Empire Nashville Ups Heather Vassar & Sarah Beth Gerlecz, Adds Hannah Galluzzi

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Heather Vassar, Sarah-Beth Gerlecz and Hannah Galluzzi

Independent record label, publisher and distributor Empire has appointed Heather Vassar to Senior Vice President of Operations and Sarah Beth Gerlecz as Director of Business and Legal Affairs.

Additionally, the company has hired Hannah Galluzzi as Director of A&R. She arrives at Empire after a six-year stint in the A&R department at Universal Music Group Nashville, where she worked with Sam Hunt, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block and Jordan Davis.

Vassar will continue to spearhead Empire Nashville releases and expand its roster. Gerlecz remains the key dealmaker for Empire Nashville’s Label and Publishing divisions. Galluzzi will play a key role in the relationships and development of artists and release strategy.

“I’m really excited to continue spearheading & growing the team with EMPIRE,” Vassar shares. “We have been investing in Nashville for several years in creating a more synergistic ecosystem that is artist led and globally focused. To see the benefits of this approach on such a monumental level with Beyoncé choosing to work with our artists on four tracks and continuing the rise with Shaboozey’s ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ entering Billboard‘s Hot 100 at No. 3 is so rewarding to the patience, persistence and teamwork across the globe from our team.

“We are at the forefront of breaking down barriers and making history in country music, it’s in our DNA,” she adds. “Adding Hannah to our team has only solidified our position with her expertise and experience with high caliber talent.”

Over the past year, Vassar has led Empire Nashville to exponential growth, adding 10 artists to the label roster. Most recently, the company celebrated two rising acts, Shaboozey and Reyna Roberts, being featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album. Shaboozey also shared his latest single “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which cracked 3 million streams in just 24 hours and now boasts 65 million streams globally. The company recently partnered with Magnolia Music Group for the promotion of “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” to country radio.

Empire Nashville has also signed Texas native and rising recording artist Don Louis to its label and publishing division and will release the first project from Willie Jones—another rising country artist featured on Cowboy Carter.

LB Cantrell
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