Music PEI and Music BC are excited to announce the 2021 Canadian Song Conference Online from May 25th-31st. Our goal for this conference is to create opportunities for artists and music industry professionals to develop multiple revenue streams for their music – including licensing for film, TV, video games, commercials and special projects, publishing, royalties and more!

The CSC also features the Canadian Songwriter Challenge. This year, the program connects pairs of artists from different provinces to create songs together through virtual collaboration. Each pair will work with a producer to record their songs from their respective homes, create demos and then present their work to a group of music industry professionals through a virtual Listening Session.

The Canadian Song Conference Online is supported by Bell Media, the Province of PEI, ACOA and FACTOR through the Canadian Public Radio Broadcasters and the Government of Canada.

#CSC2021

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday, May 9th, 2021 at 5pm PST.

SELECTION PROCESS: Consideration will be given to the artist’s history, current activities and future plans. The selected applicant will be notified 1-2 weeks after the deadline.

RULES & REGULATIONS

  1. Applicant must be a current Music BC member who has been residing in BC for the past 12 months (up to and at the time of application).
  2. Applicants must be available between May 25th – May 31st, 2021.
  3. Applicants must be a recording artist as well as a songwriter.
  4. Artist should have a current album or digital release (within the last 24 months, or upcoming 12 months).
  5. In the case of bands or groups, the primary songwriter in the band will participate in the songwriting challenge.

Artist will be provided with the following:

This year the event will take place between May 18th and the 21st. The songwriters will start working on their songs the first week of May. Music PEI provides:
  • Pairing of artists with a PEI exporting or export ready artist
  • Pairing the artists with a producer (we’d love to get your suggestions for potential producers, especially female)
  • Pairing the artists with a studio to work with remotely
  • Technical assistance for any artists who need support for recording
  • Free attendance at the Canadian Song Conference
  • Presentation of the new songs to the delegates in the Listening Session
  • An opportunity for all artists to present music from their own catalogues to the delegates
  • One on One meetings with the delegates

About Music PEI Canadian Songwriter Challenge:

The Canadian Songwriter Challenge (supported by Bell Media) is a component of the Canadian Song Conference and was created by Music PEI through a partnership with other provincial Music Industry Associations.

This project puts artists from PEI together with artists from across Canada to collaborate and co-write in pairs. Each pair of artists has 2 days to write and record two songs in demo form in a professional studio provided by Music PEI. You can listen to songs created during the 2019 Canadian Songwriter Challenge here.

The Canadian Songwriter Challenge is not genre specific and is open to both solo artists and bands. If bands apply, the primary songwriter in the band will participate in the songwriting process. In order to be eligible to submit, you must meet certain criteria.

ELIGIBILITY

Artist must be an “Export Ready Artist”, which means you must meet the following criteria:

  1. You must have an up to date marketing and business plan.
  2. You must have at least one (1) recording released (minimum 6 song or 30 minutes) within the past 36 months.
    • If the recording is only available through online digital purchase, it must be listed with at least two major outlets including but not limited to Amazon, ITunes, EMusic, CDBaby, Google Play, etc. Mail order or sales limited to your own website alone will not qualify.
  3. You must have minimum sales of 500 units. You may be asked to provide proof. If self-distributed you must be able to provide a combination of the following:
    • A manufacturing receipt to prove how many CD’s you had manufactured. o Affidavits from retail outlets attesting to the number of units sold.
    • A log or ledger of off-stage sales signed by each venue manager.
    • Festival sales reports for off-stage sales.
    • Digital download service providers reports (3 digital downloads constitutes one unit sold).
  4. You must have upcoming bookings/tour in the next 12 months and tour history outside of your region in the previous 12 months.
  5. You must have a strong professional history (bio).
  6. Must have an independent or established team/infrastructure.
  7. Industry recognition (awards, nominations etc.)
  8. For groups, band agreements are mandatory.
  9. For solo artists, you must have a dedicated commercial bank account in place.

Let’s get started!