FACTOR: Artist Development:
DEADLINE: Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 2:00 pm PDT
Key Resources:
- Generalities on the grant
- Specific guidelines for the grant
- Guidelines on how the Jury will assess you
Useful Resources:
- The sole Canadian creative to release their FACTOR AD application in full. Please. Please. Please! Take a look at this.
- Comprehensive guide to the different facets of FACTOR, but doesn’t provide a working copy of an application to reference. Still Useful.
- Pretty bare bones, but it’ll get the job done.
***MUST ALREADY HAVE A PREEXISTING FACTOR RATED PROFILE
Who can Apply?
- The Artist Development program is open to Canadian artists rated General in the early stages of their career.
- Applicants must not have received funding from the program before.
- Songwriters are ineligible and should consider the Songwriter Development program.
- Francophone artists primarily recording in French should apply to Musicaction, unless focusing on English-language materials.
- Applicants must be Canadian, and those under 18 require a signed Parent or Legal Guardian Consent Form.
- Artists must have commercially released at least one track before applying.
Ineligibility criteria include releasing music over three years prior to the application date or receiving over $10,000 in past FACTOR funding, even as a member of other bands.
The Artist Development program by FACTOR offers up to $5,000 to cover 75% of eligible expenses for Canadian artists engaging in various career development activities such as sound recording, touring, showcasing, video content creation, and marketing.
The program period spans from April 1 to March 31, with no extensions granted. While artist residencies, songwriting retreats, band practices, and woodshedding are ineligible activities, the program operates on a juried basis, with applications assessed for commercial and artistic merit by FACTOR juries.
Successful applicants are required to sign a General Agreement and provide banking details for grant disbursement. FACTOR reimburses 75% of eligible costs up to $5,000, necessitating a minimum expenditure of $6,667 to reach the maximum amount.
Donated services up to $500 from the artist or band members are recognized, with specific documentation needed. Any significant post-approval changes must be approved by FACTOR, and a midterm report may be requested at the project’s midpoint.
Submission of delivery tracks is mandatory for projects resulting in new sound recordings, with specific criteria to meet, including MAPL requirements for Canadian content.
Additionally, the Recipient Accessibility Support Fund provides further assistance for accessibility-related expenses, up to $5,000 per fiscal year.
Eligible activities and costs in the Artist Development program include:
- Sound recording: rehearsal space, equipment rentals and purchases, studio time, third-party personnel costs, mixing, mastering, artwork, photography, design
- Touring and showcasing: airfare, vehicle rental, gas, hotel rooms, registration fees, third-party personnel costs, marketing, advertising, virtual performance costs
- Video content creation: third-party production costs for music videos, lyric videos, and promotional content
- Marketing: publicists, advertising, digital marketing, social media, website development
Ineligible activities for this program are:
- Artist residencies
- Creative and songwriting retreats
- Band practices
- Woodshedding
3 Main Sections of the Application:
- Assessment Track, Artist Bio, Artist Development Plan
Assessment Track:
- Should be a new, recently recorded, original song or composition that has either never been commercially released at the time of application or was commercially released within the three months prior to the application submission.
For jazz or classical genres, a new arrangement of a previously recorded work may be allowed with FACTOR’s pre-approval.
Must be uploaded in MP3 format, along with lyrics if applicable.
Must meet MAPL requirements for Canadian content and should not be in French or have primarily French lyrics???
Artist Bio:
- Provide a current artist bio.
Artist Development Plan:
- Detail your current career status and provide an overall strategy/plan for growth in the coming year in 2000 characters.
- Estimate expenses for development activities in the coming year, regardless of potential FACTOR funding.
- Describe how the development activities will contribute to your strategy/plan and help achieve your artist development goals in 3000 characters.
- The track you upload is worth a whopping 75%! The application itself is only 25%. So, if the music isn’t up to par, you don’t stand a chance. Clean mixing, and mastering, alongside marketing material will improve your chances drastically.
- The application, and its presentation are also still important, as those 25% are up for grabs, and likely to affect the final verdict heavily due to the hoard of talent we have in Canada.