MusicRow Announces 2023 Rising Women On The Row Honorees
MusicRow is proud to reveal the honorees for its 10th annual Rising Women on the Row celebration. This year’s ceremony will honor six female executives who are making a significant impact on Nashville’s country music industry.
City National Bank and Loeb & Loeb are Presenting Sponsors for the 2023 Rising Women on the Row, which will take place at the Omni Nashville Hotel on the morning of March 23.
River House Artists President & Founder, Lynn Oliver-Cline, will be the featured speaker at the event. Attendees will be treated to insights from Oliver-Cline during an on-stage interview with MusicRow Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson.
Tickets are now closed and will not be sold at the door.
This year’s honorees include:
Stacy Blythe – SVP of Promotion, Big Loud Records
Leading Big Loud Records in achieving 14 No. 1 singles in seven years of business, Stacy Blythe is a vital part of the ever-changing game of radio promotion, storming right out of the gate in 2015 with the label’s first-ever single release, and driving it to the top of the charts for then-newcomer Chris Lane’s Gold breakout, “Fix.” As SVP of Promotion, she spearheads a team of 10, securing and maximizing airplay for the label’s roster, including Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Lauren Alaina, Hardy, MacKenzie Porter, Ernest, Hailey Whitters, Ben Burgess, Larry Fleet, Lily Rose, Ashley Cooke, and Jake Worthington. She has contributed to the Big Loud roster earning multiple Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum certifications and accounting for more than 17 billion global streams to date, making Big Loud Records the Billboard Hot Country Songs label of the year for the last two years. The Pittsburgh native is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with other notable career stops at Category 5 Records, 1720 Entertainment, and Stoney Creek Records.
Martha Earls – Owner and Manager, Neon Coast
Martha Earls founded and leads entertainment company Neon Coast. Through its management division, Neon Coast represents a diverse slate of multi-Platinum selling, critically acclaimed talent including Kane Brown, Restless Road, Dylan Schneider, Nightly, Feather and others. Its in-house production company—Demasiado—has been honored with CMT and ACM Awards and produced content for top entertainment brands. The company also oversees 1021 Entertainment—a joint label venture between Neon Coast, client Kane Brown and Sony Music Nashville—which serves as an incubator where developing artists can grow within a supportive environment. Earls started her career with a successful run in music publishing. Alongside Mike Molinar, the Pennsylvania native helped start the company that would become Big Machine Music. From there she went on to work with and learn from some of the biggest names in the industry, both execs and artists, before discovering Kane Brown online and beginning her work in artist management.
Beth Hamilton – Agent, WME
Beth Hamilton is a seasoned veteran in the music industry and has been with WME since 2016. In her role as an agent, she manages the daily touring opportunities for multiple artists, including Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, The Cadillac Three, Caylee Hammack, Caitlyn Smith and others. Prior to being an agent, Hamilton began her career working at music venues—notably the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, Georgia—before joining the former William Morris Agency as an assistant booking the Northeast territory. In 2008, she transitioned into artist management at Modern Management working with Josh Turner, Sara Evans and Diamond Rio before returning to the agency side of the business in 2016 to work alongside WME Nashville office co-head Jay Williams. Outside of being a respected agent, she actively volunteers her time supporting the Women of Endeavor mentorship program and offering career guidance to young females aspiring to make an impact in the music business.
Jackie Jones – SVP, Artist and Industry Relations, RIAA
Jackie Jones is the SVP, Artist and Industry Relations for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and serves as the organization’s chief representative in Nashville. Bringing together artists, managers, labels, venues, and creator advocacy groups, Jones works every day to deepen, understand and enrich personal and professional ties throughout every segment of the music community. Jones not only works to elevate creators across genres nationwide, but also serves as a conduit for the D.C. world of copyright reform, trade negotiations, and local creative industry policymaking. Just as RIAA’s D.C. team builds consensus and forges ahead for a unified music community approach to industry policy challenges and a healthy long-term music ecosystem, Jones does the same throughout the music community. She regularly produces educational and music community outreach events, as well as national Gold & Platinum certification plaque presentations that recognize artist and label excellence. Jones also works closely with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Musicians On Call, Family Alliance in Music (FAM) and the TSU Music Business Accelerator program. Prior to joining the RIAA, Jones was Director of Music and Talent for CMT.
Brittany Schaffer – Head of Nashville Label Partnerships, Music Strategy, Spotify
As Head of Nashville Label Partnerships, Music Strategy, Brittany Schaffer co-leads Spotify’s Music Team in Nashville, with responsibility for setting the vision of the team and cultivating and nurturing industry partnerships across the greater Nashville market. Schaffer co-leads the development and execution of Spotify’s global strategy to grow the country, Christian/Gospel, and Americana genres, and has been a leader in an era-defining shift in country music consumption habits. Her work includes the transformation and marketing of the flagship playlists Hot Country and Indigo, bringing country music to fans through Spotify’s annual four-day activation at CMA Fest, extending the St. Jude t-shirt campaign into streaming, and ongoing global artist marketing campaigns. Schaffer has also been instrumental in strategically acquiring and retaining an impressive team to meaningfully bolster Spotify’s presence in the Nashville market and has built a culture of teamwork and collaboration that fuels Spotify’s partnerships across Nashville. Outside of Spotify, Schaffer is a highly engaged board member of CMA, CRB, and St. Jude Country Cares. Prior to joining Spotify in January 2018, Schaffer spent more than seven years practicing law in the Entertainment Department of Loeb & Loeb, LLP, where she was Senior Legal Counsel.
Anna Weisband – VP of A&R, Sony Music Publishing
As VP of A&R at Sony Music Publishing, Anna Weisband manages the daily songwriting strategy for a stellar roster including Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Cole Swindell, Chris Young, Lainey Wilson, Emily Weisband, Josh Kear and MacKenzie Porter. A graduate of Belmont University, Weisband began her career as a THiS Music intern, and quickly established herself as a young executive on Music Row. Later in her career, Weisband began carrying out A&R duties including talent discovery, collaboration creation, artist management, and song placement for the company’s roster of 14 award-winning songwriters, producers, and artists, including two-time ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Ben Hayslip, Hall of Fame songwriter Tim Nichols, and Emily Weisband. In 2017 Weisband was promoted to Vice President at THiS Music at the age of 23, a position she earned after five years at the Warner Chappell joint venture, led by co-owner/General Manager Rusty Gaston. When Gaston joined Sony Music Publishing in 2020, Weisband followed, becoming VP of Creative.
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