Julia Hummel is shaping the next era of artist-first business models in Canada’s music industry. After several years in marketing across different sectors, the 36-year-old joined Warner Music Canada in 2014, transforming a lifelong passion into a career. In 2018, she moved to London to join Warner Music’s Global Marketing team, helping craft international campaigns and sharpen a global perspective. She later returned to Toronto to help launch Amazon Music Canada and build its local team before rejoining Warner in 2021 to lead the launch of Warner Music Canada’s digital strategy division.

This past year, after returning from maternity leave, Hummel drove a new wave of digital growth through innovative strategy and high-impact partnerships with Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta and TikTok. What fuels her work is leading a high-performing team and empowering the next generation of industry leaders — guided by her belief that when artists and teams have the right tools, they can thrive both creatively and financially. “The next few years,” she says, “should be about giving artists the tools, partnerships and opportunities to thrive financially while creating their best work.”