Industry Ink: Black River, Gene Watson, Soundstripe, Anthem
Black River Records Adds Whitney Nevitt As Marketing Manager
Whitney Nevitt
Black River Records has added a new face to its marketing team with the addition of Whitney Nevitt as Marketing Manager.
Prior to joining Black River, the Indiana University alumna worked at Premiere Networks for nearly seven years where she most recently served as the Manager, Talent and Brand Integration. In that role, Nevitt worked with Premiere Networks’ national radio shows, including The Bobby Bones Show, CMT After MidNite/CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan, and Most Requested Live with Romeo.
“Whitney brings a seasoned yet fresh approach to music marketing, and her reputation precedes her in all the best ways,” notes Black River Records’ VP of Marketing Tanya Schrage. “I can’t wait to see what she brings to the team!”
“I’m so excited to be joining the Black River team,” adds Nevitt. “Having seen firsthand through my experiences in radio the meteoric rise of Kelsea Ballerini‘s career over the years, I can’t wait to contribute to the success of the rest of their incredible roster of rising artists, including Ray Fulcher, MaRynn Taylor, and Josiah Siska. I want to thank Tanya for believing me to be the right fit for this role, and I look forward to working with her and the rest of the Black River family.”
Nevitt reports to Schrage and works out of Black River Entertainment’s Music Row offices. Reach her at [email protected] or by phone at 615-780-3070.
Gene Watson Celebrates 60 Years Of His Artistry At The Grand Ole Opry
Gene Watson with Dan Rogers, Vice President/Executive Producer, Grand Ole Opry. Photo: Stephen Shepherd
The Grand Ole Opry recently honored member and legendary vocalist Gene Watson, who is celebrating 60 years in the music business.
During a performance on April 8, Dan Rogers, Vice President/Executive Producer of the Grand Ole Opry, presented Watson with the plaque after his show-stopping rendition of “Farewell Party” to commemorate his six decades as an artist, receiving a standing ovation from the packed Opry House audience.
Watson’s single “If It’s That Easy” was released to radio in 1962 via Sun Valley Records. Since then, he has charted 75 titles including 23 top 10 hits, six No. 1 country singles and five No. 1 gospel records.
Watson will release his new album, Outside the Box, this fall, as well as hit the road throughout 2022, adding more dates to his “60th Anniversary Tour.” For a full list of tour dates, click here.
Vanessa Beeswanger Joins Soundstripe As VP, Marketing
Vanessa Beeswanger
Soundstripe, a provider of high-quality, royalty-free music, video, and sound effects for creators, has hired music and tech industry veteran Vanessa Beeswanger as VP of Marketing. In this role, she will bring her experience from Splice, Kobalt Music, Microsoft, and more, overseeing all of the company’s marketing efforts, including brand and product marketing, customer acquisition, content marketing, PR, and communications.
Prior to joining Soundstripe, Beeswanger held multiple leadership roles in both music and tech for startups and large corporations. She most recently served as VP of Marketing at Splice, a leading platform for music creators, driving all aspects of the company’s brand, product, content, and performance marketing. Previously, Beeswanger was VP of Marketing at creator-centric music company Kobalt, where she led marketing efforts for AWAL’s music distribution services, helping to position the division for its eventual acquisition by Sony Music Entertainment. Beeswanger also served at Microsoft as a Marketing Communications Manager and later, a Technical Audience Marketing Manager.
“Vanessa brings an exciting breadth of marketing experience within the creator, music, and tech space to Soundstripe, and has an exciting vision for empowering even more creators through the Soundstripe brand,” says Drew Weaver, Chief Operating Officer at Soundstripe. “Her experience leading cross-functional marketing teams will be instrumental as we continue our rapid growth by providing high-quality music, sound effects, and video clips to creators at all stages, from solo social media influencers to teams within Fortune 500 enterprises.”
“I am thrilled to join Soundstripe, as I share a deep passion for the company’s mission to ‘Keep Creators Creating,’” adds Beeswanger. “The creator economy is booming and Soundstripe has established a name for itself as a provider of high-quality music and other fully licensed media, becoming an essential resource for YouTube and Instagram creators, video filmmakers and editors, Twitch streamers, podcasters, and more. I am excited to help the brand continue to grow and expand its reach to empower even more creators worldwide.”
Anthem Hosts “Songs & Stories” Writer’s Round With Kelly Archer, Trea Landon, More
Pictured (L-R): Kelly Archer, Dan Hill, Trea Landon and Adam Hambrick
Anthem Entertainment brought together award-winning songwriters Dan Hill, Kelly Archer, Trea Landon and Adam Hambrick last Thursday (April 7) to perform at Novel Edgehill in support of the W.O Smith School of Music. The event served as part of Anthem’s “Songs & Stories” program.
Throughout the evening, over $1,500 was raised and a new songwriter mentorship program blossomed to help bring music education to underprivileged kids in the Nashville community.
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