Brian Allen

A veteran of the business, Brian was a member and principal songwriter for the band Toronto in the ‘80s, logging 4 platinum albums. Following the band’s breakup, Brian saw success as a co-writer of “What About Love” which propelled Heart to a 10 million seller. Attic Records recruited Brian as head of A&R, a post he held for 15 years. In addition to overseeing the label’s artist roster, he produced several artists for the label, yielding 2 double platinum sellers each for Lee Aaron and Haywire. Following Attic, Brian moved to SOCAN as Manager of the International Department. In 2002, Brian founded his production venture, AMPLUS Productions. Brian is a member of Canadian Country Music Association, SOCAN, CMRRA, Songwriters Association of Canada, Toronto Blues Society and Toronto Musicians’ Association. He has served on committees for CIRPA (now CIMA), CCMA, CARAS and chaired the Music Advisory Committee at Humber College. Brian has taught music business courses at Metalworks Institute and is frequently a guest lecturer and panelist. He has served as Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Country Music Association of Ontario for 3 terms. Today, Brian’s core businesses are songwriting, producing and consulting. Productions include 5 albums for Juno winner Robert Michaels, Marshall Dane’s “Running Stop Signs” (Country Music News # 11 album of 2011), Mike Lynch’s “Road Map” (Country Music News # 5 album of 2011), and Darrelle London’s “Edible Word Parade” (via EMI). Brian has earned 25 gold, platinum and special achievement awards as an artist, producer and songwriter. “What About Love” was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in September of 2021.