By Isabelle Speerin
Dante Berardi Jr. moves through the music publishing world with a level of emotional intelligence that’s increasingly rare in an industry built on hustle. As Director, Licensing & Creative at Anthem Music Group, he navigates music supervisors, songwriters, and studio teams with the natural cadence of someone who has been doing it forever – and in many ways, he has.
For Berardi, music is more than a profession – it’s part of his DNA. He was born into a family woven tightly into Canada’s musical fabric: a multi‑instrumentalist father involved with the East Coast Music Association, a grandfather who helped shape New Brunswick’s radio and concert-promotion scene, and a godfather, singer Bobby Curtola, whose five-decade career earned him both the Order of Canada and a place in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. “I started out young,” Berardi recalls. “My first job was delivering beer and sandwiches to bands backstage at outdoor concerts when I was six.”
After his childhood years in Moncton and Halifax, Berardi moved to Toronto and enrolled at York University to study psychology and philosophy, but soon found himself writing songs, playing guitar and synth, touring overseas, and doing on‑air work for MuchMusic and MTV. Even then, he gravitated toward the business side of music. While his bandmates were focused on performing, he was organizing logistics, nurturing relationships, and showing up at industry events. “Slowly but surely, even though I was focused on being a musician and songwriter, opportunities just started presenting themselves.”
One of those opportunities arrived when a former A&R collaborator forwarded him a job posting for Ole Media Management (now Anthem Music Group). Berardi took the leap – and instantly felt at home. “I loved it. I got to work with artists and music all day. It was like a dream come true.” The shift from artist and songwriter to music industry professional marked his first foothold in the industry. It was also the moment when his long‑term path became clear. “I never planned on being in the industry, but once I was in, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he revealed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Berardi stepped away to consult, work with legacy label K‑Tel, and joined CCS Rights Management/Daytripper Music Publishing focusing on sync. When Anthem rebranded under CEO Jason Klein, Berardi felt the pull to return. “Jason was my entertainment lawyer for many years, and I trusted him inherently.,” he said. “When I heard Jason was shaping the future of the company, coming back was a no‑brainer.” Today, Berardi’s role spans two major pillars at Anthem. On the sync side he cultivates relationships with music supervisors and pitches to them to secure opportunities for Anthem’s catalogue across film, TV, advertising, and gaming. On the creative publishing side, he supports Anthem’s songwriters by coordinating writing sessions, A&R, nurturing talent, and helping them expand their creative networks. He also oversees bookings for Anthem’s writing rooms at Noble Street Studios in Toronto’s west end, a creative hub for Anthem’s writers, artists, and industry partners. “It’s a space where ideas move fast,” he says. “There’s always something happening.”
Berardi stays inspired through constant immersion in the creative world. He listens voraciously – to Anthem’s catalogue, emerging tracks circulating in Toronto’s studios, and the broader wave of new music from producers, film creatives, and collaborators. “I wake up every day excited to work with music,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like work.”
With more than a decade spent navigating both the artist and industry sides of the business, he has zeroed in on what matters most to him – authenticity. Whether he’s collaborating with writers, music supervisors, or colleagues, he avoids transactional interactions in favour of sincere and honest connection. According to Berardi, curiosity and adaptability are essential for anyone hoping to build a meaningful, long‑term career in music.
His message to emerging professionals is to stay genuine, listen, honour your word, and remember that great songs – and great careers – are built through trust. “People can feel it when someone’s angling for something,” he says. “Start with the human being first.”
Berardi’s career path is a reminder that even as the music industry continually changes, the fundamentals of trust and relationships remain unchanged. In the end, his philosophy is simple: follow the music, and the rest will follow.
