[2] The label have also begun expanding outside of Montreal, signing international artist Σtella, from Athens, Greece, on April 16, 2019,[3][4] and Toronto-based trio Rapport on August 28, 2019.

[5] Arbutus Records was created by a community of artists and musicians from the Montreal DIY music scene that came together in the 4600 square foot Mile End, warehouse loft space called Lab Synthèse.

[6] Police shut down Lab Synthèse and Cowan began managing the artists that performed there shortly after, resulting in the formation of Arbutus Records.

Cowan and the label kickstarted the music careers of Blue Hawaii, Grimes, Majical Cloudz, Sean Nicholas Savage and TOPS among others early on.

[9] The label considers the release of records as a creative and collaborative process, moreover that the "art [made] is that of the artist", and they will always work in service of that.