Music Touring Grants
Deadlines
- 1 June , for tours occurring between the following September and April
- 1 December, for tours occurring between the following April and October
Program Description
Music Touring Grants are for Canadian and foreign professional music artists (individuals), groups and organizations that wish to tour within Canada. For this program, groups include ensembles, bands and collectives.
The objectives of these grants are to:
- increase touring opportunities for music artists and companies
- increase opportunities for Canadian compositions to be performed
- facilitate access to music across Canada
- increase audience knowledge and appreciation of all music forms
- enhance programming options for presenters, and
- extend the life of music works and provide performance opportunities.
Grants contribute to direct touring costs, such as transportation, accommodation, per diem and publicity costs.
This Canada Council for the Arts program is accessible to Aboriginal artists or arts organizations and artists or arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
You may apply if you are a professional, Canadian music artist (individual), group (for example, ensemble, band or collective) or organization.
If you are a foreign, professional music artist (individual), group or organization, you may also have access to the Music Touring Grants program. You may not, however, apply directly to the Canada Council. Your application must be submitted by a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada who is involved in the tour project.
Individual Artists and Groups
You must be a Canadian citizen or have Permanent Resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (if you are a permanent resident, you must provide evidence of your legal status).
The Music Section supports music made for artistic and cultural purposes. It values distinctive artistic voices and supports excellence, innovation, experimentation and creativity in all established and emerging traditions of music. Competitions for funds are national in scope.
The Canada Council defines a professional musician as someone who:
- has specialized training in the field
This training will be consistent with the standards of his or her practice. Training may include post-secondary academic study, mentorship, private instruction, workshops, periods of self-directed study, community-acquired knowledge or any combination of the above.
- is recognized as a professional artist by her or his peers
Other music artists working in the same tradition identify the applicant as an artist of superior achievement and (or) potential. Peer acknowledgement may include a history of support or recognition at a local, regional, or provincial and (or) territorial level.
- is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if this is possible financially, and
The applicant pursues his or her own artistic vision, retains creative control and is committed to the creation and (or) promotion of original work. The applicant exhibits high professional standards and is dedicated to the ongoing development of the artistic practice.
- has a history of public presentation.
The applicant receives compensation for the public presentation of her or his work, and actively seeks to maximize the audience for the work, regardless of its market appeal.
Orchestras, Choirs and Opera/Music Theatre Companies
To apply to this program, you must represent an orchestra, choir or opera/music theatre company that has already been assessed by a peer assessment committee of one of the core operating programs of the Canada Council for the Arts. These core programs are the Professional Orchestra Program, Professional Choir Program or Opera/Music Theatre Program. For more details about the core operating programs, contact the appropriate Music Section officer, as follows:
Orchestras and Opera/Music Theatre Companies:
Daniel Swift, ext. 5248
daniel.swift@canadacouncil.ca
Choirs:
André Jutras, ext. 5071
andre.jutras@canadacouncil.ca
If you are planning to apply to this program on behalf of an orchestra, choir or opera/music theatre company, you must inform the appropriate Music Touring Program officer as soon as possible (preferably 18 months in advance of the tour start date).
Eligible Tours
For the Music Touring Grants program, the Canada Council defines an eligible tour as a series of at least three consecutive performances in three different cities or towns, outside your province or territory of residence. Within large provinces or territories, tours to regions that are over 800 kilometres from your place of residence may be eligible.
Other Requirements
Payment of Professional Fees
For your application to be considered, you must be receiving professional fees as determined by the practice of your community. In this program, professional fees are typically in the form of guarantees. However, the Canada Council does make allowance for a percentage of door/box office split where this is in line with industry standards and can be expected to produce fair compensation for artists. For many communities (genres), the peer assessment committees that evaluate applications generally use the salary scale of the American Federation of Musicians to determine a “fair” minimum.
Signed Contracts
If you are a Canadian applicant, you must provide at least one performance contract (for an eligible date) signed by both you and the presenter.
If you are submitting this application for a foreign applicant, you must provide at least two performance contracts signed by both the applicant and the presenters.
If your application is not accompanied by the required signed contracts or performance offers, your submission will not be eligible and will not be presented to the peer assessment committee.
Government Assistance
If you are touring within your own province or territory, you must already have a commitment of provincial or territorial government assistance to be eligible to apply to this program. This is, of course, not a requirement where such assistance is not available.
If you have questions about any of the eligibility requirements, contact the appropriate Music Section officer in one of the ways indicated on the cover page of these guidelines.
Grant Amount
There is no minimum or maximum grant amount that you may request or receive through the Music Touring Grants program. Grants will vary according to individual requests and will be based on the peer assessment committee’s recommendations.
You may not receive the full amount that you request, and retroactive funding is not available. In other words, you cannot use grant funds to cover expenses that have occurred before the competition deadline.
You may apply for support of more than one tour per deadline, but you must put the tours in priority order for the peer assessment committee. Given the increase in touring activity and the pressure on available resources, it is possible that only one application will be supported.
If you are planning an extensive tour with a significant shortfall/request, it is strongly recommended that you contact the appropriate Music Section officer well before the deadline, preferably 18 months in advance.
Please note that for grants awarded in the 1 December competition, funds are not available until the following April.
Application Form
Music Touring Grants (pdf, 220 KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.
Music Touring Budget Part D2 (Excel format)
Music Touring Itinerary Part F2 (Excel format)
Further Information
Karen Barber-Ing, Program Officer
Music Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4243
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4409
March 2009