MapleMusic Recordings is a Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 based record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

.

The MapleMusic Recordings label is a project of Canadian roots rock band Skydiggers

Skydiggers

Skydiggers are a Canadian roots rock band from Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:Formed in 1987 by singer Andy Maize and lead guitarist Josh Finlayson, the band soon added rhythm guitarist Peter Cash, drummer Wayne Stokes and bassist Ron Macey to their lineup...

 and entrepreneur Grant Dexter. Other artists who have released albums on MapleMusic include David Usher

David Usher

David Usher is a British-born Canadian singer-songwriter. Formerly the frontman for the alternative rock band Moist, he embarked on a solo career beginning in the late 1990s.-Biography:...

, Colin James

Colin James

Colin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who plays in the blues, rock, and neo-swing genres. He grew up as a Quaker.-Early years:...

, Boy, The Dears

The Dears

-History:The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, in 2000. Their orchestral, dark pop sound and dramatic live shows cemented The Dears at the foundation of the then-emerging Canadian indie renaissance...

, Jason Bajada

Jason Bajada

Jason Bajada is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Montreal, Quebec. He is currently signed to MapleMusic Recordings.His label debut, entitled Loveshit, was produced by Les Troublemakers in Montreal and mastered by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta at The Lodge in NY...

, Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...

, Pilot Speed

Pilot Speed

Pilot Speed is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1999 in Toronto, Ontario. The quartet's debut EP, For All That's Given, Wasted, was released in 2001 which gathered attention from MapleMusic Recordings who later signed them...

 (formerly known as Pilate), Gordon Downie

Gordon Downie

Gordon Edgar Downie is a Canadian rock musician, writer and occasional actor. He is the lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. He has released three solo albums, Coke Machine Glow in 2001, Battle of the Nudes in 2003; and The Grand Bounce in 2010...

, Joel Plaskett

Joel Plaskett

Joel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...

, Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...

, Ridley Bent

Ridley Bent

Ridley Bent is a Canadian country singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bent was raised throughout Canada in a military family. He formally launched his musical career in 2000....

, Kinnie Starr

Kinnie Starr

Alida Kinnie Starr Pierre is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. Her music, which blends hip hop and alternative rock, has been described as "hip hop aggro groove". Her songs have been included on the soundtracks for the TV series The L Word and the movie Thirteen...

, and the Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir

Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir

The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir is a Canadian indie rock band, led by Hugh Dillon formed in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in 2004. The band's style draws from country, pop, punk and New Wave influences.-Current:*Hugh Dillon – vocals *J.P...

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MapleMusic released Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

's album In Rainbows

In Rainbows

In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...

in Canada, along with ATO

ATO Records

According to Our Records was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews , Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli, and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records...

 in the US and XL

XL Recordings

XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...

 in the UK.

Two singer-songwriters, however, have been particularly responsible for MapleMusic Recordings's success: Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts

Sam Roberts is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.-Life and career:...

, who was transformed from a struggling independent musician to a Canadian rock icon practically overnight by his 2001 MapleMusic Recordings debut, The Inhuman Condition, and Kathleen Edwards

Kathleen Edwards

Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2003 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".- Personal life :...

, whose album Failer

Failer

Failer is the commercial debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. It was released January 14, 2003 on the independent labels MapleMusic in Canada and Zoe Records in the United States, and features the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".Rolling Stone declared Edwards...

made her a critical favourite in 2003.

MapleMusic Recordings' brick and mortar business is distributed and marketed in Canada by Universal Music Canada.

MapleMusic.com

In 1999 MapleMusic Recordings collaborated with Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....

to create MapleMusic.com as an e-commerce portal. The Cowboy Junkies were the first act to sell their music through the Canadian online retailer.

The e-commerce portal cooperates with a number of Canadian artists not otherwise associated with the MapleMusic Recordings label to sell their CDs and merchandise through the site.

External links

• MapleMusic Recordings, the record label
• MapleMusic.com, the e-commerce portal