In a Canadian music industry where power is often concentrated within a few big corporate companies, Sander Shalinsky has worked independently behind the scenes on some of the market’s largest transactions. Regularly dealing in numbers upwards of eight to nine figures — including a recent $100 million independent music and film consolidation backed by a UK bank — the lawyer and entrepreneur orchestrates everything from high-stakes catalogue acquisitions and corporate financing to large-scales sales to massive talent signings and exits. While his resume includes guiding early milestones for global superstar The Weeknd, Shalinsky continues to strategize for young artists like country risers The Martin Boys, leveraging massive social followings to make big moves early in their careers. He’s also expanded into live theatre as executive producer of Montreal’s La Cage aux Folles. If power is measured by setting money in motion, Shalinsky is a definitive leader in the market.

Miro Oballa operates across almost every corner of Canada’s entertainment business — from music law and management to nightlife, live events and artist development. As a partner at Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP, which bills itself as the largest entertainment boutique law firm in the country, Oballa represents clients across music, film, television, gaming and sports. His firsthand entrepreneurial experience gives him a broader perspective than many traditional entertainment lawyers. He’s also responsible for nearly a quarter billion in catalogue sales. He’s also a founding partner in Different Gear Management, whose client Sophia Stel signed to A24 Music, the music division of the lauded film studio. Outside the courtroom and boardroom, his impact on Canadian music infrastructure has been equally significant. Oballa co-founded ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective, helping create mentorship and professional pathways for Black executives and creatives in the industry. This year also marked the 20th anniversary of Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland, a milestone reflecting the firm’s long-standing role within Canada’s music and entertainment sectors.

As music rights become one of the industry’s most valuable — and often misunderstood — assets, Angelika Heim has emerged as one of the lawyers helping artists and companies protect and understand what they own. A partner at Stohn Hay Cafazzo Heim Finlay LLP, Heim works across catalogue sales, publishing, licensing and intellectual property strategy for everyone from emerging artists to JUNO- and Grammy-winning talent, songwriters, labels and music publishers, film and television producers — a cross-section of the industry. She helps clients unlock long-term value of their assets, often untangling decades of fragmented rights histories. As AI rapidly reshapes ownership and exploitation in music, this work has become increasingly central to how artists can safeguard both their revenue and legacy.

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the economics and ownership structures of music, Casey Chisick has become one of the key legal figures helping define how the industry responds. A partner and chair of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment & Sports groups at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Chisick has spent decades at the forefront of Canadian copyright law, representing collective societies like SOCAN and CMRRA and appearing in landmark copyright appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada. He’s worked with some major artists in Canadian music, from Shawn Mendes to Avril Lavigne. Over the last year, though, his work has increasingly focused on AI licensing, rights management and digital policy at a very crucial moment some have compared to the file sharing revolution or shift to streaming. There are immense legal ramifications, and Chisick is here to meet the moment.