2026 Award & Stage Submissions

Submissions for the 2026 East Coast Music Awards in Sydney, NS will open on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 9 AM (ADT) and close on October 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM (ADT).

Award submissions are subject to an application fee of $20 CAD per award, with the exception of the following categories, which are free to submit to: African Canadian Artist of the Year, Indigenous Artist of the Year and All Industry Awards.

To ensure financial accessibility to all artists, application fees will be waived for the first 48 hours of the submission period, from September 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM (ADT) to September 4, 2024 at 9:00 AM (ADT) with promo code "First48!"

After speaking with over 60 applicants and 20 industry professionals we have developed the guidelines for the 2026 ECMAs. Many of the conversations brought up recurring themes suggesting changes for this year. Here are the key changes that came from those meetings:

Stages
- Reinstated evaluation criteria system
- Reinstated the Export program. (Accelerator initiatives will be a part of the Export program.)

Music Awards
- Reinstated eligibility period
- Changed evaluation criteria back to even weights
- Some awards are now Album of the Year categories for full length recordings and others are Release of the Year categories that recognize singles.
- Long answer submission form questions have been revised and shortened to a 250 word limit.
- Producer of the Year - applicants whose only project is their own music will not be eligible.

Industry Awards
- Media Excellence Award has replaced Media Person of the Year
- Content Creator of the Year has been renamed to Visual Artist of the Year
- Recording Engineer of the Year has been introduced.
- Technical Excellence Award has been introduced to recognize individuals who have demonstrated outstanding skill and professionalism in a live technical role supporting the Atlantic Canadian music industry. This includes (but is not limited to) work in live sound, lighting, backline, stage management, tour production, and technical direction. Roles essential to successful live performance, touring, and music presentation.

Please email [email protected] if you would like to discuss ideas and concerns regarding any of the awards.

We also heard concerns around AI and after an industry review found that our policy is in line with the current practices. These guidelines are living documents that are updated annually and ECMA will continue to adapt accordingly.