Media Team Musical Chairs

As the publicity world turns…
When Jason Owen left his longtime post leading the Universal Music Group Nashville media team in September 2010 to launch an artist management firm, his move set in motion a series of changes among the town’s major label publicity departments. The ripple effect has gone on for months, leading to today’s news that Regina Stuve has joined the Sony media team.
Let’s look at the chain reaction.
When Jason Owen exited UMG, he took with him publicist Kelly Russell, leaving the department short one leader and one team member. Respected journalist and media maven Beverly Keel took Owen’s former post, but by February 2011 the team also lost experienced players Amber Williams and Regina Stuve.
Needing to fill the void in her staff, Keel hired seasoned publicist Dixie Owen (no relation to Jason) away from her post at Capitol Records Nashville.
Dixie Owen’s departure left associate Lori Christian as the leader of Capitol’s media team. But Christian, a one-time Sony staffer, still needed to hire another publicist. She added former Sony colleague Taryn Pray to her department at Capitol.
Pray’s exit left a hole in the Sony publicity team, which led to the hiring of Regina Stuve, albeit with a higher ranking than the one held by Pray.
In fact, the only major label Nashville media team that has remained safely intact throughout this seven-month saga is Warner Music Nashville, under the direction of Tree Paine.