Meeting Manhattan: Business Mission to New York City - Delegates
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Amelia Artists - Colin McTaggart Management Operations A manager with Amelia Artists, Colin McTaggart works with the company’s roster of developing acts. With a diverse range of clients including The Funk Hunters, Flash Lightnin’ & Tyson Motsenbocker, Colin brings his years of promoting and touring experience to the table with every client. Amelia Artists is a boutique management company founded by Nick Blasko and Piers Henwood in 2002, overseeing the global career of principal clients Tegan and Sara. To date Tegan and Sara have been nominated for ten JUNO Awards (winning three), one GRAMMY Award, and two Polaris Prizes. They have sold over one million albums and have been certified Gold six times in Canada and once in the US. Amelia Artists has since expanded to steward the careers of up-and-comers including Luluc (Sub Pop Records), The Funk Hunters (Westwood), Tyson Motsenbocker (Tooth & Nail), Gold & Youth (Arts & Crafts), and Flash Lightnin’ (Pheromone Recordings). |
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Blue Heron Music - Stephen Franke Artist Manager Stephen entered the music business as a piano and guitar player since the age of eight. He studied piano at Queen’s University with Canadian pianists Margaret McLellan and Ireneus Zuk. Later he moved to balmy Victoria where he stayed involved with the local and national music scene, playing in several national touring projects straddling genres including jazz, gypsy jazz, rock, jam and folk which led to recording and, eventually building a studio and producing/engineering many projects. Through his bands and sitting on various juries, he learned something about the Canadian music scene, grants, agents, publishers and exactly what mistakes not to make. After recording and producing a plethora of albums he moved into management with Jon and Roy, Current Swell, and now newer acts including Jesse Roper, Carmanah and Band of Rascals. Stephen has raised over $800,000 in grant funding and has seen music he’s represented appear in over sixty synchs including commercials (VW, Scotiabank, Big Brother, Hootsuite, Trek Mountain Bikes, Lululemon), feature films (A Year in Mourning, The Drifter, Cole), MTV shows (The Buried Life, Teen Mom, Peak Season), HBO, NBC, OLN, Firefox, Ralph Lauren, Bloomingdales and many indie and extreme sports films. |
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Founder/Director For some artists, music is more than a passion -- it's a calling. DJ, producer and Bombay Records honcho Nav Bhinder is one of those. Whether mixing records at the world’s top clubs, producing his own tracks, remixing other artists, or managing and developing master music talents such as David Morin, Nav puts full heart and soul into everything he does. His label, born in 1998 in Montreal, starting as DJ vinyl label has transitioned to multi faceted boutique music company. Bombay encapsulates Nav's musical landscape and vision. Most significantly, it's a home for a musically-diverse yet like-minded community of talented artists, music lovers and industry insiders worldwide. Nav and his crew have built a soulful brand that has reached and inspired listeners around the world. |
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Co-Owner/Co-Founder Gourmet Délice is a co-owner and co-founder of Bonsound, a Montreal-based music company. We're an artist management company, a record label, a booking agency, a concert promoter and producer. We work with artists such as Duchess Says, Radio Radio, Groenland, Lisa LeBlanc, Dead Obies, Milk and Bone, Pierre Kwenders, Les Deuxluxes, Ponctuation, DJ Champion, Safia Nolin and others. We are a team of three owners and 17 employees. At-it since 2004, we also run Bonsound Concerts, a local concerts and events promoter |
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CLK Creative Works - David Cox Artist Manager, Founder/CEO David “Click” Cox is the artist manager for SATE and King Reign, as well as the content manager for IDLA. His experience ranges from artist to label owner, retail to radio, marketing to management, and A&R with Universal Music. David is involved with numerous music organisations, along with mentoring and teaching at Remix Project. |
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Cordova Bay Records - Matt Smallwood Director of A&R and Marketing With a career spanning over 18 years Matt Smallwood got his start in sales & marketing at Page Music Distribution (Caroline/EMI Canada). From 2005 to 2013 Matt was leading the daily operations of MapleMusic Recordings and Fontana North Distribution as General Manager. Matt now helms Victoria, BC based Cordova Bay Records in an A&R and Marketing capacity. |
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Firebox Management - Katrina Lopes Owner Katrina Lopes is the President and owner of Firebox Management a full service artist management company whose roster includes platinum selling and Juno Award winning artist Shawn Desman and up and coming artist Mandia of Family Channel fame. Since Firebox Management's inception its clients have toured with internationally renowned acts including Backstreet Boys and Selena Gomez and have also performed for "We Day" in stadiums across Canada (an inspiring event and movement of young people leading local and global change.) Together with her clients Lopes has garnered numerous accolades including MMVA Video of the Year, Socan #1 Award, Socan Pop Song of the Year, and Stylus Award for Canadian Dance/Pop Single of the Year, as well as 3 platinum and 2 gold certified singles and chart topping hits. Lopes also Executive Produced the TV movie "ALIVE" in partnership with MuchMusic which starred Shawn Desman, Kaitlyn Leeb (Heartland), Melinda Shankar (Degrassi), and K.C. Collins (Lost Girl and Saving Hope). |
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GroundSwell Music - Ian McKinnon President & Owner Ian McKinnon is president and owner of GroundSwell Music, a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based artist management and record company. GroundSwell’s roster features some of the leading talent on Canada’s East Coast including The Stanfields, Rawlins Cross, The Town Heroes, Carleton Stone, Hillsburn and The Mike Bochoff Band. GroundSwell artists have collectively achieved national and international success and won a plethora of East Coast Music Awards, Nova Scotia Music Awards and Juno nominations. McKinnon won the 2014 and 2015 NS Music Awards for Manager of the Year. GroundSwell has partnerships with a number of global music businesses including Warner Music (retail distribution in Canada), FKP Scorpio (live performance booking in Europe) and Rookie Records (Europe). McKinnon’s educational background is in the arts. Following the completion of a Bachelor of Arts with honours at St. Francis Xavier University he earned a Master of Arts degree in Folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland. In the wake of his studies, McKinnon immersed himself in a music career on a full-time basis as a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Celtic Rock group Rawlins Cross. In the early days of Rawlins Cross, McKinnon established GroundSwell Music to support the business of the band as well as other East Coast Canadian artists. In recent years McKinnon has scaled back his performing and recording with Rawlins Cross to focus on the management of other artists. |
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GroundSwell Music - Nigel Jenkins Artist Manager Nigel Jenkins works with GroundSwell Music and is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A lawyer by trade and a lifelong musician, Nigel transitioned back into the music industry in late 2014 after an opportunity arose to tour manage an internationally acclaimed artist through the United States. Following that tour, Nigel met with Ian McKinnon, owner of GroundSwell Music, and began working with and mentoring under him. Nigel now manages two of GroundSwell's most recent signings--Hillsburn, and The Mike Bochoff Band--while maintaining an active legal practice, and hosting a weekly campus radio show on CKDU. |
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Head, Label Relations and Artist Development Tim Jones is an award-winning co-founder of Canadian indie label and artist development firm, Pipe & Hat. Pipe & Hat has launched artists into a steady path of success, including countless awards and nominations, consistent radio charting, collaboration with Grammy Award nominated producers, and performances at dozens of high-profile festivals and conferences around the world. As well, Jones is an in-demand speaker, having been on panels and hosted workshops at conferences in the US, UK, and Australia, and is a regular contributor to Canadian Musician. Pipe & Hat artists can be heard on major network television shows, online programming, and feature films. The company is a four-time Western Canadian Music Awards nominee, with Jones taking home the 2014 award for Manager of Year. |
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Pipe & Hat Inc. - Elise Roller Artist Development Since 2013, Roller has been part of the award-winning team at Canadian indie label and artist development firm, Pipe & Hat. Pipe & Hat has launched artists into a steady path of success, including countless awards and nominations, consistent radio charting, collaboration with Grammy Award nominated producers, and performances at dozens of high-profile festivals and conferences around the world. As well, Roller is responsible for kick starting the career of Calgary rapper Transit, and, for the past six years, has booked and tour managed a number of Canadian acts. Pipe & Hat artists can be heard on major network television shows, online programming, and feature films. The company is a four-time Western Canadian Music Awards nominee, winning the 2014 award for Manager of Year. |
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Executive Director Michael brings to SaskMusic a diverse range of experience in the music industry, including tour booking, artist management, marketing and promotion, and sponsorship management. Dawson spent five years serving as the Artistic Director of the Culture Exchange, where he booked and/or promoted over 400 concerts a year, before moving on to become the talent buyer for a number of venues in Western Canada including The Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver. He is also the Artistic Director of the Gateway Music Festival. Dawson brings to this position a wealth of hands-on industry experience. As the current lyricist and multi-instrumentalist with Library Voices, Michael has performed at national and international events including Liverpool Sound City, SXSW, NXNE, Pop Montreal, CMW, Ottawa Blues Fest, Virgin Music Fest, Edgefest, and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Library Voices was named the 2012 Sirius XM “Alternative Artists of the Year” and has been nominated for four Western Canadian Music Awards and six CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards. Dawson also previously owned and operated Young Soul Records, part of the EMI Associated Labels Division, releasing more than a dozen albums by Saskatchewan-based artists, and has participated in numerous juries including FACTOR (The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) and the Lieutenant-Governor Awards. |
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The Truth Music Group - Erikson Herman Founder Erikson Herman, founder of The Truth Music Group, is a young veteran of the Canadian music industry having worked with several independent music companies and major record labels (including Battle Axe Records, S.L. Feldman & Associates, MapleMusic Recordings/Fontana North and Warner Music Canada) prior to focusing on the career of Tasha the Amazon full-time in early 2014. The Truth Music Group is a progressive, urban-focused artist management company operating out of Toronto, Canada and primarily focused on the career of Tasha the Amazon, her production duo Bass & Bakery and several touring DJs. |
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Watson Entertainment - Mark Watson Artist Manager Mark Watson runs a Toronto based artist management company – Watson Entertainment. The company has received several industry awards and has earned 2 gold records since it’s inception in 1998. They've been the driving force behind countless international tours, major film and TV placements. Roster includes: David Francey: Folk artist and three time JUNO winner – davidfancey.com Eh440: award winning Acappella / pop group – Eh440.com The Eastern Belles: Americana trio from PEI Canada. (Catherine MacLellan, Ashley Condon, Meaghan Blanchard) – easternbelles.com Mark also handles artistic direction for several festivals and events. Mark got his start in the industry as a touring musician, later he started producing / engineering and road managing before moving into artist management full time. |
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