CBC Music’s Toyota Searchlight 2021 is on the hunt for Canada’s next great undiscovered talent, with additional prizing for the Top Five emerging musical artists
Previous Searchlight winners include Shawnee (2020), Shopé (2019) and aquakultre (2018)
CBC today announced an expanded version of its annual musical talent search, CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021, featuring additional prizing for the Top Five acts and a larger grand prize to help kickstart the finalists’ music career, courtesy of Toyota Canada, the National Music Centre, Play MPE global music promotion and Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class. Launching Monday, April 19, the Top Five and grand prize winners, as selected by a combination of public votes and an industry panel, will be announced on CBC Radio One’s Q with Tom Power on Tuesday, June 22. Canadian artists are encouraged to submit an original song across any genre to CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 contest at CBCMusic.ca/searchlight between April 19 - May 3, 2021.
The winner of CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 will earn a grand prize package tailored to take an artists’ career to the next level. This year again includes a five-day residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, with access to recording studios, professionals, and a historic instrument collection that spans more than 450 years of technology and innovation. New to this year, the grand prize winner will receive a curated full-service, global music promotion distribution campaign for one release (single or album) from Play MPE. Additionally, Toyota Canada is providing $2,500 worth of studio recording time and $2,500 worth of music equipment. More information on prizing for the four runners up provided by Toyota Canada and Play MPE can be found here.
“Our musicians need support more than ever and Searchlight has a strong track record of scouring the country to find a diverse range of emerging voices to elevate," said Steve Jordan, Senior Director, CBC Music. "With Toyota Canada on board, Searchlight’s reach and mission will be supercharged, and even more Canadian talent will get a much-needed boost.”
“Toyota Canada is proud to support Canadian music and emerging talent. Through our partnership with CBC Music’s Searchlight, we’re excited to help aspiring artists fulfill their passions,” said Cyril Dimitris, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota Canada and one of the judges in CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 contest.
CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 KEY DATES:
- Submissions: start on Monday, April 19, at 9 a.m. ET and end Monday, May 3, at 3 p.m. ET. This is the period when all entrants can register for Searchlight 2021 and upload a song.
- Round 1: Voting begins on all eligible songs on Tuesday, May 11, at 3 p.m. ET and ends Thursday, May 20, at 3 p.m. ET.
- Round 2: Top 100 revealed and voting begins on Top 100 Tuesday, June 1, 3:00 p.m. ET and ends on Tuesday, June 8 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
- Round 3: Top Ten revealed on Tuesday, June 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
- Final: Judges reveal Grand Prize Winner and Runners Up on Tuesday, June 22
CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 is an annual search to find the next great Canadian artist. Recent winners include: Shawnee (2020), Shopé (2019) and aquakultre (2018). Canadians can join the conversation online by using #Searchlight2021 and #ToyotaMusic and following CBC Music on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Download CBC Music’s Toyota Searchlight 2021 social graphics here.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada’s trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About CBC Music
CBC Music is the leading curator of emerging and diverse Canadian music talent across platforms, playing the most Canadian artists and genres on radio, CBC Listen and cbcmusic.ca. We prioritize Canadian artists in a wide variety of genres on over 200 playlists available on CBC Listen, and publish daily national music coverage. CBC Music Live features live music recordings from across the country. Our music partnerships and events include The JUNOS, the Polaris Music Prize, Toyota Searchlight, the CBC Music Festival, The Canadian Music Class Challenge and Canada Listens.
About Toyota Canada Inc.
Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota has sold over six million vehicles in Canada through a national network of 286 Toyota and Lexus dealerships. Toyota is dedicated to bringing safety, quality, dependability and reliability to the vehicles Canadians drive and the service they receive. TCI’s head office is in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax, and parts distribution centres in Clarington and Vancouver. Toyota also operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada. Having produced more than nine million vehicles, popular Canadian models built at these facilities in+clude Toyota RAV4, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h hybrid. Recent investments at its facilities in Ontario will allow for increased production of the top-selling Toyota RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid models for the North American market.
About the National Music Centre
The National Music Centre (NMC) has a mission to amplify the love, sharing, and understanding of music and is preserving and celebrating Canada’s music story inside its home at Studio Bell in Calgary’s East Village. A registered charity with programs that include exhibitions, artist development, performance, and education, NMC is inspiring a new generation of music lovers. For more information about NMC’s onsite activities, please visit studiobell.ca. To check out the NMC experience online, including video-on-demand performances, made-in-Canada stories, and highly entertaining educational content, visit amplify.nmc.ca.
About Play MPE
Play MPE is the leading global platform for music promotion distribution and discovery. The company now serves over 100 countries, is available in multiple languages, and has changed the way the music industry delivers and accesses content. Play MPE provides music promotion distribution for 1000s of record labels, promoters and artists connecting them to a growing community of vetted music industry decision makers. Play MPE’s coveted distribution lists include: radio, satellite, media/blogs, music supervisors, music curators (retail, restaurants, travel) and more. Long standing global clients include Universal Music Group, Warner Music , Sony Entertainment, BMG, Big Machine, [PIAS], Curb I Word, Broken Bow, eOne Entertainment, Epitaph, Criteria, The Orchard and many more.
For more information, please contact:
Teaghan Hawke
CBC PR
teaghan.hawke@cbc.ca
416.205.6863
