In collaboration with your mentor, you will define your career aspirations and goals. These objectives can be modest or ambitious, but they will be determined through thoughtful discussion, considering each artist’s genre, brand, identity and how best to leverage their existing skills. 

Your aspirations may include:

• Touring plans (headlining, supporting, festivals)
• Recording plans (LP, EP, Singles)
• Release scheduling
• Social media goals
• Streaming/sales targets
• Artistic expression and fulfillment

Together with your mentor, you will compile a list of dream producers you’d like to collaborate with to record a single. After a producer joins the project, you will collaborate with your mentor to choose a studio, assemble a recording team (including session musicians, engineers, and mixers), and establish a recording schedule.

You will then collaborate with the producer to achieve the following:

1. Pre-production: working with the producer in advance of the recording to potentially arrange and co-write, select the instrumentation, record demos and finalize the composition of the song.
2. Tracking: Recording the song in the studio.
3. Mixing: Develop a powerful mix of the song, working with the producer, the studio engineer, or an external mixing engineer.
4. Mastering: This is the final process of recording and will be done by a mastering engineer. 

Next comes probably the most involved part of the program, the release and marketing of your single. Your mentor will guide you to build your marketing team, which may include:

• Photographer
• Videographer
• Music Video Director
• Graphic Designer
• Social Media Manager Or Content Creator
• Marketing/Publicity Firm

Once you’ve compiled your marketing team, you will work to create the marketing plan for your single, which will include:

• Creating a budget
• Creating social media content and other marketing assets
• Secure marketing platforms
• Build a release schedule for each marketing asset

You will then work with your marketing team to develop the branding and visuals for your release, which may include:

• Single artwork
• Logos/Badges
• Photography
• Short form video content
• Teasers/BTS videos
• One major visual release element; Music Video, Live Performance Video, Lyric Video or Promotional Press Video.

Register the song with all the various PRO’s (Performance Rights Organisations) in order to maximize royalties.

Develop a short-term business plan made up of a series of goals the artist can achieve. This can include:

• Writing, recording and releasing music
• Applying for relevant funding
• Showcase opportunities
• Securing radio play
• Developing multiple revenue streams

An important tool in an artist’s toolbox. It is possible to hire a contractor to write grants but it is important to be knowledgeable about what goes into a successful grant application, how to identify the appropriate grant sources and have an overall understanding of the process. In some cases (FACTOR) this requires a pre-registration to develop the artist profile. The artist will work closely with the program to develop one grant application.

If the artist is a band, it is crucial and an area that many young bands forget or do not understand. It can have a tremendous impact if members decide to leave, how to split up revenues, paying taxes, etc.

Advice on registering as a business, setting up dedicated bank accounts or registering for HST are areas that all artists should be aware of and the program will provide an introduction to these topics.