Emerging artists can now submit applications for Canada’s premier artist development program including 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 now open. Now in its sixth year, the program is renowned for offering emerging artists with opportunities to hone their craft and further develop their music careers, including an intensive week of mentorship from notable Canadian music industry professionals and a trip to Toronto, ON to be a part of the 2021 JUNO Awards.
The Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class was co-developed in partnership 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 2020 CBC Music Searchlight winner, Shawnee.
Interested artists can apply now at junomasterclass.ca. There are no fees associated with submissions and all eligibility requirements can be found here. To watch this year’s submissions video click here.
“We are very pleased with the feedback we are getting from artists who have gone through the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class program,” said Gary Slaight, CEO and President, Slaight Communications. “My father Allan was a strong believer in providing mentorship and opportunities to those artists coming up in our business. This mentorship program provides the hands on tools artists need for success in the music business today.”
“We are committed to the ongoing development of emerging talent from across our country and we are thrilled to bring back the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class for a sixth year,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards, and MusiCounts. “It is our goal to ensure that this program delivers key mentorship opportunities that are second to none as we help these artists take their career to the next level.”
All submissions will be assessed by a panel of music industry professionals and narrowed down to ten finalists. Three artists will then be chosen by a Super Jury made up of key music industry leaders. The selected artists will be announced in Fall 2020.
All the artists will receive an all-inclusive trip to Toronto for a week of customized mentorship with Canada’s Music Incubator at Coalition Music, culminating in a music industry showcase night in Toronto. They will receive studio time at Slaight Music Recording Studios and a cash prize courtesy of Slaight Music.
Additionally, the artists will also attend the 50th Anniversary 2021 JUNO Awards in Toronto, where they will participate in JUNO Week events. One of the 2020/2021 artists will then be chosen to perform at the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards for the Canadian music industry.
Join CARAS and The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) for an inside look at the program through a Zoom webinar June 16th from 1pm – 2pm ET with Ryan Warner from Canada’s Music Incubator, past participants Caveboy and 2020 JUNO Award nominees Neon Dreams, and moderated by Katy Venneri from CARAS. This webinar will provide an inside look at the benefits of the program, the mentorship week, and the positive impact it has had on past participants. Interested participants can register here.
The 2019/2020 Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class artists included Afro-Pop and R&B artist AIZA, singer-songwriter Fintan, indie-folk singer Sam Lynch, and Afrofusion artist Shopé.
Social Media:
The JUNO Awards: @TheJUNOAwards
Slaight Music: @SlaightMusic
Canada’s Music Incubator:@CMIncubator
Coalition Music: @CoalitionMUS
Digital Toolkit includes shareable graphics
About Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class
The Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class is an initiative that provides the crucial tools to help 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 50th 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 9,000 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 $830,000 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:
Meghan McCabe, Director of Communications, [email protected], 647-493-3226