Making it big in the music biz today can start with film and television. And at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, 15 emerging Canadian artists and bands will get the chance to connect with the industry in the hopes of showcasing their music in an upcoming film or television production.

‘In the last five to 10 years, so many bands have been discovered on film and television,’ says Michael Perlmutter, producer of the Canadian Music Café. ‘It’s a tremendous opportunity for these artists.’

Now in its fourth year, the Café aims to connect musicians with an international array of music supervisors and producers gathered in Toronto for the festival. From Tuesday through Thursday, each performer will have 20 minutes on stage to sell their sound at the Café’s new venue, Toronto’s Hard Rock Café, located across Yonge-Dundas Square from the AMC multiplex that this year joined TIFF screening venues. Previously, the event was held at trendy nightspot The Rivoli on Queen Street West.

Last year Lily Frost licensed her songs to MTV’s The Hills, CTV’s Robson Arms and Lifetime’s True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet after playing at the Café. In 2006, Molly Johnson’s performance landed her a song in the closing credits of You Kill Me, which starred Ben Kingsley and Téa Leoni. This year’s performers are hoping for a repeat.

‘There will be some very prominent music supervisors there to watch this showcase,’ says Perlmutter, adding that the international scope of the festival provides a great venue for helping Canadian musicians break into the international scene.

The audience will include key music supervisors from south of the border such as Gary Calamar (Entourage, Six Feet Under, Weeds), John Bissell (Ugly Betty), Howard Paar (The L Word), Tony Von Pervieux, ABC’s director of music creative and Tony Scudellari, VP of TV music for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Performing at the Café are artists such as Montreal’s Martha Wainwright, Jill Barber of Halifax and Toronto’s Lindi Ortega. There were 200 bands and solo artists who applied to be part of this year’s lineup, and Perlmutter says selecting the cream of the crop, in terms of the music that will work best for film and television, was a difficult process due to the caliber of talent.

In partnership with TIFF, the Café is produced by the Canadian Recording Industry Association, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, the Canadian Independent Record Production Association and the Canadian Music Publishers Association.

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Playback Daily’s coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival continues with special editions through this weekend.