The Very Prairie Music Summit, January 21-23/2022
​
Very Prairie 2022 is a virtual music summit, now in its fourth year, focused on career growth, business development and music industry best practices. We'll play host to national and international representatives as we dive into an array of topics that we hope will provide practical and straightforward information. We encourage musicians and industry at any stage of their career to attend, learn and share.​
​
REGISTRATION IS FREE!
Scroll down page to find the Registration form.
Registration will give you the password to the Panel Access page
where you can access recordings of some of the panels.
All times CT
​
Friday, January 21st, 2022
​
1:30pm Opening Greeting
Led by Joseph Naytowhow
SaskMusic’s Executive Director, Michael Dawson will share greetings and be joined by Joseph Naytowhow to open the 2022 summit.
​
2:00pm Getting Started with FACTOR: The Artist Development Grant
Panelist: Anthony Johnson (FACTOR)
Anthony Johnson from FACTOR will join us and tell us more about the Artist Development funding stream, which has an upcoming deadline of February 3. If you’re working on an application or curious to know more, this session is for you!
​
3:00pm Spotify Masterclass
Panelist: Adrian Burke (Spotify Canada)
Take a personal guide through Spotify's artist tools & features. Meet the team and discover your biggest platform.
​
​
Saturday, January 22nd, 2022
Click for panelist bios
​
11:00am Masinaha: A Discussion with Indigenous Songwriters
Panelists: Donny Parenteau, Forrest Eaglespeaker, Dale McArthur, and Lindsay Knight (Moderator)
Four Indigenous songwriters share their thoughts and experiences on inspiration, collaboration, the process of writing, and more!
​
12:00pm Artist & Songwriter Royalties Primer
Panelist: Lorena Kelly (SaskMusic)
Confused by where you need to register, and how to collect your artist or songwriter royalties? You’re not alone! Join us for a walk-through of the different performing rights organizations (PROs), and what royalties you might be eligible for.
​
1:30pm Social Media + Music
Panelist: Vanessa Cito (Reach)
Social media is one of the most integral marketing and branding tools available to the music industry. The unprecedented ability to connect and communicate with your audience has transcended novelty and is now a critical and essential part of any artist's career. We will take a deeper dive into marketing using social media. Take your knowledge to the next level in this customized workshop as we look at building impactful and deliberate campaigns that focus on community development and new tools to help reach your audience. Presented by Vanessa Cito (Reach).
​
3:30pm Ask Us Anything: Mentor Edition
Panelists: Arun Chaturvedi, Melissa MacMaster, Marvin Chan, Earl Pereira and Brittney MacFarlane (Moderator)
Join industry mentors from SaskMusic’s Career Tracks Program and ask them any questions you’d like to about your music activities and path, the music industry, or their own paths!
​
​
Sunday, January 23rd, 2022
Click for panelist bios
​
10:00am Getting Outside Canada: Planning an Export Campaign
Panelists: Joy Warman (Secretly Canadian), Jess Kangolee (Good Energy), Ali Raymond (Beatnik, Manager of Arlo Parks), Bree Wilkinson (Yes Please), Danny Keir (Enki Music)
Campaign planning and management: figuring out your release campaign timelines, and discussion of marketing and management tools. Moderated by Danny Keir (Enki Music).
​
11:00am The Future of Live Music: UK Edition
Panelists: Keith Wyatt (UV Clean Light, Enki Future Venues), Phyllis Belezos (Heliocentric Entertainment, Music Venues Trust), Richie Clark (Tour Manager of The Kooks, Razorlight), G-Lo (Artist Manager), Danny Keir (Enki Music)
Look ahead to touring and audience development post-Covid, what is being done to rebuild fan engagement and trust, and the forward motion of the live industry. Moderated by Danny Keir (Enki Music).
​
12:00pm The Ins and Outs of Creative Saskatchewan Grants
Panelist: Lisa Prpich (Creative Saskatchewan)
Learn how musicians of various career levels can access funding for music projects. Whether recording, marketing, touring or showcasing, Creative Saskatchewan has you covered. Program Officer Lisa Prpich will talk about the basics of each program, how applications are assessed, and what you need to keep in mind when preparing your application.
​
1:00pm Releasing to Radio
Panelist: Dale Peters (Dale Speaking)
Dale Peters (Dale Speaking) will walk us through how to release your music to radio and touch on college, commercial, Indigenous, internet, and commercial chart reporting. Additionally, he will discuss Tiktok, Reels, social platforms, and digital service providers (DSPs) and their role with and without radio.
Following this session, Dale will be sitting down with five artists to help them craft their radio release strategy. Artists must apply and meet criteria to be considered for one of these spots via a separate application. More details coming soon!
​
2:00pm Closing Message
Led by Joseph Naytowhow
We will once again be joined by Joseph Naytowhow for a special session to close the weekend’s events.
​
​
WHAT IS VERY PRAIRIE?
Very Prairie 2022 is a virtual music summit, now in its fourth year, focused on career growth, business development and music industry best practices. We'll play host to national and international representatives as we dive into an array of topics that we hope will provide practical and straightforward information.
​
We encourage musicians and industry at any stage of their career to attend, learn and share.
​
We respectfully acknowledge that Very Prairie serves artists and industry who live and work on territories of Treaties 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10, and the traditional lands of First Nations and Métis people.
​
This event is a presentation of SaskMusic.
​