Leadership Music Celebrates 30 Years At Anniversary Bash

Leadership Music 30th anniversary celebration. Photo: Moments by Moser Photography

Leadership Music celebrated its 30th birthday in a big way last Thursday night (June 20) with more than 500 music industry execs and their guests from around the country gathering at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium to celebrate the occasion.

Leadership Music alumni from the past 30 years attended the event, which began with acknowledgments of the organization’s Founding Council, past presidents and executive directors, and a video montage of highlights of the past three decades set to a special rewrite of Phil Vassar’s song “My Next 30 Years,” performed by Vassar.

The evening’s keynote featured SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer interviewed by Billboard magazine’s Melinda Newman. Meyer fielded questions about the future of digital music and the ever-changing landscape of issues affecting royalties paid to artists and songwriters. Afterward, War Memorial was transformed into a Vegas-style casino with poker and craps tables and roulette wheels, and attendees gambled with play money for a chance to win prizes.

“Last night hundreds of Leadership Music alumni from three decades celebrated, reminisced, and revisited all that is extraordinary about our first 30 years,” Executive Director Debbie Linn said. “A total of 920 days of meetings, phone calls and sweat equity from an amazing committee, led by co-chairs Linda Bloss-Baum and Neal Spielberg, went into planning an event worthy of a landmark anniversary. Members of our Founding Council were in attendance to be applauded and honored, as were the past presidents, facilitators and executive directors. Alumni from Montana to California to New York representing the very first class of 1990 and beyond partied alongside the incoming Class of 2020. We couldn’t be more pleased, humbled and gratified with the amazing turnout. It was definitely a one-of-a-kind moment. We can’t wait to see what’s up ahead as we begin our next 30 years.”

Founded in 1989 by 12 of the music industry’s top executives, Nashville-based Leadership Music is a non-profit educational organization providing programs designed to further communications and understanding among facets of the entertainment industry and to assist established leaders in their roles as decision makers. Leadership Music is designed to promote teamwork, camaraderie and dialogue among industry leaders, expand the talent pool of leadership in the community, and expose class participants to varying points of view and philosophies.

Leadership Music 30th anniversary party. Photo: Moments by Moser Photography

Leadership Music 30th anniversary celebration. Photo: Ed Rode

Leadership Music 30th anniversary party. Photo: Moments by Moser Photography

Leadership Music 30th anniversary party. Photo: Moments by Moser Photography

Leadership Music 30th anniversary celebration, class of 2003. Photo: Ed Rode

Leadership Music 30th anniversary celebration. Photo: Ed Rode

Leadership Music 30th anniversary celebration. Photo: Moments by Moser Photography

Leadership Music Class of 2016. Photo: Ed Rode

Leadership Music Class of 2009. Photo: Ed Rode

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at [email protected].

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