He was the brother of the Nobel Prize-winning author Elias Canetti (1905-1994) and of Georges Canetti (1911-1971), a researcher and professor at the Pasteur Institute.
Canetti studied at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales.
Canetti joined the Polydor record company in 1931.
There, he persuaded Marlene Dietrich to record her first album of French songs, and also worked on recordings of classical music by the Galimir Quartet.
He had developed a strong interest in jazz, and organised "Jazz Hot" tours of jazz artists to university towns, during the course of which he brought Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington to France.
He built up in parallel a catalogue of chanson recordings for the Philips label, in addition to work for Polydor, and also the Fontana label.
In 1963, Canetti left Philips and founded his own production company, Les productions Jacques Canetti, and record label, Disques Canetti, which featured such artists as Jeanne Moreau, Jacques Higelin, Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, and Boris Vian.
In 1978, Canetti published his memoir, On cherche jeune homme aimant la musique, whose title derived from a job advertisement from Polydor which read "Cherche jeune homme aimant la musique et parlant couramment allemand" ("Seeking young man who loves music and speaks fluent German").
Canetti married Lucienne Vernay in 1947.
The couple had three children, Colette, Françoise and Bernard.