Steve Gardiner is the owner of SGMGRoupArtists; a boutique indie label based out of Ottawa, Canada and is also an artist manager. The label and management duties work in tandem, specializing in the development of artist’s careers. He is currently managing Ottawa based recording artist Andrew Cassara and Toronto based Ricki Ayela (both emerging pop artists). Steve wears a number of different hats in his entrepreneurial ventures, including artist management, music producer, songwriter, and label operator. As a recording artist previously
signed to A&M Records & Sour Music/Sony, Steve brings his past experience as an artist to the table acting as a mentor to many emerging artist’s careers.
As an artist, he was signed to various recording deals in the 90’s and early 2000’s most notably with A&M records (In And Out) and then as a solo artist on Sour Music Sony. With several charting songs in Canada and in Europe, Steve continued to write and record music and to date has released 4 full-length solo albums that are currently available on ITunes. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/steve-gardiner/64179270 In 2012, Steve recorded a version of “Little Drummer Boy” that still dominates the airwaves during the holidays in his
hometown of Ottawa.
Throughout the years, Steve has had the pleasure of working with notable industry professionals such as Alanis Morrissette (toured as a back up singer at the start of her career), Frank Levin (producer), Bob and Clint Moffatt (The Moffatts, collaborated on Steve’s second album “Sonic Levelling”), Russell Broom (Juno award winning producer), Tom Treumuth (legendary Canadian Producer) as well as many others.
In 2013, after releasing is latest solo album “Absence Makes the Heart Beat Faster, Steve began to work with other artists in a producer role, taking the skills that he had learned from his mentors, and began producing young emerging artists through his label.
After meeting Andrew Cassara, Steve shifted his focus and founded his Canadian Indie Label SGMGRoupArtists. The label was designed to build on and support emerging artists. This idea soon became Steve’s passion, and with Andrew’s momentum as an up and coming artist, Steve quickly assumed a role as manager, record label, producer, and recording engineer. Steve has connected with industry professionals worldwide, and is establishing himself and his company as a force to be reckoned with in the fast paced world of developing emerging artists. www.sgmgroupartists.com
In 2017, Steve helped to co-found the Youth X Canada Tour, which took several emerging artists from Ontario, Canada and put them on a tour of Youth Centers, delivering music and entertainment to less fortunate kids, and together with Youth Centres Canada, and Partners For Mental Health, the tour would provide opportunities to actively engage youth in conversations about mental health, provide material to help support those in need, and
encourage the continuation of youth mental health conversations. www.youthxcanada.ca
Steve’s passion for music and the arts has blended with a desire to help young people and in combining these passions; SGMGRoupArtists has establishing itself as a company with the lofty goal of… “Developing World Class Artists”.