Departure Festival Sued for Nearly $500,000 by Canadian Music Week Founder Neill Dixon

The owners of Departure – the conference and festival formerly known as Canadian Music Week (CMW) – are being sued by its former founder and president for breach of contract and unpaid sale fees.

In a notice of action filed with the Ontario Court of Justice this week (March 17), Neill Dixon has commenced a legal proceeding against the owners of Departure, including Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG) Canada.

Dixon accuses the companies of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and quantum meruit (a reasonable fee for work done) and seeks damages of $435,428 plus $50,000 in punitive and aggravated damages. The claim states that the new owners have not paid the full sale price of $2,000,000 agreed to in June, 2024.

“After 42 years of building an internationally respected Canadian music business, I made the difficult decision to sell and retire, trusting the purchasers to honour their commitments under the Agreement we had between us,” Dixon tells Billboard Canada in a statement. “I have been forced to start a lawsuit to hold them to their end of the Agreement we had between us.

“It's disheartening to have decades of dedication and hard work met with such an approach by them.”

In a statement to Billboard Canada, Loft and Oak View Group confirm they have received the statement of claim and write that they have been negotiating with Dixon over the terms.

"LOFT Entertainment and Oak View Group have received a formal statement of claim from Neill Dixon,” they write. “We have been negotiating with Neill and his counsel for an extended period to finalize our agreed upon terms. If we are unable to reach an agreement, we will explore alternative options."

Dixon announced his retirement and sale of Canadian Music Week to Loft and the U.S.-based Oak View Group (which has opened an office in Canada) on the opening day of the conference last summer. In a surprise move before the end of 2024, the new owners announced they would be changing the event’s name to Departure. The festival had been known as CMW since 1982, which included Dixon’s entire term as president. During that time, it became known as one of the most important music industry conferences in Canada.

They announced the rebranding at a launch event in November at new headquarters Hotel X in Toronto. The new Departure team – including Loft co-founder Randy Lennox, CEO Jackie Dean and executive producer Kevin Barton as well as OVG Canada president Tom Pistore – outlined a new vision for the festival, expanding the music event to also include comedy, tech, food and more. Some of the confirmed speakers for this year include Matty Matheson, Bryan Adams and Dallas Green.

Dixon was at the launch event, where Lennox and Barton announced they would honour the former CMW co-founder with a lifetime achievement award at this year’s festival, which takes place from May 6-11, 2025.

Now, however, Dixon claims the new owners have not honoured their monetary commitments to him.

Specifically, the claim states, they have not paid the full purchase price of $2,000,000 agreed to in a signed agreement on June 1, 2024. The claim says the money was to be sent in a payment plan by a numbered Ontario company co-owned by Loft and OVG. However, since December 16, 2024, it states, $378,928 has not been paid.

Dixon also provided consulting services to the new owners, the claim says, and that the $56,000 in consulting fees have also not been paid.

Departure’s inaugural edition takes place May 6-11, 2025 in Toronto.