FAQs

• The eligibility period for the 2025 JUNO Awards is between September 1, 2023 to November 1, 2024.
• Product must be released to a recognized national music streaming provider*. The first available consumer access as noted on each platform will be the release date for JUNO Award eligibility purposes. 

*Product must be released to  a nationally accessible streaming service that has paid subscriptions, full catalogue, or on-demand streaming. Eligible streaming services are Canadian versions of Amazon Music, Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay, Google Play Music, Napster, Slacker, YouTube Music, Soundcloud PRO, Spotify, Tidal.

• “Release date” for CARAS eligibility purposes is defined as the date of the first online transaction or stream. Albums available for pre-order online no later than November 1, 2024 will also qualify. Pre-ordered online albums must be delivered to the consumer no later than November 15, 2024. Pre-order eligibility does not apply to Music Video of the Year. 

In order to qualify for the early bird deadline, your online submission must be complete and paid by 5pm ET October 22, 2024. If your submission is not completed and paid by the early bird deadline standard fees will apply.

Submissions must be completed online by the final deadline 11:59pm ET on November 7, 2024.

IF SUBMITTING TO ALBUM ARTWORK OF THE YEAR: 12 physical copies of the product required must be received in the CARAS office by November 7, 2024 by 5pm ET, however if you submit by the early bird deadline your product must be in the office by 5pm ET on October 22, 2024.

Non-Canadians are eligible if they are a part of a group that meets the Canadian Criteria that Crosses All Categories defined as:  

Canadian is defined by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to be:

50% or more of group members hold Canadian birth certificates, passports or are Canadian Permanent Resident(s) with residency in Canada during the last six months of the eligibility period; 

OR

The group is deemed by CARAS, in its sole discretion, to be Canadian as a result of: 

• the Canadian member(s) receiving the majority of royalties, touring profits, and other proceeds earned by the group; and/or 
• the Canadian member(s) being the creative force behind the group and/or the principal songwriters for the group. 

CARAS shall have sole discretion in applying the criteria above and determining whether the artist/group is Canadian.

Non-Canadians will receive named credit only and will not be considered nominees or winners if part of a nominated song or technical project. The only exceptions are if they are in a nominated group that meets the 50% Canadian criteria or are nominated in the International Album of the Year category.

You may only make one submission in any of the non-genre categories:

• Artist of the Year
• Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year
• Group of the Year

You may only make one submission in any of the genre categories:

• Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist)
• Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble)
• Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble)
• Jazz Album of the Year (Solo)
• Jazz Album of the Year (Group)
• Vocal Jazz Album of the Year 
• Instrumental Album of the Year
• Blues Album of the Year 
• Traditional Roots Album of the Year
• Contemporary Roots Album of the Year
• Country Album of the Year
• Adult Alternative Album of the Year
• Alternative Album of the Year
• Rock Album of the Year 
• Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year
• Adult Contemporary Album of the Year
• Pop Album of the Year
• Dance Recording of the Year 
• Underground Dance Single of the Year
• Electronic Album of the Year
• Rap Album/EP of the Year
• Rap Single of the Year
• Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
• Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year
• Reggae Recording of the Year
• Children’s Album of the Year
• Comedy Album of the Year 

EXCEPTION: You may submit to both Rap Album/EP and Rap Single.

You may make a submission in all the crossover categories if eligible:

• Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year
• Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year
• Francophone Album of the Year 
• Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year
• Global Music Album of the Year
• South Asian Music Recording of the Year

You may make submissions in all the following technical categories, if eligible:

• Album Artwork of the Year 
• Music Video of the Year
• Jack Richardson Producer of the Year
• Recording Engineer of the Year 
• Classical Composition of the Year
• Songwriter of the Year
• Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer)

No, you cannot not re-submit a nominated album/recording in the same category that it received a nomination.

A previously nominated album/recording can be re-submitted the following  year should it still fall within the eligible release date September 1, 2023 -November 1, 2024. However it cannot be re-submitted to the same category it received a nomination for.

E.g An album/recording Nominated for Group of the Year in 2024 cannot resubmit in 2025 for Group of the Year. It could be submitted into other eligible categories.

Albums containing previously released tracks may qualify. 50% of the album tracks must be new, if the album contains previously released tracks. The new versions of the tracks must be a new recording, re-recorded in the studio (CARAS may require proof). This criteria may not apply to Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year as previously released tracks may be eligible at CARAS’ discretion. 

Live recordings or stripped down versions of previously released songs are NOT eligible.  

“Greatest Hits” packages are not eligible. Greatest hits packages are defined as albums containing over 50% of previously released cuts. Live albums are eligible only if 50% or greater of the cuts are new (not previously released or newly arranged).  

If an album has been previously released and then re-released in a different language with the same musical arrangement it will not qualify. 

You may submit a manufacturing invoice, a letter from the distributor or record company, or a contract showing the online point of sale.

A full album is defined as having a minimum run time of 20:00 unique minutes or six unique tracks (meaning no remixes, acoustic, instrumental versions, added accompaniment etc).  In order to submit to a category with “Album of the Year” in the title this criteria must be met.

An EP is considered anything that is at least two tracks but below the album criteria above. EPs can be submitted into any categories that do not have “album” in the title. There are a few exceptions to this:

Rap Album/EP accepts full albums and EPs

If EP is in the title of the project but still meets the full album criteria, it can be submitted to a category with “Album of the Year” in the title.

Covers of songs by other artists are eligible – provided the artist who is submitting has not recorded the songs previously and released them for national consumption.

Yes, there are no restrictions on album/recordings being in English only.

If an album released in a different language is nominated, it cannot be nominated again if released in English. Change of language still constitutes the same material and therefore it would be considered to be previously released and not eligible.  The same rule applies to removing a vocal track or adding a vocal track to previously released material.

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

SALES:

• Sales will be collected from Luminate Data, and the total sales figures will be reviewed by PwC.
• The sales portion will be calculated by combining physical scanned sales, which includes digital sales, with digital-only sales. 
• Online sales are defined as units purchased in digital form that are available nationally.

STREAMS:

• Streaming data will be collected from Luminate Data, and the total streaming figures will be reviewed by PwC.
• Streaming data includes both on-demand and programmed streams.
• Canadian and Global streaming providers that report to Luminate Data include Amazon Music, Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay, Google Play Music, Napster, Slacker, YouTube Music, Soundcloud PRO, Spotify and Tidal.

CONSUMPTION RATIOS:

• 1250 premium streams = 1 album 
• 1250 premium video streams = 1 album
• 3750 ad-supported streams = 1 album
• 3750 ad-supported video streams = 1 album
• 3750 programmed streams = 1 album

For consumption purposes, box sets are counted as one unit.

Live albums are eligible only if 50% or greater of the selections are new (not previously released or newly arranged). “Live” refers to albums that are recorded live with an audience in attendance in a concert setting and not a so-called “live in the studio” recording.

Exception: Live albums submitted in the Jazz & Blues categories need only 25% new material to qualify.

TV and movie soundtracks are eligible provided a featured artist or band is performing on 60% of the tracks. 

No, an artist who has been recognized previously for a JUNO nomination cannot submit themselves to Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year regardless of whether they perform as a different act, as they are still considered to be previously nominated.

In order to submit to Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer), you must not be a recording artist on the THREE (3) songs submitted. No member of a songwriting team submitted can be a recording artist on any of the songs. Conversely, you can only submit to Songwriter of the Year if you both wrote the songs and are also the recording artist listed on those submitted songs.

Songwriter(s) can be nominated in both categories if they are both performing songwriters (recording artist) and write songs for other performers. If songwriters are submitting to both categories, they cannot use the same THREE (3) songs in both submissions.

An artist MAY submit a single/recording and become nominated and the following year they ARE eligible to submit the FULL ALBUM as a separate piece of product to be considered for the same category as long as the full album consists of 50% or more new material.

However, the opposite is not true; artists cannot submit a full album one year and then submit the same album next year using different listening tracks.

When submitting an album/EP for consideration, three tracks must be submitted to represent the body of work. If an album/EP is nominated one year, it may not be re-submitted in any form the following year using three different tracks or another single.

If you have not been previously nominated for a JUNO Award in any category, then you must submit to Breakthrough Artist/Group of the Year. 

In order to submit to Artist or Group of the Year, you must have been a previous JUNO nominee.

NO. You pay a submission fee per selected category:

Fees & Deadlines 

• October 22, 2024 5:00 PM ET – Early Bird Deadline
• Academy Delegate Fee – $55.00 per submission 
• Standard Fee – $75.00 per submission 
• November 7, 2024 11:59 PM ET- Final Deadline 
• Academy Delegate Fee – is $80.00 per submission 
• Standard Fee – $100.00 per submission

No. You can only submit to ONE genre category with the same project. You will need to choose whether to submit the full album to Electronic or a single from the album to either Dance Recording or Underground Dance Single. The only exception to this is when submitting to Rap Album/EP and Rap Single.

Some elements of AI generated music are eligible for consideration. For full AI eligibility please read the Criteria That Crosses All Categories

Please review the eligibility criteria for each category (Criteria by Category) to ensure that you choose the category that best represents your project’s musical style.

Once your submission is complete, a Music Advisory Committee of genre specialists will review your project to confirm it meets the eligibility for the selected category. If the committee determines that your submission fits better in a different category, we will contact you to discuss a potential category change.