Transgender-owned, LGTBQ-run music label Errant Records launches in Canada

Dani Oliva, entertainment attorney and business strategist, seen in this undated handout photo, has launched transgender-owned and LGBTQ-run Canadian record label Errant Records. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Robin Banks

TORONTO — A transgender-owned and LGBTQ-operated record label has launched with goals of supporting “left-of-centre” Canadian musicians.

In founding Errant Records, Toronto-raised entertainment lawyer and former music manager Dani Oliva becomes a rare example of an openly transgender executive at a music label.

Oliva says he intends to focus on artists outside the mainstream and fill a void left by widespread layoffs at major labels that he says left many artists floundering.

Errant’s first signings include Haitian-Canadian singer-songwriter Charmie, who co-wrote Nelly Furtado’s “Better Than Ever” for her latest album “7,” and Toronto native Gus who released “I Think We’re Worth Saving” earlier this year.

Its management division has signed two-time Grammy-winning engineer Emerson Mancini and Canadian-Japanese guitarist Hiroki Tanaka, formerly of Juno-nominated band Yamantaka // Sonic Titan.

Errant is backed by David Massey, former president of Arista Records, and Shane Carter, president of Sony Music Canada, and its releases will be distributed through New York-based media company the Orchard.

The label is headquartered in Vaughan, Ont., with a Canadian staff and plans to focus primarily on Canadian musicians, especially those who are queer and/or Black, Indigenous or people of colour, Oliva added.

“The ethos is representing artists that are not typically represented in the public purview,” Oliva said by phone from Los Angeles.

“That’s BIPOC artists, queer artists, artists with a little bit of a left-of-centre perspective.”

Oliva points to Vancouver indie label Nettwerk Music Group as a shining example of what he hopes to achieve. That company was founded in the 1980s and helped establish the careers of Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies and others on the global market.

“I do think it’s important to foster relationships within Canada, but you also, in my opinion, have to have a global perspective in mind,” Oliva added.

“And (Errant) is centred around helping artists grown in Canada develop their global relationships in a way that feels good to them, and that includes in the U.S.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.

David Friend, The Canadian Press