Funding plays an instrumental role in Canadian music, and FACTOR is one of the most significant investors in the development, financing and support of Canadian talent and companies. Meg Symsyk became FACTOR CEO in 2021, and she’s helped the industry through a tough transitional time recovering from the pandemic. She helped deliver $50 million to relief programs for the live sector and, in addition to its musician grants for live performance, recording and development, helped FACTOR introduce two new modern programs this year: Juried Sound Single/EP and Mid-Tier Envelope for Music Companies. FACTOR received a boost from the Canadian government through the Canada Music Fund and will continue to advocate for Canadian creators and companies through the Online Streaming Act’sdevelopment, with a new culture at FACTOR through multiple staff additions. Symsyk had a couple of other big achievements this year. One, she took a “vacation” to manage and launch the book tour for Geddy Lee’s My Effin’ Life, which grossed over $3 million in ticket sales with the book hitting multiple bestseller lists. Two, as she tells Billboard Canada succinctly, “beat cancer.”