Music PEI – Golden Ticket Program

The Golden Ticket Program takes four emerging Prince Edward Island acts a year and walks them through releasing a single properly, start to finish. You work with a mentor — currently Colin Buchanan of Paper Lions — to set career goals, then choose a producer and studio, record, mix and master a new song, and build a marketing team and release plan around it: artwork, photography, social content and one major video piece. It also covers registering the song with performing rights organisations, drafting a band agreement, the basics of registering as a business and handling tax, and writing one real grant application with guidance.

It is open to new and emerging solo artists or bands in any genre, but it is built for acts who perform live and intend to tour; Music PEI points songwriters who do not tour towards its other programmes. You need a permanent PEI address of at least six months and to file income taxes provincially, and for a band, half the members must be PEI residents. Artists who have already had Export Development/Artist II or Career Investment/Artist III funding, or who have done this programme before, are not eligible.

No cash changes hands. The package is worth roughly CAD 6,000 per artist in services and is fully subsidised, with no financial contribution required from you — but you must finish inside four months. Applying means an online form with one to three unrecorded songs submitted as demos with lyrics. A jury selects on previous success, ability and commitment.