Transition-metal-catalyzed cyanation of aryl halides is a process of significant importance in the preparation pharmaceuticals, organic materials and agrochemicals. Here, we demonstrate a palladium-catalyzed decarbonylative cyanation of amides by highly selective carbon-nitrogen bond cleavage for the synthesis of a wide range of aryl nitriles. The utility of this technology is demonstrated by the synthesis of isotopically labeled aryl nitriles and orthogonal cross-coupling reactions of bench-stable amides to establish cross-coupling synthons with opposite polarity.