with the launch onto Jamaican television provider Telstar Cable. In October 2011, Galaxie was further added to more US television services. Galaxie furthered its expansion into the Caribbean and Latin American regions with its launch on various television providers in a number of different countries including St. Marteen,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and 10 others. On October 29, 2014, Stingray Music launched on

AT&T U-verse U-verse TV is an internet protocol television (IPTV) service operated by DirecTV. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse was originally a triple play package that included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), IP telephone (now AT& ...

, adding approximately six million subscribers. In December 2018,

Altice USA Altice USA, Inc., commonly known as Altice, is an American telecommunications provider with headquarters in New York City, owned by the Franco-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi. The company delivers pay television, Internet access, telephone se ...

reached an agreement with Stingray to replace its main rival,

Music Choice Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. In 2019, it reached 65 million household ...

, on its cable systems (including former

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

systems in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Suddenlink Suddenlink was an American telecommunications subsidiary of Altice USA trading in cable television, broadband, IP telephony, home security, and advertising. Prior to its acquisition by Altice, the company was the seventh largest cable operator ...

). At the same time, Stingray abandoned its bid to acquire Music Choice.

Europe

Stingray purchased the European operations of Music Choice in 2011, which rebranded as Stingray Music in April 2015. In 2014, Stingray Digital acquired Dutch premium service XLnt Radio (along with Lite TV) from the Archibald Media Group.

Oceania

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Stingray partners with pay television provider

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

to offer a suite of audio channels under the name Foxtel Music via the latter's cable and satellite services. Foxtel subscribers also have access to the Stingray Music app, allowing users to stream the channels on their mobile device. During 2022 Australia's 7 Network, through its 7 Plus internet suite of AV services, commenced free-to-air streaming of five 24/7 Stingray-branded video music channels comprising Qello Concerts (rock), dJazz (contemporary jazz), Karaoke, Classica (classical music) and Naturescape (featuring world nature video photography set to peaceful music).

References

External links

Stingray Music Canada

Stingray Music US
{{Music television channels in Canada M Specialty television channels in Canada Television channels and stations established in 1997 Cable radio