UNIVERSAL MUSIC CANADA BOLSTERS INDUSTRY LEADING A&R TEAM WITH NEW LEADERSHIP
AMANDA KINGSLAND AND SHAWN MARINO NAMED CO-HEADS OF A&R
Universal Music Canada’s A&R team (L – R): Phil Hotz, Lisa Lorenz, Ivan Evidente, Don Kitchen, Morgan "MJ" James, Shawn Marino, Amanda Kingsland, Widney Bonfils, Shirley Ichkhanian, Kwaku Agyemang, Natassha Cuachon-Cruz; seated: UMC President & CEO, Julie Adam, Shannen Serrano
Photo by Katherine Holland | Download Assets Here
26 MARCH 2025 (TORONTO, ON) – Universal Music Canada (UMC), the country’s leading music company, today announced Amanda Kingsland has been promoted to VP, A&R, and will co-lead the company’s A&R efforts alongside Shawn Marino, VP, A&R Operations. The duo are at the helm of UMC’s industry-leading A&R team, with a renewed mandate to sign, develop, and break the next generation of Canadian artists on the world stage. Anchored by 80A Studios, UMC’s award-winning, Atmos certified, multi-room recording space, and with teams in Montreal and Toronto, the A&R team’s recent signings and artist peaks showcase a broad remit across emerging and established genres, styles, and voices.
“Music - and the artists who create it – are our driving force. We focus our hustle, passion, care, creativity, and abundance of forward-thinking ideas on helping the artists we work with achieve personal, artistic, and commercial success. And at the centre of our mission to sign, develop, and break artists is our industry-leading A&R team. They are tastemakers and genre experts who scout, sign, and cultivate talent, bringing deep international connections, musicality, skills, and insights to a range of musical projects. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Amanda and Shawn lead A&R efforts out of Canada as we continue to support, elevate, and invest in artistic voices,” said Julie Adam, President & CEO, Universal Music Canada.
UMC’s domestically signed acts continue to make significant impact in Canada and international markets. To name a few: country breakout Josh Ross continues to climb the charts in the US and beyond; pop star Sofia Camara is exploding on the international stage; comedian turned singer-songwriter Mae Martin released their debut album to critical acclaim; rising country act Owen Riegling completed his first headline tour; and Punjabi super producer thiarajxtt released his first EP, driving artist discovery with fans from South Asia to Canada. Other favourites are in the studio, working on highly anticipated follow-up music, writing and collaborating with new partners: R&B pop crooner Preston Pablo, dance pop artist Rêve, and indie-pop band Valley are working on future projects. Recent signings include much sought-after hip hop star AP Dhillon (in partnership with Republic Records); award-winning songwriter Lindsay Ell; country act James Barker Band; dynamic singer, songwriter, and producer Sebastian Gaskin, in partnership with Indigenous led label Ishkōdé Records; rapper and electronic artist TyriqueorDie, and more, soon to be announced, new partnerships.
Since joining UMC in 2021, Amanda Kingsland rebuilt UMC’s award-winning country music roster, and reinvigorated A&R across multiple projects. In her new role, she’ll bring her passion, sharp ear, creative insights, and big picture strategic thinking to UMC’s full artist roster.
Shawn Marino, a 30-year industry veteran, continues to oversee 80A Studios, The Academy (UMC’s dynamic performance and event space), A&R operations and technology, and leads A&R for artists creatively approaching ways to revitalize their vast catalogues, from The Tragically Hip to Anne Murray.
Kingsland and Marino will work in lockstep with UMC’s A&R team Kwaku Agyemang, Widney Bonfils, Natassha Cuachon-Cruz, Ivan Evidente, Morgan "MJ" James, Shirley Ichkhanian, and Shannen Serrano, supported by UMC’s venue and studio team Don Kitchen, Lisa Lorenz, and sound engineer Phil Hotz.
Reporting directly to Julie Adam, Kingsland, Marino, and their teams are actively scouting and signing new prospects, developing UMC’s existing roster, and building new partnerships with artists, songwriters, producers, publishers, and partners industry wide.
About Universal Music Canada
Universal Music Canada is Canada’s leading music company, engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Home to the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMC is committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship in broadening opportunities for our artists on both the domestic and world stages as well as creating new experiences for fans.
Universal Music Canada is part of Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment.