MusicOntario Presents The M Sessions: Your Music Has a Passport - Exporting Canadian Talent to LA & London
MusicOntario Presents The M Sessions
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | 5:00 - 9:00 PM
Osler Records,
2 A Osler St., Toronto (Dupont and Dundas)
Join us for our next in-person member event, The M Sessions: Your Music Has a Passport - Exporting Canadian Talent to LA & London
This panel explores how Canadian artists and songwriters can build opportunities in international markets. Bringing together SOCAN and music industry representatives from Los Angeles and London, the conversation will share insights into what Canadian talent should know before entering these markets, what opportunities are emerging, and how to build an international career while staying connected to the Canadian music industry.
The panel will be followed by light refreshments, networking, and live performances from Dermabrasion and Runway the Catwalker.
The M Sessions is where members come together to learn, connect, and discover new music. This is a 19+ event.
*This event is subject to capacity.
SPEAKERS
Racquel Villagante – Associate Director & Creative Executive, SOCAN
Racquel Villagante is the Associate Director, Creative Executive at SOCAN, based out of the organization’s Los Angeles office. With over a decade of experience in the music industry, Racquel has cultivated a career defined by connection, creativity, and a people-first approach. Since joining SOCAN in 2018, she has held progressive roles as A&R/Creative Executive across Vancouver, Toronto, and LA, consistently championing songwriters, producers, and composers through curated creative opportunities, collaboration facilitation, and craft development initiatives. In her current role, Racquel now leads the Creative Executive team, shaping strategy while continuing to support SOCAN members with empathy, energy, and an unwavering commitment to their artistic growth. Before SOCAN, Racquel wore many hats in the music business—from artist management and indie label operations to tour talent wrangling and show promotion—developing a well-rounded industry foundation. With a degree in Psychology, she brings a holistic and human-centered lens to all aspects of her work, allowing her to build trust, inspire teams, and nurture authentic relationships.
Danny Keir – Artist Manager, Enki Music
Danny is an artist manager, music export consultant and B2B event producer based in London, UK.
As an artist manager, Danny is at the forefront of talent development and music industry trends. This realtime experience feeds into export strategy, market insights and network development projects that aid artists and their teams outside of their domestic markets.
Danny manages artists Tatyana (Captured Tracks), I Monster (Nettwerk) & Hannah Hu (Independent) and film composers Matteo Tronchin (Elephant Music) and Jack McCartney (Elephant Music).
PERFORMERS
Runway The Catwalker
Runway The Catwalker is a Toronto-based, award-winning artist, songwriter and producer known for his fearless, genre-bending approach to music. Blending the raw energy of punk and indie with the grit and attitude of hip-hop, Runway has built a sound that refuses to fit neatly into any one category.
After spending years writing, producing and developing his sound behind the scenes, Runway has stepped back into the spotlight with a new era of music that is louder, more personal and unapologetically his own. His recent releases showcase an artist equally comfortable with distorted guitars, infectious melodies and rap-influenced swagger, all tied together by his unmistakable personality and style.
With a growing catalogue and a new project on the way, Runway The Catwalker is carving out his own lane in Toronto’s alternative music scene. No filters. No apologies. Just Runway.
ARTIST LINKS
Runway The Catwalker – Linktree
Dermabrasion
Dermabrasion are a death rock band from Tkaronto peddling drum machine-driven grooves influenced by hardcore, post-punk, heavy metal and existential foreboding. They released their debut album, Pain Behaviour, on Toronto's Hand Drawn Dracula Records in 2024, with their sophomore followup, Autovore, expected mid-2027.Spotify
MusicOntario gratefully acknowledges our partners in this programming for making it possible, including Ontario Creates via the Ontario Music Investment Fund, and the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR), the Government of Canada (through the Canada Music Fund), and Canada's private radio broadcasters. This event is also presented in partnership with the City of Toronto's Music Office.