Skip Ewing (c) with The Kinkead Entertainment Agency’s Bob Kinkead (l) and Greg Scott (r). Photo: Keith Griner

Skip Ewing has signed with The Kinkead Entertainment Agency for booking.

The Music City Grand Prix announced today (Jan. 26) the formation of its inaugural advisory board. Musicians Kix Brooks and John Oates were named as members of the board.  CAA’s Rod Essig, Vector Management’s Ken Levitan, and Nashville Predators/Bridgestone Arena’s David Kells also represent the Nashville music business on the inaugural board.

The Music City Grand Prix Advisory Board aims to bring to life a best-in-class festival, featuring racing, food and music, this coming August. Ultimately, this volunteer board’s goal is to position The Music City Grand Prix as a mainstay in the Nashville sports and entertainment landscape, creating an annual event. The three-day festival is scheduled for August 6-8, 2021 in Nashville.

The inaugural Music City Grand Prix Advisory Board leaders:
– Kix Brooks, Hall of Fame Singer/Songwriter and Entertainer
– Heather Brown, PhD, Professor, MTSU School of Concrete and Construction Management
– Toby Compton, Deputy Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, Chairperson of the Nashville Sports Council
– Chaz Corzine, Partner, The MWS Group
– Yuri Cunza, President & CEO, Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
– Rod Essig, Co-Head, CAA Nashville
– Jenneen Kaufman, SVP & CFO, Tennessee Titans/Nissan Stadium
– Monica Fawknotson, Executive Director, Nashville Sports Authority
– Shan Foster, VP External Affairs, YWCA, Executive Director of Amend Together
– Harrison Frist, President of Market Operations, NaviHealth
– Rose Grindstaff, President, G&M Consulting
– Don Hardin, President & CEO, Don Hardin Group Construction
– David Kells, EVP, Entertainment and Venues, Nashville Predators/Bridgestone Arena
– Ken Levitan, Co-President, Vector Management
– John Oates, Hall of Fame Singer/Songwriter, Racing Enthusiast

“We are grateful for the support of our advisory board and look forward to working with them to host an incredible event in August that showcases Music City as an international sporting and entertainment destination,” said Christian Parker, president of the Music City Grand Prix. “Every board member has an established track record of success. More importantly, they have also made an impact in our community, through outreach, engagement, and charitable endeavors, making Music City a better place to live, work, and play for all Nashvillians. We are proud to work closely with them on charitable initiatives, such as affordable housing, child wellness and STEM programs that will provide a positive, long-term impact on our community.”

Several live entertainment companies joined together in a letter to President Biden, formally offering their venues, staff, and expertise to the COVID-19 vaccination effort.

The companies included in the letter are: AEG, Bandit Lites, Broadway League, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Live Nation, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Oak View Group (OVG), and We Make Events.

With thousands of empty venues throughout America, and furloughed staff, these companies feel that they are up to the task of acting as vaccination centers.

“While we have been effectively shuttered by the pandemic, we have vast resources that, if fully utilized, could provide invaluable mechanisms in our country’s vaccine distribution. In fact because we are shuttered, we are able to offer the full weight of our industry to support vaccine distribution beginning immediately,” the letter reads.

The letter, dated Jan. 26, 2021, is in full below:

Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations to you and Vice President Harris on an inauguration signifying the unity and hope necessary to move America forward. As you set about achieving the ambitious goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in 100 days, we wish to offer the full support and resources of the live event industry. We share your vision of expedient, equitable, and widespread vaccine distribution. It is our duty, as businesses rooted in communities across the nation, to do our part to set America on a positive path during this time of crisis. We stand ready to work with Federal and State governments to save lives and get America back to work and school.

We represent businesses, workers and entertainers that make up the majority of the live event industry. While we have been effectively shuttered by the pandemic, we have vast resources that, if fully utilized, could provide invaluable mechanisms in our country’s vaccine distribution. In fact because we are shuttered, we are able to offer the full weight of our industry to support vaccine distribution beginning immediately.

We are here to help. In fact, many venues are already working on the State and Local level to implement vaccine programs. Our industry has thousands of venues throughout America that are under mandated closures and sitting empty. Event venues make ideal community vaccination sites: they are located in most urban, suburban and rural communities, often near transit lines and with easy access to parking. Our interiors are clear span with bright work lights and empty standard refrigeration systems. Due to the nature of our business, our buildings and workforce are accustomed to patron queuing and crowd management.

Live events is one of the best prepared, best equipped, most experienced industries in America to manage and control large crowds in a rapid, organized fashion. Moving people in, out, and around a public gathering space swiftly and safely is the foundation of our industry. Additionally, our familiarity using ticketing systems for advanced notification, timed entry and crowd management can greatly improve patient experience before and during vaccination as well as on-site management. There are several thousand companies in the live event industry which own the equipment and infrastructure required to build vaccination sites. An estimated 95% of live events industry businesses and workers have lost nearly 100% of their revenue, and are ready and willing to get to work immediately. These organizations can design, deliver, and manage the infrastructure as well as the people needed to staff them.

We have been closed for nearly one full year to protect public health. Please let us now go to work to protect public health. We share your goal to get America back to work, school and in gathering places of all kinds quickly and safely. We are ready to meet to discuss how we can help as soon as you and your staff are able.”

Sourav Nayak

Soundstripe, a provider of unlimited, royalty-free music, stock video, and sound effects for use in videos, podcasts, and other media projects, has brought aboard Sourav Nayak as Vice President of Finance.

In his new role, he will be overseeing the Nashville-based company’s financial strategy, capital raising, product pricing, financial planning and analysis, and treasury, reporting to Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Micah Sannan and Travis Terrell.

Prior to Soundstripe, Nayak was Vice President of Finance at Arcadia, a clean energy start-up focused on providing members access to clean and sustainable energy sources through an underlying single energy bill. During his time at Arcadia, Nayak helped raise over $60 million in capital to help finance the growth of the company. Before joining Arcadia in 2018, Nayak spent six years at WGL Holdings, where he was a Director within the Corporate Development group. During his time there, he led structured finance transactions totaling over $400 million, supporting the development of solar projects. Nayak also previously held positions at Nova Capital Partners, in the Treasury and Proprietary Lending groups at American Express, and as a Senior Consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. Nayak holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and BS in Engineering from the University of Maryland.

“Growing almost 5,000% in three years and landing in the Inc. 2020 Top 5 fastest-growing private media companies was a huge accomplishment and a wild ride, and at the same time, has really highlighted the need for a strong leader over our financial team who is familiar with handling this kind of exponential growth,” said Co-Founders and Co-CEO, Sannan. “With 20 years of experience in corporate finance and investments, investment banking, financial strategy, and capital raising verticals for high-growth industries, Travis and I knew Sourav was the right person to support Soundstripe as we continue to find new ways to build our creative community.”

“I was impressed with how much Soundstripe had achieved in just four years of operation, from building the music product, expanding that into podcasts and gaming, and then adding stock video late last year,” said Nayak. “Having raised $6 million in Series A funds from Vocap Investment Partners and Craft Ventures in 2019, I look forward to working with Micah and Travis to support Soundstripe’s continued expansion.”

Stan Barnett

Veteran agent Stan Barnett has joined APA Nashville. Jim Gosnell, CEO of APA, announced Barnett’s addition Tuesday (Jan. 26).

“Stan’s incredible knowledge, expertise and devotion for all things country music only begins to enumerate the many qualities that make him one of the most successful and valued agents in our industry,” says Gosnell. “I’m very excited about the transformation taking place in Nashville and its evolution into a multi-faceted microcosm of the music business, with substantial opportunities for artists to pursue cross-over platforms. The goal at APA Nashville is to continue our full-service representation of that arena, and having an agent like Stan join our talented team is paramount to that agenda as we usher in a new era with a reinforced commitment to excellence.”

Barnett was previously with Creative Artists Agency, where he signed Lady A, Brandy Clark, Joe Nichols, and bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley during his 21-year tenure. He was also instrumental in launching the agency’s Fair & Festival department.

A longtime member of the Country Music Association, The Academy of Country Music, The International Buyers Association and The Nashville Association of Talent Directors, Barnett also serves on the Board of Directors for Stars and Stripes. His achievements have earned him many industry honors, including the NATD Talent Agent of the Year award and two IEBA Talent Agent of the Year awards.