The Polaris Music Prize is a charitable organization that annually honours and rewards artists who produce Canadian music of distinction. A select panel of music critics judge and award the Prize without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.
All genres of music are considered for the Polaris Music Prize and no entry fee is required. Artists or their representatives do not submit to Polaris.
The Polaris Song of the year is selected by an independent jury made up of music scrutineers from across Canada and related unceded Indigenous lands. The Polaris jury members recommend individual songs to the greater jury pool for further consideration. The jury then votes on these recommendations to create a Long List of 20 nominated songs. This same jury votes for a second time, considering only the songs that have made the Long List. Using the results from this vote, Polaris will reveal the five songs that make the Short List, from which the highest judged song will be announced as the winner of the Polaris Song Prize.
1. Eligibility.
1a. Criteria.
Polaris Music Prize nominees and winners will be selected solely on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history or professional affiliation.
1b. Song length.
A song is defined as a single piece of music of at least no longer than 19 minutes, 59 seconds in length.
1c. Release definition.
Qualifying songs must be previously unreleased recordings that have been made available by any of the following methods:
a) via free or paid music streaming services that are available in Canada.
b) for purchase in Canada from any digital retailer or artist website.
c) for purchase in Canada at any physical retailer.
d) for free with the artist’s consent. Promotional advances (i.e. media streams or watermarked copies) will not be considered released until they are made available to the general public.
e) for purchase or giveaway directly from the artist at performances, appearances or on-line.
1d. Songwriting
The songwriter(s) of a song must be at least 50% Canadian to be considered eligible.
1e. Performer
The performer(s) of a song must be at least 50% Canadian to be considered eligible.
1f. Collaborative Songs
Collaborative songs between two or more musical acts must be considered at least 50% Canadian to qualify for consideration. Criteria to determine Canadianness includes, but is not limited to, songwriting and production credits as well as marquee presentation and promotional positioning. Such eligibility shall be determined by the Executive Director and the Jury Foreperson. All rulings are final.
1g. Qualifying period.
To qualify, a song must have been released (see 1c) between April 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025.
1h. Canadian definition.
The artist or artists must be Canadian citizens or Canadian landed immigrants. For duos or multi-participant songs, at least 50% of members must qualify as Canadian. Proof of Canadian status includes:
a) Valid Canadian passport.
b) Canadian citizenship papers.
c) Canadian Birth Certificate.
d) Landed immigrant status via a Canadian Permanent Resident Card.
e) Secure certificate of Indian status.
2. Selection Process.
There is no submission process for artists or their representatives. An independent panel of jurors recommend and considers eligible releases. The results of their voting will produce 20 songs for the Polaris Music Prize Long List, and 5 songs for the Polaris Music Prize Short List. The highest judged song will be announced as the winner of the Polaris Song Prize.
2a. The jury.
The volunteer jury is selected annually and includes Canadians who regularly curate, review or program independent and major label artists, both locally and nationally. Jurors can include journalists, broadcasters, bloggers, programmers, playlist creators, academics, podcasters, DJs and other active music scrutineers who display a wide breadth and depth of knowledge of Canadian music and passion for discovering new songs.
2b. Conflict of interest.
A jury member that professionally or otherwise represents an artist, or has a personal relationship with an artist or artists, or who is a recording artist, must disclose these conflicts to Polaris. In the event that there has been a conflict of interest, they will not be allowed to submit the related artist on their list or mention the associated artists in any internal Polaris jury discussions. Lack of disclosure of a conflict of interest may result in the loss of voting privileges and lifetime exclusion from the jury.
2c. Voting.
Jurors submit a ranked list of what they consider to be the five best Canadian songs. These picks are vetted for eligibility and tabulated to form a Long List of 20 nominated songs. The jury then selects from this Long List to comprise the 5-title Short List with the highest judged song to be announced as the winner of the Polaris Song Prize.
3. Polaris Music Prize Winner.
The Polaris Music Prize winner will be announced at an event in the fall. The winning artist or group will receive a cash prize.
4. Additional interpretations.
Any additional interpretations of the rules, including individual rulings on the eligibility of individual recordings or the status of jury members, shall be at the sole discretion of the Executive Director and the Jury Foreperson. All rulings are final.
