Sep 6th, 2009

The General Categories are nominated through a judging process of judges chosen from across Canada. These results are then combined with the votes from the membership base, from which the winners are decided. Each member receives one vote, regardless of how many votes you submit.

Without insulting your relative, a great number of independent album covers look like they were designed by someone’s cousin for free.

This may be because many independent artists think of the album cover as an after thought to the process of recording their album. The truth is that the album cover is often the first impression a consumer has of an album, especially at the retail level or on retail web sites. It is therefore important to ask and ask and ask for input about your album cover. Network with other artists and those involved in the industry about who did their album cover and how they would rate the experience with their designer.

Look at the album covers of best selling projects within the same genre music and see what works and what doesn’t. Your album cover should be reflective of the content inside. If you are a rock band do not pose on a hay stack in a barnyard. Likewise, if you are a southern gospel quartet avoid high concept covers with fuzzy images and icons. Seek out the designers of album covers that look great. Chances are if they made a great looking album cover once, they have an idea of what they are doing. Make sure the album covers look good both up close and at a distance. Place the graphic on a shelf and step back several paces. How does it look from 10 feet back? How does it look from 20 feet back? This is likely how a consumer will first notice it on the shelf of a store. Make the font you use easy to read. Some fonts look cool, but are difficult to read. Think like your consumer. Will they be able to tell who you are, and what you sound like with your choice of fonts?

Finally, you should look to spend around $1,500 for an album cover design. Consider this in your over all budgets. If you are planning on selling 2,000 albums then $1,500 equates to seventy-five cents per unit. Is this a reasonable cost once you factor in your other expenses (studio time, producer, manufacturing etc). An album cover doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does have to be good.

New artists facing the question of copyrights often look to organizations like SOCAN as a means of registering their works.

While SOCAN is a copyright collective that administers the performing rights of composers and authors, and is affiliated with like societies around the world, they are not in fact a copyright registration service. SOCAN collects license fees from performances (live concerts, radio, television) and then pay those royalties to members based on their distribution rules. This service, while vital, is not specifically designed to “register” copyrights (which are most often done through music publishers or by self-publishing).

Where SOCAN does excel is in providing its members royalties for performances (live concerts, radio, television). As a copyright collective they administer the performing rights for Canadian composers, lyricists, songwriters and publishers. For more information on SOCAN and it’s many benefits visit www.socan.ca.

While Canadian Christian radio is still in it’s infancy, it’s impact and importance has become increasing vital for Canadian artists seeking to find a broader public ear.

Power house radio stations in Barrie, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Fredricton and many others are part of an increasingly burgeoning force that is driving sales and giving artists a platform unheard of a decade ago. Thankfully, Canadian artists have a golden opportunity to secure airplay thanks in part to Canadian Content rules that require a significant percentage of Canadian music be played on Canadian radio stations and thanks as well to a realization from many programmers that Canadian music has come of age.

While it is no surprise to find Canadian acts like Thousand Foot Krutch, Starfield and downhere squeezed between U.S. based artists like Casting Crowns and MercyMe, many independent artists like Carried Away, Gaetz Ave, Drentch and Manic Drive are also becoming the staples of the airwaves. That said, Canadian performers need to remember that radio stations are not going to play every song that comes their way just because it’s Canadian. The criteria that they use to add a song or pass on a song remains the same as it would for non-Canadian acts.

With a plethora of Canadian music in the marketplace, radio stations are looking for music that is of high quality and fits their format. If you are pop act, but the quality of your material is not as high as, let’s say, Greg Sczebel or Shezza, you can’t expect a station to play you out of some sort of patriotism. Like if you’ve produced a hard rocking tour de force you can’t expect a Southern Gospel station to play your song, regardless of how good it sounds. This is where homework is so very important. Even before you send off your song to radio, find out who you are dealing with. Many stations have great web sites. Check them out. What is their format and what other Canadian artists are they playing? A great resource on the radio front is MoreRadio.ca, which produces a monthly magazine all about Canadian radio. They have charts and articles that deal specifically with Canada.

For many new artists, the notion of landing a record deal with one of Nashville’s major record labels seem like the ultimate way to launch a career.

While certainly there has been an increase in Canadian artists finding inroads into the U.S. through the label system (e.g., Starfield, Hawk Nelson, Thousand Foot Krutch), the record label deal usually comes after years of laying down a foundation in one’s own backyard first. With only a handful of Canadian Christian record labels (Avanté, Signpost, Slyngshot, etc.), Canadian artists need to consider the independent road first. This brings with it certain challenges and certain rewards (as does a “record deal” ).

As an indepent artist, the key is to get in front of as many people as you can. Sing at churches, coffee houses, festivals or even on street corners if you have to; just get out there and sing. Several things will happen when you do. You will begin to nurture your craft and ministry by placing yourself in front of a variety of circumstances. An artist that finds “overnight” success can also find themselves washed up overnight because they have not built a solid foundation (either spiritually or musically). By building your career slowly, you will be better prepared for a record label deal should that be the direction you go.

One of the least thought about steps in recording an album may seem like the most superficial, and yet it is the first thing many consumers will know about your work. What is it? The album cover.

Imagine a typical consumer walking through the music department of a Christian retail outlet. Perhaps they know what they are looking for, but more often than not they are “shopping”. Sitting on the shelves side by side is the latest gold selling Nashville artist and your independent project. Their album cover looks fabulous; a sharp crisp image that says “this is good”. Your album cover features a photograph your Aunt Mildred took of you standing in a field of wheat using a disposable camera. Which one is the consumer going to pick up? Which one is the consumer going to listen to? If they are not familiar with you or your mega-radio hit… are they going to be drawn in enough to give your album a chance? Not likely. In the world of marketing that’s like getting into the starting gate but never lifting the latch to start the race. The next thing you know the store is returning all of your CDs because of a lack of interest.

While certainly the most important ingredients in the recording process are great songs and great performances, the album cover is the first impression. Not that you need to spend a fortune on the album cover. Surprisingly, many great looking covers have been created by independent artists while many major recording artists have dished out covers that leave you breathless for all the wrong reasons. The key is to do your homework. Visit a Christian retail store and study the album covers of the artists that are in the same field as you. If you are an adult contemporary artist, check out Michael W. Smith or Avalon. If you are a rocker, take a look at Relient K or Thousand Foot Krutch. What are they doing? What are they saying on their album covers that will appeal to their key demographic consumer? As well, check out some of the great covers done by Canadian independent artists like Greg Sczebel’s “Here To Stay”, Three Season Ant’s “2 Days After Yesterday” or Kelita’s “Spirit and Truth”. Each of these album’s looks terrific and speaks well of the contents inside the packaging. Most importantly, get critical opinions you can count on. Show your ideas to other artists, industry experts, retail music buyers – people who will be honest in their assessments before you print off 1,000 copies of your album.