My Music Row Story: Visionary Media Group’s Anastasia Brown

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Anastasia Brown. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Anastasia Brown is Chief Content Strategist at Visionary Media Group, where she heads up A&R for the label and directs the creation and allocation of all digital and physical content across all platforms for the company’s music, film, television and scoring projects.

Prior to joining VMG, Brown had carved out a path that encompasses music, film and television constructing a creative bridge between Nashville and Hollywood. With a career featuring milestones including DOVE and Emmy wins and Grammy and Oscar nominations, Brown’s traversed a three-decade career honing expertise as a music supervisor, artist manager, music publisher, film/soundtrack/TV producer, author, TV personality, A&R/label executive and content creator.

While heading up Miles Copeland’s Nashville division of Firstars Management and Ark 21 Records, Brown worked with Keith Urban, Waylon Jennings, Peter Frampton, John Berry, Junior Brown and Leon Russell in various capacities to both launch and propel their careers. Serving as distribution consultant and music supervisor for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, Brown coordinated the distribution of the documentary For the Love of Music: The Story of Nashville on ABC. As a TV music consultant for Warner Nashville, she made 27 sync placements in a six-month period, including songs by Blake Shelton, Joanna Cotton, Zac Brown Band, Brett Eldredge and Hunter Hayes.

In the production arena, Brown has developed four TV series and two films including the Sony Classics biopic on the life of Hank Williams, Sr., I Saw the Light. On the other side of the camera, Brown starred as a judge for three seasons of the USA Network talent competition Nashville Star. Brown also led the charge to grow a self-sustaining film, TV, scoring and post-production industry with the goal to work with local content creators to ensure this becomes a reality.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

Denver, Colorado. My dad was a Navy helicopter pilot. After saving seven gunned-down pilots and almost getting killed himself, he was drawn to ministry and became an Episcopal priest. So I sang in his choir all my life. I also sang in bands in high school and college. I loved everything about music but the singing in front of an audience part. That’s the part that wasn’t fun, but I loved finding the right musicians, selecting the songs and getting us gigs.

Pictured (L-R): Sting, Anastasia Brown, Waylon Jennings and Shooter Jennings in the studio. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

Did you always know you wanted to pursue music or was it more of a hobby?

With a priest as a father, I couldn’t really join a family business. I knew about listening to God’s purpose as a young age and I was so worried that God’s calling for me was to become a nun. The problem with that is I liked boys so I kept hoping and praying that my purpose involved music, writing or journalism. [Laughs]

Without any connections in those industries, I just moved to Nashville in 1990 with an open mind. Then I just kept on showing up. I got a job with Janice Wendell at Eric Ericson & Associates. Eventually the Acuff and Opryland accounts became my account, so I started getting a little closer to meeting the right people and being in the right rooms and kept showing up.

How did you get your first big break?

In ’93, I went to this ASCAP album release party with Kennedy Rose on Sting‘s label and Miles Copeland was there. I was 26. I met Miles and we had this 30 minute, high-level conversation. I was naive enough to think, “I’m going to do business with this man,” not knowing what a legend he was yet. He had been looking for someone to start a Nashville office, which I didn’t know. He was searching for someone that he could groom and he thought the same thing. I negotiated a 50-50 deal with him for the Nashville office [of Firstars Management and Ark 21 Records].

Anastasia Brown and Keith Urban at a party of Brown’s in the ’90s. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

What are some fond memories from that time?

I had loved The Police growing up. I had a couple posters in my childhood bedroom and one of them was The Police. One of the jobs Miles gave me was to exploit Sting’s catalog in Nashville. Early on, Tammy Wynette wanted to sing a song with Sting, so I had to pick him us at the airport within the first two months of working with Miles Copeland. I thought he might not be that cute in person, but he was. [Laughs]

I also got him a Waylon Jennings cut and the Toby Keith cut, “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying,” which went to No. 2. When his song went to the top of the charts with Toby, he came in for CMAs. He asked who should dress him and I said, “Manuel, of course.” It was a great experience.

Peter Frampton had moved to Nashville [around that time], so I was his day-to-day with Miles. I also worked with Junior Brown.

What was an impactful moment you had when working with Miles?

One day, one of our songwriters told me I should go check out this guy at Bluebird that night, so I went. He was from Australia, he had long blonde hair and he was playing the electric guitar at the Bluebird. It was Keith Urban with his little baby amp just wailing. Then I went to see him in his band. I called Miles and said, “I think we found the next Police, and I think it’s international.” Miles flew in within days.

Keith eventually signed to Capitol and we began that journey. Miles does this songwriting retreat at his castle in France. That’s how Keith got to know some of the The Go-Go’s, with whom he wrote his first No. 1 hit, “But For The Grace Of God.”

Those were some of the funnest times ever. It was less about the business and more about the music.

Miles Copeland and Anastasia Brown. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

What was next for you?

Eventually, Miles called me up and told me he was going to close up shop. Sting and him had parted ways after 25 years or so. I was engaged in building a home at the time. He asked if I wanted to take over without him.

While working with Miles, I would see the sync money Sting was getting, as well as the money from some films and documentaries Miles had produced. At that time in the music business, mechanicals royalties were getting really small. So we closed the company and I decided to reinvent myself do the biggest pivot of my life [into music supervision in film and TV].

I love songwriters, I’m really protective of them. I decided I was going to build this house with my husband (at the time) and give back to the city that I love. Gary Haber had this event called the Nashville Screenwriters Conference, so I joined the board. Screenwriter Les Bohem was also a founder—he and I added a music component to the Nashville Screenwriters Conference. We had T Bone Burnett come be our keynote speaker right during the O Brother, Where Art Thou? explosion.

All the people I would meet volunteering through the Screenwriters Conference would ask me about great music out of Nashville that they should use in their projects. One day Les Boem said, “Do you think you could get Emmylou Harris to record my end title for this Steven Spielberg mini series called Taken?” I paused and said, “If you hire me as your music supervisor, I will do everything I can to deliver it if the song is right for her.” I didn’t have one credit.

Randy Owen, Anastasia Brown and Blake Shelton as judges on Nashville Star. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

What an opportunity!

It was the best way to learn music supervision, because the [movie’s plot] started in 1944 and ended in current time. We used a Doris Day song in the first episode. In the ’80s, it was Jackson Browne. The music told you what year you were in, which was awesome, but I had to get creative [about licensing].

I hired Buddy Miller to produce his first track for a film or TV show with the Emmylou song as the end title. We won an Emmy. That was the beginning and I was hooked. I loved seeing money go straight to songwriters.

How did you continue to build your career as a music supervisor?

First, I had to learn the craft on the job. I didn’t want to drop the ball. As a music supervisor in TV, you’re not only creative, you also have to do the licenses. In film it’s usually separate, unless it’s an indie film. [While I was learning to] negotiate those licenses, I called Del Bryant all the time. He really helped me.

Getting jobs meant I had to spend a lot of time in LA, which means I wasn’t here as much. Sync and music supervision weren’t common words in Nashville in 2002, so I kept on going to LA to chase projects. I chased August Rush so hard for a year and a half. I just would not give up. I wanted that movie so badly.

Anastasia Brown and her late son Wilson Pruitt at the Nashville Film Festival. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

What’s one of your favorite projects you’ve gotten to work on as a music supervisor?

August Rush is one of my favorites. I worked on that with Julia Michels, who became a close friend. We did get an Oscar nomination for Best Song. The Shack is another one that I’m proud of because, thanks to Lionsgate, we got to score the entire movie at Ocean Way in Nashville. To be in that studio with 74 Nashville musicians was amazing. There were so many songs that written in Nashville for that movie and for the soundtrack.

You joined Visionary Media Group as Chief Content Strategist in 2020. Tell me about that move.

I had just finished two television series and was about to start a movie and another TV series when the pandemic hit. My projects got put on hold and I was like every touring musician in town, saying “uh-oh.”

All of a sudden I get a call from Ron Zamber, the chairman of VPEG private equity group, he and Nick Sciorra had decided to establish a media company in Nashville five years before he called me. Ron and his team had been making some calls and my name kept coming up to head up content and act as A&R for the record label within the media group. So we met and I found out he is just as purpose-driven as I am. He feels like Nashville is a culture that can be shared with the world through content. So I came on as chief content strategist. Of course I’ll continue music supervising, but I’ll co-music supervise with Andrew Weaver and some other music supervisors and composers.

What is the most fulfilling thing about what you do now?

Working with local creatives that have the same goal. We’ve created a forum of actors and producers that are creating content full-time—not as a hobby or a one-off project. This is what they want to do full-time. We’re all sharing sources and locking arms, whether we work together on a specific project or not. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Pictured (L-R): Johnathon Schaech, Cody Belew, Leigh Nash, Nick Sciorra, Anastasia Brown, Ron Zamber, O.N.E The Duo’s Prana Supreme Diggs & Tekitha Washington and Clayton Anderson. Photo: Courtesy of Brown

Who have been some of your mentors?

Miles Copeland was definitely my first. Les Bohem is my second. There’s a gaggle of girls—Dawn Solér, Laray Mayfield, Julia Michels and Frankie Pine—we are there for each other almost like a football team. If someone needs advice about Nashville, I’m here. If I need advice about something I’m not close to, I’ve got this group of girls. We all lift each other up.

What’s some of the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

My grandmother would say, “Anastasia. You have two ears and one mouth. This means you listen more than you talk.” [Laughs]

Another one is the “no’s” you say are as important as the projects you agree to do. I wish my 30 year old self knew this, but if I don’t get a project or I don’t get something I really want, I now know it wasn’t mine to begin with.

LB Cantrell
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