Warner Music Canada has been the most forward-thinking of the major labels in Canada over the past year under Kristen Burke’s leadership. Burke brought on Andy West as EVP in 2022, and their team has overseen some big developments including a move to downtown Toronto, success with Punjabi-Canadian star Karan Aujla, and the launch of 91 North Records (see leaderboard). They received platinum and gold status for international acts including Benson Boone, Dua Lipa and Teddy Swims, but it’s domestically where they’ve especially impressed. Following a comeback on TikTok, 2000s-era CanRock band Mother Mother has had a successful second act with 7+ billion global streams and gold certification in the U.S. for their song “Hayloft II.” Pop act Crash Adams has also had a social media-fuelled international rise, with 1.7 million new followers on TikTok, 1.8 million new ones on Instagram and 5.1 million new subscribers on YouTube.

Universal Music Group is home to some of the biggest artists in music, and many are handled domestically by Universal Music Canada. In Canada in 2023, Jeffrey Remedios reported to Billboard for International Power Players, eight of the top 10 albums overall were by Universal artists. They’ve had success domestically with Josh Ross, Banx & Ranx, Rêve and Preston Pablo, Canadian artists signed to the label, charting on the Canadian Hot 100. Given its scope, Universal has an amplifying effect for labels under its umbrella, like Ishkōdé Records, an Indigenous label founded by women (artists ShoShona Kish and Amanda Rheaume, also behind the International Indigenous Music Summit), whose artist Aysanabee became the first Indigenous artist to reach No. 1 on Canadian Alternative Rock Radio and won two big Junos.

Sony Music Canada had some key successes this year under President Shane Carter. One of the most impactful international Canadian artists is from Sony: Tate McRae. Though she’s mostly hubbed in the U.S., it’s been a few years since Canada has had a breakthrough star on the level of Justin Bieber or Shawn Mendes, and she could be the next one. Her hit “greedy” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global and Canadian Hot 100 and rose to No. 3 on the American Hot 100. Montreal pop artist Charlotte Cardin, who is on Sony Canada via Cult Nation, also hit her first U.S. charts and went on a major international tour, taking a break to win a set of Junos. Grassroots Indigenous hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids are a recent signing to Sony Music Canada directly, and their major label debut has the makings to be another big breakthrough.

He may be known primarily as an artist and cultural tastemaker (before it was the 6, Toronto was known as the T-Dot, largely thanks to him) but Kardinal Offishall has also built a strong career over the last decade as an industry exec. After close to a decade at Universal Music Canada where he established the Black Label Coalition and became a founding member of ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Collective, he was hired as the Global A&R lead at iconic New York-based hip-hop label Def Jam early last year. He’s a recognizable figure both behind the scenes and publicly as a judge on Canada’s Got Talent and a philanthropist, this year accepting the Allan Slaight Music Impact Honour at Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Big Loud made some big noise in 2023, with Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time claiming the Album of the Year spot on Billboard’s year-end Canadian Albums chart. SVP Brianne Deslippe, who has helmed the label’s Canadian presence since 2015, spearheaded the global campaign for Wallen during his smash year. Big Loud artists like HARDY and Hailey Whitters are hitting new heights in the Canadian market, while Deslippe is also working to develop Canadian talent, bolstering up-and-coming stars like MacKenzie Porter, whose Big Loud debut garnered 83 million global streams in its first week, and CMA Award-nominated Dallas Smith. Big Loud might be American, but its Canadian roots run deep – Nashville-based co-founder, super-producer and A&R President Joey Moi hails from northeastern B.C. The label’s focus on Canada is paying off, with Big Loud earning the title of Record Company of the Year at the 2023 CCMA Awards.

Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India came together this past year to launch 91 North Records, a new label aimed at supporting South Asian artists across borders. It’s at the heart of the Punjabi Wave, a global phenomenon with Punjabi-Canadian artists like Karan Aujla leading the way, having huge chart success and selling out arenas. Aujla’s collaborator, producer Ikky, is the Creative Director behind the label, and they’ve already established a strong set of artists that bridge the two countries and cultures, including: Jonita Gandhi, Chani Nattan, AR Paisley and Gminxr. Warner Canada Charlie B is the A&R Director who signed Aujla and Jonita Gandhi, and he's a key player in 91 North. With deep connection to the South Asian community, he's shown a keen eye for spotting talent. We can only expect bigger things in the future. “I want to make sure that once the door opens for Punjabi music worldwide, it will flood the gates,” says Ikky.

In the 20 years since Arts & Crafts launched, the independent label has established itself as a force in Canadian music beyond the (broken) social scene that made up the bulk of its early releases. Today, A&C is at the forefront of popular alternative music in the country, releasing successful albums over the past year by artists like Busty and the Bass (400K monthly Spotify listeners), Haley Blais (165K YouTube subscribers) and Debby Friday’s debut, Good Luck, which won the 2023 Polaris Music Prize. The label recently signed acclaimed Sudanese-Canadian singer and poet Mustafa, whose “Name of God” video is Prism Prize-shortlisted, and is set to keep the momentum going with his upcoming debut. Since taking over as President in 2015, Roy has helped keep A&C at the forefront of the Canadian landscape, while also managing indie stalwart Dan Mangan and serving on the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA)’s Board of Directors.

Founded, owned and operated by Joel Carriere, Dine Alone Records will soon turn 20. It has long been recognized as one of Canada’s most important rock and punk labels especially for its work breaking City and Colour and Alexisonfire, also both clients of his Bedlam Music Mgmt. company, but Carriere is certainly not resting on his laurels. Recent signings Ghost Woman, EKKSTACY, METZ and ASKO have joined the 100% Canadian owned and operated label, which is also home to Canadian rock heavyweights like Monster Truck, The Sheepdogs, Dirty Nil, Tokyo Police Club and Yukon Blonde, and major international acts like The Lumineers, The Cult and Dandy Warhols. This summer, along with Dallas Green and Live Nation, Carriere is resurrecting the Born & Raised festival for its second non-consecutive edition in his hometown of St. Catharines. Dine Alone still wears its St. Catharines roots proudly, but has presence in music hubs in Nashville and Los Angeles, as well as Toronto where it operates its own record store. It’s no surprise that Carriere has been a recipient of many Canadian music industry awards from such organizations as the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA).

Secret City Records is one of the most emblematic independent record labels in Quebec. Patrick Watson, Daniel Bélanger, Suuns, Klô Pelgag, Flore Laurentienne, Antoine Corriveau and The Barr Brothers, are all part of the Montreal company founded in 2006 by Justin West, whose philosophy is focused on art and community. 2023 was a successful year for this vision, since Bibi Club, with their first album Le soleil et la mer, and Alexandra Stréliski, with Néo-Romance, shone on the long list of the Polaris Prize. The latter was also one of only two Canadian artists on the list of top-selling CDs in the country last year, and she was nominated for two Junos (Secret City artist Jeremy Dutcher was also nominated for Motewolonuwok). Stréliski won three Félix awards at the 45th ADISQ gala and Daniel Bélanger has five trophies. Justin West is also very active behind the scenes, as he recently joined the board of directors of Merlin, an international organization dedicated to securing the digital future of the independent music sector.

Since Terry McBride co-founded it in 1984, Vancouver’s Nettwerk has evolved from a record label into a full-service “artist development and music intellectual property brand builder” with significant structured investments that have led them into the world of music catalogue acquisitions. That’s led to a 25% increase in artists on their roster in the last year, and McBride says Nettwerk’s roster averages over 10 billion streams annually across platforms. Its current roster includes Passenger, Syml, Banners, the Album Leaf, Matt Maltese, Wild Rivers and Wrabel among many others. When it comes to supporting Canadian artists, Nettwerk is still right up there. “Our current records indicate 46 Canadian acts on our active roster and 36 Canadian acts in our catalogue roster, for a total of eighty-two 82 Canadian artists,” McBride reports.