ARTISTIC AWARD GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA
ALL DETAILS INCLUDED HEREIN ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
1. Residency Requirements
The Nominee must have been born in either Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon or NWT and have lived in one of those Provinces or Territories for six consecutive months in the past six years OR the Nominee must have maintained a residence in a Western Canadian Province or Territory for the entire period of January 1, 2009 through to March 31, 2010. For groups, 50% of group members must meet residency requirements. Proof of residency may be required.
2. Release Requirements
The nominee must have released a full-length album recording to radio or retail between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010. Full-length means that the album is either a minimum of 30 minutes or contains at least five songs. At least 50% of the tracks on the recording must be previously unreleased cuts (a cut is defined as material previously released to radio or retail). All recordings must fulfill all legal requirements, meaning that the songwriters have been properly credited and mechanical royalties have been paid.
3. Industry Association Membership
Neither nominees nor those submitting the nominations are required to be members of a Western Canadian Music Industry Association, however, the nomination fees are reduced for MIA members.
4. Nomination Fees and Submission Deadlines
Submission fees begin at $40. Please see the submission fee layout at www.westerncanadianmusicaward.ca or www.breakoutwest.ca for more details. All nomination submissions must be entered by (date TBA). Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted. All fees are non-refundable. Privacy disclaimer must be dated and signed.
5. Nomination and Voting Procedures
Each nominee submission will be considered for selection as one of the five final nominees in each category. The submissions will be screened upon completion to ensure that each submission is complete and that the submission meets the eligibility requirements. The review committee reserves the right to categorize a submission at their sole discretion. A panel of impartial jurors (industry experts) from across western Canada will then jury the submissions and select the final five nominees in each category. Electronic voting will be open to all current members of the five Western Canadian Music Industry Associations and to the jurors for final voting to select the winners. Final voting results are equally weighted between Western Canadian Music Industry Association members and jurors.
Exceptions to guideline #5 are:
- Jazz, Francophone, Classical and Children's categories will be selected by jurors, and will not be voted on by the MIA members.
6. Multiple Submissions of one Album
A single album can be submitted to the different award divisions: Genre Award, Cultural Award and Distinction Award.
Exceptions to guideline #6 are:
- An album may only be submitted for one Genre Award (i.e. Roots or Pop)
- An album may only be submitted for one Cultural Award (i.e. Francophone or Aboriginal)
- An album may be submitted for one or both of the Distinction Awards (i.e. Independent and/or Songwriter)
7. Nomination Submission in Successive Years
Because the eligibility period is longer than one year, an album may be eligible for two consecutive years. The exceptions are that the album must still meet all eligibility requirements and no album will be selected as a final nominee in the same category two years in a row. As well, an album cannot be submitted in one genre category one year and in a different category the next.
8. Minimum Number of Submissions
There must be a minimum of four submissions for a category to proceed in any year. If there aren't enough submissions for a particular category, the category is skipped for the year and nominees can resubmit their album for the following year.
9. Jury Selection
Each Award category will be juried by a group of at least ten jurors. In most cases there will be two jurors from each region of western Canada. Exceptions are listed in Guideline #5. The jurors will be chosen for their demonstrated knowledge and expertise in their fields and for their impartiality. No WCMA Board or Staff member shall be allowed to sit as a juror, nor will they be allowed to influence the decisions of the juries. The WCMA reserves the right to select a juror who is not a resident of one of the five member regions if it is necessary to compile a strong, impartial jury that given year.