* After applying for FACTOR money myself, sitting on a number of juries, and answering a lot of questions about it here at the SRIA office, I thought we could offer some helpful hints on what you can do to increase your chances of being approved, both by FACTOR and the upcoming music festival series...
1. Type your application. FACTOR gets thousands of applications, and they're more likely to send yours back than waste time deciphering your handwriting. It's a business document, you are asking them to give you money, and the least you can do is make it readable.
2. Follow the form exactly. If you do not send the required items with your submission, they don't have to look at it. "Due to the unprecedented demand, we can no longer provide the same level of follow up for incomplete FACTOR applications. Any incomplete applications submitted will be rejected as ineligible and the applicant will have to resubmit for the next deadline."
3. Remember Kindergarten? E is for Effort, and if you don't make one, you won't make the cut. Poor photocopies, handwritten biographies, missing photos - if you're unprepared to apply professionally for a loan, you're probably unprepared to professionally record an album. While approval is based significantly on the quality of your demo, the quality of your press kit can make or break you if the music is borderline.
4. You should have a professional demo before you apply for the full album loan. (I think the theory here is "walk before you run".)
5. Get a second opinion before you send it in. We'll be happy to look at and listen to your application if you give us more than a day's notice.
6. If you are turned down, don't just blame the system. Find out what you need to improve and make the changes.
* With new technology and relatively lower studio costs in the past few years, the number of independent releases has increased dramatically. While it's wonderful that so many bands are now able to produce their own product, it also means that some are jumping into recording before they're ready. FACTOR juries have become much more discriminating in their approvals in an effort to raise the standard of Canadian recorded product, and better compete in an international market.
