BMG has announced it is scaling up its recorded music operations in Canada with dedicated A&R, marketing and promotion resources in Toronto for the first time.

The development comes via an innovative partnership with leading Canadian independent Black Box Music, headed by Jason Murray. Murray will lead the operation in Canada, reporting to Zach Katz, BMG US President Repertoire & Marketing and Jon Cohen, BMG EVP, Recorded Music.

The move demonstrates BMG’s commitment to the fast-growing Canadian market. Figures from Nielsen show the music market grew by 14.4% in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016.

BMG has recently signed two of Canada’s biggest stars, singer/songwriter Avril Lavigne and acclaimed rock band Nickelback. Nickelback’s new album Feed The Machine was released on June 16 debuting Top 5 in the U.S., Canada, and around the world. Lavigne is currently in the studio finishing work on her highly-anticipated new full-length album to be released later this year.

BMG’s publishing roster of Canadian songwriters already features the legendary Paul Anka, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings (The Guess Who), award-winning hitmaker WondaGurl (Drake, Rihanna, Travis Scott), electronic musicians Keys N Krates, as well as rising stars NAV (Drake, Travis Scott), Jazzfeezy (Drake, T.I.), Jessie Reyez, and rockers The Glorious Sons.

Zach Katz said, “Canada has a long history of generating great artists. Canadian people are great music fans. So it is absolutely natural for us to have a strong presence in Canada. We have made no secret of our goal to build a recordings business as strong as our presence in music publishing. Scaling up in Canada with a trusted and credible partner like Black Box will enable us to further improve our service to artists.”

The alliance with Black Box will support Canadian artists in their home territory, help discover new Canadian talent and also enable BMG to optimize sales in Canada from its growing stable of international artists.

Jason Murray said, “In an ever-changing musical landscape that has more than ever before become an industry without borders, it’s exciting to be part of a forward-thinking global music company. Watching first hand what their team have built in both the publishing and recorded music businesses, in such a short period, is awe inspiring.”

Said Jon Cohen, “Jason and his team are bright, knowledgeable, well respected and we are confident they will effectively serve as a direct extension of BMG’s current US label hub. We have a great longstanding relationship with Black Box Music and look forward to continuing our partnership.”

Recent successes from BMG artists include the US and Canada chart-topping, Grammy-nominated and Gold certified blink-182 album California and newly released California (deluxe edition), global phenomenon LP’s Lost On You, At The Drive In’s in•ter a•li•a,  Blondie’s Pollinator, and 311’s MOSAIC, along with upcoming BMG album releases including PVRIS, MadeinTYO, Big K.R.I.T., Fergie, and A Perfect Circle. BMG US recorded music roster also includes upcoming releases from BBR Music Group (Broken Bow Records, Stoney Creek Records, Red Bow Records, Wheelhouse Records), Rise Records, and S-Curve Records.

According to the 2017 IFPI Global Music Report, Canada is the world’s sixth biggest global music market.