In Canada: Rob Segal Departs The Feldman Agency, Plus More Artists Pull Music From Spotify

The management shuffle is continuing at The Feldman Agency (TFA). The Toronto-based talent agency has parted ways with Rob Segal, previously president of brands and partnerships. 

Segal became a partner in the company in 2023 as part of an expansion to become a full-service entertainment company.

In 2024, Segal was named one of Billboard’s International Power Players alongside CEO Jeff Craib. He cited his biggest achievements from that first year on the job as “shepherding the new business in owned and operated properties,” licensing and branding opportunities for TFA’s artists and launching the first season of The Bowl at Sobeys Stadium, the outdoor concert venue series that then “hit pause” in 2025.

This news comes less than two months after TFA announced a series of internal promotions. Veteran Joel Baskin was named senior vice president, Josie Cheng was named managing director-administration, Amy Lloyd was given a new role as talent buyer, Emma Leblanc took the reins as marketing associate and Jessie Silverstein was promoted to senior coordinator. 

The appointments signaled TFA’s increased “strategic focus on talent buying, artist support and operational innovation across its offices in Toronto and Vancouver,” they said at the time.

When reached for comment, Craib confirms Segal’s departure. 

“While Rob Segal is no longer heading up partnerships, the exciting operational staff promotions we announced previously speak to TFA’s growth as a company,” he tells Billboard Canada. “Our strong work with brands, artists and our properties in this space continues.”

The Feldman Agency’s talent roster includes major names like Shania Twain, Daniel Caesar, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Josh Ross and Owen Riegling, plus non-music clients like All Elite Wrestling. 

Craib and TFA president Tom Kemp were named to Billboard Canada’s 2025 Power Players list, citing major tours for Alessia Cara, Mother Mother, Barenaked Ladies, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charlotte Cardin and more. – Richard Trapunski

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Chad VanGaalen, Sunnsetter and More Pull Music From Spotify

A number of Canadian artists are removing their catalogues from Spotify.

Across the country, musicians are withdrawing their discography from the streamer, many citing co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek’s ties to an AI weapons company, Prima Materia.

It was reported in June that the organization led a new round of investment in defense company Helsing, which sells software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to inform military decisions. Ek is the chairman of Helsing and reportedly invested €600 million — approximately $961 million CAD.

The most recent artist to join the exodus is Ontario singer-songwriter Sunnsetter. On Sunday (July 27), the shoegaze musician, born Andrew McLeod, posted to Instagram to share his decision.

“I have no interest in supporting a platform that has almost single handedly dismantled the entire music industry and is tied directly to military industrial AI technology,” he wrote in a statement.

“Daniel Ek has literally taken the money that’s coming from YOU meant to pay artists, and used that money to then turn around and invest in AI killing technology meant to further facilitate genocide around the world and support military regimes and this turn towards fascism. It’s disgusting, it sickens me. I want to be freed from this cycle and I hate it.”

Sunnsetter added that their label, Paper Bag Records, was supportive of their decision to withdraw from Spotify.

McLeod joins a list of Canadian musicians taking a stand. Three days ago, Calgary artist Chad VanGaalen took to Instagram to share that he removed his music from the platform. Starting the process a few months ago, VanGaalen’s record labels, Sub Pop and Flemish Eye, executed what he called the “digital devil’s work” to remove his discography.

Citing “just the usual 2025 s–t,” — including investments in “AI weapons of war, drone technology” — VanGaalen confidently decided to depart.

“It made me feel really sad because I don’t want my art to be a part of that — and my art doesn’t need to be a part of that,” he said.

For fans missing VanGaalen’s music, he said his discography is available on Bandcamp for free.

Billboard Canada has reached out to Spotify Canada for comment.

Read more, including words from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Fiver, Xiu Xiu and more here. – Heather Taylor-Singh

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Mustafa, Saya Gray, Yves Jarvis Make The Inaugural SOCAN Polaris Song Prize Short List

The SOCAN Polaris Song Prize has its inaugural short list. 

The list comprises songs recorded by Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Saya Gray, Yves Jarvis, Mustafa and Ribbon Skirt. The winner will receive $10,000 split between the song’s Canadian performers and the song’s credited Canadian songwriter(s), courtesy of Canadian performing rights society SOCAN.

Here is this year’s short list:

These songs were selected from the previously announced 20-song long list.

Of these five artists, only Toronto artist/poet Mustafa has previous experience of a Polaris-related short list, via a 2021 nomination for the Polaris Music Prize for his debut release, When Smoke Rises.

An interesting facet of this short list is that all five of the artists listed are also on the 10 album short list for the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. As a result, they will all be performing at the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony, at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Tuesday, September 16. Both Prizes will be awarded at that event. 

As with the Polaris Music Prize, the Song Prize is voted on by the members of the Polaris jury without regard to musical genre, label affiliation or commercial popularity.

The SOCAN Polaris Song Prize is the organization’s first new award since the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize was introduced in 2015 to award albums from the pre-Polaris Prize era. The launch of the Song Prize is part of an extensive initiative of programming changes announced for the organization’s 20th anniversary. – Kerry Doole