The 2025 MusicNL Awards and Stages submissions are now open for artists and industry. Music release dates must fall between the eligibility period of April 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.
For a complete list of MusicNL Awards categories, Stages criteria, eligibility rules, and voting criteria, scroll down to the embedded document below. The full Awards and Stages Guidelines are also available to download. To submit, click on the link below.
Deadline is Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 11:59pm NT.
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SUBMISSION ADJUDICATION AND MEMBERSHIP VOTING
NEW FOR 2025
- Three new awards: Songwriter of the Year (non-performer), Sound on Screen, and International Touring Artist of the Year
- Ron Hynes Songwriter of the Year shifts to focus on performing songwriters
- A limit to recurring recipients in certain industry categories
- All showcases are now part of our export initiatives
- Revised export-ready criteria for Stages (showcases)
- New application platform – one profile per applicant
- One platform for Awards, Stages and Funding applications.
- New demographic information collected
KEY DATES FOR 2025
May 28 – Application intake closes
August 1 – Nominees announced
August 10 – Voting closes
September 1 – Stages (showcases) selected
November 12 – MusicNL Week opens with Industry Awards
November 13, 14, 15 – MusicNL Week Conference and showcases
November 15 – MusicNL Week Gala and Awards
November 16 – MusicNL Week Songwriter Circle
We encourage you to stay informed of potential schedule changes by subscribing to our newsletter, activating notifications in our Awards platform, and regularly checking musicnl.ca/mnlw2025/ for the latest updates on programming, delegates, venues, and more.
SUBMISSION ADJUDICATION AND MEMBERSHIP VOTING
Submission Period Ends: Submission for Award and Stages applications closes.
Initial Review Phase: MusicNL staff reviews all submitted applications to ensure they meet the specific eligibility requirements for their applicable categories.
Qualification Assessment: Applications are screened to ensure they contain all required materials and comply with category-specific criteria.
Jury Selection Process: MusicNL assembles a diverse panel of industry experts as jurors. Our jurors represent key industry roles such as: producers, established artists, music educators, representatives from various music organizations and many other qualified participants.
Jury Assignment: Qualified applications are distributed to the relevant jury members for evaluation.
Evaluation Period: Jurors independently assess each application based on the established criteria relevant to each category.
Final Nominee Selection: MusicNL staff tallies jury scores and, based on the score, selects a minimum of three (3) to a maximum of six (6) nominees for each category. In the event of a tie in the score, the tied applicants are both nominated.
Announcement of Nominees: Following the jury process, nominees are announced at a MusicNL press conference.
Member Voting: MusicNL members vote for their choice in each category. The vote is weighted as follows:
- Individual & Student – one (1) vote per award
- Duo – two (2) votes per award
- Non-Profit, Business, and Venue – four (4) votes per award
- Group Memberships – four (4) votes per award
- The Fans’ Choice Awards Entertainer of the Year is decided by public vote
Final Winner Selection: MusicNL staff tallies the jurors’ scores along with the MusicNL membership votes. The final score is made up of 75% of the jury score and 25% of the membership vote.