Promoting equality: until we are all free, none of us are
In Canada you should be glorious and free to live without fear.
From showcasing curated cultural content for global audiences, to passing the mic to diverse musical artists, to platforming their voices across Stingray’s portfolio, to promoting a safe and accepting environment, equality matters to us.
Harnessing the power of Stingray radio, television and apps to support and nurture a range of talented voices, our goal is to communicate a clear message that calls-in all Canadians to stand with us for equality in word and deed.
“When George Floyd was murdered and Black Lives Matter movement took off, we met as a group and asked ourselves how we could do something that’s wasn’t tokenizing, [since] brands often are guilty [of engaging] in tokenism for their own benefit — we didn’t want to do that,” explained Steve Jones, VP Brands and Content at Stingray Radio.
“We are privileged to have a license to broadcast and, while we’re a for-profit company, we feel that we have certain obligations to the community to use our license and our voice responsibly.”
Stingray Music has always been incredibly diverse, collaborating with Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) and LGBTQ2S+ artists to curate playlists, promote music videos, broadcast live concerts, and dedicating airtime to promoting them — sending a clear message that continues to change every few months with input from our audiences and employees.
“Even though radio is a traditional, terrestrial, ‘old-school’ medium, it still reaches almost 90% of Canadians on a weekly basis,” explained Jones. “We tend to underestimate the power of voice.”
As an entertainment medium, Stingray understands the need to speak up, call for justice, normalize and advocate for inclusion, diversity and equality, demonstrating why we value and celebrate diverse voices, he added. “We can have an immense impact on how society views these things.”
The power of music
Here is a sampling of the diverse voices and Stingray Music channels that you can check out now on Stingray.
- Ten Black Playback channels highlighting the impact black artists have had on all genres of music from hip-hop to blue, pop, R&B, house, jazz and country.
- Pride Essential playlists and channels, curated by guests like Trixie Mattel, Sofi Tukker, Ria Mae, Barbada de Barbades and Sandy Duperval.
- A brand new collection of nine Indigenous music channels for National Indigenous Peoples Day that covers retro, rock, pop, folk and hip-hop.
- Every fall we highlight Hispanic-American artists for Hispanic Heritage month in the United States, with channels that include Herencia Hispanoaméricana, Latin, Exitos Tropicales clasicos, ¡Viva México! 16 de Septiembre and Central American Mix.
- And we highlight and celebrate the strong contribution of women in song through an extensive collection of 16 women-focused channels like Badass Women Drummers, She’s So Electro, Female Rap’s Finest and Women of Bluegrass… and many more!
⏯ Browse our collections of music channels!
Until we are all free, none of us are.
Powerfully paraphrasing an idea first expressed in the 1800s by Jewish writer Emma Lazarus, and then adapted by social justice luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley, collective freedom means we all have a role to play.
Ultimately, Stingray is campaigning for and championing equality because we realize that not doing so hurts us all: “Even those of us who are benefitting from inequality are not free from it,” said Jones.
“Going about this project and learning about this topic, I realized it’s not a zero sum game,” he added. “If I have freedom and can help you gain yours, I don’t lose anything.
“We all win. We all benefit. It multiplies.”
