Creative Entrepreneurship Celebrated and Supported by SOCAN
It’s almost been a year since the launch of the Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship program, powered by SOCAN Foundation and TD.
By Siddhant
It’s almost been a year since the launch of the Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship program, powered by SOCAN Foundation and TD. In its first year, the program handpicked 20 emerging music creators out of a large pool to hone their skills of entrepreneurship while providing them with the tools, education, mentorship and funds needed to turn their talent into a sustainable career. The Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship program’s success and contributions towards supporting the creative community is worth notice.
Twenty-one-year-old Alïah Guerra, a Canadian Trinidadian Jazz musician from Montreal who was one of the twenty talents picked in the 2018 edition, describes her experience with the program as “empowering” and “motivating”. Guerra says that “the program has given me the confidence, knowledge and the capacity to achieve my vision, I feel like I can now confidently take the next steps to attain my goals.” Guerra’s new music has since been featured on national radio and a Spotify playlist and is continuing to expand since completing the program.
In addition to up to $3,000 in start-up funding grant, the program exposes the participants to industry sessions with experts on everything from PR, branding and social media marketing to financial management, etc. The participants get access to weekly webinars and mentorship sessions that help them gain insights into the music business and build confidence to navigate their way through. These efforts are already starting to make a stark difference in these young talents’ entrepreneurial journeys.
Dave Sampson, from Nova Scotia, has recently been offered a publishing deal by Sonic Publishing/Kobalt. He says “the Incubator couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I took what I learned from the weekly industry sessions and put that knowledge to use when I was planning my album release.” These examples are only a few of the successes of alumni from the program.
To build on the success of the first edition, Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of SOCAN Foundation and pioneer of this national program, has already started the process of working with a jury to review and select the next cohort of 20 participants among the large pool of applicants from across Canada.
“We recognize the program is in high demand. There have been nearly 1,000 applications annually since launching the program," said Wall-Andrews. “Our partnership with TD has established a program that strives to ignite the capacity of music creators to become entrepreneurial, which is crucial in this gig-economy and competitive marketplace.”
Any music creator who demonstrates artistic merit in their original works, exhibits potential for a long-term career in music and is a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident is eligible to apply for the program. For more information on the Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship powered by SOCAN Foundation and TD, visit the website www.creativeincubator.ca.
