Musique – Projets Francophones

Five separate routes for French-language music made in Ontario, and you pick one: writing new songs or compositions (up to $5,000), recording a demo or EP (up to $5,000), making a full-length album from recording through release (up to $10,000), developing a new live show of original French-language songs (up to $8,000), or producing a music video for a song you have already recorded (up to $8,000). Every genre is welcome.

You must be a professional musician living in Ontario, or an ad hoc group, collective or non-profit music organisation where at least half the members are Ontario residents. Someone in the project must be the songwriter, lyricist or composer of the material. At least 50% of the content has to be in French and no more than 30% in English; purely instrumental projects, spoken word, student work, and applications filed on behalf of a label, manager or agent are all out. Colleges, universities and municipalities cannot apply, nor can organisations already receiving certain OAC operating grants.

Eligible costs include artist fees, studio and post-production, manufacturing up to the first thousand copies, promotion, rehearsal and technical design, video production and equipment rental — plus childcare and dependant care needed to take part, and accessibility costs for your audience. Capital purchases, including instruments, are excluded.

Applications go through Nova, the OAC's online system, entirely in French, and open about two months before the deadline. You submit a budget, two audio or video samples totalling no more than five minutes, biographies and lyrics. Results arrive roughly four and a half months later; work cannot start before the deadline or finish before results are announced. Projects with Francophone collaborators based in Ontario are prioritised, and assessors weigh artistic merit and the project's impact.