Billboard Canada and MMF Canada Announce Top Music Manager Honourees for 2026

Matthew Burnett and Jordan Evans are Billboard Canada's 2026 Managers to Watch.

The powerhouse duo behind Daniel Caesar have been working closely with the R&B singer from the very start, helping guide one of the biggest Canadian careers and breakthroughs of the last decade. From the early days before Freudian in the mid-2010s up to the recent unconventional rollout of Son of Spergy which included spontaneous pop-up shows in parks across Canada, both managers have drawn from their backgrounds as creatives to help Caesar thrive as an artist

The pair will receive the honour in person during the Billboard Canada Managers to Watch x MMF Honour Roll event at SOUNDSTAGE on June 11 at NXNE, which honours the unsung architects of the music career who contribute to generation-defining success among artists and create community for their fellow industry peers.

Music Managers Forum Canada (MMF Canada) has also revealed the recipients of its 2026 Honour Roll, which celebrates outstanding career achievements among Canadian music managers and self-managed artists. Partnering with Billboard Canada for a second consecutive year, MMF Canada will honour Helen Britton and Shauna de Cartier as its Honour Roll recipients.

The award denotes outstanding achievement among Canadian managers. Both women are powerhouses at Six Shooter Records, a pioneering female-led independent record label which celebrated its milestone 25th anniversary last year. The respected label was born from determination and a credit card, eventually growing into a largely successful indie label that has proudly platformed and represented the wide range of sounds, culture and talent coming out of every province in Canada.

Defining the country's musical identity is a roster that includes renowned names like throat singer luminary Tanya Tagaq, hit folk ensemble The Dead South, Canadian roots rock first couple Whitehorse, adventurous rapper Cadence Weapon, singer-songwriter William Prince and more. The label is also home to the Canadian alt-rock band July Talk, whose frontman Peter Dreimanis landed a key role in the Academy Award-winning film Sinners (2025) and even performed at the 2026 Oscars.

Shauna de Cartier

Helen Britton

Matt Maw will receive this year's Trailblazer Award from MMF Canada, which celebrates a manager carving new paths in the industry. Maw is recognized for his outstanding work in the recognition of Indigenous music in Canada. Maw capped off a groundbreaking year with the launch of his new artist development company SUPERCONNECTED, whose roster is home to Indigenous artists like Sebastian Gaskin, Boogey The Beat, Wolf Saga and Miesha & the Spanks. He earned a spot on the inaugural Billboard Canada 40 Under 40 list last Fall and celebrated Gaskin's first-ever Juno award victory in 2025 for contemporary Indigenous artist or group of the year.

Matt Maw

Billboard Canada will also present its International Manager award, which celebrates a Canadian manager driving a groundbreaking impact on a global scale, as well as the Manager on the Rise award, which recognizes a young manager making noteworthy strides in their early career. The recipients of both prizes will be revealed, along with the full Billboard Canada Managers to Watch list, which arrives next week.