Summer showcase: Hillside Festival
JULY 22 2011 • By Tab S.
Summer is upon us, and that means one thing: music-festival time! It’s a chance to catch many Polaris nominees (and winners) – past and present – at the vast array of festivals taking place across the country during the sunny season. One festival that’s developed quite a reputation is Guelph, Ontario’s Hillside Festival, which has showcased Canadian acts like Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and Metric (Polaris nominees all) long before they became household names.

Hillside artistic director Samir Baijal is the one responsible for the festival’s incredibly diverse (and incredibly Polaris-friendly) programming – we decided to ask him about how he manages to get some of the best artists across the country (and the globe) to play a smalltown Ontario festival year in and year out.
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Short List 2011: By the numbers!
JULY 07 2011 • By Tab S.
And the word is out! The list of ten albums vying for the sixth annual Polaris Prize was announced today in Toronto by gala hosts Grant Lawrence (CBC Radio 3) and Damian Abraham (lead bellower of 2009 Polaris winners Fucked Up). While we'll leave the inevitable gloating, hand-wringing, and potential wagering to all the jurors, bloggers, and music fans out there, here are some fun facts about this year's shortlist to mull over in the lead-up to the big show on September 19...
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Our Long List sponsor may have money for you.
JUNE 14 2011 • By Polaris Music Prize
RACS is generously sponsoring the Long List this year. Polaris likes giving great artists money, and so does RACS. RACS stands for Recording Artists’ Collecting Society. They are a division of ACTRA. You know, the actor's union? But they are separate things.
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Polaris 2011! Now with more money!
JUNE 13 2011 • By Steve Jordan
For the first time in our six year history, we’re increasing the prize money. We will now be presenting the winner with a cheque for $30,000, an increase of $10,000. This increase is due in no small part to our good friends and presenting sponsor Sirius Satellite Radio Canada. Welcome back Sirius!
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Dear labels. Releasing in May does not necessarily increase your chances of a nomination.
MAY 31 2011 • By Polaris Music Prize
Hello music releasing friends of the record label persuasion.

Today is the deadline for albums to be considered for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. The qualifying period is June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011.

It has come to light that some labels, artists and managers think that releasing your record at the end of this qualifying period helps your chances at a nomination, given the reasonable hypothesis that a May release puts a record to the top of mind of our jurists.

We just want you to know that the facts do not necessarily bear this out.
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