About Sonic Unyon
Sonic Unyon was launched in 1993 and quickly carved out a reputation as scrappy and resourceful tastemakers, releasing seminal singles and albums from some of the luminaries of Canada's rock galaxy. Though understandably associated with that boom, the label and its roster has evolved steadily and reinvented itself in the decades since, and over the years, Sonic Unyon has branched out in numerous ways.
Sonic Unyon Distribution was founded in 1998 to distribute Sonic Unyon and other labels in Canada, amassing a roster that included dozens of domestic imprints as well as exclusively representing over 200 international independent labels in Canada. Sonic Unyon also ran hardcore label Goodfellow Records and the more mainstream imprint Labworks. Sonic Unyon Distribution was ultimately sold to MapleCore in 2008.
In 2009, Sonic Unyon became the organizing force behind Hamilton's free music and arts festival Supercrawl, growing it from 3,000 attendees in the first year to 250,000 by 2018 and closing down blocks of downtown Hamilton in order to host hundreds of artists. Supercrawl also presents ticketed concert events throughout the year.
Sonic Unyon has since broadened its events-based business to include the annual Because Beer Craft Beer Festival, and the opening of multi-use cultural events spaces Mills Hardware and Bridgeworks in 2014 and 2020 respectively.
In addition to its signature annual events, Sonic Unyon has produced JUNOfest 2015 and 2022, JUNO Songwriters’ Circle in 2019, and Hamilton's 2015 Pan Am Games closing celebrations. Sonic Unyon holds contracts with the City of Hamilton, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Creemore Brewery for production services. Sonic Unyon produced the 2021 Grey Cup Festival and is contracted to produce the 2023 Grey Cup Festival. The label team also produced the 2023 Polaris Music Prize Gala and will produce the 2023 edition of CBC Toronto's Sounds of the Season.
In 2023, the label opens its third decade with an array of releases including Big Wreck, Danko Jones, Terra Lightfoot, Espanola, Golden Feather, LTtheMonk, and Dearly Beloved. Sonic Unyon is filling 2024 with live events and a full slate of venue bookings, with over 250 event dates in the calendar year.
Sonic Unyon is a Keychange associate organization, dedicated to achieving gender balance among staff and onstage talent; learn more here.
Sonic Unyon is a signatory of the Breaking Down Racial Barriers Declaration, committing to end anti-Black racism in the Canadian music industry.
Sonic Unyon is also a signatory of the Government of Canada’s 50 – 30 Challenge, an initiative to increase the representation and inclusion of under-represented groups in leadership positions, pledging to two core commitments: gender parity (50%), and significant representation (30%) in senior management of members of other equity-deserving groups (including those who identify as Indigenous Peoples, Racialized, Black, and/or People of colour ("Visible Minorities"), People with disabilities (including invisible and episodic disabilities), 2SLGBTQIA+ and/or gender and sexually diverse individuals).
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DEMO POLICY If you would like Sonic Unyon to hear your new music, please share it with us by email to office@sonicunyon.com. Please NO NOT SEND AUDIO FILES directly to this address. Instead, send your info & private links to streaming audio hosted online (eg. SoundCloud, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox). In an effort to reduce physical waste and clogged email inboxes, this is the only way in which we will accept unsolicited demos. Please do not call, email, or direct message via social media to follow up; the label will be in touch as needed.
GENERAL FEEDBACK If you have constructive suggestions or critical feedback you’d like to share with us, you can direct it to our team via the contacts listed in the footer below.
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Owner/President | Tim Potocic
Operations | Lisa La Rocca
Logistics | J.J. Collins
Design & Communications | David Young
Social Media | Sylvia Field
Venue Booking & Production Management | Matt Paxton
Bar/Venue Management | Max Goodis