Christopher Normand Taylor is the President and CEO of

MNRK Music Group MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Taylor founded the rock/reggae group One in 1990. The band toured

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, playing over a thousand shows, released four albums, and was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

. In 1994, the band signed with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

and released their fourth album, ''Smokin' The Goats'', which included two Canadian Top 40 singles, "Wide Load" and " 54–46". In 1997, he began practising law with the law firm of Sanderson Taylor representing Canadian artists

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

, and

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member of the Canadian Music H ...

, among others. In 1998, via his former manager, Chris Smith, Taylor discovered

and assisted with introducing her talents to record companies in the United States. Shortly following Furtado's rise, Taylor played a role in introducing

Sum 41 Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...

to the music industry. More recently, he had been working for rap artist

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

. In 2003, he founded entertainment company Last Gang Entertainment with music industry promoter and impresario Donald Tarlton, discovering and signing alternative/dance artists

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathem ...

Death From Above 1979 Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album, '' You're ...

, MSTRKRFT, and

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, formed by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were know ...

. The label has been nominated as Canadian Independent Record Label of the Year at the Canadian Music Awards eight times, with its latest nomination in 2014. Last Gang Management manages

Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...

and Arkells and co-manages

Ryan Hemsworth Ryan Hemsworth (born 23 April 1990) is a Canadian record producer and DJ. He specialises in electronic music and sampling. He has produced tracks for Tinashe, Tory Lanez, Mitski, and E-40. Biography Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Hemsworth a ...

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they w ...

Holy Fuck Holy Fuck is a Canadian electronica band from Toronto. They were a part of Dependent Music, a music label and artist collective that began in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2004 until its closing. They were then a part of the Young Turks label and in ...

, Tennyson, and chef

Matty Matheson Matthew James Matheson (born February 7, 1982) is a Canadian chef, restaurateur, and internet personality. He was the executive chef of Parts & Labour, a restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, which permanently closed on January 1, 2019. Matheso ...

, in partnership with management company People's Champ. In 2006, he cofounded his own law firm, Taylor Mitsopulos Klein Oballa, representing additional acts such as

Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...

Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 originally as "Groundswell" and played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1995 and regrouping in 1997. Based in ...

Justin Nozuka Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka (born September 29, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. His debut album ''Holly'' has been released in Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States. He has licensed the album to indie label Coalition Enterta ...

Daniel Powter Daniel Richard Powter (; born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his self-penned hit song " Bad Day" (2005), which was top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks. Biography Early life Powter grew up in Verno ...

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike.Band is a scream", CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit ( ...

Gogol Bordello Gogol Bordello is an American punk rock band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 by musicians from all over the world and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Ro ...

, and Lights in addition to producers and songwriters such as Henry "Cirkut" Walter and

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

. The law firm also provides legal advice to YTV's number-one-rated show,

The Next Star ''The Next Star'' was a Canadian reality competition television series that was broadcast on YTV. It was hosted by Adamo Ruggiero (seasons 1–5) and Carlos Bustamante (season 6–7). The series involved a competition to find the most talented ...

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame (french: link=no, Allée des célébrités canadiennes) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a ...

, charitable organization

Free The Children WE Charity (french: Organisme UNIS), formerly known as Free the Children (French: ''Enfants Entraide''), is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger ...

, and Slaight Music. Taylor was the long-time lawyer for Canadian media personalities George Stroumboulopoulos and Matte Babel, among others. In January 2012, the law firm changed its name to Taylor Klein Oballa LLP. In March 2016, Taylor sold Last Gang to

Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

and took the position of President of Entertainment One's music division. The management division at Entertainment One added management companies Hardlivings and Nerve, which handle clients including Riton, Tieks,

Jax Jones Timucin Lam (born Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo; 25 July 1987), known professionally as Jax Jones, is an English DJ, songwriter, record producer and remixer. He rose to fame in 2014 by featuring on Duke Dumont's number-one single "I Got U". He ...

, Tiga, The Black Madonna, and Daniel Avery. Entertainment One's music division was named the #2 Independent Label in the US in 2016, and the artists associated with the company had a total of nine

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations for 2017. eOne publishing entered into joint venture with Grammy winning producer/writers, "Stereotypes" in August 2018. Taylor led the sale of Hasbro/eOne’s music business to Blackstone for USD $385 million in cash with the deal closing on June 29, 2021. The music business was renamed, MNRK Music Group on September 27, 2021 and Taylor was named President & CEO. Taylor is an executive producer of the "House of Strombo" concert series along with George Stroumboulopoulos,

Michael Sugar Michael Sugar is an American film and television producer and principal at Sugar23, best known for producing ''Spotlight'', ''13 Reasons Why'', '' Maniac'' and ''The Knick''. Life and career Sugar attended the Armand Hammer United World Coll ...

, and

Bob Mackowycz Bob Mackowycz, Jr. (born 1969) is a Canadians, Canadian musician, writer and broadcaster. The son of writer and radio program director Bob Mackowycz, Sr., he first became prominent as a rock musician with the band Glueleg. He later moved into radi ...

. In April 2017,

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

announced its partnership with House of Strombo. In 2019, Taylor served as executive producer of “Shoulder to Shoulder: A Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage” by The

Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson (pronounced ''KAR-in''; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the ' ...

Sextet. Taylor is on the advisory board for

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

’s, Martin Music Lab.

Awards

In 2013, Taylor was honored by the

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

for Excellence in Advocacy alongside former

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...

The Honourable

Ian Binnie William Ian Corneil Binnie (born April 14, 1939) is a former puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, serving from January 8, 1998 to October 27, 2011. Of the justices appointed to the Supreme Court in recent years, he is one of the few app ...

, and filmmaker

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

. In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Billboard magazine included Taylor in their "Indie Music Business Power List" and in June 2018 Variety Magazine named Taylor as one of its "International Music Industry Leaders". In 2018, the Canadian Independent Music Association awarded him the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2021, Taylor was included alongside, Beyonce, The Weeknd, Jay Z, and Shakira in Billboard Magazine’s first “Change Agents” list, honoring leaders across the music industry who stepped up over the past year to help the industry survive the pandemic and respond to calls for social and racial justice.

References

External links

TKO LawyersLast Gang RecordsLast Gang Records YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Chris Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Lawyers in Ontario People from Windsor, Ontario