VideoFACT
Encyclopedia
MuchFACT is a Canadian
fund that provides grants to Canadian recording artists to help them produce music video
s. FACT stands for Foundation To Assist Canadian Talent. MuchFACT is funded entirely by television cable channels MuchMusic
and MuchMore who commit a percentage of their gross annual revenues to the fund.
, it also became a sponsor, as did MuchMoreMusic when it launched in 1998.
Along with the launch of MuchMoreMusic in 1998, a new fund in conjunction with VideoFACT was created called PromoFACT, to help assist in the creation of Electronic Press Kits (EPK) and website productions for Canadian artists, independent record labels and artist management companies. PromoFACT is funded exclusively by MuchMoreMusic.
Many of Canada's most influential recording artists received VideoFACT funding for their early recordings, including Sam Roberts
, K-os
, Céline Dion
, k.d. lang
, Matthew Good
, The Pursuit of Happiness, Bran Van 3000
, Lara Fabian
, Blue Rodeo
, Rascalz
, Sloan
, Jean Leloup, Great Big Sea
, Sarah McLachlan
, Death From Above 1979
, Dubmatique
, Aspektz
and Ashley MacIsaac
among others.
The approach of monetary distribution used by VideoFACT and non-associated Canadian record funding organization (FACTOR
) is not without critics. In 2009, the organizations came under public scrutiny when a letter written by Unfamiliar Records founder Greg Ipp was republished on the internet - in turn promoting the idea that bigger image-based bands shouldn’t be getting such a huge amount of those finite funds as it leaves relatively little, if any, funding for the smaller up-and-coming bands. MuchFACT's executive director publicly disagreed with Ipp however, and went on record to clarify that the foundation's mandate was to support both new and existing talent.
In 2009, MusiquePlus discontinued its funding of VideoFACT, instead to focus funding on a similar French-language fund, MaxFACT. In September 2009, VideoFACT was later renamed MuchFACT.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fund that provides grants to Canadian recording artists to help them produce music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s. FACT stands for Foundation To Assist Canadian Talent. MuchFACT is funded entirely by television cable channels MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
and MuchMore who commit a percentage of their gross annual revenues to the fund.
History
VideoFACT (as it was originally known) was created in 1984 with the launch of MuchMusic as a condition of its licence applied by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Two years later with the launch of MusiquePlusMusiquePlus
MusiquePlus is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel owned by Astral Media operating from Montreal, Quebec.MusiquePlus is devoted to music and music related programming from various genres including pop, rock, RnB and focuses on a younger demographic than its sister station, MusiMax...
, it also became a sponsor, as did MuchMoreMusic when it launched in 1998.
Along with the launch of MuchMoreMusic in 1998, a new fund in conjunction with VideoFACT was created called PromoFACT, to help assist in the creation of Electronic Press Kits (EPK) and website productions for Canadian artists, independent record labels and artist management companies. PromoFACT is funded exclusively by MuchMoreMusic.
Many of Canada's most influential recording artists received VideoFACT funding for their early recordings, including Sam Roberts
Sam Roberts
Sam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.-Life and career:...
, K-os
K-os
Kevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...
, Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Matthew Good
Matthew Good
Matthew Frederick Robert Good is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer for the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002...
, The Pursuit of Happiness, Bran Van 3000
Bran Van 3000
Bran Van 3000 is an electronica collective from Manhattan, New York City, New York and Montreal, Quebec. Founded by DJ James Di Salvio and E.P...
, Lara Fabian
Lara Fabian
Lara Fabian is a Belgian-Italian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian and English....
, Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...
, Rascalz
Rascalz
The Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, who played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop. The group consists of MCs Red1 and Misfit, and DJ Kemo. Breakdancers, Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.Formed in 1991, the...
, Sloan
Sloan (band)
Sloan is a Toronto-based alternative rock quartet from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Throughout their 20-year tenure Sloan has released 10 LPs , two EPs, a live album, a "best of" collection and no less than thirty singles...
, Jean Leloup, Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
, Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
, Death From Above 1979
Death from Above 1979
Death from Above 1979 are a Toronto-based Canadian dance-punk/noise rock duo. Their album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, was released in late 2004. The band broke up in 2006, but announced a reunion in 2011.-History:...
, Dubmatique
Dubmatique
Dubmatique are a Canadian hip hop group from Montreal. They were the first French language hip hop crew from Canada to break through to Canada's francophone pop charts...
, Aspektz
Aspektz
Chad S. Morgan, also known as stage name Aspektz, is a Canadian hip-hop recording artist and producer born at North York General hospital in 1985...
and Ashley MacIsaac
Ashley MacIsaac
Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac is a Canadian professional fiddler from Cape Breton Island.His album Hi™ How Are You Today?, featuring the hit single "Sleepy Maggie", with vocals in Scottish Gaelic by Mary Jane Lamond was released in 1995...
among others.
The approach of monetary distribution used by VideoFACT and non-associated Canadian record funding organization (FACTOR
FACTOR
FACTOR is a "private non-profit organization, ... dedicated to providing assistance toward the growth and development of the Canadian independent recording industry" ....
) is not without critics. In 2009, the organizations came under public scrutiny when a letter written by Unfamiliar Records founder Greg Ipp was republished on the internet - in turn promoting the idea that bigger image-based bands shouldn’t be getting such a huge amount of those finite funds as it leaves relatively little, if any, funding for the smaller up-and-coming bands. MuchFACT's executive director publicly disagreed with Ipp however, and went on record to clarify that the foundation's mandate was to support both new and existing talent.
In 2009, MusiquePlus discontinued its funding of VideoFACT, instead to focus funding on a similar French-language fund, MaxFACT. In September 2009, VideoFACT was later renamed MuchFACT.