FACTOR funding for the sound recording industry

• Current audience information.
• Artist biography.
• Artist development plan.
• Assessment track MP3 and lyrics, if applicable.
• Parent or Legal Guardian Consent Form, for applicants under 18.

Who is eligible?

• General-rated artists.

Who is not eligible

• Previous recipients of Artist Development funding.
• Artists who commercially released music more than three years before the application date or have received more than $10,000 from FACTOR in the past.
• Professional songwriters.
• Record labels may not apply on behalf of an artist, and artists signed to companies funded by FACTOR or Musicaction in the company programs already supporting those activities are not eligible.
• Francophone artists who are recording primarily in French and primarily developing their careers in a French-language market, unless the project is explicitly intended for the English-language market.

Eligible expenses

• Sound recording costs, including graphics, pre-production facility fees and rentals, producer fees, production, engineer, hired musicians, studio, rentals, mixing, and mastering.
• Touring and showcasing costs, including fees and commissions, work permits and VISAs, rehearsal space, accommodations, rentals, fuel, parking, travel, and registration fees.
• Marketing costs, including basic press kits, mail and couriers, print ads, publicist, radio tracker, radio and TV ads, and website development and maintenance.
• Video production costs, including actors, dancers, animation, art direction, crew, cinematographer, director, driver, editor, insurance, lighting rental, location rental, pre- and post-production, producer, props, rentals, transportation, and writer.
• Artist Donated Services, up to $500.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Other donated services, in-house costs, and in-kind transactions beyond the allowed Artist Donated Services amount.
• Costs incurred by a manager, producer, or publisher and then charged back to the artist.
• Costs incurred by a record label and then charged back to the artist.

• Applications are assessed and scored by a jury of music industry professionals.
• FACTOR averages the juror scores and funds as many of the highest-scoring applications as possible within its budget.

• Step 1
  • Create a User profile in the FACTOR portal.
• Step 2
  • Create an Artist profile and submit it for review.
• Step 3
  • Create an Applicant profile and submit it for review.
• Step 4
  • Open your Project dashboard and create a new project.

• The top-scoring applications are reviewed by FACTOR staff, who assess the eligibility of the projects and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors for approval.
• Assessment time is up to 12 weeks from the deadline and may be affected by the number of submissions and juror availability.

Here are additional relevant details for this grant:

• FACTOR is committed to promoting diversity and inclusiveness within the Canadian music sector through its programs and operations.
• Application deadlines for the 2024-25 period are available to view on the website, emphasizing planning for upcoming submissions.
• FACTOR employs a structured approach to funding, consisting of components and programs that align with the commercial strategy of the applicant.
• Program guidelines for each funding stream can be downloaded in PDF format for detailed information and submission guidance.