My Music Row Story: Riser House Entertainment’s Jennifer Johnson

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Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer Johnson never intended to have a career in the music industry. President of Riser House Entertainment, Johnson spent several years as an analytical chemist working at a chemical plant. After her childhood home burned to the ground, she started working at age nine for her uncle, who owned a machine shop in Louisiana. For a time following the fire, she lived in her family’s tractor shed with a dirt floor and no running water.

Johnson was interested in music initially as a songwriter and quickly learned she had a greater love of music publishing. She finally made the move to Nashville to work as an independent song plugger.

In 2008, Johnson launched the publishing company, The Song Factory. The first artist-writer she signed was Jon Pardi. Dustin Lynch, Ashley McBryde and Dillon Carmichael followed.

Riser House Entertainment was launched in 2017 by co-founders Matt Swanson, Mitchell Tenpenny and Johnson with the goal to create music that stands the test of time. Since its formation, the company has blossomed into a full-service record label and publishing house. Riser House Entertainment has amassed more than four billion combined on-demand streams, 11 No. 1 songs, and participated in over 20 RIAA-certified Gold or Platinum singles and albums.

Riser House’s roster includes Tenpenny, Carmichael, Meghan Patrick, LANCO, Stephen Day, The Wldlfe, Ash Ruder and COILER. Both Tenpenny and Carmichael are also signed to the company’s publishing umbrella, alongside Michael Whitworth, Dallas Wilson, Jake Mitchell, Aaron Armstorng and Chandler Baldwin.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Rayville, Louisiana. It’s a tiny town with just one stoplight. Funny enough, it was only one town over from where Lainey Wilson grew up. My dad was a bricklayer and my mom was a dietician.

When I was about nine, our house burned down. After that, we moved into a tractor shed with a dirt floor, an outhouse in the woods—my dad would build fires outside for heat. My family never really recovered financially, so I started working in my uncle’s machine shop at nine years old.

I ended up starting college at 16 and graduated with a chemistry degree, minoring in math and physics.

Wow. Tell me about that.

I worked as an analytical chemist at a small chemical plant in Louisiana called Angus, which was a subsidiary of Dow. I thought I was headed toward medical school, but once I got married and started having kids, I realized the medical field wouldn’t allow me the time I wanted with my family. So I stayed home, still did some chemistry work, and that’s when I started writing songs.

I joined a local Country Music Showdown, got connected with the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) in New Orleans, and met songwriter Jim McCormick. He sent me a pitch sheet listing artists like George Strait and Keith Urban who were looking for songs.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

So I cold-called every single record label on that sheet, asking for meetings to pitch songs from the writers I’d met. Shockingly, I got meetings with everyone I called.

And then you were in the music business!

Through Jim, I got more pitch sheets and started calling every producer and label listed. Rusty Gaston was running a publishing company called The Song Garden then, and when I brought him songs, he told me, “If you have all these meetings, don’t just bring good songs. Bring great ones. First impressions matter.”

So I called every songwriter I knew and ended up with hundreds of songs. I listened to each one—just verse and chorus—and narrowed it down to eight songs on a single CD.

My first big meeting was at Capitol Records with Larry Willoughby. He actually put several songs on hold, and I didn’t even know what a “hold” was at the time. I just knew I needed my CD back because I had nine more meetings that week! [Laughs]

But that’s how it started. I wasn’t officially a publisher yet—I was just representing other catalogs and pitching songs independently.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

How did you become a publisher, officially?

Eventually, I met this guy from Arkansas who had written with a new songwriter in town, a kid from California named Jon Pardi. He came to my office, stomped his boots on the floor, played me his songs, and I thought, “This guy is a force.”

I told him, “I’m starting a publishing company. Want to be my first writer?” He said yes, and he even named the company: The Song Factory. That was the official start of my career as a music publisher.

Because I had been representing hit writers for a while, I was able to connect him with the right co-writers. That only amplified what he was already doing and helped him write even more songs in a shorter amount of time.

Tell me about building The Song Factory.

I started signing writers like Bart Butler, who was writing with Jon. Bart later became Jon’s producer for several albums. We were also working with early-career artists like Ashley McBryde and Dustin Lynch.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

Soon you started Riser House Entertainment.

Someone brought me a CD of this artist with a voice unlike anything I’d ever heard. It was Mitchell Tenpenny. At first, he wasn’t sure if he was really an artist, he thought of himself more as a songwriter. Once I heard him, I said, “Oh no, you are absolutely an artist.”

Mitchell introduced me to Matt Swanson, a gentleman from California who had believed in him from the start. Matt was in agriculture—totally down to earth—and when we met, I knew he wasn’t in this just to make a buck. He was passionate, like this was a calling.

Together, we launched Riser House almost 10 years ago. We started with publishing—our first writer was Michael Whitworth, then Dallas Wilson, who now has hits with Lainey Wilson and Dylan Scott. We also secured publishing with Mitchell himself.

At the very beginning, it was just me, Jason Van Auken, and three interns. Those interns have since gone on to do incredible things in the music industry, which has been so rewarding to watch. It’s not just the artists whose careers we’ve been able to help build—it’s the young people behind the scenes too.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

You guys have really scaled your business in the last few years. What do you see for the company in the next five or 10?

We’re a boutique music company, and that’s intentional. We’re not chasing market share or algorithms or trends. Of course, we want to be a successful business—but our passion starts with the music. We want to help artists achieve whatever their goals are: Grammys, sold-out arenas, stadium tours or simply leaving a positive mark on the culture. I think if we stay committed to that, we will be successful.

What is your favorite part of your job now?

Oh gosh—there’s so much. I’ve had to learn everything from radio to record promotion, which was brand new for me coming from publishing. Watching the whole journey—from working with songwriters early on, to seeing artists record albums, get record deals, build fan bases, go on tour, form brand partnerships, and eventually sell out arenas—it’s been unbelievable.

I’ve learned that you can want it so badly for an artist, you can make all these brilliant plans, but at the end of the day, sometimes you’re simply part of a bigger journey. I truly believe God places you there, and if you’re fortunate enough to play even a small role, that’s a gift. My job is to be the best steward of that journey I can be.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

Is there anything from your chemistry background that you bring into what you do now?

In a philosophical sense, yes. There’s an alchemy to the music business—to how people work together. Watching writers like Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson, and Trannie Anderson come together was pure magic. Sometimes your role is just to help artists and writers find each other and create that spark.

Do you have any mentors who have helped you along the way?

Absolutely. My first mentor was Joe Boyland, who brokered catalogs and taught me everything about publishing on the backend like royalties, contracts, deals. That knowledge gave me the confidence to start my own company.

I never studied music business formally, so Joe was my crash course in the business side of the industry. He also taught me to be fair and keep my word no matter what.

There have been so many others I could call for advice over the years—Jon Loba, Scott Borchetta, Bill Mayne. I’ve been fortunate to have people willing to give their time and guidance.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnson

What’s a moment your younger self would find surreal?

Growing up in Louisiana, things were hard. We could have never afforded concert tickets. People worked long, blue-collar hours and talked about artists like Garth Brooks, but most never got to see a show.

Now, I get to experience music from the inside—whether it’s hearing a brand-new song in the writing room, watching Jon Pardi sell out his first arena, seeing Mitchell Tenpenny play to a crowd singing every word, or celebrating when our writers are nominated for Grammys.

I always remind myself: I have a ticket now. I’m not on the outside hearing about the show on Monday morning. I’m part of it, and I thank God for that every day.

What advice would you give someone who’s in a completely different career but wants to break into the music business?

Sometimes it’s a calling. You don’t have to know everything—or anything, really. If you feel that excitement, that passion, lean in and follow the joy. Jump in. The rest will come.

LB Cantrell
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