2023 CANADA’S WALK OF FAME RBC EMERGING MUSICIAN PROGRAM

OFFICIAL PROGRAM RULES

1)  INTRODUCTION

(a) Canada’s Walk of Fame (“CWOF” or “Producer”) in conjunction with the Royal Bank of Canada, (“RBC”) is pleased to announce its 2023 RBC Emerging Musician Program  (“Program”), where eligible Participants may submit for a chance to win the Grand Prize (as defined below).

(b) Beginning Monday, June 5th, 2023 at 10:00am Eastern Standard Time (“ET”) (“Submission Commencement Date”), eligible Participants (see paragraphs 2 and 3 below) may submit a Program Entry Form (“Program Form”) via CWOF’s website, https://emergingmusician.ca/ (the “Website”) for a chance to be selected as the GRAND PRIZE WINNER (“Grand Prize Winner”). The Grand Prize will be comprised of:

1. A Twenty Thousand Dollar ($20,000 CAN) cash prize

2. One (1) group mentorship session with a Canada’s Walk of Fame Inductee or Allan Slaight Music Impact Honouree (one (1) sixty (60) minute, which may be held virtually on Zoom or in-person depending on availability)

3. One (1) day-long creative workshop at ArtHaus in Toronto. ArtHaus is multi-purpose creative working space where professionals and artists in the arts industry collaborate and connect.
The ArtHaus workshop will include mentorship, which may include mentorship from:

  • A music lawyer;
  • A&R executives;
  • A recording engineer; and/or
  • An experienced music industry agent.

The ArtHaus workshop includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion).

4. One (1) showcase opportunity and one (1) Festival Access Pass to Canadian Music Week 2024 in Toronto, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

5. One (1) showcase opportunity at Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg, Manitoba in February 2024, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

6. $2,000 of financial support for a live-off-the-floor performance video produced in the winner’s hometown

7. Private studio recording time to record one (1) song at Metalworks Studios, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

8. Performance opportunities at CWOF events (to be determined by CWOF)

9. Dedicated artist page on Canada’s Walk of Fame RBC Emerging Musician Program website

(collectively, the “Grand Prize”)

(c) Other Prizes are as follows:

A Secondary Prize Comprised of:

1. A Ten Thousand Dollar ($10,000 CAN) cash prize*

2. One (1) group mentorship session with a Canada’s Walk of Fame Inductee or Allan Slaight Music Impact Honouree (One (1) sixty (60) minute session which may be held either virtually on Zoom or in-person depending on availability

3. One (1) day-long creative workshop at ArtHaus in Toronto. ArtHaus is a multi-purpose creative working space where professionals and artists in the arts industry collaborate and connect.

This ArtHaus workshop will include mentorship, which may include mentorship from:

  • A music lawyer;
  • A&R executives;
  • A recording engineer; and/or
  • An experienced music industry agent.

This ArtHaus workshop includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

4. One (1) showcase opportunity and one (1) Festival Access Pass to Canadian Music Week 2024 in Toronto, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

5. One (1) showcase opportunity at Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg, Manitoba in February 2024, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

6. $2,000 of financial support for a live-off-the-floor performance video produced in the Secondary Prize winner’s hometown.

7. Dedicated artist page on Canada’s Walk of Fame RBC Emerging Musician Program website.

(collectively, the “Secondary Prize”)

Three (3) additional Finalist (Third) Prizes comprised of:

1. A Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000 CAN) cash prize.

2. One (1) group mentorship session with a Canada’s Walk of Fame Inductee or Allan Slaight Music Impact Honouree (One (1) sixty (60) minute session, which shall be held either virtually on Zoom, or in-person depending on availability).

3. One (1) day-long creative workshop at ARTHAUS in Toronto. ARTHAUS is a multi-purpose creative working space where professionals and artists in the arts industry collaborate and connect.

This ARTHAUS workshop will include mentorship, which may include mentorship from the following:

  • A music lawyer;
  • A&R executives;
  • A recording engineer; and/or
  • An experienced music industry agent.

This ARTHAUS workshop includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion).

4. One (1) showcase opportunity and one (1) Festival Access Pass to Canadian Music Week 2024 in Toronto, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

5. One (1) showcase opportunity at Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg, Manitoba in February 2024, which includes airfare travel and accommodations (all to be determined at CWOF’s sole discretion)

6. $2,000 of financial support for a live-off-the-floor performance video produced in the Finalist Prize winner’s hometown.

7. Dedicated artist page on Canada’s Walk of Fame RBC Emerging Musician Program website.

 (collectively, the “Finalist Prizes”, and together with the Secondary Prize, the “Additional Prizes”)

PLEASE NOTE FOR ALL PRIZES:

  • THE CASH PRIZE PAYMENT SCHEDULE SHALL BE DETERMINED BY CWOF IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION.
  • THE CANADA’S WALK OF FAME INDUCTEE OR ALLAN SLAIGHT MUSIC IMPACT HONOUREE PROVIDING GROUP MENTORSHIP SESSIONS WILL BE SELECTED AT CWOF’S SOLE DISCRETION AFTER THE SUBMISSION PERIOD. SCHEDULING WILL DETERMINE IF THE MENTORSHIP WILL BE HELD VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM OR IN-PERSON.
  • THE BOOKING OF ALL AIRFARE TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS SHALL BE DETERMINED AT CWOF’S SOLE DISCRETION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE COMBINATION OF ANY TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE CREATIVE WORKSHOP AT ARTHAUS AND THE CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK SHOWCASE OPPORTUNITY IN TORONTO.
  • EXCEPTING THE CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK SHOWCASE PRIZE AND THE ARTHAUS WORKSHOP PRIZE, ALL OTHER PRIZES AWARDED HEREUNDER SHALL BE USED AND/OR COMPLETED WITHIN THE PROGRAM YEAR (I.E., BETWEEN JUNE 2023 AND MAY 31, 2024.)

2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS

(a) No purchase necessary. This Program is only open to individuals who, at the start of the Program (June 5, 2023), are aged 15 to 35, and who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or Indigenous people of Canada, who meet the Conditions of Entry in paragraph 3 below (herein defined as “eligible Participants” or “Participants”), except those persons who are also:

  • Employees, representatives and agents of CWOF, RBC, or any of their respective subsidiaries, related, affiliated or parent companies, their respective advertising and/or promotional agencies and/or other sponsors; and any other person or entity connected with the production, administration or judging of the Program;
  • Immediate family (spouses, parents, siblings and children) and household members of such employees, representatives and agents as described above.

(b)  CWOF reserves the right to request, at any time, valid proof of residency status or citizenship.

(c) By entering this Program, eligible Participants hereby irrevocably agree to comply with these Official Program Rules (the “Rules”), and agree to abide by all decisions and/or results of all voting/judging conducted in the Program, which shall be final and binding on all eligible Participants in all matters relating to the Program. There shall be no right of appeal. To be awarded a Prize, an eligible Participant must comply with all provisions of these Rules.

3) CONDITIONS OF ENTRY FOR ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS

(a) The following requirements are conditions of entry and participation for every eligible Participant in the Program:

i. Eligible Participants must be between the ages of 15-35 at the start of the program (June 5, 2023) and demonstrate a commitment to pursuing a career in music, which may include, but is not limited to:

– Devoting a minimum of 24 hours per week to their pursuit of their music career.
– Is enrolled in, or has recently graduated from, a related course and/or degree/diploma program.
– Has a small history of presentation or publication.
– Demonstrates a commitment to devoting more time to artistic activity.

*For greater certainty, in the case of a group or band submission, each individual must be between the ages of 15 – 35 at the start of the program (June 5, 2023) for the group or band to be eligible to participate in the Program.

ii. Eligible Participants cannot enter or have entered into any contractual, commercial, sponsorship or other agreements related to his or her musical performance abilities and/or singing abilities with a major label record company and/or its affiliates or subsidiaries, that are in breach of these Rules and Participant’s Declaration and Release Form (the “Participant’s Release”);

iii. Eligible Participants must not have a criminal record or any pending criminal charges;

iv. Eligible Participants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada or Indigenous peoples in Canada;

v. Previous Grand Prize and Second Prize winners are ineligible to participate in any subsequent Programs; Finalists are eligible to submit to the Program, but not in two consecutive years;

vi. Eligible Participants shall be required to provide proof of eligibility upon request by CWOF.

iv. In the event selected as a winner of the Grand Prize or the Additional Prizes, the Eligible Participant agrees to participate in all of the activities comprised therein (unless any exigent or extenuating circumstances exist preventing the Eligible Participants from doing so).

4) ONLINE SUBMISSIONS

(a) Between Monday, June 5th, 2023 at 10:00 am ET until Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET (“Submission Entry Period”), eligible Participants may enter the Program by submitting:

i. An accepted Participant’s Release (to be accepted by parent or legal guardian of eligible Participant if eligible Participant is below the age of 18 years as of the Submission Commencement Date);

ii. A completed Program Submission Form which must contain the following two (2) elements:

  1. Completed contact information for the eligible Participant; and
  2. One (1) video or audio file submission of a musical or vocal performance via the entry form on https://emergingmusician.ca/  in one of the following formats: .MP3, .WAV, .WMA, .MOV, .MPEG4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, .3GPP, .WebM, or YouTube Link. Submissions may not show clothing items bearing business, designer or sports logos or design. Submissions must be the original work of you or your band members and must not infringe the rights of any third party including, but not limited to copyright, trademark, privacy and personality rights. You must have consent from any people appearing and/or performing in the submissions. Submissions must not: (i) contain threatening, abusive, libellous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, indecent information of any kind; (ii) violate or encourage anyone to violate any law or regulation; (iii) contain advertising or commercial messages. Submissions should consist of a solo or group vocal performance, instrumental performance or a combination thereof. (the “Online Submission”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, CWOF encourages submissions of approximately five (5) minutes in length and which do not contain profanity. For clarity, however, submissions that are greater than five (5) minutes in length or contain profane language will not be rendered ineligible. 

(b) The Online Submission is MANDATORY for an eligible Participant to enter the Program. However, CWOF and its associates and/or affiliates assume no liability whatsoever with respect to any failure to receive or review any Online Submission(s).

(c)  PLEASE NOTE: Only ONE (1) Online Submission may be submitted per eligible Participant. Multiple Participants are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any Participant to obtain more than one entry by using different email addresses, identities, registrations, or through any other method, will void a Participant’s entries. Entries received shall be deemed to be submitted by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the entry.  For the purpose of these Rules, “authorized account holder” of an email address is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.  CWOF may require eligible Participant to provide proof he/she is the authorized account holder if required.

5) SUBMISSION END DATE AND PROGRAM END DATE

The closing date for Online Submissions is Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET (the “Submission End Date”). Program participation wraps up following Canadian Music Week and Arthaus in June 2024.

6) SELECTION PROCESS

(a) Online Submissions will be reviewed by CWOF’s 2023 RBC Emerging Musician Program judging panel (“CWOF Judges”).  The members of this panel shall be selected by CWOF in its absolute discretion and will include, but not be limited to music industry executives, established artists, and CWOF Board.

i. After the Submission End Date all submissions will be vetted to ensure compliance with the Program Rules and narrowed down to the Top 99.

ii. The preliminary judging panel will then select the Top 25 submissions for final judging panel.

iii. From the Top 25, the final judging panel will then jointly select the Grand Prize Winner, Second Prize Winner, and three Finalists in their sole discretion, based on criteria including creativity, originality, talent, and otherwise.

iv. On a date within three (3) months following the Submission End Date (said actual date to be determined), the Grand Prize Winner, the Secondary Winner and the three (3) additional Finalist Winners (collectively, the “Prize Winners”) will be announced online.

 (b)  THE CWOF JUDGES ALONE SHALL SELECT THE WINNERS. THE DECISION OF THE CWOF JUDGES SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING WITH NO RIGHT OF APPEAL.  In the event of any dispute regarding the interpretation of these Rules, the decision or interpretation of CWOF or the CWOF Judges shall prevail.

7) PRIZING

  • There is one (1) Grand Prize package available to be won. The contents of the Grand Prize package is set out above.
  • There is one (1) Secondary Prize package available to be won. The contents of the Secondary Prize package is set out above.
  • There are three (3) additional Finalist Prizes available to be won. The contents of the three (3) Finalist Prizes are set out above.

The approximate value of all Prizing in total is over $100,000 CAD. 

8) PRIZE CONDITIONS

(a) The Grand Prize and Additional Prizes must be accepted as awarded. The Grand Prize and Additional Prizes may not be sold, transferred, and are not convertible to cash. CWOF and/or sponsors reserve the right to substitute any portion of any of the Grand Prize or Additional Prizes in whole or in part in the event that all or any component of the Grand Prize or Additional Prizes are unavailable.  The Prize Winners are solely responsible for all costs and expenses not expressly described herein.

(b) The Prize Winners (and his or her parent(s) or legal guardian(s), if applicable) shall be responsible for his or her own ground transportation, meals, gratuities, insurance, spending money and all other personal or incidental expenses that may be applicable and/or related to any Prize element, including but not limited to any travel-related costs in connection with a performance by Participant, if applicable. Further, any and all taxes that may be applicable to any Prize are the sole responsibility of the Prize Winners.

(c) Following confirmation as a Prize Winner in accordance with the Rules, the potential Prize Winners will be given instructions and a deadline as to how they must claim the Prize. Potential Prize Winners who fail either to claim the Prize or to inform CWOF his/her inability to claim the Prize before the deadline, as instructed, may be required to forfeit the Prize and another eligible Participant may be selected in CWOF’s sole discretion.

(d) All Prize Winners shall, on reasonable notice and without further consideration, participate in publicity and promotion of the CWOF and the Program after the awarding of the Prizes, at times and places to be designated by CWOF, including, without limitation, participating in public appearances, photo sessions, videotaped interviews, web-casts, pod-casts, blogs, video diaries, chat rooms and SMS chats.

(e) All Prize Winners agree, both as part of publicity and promotion and as part of use of any Prizes, including any performances (if applicable); to participate in any sponsorship tie-ins, integration and product placements as may be required by CWOF in its sole discretion.

(f) Prize Winners must agree to and be available to travel on the dates as decided by CWOF to facilitate prizing and be willing and able to participate in all aspects of the prizing described above. If a Prize Winner is unable to travel on the designated dates, or is not willing and able to participate in all aspects of the prizing described above, the prize will be forfeited without compensation and a new Prize Winner may be selected by CWOF, in its sole discretion.  

(g) In addition to the foregoing, the Grand Prize Winner will permit CWOF or its agents and designees to attend at the recording studios during the Grand Prize Winner’s awarded studio time to film and record the Grand Prize Winner during their in- studio recording sessions, including performances and interviews, and to include and use such recordings in connection with the exhibition and promotion of the Program in all media in perpetuity.

(h) In addition to the Prize Declaration and Release Form, Prize Winners agree to enter into, sign and abide by the terms of additional agreements with CWOF or any of their affiliates, licensees, successors, and/or assigns for exhibition and promotion of the Program, including but not limited to, waivers, releases, contracts, music licenses or authorizations that Producer deem reasonably necessary to enforce terms of this Agreement.

9) ACCEPTANCE OF RISK

By accepting a Prize Package, the Prize Winner(s) (and his or her parent(s) or legal guardian(s), as applicable), understand and agree that, as a condition of receiving and participating in the Program and accepting the Prize Package, he/she or they will be required to fully execute a Program Declaration and Release Form, failing which the Prize Package shall be forfeited.

10) PRIZE SUBSTITUTION / REMOVAL

CWOF reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove a Prize from the Program or to substitute a prize, or any component or components thereof, of equal or greater value than the whole or any part of the Prize, at any time.

11) CONSENT FOR USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Subject to paragraph 13 (g) below, when a Participant enters the Program and voluntarily provides his/her personal information (including, but not limited to, email address, first name, last name, age, city, province, postal code, and home phone number, cell phone number, email address etc.)(collectively, the “Participant Information”), he  or  she  agrees  to  CWOF’s  collection  and  use  of  the  Participant Information is to conduct and administer the Program. Subject to the Participant’s Information not having been previously broadcast or published on the Website, or been irrevocably scheduled for broadcast, the Participant’s consent to CWOF’s use of Participant Information may be revoked with reasonable notice by writing to CWOF at contactus@emergingmusician.ca.

12) MISCELLANEOUS

(a) Online Submissions received by CWOF will not be returned, and no correspondence will be entered into except with eligible Participants whose Online Submissions are selected.

(b) CWOF shall not be responsible for lost, late, incomplete or misdirected Online Submissions, for any failure of the Website (or any associated website) during the Program, or any program associated thereto, or for any problems or technical malfunction of a telephone or broadcast network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or on- line entry to be received by CWOF on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or the Website(s), or any combination thereof, that may affect an individual’s ability to participate in the Program in any manner, or for any injury or damage to any person or to a Participant’s or any other person’s computer or property related to or resulting from using, downloading or sending any material in connection with the Program, or any property  associated thereto.  The eligible Participant hereby agrees to irrevocably release the Releasees (as defined herein) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of any technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, printers or telephone or network lines and errors in the administration of the Program or the method of processing entries.

(c) CWOF reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without notice, to cancel, suspend or modify the Program, in whole or in part, for any reason, including but not limited to, (a) acts of God; (b) flood, fire, earthquake, tsunami, epidemics, pandemics, including, but not limited to, the novel COVID-19 pandemic, or explosion; (c) war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), terrorist threats or acts, riot or other civil unrest; (d) government order or law; (e) actions, embargoes or blockades in effect on or after the start date of the Program; (f) action by any governmental authority; (g) national or regional emergency; (h) strikes, labour stoppages or slowdowns or other disturbances; (i) shortage of adequate power or transportation facilities; (j) a virus, bug or any other cause of any nature beyond the reasonable control of CWOF, which corrupts or could corrupt or interfere with the security or proper administration of the Program; and (k) other similar events beyond the reasonable control of CWOF or the Royal Bank of Canada (each, a “Force Majeure Event”). Each of CWOF and the Royal Bank of Canada shall not be liable nor responsible, nor be deemed to have defaulted or breached its obligations in respect of the Program, for any failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any of its obligations in respect of the Program, when and to the extent such failure or delay is caused by or results from a Force Majeure Event. CWOF is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate transmission of information which may affect any person’s ability to participate in the Program, including but not limited to human error, technical malfunctions, lost/delayed/corrupted data transmission, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, line failures of any telephone network, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof, any inability to access the Website, or any damage to a user’s system occasioned by participating in the Program.

(d) Any attempt to deliberately damage the Website or to undermine the legitimate operation of the Program will render any Online Submissions submitted by an individual participating in such activity void and may be a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, CWOF reserves the right to seek remedies and damages to the fullest extent permitted by law, including criminal prosecution.  All Online Submissions are subject to verification and will be declared invalid if they are illegible, incomplete, garbled, mechanically reproduced, mutilated, plagiarized, forged, falsified, altered or tampered with in any way.

(e) By entering the Program, each eligible Participant expressly and irrevocably releases and discharges from any liability CWOF, the Royal Bank of Canada and their respective parents, subsidiaries, successors, related and affiliated companies, licensees, assigns, directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents, sponsors, suppliers, franchisees, dealers, advertising and promotional agencies, and any and all others associated with the development and execution of the Program, or any other related property or production (collectively the “Releasees”), from and against any and all claims, demands or causes of action which Participant, his/her heirs, executors, administrators or legal representatives may have now or in future against the Releasees, including without limitation, for death, property damage,  personal injury, libel, slander, defamation, invasion of privacy and infringement of copyright, or any other cause of action arising out of or in connection with Participant’s participation in the Program, including but not limited to the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prizes by the Participant in connection with the Program  or resulting from participation in any prize-related activity, if applicable.

(f) The Prize Winners shall also be required to deliver a completed Program Declaration and Release Form.  Without delivery of such, the Prize Winner must forfeit the prize.

(g) Notwithstanding paragraph 12 above, each eligible Participant irrevocably grants to CWOF and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents and licensees, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, sub-licensable, unconditional, perpetual and transferable right and license to reproduce, encode, store, modify, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, adapt, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse the Participant’s name, age, photo and likeness, voice, address (city and province only), biographical material, prize information and Online Submission, including, but not limited to, the video or digital recording and performances contained in any of the above items, as well as any additional photographic images, video images, portraits, interviews or other materials relating to the Participant and arising out of his/her participation in the Program (with or without using the Participant’s name), in any manner or medium throughout the world for any purpose (including advertising, publicity and promotional purposes), provided that any of the above items shall not be used as an endorsement of any product or service other than CWOF, the Program or any of the Program sponsorship and product placements as required by Producer (in its sole discretion) in and for the Program or its sponsors, without limitation, and without additional review, compensation, consideration, consent or approval from the Participant or any other party. For the avoidance of doubt, the Participant retains all ownership rights and copyright in and to the Online Submission and/or other outputs in relation to the Program.

(h) CWOF reserves the right, at any time, to disqualify and immediately remove any eligible Participant, from the Program who, in CWOF’s sole discretion, has breached any of the Terms and Conditions of the Participant’s Release and/or these Rules, including, without limitation, if any representation or warranty made herein is found to be false or incorrect or misleading in a material respect, by omission or otherwise. In such event, the individual shall be replaced with the next best Submission(s), as determined by CWOF at its sole discretion. CWOF reserves the right to terminate or withdraw this Program any time prior to the Submission End Date, for any reason, without any prior notice.

(i) Chances of winning are based on the number of submissions by eligible participants actually received.

(j) No communication or correspondence will be exchanged with any participant except the one selected as the grand prize winner, second prize winner, and three finalists.

(k) This Program is subject to all applicable Federal, Provincial and Municipal laws and regulations. The Official Rules are subject to change without notice in order to comply with any applicable local, provincial and federal laws or the policy of any other entity having jurisdiction over the CWOF, and/or its affiliates or sponsors.  Any questions or issues regarding the Rules or the rights and obligations between the Participant and CWOF in respect of the Program shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario.