SiriusXM, the country’s leading audio entertainment company, today announced the return of SiriusXM Top of the Country in partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association® (CCMA). This nationwide search for Canada’s next big country music star provides emerging artists with a national platform, performance opportunities at some of Canada’s biggest country music events, SOCAN songwriting camps, and valuable industry mentorship to help propel their careers to the next level – not to mention a chance to compete for one of the biggest music prizes in Canada – $25,000 cash.
Canadian country solo artists and groups can register for SiriusXM Top of the Country starting January 14 at 10 am ET until 12 pm ET on February 1 at topcountry.siriusxm.ca.
“The 2018 inaugural SiriusXM Top of the Country competition was an immense success,” said Jeff Leake, Director, Music Programming, SiriusXM Canada. “We discovered and supported many talented musicians including Andrew Hyatt, our first grand prize winner. We’re excited to provide nationwide exposure, development opportunities, mentorship and valuable industry connections to a new group of artists again this year.”
“We’re so proud of the success of Top of the Country and our first winner, Andrew Hyatt. I loved feeling the buzz of the fans throughout our finale, and when we announced Andrew as winner in CCMA Fan Village,” said Tracy Martin, President of the CCMA. “This program hits all of our benchmarks in our commitment to the development of new artists – good luck to this year’s participants. We’re looking forward to year two of Top Of The Country and our partnership with SiriusXM.”
Following registration, eight semi-finalists will be chosen by a jury of industry experts to record professional, original tracks and in-studio videos for the Canada-wide online vote, taking place later this spring. Once voting is complete, the top three acts will emerge as Top Country finalists, receiving a stage spot at one of Canada’s largest country music festivals. Finalists will also attend a SOCAN songwriting camp in Nashville and an exclusive mentorship session in Toronto with major country artists and industry professionals.
The grand prize winner will be chosen live during the CCMA’s Country Music Week, being held this year in Calgary, AB from September 5-8. Finalists will battle it out on stage at the SiriusXM CCMA Top of the Country Finale, airing live on SiriusXM Canada, with industry professionals deciding the winner of the $25,000, plus attendance at an international SOCAN songwriting camp.
SiriusXM Top of the Country in partnership with the CCMA is part of SiriusXM’s ongoing tradition of promoting and elevating the best emerging Canadian music. SiriusXM continues to offer a leading platform for Canadian artists through its significant financial contributions and North American-wide reach of over 35 million subscribers.
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