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Montréal, December 3, 2019 — In operation for more than 100 years in the performing arts industry, Musical America Worldwide unveiled earlier today its Top 30 Professionals of the Year 2019. Congratulations to François Mario Labbé, founder and President of both Analekta et Mazaam Interactive, chosen as one of the professionals on this impressive list of passionate and creative individuals dedicated to making the arts thrive.
Following an interview with François Mario Labbé, Musical America Worldwide wrote: In recent years Labbé has reinvented the company’s business model to ensure sustainability. Analekta is now a frontrunner in digital distribution and streaming services, developments that have taken the place of more traditional sources while ensuring wider distribution. “It also offers major exposure to our musicians”, he says. “It’s been a total change in our way of operating and a rebirth for our company”.
About François Mario Labbé
Born in the Gaspé Peninsula, François Mario Labbé studied communications at the University of Ottawa. He began his career organizing concerts for the Montréal Olympic Games (1976) and the Commonwealth Games. In 1978, he founded his own touring company and became an associate at Specdici. He later co-founded Gestion Artistique Mondiale in 1982, one of Canada’s most prominent business management and agency firms, with offices in Montréal and Toronto. In 1984, he bought the company and, for the next eight years, produced over 200 concerts worldwide annually, and no fewer than 1,000 shows (ballet, music, theatre) across Canada.
In 1987, François Mario Labbé founded Analekta, today the largest classical recording company in Canada and is among the 15 largest classical labels in the world. As a visionary, he has been able to reinvent the company’s business model to ensure its sustainability. Through his efforts, Analekta has earned a strong international profile, notably in the era of digital distribution and streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. It is this same innovative spirit that has fuelled the creation of a brand new digital company, Mazaam Interactive Inc., a subsidiary of Analekta Inc. He is also the producer and manager of violinist Angèle Dubeau and her orchestra La Pietà. Together, they have contributed to the growing popularity of classical music through many tours and TV shows.
François Mario Labbé won the Grand Prix Classique at MIDEM in Cannes in 2002 and 2004. For many years, he sat on the board of directors of Montréal’s museum of modern art, the SODEC’s Commission du disque et du spectacle, ADISQ, and the music sector for Canadian Heritage. In 2017, The Canadian Government named him as a Member of the Order of Canada for his outstanding achievements in the distribution of Canadian music, as well as his involvement in promoting Canadian artists outside the country. He has been a Knight of the Ordre National du Québec since 2010 for his contribution to the development and promotion of Canadian artists.
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