FACTOR Business Development (Support for Eligible Music Companies)

This FACTOR stream helps established Canadian music companies cover the cost of growing their business: marketing and promoting the company itself, as opposed to a specific artist or release, and domestic or international travel tied to the company's development goals. Music publishers can also use it to fund songwriter initiatives. It's open to artist managers, record labels and music publishers that FACTOR has already rated at tier 2 or 3 in its company classification system — newer or unrated companies aren't eligible here. Funding runs from roughly CAD $7,500 to $15,000 a year depending on your rating, and covers up to half of the eligible budget, so you need to fund the rest yourself. You apply through FACTOR's online portal, which requires a company profile and an applicant profile before you can submit a project, and FACTOR's program guidelines and step-by-step application guide spell out exactly what's needed. The 2026/27 cycle has two deadlines; the October 22, 2026 round is the one still open, since the June round has passed. FACTOR doesn't publish a public scoring rubric for this stream — for anything the guidelines don't cover, it points applicants to a Project Coordinator or info@factor.ca.