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General Information

The Canadian Independent Music Awards known as “The Indies” acknowledge, promote and honour the achievements of Canadian and International independent artists in the independent music sector.

Nominees will be posted on the Indies website – www.indies.ca – with a photo, bio and audio stream to be voted on by the general public. The winners of The Indies are determined by a combination of fan and industry voting.

Exceptions: Industry Builder & Indies Hall of Fame Artist must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. At least 50% of the Group or Duo must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. 50% of the nominee’s songwriting and recording must be 100% Canadian. Exception: International categories.

Canadian Music Week has authorized the presentation of 14 Awards (not including the Industry Builder and Indies Hall of Fame) at an event to be held during Canadian Music Week. Only one award will be presented in each category. There must be at least five (5) nominees in each category in order for that category to remain on the ballot for the current year. If there are less than five (5) nominees, the category may be put on hiatus for the current year only. The eligibility period for all awards categories will run from January 1st, 2018 through March 1, 2019. Nominees must have been active during the eligibility period and are based on the performance of the group or artist either on record or in live performances. Voting rules are subject to change without notice.

SELECTION PROCEDURES:

NOMINATIONS Representatives of an Independent Artist/Group or Duo can submit nominations on their behalf. Applications to nominate independent artists or groups must be completed online using the Indies website – www.indies.ca – no later than the posted deadline date in order to be eligible for consideration. Independent labels and managers representing multiple artists also have the option to submit online through the Indies website – www.indies.ca – no later than the posted deadline date in order to be eligible for consideration. 

VOTING ROUND 1 National Selection juries comprised of no less than 10 professionals from the retail, recording and live sectors nominate five contenders in each category. The top five (5) contenders receiving the most votes in each category will appear on the electronic voting ballot. 

VOTING ROUND 2 Once the nominees are determined, all nominees will be posted on the Indies website at www.indies.ca. Participation in voting is open to the general public during the posted voting period on the Indies website. The nominee receiving the most votes in each category will be announced as the winner at the annual Indie Awards presentation during Canadian Music Week. 

ADJUDICATION Votes are submitted electronically to an independent accounting firm for final tabulation. The results of the voting process are protected until the annual Indie Awards presentation.

THE INDIES AWARDS These Awards are presented to honour artists that have excelled in their musical genre during the eligibility period. 

AWARD 1 ALBUM OF THE YEAR This Award is for an album as a whole containing no less than six tracks. The Album must have been released during the eligibility period. Final nominees from the previous year are not eligible in the current year. Greatest hits compilations are not eligible. The Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 2 SINGLE OF THE YEAR This Award is for the most popular song or track according to all format audience impressions based on performance at radio and on-line. Tracks from albums are not eligible unless they have been released as singles during the eligibility period. The Award goes to the Act.

AWARD 3 GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Group or Duo based on the overall performance of the Group or Duo either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Group or Duo. 

AWARD 4 ARTIST OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Artist based on the overall performance of the Artist either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Artist. 

AWARD 5 SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR This award is given to a Songwriter credited on a commercially released single – that has charted on a Canadian radio chart – or on a commercially released album. The single and/or album must have been released during the eligibility period. If the single was released prior to the eligibility period, but achieved its highest charted position during the eligibility period, it is eligible. One Award goes to the songwriter(s). At least 50% of songwriting team must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants.

 AWARD 6 ABORIGINAL ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 7 ALTERNATIVE ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 8 ELECTRONIC/DANCE ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 9 FRANCOPHONE ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 10 POP ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 11 RAP/R&B ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 12 ROCK ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 13 SINGER-SONGWRITER ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Artist/Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act. 

AWARD 14 INTERNATIONAL ARTIST/GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR This Award is given to the Act (Group or Duo) based on the overall performance of the Act either on record or in live performances. One Award goes to the Act.   The following categories are non-voting categories. 

INDUSTRY BUILDER This Award recognizes the individual who has contributed their time and talents to promote and advance Canadian independent artists both domestically and internationally. Nominations can be submitted to Canadian Music Week. The decision will then be made to present an award by the Awards Committee. The recipient must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. One Award will be presented.

 JIM BEAM “MAKE HISTORY” AWARD (INDIES HALL OF FAME) This Award recognizes artists that have taken risks/followed their gut/ has a story to tell and the long-term contributions to the development and growth of the Canadian music industry. Nominations can be submitted to Canadian Music Week. The decision will then be made to present an award by the Awards Committee. The recipient must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant. One Award will be presented.

 

CANADIAN INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS (THE INDIES)

2019 NOMINATION PROCEDURES Nomination applications for the Indies Awards are available through the Indie Awards website at www.indies.ca. The Indie Awards will take place in Saturday May 11, 2019 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre. All submitting bands/artists will receive ONE complimentary delegate pass for the 2019 Music Summit (est. value $699.00 each). All bands/artists must pre-register for the Music Summit. Registration details will be supplied in April 2019 with notification of your nomination. For more information on the Music Summit schedule, please check the Canadian Music Week website at www.cmw.net

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: March 31, 2019

HOW TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION To submit a nomination for the 19th Annual Indie Awards, individuals (bands, artists or representatives) must fill out an on-line application through the Indie Awards website – www.indies.ca/register A fee of $50.00 CAD is applied to all nominations. A fee is applied for each category nomination. For label and management representatives submitting multiple artist submissions, a fee of $160.00 CAD is applied as a one-time fee for all submissions.

THE IMPORTANT FINE PRINT

Submissions must have been released between January 1st, 2018 through March 1, 2019.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Applicants can submit to multiple categories. Recordings must be a commercial release (no CDR’s or demos). A nominee’s distributor can be Canadian and/or multi-national. Nominees will be notified by email by April 2019.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: March 31, 2019