Websites & Hosting
- Bandzoogle (pre-coded websites for artists – super freaking easy!)
- WordPress (pre-themed – needs a bit more work, but you don’t need to be a professional coder)
- WP Engine (the best of the best with amazing customer service – use this link for 20% off your first month!)
- Go Daddy (domain provider and mid-range hosting)
- Bluehost (cheapy cheap for starters but good – use this link to get hosting for only $3.95 per month!)
Marketing
- Rignite (social media marketing)
- Edgar (social media marketing)
- Buffer (social media marketing)
- Hootsuite (social media marketing)
- Later (Instagram scheduling)
- Repost App (for re-posting someone else’s photo on Instagram)
- Smart URL (shrink and track all your links to see what people are clicking on)
- MailChimp (build your email list to keep in contact with your biggest fans – use this link to get $30 credited to your account!)
Artwork & Design
- Canva (for easy-peasy artwork and design)
- WordSwag (for adding text to images on your phone)
- StockSnap (for free/cheap stock photos)
- Creative Market (for photos, graphics, templates, themes, fonts, etc.!)
Administrative
- SignNow (digitally form-fill and sign any document including PDF’s for free)
- Genius Scan/Sign/Fax (app on your phone to turn any image or document into a PDF, or sign a doc, or fax a doc)
- Slack (project communication app – instead of texting + emailing!)
- Asana (project management app – less emailing!)
- NoNotes (app for recording and transcribing phone calls – good for meetings and/or press interviews)
Music Tracking
- Americas Music Charts (radio music charts for the US and Canada)
- Next Big Sound (tracks your online audience across multiple platforms)
- Chart Metric (monitors Spotify playlists, social media, and charts)
- Soda Tone (social, playlist tracking, much more!)
- BandsInTown (for fans to track when you’re performing live – connects to your Facebook)
Radio Distribution
- DMDS/Yangaroo (mass-distribute to radio stations in Canada and the US)
Digital Distribution
- TuneCore (mass-distribute your songs to all retail/streaming/digital service providers)
Ticketing
Tour Management
- Master Tour by Eventric (the easiest online/communication app to manage all the information about your tour!)
Crowdfunding Funding
- Pledge Music (operates as a “pre-order” for your products and “experiences”)
- Kickstarter (also operates as a pre-order but you must reach your $ goal to get the money, otherwise it’s all refunded.)
Funding
Canada Wide
CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS
FACTOR
MUCHFACT
MUSICACTION (French Language Only)
RADIO STARMAKER FUND
SOCAN Foundation
Canada – British Columbia
Music BC
BC Arts Council
City of Vancouver Artist Studio Awards
Vancouver Foundation
Public Records Video Grant
Canada – Alberta
Alberta Music – Harvard Broadcasting Showcase and Travel Grant
Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Calgary Arts Development
Edmonton Arts Council
PEAK Performance Project Alberta
Public Records Video Grant
Canada – Saskatchewan
Creative Sask
Saskatchewan Arts Board
Canada – Manitoba
Manitoba Music
Manitoba Arts Council
Manitoba Film & Music
Canada – Ontario
Ontario Arts Council
Government of Ontario
Ontario Media Development Corporation – Ontario Music Fund
Ontario Media Development Corporation – Research and Industry
Toronto Arts Council
Canada – Quebec
CalQ
MusicAction
Societe de Development des Entreprises Culturelles
Montreal Arts Council
Quebec Musician’s Guild
Canada – Nova Scotia
Music Nova Scotia
Casino Nova Scotia
Canada – New Brunswick
Government of New Brunswick
Arts New Brunswick
Canada – Newfoundland
Music NL
Newfoundland & Labrador Arts Council
Canada – PEI
Canada – Yukon
Yukon Government
Yukon Film and Sound Commission
Canada – Northwest Territories
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
NWT Arts Council
Canada – Nunavut
Nunavut Arts Development Program
Managers Forums (by country)
For: Music managers and self-managed artists – by country
There are over 30 not-for-profit Music Managers Forums around the world representing over 50 countries all operating independently of one another, but whom are part of a larger umbrella organization called the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF). Each organization is dedicated to lobbying on behalf of managers, providing educational experiences, as well as celebrating managers.
We encourage you to get involved with your country’s community of managers.
Visit International Music Managers Forum for links to your countries:
- AAM Australia
- MMF Australia
- MMF Armenia
- MMF Belgium
- MMF Bulgaria (Coming Soon)
- MMF Canada
- MMF China (Coming Soon)
- MMF Czech Republic (Coming Soon)
- MMF Denmark
- MMF Estonia
- MMF Finland
- AMA France
- MMF Germany (IMUC)
- MMF Greece (Coming Soon)
- MMF Hungary
- MMF India (Coming Soon)
- MMF Indonesia
- MMF Ireland
- MMF Italy
- MMF Japan (Coming Soon)
- MMF Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Columbia, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay)
- MMF Latvia
- MMF New Zealand
- MMF Netherlands
- Artiste Managers Association Nigeria
- MMF Norway (NEMAA)
- MMF Poland
- MMF Portugal
- MMF Romania (Coming Soon)
- MMF South Africa
- MMF Sub-Sahara (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
- MMF Suisse (Switzerland)
- MMF Spain
- MMF Sweden
- MMF UK
- MMF USA
- MMF West Africa (Coming soon)
Canadian Provincial Associations Music Industry Associations (MIAs)
For: Anyone working in music in any capacity in Canada.
Visitors to Canada can also get in touch with the local MIA’s to see if there’s anything you can take advantage of while you’re in the area.
There are MIA’s in most Provinces and Territories in Canada. If you’re involved in music in any capacity, you are eligible to become a Member. MIA’s provide education, networking, promotion, and funding among other opportunities. Memberships to these organizations can cost anywhere from $15 to $300 CAD depending on if you’re registering as a student or a company or anything in between, and are paid annually.
- Music BC
- Alberta Music
- Manitoba Music
- Sask Music
- Music Ontario
- ADISQ (Quebec)
- Music New Brunswick
- Music Nova Scotia
- Music Newfoundland & Labrador
- Music Yukon
- Music Northwest Territories
Musicians Unions
For: Musicians in the US and Canada. If you’re traveling to the US or Canada, you should also get in touch with the unions to see if they can assist you.
The American Federation of Musicians (AFM)
The largest organization in the world that represents the interests of professional musicians. If you’re a musician, you’ll want to become a member through your local union. Union dues are generally a couple hundred dollars and are paid annually. It’s a union that specializes in services ranging from:
- Immigration (including short-term travel visa, P2)
- Touring
- Media recordings
- Contract negotiations
- Gear insurance
- And much more
United States
Canada
- Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) is the Canadian head office of the AFM.
Local
The AFM is made up of more than 240 local unions in cities across Canada and the US. Contact either the AFM or the CFM to get help registering through your “Local”.
Conferences, Festivals, & Awards
Here is a list of major music industry conferences, industry festivals, and awards ceremonies around the world. This does not include consumer festivals that exist solely for music consumption by the public (eg. Coachella). If you’d like to see a world-wide list of those types of festivals, visit MusicFestivalWizard.com.
JANUARY
- APAP (NYC, NY)
- Golden Globes (Los Angeles, CA)
- Manitoba Music Conference (Winnipeg, MB)
FEBRUARY
- Folk Alliance International (Montreal, QC 2019 – rotating through North America)
- GRAMMY Awards (Los Angeles, CA)
- Oscar Awards (Los Angeles, CA)
- Pollstar Live! (San Francisco, CA)
MARCH
- JUNO Awards (Rotating cities within Canada each year)
- Miami Music Fest (Miami, FL)
- SXSW (Austin, TX)
APRIL
- New Orleans Jazz Festival (New Orleans, LA)
- Pulitzer Prize (New York City, NY)
MAY
- Canadian Music Week (Toronto, ON)
- East Coast Music Week (Rotating cities within Eastern Canada each year)
- East Coast Music Conference (Norfolk, VA)
- FOCUS Wales (Wrexham, UK)
- The Great Escape (Brighton, UK)
- Music PEI Week (rotating cities on Prince Edward Island, Canada)
- New Skool Rules (Rotterdam, Holland)
- Sound City (Liverpool, UK)
JUNE
AUGUST
- Much Music Video Awards (Toronto, ON)
- Aboriginal Music Week (Winnipeg, MB)
- Coast 2 Coast (Miami Beach, FL)
- Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition (Winnipeg)
- Montreal Electronique Groove (Montreal, QC)
- MTV VMA’s (Rotating – Los Angeles or New York City)
SEPTEMBER
- Americana Conference (Nashville, TN)
- Big Sound (The Valley, Brisbane, AU)
- Canadian Country Music Awards (New city in Canada each year)
- Emmys (Los Angeles, CA)
- Music Matters/All That Matters (Singapore, Japan)
- Polaris Music Prize (Toronto, ON)
- Pop Montreal (Montreal, QC)
- Reeperbahn (Hamburg, Germany)
- Rifflandia (Victoria, BC)
OCTOBER
- A3C Hip Hop (Atlanta, GA)
- American Music Awards
- Breakout West (New city in Western Canada each year)
- Halifax Pop Explosion (Halifax, NS)
- Folk Music Ontario Conference (Toronto, ON)
- MaMA (Paris, France)
- MNB Week (Fredericton, NB)
- Mondo NYC (New York City, NY)
- MusicNL Week (St. John’s, NL)
- Musictech Summit (San Francisco, CA)
- WOMEX – World Music Expo (Budapest, HUN)
- Indie Week EUROPE (Manchester, UK)
NOVEMBER
- Australian Music Week (Cronulla, AUS)
- Billboard Live Music Summit & Awards (Beverly Hills, CA)
- Country Music Awards (Nashville, TN)
- Iceland Airwaves (Reykjavík, ISL)
- Indie Week CANADA (Toronto, ON)
- M For Montreal (Montreal, QC)
- Mundial Montreal (Montreal, QC)
- Nova Scotia Music Week (Rotating cities within Atlantic Canada each year)