Canadian Record Label Executives Featured on Billboard's 2024 International Power Players List
Kristen Burke of Warner Music Canada and multiple execs at Universal Music Canada are named amongst the music industry figures making a big international impact.
Warner Music Canada artist Karan Aujla at the 2024 Juno Awards in Halifax. Billboard's International Power Players list features Warner Music Canada President Kristen Burke.
Billboard's first Power Players in Canada is coming this June, but some of Canada's influential music industry executives are already getting recognized for their international impact.
Kristen Burke of Warner Music Canada and three executives of Universal Music Canada are named as Billboard International Power Players. Revealed today, April 29, the list highlights executives with primary responsibility for non-U.S. markets who are making their mark on the industry.
Kristen Burke, President of Warner Music Canada, has helmed the major label's move into downtown Toronto, and fostered partnerships like 91 North Records, a collaboration with Warner Music India that's helping to grow the Punjabi Wave in Canada. Warner Music Canada artist Karan Aujla, who picked up a Juno in March and will head out on his first Canadian tour this summer, is at the forefront of that movement.
Jeffrey Remedios, Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Canada, is joined on the list by UMC Executive VP Julie Adam and Senior VP of Marketing JP Boucher. Universal has had recent success in the Canadian market with American stars like Morgan Wallen and Canadian mainstays like The Weeknd — who had two songs amongst 2023's 10 biggest hits outside the U.S. — as well as fostering rising Canadian talent like Josh Ross and Preston Pablo.
Other executives featured on the list include Jiwon Park, CEO of HYBE, which last year became the first South Korean entertainment to generate 2 billion won in revenue; Catrin Drabble, CFO of Kobalt, who works with major recent success stories like Colombian singer Karol G and UK breakouts The Last Dinner Party; and Canadian Merck Mercuriadis, founder of Hipgnosis Song Management, which is currently the subject of a bidding war for acquisition.
The International Power Players list arrives ahead of Billboard Canada's inaugural Power Players celebration, which will highlight industry members advancing the Canadian music landscape. The event is set to take place on June 2, 2024.
See the full list of International Power Players here.
From left: Joey Scolari, Tom Pistore, Keith Pelley, Wayne Zronik and Tim Leiweke speaking on State of the Industry panel at Departure at Toronto's Hotel X on May 8, 2025.Mike Highfield