January 28, 2021

SaskMusic's Latest

 

Saskatchewan Music Awards

The 2020 Saskatchewan Music Award Winners: Online show held January 24

SaskMusic is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Saskatchewan Music Awards, held January 24 as an online event. Performers for the virtual event - ADEOLUWALast BirdsBelle Plaine, and The North Sound – were filmed for the SMA show in special closed-door performances leading up the event, with acceptance speeches from the winners collected as close to ‘show time’ as possible to preserve the suspense.

The 2020 Saskatchewan Music Award Winners

  • Alternative Artist of the Year: Close Talker
  • Country Artist of the Year: Tenille Arts
  • Electronic Artist of the Year: RUMPUS
  • Experimental/Contemporary Artist of the Year: The Garrys
  • Hip Hop Artist of the Year: Factor Chandelier
  • Indigenous Artist of the Year: The North Sound
  • Metal/Loud Artist of the Year: The Basement Paintings
  • Rock/Pop Artist of the Year: W3APONS
  • Roots/Folk Artist of the Year: Jeffery Straker
  • Music Video of the Year: Dylan Hryciuk - Versa Films for Spiritbox, "Blessed Be"
  • Single of the Year: Tenille Arts, "Somebody Like That"
  • Album of the Year: Tenille Arts, “Love, Heartbreak, & Everything in Between”
  • Industry Achievement: Broadway Theatre
  • Producer of the Year: Bart McKay
  • Venue of the Year: Broadway Theatre

More Info

 
 

BOW 

Last Birds and Jeffery Straker Showcasing at Folk Unlocked

Returning for another year and thrilled to be partnering with Folk Alliance: Folk Unlocked, BreakOut West and the Western Canadian Music Alliance are proud to present eight artists representing the diverse range of the Western Canadian folk, roots, blues and world music community. Under the BreakOut West banner - one of Canada's premiere music industry conferences and showcase festivals - join Alberta Music, Music BC, SaskMusic and Manitoba Music as they present this exceptional digital showcase of some of Western Canada's top emerging artists. With performances by Amelie Patterson (AB), Ila Barker (MB), Jeffery Straker (SK), Kelly Bado (MB), Last Birds (SK), Mariel Buckley (AB), The Crescent Sky (BC) and Tonye Aganaba (BC).

The BreakOut West showcase premieres Monday, February 22 at 3:30PM CST on the Folk Unlocked Platform. You can gain access by registering with Folk Alliance, who are offering a pay what you can structure this year.

More Info

 
 

Seeking Artist Submissions: International Women's Day Concert

SaskMusic is putting together a virtual event to be premiered online in honour of International Women's Day, taking place March 8/21. We invite submissions from Saskatchewan-based original artists who are interested in filming one original song for this concert. (Cover songs will be accepted from jazz, classical, and traditional Indigenous music performers.)

Through our concert we hope to celebrate and amplify Saskatchewan female artists. We intend an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female” and welcome trans women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people to participate in this, and all of our programming.

Once you complete the registration form, you will then receive instructions on how to film and upload your video. Deadline for interest Feb 12, 5pm.

From all videos submitted we will select approximately 15 artists to be featured in the concert. Those selected will be compensated $200 ($300 for duos/bands) for their performance.

REGISTRATION FORM

 
 

WCMA

The 2021 Western Canadian Music Award Submissions are OPEN

Are you a western Canadian artist or industry member? Submissions are now open for the Western Canadian Music Awards (both artistic and industry). Learn more about the Awards guidelines to see if you qualify, and be the first to get your application in.

Submissions can be made by the Artist/Industry professional themselves or they can be submitted on the Artist’s/Industry professional’s behalf. It is recommended that nominees, and those submitting, be a member of a Western Canadian Music Industry Association but is not required. The Nominee must have been born in either Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon or NWT and must have lived in one of those Provinces or Territories for six consecutive months in the past year (January 1, 2020 - March 19, 2021).

More info

 

Workshops

 

how we listen

WCMA, and BreakOut West, and Byta Present: #HowWeListen
Free Online Event

The Western Canadian Music Alliance (WCMA) and BreakOut West, Western Canada's largest music industry event, and Byta, the platform for securely sending digital audio files and streams, are excited to announce that they will partner to present a five part series titled #HowWeListen. Beginning in January 2021, these will be conversations focused on music discovery with representatives from within the music industry. Five discussions, each focusing on different genres of music creation: Folk, Country, Hip-Hop, Francophone and Rock/Indie.

How industry insiders listen to and discover new music is one of the most important things for artists and their teams to understand. These are the insights artists require in order to properly craft pitches and to target how potential audiences might hear about them.
Upcoming panel discussion dates are as follows:
February 17 – Country
March 3 – Hip Hop
March 24 – Francophone
April 7 – Folk

More Info

 
 

FACTOR 101

FACTOR 101: Info Session for Black Artists

FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) will be holding a virtual information session for black artists and entrepreneurs on Wednesday, February 17 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm CST.

This virtual session is designed to provide an overview of FACTOR programs, the application process, and eligibility requirements. We will cover in detail the two juried programs, Artist Development and Juried Sound Recording.

We will also be joined by FACTOR-funded artist (TBD) who will share their experience applying to our programs.

More info

 
 

New workshops and webinars are being added at www.saskmusic.org/workshops!

 

SaskMusic's Latest

 

Export Program

SaskMusic International Export Consultant Program

Working in partnership with the UK-based Enki Music, one-on-one consultations with in-market experts are now available to export-ready SaskMusic members based in Saskatchewan.

We recognize the impact that COVID-19 and the inability to tour has had on many artists' careers, and we hope through this program we can help artists who are at pivotal points in their careers to better understand their options, to workshop campaign strategies, and to develop in-market infrastructure. Artists who have previously performed internationally, or who had plans to tour internationally that were impacted by the pandemic, are encouraged to apply for a consult.  

More info

 
 

SaskMusic Announces Free Member Access to !earshot Digital Music Distribution System

SaskMusic has announced our support for the MAPL!e Grant,  which will primarily feature FREE access to the !earshot Digital Music Distribution System (“!earshot Distro”) by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) and other areas that support under-represented artists and musicians in Canada, related to radio.

The NCRA/ANREC has secured agreements with the majority of national and provincial music associations in the country and is offering access to grants between November 16, 2020-March 31, 2021 to upload content to the !earshot Distro system. Tens of thousands of musicians, artists and labels across Canada will have a new, environmentally friendly way to distribute their music to stations. Across the participating associations, this totals around $5 million worth of services.

How to Participate

SaskMusic members can find the information in the Backstage area of the website once you're logged in. Additionally, members can request their access codes by emailing info@saskmusic.org. All our members are invited to upload their entire back catalogue of releases into the system for discovery by community radio.

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Jazz Fest

Performance Opportunity: SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
Submit project ideas to perform. Deadline: February 5, 2021

Saskatchewan artist applications are now being accepted for the 34th annual SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, July 9-18, 2021. They want to hear from musicians and bands of any genre with project ideas who are interested in performing at the annual festival. How they are able to celebrate all things jazz this July is still yet to be confirmed but definitely a work in progress. They ask for your patience and understanding through this process and they encourage you to keep playing and stay safe.

Applications will be accepted until Friday, February 5, 2021.

More info

 
 

Features

Featured Singles/Videoshttps://saskmusic.wufoo.com/forms/p1b5aft60baybgl/

Submit Albums/Newshttps://saskmusic.wufoo.com/forms/p1j5txnh11l7bht/

Have you recently released or will soon be releasing an official single, music video, or album, in any genre? Have some exciting music news to share?
We want to know what you've got going on! Even if we follow your socials, we (and other media) don't see, or catch everything you post about.
Please let us know your release date and/or other activities. Just follow the links above!

 
 

Meet the mentor

Featured Career Tracks Mentor: Melissa MacMaster

Melissa MacMaster, has gained valuable business management experience from her previous roles working in Atlantic Canada’s entrepreneurial eco-system and start-up community for over 7 years where youth entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, and also co-founding the Global Youth Innovation Network in Benin, West Africa. Transferring her high caliber business skill set to the music industry, Melissa successfully launched 902Hiphop operating as an artist management and music licensing and sync company.

Melissa joins the Career Tracks program to provide consultation and assistance with questions concerning: the Canadian hip-hop industry, artist management, music licensing and sync placements, and building international partnerships in the U.S and Europe.

Career Tracks offers confidential, one-on-one assistance to artists and music professionals. SaskMusic members can meet with our team to discuss career plans, marketing strategies, touring, songwriting and copyright, funding and grant applications, demo critiques/reviews, industry trends, or other relevant music industry topics.

To book a consult with Melissa, or to read more about our other mentors, click HERE

 
 

RWG promo

The monthly Songwriters groups are currently meeting online via Zoom. Please check out their Facebook groups for more information about the next meeting.

Saskatoon group info: https://www.facebook.com/saskatoonsongwriters/

Regina group info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/258208420940008/

 

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