Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative

CBMIC Announces Funding Opportunity

Posted on April 2nd 2012

Cape Breton based musicians will benefit from a new music export fund thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada, through Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC).

The Cape Breton International Music Export Program (CBIMEP) will provide financial support to artists who are developing new markets outside of Canada. Cape Breton has numerous artists who are poised to break into international markets. This program aims to increase the success of such endeavors by providing support for various developmental costs. The CBIMEP will be administered by the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative (CBMIC).

The total cost of this project is $67,500 and ECBC has provided an investment of $52,500.

“The program has proven to be instrumental in creating new success stories in the music industry in Cape Breton,” said Jennifer Currie, Chair of the Board of Directors of CBMIC. “This program will provide support for artists to take advantage of opportunities that arise from industry conferences and showcases like the ECMA International Program, Nova Scotia Music Week, Celtic Colours International Buyers and Media Program and many others. For 2012-2013 we’re also pleased to announce support for artists traveling domestically to attend conferences and showcases with an international development focus.”

For information on the Cape Breton International Music Export Fund please download the following documents:

Program Guidelines

Application for Assistance

Final Activity Report

New Date Set for CBMIC AGM

Posted on June 13th 2011

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, CBMIC's Annual General Meeting has been postponed until July 26th, 2011. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Lumière

Posted on May 16th 2011

Lumière: Contemporary Art . Unconventional Spaces

October 1, 2011, 6:57pm to 12:57am

A nighttime celebration of the arts, Lumière brings together many different sectors to infuse

Sydney’s downtown core with the vibrancy and excitement of theatre, dance, music, and visual

art and fine craft. Lumière provides a platform for our different communities to collaborate,

making the arts engaging and accessible to the public.

Please see attached Call for Submissions and Project Description & Summary Form.

Call for Submissions

P roject Description and Summary Form

For more information please visit the Lumière website.

Cape Breton Holds Head High at ECMA 2011

Posted on May 10th 2011

Cape Breton put on a fine showing at East Coast Music Week 2011. Artists and Industry professional alike took home a number of awards and gave performances to rave reviews again this year. CBMIC was also well represented, partnering with the Celtic Colours International Festival to host the Cape Breton Embassy showcasing stage. Celtic Colours and CBMIC presented eight award winning acts from Cape Breton island. Many genres were represented including the traditional song and tune writing of Buddy MacDonald and Rachel Davis, the celtic rock dance machine The Colin Grant Band and salt water funk veterans Slowcoaster. The show was a fantastic success thanks to the hard working boards and staff of Celtic Colours International Festival and CBMIC.

CBMIC partners with ECBC on International Development

Posted on January 12th 2011

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA SUPPORTS THE GROWTH OF THE

CAPE BRETON MUSIC INDUSTRY

SYDNEY (NS) – December 30, 2010 – With support from Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, the Cape Breton Music Industry Co-operative Limited (CBMIC) will be promoting Cape Breton's strong Celtic heritage and abundant musical talent at Showcase Scotland and in major UK centres in January 2011.

“Our Government recognizes the importance of the music sector to the Cape Breton economy and the export potential of the region’s performers,” said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway. “We are pleased to work with CBMIC on this initiative that will focus international attention on the island’s music industry.”

Showcase Scotland is held in conjunction with Celtic Connections, the largest winter music festival in the world. In 2011 the event will focus on artists from Nova Scotia showcasing their talent and work to international delegates who include promoters, record label representatives, agents and festival organizers.

Three Cape Breton artists have been chosen to participate in the 2011 Showcase Scotland event. They are the Beaton Sisters, the Tom Fun Orchestra and Gillian Boucher.

CBMIC will coordinate the promotion of the Cape Breton performers by producing a trailer video of the participating artists that will be provided to international buyers and made available on YouTube. In addition, a showcase "kitchen party" will be hosted for international buyers. CBMIC will also participate in the Showcase Scotland trade show highlighting additional Cape Breton Celtic attractions including Celtic Colours and the Celtic Heart of North America.

Capitalizing on their presence in the United Kingdom, CBMIC will also partner with the Canadian Independent Music Association to host three showcases for five Cape Breton groups (i.e. The Beaton Sisters, Gillian Boucher, The Colin Grant Band, Carmen Townsend and The Tom Fun Orchestra). The showcases will take place in Cardiff, Manchester and London. Record label officials, managers, booking agents, promoters, publicists and key media will be invited to experience the Cape Breton artists.

The total cost of this project is $65,607 and ECBC is providing an investment of $35,607.

Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation offers programs in support of economic development initiatives and is responsible for delivering ACOA’s programs on Cape Breton Island and in the Mulgrave area.

Congratulations to Cape Breton Artists

Posted on November 24th 2010

Congratulations are in order to a few Cape Breton based musicians who took home some hardware at the 2010 Molson Canadian Nova Scotia Music Week Awards Gala. The Colin Grant Band as well as Dwayne Côté and Duane Andrews took home awards in Traditional/Roots Artist/Group Recording of the Year and Jazz/Electro/Acoustic Artist/Group Recording of the Year respectively.

Colin Grant was also recently nominated for a 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year. Joining him in this honor was Rachel Davis nominated for Young Performer of the Year.

CBMIC would like to congratulate Colin, Rachel and Dwayne and Duane. Well done!

For more information on these artists please visit their websites:

Colin Grant Band – www.colingrant.ca
Dwayne Côté and Duane Andrews – www.dwayneandduane.com
Rachel Davis - www.rachel-davis.ca

CBMIC Launches International Music Export Fund

Posted on September 24th 2010

CBMIC is pleased to announce the opening of the Cape Breton International Music Export Fund. Please see below for downloads containing application guidelines, an application form as well as a spreadsheet for the project budget. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact CBMIC's program officer to discuss their application before submitting.

CBIMEP Application Guidelines
CBIMEP Application Form
CBIMEP Budget Spreadsheet

Government of Canada Invests in Music Export Fund

Posted on August 30th 2010

Sydney (NS) – August 30, 2010 – Cape Breton based musicians will benefit from a new music export fund thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada, through Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (ECBC).

“Our Government recognizes the importance of the music sector to the Cape Breton economy and the export potential of the region’s performers,” said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway. “The Cape Breton International Music Export Fund is an important investment that will allow local musicians to build their careers by creating new opportunities in the international marketplace.”

The Cape Breton International Music Export Fund will provide financial support to artists who are entering new markets outside of Canada. Currently, Cape Breton has a number of artists who are poised to break into international markets. This program aims to increase the success of such endeavors by providing support for various developmental costs. The program will be administered by the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative (CBMIC).

The total cost of this project is $66,666 and ECBC has provided an investment of $50,000.

“The program will be instrumental in creating new success stories in the music industry in Cape Breton,” said Jennifer Pino, Chair of the Board of Directors of CBMIC. “This program will provide support for artists to take advantage of opportunities that arise from industry conferences and showcases like the ECMA International Program, Nova Scotia Music Week, Celtic Colours International Festival and many others.”

The CBMIC is a local industry association mandated to further develop the music industry in Cape Breton. Its goal is to bridge the gap between local musicians and the music industry as a whole. CBMIC wants to assure this industry continues to strengthen and grow within Cape Breton and more importantly, expand on a national and international scale.

CBMIC Announces 2010-2011 Board of Directors

Posted on June 14th 2010

Another successful year has passed for the Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative. CBMIC held its annual general meeting this past Tuesday at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre and reported on a very busy and prosperous year for the organization. While still a small and growing organization, CBMIC continues to expand its programs and facilitate growth within the music industry here in Cape Breton. The board and staff of CBMIC wish our outgoing directors all the best as they move on to future endeavors and welcome whole-heartedly some new faces to the board. This will undoubtedly be another year of great excitement for CBMIC and we're looking forward to working with our membership and other like minded organizations to continue to make the business of music be a sustainable career for our island's musicians and industry professionals.

The 2010-2011 Board of Directors is:

Dianne MacPhee

Jen Pino

Donnie Calabrese

Bruce MacPhee

Richard MacKinnon

Laura Mercer

BJ Grechuk

Nigel Kearns

Jamie Foulds

Robert McCharles

Fred Lavery

Sandy MacDonald

Max MacDonald

Merrideth MacDonald

CBMIC and Music Nova Scotia present an Open Mic

Posted on May 11th 2010

CBMIC are pleased to announce that in partnership with Music Nova Scotia they will host an open mic at Governor's Pub and Restaurant on May 27th. The evening will begin at 10:00 PM and go on straight through until the bar closes at 2:00 AM. There will be no cover charge for the event and all are welcome to come out and share some music. Carleton Stone will be hosting the evening.

Carleton Stone has been making waves since his recent appearance on the scene. Front man for Carleton Stone Drives The Big Wheel, his debut self-titled album garnered an 2010 East Coast Music Award nomination and has been well received by music fans and critics from all across Canada. So far in 2010, Carleton has showcased at the East Coast Music Awards and Conference (both on ECMA and CBMIC stages), won Music Nova Scotia's battle to Canadian Music Week securing a showcase on the prestigious MNS Tiki stage, and has been busy in the studio (Cape Breton's Lakewind Sound) working on a follow up album.

Carleton will be performing some solo songs as well as acting as our gracious host on the 27th of May.

For more information, videos, free songs, etc, please visit Carleton's website here.