UTA Toronto CEO Ralph James has been mum on the news of UTA’s Canadian office closing and how it might affect him, but his biggest client, Nickelback, which he started booking when they were diligently working their second independent album, The State, in 1998, tells Billboard they stll cherish their long-time agent and “dear friend.”
After James became their agent, A&R exec Ron Burman at Roadrunner saw the band play in Vancouver, which led to their first U.S. record deal and reissue of The State. EMI signed the band in Canada. They have since sold more than 24 million units, according to the RIAA, and more than 50 million worldwide, according to their BMG boiler.
Their 2001 hit “How You Remind Me” was named Billboard’s Top Rock Song of the Decade and was No. 4 on the Top 10 songs of the 2000s list. Billboard also named them Top Rock Group of the Decade.
In a collective statement from Chad Kroeger (lead vocals, guitars), Ryan Peake (guitars), Mike Kroeger (bass) and Daniel Adair (drums), the band told Billboardthe following:
“Ralph James was probably the first prominent music-industry figure to believe in us, and while it definitely wasn’t love at first sight (he passed on us the first time he came to see us play), the fact that he was brutally honest but fair made us trust him even more.
Not long after our initial meeting, Ralph came to see us again and as the story goes, we became clients of his in 1998. Our relationship with Ralph began before we signed with a major label and having someone with his reputation and experience in our corner became a major turning point in our career both here at home and around the world.
Fast forward to today - Ralph still brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table when giving us advice (usually over a cold beer), and we still listen intently. He’s an amazing husband, father, mentor, leader, supporter, advisor and agent; but most of all – he’s our dear friend. Relationships like the one we have with Ralph James don’t come along every day in this business OR in life for that matter. And when they do, those are the relationships that we cherish the most.”
Nickelback is currently in the middle of a 45-date North American tour behind their ninth studio album, Feed The Machine (its first on BMG). The next date is tomorrow (Aug. 4) at BB&T Pavilion, in Camden, NJ, and the tour ends back in their home base of Vancouver, BC, on Oct. 1 at Rogers Arena.
Only three dates (Detroit, Montreal, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut) have been reported to Billboard Boxscore to date, grossing $1,470,959 with an attendance of 27,920. Six European dates in 2016 reported (Zurich, Hamburg, Antwerp, Manchester, London and Glasgow) grossed $3,094,446 with an attendance of 52,690) and the 2015 tour — eight shows in North America and five in Australia — grossed $7,152,383 with an attendance of 108,039.
