Short List Summer is back.
For the second consecutive year, CBC Music, Polaris’ presenting sponsor, will launch its signature Short List Summer programming to showcase the 10 nominated albums on the 2022 Polaris Short List, which will be revealed July 14 on CBC Music. This programming includes 10 separate Polaris radio specials which will take an in-depth look at each of this year’s Short List nominees, all leading up to the 2022 Polaris Music Prize winner announcement, which will take place on Monday, September 19 at the Polaris Gala in Toronto, Ontario.
The 10 album Polaris Short List will be announced live on Thursday, July 14 as part of a two-hour event hosted by A. Harmony starting at 3 p.m. local time (4 p.m. AT, 4:30 NT) and available across Canada on CBC Music and CBC Listen. The special will reveal one nominee every 12 minutes along with music from the nominated albums and insight from Polaris jurors. The Short List comes a month after the reveal of the 40-album 2022 Polaris Long List, which was revealed June 14 in Toronto and was determined by the 197 members of the Polaris jury.
Following the unveiling of the 10 nominees, Short List Summer will be anchored by CBC Music’s THE TEN, a series of one-hour weekly radio specials hosted by A. Harmony, broadcasting each Sunday on CBC Music and CBC Listen at 6 p.m. (6:30 NT) starting Sunday, July 17, until Sunday, September 18. Each week, THE TEN will take an in-depth look at one of the 10 nominated albums in the lead up to the 2022 Polaris Prize winner announcement. A more detailed radio schedule will be announced along with the reveal of the 10 nominated Short List albums on July 14.
CBC Music will also kick into high gear with "Shortlist Shortcuts," a cbcmusic.ca editorial series beginning Monday, July 18, that highlights one important gateway song from each of the nominated albums, as told by the short-listed artists. This will be accompanied by an artist-led video series that delves into each gateway song, and will be shared to CBC Music's TikTok and Instagram pages. Follow CBC Music on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook for more Polaris Music Prize content that will explore the Short List albums and the artists behind them.
For the first time since 2019, the winning album will be revealed live at the Polaris Gala. To celebrate our return to The Carlu, the venue that has hosted the likes of Glenn Gould, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and multiple Polaris events, a very limited number of early-bird general admission Polaris Gala tickets remain available at the special price of $45.20 via Ticketmaster while quantities last. General admission ticket prices will increase to $67.80 on July 14.
The Polaris Music Prize awards $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales. The nine other nominated acts whose albums make the 2022 Short List will receive $3,000 each courtesy of Slaight Music. Additionally, Polaris Music Prize has partnered with Play MPE to award the winning artist with a global music promotion distribution package for one release (single or album) worth up to $3,025 CAD. Play MPE will also gift all nine remaining Short List artists with distribution packages worth up to $1,000 CAD each.
Albums eligible for 2022 Polaris Music Prize consideration must be released between May 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022. An independent jury of music media from across Canada determines the Long List and Short List. Eleven people from the larger jury pool are then chosen to serve on the Grand Jury. This Grand Jury convenes at the Polaris Gala to select the Polaris Music Prize winner.
The past winners are Cadence Weapon (2021), Backxwash (2020), Haviah Mighty (2019), Jeremy Dutcher (2018), Lido Pimienta (2017), Kaytranada (2016), Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007) and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).
Polaris Music Prize 2022 Event Season
June 14 – Long List Announcement: The Long List is where Polaris reveals the 40 nominated albums that will be considered for a given year’s Prize.
July 14 – Short List Announcement: Selected from the 40 album Long List, the Short List is where Polaris reveals the 10 finalist albums that will be considered for a given year’s Prize.
September 19 – Polaris Gala: Our prestige winner reveal event, the Polaris Gala features live musical performances from the nominated acts on the Polaris Short List. The Polaris Prize winner is determined day-of at the Gala by an 11-member Polaris Grand Jury selected from the greater Polaris juror pool.
October 21 – Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize: The Heritage Prize is a hall of fame-minded critics prize/public polling campaign meant to celebrate classic Canadian albums created before Polaris began in 2006. Like the Polaris Music Prize, winners and nominees of the Heritage Prize are albums of the highest artistic distinction, without regard to sales or affiliations.
We acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR, the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters.
About the Polaris Music Prize
The Polaris Music Prize is a not-for-profit organization that annually honours and rewards artists who produce Canadian music albums of distinction. A select panel of music critics judge and award the Prize without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.
Polaris Fast Facts:
40 Long List nominees
10 Short List nominees
1 Polaris Music Prize winner of the $50,000 prize
9 runner-up winners of $3,000 courtesy of Slaight Music
2 Heritage Prize winners
196 Polaris Posters commissioned by visual artists across the country
200+ annual jury participants
1,000 annual Gala guests
$831,000 in prize money given to musicians
160 Short List nominees have been provided with in-kind media attention
20 Not-for-Profit and charity partners supported through the Community Development Program.
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 Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, 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, Searchlight, the CBC Music Festival, The Canadian Music Class Challenge and Canada Listens. www.cbc.ca/music
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 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. www.plaympe.com
Media Contacts:
Polaris Music Prize media:
Amanda McCauley
(905) 926-6440
amanda@indoorrecess.com
Polaris Music Prize media (Quebec):
Magali Ould
(514) 994-6295
magali@polarismusicprize.ca
CBC
Teaghan Hawke
teaghan.hawke@cbc.ca
Play MPE
Cate Horsley
cateh@plaympe.com
Media assets (Polaris logos, album covers, bios, photos, streams):
polarismusicprize.ca/media
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