Sam Sniderman
Canadian businessman (1920–2012)
title: "Sam Sniderman" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1920-births", "2012-deaths", "businesspeople-from-toronto", "canadian-jews", "canadian-music-industry-executives", "canadian-chief-executives-in-retailing", "members-of-the-order-of-canada", "governor-general's-award-winners"] description: "Canadian businessman (1920–2012)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Sniderman" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Canadian businessman (1920–2012) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sam Sniderman |
| image | Sam The Record Man Sniderman in 1979.jpg |
| caption | The Record Man shown in his flagship store in 1979 with stacks of records. |
| birth_date | June 15, 1920 |
| birth_place | Toronto, Ontario |
| death_date | |
| last | Granastein |
| first | Rob |
| url | http://o.canada.com/2012/09/23/toronto-icon-sam-sniderman-dies/ |
| title | Toronto icon Sam Sniderman dies |
| date | 2012-09-23 |
| newspaper | Canada.com |
| location | Toronto |
| archiveurl | https://web.archive.org/web/20120926020900/http://o.canada.com/2012/09/23/toronto-icon-sam-sniderman-dies/ |
| archivedate | 2012-09-26 |
| url-status | live |
| death_place | Toronto, Ontario |
| resting_place | Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Toronto |
| last | Ballingall |
| first | Alex |
| title | Sam Sniderman laid to rest after funeral in Toronto |
| url | https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1262242--sam-sniderman-laid-to-rest-after-funeral-in-toronto |
| accessdate | 2012-09-26 |
| newspaper | The Toronto Star |
| date | 2012-09-25 |
| archiveurl | https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020756/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1262242--sam-sniderman-laid-to-rest-after-funeral-in-toronto |
| archivedate | 2012-09-27 |
| location | Toronto |
| url-status | live |
| other_names | Sam the Record Man |
| known_for | Founder of Sam the Record Man retail chain |
| Promoter of Canadian music and leading advocate for Canadian content broadcast policies. | |
| occupation | Entrepreneur |
| nationality | Canadian |
| awards | Order of Canada |
| :: |
|name = Sam Sniderman |image = Sam The Record Man Sniderman in 1979.jpg |alt = |caption = The Record Man shown in his flagship store in 1979 with stacks of records. |birth_date = June 15, 1920 |birth_place = Toronto, Ontario |death_date = |last = Granastein |first = Rob |url = http://o.canada.com/2012/09/23/toronto-icon-sam-sniderman-dies/ |title = Toronto icon Sam Sniderman dies |date = 2012-09-23 |newspaper = Canada.com |location = Toronto |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120926020900/http://o.canada.com/2012/09/23/toronto-icon-sam-sniderman-dies/ |archivedate = 2012-09-26 |url-status = live |death_place = Toronto, Ontario |resting_place = Mount Sinai Memorial Park, Toronto |last = Ballingall |first = Alex |title = Sam Sniderman laid to rest after funeral in Toronto |url = https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1262242--sam-sniderman-laid-to-rest-after-funeral-in-toronto |accessdate = 2012-09-26 |newspaper = The Toronto Star |date = 2012-09-25 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020756/http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1262242--sam-sniderman-laid-to-rest-after-funeral-in-toronto |archivedate = 2012-09-27 |location = Toronto |url-status = live |other_names = Sam the Record Man |known_for = Founder of Sam the Record Man retail chain Promoter of Canadian music and leading advocate for Canadian content broadcast policies. |occupation = Entrepreneur |nationality = Canadian |awards = Order of Canada
Sam Sniderman, (June 15, 1920 – September 23, 2012) was a Canadian businessman best known as the founder of the Canadian record shop chain Sam the Record Man. Sniderman was also a major promoter of Canadian music including involvement in pushing for the Canadian content (CANCON) broadcast regulations and creating the Juno Awards.
Life and career
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Sniderman grew up in its Jewish enclave known as Kensington Market. |last = Slaughter |first = Graham |title = Sam The Record Man founder Sam Sniderman dies at 92 |newspaper = The Toronto Star |location = Toronto |date = 2012-09-24 |url = https://www.thestar.com/news/obituary/article/1261272--sam-the-record-man-founder-sam-sniderman-dies-at-92 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120926193322/http://www.thestar.com/news/obituary/article/1261272--sam-the-record-man-founder-sam-sniderman-dies-at-92 |archivedate = 2012-09-26 |url-status = live
He attended high school at Harbord Collegiate Institute 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, and then moved it to the iconic 347 Yonge Street flagship store location in 1961. |last = Bradburn |first = Jamie |title = Vintage Toronto Ads: Selling Sam the Record Man |url = http://torontoist.com/2012/09/vintage-toronto-ads-selling-sam-the-record-man/ |work = Torontoist |publisher = Ink Truck Media |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20121218210725/http://torontoist.com/2012/09/vintage-toronto-ads-selling-sam-the-record-man/ |archivedate = 2012-12-18 |location = Toronto |date = 2012-09-25 |url-status = live 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. | last = Girard | first = Daniel | title = Ryerson ramps up plan to win Sam's site: Founder Sniderman backs expropriation bid to make his defunct store university's 'front door' | newspaper = The Toronto Star | location = Toronto | date = 2007-07-03 | page = A6
Following the closure, Sniderman expressed his support for Ryerson University'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) reached a deal to purchase the property from the family. |title = Ryerson buys Sam the Record Man property |newspaper = CBC News |date = 2008-01-18 |url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ryerson-buys-sam-the-record-man-property-1.699016 |location = Toronto |access-date = 2012-09-25 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130912002511/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2008/01/18/ryerson.html |archive-date = 2013-09-12 |url-status = live
The last remaining Sam The Record Man store still operates in Belleville, Ontario.
Awards and honours
On October 20, 1976, he was invested into the Order of Canada. He was appointed to the Order's third tier, Member, for "found[ing] the 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 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's School of Music, ensuring that it is "as big as possible." Sniderman spoke at the 2006 East Coast Music Awards. 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
References
- "Sam Sniderman biography". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation.
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