Entertainment One Films Canada
 |
| E1 Entertainment Canada | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | E1 Entertainment |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Official website | http://www.kochcan.com/ |
E1 Entertainment Canada (formerly known as Koch Entertainment Canada), a division of E1 Entertainment, is one of the largest music and video distribution companies in Canada.
History
The company, which started in 1995 as Koch Entertainment Canada, is based in Toronto, Canada, has been named "Independent Distributor of the Year" (for the years 1996 - 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006) at the Canadian Music Week awards, as voted by the music industry. According to Billboard, "Toronto-based Koch Entertainment Canada has been the independent market leader in Canadian distribution since opening in 1995." (Billboard, 2002). It's distribution roster includes: Light Records, Epitaph Records, Fearless Records, Ipecac Recordings, Shanachie Records, Eleven Seven Music, Nuclear Blast, Fat Wreck Chords, Putumayo World Music, Napalm Records, Relapse Records, Vagrant Records, Prosthetic Records, Cooking Vinyl Records, Suburban Noize Records, OM Records, Ferret Music, DRG, Death Row/WIDEAwake, Tilt Rock, Tzadik, Tommy Boy Films LLC, and World Wrestling Entertainment, among others. Canadian artists on the roster include Kim Mitchell, Rival Sons, Gloryhound, Dearly Beloved, Die Mannequin, The Cult, Sophie Milman, Carol Welsman, Natalie MacMaster, Crash Karma, Andy Kim, Rita MacNeil, Jeff Martin, Swollen Members, and Secret Broadcast, among others.
Since 1997, Koch Entertainment Canada has garnered over 250 certified Platinum CD and DVD titles over the last 15 years, more than any other distributor in Canada, including WWE, Pokémon – Daniel O’Donnell, Andre Rieu, The Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Miller, Opeth, 2Pac, Deborah Cox, Cannibal Corpse, The Prodigy, DJ Khaled, Jewel, As I Lay Dying, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Steve Vai, American Idol, The Who, Ray J, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. In 1998, Koch Entertainment Canada achieved triple platinum sales with Prodigy's album The Fat of the Land and entered the Canadian charts at #1, a first for an independent label and distributor in Canadian music industry history. In 2004, the Koch distributed Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company achieved Platinum sales by the end of the year, the album was approaching Double Platinum status. The album reached #1 on the Top 200 Album, Independent and R&B charts.
On January 22, 2009, the name was officially changed to E1 Entertainment Distribution as part of a consolidation of different production companies owned by parent company Entertainment One.[1]
E1 Entertainment Distribution's Director of Media Relations and Label Acquisitions, Eric Alper, is also the Music Correspondent for CTV's Canada AM and named to Billboard Magazine 140 Best on Twitter.
