House Republicans are getting involved in Canada’s Online Streaming Act.

In a July 31 letter published by the National Post, 18 GOP members of the House Ways and Means Committee call on President Trump and other officials to pressure the Canadian government to suspend the Online Streaming Act, which they describe as a “major threat” to the trade relationship.

They argue that American streaming services are crucial contributors to the U.S. economy, and that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)’s decision to require major foreign streaming services to pay 5% of their annual Canadian revenue to Canadian content funds is harmful to digital cross-border trade.

“The fact that the Online Streaming Act already imposes discriminatory obligations and threatens additional obligations imminently is a major threat to our cross-border digital trade relationship,” read the letter addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

“As bilateral trade negotiations continue, we urgently request that you engage with your Canadian counterparts to share our concerns and rescind the Online Streaming Act.”

In their letter, the members of Congress write that the streaming sector represents an “economic growth engine” for the U.S. and should be prioritized as part of negotiations that seek to dismantle “digital trade irritants” in Canada.

They stated that in 2023, on-demand video revenue contributed $70 billion U.S. to the American economy, in addition to $14.3 billion U.S. from music streaming.

“The CRTC’s implementation of the Online Streaming Act is deeply problematic. Online streaming services significantly differ from domestic broadcasters and the resulting CRTC decisions under the Act clearly discriminate against American companies, interfere with consumer choice, and harm American artists and right holders.”

The members of Congress who signed the letter (all Republicans) include Lloyd Smucker, Carol D. Miller, Ron Estes and Rudy Yakym.

Under the law – which was implemented by the Liberal government in 2023 — CRTC ruled that the allocated funds from streaming services such as Spotify, Netflix, Amazon and Apple would go towards established organizations. This includes non-profits like FACTOR Canada and Musicaction, which financially support thousands of musicians and music companies across the country. In recent years, their resources have dramatically dropped due to reduced contributions from private broadcasters.

Currently, the decision — which is estimated to cost the platforms $1.25 million each annually — is being challenged by Apple, Amazon and Spotify. In December 2024, the courts paused the payments until the June hearing at the Federal Court of Appeal, which had yet to yield results.

The release of the letter follows the rescinded Canadian Digital Service Tax two months ago as part of the nation’s trade negotiations with the United States — a controversial reversal following Trump’s threats of annexation.

Last fall, the Digital Music Association (DIMA) launched a campaign titled “Scrap the Streaming Tax,” which warned consumers that the mandated payments “could lead to higher prices for Canadians and fewer content choices” as a result of increased subscription fees.

President & CEO of DIMA, Graham Davies, continues to argue that streaming services already contribute to the Canadian music ecosystem and should not have to pay base contributions for Canadian Content.

“This policy, introduced under the previous Canadian government, was problematic then and is problematic now. It threatens to increase costs for consumers and negatively impact the long-term growth and competitiveness of Canada’s currently flourishing music industry,” said Davies.

But many within the music industry have welcomed the regulation, including the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA).

In January, Andrew Cash, the President of CIMA, told Billboard Canada: “The question for tech companies who are making money in Canada is: is it appropriate for them to contribute to the Canadian music ecosystem?” The answer from CIMA is a clear yes. “Canadians, through their democratic institutions, have made a decision about this.”

Billboard Canada has reached out to CIMA for a response to the new Republican campaign.

In the lead-up to and following the approval of the Online Streaming Act, CIMA, among organizations including Spotify, Netflix and Music Canada, participated in the lengthy legislative and consultation process.

Now, with Mark Carney succeeding Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada, the pushback continues.

This article was originally published by Billboard Canada.

Given Ozzy Osbourne‘s well-known penchant for silly behavior, it’s not surprising to hear that the private family funeral for the heavy metal icon had moments of darkness and quite a few of levity. Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who performed in Ozzy’s solo band from 1996-2003, dropped by SiriusXm’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk on Friday (Aug. 8) to describe the laugher and the tears during the July 30 private funeral for his musical hero and friend.

“It was a small group of people, but it was very, very beautiful. And in the end, the speeches were actually… I mean, it was very sad, but at the same time some of the speeches were – as you could imagine – pretty funny. And there were a lot of tears,” said Trujillo of the final tribute to Osbourne, who died at age 76 of a heart attack on July 22, just weeks after performing his final show at the all-star Back to the Beginning gig in Birmingham, England.

The other members of Black Sabbath spoke and Trujillo said bassist Geezer Butler in particular struggled to keep it together and “broke down into tears. He had a hard time, obviously, speaking and then he came back up and he delivered an amazing eulogy.” Trujillo described how it was raining at the beginning of the service and then the weather changed a few times during the memorial and then again when daughter Kelly Osbourne was singing a tribute to her dad.

“Her lyrics flew, like the wind blew her lyrics away, it was almost like Ozzy was having fun with her,” he said. And then, when Butler got up to speak, Trujillo said the sun suddenly popped out. “I’m not kidding. The sun actually came out and then it was beautiful from that moment on, a very magical moment.”

And though it was sad to say goodbye, Trujillo described the joy attendees took in sharing their Ozzy stories. “And all of a sudden, there was laughter, and ‘I remember this’, ‘I remember that’. There were so many stories,” he said. “So it felt like there was a closure from this. And I’m glad that we went — my wife Chloe and I went — and shared that and were able to have that moment with the family and everything. So it was very beautiful. And again, heartfelt words from so many people and kind of reconnecting with different musicians and bandmates, crew members, all that.”

Metallica performed at Back to the Beginning, performing covers of Black Sabbath’s “Hole in the Sky” and “Johnny Blade” along with their own “Creeping Death,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Battery” and “Master of Puppets.” They joined a roster of bands paying tribute to Ozzy and Sabbath that included Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and many more.

Trujillo said after their set, Ozzy’s wife/manager Sharon Osbourne grabbed him in the hallway backstage and asked him to come visit with Osbourne. “I went in there and he was sitting in the wheelchair and I said, ‘Ozzy, incredible, I am so proud of you. You were amazing and this means to much to all of us, this means so much to the world,’” Trujillo told him. Ozzy thanked Trujillo and asked if he could see Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield for a moment.

So Trujillo brought Hetfield over and described how the band leader, “got on one knee and basically held Ozzy’s hand and it was so heavy. It was the moment… it was almost like he was saying goodbye to Ozzy in some ways and it was from the heart. It was heartfelt. It was a powerful moment.”

Tearing up as he recounted the scene, Trujillo said he had to leave the room as he was overcome with emotion during a moment he described as a “passing of the torch.” The private funeral at Ozzy and wife/manager Sharon’s private estate in Buckinghamshire came after a public funeral procession through Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham.

Listen to Trujillo describe Osbourne’s funeral below.

Jelly Roll is giving Australian fans another chance to see him live, with a second Melbourne date added to his Down Under 2025 Tour due to overwhelming demand.

The Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum singer-songwriter will now play Rod Laver Arena on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, before heading to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Nov. 4 and wrapping in Auckland at The Outer Fields at Western Springs on Nov. 8. Along the way, he’ll also top the bill at the inaugural Strummingbird Festival, with stops on the Sunshine Coast (Oct. 25), Newcastle (Nov. 1) and Perth (Nov. 2). An Adelaide date is set for Oct. 26.

Joining the Tennessee native on all headline dates are breakout star Shaboozey, who last year spent three consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” marking just the second time an independent release had achieved that milestone, and rising country talent Drew Baldridge, whose viral hit “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” became the highest-charting self-funded track ever on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

Jelly Roll first detailed his forthcoming trek down to Australia on July 31, with the nascent Strummingbird Festival announcing they had secured both Jelly Roll and Shaboozey for the headliners of their inaugural 2025 events.

The three-date affair plans to visit the Sunshine Coast at the end of October, with a pair of dates scheduled across Newcastle and Perth at the start of November. A raft of local and international acts are also set to fill out the festival’s lineup.

The tour comes just months after the arrival of the collaborative single “Amen,” though no confirmation has been given as to whether the pair may perform the track together when in Australia or New Zealand. 

Jelly Roll — The Down Under 2025 Tour
Australia & New Zealand
With Shaboozey and Drew Baldridge
Presented by Live Nation

Tickets and VIP packages are available via livenation.com.au and livenation.co.nz. Strummingbird Festival tickets are on sale now via strummingbird.com.au.

Taylor Swift’s mysterious countdown timer has come to an end, with the pop icon sharing the announcement of her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.

Speculation of a new era from Swift began on Monday (Aug. 11) when rumors of her 12th studio album were stoked thanks to the appearance of a countdown clock on her official website. 

The countdown officially ended at 12:12 a.m. ET, on Aug. 12, with Swift’s store going live with pre-orders for a new project titled The Life of a Showgirl.

Currently, specifics of the forthcoming album are sparse. The webstore offers pre-orders for vinyl, CD and cassette editions, while noting that its official release date is still to be announced, with physical items set to ship ahead of Oct. 13.

Additionally, the artwork utilized in the online mock-ups (a mint green background with a glittery, burnt-orange padlock) is described as being “a blurred digital rendering for pre-order purposes only,” with full artwork and specifications to be announced later.

On Monday morning, New Heights — the podcast hosted by Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother, fellow NFL star Jason Kelce — teased “a VERY special guest” for their new episode on Wednesday, with a social teaser suggesting that Swift would be making an appearance on the show.

Swift’s upcoming presence was later confirmed, with her cameo on New Heights set to premiere at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday (Aug. 13).

In a clip shared to both Swift and New Heights‘ Instagram accounts alongside the announcement, the pop icon gives fans confirmation that the new project is indeed the #TS12 news they’ve been waiting for.

“So I wanted to show you something,” Swift says, before presenting a blurred-out copy of her new record. “This is my brand new album, The Life of a Showgirl.” The album’s full artwork is expected to arrive during the New Heights podcast on Wednesday.

Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, was released last year and scored the biggest Billboard 200 debut of her career, along with another album of the year Grammy nod.

The superstar has been relatively quiet since her record-breaking Eras tour wrapped up last December, although the May news that she successfully bought back the master recordings of her first six studio albums did prompt a streaming resurgence for those projects, as well as her entire catalog.