Radio Starmaker Fund

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Radio Starmaker Fund Annual Report

2016 / 2017

Message From The Chair

Sylvie Courtemanche

It is with great pleasure that I present the Radio Starmaker Fund’s outstanding results for fiscal 2017.

This is a special year for me because it marks my final year as Chair. As Executive Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, I had the pleasure of incorporating the Radio Starmaker Fund in October 2000 and running the inaugural Board meeting in March of 2001. It is remarkable to see how this very important funding instrument has evolved in the 16 years since that first meeting. Since then, I have been consistently impressed and proud of the work done by the staff here as well as my fellow Board members. It has been a distinct pleasure over the last few years to see firsthand the tremendous success that can be accomplished with a carefully constructed and managed fund.

The highlights from this year’s statistics continue to be impressive. We have an approval rate of over 80% for applicants. This means people who meet our criteria can be assured of support in some form. In addition, we saw over 50% of our funding devoted to touring support both here and abroad, allowing us to support the very central component of the music business that provides the most direct financial benefit to artists. One of the biggest areas of concern for me as we created the Fund in 2001 was that this fund would be artist centered. I am proud of the fact that over these many years we have been able to target a majority of funding directly into the hands of artists who create the content and contribute to our cultural landscape.

I am very excited to see these excellent results. I want to thank our Board members for their dedication and commitment over the past years and most importantly I would like to thank our excellent Radio Starmaker staff, Chip Sutherland, Jerry Leibowitz, and Michelle Farres, who continue to provide the highest level of dedication and support for our very important constituency of Canadian labels and emerging artists.

Sylvie Courtemanche
Executive Chair
Radio Starmaker Fund