Terry McBride, right, looks on as Sarah McLachlan speaks during a news conference before performing at Lilith Fair in West Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday July 1, 2010.Darryl Dyck for The Globe and Mail
Sarah McLachlan will be parting ways with her long-time Vancouver-based manager. Terry McBride, CEO and co-founder of Nettwerk Music Group, confirms that Ms. McLachlan will be moving on - but adds that it may not happen for some time.
"Sarah and Nettwerk have had an amazing 23 years with over 30 million sales and we wish her much more success," Mr. McBride told The Globe and Mail in an e-mail late Monday. He stressed that Nettwerk is continuing to manage Ms. McLachlan's career at this time. He would not say why their management relationship was ending.
Ms. McLachlan has been with Mr. McBride since early in her career. Under his direction, she won Grammy and Juno Awards and released big hits such as Building a Mystery, Adia and Angel.
They co-founded the all-female festival Lilith Fair, a critical and commercial success from 1997 to 1999. But when reimagined last year as Lilith, ticket sales were soft, forcing the cancellation of numerous shows. Mr. McBride blamed the recession at the time, pointing out that it was a disastrous year for concerts. Both he and Ms. McLachlan vowed Lilith would return, but so far no tour has been announced.
Ms. McLachlan is not the first superstar act to leave the Nettwerk management fold. Avril Lavigne, Barenaked Ladies, Dido, Sum 41, Billy Talent and Chantal Kreviazuk preceded Ms. McLachlan's departure from the company, which was founded in Mr. McBride's Vancouver apartment and now has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, London and Hamburg. The company marked its 25th anniversary last year.
Ms. McLachlan, who was raised in Halifax and lives in West Vancouver, is on tour to support her 2010 release, Laws of Illusion. She has dates coming up across Canada, beginning March 1 in Victoria.
Marsha Lederman