DROPOUT ENTERTAINMENT IS ON THE HUNT FOR THE BEST CANADIAN INDEPENDENT MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2020.

Toronto, Canada – The team behind Dropout Entertainment is on the hunt for the best Canadian, independent music video, produced in the endless year that is 2020. This is the third year Dropout Entertainment is holding the Canadian Independent Music Video Awards, a month-long digital contest, open to all music videos released by independent Canadian artists in 2020. Canadians are invited to vote for their favorite music video online, and last year the contest received over 100,000 votes from all across the country. The winners are announced at a live (or live-streamed) event in February. In a year as uncertain for the music industry as 2020 has been, Dropout Entertainment as well as their sponsors will be pushing ahead to keep on track with their mission to highlight great Canadian independent artists. Nominations are now open at independentmusicvideoawards.com.

This is the third year for the Canadian Independent Music Video Awards. Started because the founder of Dropout Entertainment Jesse Read noticed a substantial lack of recognition for the independent artists and filmmakers that pour their heart, soul, and in some cases life savings into producing incredible videos all in the name of music. The team at Dropout has no doubt this will be an interesting year for music videos, if only just to see how these pieces of visual art will have been created in a year like 2020. With social distancing and lockdown restrictions, there have already been a number of very unique videos produced, and video nominations are open until December 15, 2020. 

“We started the CIMVAs because there just wasn’t anything like it anywhere in the world at the time,” says Jesse Read, Founder of Dropout Entertainment “We feature great music videos on Dropout (Entertainment) all the time, and there is just this huge gap – at least for music videos – award shows never gave independent artist’s videos the recognition they deserve. We wanted to change that.”

Each year Dropout Entertainment invites Canadians to nominate their favourite music video, released in the past year. The Dropout editorial team chooses the top nominations and invites Canadians to view the videos and vote on their favourites. As mentioned, nominations close on December 15, 2020. Canada-wide voting will commence on January 4, 2021. The first round of voting will last until January 17, 2021, and determine the semi-finalists in each genre category. The second round of voting, this time for the finalists will run from January 18, 2021 – January 31, 2021. The winners will be announced at a live event in February at a venue that is currently to be determined. An award is given to a winner in each genre category as well as an overall best video award. Because of COVID-19, the Dropout Entertainment team is making an alternative plan should a live award show still not be possible. 

This year’s winners will receive over $2,500 worth of prizes from our sponsors SonicBids, Long & McQuade, and Steam Whistle Brewing. The grand prize winner will also receive $500 cash from Toronto digital/PR agency Toronto Creatives.

Earlier this year Dropout Entertainment held the second annual award show at Toronto’s now-closed The Hideout. The show was a great success and featured performances by Johnny NoCash & The Celtic Outlaws, Queens & Kings, Bon Villan, Pterodactyl Problems, and Mountain Head. It also featured remote appearances and acceptance speeches by Bleeker, Dakota Bear, and The Heels. 

The Canadian Independent Music Video Awards are the first awards, anywhere in the world, dedicated to music videos by independent artists. 

For more information on the CIMVA’s, or to nominate an independent Canadian music video visit independentmusicvideoawards.com or head over to Dropout Entertainment at DropoutEntertainment.ca.

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