[TORONTO, ON, February 14, 2025] CIMA is pleased to announce that Sam Rayner has been appointed Head of Industry & Membership Development. As the key point of contact for industry professionals, labels, managers, and artists looking to collaborate with CIMA, Sam will guide membership growth through targeted networking events, support select export missions, and strategic programming initiatives. This includes leading CIMA’s Road Gold Certifications, Chartmetric programming, and CIMA’s Make It Better mental health benefit.  “Sam is a massive champion for Canadian owned music companies and independent artists,” says CIMA President and CEO Andrew Cash. “Not only does Sam bring an incredibly high level of service to CIMA members he continually looks for new and more effective ways to help them grow their business and break their artists.” In his new role, Sam will focus on expanding membership, strengthening industry partnerships, and driving high-impact professional development programs across Canada’s independent music sector alongside the rest of the CIMA team. “It’s an exciting opportunity to step into this expanded role at CIMA,” says Rayner. “Every day, we are dedicated to supporting and strengthening Canada’s independent music sector. I’m looking forward to continuing to build on CIMA’s incredible initiatives and momentum.”

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CIMA Media Contact: For media inquiries, interviews, or additional information, please contact: Jenia Schukov Communications & Export Programming Officer p: 416-998-3705 e: jenia@cimamusic.ca About CIMA: Founded in 1975 CIMA is the not-for-profit national trade association representing over 350 Canadian-owned music companies connected to over 6000 artists in every province and territory in Canada. CIMA's membership ranges from individual artists and solopreneurs to Canadian-owned global music companies. Its membership also includes music publishers, managers, agents, songwriters, as well as other industry associations, provincial MIA’s and industry adjacent service companies including in digital marketing, public relations and content creation.