Music Advisory Committee Process - The JUNO Awards
Submissions

Music Advisory Committee Process

Overview:

It is the responsibility of the 58 Music Advisory Committee Chairs/Co-Chairs and 300+ Music Advisory Committee Members to support CARAS in maintaining the integrity of the JUNO Awards through monitoring changes within the industry as it pertains to their categories and the awards. Committee members and Chairs are asked to bring any changes they observe in the market to the attention of CARAS. They are also tasked with ensuring that each submission in their specific genres meet required qualifications and fit the genre musically.

The purpose of these committees is to aid CARAS in managing each genre and completing outreach within their respective communities.

Terms:

Each Chair serves a two year term at CARAS’ discretion. During their two years, they will train their successor (Co-Chair). Once the two year term has been served, the Chair will step down and the Co-Chair will lead the committee. For a Co-Chair, they will be trained in years one and two, and serve as Chair in years three and four. They then must select a new Co-Chair to train as their successor.

Committee Makeup:

  • Chairs and Co-Chairs must form a committee of ten to twelve members that are:
    • Representative of the music genre/constituency
    • Members from all facets of the industry: publishers, managers, producers, promoters, booking agents, major and independent labels, etc.
    • Members who represent all regions of Canada – Regions include: North (Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory), West (British Columbia), Prairies (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba), Central (Ontario, Québec), and Atlantic (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador) with a focus on trying to get representation from each region.
    • Gender parity 
    • Meaningful representation of BIPOC, LGBTQ2+ and official language minority community members to reflect the diversity of the Canadian population
    • Committees must include at least one Francophone member.

Awards Categories:

The following awards categories have a Music Advisory Committee. For a list of all of our awards categories please click here. 

  • Adult Alternative Album of the Year
  • Adult Contemporary Album of the Year
  • Alternative Album of the Year
  • Blues Album of the Year 
  • Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist)
  • Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble)
  • Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble)
  • Children’s Album of the Year
  • Comedy Album of the Year
  • Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year
  • Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year
  • Contemporary Roots Album of the Year
  • Country Album of the Year
  • Electronic Album of the Year
  • Instrumental Album of the Year
  • Jazz Album of the Year (Solo)
  • Jazz Album of the Year (Group)
  • Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year
  • Pop Album of the Year
  • Rap Album/EP of the Year
  • Rap Single of the Year
  • Rock Album of the Year 
  • Vocal Jazz Album of the Year 
  • Dance Recording of the Year 
  • Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
  • Underground Dance Single of the Year
  • Album Artwork of the Year 
  • Classical Composition of the Year
  • Jack Richardson Producer of the Year
  • Music Video of the Year
  • Recording Engineer of the Year 
  • Reggae Recording of the Year
  • Songwriter of the Year
  • Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer)
  • Contemporary Indigenous Recording of the Year
  • Traditional Roots Album of the Year
  • Traditional Indigenous Recording of the Year
  • Francophone Album of the Year 
  • Global Music Album of the Year
  • South Asian Music Recording of the Year

Tasks:

  • Bring in two to three new members annually while maintaining ten to twelve members keeping in mind our committee makeup directives
    • Committee members will serve for a maximum of four years at CARAS’ discretion
  • Review and update category eligibility criteria
  • Share information amongst the community
  • Contribute judge recommendations for their respective categories
  • Attend a virtual screening meeting to review submissions to ensure they fit into the best possible category
  • Enforce a screen down policy through an anonymous vote amongst the committee. Any member with a direct conflict cannot participate in the vote.
  • Submission outreach to solicit submissions through press releases, social media, personal networks, etc.

If you are actively working in the Canadian music industry in one of our category genres and are interested in participating on a Music Advisory Committee please contact [email protected].