Odd Doll Records 

Newly launched Odd Doll Records is run by Elise Roller and Claire Boning. The pair of former and currently touring recording artists met in Winnipeg, where they worked together at Manitoba Music before founding Misfit Music Inc, an artist development and management company of which Odd Doll is a branch.

“While women in Manitoba’s music industry have often excelled as artists, managers, and key behind-the-scenes professionals, few have established labels with full rosters, which is something we are committed to building and growing,” says Roller.

Operational as of February 19, the label’s first signing artist is one who perfectly exemplifies its ethos of defying expectations and embracing unconventional collaborations–Francophone Afropop and soul artist, Kelly Bado. In a province where the French-speaking population hovers around three per cent, choosing to release a French Afro-pop album is evidence of Roller and Boning’s commitment to supporting minority artists who may feel they don’t have a clear entry into the Canadian music scene. Having announced the single “La Danse,” alongside Odd Doll’s own launch, Bado will release her forthcoming album Belles âmes (“Good People”) with the label on May 2.

 

Six Shooter Records

In 2000, Shauna de Cartier moved from Edmonton to Toronto and started Six Shooter Records. In the early days, she juggled the needs of the fledgling label with the arrival of her two children, a difficult feat made easier by her decision to partner with Helen Britton, who later had a child of her own.

“This partnership has been the primary key success factor of our company, now celebrating our silver anniversary,” says de Cartier. She notes that Six Shooter has since grown an impressive executive team which includes “creative genius” Emily Smart (who has been with Six Shooter now for 17 years), “finance whiz” Pierre Bussieres, and “High Priestess” president Kim Temple.

In the early days, Six Shooter worked with artists like the Weakerthans, Rheostatics, Luke Doucet, and Elliott BROOD, building a reputation as a roots label. That was until de Cartier signed experimental Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq–a particularly transformational milestone because it reimagined Six Shooter’s roster as one that was solely genre-based to one where the throughline is that of excellence in any genre.

“I’ve always held an image in my mind where Six Shooter is a house where artists can live to create the body of work within them,” says de Cartier. There is still a strong, roots-oriented curation to the roster today – as seen in the work of artists like The Dead South, singer-songwriter William Prince and Juno winner Amelia Curran, whose awarded album Hunter, Hunter is being honoured in Six Shooter’s Silver Series vinyl edition – but it’s balanced with artists outside of the genre, like July Talk and new artists like Boy Golden, T. Thomason, and NYSSA. Looking back at everything she and Britton have achieved, de Cartier says “International Women’s Day is a great reason to celebrate those of us in the business who balance the demands of motherhood and careers with style and grace.”

 

Hot Tramp

Sarah Armiento made her way into the music industry when she discovered Montreal DIY venue The Bog in 2017 and began organizing weekly shows there. She integrated herself into Montreal’s music scene and began curating more shows in partnership with The Diving Bell Social Club, then began managing for artist friends. This move solidified her combined interest in show promotion and management.

In 2019, she launched her own management company, Hot Tramp, with a roster of two artists, following it up with Hot Tramp Music Festival that fall. When the pandemic hit the following spring, Armiento decided to pivot the company into a music label focused on championing female artists. “At the time I was shopping around the albums of my management roster and wasn’t having any luck, so I thought that I might as well release them myself,” she says. “I had a lot of fun with the label, but ultimately I’ve since moved away from it, at least for now.”

Returning to the original management format, Hot Tramp added an arm for artist/grant services in 2023 and will continue to focus on management and artist services for now, but may consider becoming a label again in the future. Under the artist services arm, Armiento has since worked with over 30 new artists and organizations and has taken on an employee. Notable signing artists on Hot Tramp’s roster include Janette King — whose recent album, Incantation, Armiento considers one of the strongest albums of 2024 —Maryze, and Alicia Clara, whose debut full-length album is set to come out this fall.

“On a more business side, I’ve spent so much of Hot Tramp being lost and pivoting, trying to figure out a direction and a way to make the company sustainable. I feel like I’ve finally found that,” says Armiento. “I finally have some footing to build from, which has opened me up to some exciting new projects that I’ll take on this year.”

 

Heart Lake

From 2009 to 2017, artists Ayo Leilani (Witch Prophet) and Francesca Nocera (SUN SUN), alongside other artists, co-founded grassroots music and arts collective 88 Days of Fortune, a project dedicated to creating safe spaces for BIPOC, queer, independent artists and allies to perform and thrive. It became a vital part of Toronto’s independent music scene, uplifting countless artists through live showcases, community events, and mixtape releases. Some of the artists who were part of the collective, performed at the showcases, or were featured on mixtapes included The OBGMs, Yazzy, Lido Pimienta, Mas Aya, Bahia Watson, Mighloe, THEESatisfaction, Lola Bunz, Obuxum, LAL, Climbing Poetree, and DillanPonders.

In 2018, when Leilani and Nocera decided to move to Caledon, ON and found themselves living on Heart Lake Road, they knew what their next move would be. “The name felt like the perfect representation of our new journey,” they say while reflecting on their decision to launch a record label. At Heart Lake Records, they continue their same DIY, artist-first mission, and have since signed sync agreements with major companies like VICE, Shopify, Netflix, Nordstrom, Tourism Ontario, and InsideOut Film Festival, to secure placements for their artists in films, commercials, and digital content.

In 2014, Heart Lake also signed a distribution deal with Redeye Worldwide, expanding the label’s global reach. “Even beyond the artists we sign, we make sure to share resources, help with grant writing, and guide many independent artists in the right direction, ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed in this industry,” they say. “We also assist with booking shows, ensuring that artists have the chance to perform and gain exposure. Our goal is to uplift and empower artists, providing them with the support they need to reach their full potential.” Witch Prophet’s new album Words Are Spells, Thoughts Are Magic releases this summer.

 

Ishkōdé Records

Anishinaabekwe Indigenous artist ShoShona Kish (of folk-rock duo Digging Roots) and solo Métis artist Amanda Rheaume began planning Ishkōdé Records in 2018, developing the concept from the lens of female artist entrepreneurship, long-standing industry experience and cultural and ancestral processes. “The result is a model that is disruptive to the traditional record label archetype by bringing new thoughts and new dreams to our industry,” they say.

At the foundation of Ishkōdé’s design is an Anishinaabe value system that interrupts the status quo. It recognizes the ways that Anishinaabe exist in this world and harmoniously leads industry reformation on that basis. “It contributes to creative development and problem-solving crucial in disrupting this largely one-track industry makeup…a disruption that is long overdue,” they say. 

In March of 2023, the label entered into a joint venture with Universal Music Canada to co-sign multi-instrumentalist R&B singer-songwriter Sebastian Gaskin (who is nominated for a 2025 JUNO for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year.) That same month in 2023, Ishkōdé was awarded Organization of the Year by Women in Music Canada. Ishkōdé Records’ roster includes Amanda Rheaume, Digging Roots, Morgan Toney, Logan Staats, Thea May, and  Aysanabee–who was both their first signing artist ever and won Junos for Songwriter of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year in 2024, making them the first Indigenous Artist to achieve the accolade. 

 

Tiny Kingdom

Best friends Meagan Davidson and Savannah Wellmann were working together at a non-profit organization when they felt they’d hit a wall. They saw how many amazing artists needed support on the business side of their careers and wanted to be able to offer it. So they could be more hands-on in their development, the duo decided to take the leap in 2018 and start their own artist management and services company.

In 2020, they expanded the company into a label, fuelled by their passions for supporting other women and gender minorities in the music industry. Management client Haley Blais was Tiny Kingdom’s first label release, which led to the artist selling out her first run of vinyls and temporarily turned Wellmann’s kitchen into a fulfillment warehouse. Since then, they’ve released albums for a diverse range of artists, from industrial grunge pop band Little Destroyer to orchestral pop artist Jasper Sloan Yip.

In addition to their own signings, Tiny Kingdom also distributes for several local genre-specific labels, including the North Country Collective (country/Americana) and 100 Collective (Hip-Hop/R&B). Last year Davidson and Wellmann were awarded the “FEARLESS” Entrepreneur Award from the Canadian Independent Music Association. “It’s incredibly special, as we were best friends first, and have maintained that friendship throughout everything–and we still put it first above all, even while on opposite sides of the country,” they say.

Now Wellmann is the regional chapter representative for Women in Music, spearheading the non-profit organization’s BC chapter. Recent work to come out of the Tiny Kingdom roster includes the debut album from alternative-Americana-grunge artist CJ Wiley produced by Boy Golden, as well as released albums from local industry legends David Vertesi and Tariq.

 

ArtHaus

ArtHaus was born from Sandy Pandya and Serena Ryder’s dream to create a space for artists to have real community and culture to flourish. In 2017, the pair began searching for potential properties to use as a recording and community space, and discovered a three-story corner-lot home in Toronto’s east end that had been inhabited by artists for so long that neighbours referred to it as “the art house.”

“We hope to continue that legacy,” says ArtHaus general manager Esra Firatli. They renovated the space to include a recording studio, co-working area, kitchen, bathroom, and backyard common area as well as affordable rental units, and officially launched ArtHaus as a label in 2019. In 2022, they launched ArtHaus Community, a not-for-profit that allows them to work with artists outside of the label, and which was just named Organization of the Year at the 2025 Women In Music Canada Awards.

Currently, ArtHaus is running numerous programs including Inside Live!, an award-winning program in partnership with Advance, Live Nation and MLSE that empowers Black youth to explore and pursue careers behind the scenes of the music industry, and On The Haus, a residency program for emerging and mid-career artists from across Canada with free recording sessions in the ArtHaus Studio and accommodations in their residence.

Notable artists on the label’s roster include STORRY, Paesler, Blair Lee, Adria Kain, and Nicolette & The Nobodies, as well as some exciting new signings yet to be announced.