Kim Cooke

Kim can definitely now be called a veteran -after 32 years he's still on his feet and throwing punches in the music industry. He started off at retail with Sam The Record Man in Hamilton ON and shipped tens of thousands of 8 tracks for Muntz in Burlington ON before finding the record company holy grail, joining WEA Canada (later Warner Music Canada) in 1978 as Atlantic/Elektra Marketing Manager. In this post he was recognized in 1987 with a Grammy nomination in the Best Historical Album category for his work on The Otis Redding Story.

Kim spent 24 years with Warner later holding the posts of Vice-President, National Promotion and Vice-President, A & R. In the latter position he signed Great Big Sea, Paul Brandt, Odds, Big Wreck, Colin James, Natalie MacMaster and more. His last posting at Warner from 1998-2001was Sr. VP/MD US labels.

All Things Must Pass quoth the philosopher George Harrison and Cooke left Warner in 2001 as that company began a series of wrenching changes that continue to this day.

It was a brief respite. In February 2002 he went from the very big to the very small, joining startup Universal-distributed indie imprint MapleMusic Recordings. Drawing on all his prior experiences Cooke now serves the label as General Manager, helping sign and develop the careers of Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards, The Dears, Pilate and more.

"Launching a new and progressive Canadian owned label in the current marketplace is a bit like pitching a tent in a hurricane, but the personnel and the philosophies at Maple are the right approach at the right time in the evolution of the music business. Iím having the time of my life here."