Polaris, celebrating its 20th anniversary, and SOCAN, celebrating its 100th anniversary, announced the new Song Prize with the winning song taking home $10,000 split between the song’s Canadian performers and the song’s credited Canadian songwriter(s). Similar to the Polaris Album Prize, the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize will honour the Canadian song of the year, based on artistic merit, without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.
The SOCAN Polaris Song Prize category is Polaris’ first new award since it introduced the hall of fame Heritage Prize in 2015. A 20-nominee Song Prize nominee Long List was revealed on June 24. The first-ever SOCAN Polaris Song Prize winner will receive $10,000 split between the song’s Canadian performers and the song’s credited Canadian songwriter(s) courtesy of SOCAN.
The winning Polaris song will be revealed during the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony, powered by FACTOR, taking place at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Tuesday, September 16. Tickets to the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony are on sale now via the Massey Hall website.
CBC presents the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. The new SOCAN Polaris Song Prize was created in partnership with SOCAN. This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. It is supported by SiriusXM Canada, Ontario Creates, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, and the Slaight Family Foundation.
