How to Watch Even MORE Canadian Music Videos: Be Named a Jury Member for the Prism Prize

Back in 2006, the Polaris Prize was created. The Polaris Prize, modeled after the British/Irish Mercury Prize, honours the best Canadian album, and gives out a nice $30,000 cash prize. A brand new, almost complimentary, award has been created for the Best Canadian Music Video – The Prism Prize.

The Prism Prize is a national juried award, examining the video’s aspects for the following criteria: Originality, Creativity, Style, Innovation and Effective Execution (a lot of which seem like synonyms to me!). Any video released in 2012 is eligible (as long as you meet the Canadian content criteria), with the shortlist of 10 videos being announced on February 14 (when I will be digging through the discount bins for some chocolates for some lucky lady). The winner being announced at the Soho House on March 24 – the final day of Canadian Music Week.

The jurors’ deadline for their top 5 videos of 2012 is due today. How do I know? Because PeteHatesMusic is one of the 80 or so jurors, along with members of the media from the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, MuchMusic, MTV Canada, CBC Music, and other Canadian magazines, newspapers, blogs, television and radio outlets.

I have watched a lot of videos this past year, and a lot of videos this past month since I accepted a position on the jury. There are a ton of good videos these days – the medium is not dead. I’ll keep you posted on any happenings, and will tweet from the Soho House gala on March 24 (with an increasing number of typos as the number of drinks increases).