Nocturne Records is an independent label built for artists who work in the dark. We sign for the long arc of a career, master the room you'll actually play, and keep the masters in your name.
Our records have lived on the stages and screens that matter
Ambient, downtempo, neo-soul, and the kind of electronic music that only makes sense at 2 a.m. Every act on Nocturne is signed, developed, and toured by the same five people.
Two records, 38M streams, and a sold-out night at the Danforth. The act that started the label.
Slow-build instrumental sets sampled by three Billboard-charting producers in 2025 alone.
A voice built for last call. Her debut EP 'Low Light' held the Bandcamp soul chart for six weeks.
Resident Advisor's 'Breakthrough Artist 2025' and a regular on the European warehouse circuit.
Cinematic, sample-heavy, and licensed to two A24 trailers and a Netflix limited series.
A four-piece recorded entirely live to tape in our Parkdale room. No overdubs, no autotune.
We built Nocturne because we were tired of the deals we were offered. Here is exactly what signing with us means — in plain language, before you ever see a contract.
Your recordings stay in your name. We license, we don't own. The catalog you build is yours to leave with.
Profits split down the middle after recoupable costs — and we publish the recoupment math line by line, every quarter.
Recording, mixing, and mastering at our Parkdale and Berlin rooms, fully funded. Analog tape and a 1973 Neve on request.
Our in-house team placed 41 tracks in film, TV, and games last year — averaging $9,400 CAD per placement to the artist.
Routing, advances, and a tour manager for your first three runs. Non-recoupable up to $15K CAD per cycle.
We cap signings at twelve artists. You get the same five people in the room — not a rotating cast of juniors.
Twelve years, eleven artists, zero 360 deals
“They handed me a recoupment statement before I asked for one. After two majors, that was the moment I signed. I still own every master I've cut here.”
“The sync team got 'Hollow Year' into an A24 trailer and a single placement out-earned my last advance. They treat licensing like an art form, not an afterthought.”
“Tour support that doesn't come back as debt is almost unheard of. They covered my first European run and never put it on my ledger. That's the whole difference.”
No. Nocturne licenses your recordings for the term of the deal — typically two to three records. You retain ownership, and the masters revert fully to you when the term ends.
After recoupable costs (recording, mastering, marketing) are paid back from revenue, every dollar after that is split evenly. We send an itemized recoupment statement each quarter so you always know where the line sits.
Two to three finished or near-finished tracks and a sense of who you are as an artist. We sign for a five-year arc, not a single — so a clear voice matters far more than a clean mix.
No. Our studios are in Parkdale and Berlin, but our roster is spread across four countries. We fly artists in for sessions and fund the travel as part of the recording budget.
Every demo is listened to by a human — usually one of the five of us. Expect a reply within three weeks. If it's a yes, we'll set up a call before anything is signed.
Two or three tracks. No managers, no gatekeepers, no submission fee. A real person listens to every one.