Inspired by our former president, CIMA’s STRONGER Award (formerly The Brian Chater Leadership Award) celebrates anyone in the independent music industry whose passionate and innovative approach has redefined best practices over the years. These true leaders have set the tone for vibrant and sustainable models across any area of the independent music industry in Canada – they are the visionaries whose work in the trenches paves the way for businesses and creatives.

Julien has built a truly nimble, multi-faceted Canadian-owned music company which engages and supports artists and industry across the country. Taking huge creative risks during the pandemic, PAA delivered massive engagement and returns for our sector at a time of extreme uncertainty and strife. Julien’s ethical approach to business is no small part in PAA’s success, which has now grown to be the largest agency in Canada, with ambitious designs on the US market.

Meagan Davidson & Savannah Wellman - Tiny Kingdom Music
Make It FEARLESS 2024
The Entrepreneur Award (Presented by Gowling WLG)

CIMA’s FEARLESS Award (Formerly the Entrepreneur Award) celebrates fearless trendsetters who spearhead and drive successful businesses, emerging or established, with an ethical approach and a true indie spirit. CIMA’s FEARLESS Award is given to those who combine a passion for music with business savvy to turn their visions into a reality. FEARLESS are the owners, risk-takers and shapeshifters who lead the way into the next era of the music industry.

Building supportive communities has been at the core of each Meagan and Savannah’s careers well before they started Tiny Kingdom as a management company. Now that they’ve taken a leap and branched out into being one of the few emerging women-owned labels in the country, they each continue to take risks while successfully and ethically developing a stylistically eclectic range of artists, and providing thoughtful leadership to a next gen of music industry from coast to coast

Aisha Wickham - Ontario Creates
Make It Music CHAMPION 2024
The Unsung Hero Award

CIMA’s CHAMPION Award (formerly Unsung Hero Award) recognizes someone who lives and breathes Canada’s independent music industry. This award is designed to recognize any individual, group, or organisation that may not necessarily be on the industry’s ‘awards radar’ but have made exceptional contributions to our sector’s growth and success.

Aisha has been a champion for Canada's music industry for more than two decades, from her vision and tenacity to help launch Canada's first radio station dedicated to Black music in Flow 93.5, her work as an organizer through the Urban Music Association of Canada (UMAC), and the time and expertise she dedicates to countless boards and committees to help shape an equitable music sector. Of course, her work to launch the AcceleratiON program via Ontario Creates recently has been making a huge difference in growing and investing in many Black and Indigenous-owned music companies in Ontario.

Justin West - Secret City Records
Make It CHANGE 2024
The Builder Award

CIMA’s CHANGE Award (formerly the Builder/Founders Award) celebrates the leadership of individuals who have served on CIMA’s Board of Directors over the organization’s 49 years of supporting Canada’s independent music sector. To be on the Board is to think of the Big Picture, to assess and anticipate the needs, challenges, and opportunities of an entire sector and its countless branches, and to advocate to make it better for all. Change can be slow to affect, and the dedication it takes to serve on a Board deserves recognition. From countless volunteer hours, to a complex learning curve, to putting the health of the sector before personal interests, CIMA could not support our members without the hard work, tenacity, loyalty, mentorship, and belief in a greater good demonstrated by these individuals over the years!

Justin has been an incredible advocate for CIMA. Even as his company took off like a rocket over the last few years, he continued to be incredibly generous with his time, never losing focus on the importance of a collective effort and voice for the independent sector. His work on the CIMA Board has never just stopped there, with Justin further donating his time to represent the sector on the Boards of FACTOR, WIN, Merlin, ADISQ, and most recently, SOPROQ as CIMA’s first-ever representative. The international focus that he has brought to Secret City Records has inspired many other Canadian music companies to think about how they do business differently, and to think future-forward.

Lisa Logutenkow
QUEEN OF FUCKING EVERYTHING
The Pegi Cecconi Trailblazer Award

Named for the OG Queen of Fucking Everything (QOFE), the late Pegi Cecconi, this award celebrates the audacity, courage, and vision to shake things up where there’s an accepted norm. The QOFE is an individual of any gender who doesn’t so much care for making or breaking rules as they do for setting the standard for excellence in Canada’s independent music industry over a lifetime of achievement.

Lisa has spent the better part of 20 years building Dine Alone Records and Bedlam Music Management to be the world-class music companies that they are today – not simply companies, Lisa helped to develop their ethos and identities as rule-breaking lifestyle brands and hubs. Serving as Chair of CIMA's Board, Lisa’s leadership always gracefully and expertly balanced both what is best for the organization as well as the independent sector overall. Day-to-day, she demonstrates how she truly cares about artists and empowering them, while also making time for emerging industry seeking guidance. We all know she’s in charge behind the scenes, yet she shies away from the limelight and lets the music speak for itself – a true QOFE.

Make It BOLD 2024
The Marketing Award
Nominees:
Dakota Bear for Land Back Records
Jeff Ojeda for Kyle McKearney
Six Shooter Records for William Prince’s Stand in the Joy

Innovation knows no bounds in the digital era, and creative approaches to promotion, awareness, and engagement, be they viral, experiential, or lifestyle-focused, make for an exciting landscape in which to launch new projects, companies, and initiatives.

Whether for music releases, tour announcements, fan engagement initiatives, cutting-edge activations, or anything in between, Canada's independent community knows how to turn heads and command attention for its artists, whether budgets and teams are large or small.

CIMA’s BOLD (formerly the Marketing Award) acknowledges the marketing power, creativity, and inventive fire of our indies. Who has inspired you recently with unique and successful marketing campaigns?

Dakota Bear has shown extraordinary leadership in his community across music, events, mentorship, and more, notably helping to create CIRCLES Festival on Sunset Beach in BC in 2023, where more than 7,000 attendees converged. It’s clear that the care Dakota took to engage indigenous youth and celebrate art, apparel, music, and food touched many in a way that reverberates beyond his homebase. CIMA is excited to see what he and his team take on next with Land Back Records.

Jeff Ojeda has had a banner year in his work with Kyle McKearney, leading to sold out shows in competitive new markets like the UK, a plethora of prestigious country music awards and nominations, and a shortlist nod for a GRAMMY nomination – wow! Jeff was honoured last year at MMF Canada’s Honour Roll, and he is on an unstoppable mission to show Country music what’s what.

The team at Six Shooter led a multi-faceted campaign for William Prince’s Stand in the Joy, landing him on some of the most coveted stages in music, including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Massey Hall, to name a few. To boot, he received nods for some of our industry’s most prestigious awards, marking many first milestones in his career, and reminding us all what a formidable marketing team Six Shooter is in their artists’ corners.

MAKE IT MUSIC IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTING PARTNERS