My Music Row Story: Concord Music Publishing’s Melissa Spillman

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Melissa Spillman

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.

Melissa Spillman is VP of A&R at Concord Music Publishing. In her role, Spillman is responsible for signing and developing new and established songwriters and artists as well as placing songs with major recording artists.

She started her career at Dreamcatcher Entertainment, which led to a seven-year stint in A&R at Capitol Records. After that she headed up renowned producer Jay Joyce’s Neon Cross Music as Head of Publishing & Production. From there, she started her own company, Freetown Music, where she oversaw the creative development and management of artists, producers and songwriters until she was tapped by Concord Music Publishing to become their VP of A&R in 2021. Beyond her work in music, Spillman proudly started a nonprofit organization called Wan Fambul Foundation, which strives to support children and their families in Sierra Leone, West Africa, the birthplace of three of her sons.

She resides in Franklin with her songwriter/producer/author husband Jeremy, four sons and their dog Canyon. You can find her cheering on her sons who play football for the University of Tennessee and Franklin High School this fall.

Spillman will be honored as part of the current class of MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row on March 19. For more details about the class and the event, click here.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Texas. I was born in Dallas and spent most of my childhood in Waco, but went to high school in El Paso.

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

Were you into music?

I was. Texas was a special place to grow up because we had our own genre, Texas country. Especially when I was in high school and college, that was something that we were all very proud of. We embraced that and lived that lifestyle with artists like Pat Green, Cory Morrow and Roger Krieger. Going to University of Texas in Austin, it was like Nashville in that you could go see a live show every night if you wanted to.

I always loved music. When I was growing up, my family would have to drive from Waco to New Mexico every summer. It was like a 12 hour drive. My dad had this collection of cassette tapes that had the top 60 of every week from 1955 through 1965, so 10 years of some of the biggest hits of all different genres. He would make us listen to that the whole drive and, looking back, it was such a musical education. I didn’t know that there was a music business, though, until I got into college.

How did you figure that out?

My roommate saw a listing for an internship at a record label in the school newspaper. Pharrell Williams had an imprint at Arista Records for punk ska music. I did that internship and it was enough for me to know I wanted to do this.

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

I came up to Nashville after my junior year to intern at Dualtone Records and Universal South Records. I got to see the mainstream, commercial, big-money side of music and the blood, sweat and tears side of music. I loved and appreciated both. I came back to Austin and finished school with my BBA in marketing and a minor in finance. About two months after I graduated, I moved to Nashville.

What happened when you got here?

I took a job at J. Alexander’s and started interviewing. Being a business school graduate at the University of Texas, you’re schooled on how to do interviews, how to dress, how to behave and how to do your resume, so I came to Music Row in a suit with printed out copies of my resume, eye contact and a firm handshake. I think I scared people. [Laughs] I didn’t get a job for about three months, which felt like an eternity.

One day, I got a call from Kenny Rogers‘ management company called Dreamcatcher. I had interviewed with them and they had gone in another direction, but then they called me about two weeks later and said, “Do you still want the job?” I said, “Sure!” After I’d worked there for a little while, I asked why they didn’t pick me first. My boss said, “We just thought you were overqualified. You rolled in wearing a suit and had your resume printed. We were like, ‘This chick is gonna be miserable here.'” [Laughs]

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

What was working at Dreamcatcher like?

It was a really great experience, getting to see all facets of the business. Kenny was a top notch human. He took care of his people. I started as a receptionist making $21,000 a year. I answered phones, collected the mail and would run errands. Probably two or three months in, they moved me to the back to sit with the managers and I became an assistant manager, which was so much fun. I was pitching songs to Kenny and the managers, going on photo shoots, helping pick out clothes for the artists and going to shows. It was a blast.

What was next?

Kenny was signed to Capitol Records at the time, so that’s how I met the team at Capitol. They had a position open up in marketing, so after about a year and a half at the management company, I moved over to marketing under Fletcher Foster. I was there for about six months before I begged my way into an A&R role. I was in A&R at Capitol for almost seven years.

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

What was transitioning into that kind of job like?

I think I was doing A&R before I knew what A&R was, which is a theme among people who end up working in that field. I just knew I wanted to be closer to the songs. Their A&R Coordinator ended up leaving just a few months after I started, and I got along with everybody in the A&R department, so they allowed me to move over. It was just a dream job. I got to listen to songs all day long. I got to do pitch meetings and meetings with artists.

We had Eric Church, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Lady A, Little Big Town, Jon Pardi, Trace Adkins and Brothers Osborne. We only had 30 to 35 employees, so we were doing so well with such a small team. It was so much fun.

What are some songs that you worked on during that time that stick out in your memory?

I remember the night I heard “Downtown.” Natalie Hemby performed it as part of a Creative Nation show, and I sent it to Lady A. They ended up cutting it and it was a big hit. I heard “Drink A Beer” by Chris Stapleton, and it was right around the time that Luke [Bryan] had lost his brother. I was not at Capitol by the time he recorded it, but I remember sending it to him and his team.

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

How did you transition out of that job?

That door was closed for me, which is always hard. I was let go when Capitol merged with Universal. Because it was such a tight-knit team and because it was kind of my first “big girl job” that I really spent a lot of time at, it was tough, but it was also right when we were trying to adopt three kids from Sierra Leone.

I now know I was never going to close that door myself. I firmly believe God had to close that door for me. Otherwise, I never would’ve been able to effectively adopt three children and then be the kind of parent that they needed me to be. That launched me into both motherhood and entrepreneurialism.

Those are two huge journeys to embark on at the same time. What was next for you?

About 15 months after I was let go, I started working with Jay Joyce and started a publishing company with him, Neon Cross Music. That was awesome. He gave me the flexibility to work from home quite a bit and be there for family stuff while being a part of a career like his that was just massive. He was in the studio with Carrie Underwood one week, Halestorm the next week and then Kelly Clarkson and Zac Brown Band. That was a really fun place to be.

We did the publishing company as a joint venture with Warner Chappell, so I got to know Ben Vaughn, Phil May and a lot of people on that team. Ben and Phil in particular were so instrumental in teaching me about publishing.

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

Jay worked out of a big studio church in East Nashville. That’s where he recorded all the music. At the time, we had anywhere from four to five writers. My husband, Jeremy Spillman, was writing over there. We had Brandon Lancaster and Devin Dawson—there were so many different kinds of music going on in that building. It was a special time.

What was the next step?

Jay got tired of being in business. He just wanted to be able to do music and not have to worry about stuff, so we parted ways. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I was meeting writers and artists that were so talented and didn’t have anybody to work with them, so I ended up having some producers that I managed, some writers that I did a joint venture publishing deal with and then I had a couple of artists that I managed.

I did my own thing for about two or three years when Brad Kennard, who I’d known for years, called me one day and said, “Hey, we’re growing the team. You want to consider coming to Concord?” I said “Yes!”

Photo: Courtesy of Spillman

What do you love about your job now?

I’ve been given a really unique opportunity to combine a lot of my experience into this role, which is a lot of mainstream country music and then a lot of non-country stuff. Suddenly, we find Texas country is so popular. It’s all this beautiful amalgamation of what I’m doing now.

Personally, I cannot get over the development bug. From the very beginning, I’ve been drawn to the baby writers and baby artists. I just have a love for them and a patience with them. Not that they’re extra demanding, I just feel like I have a skill to give them time and space that they need and help be a partner to them. The most fulfilling thing that I do, and that I’ve always done, is being a part of the discovery and then being that partner to help them achieve success. Being able to work with a human being and see them blown away by what they get to do and be positive and grateful for that—it just inspires me to be so positive and grateful for this career.

Who have been some of your mentors?

I always say Autumn House-Tallant raised me. For the last two or three years at Capitol, it was just her and I in A&R. We were as thick as thieves. She was always so supportive of me and encouraging. We also bonded over relationships and eventually kids—she was like a big sister to me.

Ben Vaughn and Phil May were mentors too. I would ask them pretty elementary questions in the beginning, and they had so much patience in sitting me down and explaining things to me.

Brad Kennard is the best. He’s the best boss. He’s so positive, and he’s a team guy. He’s all about encouraging us to do what we’re passionate about, which may be way different than the next person on our team, but he celebrates that diversity in taste and music.

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

Stop taking it so personally. Along those lines, Autumn used to say, “You think way more about yourself than anybody else thinks about you. That person who you’re concerned with how they feel about you, they’re way too busy thinking about themselves to be spending that much time on you.” That was a great perspective.

You will be honored at next week’s Rising Women on the Row ceremony. What advice would you give young women who want to be where you are one day?

There’s been a handful of young women who have asked me, “How do you balance it all with kids, family and work?” I always tell them, “I don’t. When you think someone is, they’re just having a really good day.”

I want people to know that on the days they don’t have it together: welcome to club. For me, I’ve had a smoother path the past year or so, but it has been a rocky road. It was hard juggling it all. It was very rare that I felt like I was crushing it at work and crushing it at home on the same day. It usually was one or the other. I feel like sharing that with young women gives them permission to not put that expectation on themselves.

LB Cantrell
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