Emerging musicians can now submit applications for Canada’s leading artist development program, including immersive mentoring from music industry leaders
TORONTO – The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and Slaight Music today announced that submissions for the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class are officially open. Now in its fifth year, the program is renowned for offering emerging musical talent with opportunities to hone their craft and develop their music careers, including an intensive week of mentorship from notable Canadian music industry professionals and a trip to Saskatoon, SK to be a part of the 2020 JUNO Awards.
The Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class was created hand-in-hand with Canada’s Music Incubator at Coalition Music. Each year three artists are selected, and the experience aims to cultivate new talent through networking, collaboration opportunities and curated mentorship.This year, the three artists will be joined by 2019 CBC Music Searchlight winner, Shopé.
Interested artists can apply at junomasterclass.ca until June 28, 2019. There are no fees associated with submissions and all eligibility requirements can be found here.
Click here to watch highlights from last year’s program and why the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class could be right for you.
“We are thrilled to return with the fifth annual Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class program,” said Gary Slaight, CEO and President, Slaight Communications. “My father, Allan Slaight, was committed to fostering and growing Canadian talent, and I am proud to follow in his footsteps with this initiative. Our joint hope is to provide emerging musicians with the support they need to elevate their careers.”
“Supporting rising artists is an investment in the strength and future of Canadian music,” said Allan Reid, President and CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards and MusiCounts. “The Master Class program offers unmatched mentorship opportunities with some of the best resources in the music industry, so we encourage artists from across the country to apply and take the next step in their careers.”
Following the June 28 deadline, all submissions will be assessed by Canadian music industry professionals and narrowed to ten finalists. The group of ten will then be further narrowed down to three by a Super Jury made up of key music industry leaders. The final three artists will be announced on September 17, 2019.
The selected artists will receive an all-inclusive trip to Toronto a week of customized mentorship with Canada’s Music Incubator at Coalition Music, culminating in a music industry showcase night in Toronto. They will also be featured in a JUNO TV mini-doc on their Master Class experience, receive studio time at Slaight Music Recording Studios and a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Slaight Music.
Furthermore, the artists will also attend the 2020 JUNO Awards in Saskatoon, where they will participate in JUNO Week events and have a JUNOfest performance slot. Additionally, one of the of the 2019/2020 artists will be chosen to perform at the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards for over 1,200 music industry elite.
The 2018/2019 Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class artists included rapper and singer Haviah Mighty, folk-pop band Port Cities, hip hop artist smrtdeath, and the 2018 CBC Music Searchlight winner, aquakultre.
Social Media:
The JUNO Awards: @TheJUNOAwards
Slaight Music: @SlaightMusic
Canada’s Music Incubator:@CMIncubator
Coalition Music: @CoalitionMUS
Digital Toolkit
About Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class
The Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class is an initiative that provides the crucial tools to help the three artists develop their careers, build their own sustainable business and become ‘JUNO ready’. The ‘Master Class’ includes a week-long customized artist development program co-developed with Canada’s Music Incubator at Coalition Music. This development program provides hands-on mentoring, networking and collaboration opportunities.
About CARAS
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L’académie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l’enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music industry and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. CARAS’ mandate is comprised of four key pillars: Educate through our music education charity MusiCounts programs and initiatives, Develop emerging artists through mentorship and development programs, Celebrate Canadian artists with year round JUNO Awards showcasing, and Honour music industry icons through the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. For more information on The 49th Annual JUNO Awards or The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) please visit junoawards.ca.
About Allan Slaight
A pioneer of rock and roll, Allan parlayed his entrepreneurial flair with his knowledge of radio to create Canada’s largest privately owned multimedia company, Standard Broadcasting Corporation Limited.
Born in 1931, Allan hosted his own radio program, Spins and Needles, a late night jazz program, at age 16 at CHAB in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He moved to Edmonton in 1950, working his way up the ladder being appointed in 1956 as the National Sales Manager at CHED. There he came to the attention Allan Waters, owner of CHUM Radio in Toronto, who hired Allan to turn around the fortunes of his struggling station. Allan’s programming, promotions, and business acumen propelled CHUM into a household name.
Allan left the station in 1966 to coordinate programming and sales of Radio Caroline, the infamous pirate radio station. He returned to Canada in 1967, to become the President and General Manager of Stephens and Towndrow.
In 1970, Allan established Slaight Communications and acquired radio stations CFGM in Toronto and CFOX in Montreal. In 1977, Allan launched a new rock and roll radio station, CILQ-FM, known as Q107, in Toronto. In 1985, Slaight Communications sold CFGM and Q107, and purchased Standard Broadcasting Corporation Limited from Conrad Black. Under Allan’s leadership, Standard Broadcasting and Standard Radio grew from seven radio stations to a national network of over fifty. In 2007, the Slaight’s sold Standard Broadcasting to Astral Media.
Radio was not Allan’s only passion. He served as a trustee of Women’s College Hospital (1978- 1982), a director of the United Way of Greater Toronto (1979-1987), director of the Shaw Festival (1982-1988), a governor of York University (1986-1987), and a director of the Festival of Festival (1989-1993).
An inductee into the Broadcast Hall of Fame (1997), the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Ryerson Polytechnic University (2000), appointed a Member of the Order of Canada (2001), the recipient of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award (2005) for his contribution to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry, Allan has also maintained a lifelong interest in conjuring.
About Slaight Music
Slaight Music was started in 2011 with a mandate to support the Canadian music community through a variety of initiatives, and to develop Canadian talent via strategic partnerships with industry peers.
About Canada’s Music Incubator
Canada’s Music Incubator (CMI) is a national not-for-profit organization based in Toronto specializing in professional development and ongoing mentorship for artists and artist managers of all musical genres. CMI’s mission is to empower creative entrepreneurs in the development of long-term careers and sustainable businesses meeting their definitions of success. Since 2012, CMI has provided over 7,000 hours of customized in-house and third-party professional development programs and actively mentors hundreds of artists and managers across Canada. CMI also collaborates with organizations to curate live events, which have collectively paid over $750,000 directly to artists since 2015. In addition, CMI works with industry partners, community organizations and all levels of government to support music sector infrastructure development.
For more information on the JUNO Awards or interview requests, please contact:
Sheri Clish, rock-it promotions, [email protected], 416 656 0707 ext. 122
Dillon Shaver, rock-it promotions, [email protected] 416 656-0707, ext 117