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Christopher Normand Taylor is a Canadian music industry lawyer and Grammy Award winning record label executive.
In 2004, Taylor co-founded Last Gang Records with concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton. Last Gang was acquired by Entertainment One in 2016, with Taylor becoming the president of eOne's music operations. As of 2023, he remains the president and CEO of eOne Music, which was renamed MNRK Music Group in 2021. [1]
After graduating from law school, Taylor founded the rock/reggae group One in 1990. The band toured North America, playing over a thousand shows, released four albums, and was nominated for a Juno Award. [2] In 1994, the band signed with Virgin Records and released their fourth album, Smokin' The Goats, which included two Canadian Top 40 singles, "Wide Load" [3] [4] and "54–46"[ citation needed ].
In 1997, he began practising law with the law firm of Sanderson Taylor [5] representing Canadian artists Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne, and Tom Cochrane, among others.
In 1998, via his former manager, Chris Smith, Taylor discovered Nelly Furtado and assisted with introducing her talents to record companies in the United States. [2] Shortly following Furtado's rise, Taylor played a role in introducing Sum 41 to the music industry. More recently, he had been working for rap artist Drake. [6]
In 2003, he founded entertainment company Last Gang Entertainment with music industry promoter and impresario Donald Tarlton, discovering and signing alternative/dance artists Metric, Death From Above 1979, MSTRKRFT, and Crystal Castles. [7] 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. [8] Last Gang Management manages Lights and Arkells and co-manages Ryan Hemsworth, BadBadNotGood, Holy Fuck, Tennyson, and chef Matty Matheson, in partnership with management company People's Champ.
In 2006, he cofounded his own law firm, Taylor Mitsopulos Klein Oballa, [9] representing additional acts such as Billy Talent, Three Days Grace, Justin Nozuka, Daniel Powter, Alexisonfire, Gogol Bordello, and Lights in addition to producers and songwriters such as Henry "Cirkut" Walter and Gordon Lightfoot. The law firm also provides legal advice to YTV's number-one-rated show, The Next Star, Canada's Walk of Fame, charitable organization Free The Children, 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 and took the position of President of Entertainment One's music division. [10] The management division at Entertainment One added management companies Hardlivings [11] and Nerve, [12] which handle clients including Riton, Tieks, Jax Jones, Tiga, The Black Madonna, and Daniel Avery. Entertainment One's music division was named the #2 Independent Label in the US in 2016, [13] and the artists associated with the company had a total of nine Grammy Award nominations for 2017. [14]
eOne publishing entered into joint venture with Grammy winning producer/writers, "Stereotypes" in August 2018. [15]
Taylor led the sale of Hasbro/eOne’s music business to Blackstone for USD $385 million in cash [16] with the deal closing on June 29, 2021. [17] The music business was renamed, MNRK Music Group on September 27, 2021 and Taylor was named President & CEO. [18]
Taylor is an executive producer of the "House of Strombo" concert series [19] along with George Stroumboulopoulos, Michael Sugar, and Bob Mackowycz. In April 2017, Apple Music announced its partnership with House of Strombo. [20] In 2019, Taylor served as executive producer of “Shoulder to Shoulder: A Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage” by The Karrin Allyson Sextet. [21] Taylor is on the advisory board for Ricky Martin’s, Martin Music Lab. [22] In December 2021 Taylor was a guest on the Trapital podcast with host Dan Runcie discussing MNRK, the music business and technology. [23]
In 2013, Taylor was honored by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association for Excellence in Advocacy alongside former Supreme Court Justice The Honourable Ian Binnie, and filmmaker David Cronenberg. [24] In 2017, [25] 2018, [26] 2019, [27] 2020, [28] 2021, [29] 2022, [30] and 2023 [31] 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". [32] In 2018, the Canadian Independent Music Association awarded him the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. [33] 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. [34] In 2023 Taylor won a Grammy Award as executive producer on the Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year, “Fandango at the Wall in New York (2022)” from the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra directed by Arturo O’Farrill. [35] - Acceptance Speech
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She is widely known for her musical versatility and genre experimentation.
Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an imprint of the Universal/Motown Records Group, and was renamed Universal Republic Records after a reorganization in 2006 before going back to its original name in 2012.
Whoa, Nelly! is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released in North America on October 24, 2000, by DreamWorks Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1999 to 2000. It peaked at number twenty-four on the US Billboard 200 chart, and opened to critical acclaim. It produced four singles: "I'm Like a Bird", "Turn Off the Light", "Shit on the Radio ", and "Hey, Man!". The album spent seventy-eight weeks on the Billboard 200. It hit double-platinum status in the US in January 2002.
"I'm Like a Bird" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was written by Furtado and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West for her debut studio album, Whoa, Nelly! (2000). Released as the album's first single in September 2000, it became a worldwide hit the following year, peaking at number one in Portugal, number two in Australia and New Zealand, number five in the United Kingdom, and number nine in the United States. It was the eighth-most-played song on Canadian radio in 2001.
Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Recognized for her songwriting, musical versatility, artistic reinventions, and influence on the music industry, she is a prominent cultural figure of the 21st century.
"Say It Right" is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her third studio album, Loose (2006). It was written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, and Nate "Danja" Hills, with Furtado crediting the Eurythmics' song "Here Comes the Rain Again" as her inspiration. The song was released as the third single from Loose on 31 October 2006 by Geffen Records and Mosley Music Group; in Europe, it was released as the fourth.
"All Good Things (Come to an End)" is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her third studio album, Loose (2006). It was written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, Chris Martin, and Nate "Danja" Hills. The song was released as the album's third European single in November 2006. It was released as the fourth single in the United States and Australia. The single features Chris Martin, frontman of the band Coldplay, harmonizing throughout the song. The original version of the song included Martin saying a few words at the beginning and singing the chorus behind Furtado.
"Give It to Me" is a song performed by American producer, songwriter and rapper Timbaland, released as the first single from his second studio album Shock Value (2007). The song features vocals by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado and American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. All three artists co-wrote the song together with American rapper Attitude and American producer Danja, who produced the song with Timbaland. Mosley Music Group, in association with Blackground Records and Interscope Records, serviced the song to contemporary hit and rhythmic radios in the United States on February 6, 2007, and later to urban radios on March 10, 2007. "Give It to Me" is an electro song that embodies the sensibilities of club music. The song features the protagonists addressing their critics about their successes in the music industry.
Daniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu, Baha Men, Kurupt, The Pretenders, Sugarcult, and, in 2007, the launch of Glassnote Entertainment Group artists – Secondhand Serenade, Justin Nozuka, Grammy Award-winning Phoenix, Grammy Award winning Mumford & Sons, The Temper Trap, Two Door Cinema Club, Daughter, Robert DeLong, Flight Facilities, Half Moon Run, Jeremy Messersmith, Chvrches, Grammy Award-winning Childish Gambino, Aurora, Mansionair, The Strumbellas, Luwten, Dylan Cartlidge, Ripe, Cecilia Castleman, Silvana Estrada, Mosa Wild and Jade Bird. In 2011 Rolling Stone magazine named Glassnote "Best Indie Label." In 2013 and 2014, Glassnote won the A2IM Libera award for Best Label of the Year. In December, 2015, Glass was named a CHEVALIER DE L'ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES by the French Minister of Culture.
Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Independent Record Label of the Year at the Canadian Music Awards in 2006.
Dualtone Records is an American record label specializing in folk, Americana, and indie rock. It was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington. The company is run by Robinson and the label's president, Paul Roper. Albums are distributed by the Alternative Distribution Alliance. On January 20, 2016, Entertainment One acquired Dualtone Records. Later, Dualtone's parent company eOne Music was acquired by The Blackstone Group in June 2021, with eOne Music rebranded as MNRK Music Group in September 2021.
Mi Plan is the fourth studio album and the first Spanish-language album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released independently on September 11, 2009 by Furtado’s own record label Nelstar Entertainment with distribution by Universal Music Latino. This marks Furtado’s first independently released album. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2008 to 2009. The album was produced primarily by Furtado with other contributions made by James Bryan, Lester Mendez, Salaam Remi, The Demolition Crew, Julieta Venegas and Brian West. Furtado described the songs on the album to be "simple love songs".
Nasri Tony Atweh, known mononymously as Nasri, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter for the reggae fusion band, Magic!, a group consisting of fellow Toronto natives, Mark Pellizzer, Alex Tanas, and Ben Spivak. MAGIC!'s single "Rude" became a major international hit single. He is currently managed by Wassim "Sal" Slaiby.
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is a Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television series. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange before it was acquired by Hasbro on December 30, 2019.
"Promiscuous" is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her third studio album, Loose (2006). The song was written by Timothy "Attitude" Clayton, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, Furtado and Nate "Danja" Hills. The song's lyrics feature a conversation between a man and woman who call each other promiscuous. The song was released as the second single from the album on April 25, 2006.
Walk off the Earth is a Canadian indie pop band from Burlington, Ontario. The group is known for its music videos of covers and originals. The band is well known for covering pop-genre music on YouTube, making use of instruments such as the ukulele and the theremin, as well as looping samples. The band's recorded music and videos are produced by member and multi-instrumentalist Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio.
Darren Throop is a Canadian businessman who is the founder and CEO of Entertainment One (eOne). Through corporate acquisitions and partnerships, Throop has expanded Entertainment One's global footprint and network which includes film and television studio The Mark Gordon Company; content creation venture Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Pictures, Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment; leading feature film production and global sales company Sierra Pictures; unscripted television production companies Renegade 83, Paperny Entertainment and Force Four Entertainment; world-class music labels Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang Records; and award-winning digital agency Secret Location.
Mark Pitts is an American record producer, manager, and President of RCA Records and CEO of ByStorm Entertainment. He has managed a number of artists and produced musical tracks for performers including Notorious B.I.G, Faith Evans, Miguel, J. Cole, Jawan Harris, Kardinal Offishall, Ciara, Chris Brown, Usher, TLC, Anthony Hamilton, CeeLo Green and Ro James. Pitts executive produced the Netflix film, Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell, co-produced Notorious (2009), and Blue (2009).
MNRK Music Group 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 been acquired by the present-day Entertainment One (eOne) in 2004. In April 2021, after the acquisition of eOne by Hasbro, the company announced that it would sell eOne Music to The Blackstone Group.
BODR is the nineteenth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on February 11, 2022, through Death Row Records, as his third studio album released on the label following a 26-year lapse since Tha Doggfather (1996). The album was distributed by Create Music Group. It features guest appearances by Nas, T.I., Sleepy Brown, Nate Dogg, The Game, DaBaby, Uncle Murda, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Duval and production by Battlecat, Bink, DJ Green Lantern and Hit-Boy, among others.
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