Capitol Christian Music Group Hosts First-Ever Partner Summit

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Pictured (L-R): Gary Kelly, Becca Redl, David Sylvester, Mandy Young, Cole Linebarger, Lauren Stellato, Candice Watkins, Kenny Rodgers, Emily Dashiell, Margaret Hart, Tim Foisset, Brad O’Donnell, Walter Thomas and Rodney Jerkins. Photo: Becca Mitchell

Capitol Christian Music Group hosted its first-ever Partner Summit in Nashville last week for managers, label partners and industry stakeholders.

The afternoon included candid conversations on the state of the Christian and gospel genre, with panels and perspectives focused on emerging trends and consumer behaviors. Topics included artist-first marketing, streaming, publishing, short form video, the changing role of radio and more.

“This is something we’ve been dreaming about and planning since we moved into our new building and studios,” CCMG President Brad O’Donnell said as he welcomed everyone. “We wanted to gather our key partners and industry stakeholders to discuss the future of our business and how we can better work together to help artists reach new levels of success. 2025 has been a transformative year for our industry and for our company. There is unprecedented growth happening in our market right now – the Christian genre is outpacing most others, and our fanbase is getting broader and getting younger.”

Breakout artist Josiah Queen also made a surprise appearance to close out the summit just before his Capitol debut “Mt. Zion” released last week. Leading up to the new release, Queen has seen over 140 million streams on singles, and 344 million short form video views, with a focus track from the album “Dusty Bibles” increasing his followers by over 600K. At radio, Queen’s first single, “Can’t Steal My Joy” has already reached No. 5 at Christian radio.

Summit speakers included key partners Jody Gerson (CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group), Gary Kelly (General Manager/CRO, Interscope Capitol), Rodney Jerkins (Songwriter Hall of Famer & CEO, Evolve Music Group), Tim Foisset (Head of Label Partnerships, Nashville and Canada, Spotify), Margaret Hart (Head of Nashville Label & Industry Partnerships, YouTube), Lauren Stellato (Programming Lead, Christian & Gospel, Amazon Music), and Mandy Young (SVP, Radio, K-LOVE & Air1). Becca Redl (VP, Marketing, CCMG) and Cole Linebarger (VP, Marketing, CCMG) also spoke on CCMG’s commitment to artist first marketing.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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