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Record Labels

Nettwerk Partners With Music BC On ARC Accelerator Program to Elevate Artists from British Columbia

The influential Vancouver indie label will offer direct access to digital service providers and social media properties for participants in the intensive over the next three years.

ARC program 2024 cohort

ARC program 2024 cohort

Courtesy Photo

Vancouver label Nettwerk is giving a boost to a key west coast accelerator program.

Music BC's ARC intensive welcomes 10-15 emerging artists annually to participate in intensive workshops and professional development training. For the next three years, Nettwerk will be offering extra resources to the program, to help the cohorts further grow their skills and profiles.


Specifically, Nettwerk will give participants the opportunity to leverage the label's direct access to digital service providers (DSPs) and social media properties. In an industry where digital presence has become paramount, those tools will help ARC artists reach a wider range of fans and build audiences toward long-term loyalty.

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The label is an influential indie music company in Canada, representing Canadian and international talent like pop duo Milk & Bone, folk singer James Vincent McMorrow, and indie pop artist Miya Folick. Founded in 1984, Nettwerk operates in cities across the globe like London, Sydney, Berlin and Nashville. Recently, the label celebrated its 40th anniversary.

“At Nettwerk, we believe deeply in the value of the independent music sector in fostering innovation and elevating exceptional talent," says Nettwerk president Simon Mortimer-Lamb. "Partnering with Music BC’s ARC Program celebrates Nettwerk’s unwavering commitment to helping unsigned Canadian talent find their places on the world stage and build a lasting legacy in the music industry.”

"With an undeniable track record and a long-standing commitment to artist development, Nettwerk has helped shape the careers of countless artists on the global stage," adds Music BC Executive Director Lindsay MacPherson. "It speaks volumes that they recognize the impact of our work through ARC to empower emerging talent in our own backyard."

ARC has hosted three cohorts so far, with alumni including rising hip-hop artist Kimmortal and R&B singer Sadé Awele. The program consists of a three-day training clinic, a five-day retreat, and a culminating performance, tackling topics like building a brand, vocal performance and recording techniques and mental health care.

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Find out more about the program here.

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OsamaSon
Live Nation

OsamaSon

Rb Hip Hop

Toronto's First Class Fest Revamps Lineup After 'Heartwrenching' Last-Minute Artist Cancellations

OsamaSon will now play both days of the Toronto underground rap festival (Aug. 28-29), which has added Xaviersobased, ApolloRed1 and 1oneam to the bill after Nettspend, Che and more have dropped out. "It's been the craziest 24 hours of my life," co-founder Leo Strang tells Billboard Canada.

First Class Fest is facing some serious turbulence, but is stabilizing before liftoff.

Just days before the Toronto festival, which lands at the Bowl at Sobeys Stadium on Aug. 28-29, multiple artists dropped off the bill, including one of its biggest names. Nettspend, who recently notched his first Billboard Canadian Albums placement with Early Life Crisis in March, abruptly announced that he would "not be making it to Toronto" via his Instagram story on Tuesday night (Aug. 25).

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