Artists/Creators
For all CFMA categories, the specified artists/creators must be Canadian. For the purposes of these awards, Canadian is defined as follows:
- A Canadian citizen or;
- A landed immigrant or;
- A person who has resided in Canada for two years (including the eligibility period)
For submissions by multiple artists/creators, at least 50% must fulfill one of the above definitions of Canadian.
Dates
2027 ELIGIBILITY PERIOD:
Canadian artists/creators who have publicly released recordings or videos between May 1, 2025 – July 15, 2026* are eligible to submit to the 2027 CFMAs.
*If you have already submitted an album / single track / video to a previous CFMA year, it is not eligible for submission in another year – with the only exceptions being:
- Albums submitted last year (to the 2026 CFMAs), are eligible to be submitted to this year’s new category of Folk Music Video of the Year – provided the album was released in this year’s eligibility period.
- Non-English language albums submitted last year (to the 2026 CFMAs), are eligible to be submitted to Songwriter of the Year – provided the album was released in this year’s eligibility period.
2027 SUBMISSION PERIOD:
The 2027 CFMA submission period is May 21, 2026 – July 15, 2026.
- FINAL DEADLINE: All submission details and payments must be received through our website no later than 5:00 pm EDT, July 15, 2026.
Submission Fees
- Early Bird Submission Period (May 21 – June 15, 2026): $70 for the first category and $65 for each subsequent category
- Regular Submission Period (June 16 – July 15, 2026): $85 for the first category and $75 for each subsequent category
Submissions
The Canadian Folk Music Awards welcomes submissions from musicians at any stage of their career.
With exception of the categories Single of the Year, Folk Music Video of the Year, and Young Performer of the Year, all categories are for albums (as defined below).
If you have already submitted an album / single track / video to a previous CFMA year, it is not eligible for submission in another year.
Please be aware that we have a NO REFUND POLICY. It is vital to ensure your submission meets all eligibility criteria that apply to category definitions, as well as all industry standards for production qualities. The CFMA reserves the right to disqualify any recording that does not meet any of our eligibility criteria. Submissions not accepted or disqualified after the Juror Adjudication Process begins will not be notified.
All submissions become the property of the CFMA for the purpose of promoting the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and promoting the artists submitting this material.
AI Policy
The Canadian Folk Music Awards exist to recognize creativity and artistic works, created by artists.
We require the overwhelming majority of contribution behind all eligible submissions to be human. Although there may be input from AI at various stages, the core artistic content (including composition, songwriting, performance, visual design, and artistic direction) must be created by humans.
Works significantly generated by AI are not eligible.
During the submission process, we will ask submitters to identify how various AI tools used in the creation of the submitted works.
The Canadian Folk Music Awards will make final decisions about AI eligibility.
Album Recordings
The CFMA defines recording eligibility standards for albums as follows:
- Submitted recordings must be at least 30 minutes in length or feature a minimum of six (6) tracks.
- Eligible entries must comprise at least 75% recorded tracks that have not been previously released by the artist. Single album tracks that are released as advance promotion leading up to an official album release are not considered to be previously released material.
- Recordings must fulfill all legal obligations (copyright information, payment of mechanical rights, etc.)
- Recordings must be commercially available in Canada, either through artist concert sales, retail outlets or via the internet.
Recording eligibility requirements are different for artists submitting to the Young Performer category; see the Category & Criteria Page for more details.
The submitter must provide proof EITHER of manufacturing of units in any physical format OR with a valid internet purchase link for the album, for example, a website and/or national/international digital distribution entity or streaming service such as, but not limited to, iTunes, Bandcamp, Indie Pool, CD Baby, etc. In either case, recordings must be commercially available in Canada, such as via concert sales, retail outlets, or the Internet.
The submitter must also provide proof of the date of release. This can be provided via a valid internet purchase link (displaying album release month and year), or by supplying an uploaded copy of a manufacturing invoice or letter from the artist’s/group’s record company or main distributor.
Single Recordings (for Single of the Year category)
Criteria:
- Artists may submit up to two single recordings to this category, provided each track was released during the eligibility period (however note only one single can be submitted per submission form).
- A single is considered released on the day the track was made available to Canadian radio or streaming services as a single.
- Single(s) submitted must be released to radio or other audio broadcasters (web, satellite, digital, streaming services) during the eligibility period.
- The track(s) must have been released as a single, regardless of whether it has been released on an album.
- Recordings must fulfill all legal obligations (copyright information, payment of mechanical rights, etc.)
Videos (for Folk Music Video of the Year category)
Criteria:
- Video Directors, production teams, or artists may submit to this category, with videos released during the eligibility period
- A maximum of 3 releases per Director can be submitted.
- Directors must be Canadian, and if there are Co-Directors, at least 50% must be Canadian.
- A music video is considered released on the day the track was first made available to the Canadian public via streaming platform or social media (ie: YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc.).
- The video(s) must accompany a single track of folk music (a single, a track from an album, or an unreleased work).
- Videos must fulfill all legal obligations (copyright information, payment of mechanical rights, etc.).
- Videos already submitted to a previous CFMA year, are not eligible for submission in another year.
- Video may include live action, animation, stop motion, and all other non-AI forms (subject to the CFMA AI Policy)