Ottawa’s musicians are like those in any other cities: they struggle to promote and develop their craft while staying true to their sound. Becoming a rock star isn’t easy, nor cheap and the first person to tell you would be Samantha Everts of YouRockRed. Known for her Rock Star grant writing specialty, Everts has helped some of Ottawa’s best local talent find money for everything from recording an album to going on a European tour. And now she’s partnered up with the Bluesfest School of Music and Art (BSOMA) for their test launch of seminars to nurture musicians and their music within the city.
Everts is a music strategist and consultant by trade, and YouRockRed clients have gotten over $250,000 in just over a year since last fall. BSOMA has just started offering small seminars for members under the Ottawa Festivals banner, and has chosen Show Me the Money: How to Fund Your Record as the pilot in what they hope to be a series of seminars. Alongside Everts is a band of professionals from a variety of backgrounds in the music and grant community that cover every angle of the seminar completely.
First is Megan Jones, a FACTOR Project Coordinator who boasts a smattering of M.A.’s in the arts, but has also worked in almost every position within the festival organization – meaning she’s no novice when it comes to looking for funding. ‘FACTOR’ stands for the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recording, so as a Project Coordinator her job is to literally procure funding for musicians.
Next we have Caroline Matt, a Cultural Funding Officer from the City of Ottawa who holds the music portfolio. Caroline has spent her entire career working with and for musicians. To round everything out, BSOMA has brought in Amos the Transparent to share personal experience on their successes in fund-raising as well as their opportunities for growth.
BSOMA and Everts have put together the seminar to dually share knowledge on how to obtain funding for a project as well as gauge interest from the public about how helpful this information is. If enough interest is shown, seminars on gaining sponsorship or funding a tour may follow.
The seminar welcomes artists from all genres and encourages both bands and solo artists to join them for some free craft beer and tips on making your application stand out. It is structured as a brief Q & A with the experts followed by an hour long discussion with the added bonus of having the opportunity to meet and trade tales with other local musicians. Interest in the seminar has so far been staggering with the majority of tickets selling within the first week of it going live.
We have two tickets to Show me the Money, courtesy of the Bluesfest School of Music and Art. To enter, just send an email with “money” in the subject header to apartment613@gmail.com by noon on Wednesday, November 26. A winner will be chosen by random draw.
Show Me the Money takes place on Thursday, November 27 from 7-10 pm at Festival House (450 Churchill Ave). A limited amount of Individual tickets are still available for $10 and can be purchased here.
