Sam Sniderman, (June 15, 1920 – September 23, 2012) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman best known as the founder of the Canadian

record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of t ...

chain

Sam the Record Man Sam the Record Man was a Canadian Record shop, record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast". Its iconic flagship store was located a ...

. Sniderman was also a major promoter of

Canadian music The music of Canada reflects the diverse influences that have History of Canada, shaped the country. Indigenous Peoples, the Irish-Canadians, Irish, British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical Culture of Canada, herit ...

including involvement in pushing for the

Canadian content Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (inclu ...

(CANCON) broadcast regulations and creating the

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

Life and career

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Sniderman grew up in its Jewish enclave known as

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...

. He attended high school at

Harbord Collegiate Institute Harbord Collegiate Institute (HCI or Harbord) is a public secondary school located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in the Palmerston-Little Italy-Annex neighbourhood, situated on the north side of Harbord Street, bet ...

and started selling records in his brother Sidney's store, Sniderman Radio Sales and Service, in 1936. In 1959 he opened his first store on Toronto's

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

, and then moved it to the iconic 347 Yonge Street flagship store location in 1961. In 1969, he started franchising the store. He retired in 2000 and turned over ownership of the business to his sons, Bobby and Jason, and Sid's daughters Lana and Arna. The flagship Toronto store that bore his name closed in 2007 and its distinctive façade was declared a heritage site by the city. Following the closure, Sniderman expressed his support for

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

's bid to expropriate the Yonge Street property if his children and nieces failed to negotiate a deal to sell the property to the university. In the end, Ryerson (now called

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

) reached a deal to purchase the property from the family. The last remaining Sam The Record Man store still operates in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada, situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Its population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 55,071 (Census Metropolitan Area population 1 ...

Awards and honours

On October 20, 1976, he was invested into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He was appointed to the Order's third tier,

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

, for "found ngthe Recordings Archive Library at the University of Toronto, now the largest of its kind in Canada. For his constant support of Canadian talent and concern for the preservation of our cultural heritage". Sniderman was inducted into the

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame honours Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased. The artifact collection includes extensive biographical information on the inductees. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame can ...

in 1997. Sniderman himself remained an active participant in the Canadian music industry until his death. Always a believer in the "more is more" philosophy, he established the Sniderman Sound Recording Archive at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

's School of Music, ensuring that it is "as big as possible." Sniderman spoke at the 2006

East Coast Music Awards The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a non-profit association purposed towards supporting the music industry in the Canadian east coast, i.e., Atlantic Canada. The ECMA hosts the annual East Coast Music Awards (formerly the Maritime Music A ...

. In 1999, Sniderman received the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, for his tireless support of Canadian musicians. His son Jason Sniderman is a musician and was also an executive with Sam the Record Man. Another son, Bobby Sniderman, went into business for himself as proprietor of The Senator restaurant. His grandson is Canadian musician Cos Sylvan.

References

External links

Multimedia

CBC Archives
in a radio interview Sam Sniderman (

Sam the record man Sam the Record Man was a Canadian Record shop, record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast". Its iconic flagship store was located a ...

) talks about his support for Canadian content in 1971

Web

Sam Sniderman
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sniderman, Sam 1920 births 2012 deaths Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian Jews Canadian music industry executives Canadian retail chief executives Members of the Order of Canada Governor General's Award winners