Impact NextGen: Andrew Valle

At just 28, Andrew Valle has accomplished more in this industry than most ever will with some bigf footsteps to fill. He not only oversees Canadian Music Week, the country’s preeminent industry confab, founded by the legendary Neill Dixon, but also works as a manager for LOFT Entertainment run by another Canadian industry luminary, Randy Lennox, who formerly headed UMG Canada and Bell Media.

The music bug bit Valle early and never left. “I was obsessed with bands from a young age,” Valle says. “Bands like Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Three Days Grace, etc. I would sneak backstage at Billy Talent shows as a kid and as I grew up I always wanted to learn more about how the business worked. The first show I ever promoted was a reunion show for a band I grew up on called Stereos. When it sold out months before, I really started pursuing the live side of the business.”

With brio and confidence, partially instilled from playing quarterback in high school (not your typical Canuck sports fare) Valle walked off the street into Dine Alone Records in Toronto, asked if he could work for free and landed his first industry internship. There, he carefully observed how Joel Carriere handled business by both running the label and managing artists Alexisonfire and City and Colour.

Along with Carriere, Valle names Dixon and Lennox as mentors, saying, “Neill Dixon was a crucial part of my growth. Neill taught me how to navigate the live business. He taught me how to handle agents and when it made sense to take risks. Randy Lennox has been a key mentor for me as well. His expertise from his time running Universal Canada and Bell Media have helped me learn those sides of the business.”

His 2024 highlights speak to his dual-hat-wearing purview: “This year at Canadian Music Week (which Pollstar parent company Oak View Group recently partnered with) we inducted deadmau5 into the Hall of Fame, the first electronic artist to be inducted. On the management side, I got to see one of my clients Tom Cochrane perform in Toronto with the Eagles for their last show ever here earlier this year.”

As for the future, Valle says, “I see myself continuing on the same path. Being both a buyer and a manager is something I love and I’m very fortunate to be able to do both. I see myself growing my management roster while elevating the level of talent buying.”

With front-row seats to developing talent, Valle says artist “standouts” for him right now are “Wunderhorse, Charlie Edward and Peter Raffoul.” Listen up, he knows.