SiriusXM Canada to award $10,000 to fan voted emerging artist at SiriusXM Indie Awards

TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2012 /CNW/ - SiriusXM Canada (TSX: XSR), the country's leading audio entertainment company, today announced nominations for the 2012 SiriusXM Indie Awards' Emerging Artist of the Year category and will award $10,000 to the winner during the award show taking place at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

The SiriusXM Indies are part of Canadian Music Week's diverse program of industry conferences, awards and concert events in Toronto and acknowledges the achievements of the year's top independent artists - both Canadian and international.

"This year, we created and built the SiriusXM Emerging Artist of the Year category into the awards show to encourage new, up-and-coming Canadian artists to further the development of their musical career," said Andreanne Sasseville, Director, Talent and Industry Relations for SiriusXM Canada. "The winning artist will be selected by fans out of a list of 10 eligible nominees and will receive a $10,000 bursary from SiriusXM Canada."

2011 artist nominees were selected after meeting the following eligibility criteria:

• Artists who had not received airplay on either Iceberg (Sirius 151) or The Verge (XM 151) prior to January 1, 2011
• Artists must have charted in the Top 5 on the SiriusXM weekly countdown "The Grocery List" heard on The Verge (XM 151) between January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012
• Artists must be in current rotation on either Iceberg (Sirius channel 151) or The Verge (XM channel 151) as of February 1, 2012
• Artists must have released an album or EP during the period of December 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011

2011 SiriusXM Indies Emerging Artist Nominees:

Dinosaur Bones
Imaginary Cities
Timber Timbre
Low Level Flight
Wildlife
The Pack A.D.
Adrian Glynn
Nash
Indian Handcrafts
Rich Aucoin

Fans are encouraged to vote for their favourite emerging artist of the year at www.indies.ca prior to March 23, 2012 and the winning artist will be announced at the 2012 SiriusXM Indie Awards on March 24.

The awards show will also feature performances from some of the past year's hottest artists including The Sheepdogs, Dan Mangan, Rich Aucoin, and special performances by Passion Pit and SiriusXM Indies Hall of Fame inductees Treble Charger. SiriusXM subscribers across Canada and the U.S. will be able to listen to the Awards and concert live on The Verge on XM 151 and Iceberg on SIRIUS 151.

Tickets for the SiriusXM Indie Awards are on sale now for $39.50 plus taxes through all Ticketmaster outlets, Rotate This, and Soundscapes, as well as online at www.ticketmaster.ca, www.indies.ca. Ticket buyers may also call 1-855-985-5000 to charge by phone. 

In addition to these performances, the 2012 SiriusXM Indie Awards will honour the achievements of 140 deserving artists. Visit www.indies.ca for a full list of nominees. 

SiriusXM Canada will also present "La Belle Province Night" as part of Canadian Music Week with special performances by The Dears, Martha Wainwright, Galaxie, Ariane Moffatt, Half Moon Run and Adam & the Amethysts. Sirius and XM subscribers can tune in to the broadcast live from the El Mocambo in Toronto on Thursday, March 22 at 8:30pm EST on Sirius channels 153 and 161.

For more information on tickets, photos, updates, and announcements, please visit www.indies.ca.

About SiriusXM Canada
SiriusXM Canada (TSX: XSR) is the country's leading audio entertainment company and broadcasts more than 120 satellite radio channels featuring premier sports, news, talk, entertainment and commercial-free music. SiriusXM Canada offers an array of content from the most recognized news and entertainment brands as well as from professional sports leagues including the NHL, NFL, MLB and CFL.

SiriusXM programming is available on a variety of devices including pre-installed and after-market radios in cars, trucks and boats, smartphones and mobile devices, and consumer electronics products for homes and offices. Sirius XM programming is also available online at www.sirius.ca and www.xmradio.ca and on Apple, BlackBerry and Android-powered mobile devices.

SiriusXM Canada has partnerships with every major automaker and its radio products are available at more than 3,000 retail locations nationwide. To find out more about Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. (TSX: XSR), visit our website at www.siriusxm.ca.

To find out more about Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (TSX: XSR), visit our website at www.xmradio.ca/about/.

 

 

 

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