We Want Your Opinion!
MusicNL is refreshing the criteria for our Artist Development Program. Please take some time to review the draft changes.
Town Hall
MusicNL will be having a town hall regarding the programs refresh on Wednesday, January 17 at 6:00pm. This will take place online. Please register below.
The Refresh Reasoning
The MusicNL Programs Refresh process has 2 years of development. The refresh is a response to all the changes the industry went through during and after the pandemic. The staff and their committees led a full hands-on research on the criteria based on the applications they received in all the programs. They noticed that the current tier system didn’t provide a fair chance to all applicants. The whole purpose of the refresh is to create the conditions that allow more successful applicants to get the support they need in any moment of their careers.
Draft Criteria
Record & Release Tiers (formally Artist Development)
$2,500 – The $2,500 tier has no eligibility criteria. It is open to all. If you are an emerging artist, you do not need previous track history to apply.
$5,000 – The 5,000 tier is intended for artists with track history and that have succesfully applied to the previous tier. Below the criteria:
Must have at least 2 songs commercially released in the last 3 years. This can be in the form of singles, or an EP/album with 2 or more songs on it.
Plus at least one (1) of:
- Touring (A minimum of 3 dates across NL or the Atlantic region in the past year)
- Award recognition (MusicNL, ECMA, ArtsNL, YWCA, St. John’s Applause Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, Canadian Country Music Awards, Women in Music, SOCAN awards, Polaris Music Prize etc.)
- Press coverage (Musical Connections, Out of the Fog, St John’s Morning Show with Krissy Holmes, Weekend AM with Heather Barrett, Jigs & Reels – Newfoundland Music Radio Show, CHMR 93.5, Global Frequencies- ANC, East Coast Music Hour, etc.)
This list is non-exhaustive; please contact the Program Manager if you are an artist who has further press coverage or awards that are not in this criteria
$10,000 – The 10k tier is the most competitive category among all our funding programs.
Recommend that applicant meets three (3) of the following:
- Minimum of 1,000 lifetime units sold of all releases combined or a minimum of 10 thousand dollars worth of merchandise, sold within the last 3 years.
- Minimum of 20,000 streams across all platforms (Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, Tidal)
- Minimum of 5,000 social media followers across all platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
- Minimum of 30 performances within the past 3 years or a 10-date tour booked in the next 12 months
- At least 1 Song has charted on CBC Music Top 20, been added to a curated playlist (Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music) or achieved a sync deal (film, TV series, adverts, video games, trailers. etc.)
- A professional support team that can include: artist manager, record label, booking agent, publicist, publisher.
- Award recognition (MusicNL, ECMA, ArtsNL, YWCA, St. John’s Applause Awards, CFMA, CCMA, Women in Music, SOCAN awards, Polaris Music Prize etc)
- Previously showcased at juried music industry event in the last 3 years (Music Celebration Week, ECMA showcases, FAI, CFMA, CCMA, M for Montreal etc.)
This list is non-exhaustive; please contact the Program Manager if you are an artist who has other juried showcases that are not in this criteria.
If you would like to see the full draft of the program criteria, please download the document below.