Recognized for Music with Real Substance
Linus Entertainment gets behind great songs, signs artists with international potential and promotes their music out to the world. Founder and President Geoff Kulawick launched Linus in 2000, and now has exclusive control of a catalogue of over 2000 albums, with the overwhelming majority by Canadian artists.
Prior to Linus, as the head of Artists & Repertoire for Virgin/EMI Music Canada, Kulawick signed four consecutive gold or platinum selling artists – Leahy, La Bottine Souriante, Choclair and the Boomtang Boys – and during his tenure was recognized as the most successful A&R person in Canada. Kulawick arrived at Virgin/EMI from Warner Chappell Music Publishing where he served as Creative Director, signing and developing Canadian artist/songwriters including the Tea Party, Spirit of the West, Rheostatics, and the producers of the first Canadian Gold selling rap single “Let Your Backbone Slide” performed by Maestro Fresh Wes.
Linus Entertainment’s first release was Ron Sexsmith’s critically acclaimed album Blue Boy. Other successful Linus releases followed including albums from Gordon Lightfoot, Randy Bachman, Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian Brass, and Sophie Milman, including Platinum and Gold selling album masters by Big Wreck, Paul Brandt, Colin James and Spirit of the West, establishing Linus as one of Canada’s leading independent labels.
The Children's Group was purchased by Linus Entertainment in 2009 and has a 20+ year history as an award-winning and internationally recognized independent record label specializing in music for children. Classical Kids has earned an unprecedented six Juno Awards for Best Children's Album, two Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) certified Platinum and four certified Gold CDs. Linus further expanded our activities into presenting live concerts with the launch of The Mozart Effect Live, a visual concert production that combines the music of Mozart played live by a 40-piece orchestra accompanied by a high definition large format immersive video and special visual effects.
In 2015 Linus acquired US-based Spring Hill Music a leading producer of instrumental “New Age” music with a catalog of 200+ albums, as well in 2018 Linus acquired Edmonton-based Stony Plain Records. Stony Plain Records is a vital Canadian Roots/Blues/Country label with a 40+ year history, 200+ album catalog replete including Grammy & Juno winning relevant touring artists who will continue to make world-class music on the Linus label for years to come. In 2019 Linus amalgamated with True North Records, bringing the globally respected brand and recognized Canadian songwriter-focused label in-house along with the releases of Buffy Sainte-Marie, Crystal Shawanda, Old Man Luedecke, and Matt Andersen.