Singer, songwriter and Coquitlam native, Tyler Shaw, initially gained public recognition through the 2012 Much Music Coca-Cola Covers Competition. That in turn garnered him a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment Canada and resulted in the release of his debut single, the platinum-certified Top 10 hit “Kiss Goodnight”. Tyler followed that up with more hits, including “By My Side” and “House Of Cards”, both again reaching the Top 10 on multiple radio formats nationally. He also received a Juno Award nomination for “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” in 2014.

The success around Tyler’s initial singles allowed him to reach eligibility with the Radio Starmaker Fund. In the summer of 2015, he received his first domestic touring funding, enabling him to expand his touring range and perform at several music festivals alongside acts including Francesco Yates and Shawn Mendes. Tyler also performed as support for international superstars Ke$ha and Pitbull. Still, he always made it a priority to remain connected to his fans by continuing to perform intimate acoustic shows in small venues and tertiary markets amid his full-band touring schedule in major and secondary markets – something he still does today.

Tyler went on to receive additional domestic touring funding from the RSF which allowed him to perform a major headlining gig at the Mod Club in Toronto and several headlining shows, all of which celebrated his next career milestone – the release of his debut full-length album Yesterday. By consistently creating meet and greet opportunities and working tirelessly to talk to media and radio in every market he visited, Tyler made the most of this opportunity, directly connecting with fans nationwide.

In winter 2015/2016, Tyler received his first domestic marketing funding support from Starmaker. It was used to extend the reach of the album marketing plan, launching a national radio advertising initiative coinciding with a pricing campaign at iTunes, timed around the release of the final single from the album, “Wicked”. The campaign propelled the album to multiply his weekly sales numbers 5x through its duration and “Wicked” became Tyler’s fourth Top 10 single. He then went on to tour as direct support for international pop star Selena Gomez on her Revival World Tour on select Canadian dates.

As Tyler works on material for his sophomore album, we are incredibly grateful for the support received to date from the Radio Starmaker Fund; it has significantly impacted the achievements we have been able to accomplish to date. We look forward to continued RSF support so that together we can develop Tyler’s career both nationally and internationally, as a songwriter, recording artist and successful international touring performer.

Ian Heath
Manager, Domestic
Sony Music Entertainment