Artist Entrepreneur is for artists rated 3 who are investing in their own masters, copyrights, and live performances. It replaces the Comprehensive Artist program and is designed for increased flexibility for eligible activities and expenses during the program year – aligned with FACTOR’s fiscal (April 1 – March 31).
Artist Entrepreneur funding is allocated once a year for recipients to undertake a suite of activities fostering the development of the artist and the promotion of their music. These activities can include expenses related to the production and marketing of their sound recordings, domestic and international touring, including showcasing. Activities must be central to the development of the Canadian artist, the promotion of their music and the expansion of their audience. Applicant artists can only include activities for which they control the rights.
Canadian Artists falling into a Top Tier designation defined as at least one of the following categories:
- Artists who have achieved the maximum number of funded projects via FACTOR’s Juried Sound Recording programs (received funding for three JSR projects – any combination of Single/EP and Album).
- Artists who have been designed Artist Level 3 at FACTOR for the Fiscal Year
The application deadline for fiscal 2025-2026 is August 14 at 5:00pm ET.
Schedule of payments for 2025-2026: After the funding offer is accepted by the applicant, FACTOR will issue 50% of the contribution amount as an advance payment. The next installment of up to 40% of the contribution amount will be issued when the Mid-year Cashflow Report has been received, reviewed, and accepted by FACTOR. The remainder of the funding is paid out when the completion has been received, reviewed, and accepted by FACTOR.
The funds in this program are awarded competitively among eligible applicants depending on the available budget in the fiscal year (April 1 – March 31).
Canadian artists’ applications will be assessed on two main criteria:
- The artist’s ability to reach audiences, based on both previous investment and current success.
- The artist’s efforts to develop their career, and to promote and develop audiences, based on an assessment of their proposed investment strategy and its feasibility.
