Save the date and join us in Kelowna! Breakout West features an immersive music industry and artist development conference, and a festival with 50+ artists performing across multiple venues. The festival highlights Western Canadian talent alongside select International and Pan-Canadian artists.
More artist announcements will be coming soon. Mark your calendars for BreakOut West 2023, taking place in Kelowna from October 12-14th, and snag your early bird tickets now!
Thank you to Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia, FACTOR and the Government of Canada for making this opportunity possible for BC artists.
VIFF Amp explores the essential role of music and sound in film, television and new media. From songwriters to composers to music entrepreneurs, Amp supports an annual cohort of emerging music professionals through a competitive and juried application process, with a focus on providing access to artists from traditionally underrepresented communities.
This multi-day summit features expertly curated masterclasses, case studies, panel discussions, networking events, breakout sessions and music showcases, all of which are designed to develop professional skills and create connections that can propel a career in film, television and new media.
Music BC’s ongoing career consultation and music business mentorship program is taking requests for 1-hour sessions! If you have a music-related project you’d like to gain insight on, don’t hesitate to get your request in today to speak with one of our industry professionals.
We would like to thank Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia for making helping to make this program possible.
CREATIVE BC IS HIRING Creative BC is engaging in an open recruitment process to hire multiple permanent positions supporting motion picture, digital and interactive media, music and sound recording, and magazine and booking publishing, in the roles of Funding Program Coordinator, and Funding Program Analyst. Application Deadline: July 12th, 2023 APPLY NOW
APPLY FOR ALLAN SLAIGHT JUNO MASTERCLASS The Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class is a transformational and unique experience. This program opens the JUNO door to emerging artists so they can get exclusive access to tools to prepare themselves for the next step in their career. Application Deadline: June 30th, 2023 APPLY NOW
APPLY FOR FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL The Folk Alliance International Conference, presented by Folk Alliance International, is the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community. The next Folk Alliance International Conference is February 21-25, 2024, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Application Deadline: July 17th, 2023 APPLY NOW
APPLY FOR CBC SEARCHLIGHT 2023 Searchlight is CBC Music’s long-running hunt for Canada’s next breakthrough musical act. Whether you’ve already released an album and want to take your career to the next level, or you’re hoping to put out your very first EP, Searchlight is for stars in the making. Song Submissions Close: July 6th, 2023 APPLY NOW
ARC is an accelerator program highlighting, nurturing and sending into orbit the exciting, diverse voices that beat in BC 💫
ZOEY LEVEN MAKES TOP 5 OF ANNUAL “IT’S YOUR SHOT” CONTEST It’s Your Shot is a music talent competition launched by Slaight Music in June 2010. This opportunity offers artists a chance to win upwards of $100K in prizes, including Production of 6 Master Recordings, Playlist support from Stingray Music, Mentorship Session with Canada’s Music Incubator & much more. Congratulations to Zoey Leven on making the Top 5 of 2023!
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Catch Desireé Dawson at Khatsalano Festival 2023 Desireé Dawson will be lighting up the stage at Khatsalano Festival on Saturday, July 8th. Catch her at 4 pm on the Macdonald Stage.
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Missy D and Nicky Mackenzie to perform at Phillips Backyard Weekender Hip-Hop/Rap & Soul artist Missy D and Soul/R&B artist Nicky MacKenzie have been officially announced as performers at one of BC’s favourite summer events – The Phillips Backyard Weekender! Catch them slaying the stage alongside headliners like Anderson Paak and Snotty Nose Rez Kids. – READ MORE
INDUSTRY NEWS
Spotify for Artists is deleting historical song data on July 1st to standardize historical data access across its analytics platform. Here’s how to download your data before then. In an effort to standardize historical data access across the entire Spotify for Artists analytics platform — and to cut the costs of data and storage along the way — the company is making changes that include deleting historical data older than two years plus the year-to-date.
– READ MORE
As I Bificus turns 25, Bif Naked reflects on the “special, crazy, magical” experience of recording her landmark album Recording I Bificus—the 25th anniversary of which she’s celebrating this week with a special show at the Rickshaw Theatre—was, she describes, “labour intensive,” and she had to sing some lines “probably 100 times.” – READ MORE
Chilliwack’s Bill Henderson Going Into Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Bill Henderson, the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for one of the top rock bands of the 1970s and ’80s, will receive the honour in his Vancouver hometown. – READ MORE
Report Explores Challenges for Black Disabled People in the UK Music Industry In 2021, Black Lives in Music published its ‘Being Black in the UK Music Industry‘ report, based on a survey of artists and industry workers’ experiences.– READ MORE
The US Recorded Music Industry Grew by $500M On a Wholesale Basis in 2022. The US Music Publishing Industry Grew by Double That Amount 2022 was a big year for music publishing companies (plus their songwriters… and their investors) in the United States. – READ MORE
SOCAN 2022 Collections Increased 16% To $484M As the Canadian music industry gradually emerged from pandemic restrictions, SOCAN saw significant year-over-year increases in collections from music licenses for the use of the world’s music in Canada. – READ MORE
SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Saskatchewan-born, BC-based Conor Patton, better known as Conro, developed a passion for music being surrounded by a loving and supportive family with a deep-rooted love for music. Adopting elements from his early childhood music education, Conro shaped a catchy signature sound in dance music with his upbeat, electro house tracks.
Conro received a wave of praise from his electro house and future bass production style. With his 2017 Connecting The Dots EP, Conro unveiled the first of many chart-toppers in his future with Close, which hit Billboard’s Dance Airplay Chart at #17. Though this style of music has brought him plenty of success, Conro chose to follow a style that aligned with the core ethos he wanted to convey to a wider audience – a vibrant, funky, and instrumentation-driven soundscape – while implementing his own impressive vocals.
From his newly forged sound, Conro has amassed a collection of hit tracks that display his musical versatility. With the 2018 release of Me, Conro saw firsthand the impact of his music worldwide. His success only grew with Take Me There, breaking way and rising to #12 on Billboard’s Dance Airplay Chart, shortly followed by Trippin, which rose to #7.
Reach out to info@musicbc.org if you would like to include an upcoming application or funding deadline.
ROLLING DEADLINES
FACTOR:Live Performance, Industry Events, Collective Initiatives – Showcase Production for Artists from Official Language Minority, Collective Initiatives – Showcase Production for Export-Ready Artists, Comprehensive Artist, Comprehensive Music Company, Business Travel, Marketing & Promo for Non-FACTOR Funded Sound Recordings, Songwriter Development, Sponsorship, Video
SOCAN:Travel Assistance, Professional Development Assistance, SOCAN Foundation Relief Fund
Canada Council:Travel, Residencies, Professional Development for Artists, Research and Creation
This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.
