UMG has promoted Julie Adam to President and CEO of Universal Music Canada (UMC).
Jeffrey Remedios, who has led Universal Music Canada as Chairman and CEO for a decade, has been appointed to the role of President, Strategic Development, for UMG’s REPUBLIC Collective (which includes Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, Mercury Records, and Republic Records).
Both appointments are effective immediately.
In his new position, Remedios will lead what UMG calls “high-priority growth initiatives” for Republic’s labels across international A&R efforts, Republic recording studios, new product lines, brand expansion, Federal Films, and overall business development.
He will report to Monte and Avery Lipman, working between Republic’s headquarters in NewYork and Toronto.
Toronto-based Julie Adam, an award-winning entertainment executive, is described by UMG as “a long-time champion of creative voices who has amplified and supported artists throughout her career”.
As President and CEO of UMC, Adam will lead strategy and overall management for Universal Music in Canada, the world’s eighth-largest recorded music market (IFPI). Recorded music revenues rose12.2% YoY in Canada in 2023.
“With Julie’s continued leadership, UMC is poised for the next phase of growth and evolution.”
Jeffrey Remedios
Adam was appointedEVP & General Manager of UMC in March 2023, and in that time, bolstered UMC’s frontline operations, achieving what the company says are “record-breaking results” for UMG’s global roster of artists in Canada and UMC’s domestically signed acts.
UMG also says that Adam has “accelerated revenue growth across e-commerce and direct-to-consumer initiatives, renewed focus on Canada’s brand partnerships business, and fostered new creative approaches to drive artist success and traction with fans”.
“Julie is a generous, intuitive, and astute leader,” said Remedios. “Her impact since joining Universal has been transformative and can be felt industry wide: with artists, our team, and partners.”
Added Remedios: “Her passion and drive, coupled with her ability to laser-focus on results, all while ensuring the artist comes first, has propelled our roster to new heights. With Julie’s continued leadership, UMC is poised for the next phase of growth and evolution.”
Meanwhile, according to UMG, while at the helm of UMC, Remedios “reimagined and rebuilt the company’s A&R efforts, establishing UMC as a powerful driver of artist discovery and development”.
Remedios also “garner[ed] industry recognition and [won] awards, and most notably, increase[ed] revenue from and opportunities for domestically signed acts more than 10-fold since 2015,” added UMG.
UMG credits him with signing and developing “exciting new voices across a range of genres”.
Remedios is also credited with conceptualizing, designing, and opening UMC’s “state-of-the-art” performance space, recording studio and creative campus at 80 Atlantic Ave., relocating Universal Music Canada’s operations to downtown Toronto.
“Jeffrey brings a wealth of experience as a leader and entrepreneur to the collective.”
“Jeffrey brings a wealth of experience as a leader and entrepreneur to the collective,” said Monte Lipman, Founder, Chairman & CEO, REPUBLIC.
“In his new role, focused on exploring and capitalizing on opportunities in emerging areas of the industry, Jeffrey will play a critical role in scaling our business and proving new creative and commercial outlets for our artists.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome him to the Senior Management team on the East Coast.”
“I am beyond excited to continue to work alongside the best team in the business to discover, develop, and break the next generation of artists out of Canada.”
Julie Adam
Julie Adam said: “Every day I wake up thinking about how best to serve and support our artists to ensure they find personal, artistic, and commercial success through music.
“I am beyond excited to continue to work alongside the best team in the business to discover, develop, and break the next generation of artists out of Canada.
“I’d like to thank Jeffrey Remedios, Michele Anthony, and Sir Lucian Grainge for this incredible opportunity. I’m especially grateful to Jeffrey for his on-going partnership, support, guidance, and inspiring leadership.”
“The company I joined in 2015, and the one I leave in 2025 could not be more different – that’s a testament to our growth through creative evolution.”
Jeffrey Remedios
Commenting on his new role, Remedios said: “I’ve built my career in service to artists, and I’m exceptionally proud of what we’ve created at Universal Music Canada.
“The company I joined in 2015, and the one I leave in 2025 could not be more different – that’s a testament to our growth through creative evolution.”
Added Remedios: “My sincerest thanks to Michele Anthony and Sir Lucian Grainge for their support, mentorship, and continued investment in world-class Canadian talent – from the artists we’ve been privileged to work alongside, to the incomparable UMC team – past and present. Leading the team in Canada has been my great honor.
“Incredible artists, iconic labels and visionary leaders always aspiring higher are defining REPUBLIC Collective qualities. My deepest gratitude to Monte and Avery for bringing me into this historic, superstar calibre collective and their trust in my leadership across such critical growth areas.”
This news marks the latest leadership shakeup at Universal Music Group in North America, following the reorganization of the company’s Nashville-based operations announced on Thursday (February 6).
As part of that leadership change, respected executive Mike Harris has been appointed CEO of UMG Nashville, while Dave Cobb, a nine-time Grammy Award-winning producer has been appointed Chief Creative Officer.
Cindy Mabe, Chair and CEO of UMG Nashville since April 2023, is leaving the company “to pursue new opportunities”.
