GOALS ( JURIED SOUND RECORDING ONLY ) Describe your project : Provide an overview of your project to give jurors a highlevel understanding of what you plan to achieve . Realistic expectations : Explain what results you ’ re hoping to see , and how they will be measured . Be grounded . Many artists would love to tour Japan , but you need to have a plan to achieve that . Be concise : Three or four paragraphs is enough for most applicants . Save the specifics for later : You will be asked to provide a detailed marketing plan on how you will achieve your goals in another section of your application – don ’ t double up .
ASSESSMENT TRACK ( S ) Upload assessment tracks in MP3 format only : Maximum file size is 50MB . Don ’ t upload more assessment tracks than required : Submit one track for the Artist Development program and two tracks for the Juried Sound Recording program . Additional tracks will not be sent to jurors . Which track should I upload ? Choose eligible recording ( s ) that you feel are the strongest representation of your recent work . Don ’ t try to predict what the jury wants . FACTOR has several hundred jurors with diverse tastes and cultural / social backgrounds . Trust your instincts and submit the material you feel best represents your art . If you ’ re not sure what an eligible track is , take a look at the program guidelines . For Artist Development , see section 31 . For Juried Sound Recording , see section 25 . If you have questions , contact your project coordinator . How good should the recording ( s ) be ? The simple answer is as good as they can be within your resources . Jurors are advised not to judge tracks based on technical production quality as long as they can hear all of the musical elements . Jurors want to hear you at your best , so provide the best recording you can . Instrumental tracks : If you submit an instrumental track , the jury will assess the lead melody instrument ( s ) by the same criteria they would for a lead vocal . This is difficult in some recordings if the arrangement is complex , but FACTOR ’ s jury is made up of professionals and they will do their due diligence . Vocals : If you intend to include vocals on the final master of your assessment track ( s ), do not upload a recording that doesn ’ t include vocals . Even a scratch take is fine . One of FACTOR ’ s scoring criteria is for vocals and lyrics . Jurors may give you a zero in that category , which would substantially impact your score . Lyrics : Include lyrics for any noninstrumental assessment track ( s ) you upload , preferably in PDF format .
PROPOSED CHANGES For Juried Sound Recording applicants , it ’ s best to keep it simple . Describe the differences between the assessment tracks provided and your vision for the final recording . Try to keep it practical . For example , “ we plan to add live drums and cello ” might be better than “ we plan to achieve a deep , percussive sound .”
For the Artist Development Program , the delivery track can be the same song or composition that you submitted as your assessment track . If you have made no changes to the assessment track , then you may upload the exact same recording on completion . However , if you are claiming costs related to the production of the assessment track , or if you indicated that you made changes to the assessment track , then the delivery track that you upload on completion must be the newly produced or modified track .
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PLAN ( ARTIST DEVELOPMENT ONLY ) The Artist Development Plan can be found under the Component Information section . Fill in the three main questions that detail where you are in your career and what your strategy / plan for growth is in the coming year , estimating how much you will spend on each development activity , and describing how the development activities will contribute to your overall strategy / plan .
MARKETING PLAN ( JURIED SOUND RECORDING ONLY ) Your marketing plan is 25 % of your score , so a strong marketing plan is essential . Jurors are industry experts and expect a high level of detail . Concrete targets and projections are often a part of this . In this section you should be able to demonstrate recent market success and accelerating momentum in your career via quantifiable metrics in any applicable spheres of activity . The plans : You ’ ve laid out your overall goals and expectations in the Goals section . Now break down exactly how you ’ re going to achieve them , and who you ’ ll be working with to accomplish your plans . The impact : Be sure to detail the expected impact of the initiative and the results you hope to achieve . Be realistic – jurors will be looking for reasonable , measurable goals and projected results . New to marketing plans ? Refer to our sample marketing plan guide available in the Applicant Resources page on our website .
TEAM ( JURIED SOUND RECORDING ONLY ) Your Team is 15 % of your score . Your team can include managers , record labels , agents , publicists , promoters , digital content specialists , and more . Jurors are instructed to evaluate an artist ’ s ability to accomplish their goal with the team in place . Demonstrate how their skills and resources can be leveraged to accomplish your plan .
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS The following items could help improve your application :
• One or two professional photos .
• A producer or engineer biography if you ’ re applying to make recordings . Limit the bio to one page .
• Letters of support from your team and extended network that will be assisting you with your project . If there are multiple letters , please combine them into a single PDF .
• Tour dates ( past and upcoming ): If you have hundreds of dates , summarize them . For example , it ’ s probably enough to say you played 28 dates in Europe to rooms with capacities of 200 – 300 people instead of listing every date . Whenever possible , please group similar information into one combined PDF .
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Artist Development
• Song ( writing , arrangement , composition , etc .) = 25 %
• Vocals / Lyrics ( style , range , musical dynamic , emotional impact , etc .) = 25 %
• Musicality ( performance , skill , technique , interpretation , etc .) = 25 %
• Artist Development Plan / Presentation ( including additional materials ) = 25 %
Juried Sound Recording
• Song ( writing , arrangement , composition , etc .) = 25 %
• Vocals / Lyrics ( style , range , musical dynamic , emotional impact , etc .) = 20 %
• Musicality ( performance , skill , technique , interpretation , etc .) = 15 %
• Marketing Plan / Presentation ( including additional materials ) = 25 %
• Team ( consider organizational capabilities and support network if selfmanaged ) = 15 %
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 11