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2019-2020 AD & JSR Program Changes

As of April 1, 2019, application deadlines for FACTOR’s two juried programs, Artist Development (AD) and Juried Sound Recording (JSR) will be reduced from three to two per year starting in 2019-2020. For the upcoming year the deadlines are Thursday, May 16, 2019 and Thursday, October 17, 2019.

Altogether the amount of funding disbursed through the Artist Development and Juried Sound Recording programs will be increasing by a total of $1 million. This represents a 20% increase in funding for juried programs.

The following rules will apply starting 2019-2020:

  1. Applicants can only apply to one of the two juried programs (either AD or JSR), and only at one of the two deadlines (May 16 or Oct 17).
  2. Applicants will not be able to apply to two deadlines in a row. If an applicant applies to the May 16 deadline, they cannot apply to either program at the October 17 deadline. Applicants will have to wait for their next eligible deadline (in this example, May 2020) to apply again. Think of it as “every other deadline”.
  3. There is one exception to the “every other deadline” rule. For each program, the top 20 applications that do not receive funding will be eligible to make improvements to their applications and reapply for the next deadline without waiting a full 12 months. Clients will be notified when the jury results are communicated if they are eligible for this exception.
  4. Prior to each deadline there will be a three-month window during which applications to AD and JSR can be created, edited and submitted. FACTOR will delete all incomplete applications after the window closes. Late applications will be rejected and not held until the next deadline. This will go into effect following the May 16, 2019 deadline. Applications for the October 17, 2019 deadline will be accepted starting July 17, 2019.

Note: Applicants who applied to either juried program at the January 31, 2019 deadline will be allowed to apply to the May 16, 2019 deadline.

These changes are being implemented to maintain a high quality adjudication process for applicants while respecting the time and effort of our volunteer jurors. Our AD and JSR programs continue to grow at a significant rate. The number of applications submitted has doubled over the past 5 years. This year we received 4,000 applications resulting in 30,000 jury assessments. We believe the changes will be positive for our clients and the overall Canadian music industry. The best applications will continue to receive FACTOR support. Less time will be spent filling out and adjudicating applications, leaving more time for clients to develop their careers and run their businesses. Additionally, these changes help further align us with our French counterpart organization, Musicaction. FACTOR has also taken steps to increase participation in our juries, where possible matching genre expertise, recruiting from underrepresented demographics, and ensuring gender balance.

For more information about our programs and funding, head to our site at www.factor.ca or read our 2017-2018 annual report.

Questions? Contact communications@factor.ca.