About

The Management Trust has been awarded Manager of the Year three times by the Canadian music industry, and in addition to bringing The Tragically Hip to multi-platinum sales and arena headlining status, has launched the careers of The Watchmen, Big Wreck and more.

Today, the Toronto-based management company, helmed by Jake Gold and Shelley Stertz, handles the careers of artists Adam Cohen; Sass Jordan, Crash Karma, Lily Frost; and The Pigott Brothers; and Dani Matte oversees a growing producer/engineer roster that includes Terry Brown, John Whynot, Laurence Currie, Doc McKinney, Moe Berg, Russell Broom; and Me & John.

The Management Trust has always followed the tried-and-true philosophy and ethic of artist management: discovering artists, working with them to develop their craft, orchestrating their recordings, negotiating their label agreements, and helping them to develop their full potential. The company is dedicated to building an artist’s career from every stage, building from the ground up and breaking new acts to taking well-established acts to the next level, always mindful of maintaining life-long careers.

The seeds of The Management Trust were sown through a chance meeting between Gold and Allan Gregg in 1985. Gold was a young, under-funded but enthusiastic manager who had just broken his first act, while Gregg was an established pollster with an interest the music business. Gold was recruited to put together a showcase for a musician friend that Gregg was helping. The showcase was a failure, but the experience forged one of the most successful partnerships in the history of Canadian music.

The two struck an arrangement: Gold would run the day-to-day affairs of the company, while Gregg would be the “silent” partner who utilized his understanding of popular culture and business to assist Gold in marketing and legal affairs. Calling the new company Jacob J. Gold and Associates, the two set out to discover new talent. Their serendipity continued when a friend sent Gregg a basement tape by Kingston, Ont. band The Tragically Hip.

Impressed by their raw passion, Gold arranged for the band to come to Toronto and open for a Rolling Stones clone band. Within 30 seconds of their opening song, Gold and Gregg knew they were witnessing something special. They signed The Tragically Hip on the spot, and for the next 17 years forged one of the most successful musical careers Canada has witnessed.