Bringing together a world of new and uncommon music from diverse genres that is creative, contemporary, and Canadian.
Picanto.ca is a project of the Canadian Music Centre. With it’s roots stemming from the Digital Content Initiative that was a long-term project that started in 2012 with funding from the Canada Council’s Leadership for Change program. Its goal is to provide professional resources for recording, disseminating, promoting, and distributing Canadian specialized music through digital content such as audio and video.
Thinkbound’s expertise in developing web solutions, including those specific to specialized music in Canada, made an ideal pairing for this project. The Canadian Music Centre hired Thinkbound to spearhead the development of Picanto.ca and bring the enduring vision a reality.
Accomplishments
- On-demand streaming of creative work
- Creative submission review process
- Pay per view monetization
- Revenue distribution model
- Successful launch event
Front-End Design
Thinkbound developed an application design that represented the Picanto.ca brand and empowered music listeners to interact and discover new Canadian music on the platform. The result of the design was a front-end web application that successfully showcased the right balance of rich colors and imagery of a diverse Canadian music scene while providing an accessible platform for discovery.
The solution won the support of stakeholders touting it as visually appealing, user-friendly and functioning to perfectly fit the main objective of the platform.
Content Partner Portal
Through ongoing consultations, Thinkbound worked with a platform provider to develop a portal that was both intuitive and functional for artists to submit their work to a Review Panel for promotion on the Picanto.ca platform. The portal allows artists to create public profiles and share their collection of music to listeners exploring performances on the platform. Artists monetize their music through pay-per-view purchases and track royalties, all seamlessly integrated into their portal, providing a streamlined process for both artists and Picanto.ca administrators.
Adherence to WCAG 2.0 level AA
To achieve WCAG 2.0 level AA compliance, Thinkbound incorporated a range of design features and functionality, including clear and consistent navigation, alternative text for images, and accessible forms. They ensured that the website was compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers and keyboard navigation and went through a series of evaluation tools to validate all pages for compliance to ensure that the website was accessible to individuals with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, and motor impairments.
Technical Facilitation
Thinkbound played a key role in the development of the Picanto.ca platform, serving as the Technology Facilitator and Technical Lead for the project. In this role, they collaborated with a range of other technology vendors to bring the project to completion. As the Technical Lead, Thinkbound oversaw the development of the platform, ensuring that all technology components were properly integrated and functioning optimally. They also provided technical guidance and support to the other vendors involved in the project, helping to ensure a smooth and successful implementation.
Launch Event of Picanto.ca
The Canadian Music Center hosted a successful online launch event of Picanto.ca on October 14th, 2021. The online launch event itself was a success, with a large turnout of music industry professionals, artists, and music enthusiasts tuning in. The event included performances by Canadian musicians and a presentation on the features and benefits of the new platform.
