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Artist Development

The Artist Development program (AD) offers a $2,000 subsidy toward a year of artist development activities including sound recording, touring, showcasing, video content production, and marketing.

This program is intended to provide development support to emerging artists. Artists with an established track record and ongoing market momentum should review the Juried Sound Recording program.

In order to fill out an Artist Development application in the FACTOR online system, you will first need a rated Artist Profile and Applicant Profiles.

With your Artist Development application, you must submit:

An MP3 of a recent demo along with lyrics, known as the assessment track.

A current artist biography.

An artist development plan, which sets out all the intended artist development activities to be undertaken if the project is approved for funding. The artist development plan questions are incorporated into the application on the portal.

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Read the program guidelines.
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Components in this program

This program consists of the Artist Development component.

Program Components

Who is Eligible

  • General Artist
Eligible To Apply

This program is intended to provide development support to emerging artists.

Artists who have commercially released music no more than 3 years prior to the application deadline are eligible to apply.

Artists with an established track record and ongoing market momentum should review the Juried Sound Recording program.

Not Eligible To Apply

Artists are not eligible to apply if they have commercially released music more than 3 years prior to the application deadline. For example, if an artist released a track on a streaming service or a physical album for sale prior to July 14, 2019, they would not be eligible to apply for the July 14, 2022 deadline.

Artists are not eligible to apply if the artist (or a label on the artist’s behalf) has received $10,000 or more from FACTOR in the past

An artist who has been previously funded outside of the eligibility period via Artist Development as a solo artist or member of a different group and has now embarked on a solo career or changed their name does not qualify for the AD program, as they are considered previously funded.

Songwriters and Artists rated 2 or 3 are not eligible for this program.

Record labels may not apply for this grant.

An artist may receive a maximum of two grants in the lifetime of the program.

Not sure if you’re eligible?

Learn about what FACTOR funds

Read more about Profiles & Ratings for Artists

Check out Artist Development Application Questions

Read our Jury Assessment Preparation Guide

Deadlines

July 14, 2022, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (opens May 30 to new applications)

September 8, 2022, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (opens July 25 to new applications)

February 2, 2023, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (opens December 19 to new applications)

Please note:

Artists may only apply to one juried program (either Artist Development or Juried Sound Recording) within a 12-month period. For example, if an artist applies to the Artist Development program for the July 14, 2022, deadline and is unsuccessful, the same artist may not apply for Artist Development or Juried Sound Recording until a July 2023 deadline or later. However, successful Artist Development recipients can apply for a second Artist Development or Juried Sound Recording at the next deadline.

The top 20 applications below the successful funding threshold will be invited to reapply at the next deadline window without the 12-month waiting period. These applicants will be notified of their exemption alongside the communicated jury results.

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Read FACTOR’s Glossary of Standard Terms and Business Policies

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Funding & Payments

FACTOR will reimburse 75% of the eligible costs up to $2,000. To receive the full grant, applicants must complete the activities set out in an artist development plan, and be able to prove that they incurred at least $2,667 worth of eligible expenses (including Donated Services) during the Artist Development year.

FACTOR will allow a claim for Artist’s Donated Services of up to $500 for this program. Beyond that, FACTOR will only recognize costs actually paid to third parties. Artists who do not intend to spend money on third-party costs are not eligible for this program.

More Information

Assessment Process

Assessment materials, including the mandatory artist development plan, are reviewed and scored by a jury comprised of music industry professionals. The top-scoring applications are then reviewed by FACTOR staff, who assess the eligibility of the projects and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors for their approval. Assessment time is up to 12 weeks from the deadline.

Become a Juror

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