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FACTOR Grant Spreadsheet : 2003 - 2013


Northern Wish

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I'm not really sure what it all means? Some artists are on there multiple times. When were the grants given? I see a band called 'Gruff' got two grants for about $400 each, while the Hidden Cameras got more than $60,000 (no amount of money could make them not obnoxious), but what were they for?

Does the second page suggest that Bumstead (Trews management) have received more than $1,000,000?

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I'm guessing if they are on there multiple times, that they received grants in different years. This spreadsheet covers a decade of grant money.

The first surprise I see is Danny Michel getting over $40K through Six Shooter Records. Danny only signed with them last summer. Thats a lot of money for one year, especially considering its probably mostly for touring. Touring with his band from Belize. Huh?

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I saw an Avril Lavigne video from a few years ago that was sponsored by FACTOR. The next video was Gord Downie (FACTOR) and the one after that was a genuine indie band, also FACTOR. I can't imagine why Avril, out of the three, would need grant money. She was at the height of her career then, and making real American money.

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The first problem is the grant system has a giant weighted boner towards acts that it deems "Export Ready". This is why you see a band like Metric continue to receive funding while they are playing arenas in Canada. (i.e. "if we keep giving Metric money, maybe they'll eventually break internationally and be self-sufficient")

The flip side is a guy like Jason Collett who has been handed a QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS in Factor grants and yet still continues to play venues about the same size that I do. A decade worth of funding later, is he still considered "export ready"? Shouldn't something have happened by now? etc, etc? No offence to Collett, who I genuinely like, but he's an easy target for critics of the system.

The second major problem I have is the legendary amount of fraud that happens because of the Factor system. Factor will only provide a maximum of 50% funding for a project. The artist is on the hook for paying the other 50% out of pocket. This ends up propping up a whole side industry of managers, grant writers, PR douchebags, etc writing fake quotes and invoices for their friends to ensure that the actual total cost of a project doesn't cost the artist anything out of pocket. The artist, in turn, gets to pay their friends/associates with grant money.

Everybody wins, right?

Everybody except the defrauded taxpayers of Canada.

The lack of transparency on the whole thing used to drive me nuts (until I stopped giving a shit about any of it). If Bumstead Management is so good at writing grant applications, why can't I see what they are doing right so I can learn how to do it too? As soon as somebody has penned a successful grant application, they can set up a sideline business writing grants for others and funnelling some that sweet sweet gov't grant $$$ into their own pockets.

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grinds-gears.jpg

You know what really grinds my gears? YOU! The members of this website. DaveO provides some great fodder for ya’ll to comment on and nothing happens. WTF is wrong with you people? I remember back in the day hanging onto that moment waiting for GentleMonkey to have me spitting water all over my monitor. Where in the fuck is ‘ersh trying to give the opposite side of the seedingly lecherous business practices of those who are financial bound to the Trews? Now things have dried up more than a nun’s (insert dry vagine joke here). Where have all the good times gone, by way of Van Halen or are they on Facebook as well? Please. Are you selfish Gonkers really that pretentious nowadays you need to post pictures and tell everyone how you had oeuf poche careme with blinis for breakfast? I don’t give a shit about your poached egg and salmon nestled in an artichoke heart surrounded by lashing of fresh truffle you phony fuck! Do you really need to be tweeting out that your bff just had a smelly number two which now makes him a Jabroni? I remember when this place was an actual community who were growing together but these days it feels like the goldrush has ended so HBO pulled the plug on Deadwood. Prince was right. The internet is a stupid fad and its just a singular vision now. I miss all ya’ll and that’s what really grinds my gears.

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The first problem is the grant system has a giant weighted boner towards acts that it deems "Export Ready". This is why you see a band like Metric continue to receive funding while they are playing arenas in Canada. (i.e. "if we keep giving Metric money, maybe they'll eventually break internationally and be self-sufficient")

Metric aren't self-sufficient? How is that possible?

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