Canadian Music Week announced Jeff Craib as one of the 2018 Inductees into the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame.
Jeff will be honoured for his accomplishments and established career in the music industry at the annual Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards Gala Dinner at Rebel Nightclub in Toronto on Thursday May 10th, 2018.
Jeff Craib has been at the forefront of the Canadian music industry for more than 25 years. As President of The Feldman Agency, Craib is well known for shaping the careers of some of Canada’s most established artists. His reputation and impressive track record highlight his keen ability to develop and nurture new talent, while working with the TFA team to keep their roster at the top of Canadian live music.
Jeff’s passion for driving the careers of musicians dates back to his early years when he became the self-appointed promoter of his friends’ bands. Fast forward from teenage entrepreneur to the person actively shaping and maintaining the live careers of many of Canada’s biggest stars, including The Tragically Hip, Alessia Cara, Hedley, Paul Anka, Nelly Furtado, Headstones, Barenaked Ladies, Matthew Good, The Tea Party, Scott Helman and others too numerous to list. Craib is also the man behind the scenes of some of Canadian music’s most iconic events, including The Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem sold out national tour, whose final live concert was seen by more than 12 million Canadians, on TV, online, and in person.
Craib’s career kicked off at Frontline Attractions and William Seip Management in 1989. His early days focused on building relationships while booking hard rock bands managed by Seip like Helix and Kick Axe. His roster expanded to include Razor, Sacrifice, and Anvil to name a few, putting Craib at the helm of many national tours. In a short period, a label was launched, and invaluable experience was gained at a time when working in the industry meant management, agent, promotion, and recording all happened under the same roof. With early iconic mentors like Bill Seip, Tim O’Donnell, Steve Propas, and Donnie Blais in his corner, Craib’s career took its next step when he left Frontline after four years to take a job as one of the original agents at The Feldman Agency in Toronto ON. The cast at TFA in 1993 included Bernie Breen, Richard Mills and, not long after, Vinny Cinquemani, Tom Kemp, and Olivia Ootes. These early days found Craib forging strong relationships with managers Chris Smith and Bernie Breen, who became essential partners, and still remain so to this day.
With guidance from Sam Feldman and Bruce Allen, TFA became a growing company of rising and established domestic and international artists. The star system at TFA produced more arena level artists than ever and in the ’90s, its roster made up the soundtrack for a generation of teenagers. Craib played a role in initiating properties like Edge Fest, an event that would eventually become a national tour, playing to hundreds of thousands of people. This event was key for many TFA clients who have remained on Craib’s roster for 20+ years; Big Wreck, Matthew Good, Moist and The Tea Party as well as other legendary TFA artists. In 2001, this success continued with breakthrough artists like Nelly Furtado selling 20 million records, headlining arenas across the country and selling out tours in Mexico and South America that were put together by Craib and Chris Smith.
Today, Jeff Craib continues to reinvent creative opportunities for established artists, but is still keen on finding, developing and nurturing new talent to work with personally and alongside his amazing team of coordinators and agents. Having spent the past twenty-five plus years helping artists navigate and succeed in a rapidly changing industry, he takes pride in mentoring and developing a world-class staff that works seamlessly to create opportunities for artists in exciting and innovative ways. TFA is now known as the largest music agency in Canada, and continues to shatter the boundaries of today’s industry on an international level.
Craib sits on the Board of Directors for CARAS and MECC and the Advisory Board for Newstrike.
