Polaris Music Prize Compilation

LIMITED-EDITION POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE COMPILATION HITS STORES, CRIA ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP

Steve Jordan, Executive Director of The Polaris Music Prize for Album of The Year, announced the release of a special limited-run LP celebrating the 10 nominees vying for the $20,000.00 prize, the richest purse for a full-length album in the country.

Warner Music Canada released 2006 Polaris Music Prize Album of the Year Nominees on August 22, 2006. The shortlist was announced on July 4th. Each of the 10 nominated artists personally selected one track for the collection. The CD artwork also features liner notes written by members of the Polaris Jury. Said Jordan, "this compilation is an inviting glimpse of each nominees artistic vision. We hope this compels listeners to further explore each record on the list."

The nominated artists & album are:
Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts/EMI)
Cadence Weapon - Breaking Kayfabe (Upper Class/EMI)
The Deadly Snakes - Porcella (Paper Bag/Universal)
Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds (Blocks Recording Club/Sonic Unyon)
Sarah Harmer - I'm A Mountain (Cold Snap/Universal)
K'NAAN - The Dusty Foot Philosopher (Track & Field/Sony BMG)
Malajube - Trompe L'oeil (Dare to Care/Outside)
Metric - Live It Out (Last Gang/Universal)
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (Mint/Outside)
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (Sub Pop/Outside)

Polaris Music Prize is also supported by an unprecedented partnership with music retailers across the country. Stores from coast-to-coast will be featuring the compilation and nominated titles in special displays to further bring the nominated albums even greater public attention. A full list of participating retailers is available at www.polarismusicprize.ca/sponsors.

Graham Henderson, President of The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) also announced today their sponsorship of The Polaris Music Prize. "We can't overstate how excited we are to champion Polaris in it's inaugural year. We feel that helping the Polaris objective of honouring musicians solely for the quality of their work increases the health of the entire music industry ecosystem."

The Polaris Prize was launched on June 6th, 2006 at the Drake Skybar in Toronto. Since the shortlist was announced July 4, all 10 nominees have enjoyed a groundswell of attention and recognition.

A panel of more than 120 music journalists and broadcasters across Canada weighed in with their top five picks which were then pooled and tabulated. The initial long list was comprised of 165 titles.

The winner of The Polaris Music Prize will be announced at an invitation-only gala evening at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on Monday, September 18th. A smaller panel of 11 judges, drawn from the larger original pool of over 120 critics, will consult into the evening on the 18th and come up with a winner. No-one but these 11 individuals will know the final winner until the announcement is made around 10pm that night.

Futher details about the Polaris Gala, including the host, performers and Gala Jury members will be revealed in the weeks to come. For more information on the Polaris Music Prize, please visit: www.polarismusicprize.ca