Apply to Play CMW IN-PERSON Festival 2024
Each year Canadian Music Week attracts hundreds of artists and industry professionals from around the world who gather in Toronto for five days of live music, networking, and learning. Here’s your chance to join in too!
Spend three action packed days attending panels, participating in one-on-one meetings and much more. All this before heading out for the evening to showcase in front of new adoring fans, fellow musicians and most important, industry leaders and dealmakers.
With the unprecedented success of our first hybrid festival in 2023, which was streamed free to over 100K people worldwide, we have decided the June 2024 CMW festival will be a hybrid event as well – both virtual and in-person. For simplicity, there will be ONE application process to participate in both the virtual and in-person festivals.
Government of Canada global travel restrictions.
Festival F.A.Q.s
What are the benefits of being accepted to the in-person live festival?
- If selected to showcase, each performing group member will receive one (1) Festival wristband and one (1) individual complimentary CMW Music Summit registration delegate badge. Additionally, one (1) management representative will receive their own individual complimentary CMW Music Summit registration delegate badge, including one (1) Festival wristband (Value of each delegate badge $499).
- Opportunity for a band member or representative to have one-on-one meetings during the conference with participating industry decision makers, such as Festival Promoters, Publishers, Agents.
- Be part of a curated showcase, in an official CMW live venue – (30) minute set.
- Additionally, be part of the CMW virtual festival in a curated showcase that will stream on your designated night.
- Have your pre-recorded showcase video remain on the CMW festival site for a period of (6) months with your permission
- Have a dedicated Artist page on the CMW Music Festival website linked to your video performance.
If selected to perform, will my group receive compensation?
If selected to showcase, each performing member of the group will receive an Artist Wristband as a benefit for performing.
Four (4) complimentary conference registration badges per performing group. These badges are interchangeable between band members and/or artist representatives.
Although showcasing artists do not receive monetary compensation, marquee headlining artists are paid at a negotiated market value.
Each performing act has an option to purchase three (3) discounted general CMW Music Festival wristbands for crew members.
How to apply for the CMW 2024 Festival
PLEASE READ through all required fields in the application form and have all document attachments ready in advance before starting the process.
- Showcasing Artist applications open as of Monday November 7, 2023. Complete the application form below and submit payment of $25 (Earlybird Deadline December 2, 2023) – $49 Latebird price (Latebird Deadline January 15, 2024) – $69 after February 15 – Applications close April 1
- Artists will be required to submit promotional materials – i.e., website, photos, bios, logos, media reviews and social media links, as well as audio and video links and files.
- Primary Contact: your CMW Music Festival Showcase Application must be completed by a person authorized to respond on behalf of the act applying, who frequently checks their email. Notifications from CMW will be sent to the Primary Contact email address and will require a timely response.
Music Showcase Applications are open to:
- All genres
- Solo acts and/or full bands
- Artists from any part of the world
Invited Artists are guaranteed at least one live performance showcase slot*:
- Showcase slots run an average of 30 minutes
- Slots will be scheduled from June 3 – 8, 2024 generally between 7pm-2am
- Venue, time, and date assignment will vary
- CMW will provide artist backline for a limited number of hosted CMW venues
- CMW does not cover travel and accommodation expense
*Due to the on-going global pandemic, in an abundance of caution, CMW reserves the right to promote a virtual only festival. In which case, all invited bands will be able to perform in a virtual showcase.
What do you get if not accepted to the In-Person Live Festival?
As a music applicant you will get the following:
- Your video submission will be submitted to the virtual festival for adjudication
- Complimentary in-person live festival wristband for one member of the applicant band to attend other showcase events all week. (Value $100)
- Receive a two-year membership to CAAMA, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Music and the Arts. A not-for-profit industry association connecting Canadian music entrepreneurs to the world. (Value $50)
- If you are not offered a showcase, you can still purchase a CMW music registration badge at the lowest rate and access the many benefits of CMW below:
- International Market Place
- Mentor’s Café
- Expert Panel Discussions
- Keynote Speakers
- Networking
- Industry Parties
- And more!
Who is going to see this festival?
CMW 2023 is a hybrid festival with two unique audiences – In-person and Virtual
The CMW in-person live festival, fans can either purchase tickets for an individual show, or purchase a festival wristband to see multiple shows. Additionally, media are provided with complimentary admittance to all showcases. VIP delegates, speakers, and presenters from the conference are also provided with complimentary admittance to all showcases.
The CMW online virtual festival (free) expects to have a large international viewership without the limitations of time, place, and cost that can be a barrier with live shows. With this virtual model, fans, as well as industry professionals, will be able to view selected showcases on their own time. Instead of catching one or two shows per night, delegates will be able to view and review all recorded showcase events for up to six (6) months.
In 2024 you will have the opportunity to be in two festivals concurrently – live in-person festival and an online virtual festival. The live in-person showcase will be promoted locally and is open both to the public and the industry. This is an opportunity to invite music industry professionals and media journalists to your show. Live performance venues will be clustered in the downtown core of Toronto, close to the host hotel, making it easier to club-hop. Your virtual showcase will be available online and will be promoted and viewed globally and can be watched at any time for up to six (6) months. Last year over 60K fans tuned in to watch a combination of individual performances and entire showcases.
How does the new hybrid model benefit us?
Since the beginning Canadian Music Week has been supporting musicians and providing unique opportunities to further the careers of emerging artists, while celebrating the many successes of established acts.
For 40 years the foundation of CMW festival has been built on live performance experiences. We still believe this to be the cornerstone of having a successful live music career. Besides building your fanbase, your live performance will provide you with immediate feedback from the audience and industry reaction. Each year, inevitably, a breakout act with an electrifying performance gets massive coverage with music media that goes viral.
With our new hybrid model, we have worked diligently to provide as much added value for artists as we can by providing a parallel virtual global festival event. Based on the success of last year’s virtual festival, that was viewed in over 30 countries, on a 24/7 platform that was available online for over six months, we were compelled to keep this component for its shear convenience for industry professionals. The Artist Profile page, that is included. as part of your acceptance, contains the full artist EPK.
PLEASE NOTE: Videos aired on the virtual platform MUST be submitted with your artist application. Please note, we do not record your live performance showcase during the festival.
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