SaskMusic

First of all, a great big THANK YOU to all who volunteered a few hours of your precious time to sit on a FACTOR jury this past year. We couldn't do it without you - literally. We're seeking jurors for the upcoming year in all genres, especially rock/pop. The only criteria is that you hold some experience in the music industry (songwriting, playing in a band, managing, etc.) and can listen. Give me a call if you're interested and we'll put you on the list. If you're from out of town, please call - we'll set up a jury anywhere in Saskatchewan if there's sufficient interest.

* Saskatchewan is way behind other provinces in the number of FACTOR applications submitted. Maybe it can be explained by our die-hard, I'll-do-it-on-my-own-if-it-kills-me attitude, but there are just a few things to remember:

If you don't apply, you will not get any money.
If you apply, you might get money.

Sounds simple enough to me. For the price of a bit of planning and typing, you can save yourself a few thousand dollars.

It's reasonable to assume that if the number of applications submitted goes up, then so will the number of approvals. If 100 Saskatchewan artists produced albums last year, only 15 even applied.

You may be thinking that you'll just handle the costs yourself. However, you'll soon find that the money invested in the recording could have been better used on things that FACTOR doesn't cover - like hiring a promoter, buying instrument insurance, paying union dues, fixing your van…AAAGH!

With payback rates ridiculously low (i.e. NO repayment on demo grants, and only $1 per unit sold on album grants), you won't find a better deal anywhere.

Let us guide you through the application process. It won't hurt that much!

By Lorena Kelly for SaskMusic. Originally Published February 1998.

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