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FYI

Higher Reign Signs With Sony Canada For Global Exploitation

The Montreal indie music entertainment firm recently struck it big with the Lucky Rose’s single "The Way You Want Me" that has reached more than 10M streams and was in the Billboard Top 40 CHR chart for 16 weeks.

Higher Reign Signs With Sony Canada For Global Exploitation

By FYI Staff

Higher Reign Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment Canada have announced a partnership to promote and develop their respective artists in Canada and globally.


Effective Dec. 14, Sony is now the exclusive worldwide distributor for the Montreal multimedia entertainment firm’s catalogue of independent artists that have amassed 30 million streams, 220,000 equivalent sales, and a combined 10 million views on YouTube in the past two years.

“HR Music is the new breed of independent labels in Canada,” says HRM CEO Steeven Leblanc.

“Having broken big tunes in the past two years–notably Lucky Rose’s single ‘The Way You Want Me’ that reached more than 10 million streams and was in the top 40 Billboard CHR chart for 16 weeks in 2016, our focuses remain mostly on Pop/Urban/Dance music,” he explains.

Continuing: “It has also helped the artistic development of many other talented singer-songwriters, like A-SHO, Treh LaMonte, and, most recently, Julia Tomlinson who will be part of the CTV show The Launch this winter.”

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Higher Reign is gearing up for 2018 with new acts like TOITO, Mark & Sylvester, Julia Tomlinson, Aiden Myers, Elissia Mariah and Kingdom Street. The company has teams based in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles, and an A&R squad that “consistently keeps track on what’s happening on the scene to stay ahead of the herd in terms of digging out and pushing great new talents,” Leblanc enthuses.

“Working with Sony Music Canada was a no-brainer from the start,” Leblanc states. “Our label is excited for what’s to come, and we think this is a step forward for our roster. Getting their talented and trusted team on board with us is a great vote of confidence for our independent label. And I’m confident that Sony Music and their worldwide network will help us achieve that.”

“We are excited to begin this new partnership with the Higher Reign team and their artists, Chris Hardy, Director Distributed Labels, Sony Music Canada said in a statement Wednesday. “They bring youth, passion, and dedication to our distributed label family and we are looking forward to working with them locally and internationally.”

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It should be noted that this new partnership does not affect Higher Reign Music’s organizational structure at this time; its governance and shareholding remain unchanged.

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Dan Hawie
Courtesy Photo

Dan Hawie

Record Labels

Dan Hawie Promoted to Managing Director of Last Gang Records by MNRK Music Group

Formerly with Dine Alone Records and Nevado Records, the Toronto-based label exec joined Last Gang in 2017 where he served as director of marketing and A&R.

MNRK Music Group has announced the promotion of Dan Hawie to managing director of Last Gang Records. Effective immediately, Hawie will oversee Last Gang’s finances and assume expanded leadership across A&R and brand strategy. Based in Toronto, he will report to Randy Derebegian, vp of artist development, and Chris Moncada, coo of MNRK Music Group.

"I’m incredibly honoured to carry the legacy of Last Gang forward," Hawie says. "Twenty-one years in, our ‘Us Against The World’ mentality continues to fuel everything we do. Foundational artists like Death From Above 1979, Metric, and Mother Mother are still shaping culture today, while our new guard, including Bella Poarch, Ho99o9, Loving, and Mondo Cozmo, continues to push boundaries and move the culture forward. I’m grateful to help preserve that independent spirit, and especially proud to champion such incredible art with the same passion and belief as the artists creating it.”

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