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Polaris Music Prize

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Not to be confused with Polar Music Prize.

Polaris Music Prize
DescriptionBest full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label.
CountryCanada
First awarded2006
Websitepolarismusicprize.ca

The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label.[1] The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize;[2] the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award.[3] In May 2015, it was announced the Polaris Music Prize winner will now receive $50,000, an additional $20,000, thanks to the sponsorship of Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes which go to the nine other acts on the Short List will increase from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced they will be creating The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, a sort of hall of fame award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.[4]

The Polaris Music Prize is modeled after United Kingdom/Ireland's Mercury Prize[5] and in turn, inspired the Atlantis Music Prize/Borealis Music Prize for Newfoundland and Labrador.[6]

The 2018 Polaris sponsors include the CBC, the Government of Canada, FACTOR, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Slaight Communications, Radio Starmaker Fund, SiriusXM, Stingray Music/Galaxie, The Carlu, Shure Canada, Toronto radio station Indie88, SOCAN and Re-Sound20.[7] Past sponsors have included Rogers Communications[8] and Scion.[9]

The Polaris Music Prize gala is video streamed live on CBC Music and AUX TV.[10]

Jury and selection process

There is no submission process or entry fee for the Polaris Music Prize.[1] Jurors select what they consider the five best Canadian albums released in the previous year. The ballots are tabulated with each number one pick awarded five points, a number two pick awarded four points and so on. A long list of 40 titles is tabulated, released in mid-June and promoted to the public. The long list is then sent back to the jury. The jurors then re-submit five top picks from this long list.[1]

These ballots are re-tabulated and the top ten titles form the Polaris short list. This list is released in early July and promoted to the public.[1] A smaller group of 11 jury members ("The Grand Jury") who convene in Toronto at the Polaris Music Prize gala in late September decide the ultimate winner. The decision is finalized during the gala as the nominated bands perform.[2] Grand jurors are selected so that each shortlisted album has one person in the jury room to advocate for it; ten are selected on the basis of having named one of the shortlisted albums as their top pick in the balloting, while the remaining jury position is given to a person who did not vote for any of the shortlisted albums at all.[11]

Polaris Music Prize board of directors selects the jurors.[1] The jury list includes more than 200 Canadian music journalists, bloggers and broadcasters. To ensure an impartial outcome, no one with direct financial relationships with artists is eligible to become a jury member.[1] The organization itself is a registered, not-for-profit corporation. Another key benefit of enlisting music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers as judges is that increased media coverage draws attention to quality music in a cluttered commercial landscape and an increasingly fractured music scene.[12][13]

Notable jurors have included former MuchMusic VJs Hannah Sung and Hannah Simone, and Toronto Star music columnist Ben Rayner.[14] Some of the 2018 judges include Lana Gay (Indie88), Mike Bell (YYSCENE), Stuart Derdeyn (Vancouver Province), Stephen Cooke (The Chronicle Herald), Brad Wheeler (The Globe and Mail), Alan Ranta (Exclaim!), Alan Cross (102.1 the edge), CBC Radio personalities Sandra Sperounes, Melody Lau, Lisa Christiansen and Raina Douris and Mitch Pollock, Voir music journalists Patrick Baillargeon and Olivier Boisvert-Magnen, Kimberly Cleave (APTN/Digital Drum) and Carl Wilson.[15]

On November 3, 2014, Jian Ghomeshi, the disgraced former CBC Q host and host of the very first Polaris Gala, was dropped from the Polaris juror pool. Polaris officials have made no official announcement on the subject.[16]

Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize

In 2015, the Polaris jury also launched the Polaris Heritage Prize now known as the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize,[17] an annual award program to honour classic Canadian albums released prior to the creation of the Polaris Prize.[18] Each year, the Heritage Prize will present four awards to one album from each of four time periods.[18]

In the first year, the Heritage Prizes were awarded in the categories 1960s-70s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000-2005, selected by public vote from a shortlist of five nominees. In the second year, the process and categories were revised with the initial shortlists increased to 10, the categories shifted to 1960-75, 1976–85, 1986-1995 and 1996-2005, and the addition of a second prize to be selected by a critical jury alongside the winner of the public vote.[19] The purpose of the jury award is to ensure that albums which were artistically important, but not necessarily as commercially popular, still have a fair shot at being selected as winners; to ensure that two different albums are selected, however, the jury does not meet to vote on its choice until after the popular vote winner has been determined.[19]

Non-winning nominees in a Heritage Prize category can be renominated again in a future year.

Winners and short list nominees

Final Fantasy at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2006
Patrick Watson at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2007
Caribou at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2008
Fucked Up at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2009
Karkwa at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2010
Arcade Fire at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2011
Feist at the Polaris Music Prize gala in 2012
Constellation Records' Ian Ilavsky accepting 2013 Prize on behalf of Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Tanya Tagaq wins 2014 Polaris Prize.
Buffy Sainte-Marie wins the 2015 Polaris Music Prize. Photo by Dustin Rabin.
Kaytranada shows the proof that he won the 2016 Polaris Music Prize. Photo by Danny Williams.
Year Winner Shortlisted Nominees & Albums[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
2006
(1st) 		Final Fantasy – He Poos Clouds
2007
(2nd) 		Patrick Watson – Close to Paradise
2008
(3rd) 		Caribou – Andorra
2009
(4th) 		Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life
2010
(5th) 		Karkwa – Les Chemins de verre
2011
(6th) 		Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
2012
(7th) 		Feist – Metals
2013
(8th) 		Godspeed You! Black Emperor – 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
2014
(9th) 		Tanya Tagaq – Animism
2015
(10th) 		Buffy Sainte-Marie – Power in the Blood
2016
(11th) 		Kaytranada – 99.9%
2017
(12th) 		Lido Pimienta – La Papessa
2018
(13th) 		Jeremy Dutcher - Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa

Controversies

The Polaris Music Prize can be the subject of intense scrutiny from fans, media and music industry insiders. A number of recurring debates have emerged throughout Polaris' history. Some of these include: perception the prize is either too "indie" or too "mainstream,"[32] concern about gender balance amongst nominees and jurors, concern about racial balance amongst nominees and jurors, concern about geographical representation amongst nominees and jurors, and concern about fair representation of specific musical genres. These topics are discussed at length during the open-to-the-public "Polaris Salons" which usually feature Polaris jurors as panelists in various cities across North America during the lead-up to each year's Polaris Gala.[33]

Polaris Prize winners are often the centre of specific controversies as well.

  • 2009: Publishing the words "Fucked Up." When Fucked Up won in 2009 many mainstream media outlets were forced to wrestle with how they would present the band's name. The Canoe.ca news service used the headline "F***** Up (language alert , language alert below) wins the 2009 Polaris Music Prize on Monday night,"[34] The Globe and Mail went with "Toronto hardcore band wins Polaris Music Prize,"[35] while The New Yorker's "The Prize That Dare Not Speak Its Name"[36] monitored what they called "semantic yoga."[37]
  • 2013: Godspeed You! Black Emperor refused to attend the 2013 Polaris gala. When the band won for their album Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!, representatives from their label Constellation Records accepted the $30,000 prize on their behalf. Constellation's Don Wilkie said in a statement, "Godspeed will use the prize money to purchase musical instruments for, and support organizations providing music lessons to, people incarcerated within the Quebec prison system."[38] The next day the band released their own statement, saying "holding a gala during a time of austerity and normalized decline is a weird thing to do" and that "maybe the next celebration should happen in a cruddier hall, without the corporate banners and culture overlords."[39] This was also the first year the Polaris winners were not presented with what had up until that point been a traditional giant novelty cheque to represent their victory. The presenting of the giant novelty cheque has since been discontinued.
  • 2014: During Tanya Tagaq's victory speech she declared "Fuck PETA,"[40] in reference to the organization for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Tagaq also used her gala performance and post-Polaris victory interviews as a platform to discuss the instances of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across Canada.[41]
  • 2017: Lido Pimienta's acceptance speech was capped with an unexpected, obscenity-spiked outburst about her monitors being off during her performance. "All of my f**king monitors were off," the Colombian-born musician shouted into the microphone at the end of the show, which was webcast by the CBC. Earlier she performed two songs live. "I could not hear myself when I was up here. I’m f**king pissed off. Thank you though, mother f**ker." [42]

Polaris Prize Music Releases

In 2006 compilation CD/souvenir program guides featuring one song each from every shortlisted artist were given out at the Polaris Gala. The same was done in 2007 with all shortlisted artists contributing to the compilation CD except Arcade Fire.

Between 2008 and 2011, the souvenir program guides instead included download cards for recipients to obtain one song from each of the shortlisted artists.

Polaris began releasing promotional split seven-inch singles beginning in 2012 which were separate from the souvenir program guides. These singles were often given away through campaigns with independent record stores, via contests, at Polaris Salons, or at Polaris Galas.

In recent years, the Polaris Prize has also sponsored a series of promotional singles involving nominated or winning musicians. The "Polaris Cover Sessions"[43] series features past nominees recording a cover of a song by another nominee, while the "Polaris Collaboration Sessions" series features two past nominees collaborating on a new original song.

2012

  • Grimes "Genesis" + Handsome Furs "Serve The People" on grey vinyl
  • Kathleen Edwards "Going to Hell" + Cold Specks "Blank Maps" on white vinyl
  • Japandroids "The House That Heaven Built" + Cadence Weapon "Conditioning" on yellow vinyl
  • Fucked Up "What Would You Do (For Veronica)?" + YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN "Queens" on orange-red vinyl

Feist and Drake did not participate.

2013

  • Tegan And Sara "I Was A Fool" + A Tribe Called Red "The Road ft. Black Bear" on orange vinyl
  • Zaki Ibrahim "Draw The Line" + Whitehorse "Achilles' Desire" on white vinyl
  • Purity Ring "Fineshrine" + Colin Stetson "High Above A Grey Green Sea" on purple vinyl
  • Metric "Dreams So Real" + Young Galaxy "Pretty Boy" on blue vinyl
  • METZ "Get Off" on yellow vinyl

Godspeed You! Black Emperor did not participate.

2014

  • YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN "Windflower" + Tanya Tagaq "Umingmak" on white vinyl
  • Shad "Progress (Part 1: American Pie)" + Mac DeMarco "Brother" on red/orange vinyl
  • Owen Pallett "The Riverbed" + Arcade Fire "Normal Person" on blue vinyl
  • Basia Bulat "Never Let Me Go" + Timber Timbre "Grand Canyon" on yellow vinyl
  • Jessy Lanza "Move Closer" (previously physically unreleased) on "trippy pattern" grey vinyl

Drake did not participate.

Polaris Cover Sessions

  • Sarah Harmer, "Odessa" (Caribou)[44]
  • Whitehorse, "The Bones of an Idol" (The New Pornographers)[45]
  • Great Lake Swimmers, "I'm a Mountain" (Sarah Harmer)[46]
  • Arkells, "I Am Not Afraid" (Owen Pallett)[47]
  • Zaki Ibrahim, "Show Me the Place" (Leonard Cohen)[48]
  • Joel Plaskett, "Bittersweet Melodies" (Feist)[49]
  • Little Scream, "Anew Day" (Mary Margaret O’Hara)[50]
  • Hannah Georgas, "Crown of Love" (Arcade Fire)[51]
  • Les soeurs Boulay, "Complainte pour Ste-Catherine" (Kate & Anna McGarrigle)[52]

Polaris Collaboration Sessions

Polaris, the Banff Centre and Scion Sessions teamed up for a collaborative residency project featuring past shortlisted artists Shad and Holy Fuck. The result was the Scion Sessions-sponsored Holy Shad "Legend of Cy Borg Parts I and II" seven-inch single as well as a documentary video produced by AUX TV.[53]

In 2017, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tanya Tagaq collaborated on the single "You Got to Run (Spirit of the Wind)".[54] The song was subsequently included on Sainte-Marie's album Medicine Songs.

Presentation Venues

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Frere-Jones, Shasha (September 22, 2009). "The Prize That Dare Not Speak Its Name". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 22, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b Molotkow, Alexandra (October 1, 2010). "The Indie Rock Swindle". The Walrus. Retrieved October 1, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced". aux.tv, June 16, 2011.
  4. ^ "Polaris Music Prize Increased To $50,000 In 2015 - Polaris Music Prize". May 9, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  5. ^ "Polaris Music Prize: An Oral History as told by its founders, jurors, and winners". AUX.TV. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  6. ^ McLean, Steve (June 2, 2006). "The Polaris Music Prize Will Go To Canada's Best Album". Chart. Retrieved July 25, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Polaris Music Prize Sponsors". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "Sirius Sponsors Polaris Music Prize". billboard.com. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "Scion Canada supports Canadian talent as new presenting sponsor of Polaris Music Prize". media.scion.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  10. ^ Wheeler, Brad (October 1, 2010). "Should it be called the Polaris 'Indie' Music Prize?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 1, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Here and Now, September 22, 2014.
  12. ^ Finn, Brad (September 1, 2010). "Should it be called the Polaris 'Indie' Music Prize?". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
  13. ^ "Predicting Polaris: Picking Canada's Best Album". Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  14. ^ Sindrey, Curtis (September 19, 2012). "Toronto music journalists debate 2012 Polaris Music Prize short-list on eve of gala". Aesthetic Magazine, Toronto. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  15. ^ "Polaris Prize Jury". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  16. ^ "Polaris Music Prize removes Jian Ghomeshi from its jury". thestar.com. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  17. ^ "About the Heritage Prize". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Polaris Music Prize Announces Heritage Prize Nominees". Exclaim!, September 18, 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Arcade Fire, Neil Young and Rush Among Winners of Polaris Heritage Prize". Billboard, October 25, 2016.
  20. ^ "Indie favourites among finalists for Polaris Music Prize". CBC News. July 4, 2010. Archived from the original on May 23, 2007. Retrieved November 21, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "2007 Nominees - Polaris Music Prize Shortlist". polarismusicprize.ca. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "Rockers dominate Polaris prize short list". CBC News. July 7, 2008. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2010. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; October 4, 2008 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "Ladies and Gentleman, the 2009 Short List" (Press release). Polaris Music Prize. July 7, 2009. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  24. ^ "2010 Nominees Polaris Music Prize". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  25. ^ "Polaris Music Prize Rolls Out 2011 Short List". Exclaim! Magazine. July 6, 2011. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2011. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; October 7, 2012 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ "Polaris Music Pize 2012 Nominees". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  27. ^ "Polaris Music Prize 2013 Short List Is Here". Polaris Music Prize. July 16, 2013. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2013. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; February 19, 2014 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Polaris Prize Nominees 2014". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  29. ^ "Polaris Music Prize Nominees 2015". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  30. ^ "Polaris Music Prizde Nominees 2016". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  31. ^ "Polaris Music Prize Nominees 2017". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  32. ^ "Should it be called the Polaris 'Indie' Music Prize?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  33. ^ "Polaris Salons Announced For Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  34. ^ james-reaney. "F***** Up (language alert, language alert below) wins the 2009 Polaris Music Prize on Monday night, Ancaster's Simone Caruso wins the 29th youth talent competition at the Western Fair on Sunday before a packed London City Music Theatre". James' Brand New Blog. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  35. ^ "Toronto hardcore band wins Polaris Music Prize". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  36. ^ "The Prize That Dare Not Speak Its Name". The New Yorker. September 22, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  37. ^ Rob Harvilla (May 11, 2009). "A Brief History of the Times' Valiant Attempts to Give Fucked Up Press Without Mentioning Them by Name". Sound of the City. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  38. ^ "Godspeed You! Black Emperor Win The 2013 Polaris Music Prize". Polaris Music Prize. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  39. ^ "Statement from Godspeed You! Black Emperor on Polaris – Constellation Records". Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  40. ^ "People Hating on Tanya Tagaq's 'Fuck PETA' Polaris Speech Are Missing the Point". VICE. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  41. ^ "Tanya Tagaq: Being An Aboriginal Woman Is Like Being Scared At A Horror Movie. All The Time". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  42. ^ "Lido Pimienta launches expletive-driven speech as she wins Polaris Music Prize". NATIONAL POST. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  43. ^ "Free Polaris Cover Sessions 10-Inch Vinyl At Select Retailers". polarismusic.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  44. ^ "WATCH: Sarah Harmer Cover Caribou's 'Odessa'". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  45. ^ "WATCH: Whitehorse Covers New Pornographers' 'Bones Of An Idol'". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  46. ^ "WATCH: Great Lake Swimmers Cover Sarah Harmer's 'I'm A Mountain'". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  47. ^ "Arkells Cover Owen Pallett's 'I Am Not Afraid' For Polaris Cover Sessions #4". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  48. ^ "Zaki Ibrahim Covers Leonard Cohen's 'Show Me The Place' For Polaris Cover Sessions #6". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  49. ^ "Joel Plaskett Covers Feist's 'Bittersweet Melodies' For Polaris Cover Sessions #5". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  50. ^ "Little Scream Does Mary Margaret O'Hara's "Anew Day" For SiriusXM Polaris Cover Session". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  51. ^ "Hannah Georgas Does Arcade Fire's "Crown Of Love" For Latest SiriusXM Polaris Cover Session". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  52. ^ "Les soeurs Boulay Do Kate & Anna McGarrigle To Launch 2017 SiriusXM Polaris Cover Sessions". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  53. ^ AUX (September 8, 2014). "Shad and Holy Fuck (Holy Shad) 7-inch Collaboration (Behind-the-Scenes)". Retrieved September 25, 2016 – via YouTube.
  54. ^ "Buffy Sainte-Marie And Tanya Tagaq Team Up For Polaris Collaboration Session". polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
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