Sirius XM And CCMA Launch Top Of The Country
The new national music competition nets the winner $25K and offers major showcasing and mentoring opportunities to the top three finalists.
By FYI Staff
Sirius XM has announced the launch of SiriusXM’s Top of the Country music competition. A partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA), it will offer a national platform exclusively for emerging Canadian country artists.
The cross-Canada search gives participating acts a chance to play at Canada’s most prominent country music festivals, industry mentorship programs, a SOCAN songwriting camp in Nashville, TN, and more. The grand prize brings $25,000 and entry to a SOCAN songwriting camp in Pender Island, BC.
Once participants representing Western, Central and Eastern Canada have been selected, the competition will not only offer the emerging artists big prizes but will showcase them on a national stage through a public online vote open to all Canadians.
“Fostering and promoting new Canadian talent has always been incredibly important to SiriusXM and our partner, the CCMA,” said Jeff Leake, Director of Music Programming. “So as Canada’s premier music provider, we wanted to shine a light on the burgeoning community of up and coming country artists to give them the exposure they deserve and need to help take their music careers to the next level.”
“As a champion of Canadian country music, the CCMA prides itself on finding new ways to elevate the genre and the artists that are navigating their way through it,” said Tracy Martin, Interim President of the CCMA. “We were focused on expanding our Discovery Program and our new artist development efforts, and we have done just that with our partner, SiriusXM. We are very excited to launch Top of the Country.”
Canadian country solo artists and groups can now register here until midnight ET on March 2. Three artists from each of Western, Central and Eastern Canada will then be chosen by a jury of industry experts to record in-studio videos for the Canada-wide online vote, taking place later this spring.
The Top Country Finalists receive a stage spot at Big Valley Jamboree (Camrose, AB), Cavendish Beach Music Festival (Cavendish, PEI) or a SiriusXM-sponsored major festival in Ontario. Finalists will also receive a SOCAN songwriting camp in Nashville and an exclusive mentoring session with Canadian artists and industry professionals in Toronto.
The grand prize winner of Top of the Country will be chosen during the CCMA’s Country Music Week in Hamilton, ON, this September. Finalists will battle it out on stage before a headlining artist at the SiriusXM CCMA Top of the Country Finale, airing live on SiriusXM, with music industry professionals and audience votes deciding the winner of $25K, plus a SOCAN songwriting camp in Pender Island, BC.
