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Billboard Canada Branding Power Players 2025

By Richard Trapunski, Peony Hirwani, Heather Taylor-Singh

Behind every great artist and unforgettable concert is a network of partners working quietly and powerfully in the background. In Canada, some of the country’s most influential brands are doing more than supporting the music industry. From funding artist development and music education programs to backing major award shows and festivals, these brands have become essential players in pushing the culture forward.

Their involvement goes far beyond traditional sponsorship. Whether it’s building platforms for emerging talent, producing exclusive fan experiences, or investing in live music infrastructure, each brand on this list has contributed to elevating Canadian music at every level.


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This year’s Brand Power List recognizes those companies that aren’t just aligned with music but are actively moving it. They understand that music is more than entertainment – it’s identity, community, and storytelling. And by showing up in meaningful ways, these partners are not only strengthening the industry’s ecosystem but also helping to define what the future of Canadian music can look like.

See the full list below.

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SANTA MARIA, CA - JUNE 13: Michael Jackson prepares to enter the Santa Barbara County Superior Court to hear the verdict read in his child molestation case June 13, 2005 in Santa Maria, California. After seven days of deliberation the jury has reached a not guilty verdict on all 10 counts in the trial against Michael Jackson. Jackson was charged in a 10-count indictment with molesting a boy, plying him with liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He pleaded innocent.
Kevork Djansezian-Pool/Getty Images

SANTA MARIA, CA - JUNE 13: Michael Jackson prepares to enter the Santa Barbara County Superior Court to hear the verdict read in his child molestation case June 13, 2005 in Santa Maria, California. After seven days of deliberation the jury has reached a not guilty verdict on all 10 counts in the trial against Michael Jackson. Jackson was charged in a 10-count indictment with molesting a boy, plying him with liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He pleaded innocent.

Tv Film

Netflix Announces Three-Part ‘Michael Jackson: The Verdict’ Docuseries Chronicling Pop Star’s 2005 Child Molestation Trial

The series will look at the arguments that led to Jackson's acquittal on all charges.

With the sanctioned Michael biopic racking up more than $600 million in global box office and sending the late King of Pop’s catalog surging up the charts, Netflix announced its own Michael Jackson project on Wednesday (May 20), the three-part documentary series Michael Jackson: The Verdict.

The series, which will premiere on June 3, looks at Jackson’s 2005 criminal trial on child molestation charges involving a teenage boy. “In 2003, Michael Jackson — arguably the most famous and beloved figure in pop culture of all time — was charged with multiple counts of child molestation, setting off a media firestorm and courtroom proceedings that captivated millions,” reads a description from the streamer. “His acquittal on all counts only further stoked public interest in the larger-than-life celebrity at the center of the trial, interest that continues to persist long after Jackson’s death in 2009.”

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.
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