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.
“Music and radio need each other to succeed,” said Barry Rooke, Executive Director of NCRA. “We know live music has been hard hit by the pandemic, and funding distribution will help musicians reach new audiences while building a new platform.”
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.
“We are pleased to support this new option that will allow our members across to Saskatchewan to be more easily be discovered, and potentially have their music heard by a national audience through community radio stations,” said SaskMusic. “This is especially welcome now, while artists have been deeply impacted by the loss of live music touring."
The music sector faces challenges including restriction of live venues and decline of print publications, which were key to new music discovery and features of artists. Local and diverse content can get lost online, which motivated the effort to support under-represented artists. !earshot-Distro has the benefits of carbon reduction with no packaging or transport waste, as well as expanded access to content online without taking up increasingly expensive storage space at stations.
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.
Participating Associations & Groups:
Canadian Independent Music Association / Music Ontario
East Coast Music Association
Alberta Music
ADISQ
Manitoba Music
Music BC
Music NB
Music NL
Music Nova Scotia
Music PEI
Music Yukon
SaskMusic
Small World Music
Collective Music Canada
The NCRA / ANREC recognizes the need to support under-represented artists and musicians and has introduced self-identification to help with discoverability:
QueerCon
FemCon
IndigenousCon
FrancoCon
BlackCon
About the NCRA/ANREC:
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (“NCRA/ANREC”) is a not-for-profit national association working to recognize, support, and encourage volunteer-based, non-profit, public-access campus, community and native radio broadcasters in Canada. they provide advice and advocacy for individual campus and community (“c/c”) stations and conduct lobbying and policy development initiatives with a view to advancing the role and increasing the effectiveness of our sector. Their goals are to ensure stability and support for individual stations and to promote the long-term growth and effectiveness of the sector. The NCRA/ANREC currently has 113 member stations.
