In Canada: Billboard Music Managers to Watch Expands to Canada, CIMA Appeals to Mark Carney & More

Also this week: apl.de.ap and more artists speak out on the Lapu Lapu Day Festival tragedy.

May 3, 2025 - 01:38

Billboard Canada is getting ready to spotlight some of the most vital players in the music industry: music managers.

Managers to Watch — Billboard’s spotlight on the teams behind music’s biggest breakout artists — will expand to Canada for the first time at this year’s NXNE festival.

A special invite-only Managers to Watch reception will take place on June 11, directly before Billboard Canada Power Players. The event will build on Billboard Canada’s new partnership with Music Managers Forum, which is moving its Honour Roll celebration of the most legendary managers in the business to NXNE this year.

Both recognitions will be given out at the Managers to Watch reception, after which all invited managers will be invited to stay and mingle with the most influential members of the industry at Billboard Canada Power Players.

The event will foster community and opportunity for self-managed artists and managers, who play a critical role in the success of Canadian artists on the international stage.

“We’re proud to partner with MMF Canada to spotlight the managers powering the next wave of talent,” says Mo Ghoneim, president of Billboard UK and Billboard Canada. “They’re key players behind many of the industry’s biggest breakthroughs, and we’re excited to recognize their contributions on a global stage through Billboard.”

The Music Managers to Watch list will feature a hand-selected list of artists and self-managed artists making waves in the industry. It will be chosen by the editorial team at Billboard Canada. Managers can submit for consideration using this form.

Find more info here. – Richard Trapunski

CIMA Makes an Appeal to Prime Minister Mark Carney

The votes were still being tallied in the Canadian federal election on Monday morning (April 29) when the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) sprang into action. The trade org issued a press release congratulating Mark Carney and the Liberal Party of Canada on their electoral victory while urging Carney to, in its words, “make the investment in and promotion of Canadian-owned cultural businesses a top priority.”

The statement stressed that “the global cultural economy is changing rapidly, and with it come significant risks to Canada’s cultural and economic sovereignty. Recent developments — including TikTok’s decision to walk away from licensing negotiations with Merlin, a key representative of independent music worldwide; Universal Music Group’s acquisition of Downtown Music’s assets; and the legal challenge by global tech platforms, in partnership with foreign-owned multinational record companies, to avoid regulation under Bill C-11 — starkly illustrate the growing concentration of global corporate power in Canada’s cultural sector. If left unchecked, these trends threaten to erode Canadian ownership of intellectual property, diminish our global competitiveness, and compromise the future of Canadian cultural exports.”

CIMA emphasizes four priorities for the most industry and suggests the government act quickly:

Prioritize Canadian ownership in cultural policy and investment frameworks;
Strengthen competition, trade, and copyright policies to protect Canadian IP holders;
Champion independent Canadian businesses in international markets;
Defend Canada’s right to regulate its cultural industries against multinational corporate resistance.

CIMA concluded by noting, “We are eager to work with your government to secure a strong future for Canadian culture — Canadian culture remains Canadian-owned, Canadian-created, and world-renowned.”

Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.Ap and Other Lapu Lapu Day Festival Performers Speak After Van Attack in Vancouver

Artists are sharing their heartbreak after a deadly attack at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival.

The attack killed 11 people, leaving dozens more injured, when an SUV drove through the block party on Saturday (April 26.) A 30-year-old man has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.

Organized by Filipino BC, the festival is a celebration of Filipino hero Datu Lapu-Lapu and an annual occasion for the Filipino-Canadian community to celebrate resilience and cultural heritage.

The attack took place in the evening, following a day of performances from artists like The Black Eyed Peas‘ apl.de.ap (the Filipino-American artist also known as Allan Pineda Lindo), multi-disciplinary artist Kaya Ko and R&B singer Sade Awele. Festival performers are sharing messages and calling for support for the B.C. Filipino community following the attack.

Apl.de.ap and Filipino singer J. Rey Soul had recently left the stage after finishing their headlining set when the attack took place.

“It’s hard to describe the shock and heaviness we feel,” they shared in a joint statement on social media. “Please keep the victims, their families, and the organizers in your prayers.”

“The one thing I have noticed, from the audience to the messages sent around, is the sense of community that wraps its loving arms around us.”

Festival chair RJ Aquino spoke about the support that’s been pouring in from around the world.

“It’s not lost on us … that the spirit of the festival was about that resistance, resilience, that courage, that strength,” he told reporters, per CBC.

“And you know, we’re going to have to call that up in ourselves.”

Awele shared her prayers for the B.C. Filipino community on Instagram. “I was barely able to sleep thinking about the tragic incident that occurred after the festival,” she said. “We can’t keep living like this — treating each other with hate and violence. We have to do better.”