New Brunswick’s music industry association will now administer the provincial Music Industry Development Program.
After a lengthy discussion process that began four years ago, the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture has transferred the administration of its Music Industry Development (MID) Program to Music NB (MNB).
“We are transferring the administration of this program, beginning in June, as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure efficient delivery of services to New Brunswickers,” said Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister John Ames in a June 1 media release. “We are confident that Music NB will be an excellent steward of this popular grant program on behalf of the government.”
The move marks a major step forward for both MNB and grant applicants by placing the program’s delivery in the hands of those directly involved in the music industry.
“We’ve been talking to the province about this for about four years, sending proposals and having discussions,” said MNB Executive Director Jean Surette, who is also a member of the award-winning Moncton progressive jazz ensemble, les Païens. “We were one of the last provinces to not be administering provincial funding for music industry investment. To us it makes sense since we know where the gaps are and are connected with what’s going on, or at least keen observers. We understand what it’s like for artists and businesses to develop markets and pay for album production and the challenges of working in the music business today.”
As a result of this announcement, MNB will increase its full-time staff from two employees to three. The organization is currently seeking applicants to fill the role of MID Program Agent / Project and Research Coordinator.
“We’re currently hiring to add one staff member,” said Surette. “We would not be able to manage the program with two staff. So this is a positive change for us as we are able to increase our capacity as an organization. We need for this program to be arm’s length, so we’ll be incorporating more juries for the components since prior to us taking the program, not all components had juries.
“It will also enable us to track progress and success of the investments through the program,” he said. “The platform we’ll be using to manage the data and the applications will give the flexibility to dial up statistics. We’re looking forward to seeing trends and identifying the return on investment for the program and for the applicants.”
The New Brunswick Music Industry Development (MID) Program has three components: Emerging Artist, Market Access and Sound Recording. Information on all funding programs can now be found at musicnb.org
Applications for the MID Program Agent / Project and Research Coordinator position will be accepted until June 21. Learn more.
