Cadence Music Group, formerly MapleCore Ltd., is a
music company
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and Music video, music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher (popular music), pub ...
founded in 1999 and located in Toronto, Canada. Cadence Music Group has multiple divisions, five record labels Cadence Recordings,
Open Road Recordings
Open Road Recordings, a division of RGK Entertainment Group Ltd., is a Canadian record label specializing in country music. it was established by Ron Kitchener in 2003 and distributed through Universal Music Canada. The label also owns an American ...
, Pheromone Recordings, Physical Presents, and Known Accomplice. They also jointly own
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
arm
Fontana North
Fontana North is a Canadian record distribution company and represents the Canadian wing of Fontana Distribution. It is a joint venture between Canadian-based MapleMusic Recordings, Cadence Music Group and US-based Fontana Distribution. The compan ...
with
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
, a live ticket services TicketBreak and Fan Experience, and their licensing division called Cadence Songs.
History
As MapleMusic.com
Cadence Music Group was co-founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Grant Dexter and launched MapleMusic.com, a website where music artists could sell their merchandise online. Through co-founder Andy Maize from the band Skydiggers connections were made to many established artists such as
Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...
and
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.
Early life
Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sist ...
who helped garner attention for the e-commerce site. The Cowboy Junkies were the first artist to sell their CDs and merchandise through the service that now provides online stores for more than 1,000 artists, including
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums.
Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...
,
Kathleen Edwards
Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 ) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, ''
Jann Arden
Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is famous for her signature ballads, "Could I Be Your Girl" and "Insensitive (song), Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date.
Ea ...
and
Chantal Kreviazuk
Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk (; born May 18, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist. Born in Winnipeg, she played music from a young age before signing with Columbia Records in the 1990s. Her debut studio album, ''Under These ...
.
The e-commerce portal cooperates with a number of Canadian artists not otherwise associated with the company's
MapleMusic Recordings
Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaigh ...
or
Open Road Recordings
Open Road Recordings, a division of RGK Entertainment Group Ltd., is a Canadian record label specializing in country music. it was established by Ron Kitchener in 2003 and distributed through Universal Music Canada. The label also owns an American ...
labels to sell their CDs and merchandise through the site.
The company expanded into the ticket service industry by establishing Fan Experience in 2004. Fan Experience is a VIP ticket service powered by MapleMusic.com providing packages such as exclusive seating, artist engagement, and merchandise to fans. The service has worked with bands like
Marianas Trench
The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...
,
The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...
, and
Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and J ...
who previously connected to the company through MapleMusic.com. Working directly with artists, promoters, and management the service creates experiences tailored specifically to the fans.
In March 2016, MapleCore was renamed as Cadence Music Group.
Labels
The company began to diversify in 2002, establishing
MapleMusic Recordings
Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaigh ...
, a full-service record label offering in-house marketing, promotion, publicity, A&R and licensing. The record company operates like a boutique label, handpicking a roster including many Canadian artists such as
Joel Plaskett
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres ...
Kathleen Edwards
Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978 ) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, ''
Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester.
The band released their debut EP, '' Pikul'', in July 2 ...
and
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
while using major label-style strength to market and distribute their artists nationwide. MapleMusic Recordings has an exclusive license with ATO Records,
Dangerbird Records
Dangerbird Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. The label is home to artists from around the world and part of the burgeoning Silver Lake music scene. The label has had international success from its small roster of ...
, and
Downtown Records
Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Geffen Records (formerly Interscope Records and The Orchard) in the ...
representing their signed artists with Canada.
In 2003, the
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
label
Open Road Recordings
Open Road Recordings, a division of RGK Entertainment Group Ltd., is a Canadian record label specializing in country music. it was established by Ron Kitchener in 2003 and distributed through Universal Music Canada. The label also owns an American ...
was launched as a partnership between MapleCore and Ron Kitchener. The sister label to MapleMusic Recordings offers marketing, promotion, publicity, A&R and licensing services to its roster. Open Road Recordings represents, or has represented, a range of artists from emerging talent, established artists and international acts, many via
Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...
and
Valory Records
Ross Lamont Valory (born February 2, 1949) is an American musician who is best known as the original bass player for the rock band Journey from 1973 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2020. Valory was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a ...
. Notable Canadian country artists have been launched by the label artists such as
Doc Walker
Doc Walker is a country music group from Westbourne, Manitoba, Canada. They have won Canadian Country Music Awards and had radio hits with the songs "I Am Ready" and "The Show is Free" from the 2003 album ''Everyone Aboard''. In 2001 they releas ...
,
The Wilkinsons
The Wilkinsons were a Canadian country music trio from Belleville, Ontario. Founded in 1997, the group consisted of lead singer Amanda Wilkinson, her brother Tyler Wilkinson, and their father, Steve Wilkinson. The Wilkinsons achieved success late ...
, and
Johnny Reid
John Kirkland Reid (born August 21, 1974) is a Scottish-Canadian country music artist. Reid moved to Canada in July 1988 when he was 13. His father, a diesel mechanic, wanted to give Reid and his brother opportunities he did not think they would ...
. The label has also been the Canadian home to many of the biggest names in country such as
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
. The
Canadian Country Music Association
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a g ...
awarded Open Road Recordings with Independent Record Company of the Year from 2004 to 2006, and Record Company of the Year from 2009 to 2012.
Former MapleMusic Recordings General Manager Kim Cooke partnered with MapleCore to establish Pheromone Recordings in 2008. The boutique label features an eclectic roster consisting entirely of Canadian artists such as
Elisapie Isaac
Elisapie Isaac (also known simply as Elisapie; syllabics: ) is a Canadian Inuk musician, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker, and activist. She spent her childhood in Salluit, Nunavik, Quebec, and moved to Montreal in 1999 to pursue communicat ...
,
The Dears
The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The band is led by the husband-and-wife duo of singer-guitarist Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak.
History
The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, ...
, and their first signed act The New Odds. The company aims to bring independent artists to MapleCore while utilizing the company's infrastructure, including marketing, promotion and publicity. Beast was the label's first new act to receive a Gold certification award for their self-titled album ' Beast'. Among Pheromone's other notable releases is Jason Schneider's 'Have Not Been The Same' compilation, a companion album to the 2011 updated reissue of the Canadian rock history book ' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995'. The album proceeds, along with proceeds from an auction of
Bob Wiseman
Robert Neil "Bob" Wiseman (born 1962) is a film composer, songwriter, author and music teacher. Wiseman discovered or produced many artists including Ron Sexsmith, The Lowest of the Low, Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall, Anhai, and former ...
's hand-painted Ace Tone Top 5 Keyboard organ went to
Kids Help Phone
Kids Help Phone (french: Jeunesse, J’écoute) is a Canadian charitable organization that provides online and telephone counselling and volunteer-led, text-based support in English and French to youth across Canada. Kids Help Phone also provi ...
.
Universal Music Canada
Universal Music Group owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here.
According to UMG official site, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Bravado, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammopho ...
, a majority shareholder in Cadence Music Group, along with the company's own Fontana North distribute the three labels.
Distribution
MapleCore established MapleNationwide in 2004 as a distributor for their in house labels. In 2006 it was re-branded as Fontana North after partnering with
Fontana Distribution
Fontana Distribution was a division of San Francisco-based Isolation Network (now owned by the Virgin Music Group unit of the Universal Music Group since 2019). A minority stake of the company was owned by Universal Music until Ingrooves, INgroov ...
as their Canadian wing. The company provides full marketing, promotional and publicity support, a nationally dedicated sales force and access to the U.S. marketplace for its signed labels and artists. Fontana North has won the Independent Distributor of the Year award at the Canadian Music Industry Awards, part of
Canadian Music Week
Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada.
History
Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...
, six years in a row from 2008 to 2013. Fontana North distribute more than 80 labels, including
Alligator Records
Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the ''Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970.
History
Iglauer started the label using hi ...
,
Daptone Records
Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, T ...
,
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton (Faith No M ...
,
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...
,
Paper Bag Records
Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist-management company, and music publisher founded in 2002 and based in Toronto.
History
The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial signings w ...
Warp Records
Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, A ...
.
Ticket services
In 2010 MapleCore launched its online ticket service TicketBreak. The service offers ticket sales and distribution to a wide variety of events such as the
Barrie Colts
The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League, based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
Pre-OHL history
There were two previous Barrie Colts teams which played Junior A & B hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association, one from 1 ...
,
NASCAR Canada NASCAR Canada is the NASCAR office in Canada.
NASCAR opened an office in its second largest market in Canada in 2004. NASCAR opened a corporate office in Toronto in a joint partnership with Canadian media company TSN. The move was made to boost ...
, Wild Water Kingdom as well as music festivals and concerts. TicketBreak combines marketing and IT to provide event producers, venue owners, and performers with alternative features such as promotional tracking, database cultivation, marketing support and printed, SMS mobile and ticket options. In 2012 a widget feature was introduced to the service allowing customers to sell tickets directly on their
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
pages, creating an easy access way for fans to purchase tickets online.
MapleMusic Recordings
Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaigh ...
*
Fontana North
Fontana North is a Canadian record distribution company and represents the Canadian wing of Fontana Distribution. It is a joint venture between Canadian-based MapleMusic Recordings, Cadence Music Group and US-based Fontana Distribution. The compan ...
*
Open Road Recordings
Open Road Recordings, a division of RGK Entertainment Group Ltd., is a Canadian record label specializing in country music. it was established by Ron Kitchener in 2003 and distributed through Universal Music Canada. The label also owns an American ...