The spirit and success of independent music is stronger and louder than ever. Hundreds of artists, who don't fit in with the ever-narrowing radio formats, are none-the-less breaking through to a hungry public and winning the support of fans, media and tastemakers across the nation. These artists will be honoured at the Canadian Music Week Festival (CMW) with the public presentation of the 5th Annual Canadian Independent Music Awards show, simply titled "The Indies".

On Wednesday March 2, 2005, "The Indies" will serve as the official CMW 2005 Opening Night party, kicking off the festivities for the CMW Music Festival, running from March 2-5, 2005.

NOMINATIONS NOW CLOSED

Nominees will be announced here in mid-January 2005. Check back soon for more details.

SUBMISSION / NOMINATION CRITERIA
• Submissions must have been released between May 1, 2003 to November 1, 2004
• The applicant must specify what category they are applying for
• Must be a commercial release (no demo's or CDR's)
• Artists/bands must be minimum 51% Canadian citizenship/landed immigrant
• Submission's distributor can be Canadian and/or multi-national
• 51% of submission's songwriting and recording must be 100% Canadian
• Minimum production run of 500 units

GENERAL INFO, REGULATIONS & PROCEDURES
Click here for a list of the 2004 winners
Click here for a list of the 2004 nominees

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund for this project.