Richard Trapunski

Richard Trapunski is the National Editor of Billboard Canada and a leading voice in the Canadian music industry. An award-winning journalist at publications including The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, Toronto Life, and Hazlitt, and editor at alt-culture institutions including NOW Magazine and Chart Attack, Richard has documented the evolution of Canada’s sound from local dive bars to global arenas. Throughout his career, he has gone beyond conventional narratives to pinpoint the cultural fluidity that defines the country’s artistry. 

At Toronto Metropolitan University, he co-developed and teaches the groundbreaking The Music and Influence of Diljit Dosanjh, the world’s first university course dedicated to a Punjabi artist. In partnership with Billboard Canada, the course routes the path to global stardom, entrepreneurship, diaspora, and the complex machinations of the music business from Canada to India.