Stingray Music is a

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

-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 Stingray Group Inc. (formerly Stingray Digital and Stingray Digital Group) is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment company based in Montreal, Quebec, with offices in the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, ...

. 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

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

was granted approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national pay audio service named ''Galaxie'' consisting of 30 channels in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 Max Trax was a Canadian pay television audio service that broadcast continuous streaming music on multiple channel feeds. The service was owned by Stingray Digital. Originally known as Digital Music Express in 1997, the channel later closed in 2 ...

(a similar television service owned by

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

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,

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 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (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. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...

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 Canadian crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provincial government, it provides wireline and wireless communicat ...

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 Manitob ...

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

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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 investme ...

, 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 ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

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

genre Genre () is any form or type 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 for ...

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 Wales ...

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, classical, and more. Programming is primarily in

, 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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, 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 Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

's Indie Awards, the

East Coast Music Awards The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mu ...

, and the

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from B ...

, 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 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 n ...

as well as Trinidad and Tobago. In April 2011, Galaxie further expanded their reach in the US when American cable company

Insight Communications Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

chose Galaxie as their new radio provider to replace

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

' defunct Urge service across their service area in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. 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,

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

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

AT&T U-verse U-verse TV is a DirecTV brand of IPTV service. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), IP telephone (now AT&T Phone), and IPTV (U-verse TV) services in 48 states.Altice USA Altice USA, Inc., commonly known as Altice, is an American cable television provider with headquarters in New York City. It delivers pay television, Internet access, telephone services, and original television content to approximately 4.9 mill ...

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. Music Choice reaches 65 million househol ...

, 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 or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, 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 wi ...

). 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 Stingray Lite TV is a non-stop music television channel that brings mainly (soft) pop music videos from the 80s, 90s and today. 24/7. 2Connect Media BV launched the channel as Lite TV on 17 December 2007. In June 2014 the Stingray Group acquired ...

) from the Archibald Media Group.

Oceania

In Australia, Stingray partners with pay television provider Foxtel to offer a suite of audio channels under the name Foxtel Music via the latters' 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 Digital cable television networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 1997 Cable radio