City renews investment for emerging artists and professionals in music industry
As Vancouver prepares to host Canada’s top musical talent during the 2025 JUNO Awards in March 2025, the City is making an important renewed investment in the local music industry.
At this morning’s JUNO Awards press conference, Mayor Ken Sim announced Vancouver City Council’s commitment of $350,000 to the Vancouver Music Fund to support Indigenous and underrepresented groups working in the music and sound recording industry.
This fund, part of the Vancouver Music Strategy and the City’s 10-year Culture | Shift plan, helps emerging artists and industry professionals access opportunities, promoting a thriving and diverse music sector in Vancouver.
This funding marks the renewal of the City’s partnership with Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia’s Amplify BC Fund to offer grant support to musicians and businesses through the Demo Recording and Business Foundations programs, helping local musicians and professionals develop their skills and expand their reach.
“In order to nurture award-winning artists, we need to have a vibrant local music industry and support our next generation of musicians,” said Ken Sim, Mayor of Vancouver. “Our Council is extremely excited to be making this important investment in our local music industry.”
“The City of Vancouver’s renewal of their investment in the Vancouver Music Fund is good news for the music community,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “It is through partnerships, such as this one, that we strengthen B.C.’s overall music industry; increase skills development and mentoring opportunities for musicians as well as support local businesses with growth. This collaboration bolsters the impact of our provincial music fund, Amplify BC, and fosters a thriving and diverse music industry that is recognized for its inclusion, innovation, and excellence.”
Applications for the Demo Recording and Business Foundations programs will open on January 29, 2025 on Creative BC’s website.
"We are thrilled to announce renewed funding for the Demo Recording and Business Foundations programs in partnership with the City of Vancouver,” said Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC. "The City's seed support and vision for equity-focused funding streams in music was instrumental, and through matched Provincial funding from Amplify BC these programs are now offered province-wide."
The Vancouver Music Fund, financed by the City of Vancouver and administered by Creative BC, was first approved by City Council in 2019. The fund was renewed twice during the pandemic to support recovery of the sector, and matching funding was provided by the Province of British Columbia in 2022.
“The funding is incredibly important for supporting equity and building capacity in the city and province’s local music scenes” said Saadi D’hoore, Music Officer at the City of Vancouver. “In the previous three grant cycles, the fund has supported 155 projects featuring hundreds of artists, producers and community builders across the City’s diverse music ecosystem.”
The Demo Recording program provides grants of up to $2,000 to create demo recordings and engage in mentorship with local music producers, while the Business Foundations program covers grants up to $10,000 for music businesses to build networks, develop capacity and strengthen their infrastructure.
"Receiving the Demo Recording grant opened up more opportunities for me to continue developing my skills in performance, songwriting, and music production,” said Argel Monte de Ramos, 2022/23 Demo Recording Recipient, with producer Grace Chiang. “By releasing the songs I recorded with the support of this grant last year, I have been able to continuously expand my reach as an artist, engage with my audiences and book more public performances. I hope that additional emerging artists like me can continue to access this kind of support at the early stages of their career."