Conversations with Jonathan Karkar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Karkar.

Hi Jonathan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
“American Idiot” was really the start of it all for me. That record set me on the path I find myself on now. Back then I wanted to be a frontman, but I never believed I was a singer. As a kid, I’d stand in my parents’ bedroom mirror with a little acoustic guitar, pretending to be Billie Joe Armstrong. I even tried my mom’s mascara as eyeliner because I knew the band wore makeup. I didn’t know what I was doing. By ten, I was putting bands together and landing us gigs.

At first, I thought music was cool. Then I fell in love with it. “I want to be a rock star” became “I want to play music,” then “I want to make music.” I loved composition and arrangement, but wanted nothing to do with lyrics or engineering. I figured someone else would handle those parts.

At sixteen, my high school band won a battle of the bands and twelve hours of studio time. I thought we were about to make our record. We left with two live-off-the-floor recordings and a hundred-dollar-an-hour rate to do more. I was a teenager with no money.

So I put two hundred dollars into an interface and a microphone and reluctantly learned to record. Somewhere along the way, I got good enough to get excited about it. I started recording my own bands, then other people’s.

My plan to walk straight out of school into a music career didn’t quite happen, so I took a sales job at Long & McQuade. If I needed a day job, I wanted it to keep me around music. I spent three and a half years there, making very good use of the employee discount and building my studio.

First week of March 2020, I went to Los Angeles for a week-long writing trip. I came home inspired, with real evidence that I could do this. I quit my job and dove headfirst into producing. Then the pandemic hit.

Countless Zoom sessions with Toronto artists followed, laying the foundation for a catalogue that now includes more than 200 releases, over 16 million Spotify streams and multiple sync placements.

Alongside my independent work, I partnered with Grammy-nominated songwriter Anwar McDonald, and we started Play The Jukebox. What began as a writing and production partnership is growing toward a broader music company, with ambitions across records, publishing and artist development.

These days, sessions often start like friends hanging out. I listen to how artists speak and what they choose to share, and we bring that into the writing room to create something honest to where they are.

It’s funny to think that I once wanted nothing to do with lyrics or production. Now, helping someone turn their story into a record is at the centre of what I do.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest challenge has been adjusting from a nine-to-five to feeling like I’m always on. I’m grateful that I get to do what I love and have so much agency over my life, but that freedom comes with the sole responsibility for keeping the business moving.

Writing and producing are only part of the job. There’s discovering artists I genuinely want to work with, building relationships with managers, sync representatives and A&R teams, developing the brand, and handling everything from the website and social media to admin. All of it matters, but it draws from the same time and energy I want to put into making music. Some days I’m firing on all cylinders, and others it can feel like I don’t even know which way is up.

It can be difficult to switch off when you know how much depends on you. I’m still learning how to carry that responsibility sustainably and make room for life outside the work, even when the work is something I love.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to think the core of what
I do as artist development through the lens of songwriting & record production. Musically, most of my work lives in the pop-rock and pop-R&B world, while always welcoming the challenge of working across various other styles. My primary philosophy is: write a great song, then dress it in the appropriate clothes for the artist performing it.

I can come into a project at different stages, whether that’s developing an initial idea, shaping an arrangement or helping an artist find the vocal performance that brings a song to life. My background as a multi-instrumentalist means I’m thinking about how the musical parts work together and support what the song is trying to say.

A big part of my approach is meeting artists where they are. Some arrive with a clear vision; others are still discovering their sound or working through a creative block. I adapt to what they need and help them make decisions that feel true to them. Across a larger project, that also means finding the thread that makes a collection of songs feel like one artist’s world.

What I’m most proud of is the personal growth that’s come from working with so many talented people. I got into this expecting to grow musically and build a career. I didn’t anticipate how much I would grow as a person, or how necessary that growth would be to both the music and the career. I’m proud of the body of work I’ve built and the relationships that have come with it. Those collaborations have shaped who I am as much as the records themselves.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I work with established and emerging artists on songwriting, production and the creative direction of singles, EPs and albums. Whether an artist is building on an established sound or exploring a new chapter, I’m interested in projects with a clear sense of identity and room to create something distinctive.

For A&R teams, labels and managers, I’m available to discuss writing and production opportunities for your artists, from a focused session to a full project. I work both in person and remotely, with an emphasis on finding the right creative fit.

For project enquiries and collaborations, visit jonathan.playthejukebox.com or contact mgmt@playthejukebox.com with a little about the artist, the music and the direction of the project.

And for anyone who connects with the records, sharing them and supporting the artists behind them is always appreciated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jonathan.playthejukebox.com
• Instagram: @jkarkar