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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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Gordon Lightfoot performing in 2019.
Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

Gordon Lightfoot performing in 2019.

FYI

Music News Digest: Canadian Folk Music Awards 2026 Winners, National Music Centre Builds Gordon Lightfoot Collection

Also this week: rising artist Bradley Hale partners with Jayward Artist Group, Red Bull BC One World breakdancing competition tours Canada.

The 21st Canadian Folk Music Awards (CFMA) concluded its four-night run in Calgary this past weekend, naming 22 recipients across 21 categories.

Topping the winners list with two awards each were AHI, Matthew Byrne and PIQSIQ. A rare tie in the Indigenous songwriter of the year category recognized Aysanabee for Edge Of The Earth, PIQSIQ’s Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik for Legends. AHI claimed both contemporary album of the year for The Light Behind The Sun and single of the year for “Human Kind," while Matthew Byrne won for traditional album and Stan Rogers traditional singer of the ear for Stealing Time and PIQSIK tied in the Indigenous songwriter of the year category and won as best vocal group, for Legends.

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