FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2012 POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE ANNOUNCES THE LONG LIST

VANCOUVER, BC – Thursday, June 14, 2012.

The 2012 Polaris Long List was announced today at The Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver, BC. The Long List is sponsored this year by the Musicians’ Rights Organization Canada (MROC). Broadcast live on SiriusXM Canada and CBC Radio3, previous Polaris nominees Veda Hille, Dan Mangan and Hannah Georgas and jury member Francois Marchand (Vancouver Sun) were on hand to reveal the list. Vancouver music industry and media were in attendance for the late morning event.

“The year’s list deliciously illustrates the burgeoning sense of community in our jury. Almost half of the selections on this list were the direct result of passionate recommendations made by individual members to their peers. We hope the ultimate result of this dialogue will likewise inform the taste of adventurous music lovers from Canada and the world,” said Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director of the Prize.

Now in its seventh year, The Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. It is judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales. Past winners have been Arcade Fire, Karkwa, Fucked Up, Patrick Watson, Caribou and Final Fantasy. The eligibility period for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012.

The 2012 Polaris Music Prize Long List is (in alphabetical order): A Tribe Called Red – A Tribe Called Red Marie-Pierre Arthur – Aux alentours Rich Aucoin – We’re All Dying To Live Avec pas d’casque – Astronomie Azari & III – Azari & III Bahamas – Barchords The Barr Brothers – The Barr Brothers Blackie And The Rodeo Kings – Kings And Queens Cadence Weapon – Hope In Dirt City Kathryn Calder – Bright And Vivid Cannon Bros – Firecracker / Cloudglow Coeur de pirate – Blonde Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas Cold Specks – I Predict A Graceful Expulsion Rose Cousins – We Have Made A Spark Mark Davis – Eliminate The Toxins Drake – Take Care Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur Feist – Metals Fucked Up – David Comes To Life Great Lake Swimmers – New Wild Everywhere Grimes – Visions Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital Japandroids – Celebration Rock Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune Mares Of Thrace – The Pilgrimage Ariane Moffatt – MA Lindi Ortega – Little Red Boots Parlovr – Kook Soul Sandro Perri – Impossible Spaces Joel Plaskett Emergency – Scrappy Happiness PS I Love You – Death Dreams John K. Samson – Provincial Shooting Guns – Born To Deal In Magic: 1952-1976 The Slakadeliqs – The Other Side of Tomorrow Patrick Watson – Adventures In Your Own Backyard Bry Webb – Provider The Weeknd – Echoes of Silence Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – YT//ST Yukon Blonde – Tiger Talk

Tonight The Waldorf plays host to a new edition of increasingly popular Polaris salons. At 8pm a panel of jurists including Stuart Derdeyn (Vancouver Province), Lisa Christiansen (CBC Radio 1), Shawn Connor (Guttersnipe Press), and Brad Frenette (CBC Music). Moderated by Steve Jordan, the discussion will dissect the recently announced Long List, which of those titles they predict to move on to the Short List, and even records they voted for that didn’t make it.

The members of the Polaris Jury consists of over 200 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada. They now vote to decide on the Short List of 10 records to be announced July 17th at the Drake Hotel in Toronto. The winner will be revealed Monday, September 24th at the Polaris gala. That night an eleven person grand jury, chosen from the larger jury pool, will be sequestered at CTV’s Concert Hall studio at the gala to vote for the winner. The gala will feature live performances by this year’s short list nominees. It will be broadcast on CBC Radio 3 and webcast live on Much Music.

June 14th – Long List announcement (Vancouver) July 17th – Short List announcement (Toronto) September 24 – Gala and winner announcement (Toronto)

About the Polaris Music Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a not-for-profit organization that annually honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music by recognizing, then marketing the albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history, as judged by a panel of selected music critics. www.polarismusicprize.ca

-30-

Media Contact:

Polaris Music Prize media: Joanne Setterington Indoor Recess (416) 884-4119 [email protected]

Polaris Music Prize media (Quebec): Magali Ould (514) 994-6295 [email protected]