\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tLooking out at the audience, the band\u2019s manager, S\u00e9bastien Collin, was amazed at the turnout \u2014 not just because of the size of the crowd, but the fact that they had come to see this band. Instrumental microtonal math-rock isn\u2019t the kind of music that usually draws numbers, but Angine de Poitrine have shown there\u2019s an appetite out there for adventurous, virtuosic and just plain weird music. The band\u2019s mix of looping pedals, double-necked guitar\/bass and virtuosic musicianship is a sight and sound to behold.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen I was backstage, I was really happy to see so many people enjoying complex music and heavy rock riffs,\u201d he tells\u00a0Billboard Canada. \u201cWith so many people there of all ages, it\u2019s impossible that it was only people who like that type of genre that were there. It\u2019s so much wider. It shows that maybe there will be some more openness to really good ideas and really good music.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNo one could have been prepared for the popular explosion when the band\u2019s\u00a0KEXP performance video<\/a>\u00a0went up in February, 2026. It went viral nearly instantly, and the band, then largely unknown outside of their home province, racked up millions of streams. Currently, the YouTube video sits at 17 million views. \u201cA global breakthrough is not something you can plan for,\u201d Collin says.<\/p>\n \n\tHe says the moment it went up, his inbox exploded. Overnight, he had messages from venues, festivals, merchandise producers and fans from all over the world. The\u00a0Vol. II\u00a0album was planned for launch in April, just two months after the video went up. The band had to act quickly. With so many eyes watching, how would they meet the moment?<\/p>\n \n\tThe ecosystem around Angine de Poitrine was growing rapidly. They had to find the right partners to press the vinyl, distribute it, construct Khn de Poitrine\u2019s custom guitars, make merch and posters for each show, book concerts throughout the world, register for publishing and figure out next steps \u2014 all at a much more monumental scale than they, or most people in the music industry, could be ready for.<\/p>\n \n\tThe biggest decision was whether to release the album on a record label. Everyone wanted to sign Angine de Poitrine. That\u2019s not an exaggeration.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI can say that every major and most of the big indies all contacted us. Smaller indies, too. It was quite a rush. I was having around 10 meetings per week, all on the label side,\u201d Collin says, breaking into a laugh. \u201cIt was quite fun to have a lot of them saying how long they had been following Angine de Poitrine, while the reality was many of them had discovered them two days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCollin compares the experience to speed dating, but with the extra pressure of having to get married at the end. The clock was ticking and they had to make a choice. In the end, they chose to go with no one. They would do it how they\u2019d been doing it since day one: independently.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe needed to talk to all the labels to choose none of them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \n\tRead the full Angine de Poitrine cover story\u00a0here<\/a>. \u2014\u00a0Richard Trapunski<\/p>\n \t\tCanada is the World\u2019s Fourth Biggest Music Exporter in 2026\t<\/p>\n \n\tCanadian music is making noise worldwide, while Canadian listeners consume music from around the world.<\/p>\n \n\tLuminate has released its 2026 mid-year report<\/a>, tracking changes and trends in music consumption in the U.S. and around the world throughout the first half of the year.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tAccording to this year\u2019s report, Canada remains one of the biggest forces in the industry, ranking at No. 4 as the top global exporter of music worldwide<\/p>\n \n\tThat said, it slips down from its No. 3 spot last year, landing just behind South Korea and ranking behind the U.S. (No. 1) and the U.K. (No. 2).<\/p>\n \n\tCanada currently ranks as one of the countries with the most diverse makeup of its music consumption worldwide, with 90% of its streaming activity pertaining to music from 10 different countries of origin.<\/p>\n \n\tThat statistic reflects the diversity of the country. Latin music\u2019s popularity around the world continues with waves in Canada. Bad Bunny earned his\u00a0first Canadian No. 1 song and album<\/a>\u00a0this year following his Super Bowl halftime show\u00a0performance<\/a>. K-pop is huge, with the viral hit \u201cGolden\u201d from the\u00a0K-Pop Demon Hunters\u00a0soundtrack also spending five weeks\u00a0at No. 1<\/a>\u00a0in Canada. BTS has also had a chart-topping comeback. The Punjabi wave has been reaching new heights, with artists like\u00a0Karan Aujla<\/a>,\u00a0Diljit Dosanjh<\/a>,\u00a0Cheema Y and Gur Sidhu<\/a>\u00a0continuing to rack up more and more chart records and impressive streaming statistics in Canada.<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s not to mention music from south of the border. Canada is the top importer of American music this year, a trend made evident by the domination of U.S. hits on streaming and the Canadian charts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCanadians are also consuming more music across the board this year, with all formats seeing a significant rise. Compared to 2025, total album consumption is up by 3.2% with an increase of 2.3 million album equivalent units, on-demand audio song streams are up 3.6% with an increase of 2.7 billion streams and physical album sales jump 4.2%, with an additional 100,000 copies sold across albums, CDs and cassettes. In the U.S., BTS and K-pop are driving a key uptick in CD sales, with a 16% overall surge and a 6.7% increase even upon excluding the broader K-pop catalogue.<\/p>\n \n\tRead more\u00a0here<\/a>. \u2014\u00a0Stefano Rebuli<\/p>\n![\"Polaris](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/polaris-music-prize-2026-billboard-1800.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Soulja](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1501970019-e1784852839210.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"BTS\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bts-world-tour-arirang-live-viewing-trailer-billboard-1800.jpg\")
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![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784931852_866_2HpFicp.png\")