Heather Vassar. Photo: Sam Frawley
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.
Heather Vassar serves as Senior Vice President of EMPIRE and brings over a decade of experience in the music industry to her role. With a Master’s degree in business specializing in marketing, Vassar’s career commenced at UMG Nashville, where she initially excelled in digital marketing. Over six years, she advanced to spearheading strategic initiatives and research, focusing on optimizing release workflows and leveraging competitive advantages. Her contributions led to pioneering analyses and innovations that shaped the industry. Notably, Vassar contributed to digital strategy for renowned artists such as George Strait, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban.
In 2019, she was tapped by EMPIRE to establish and elevate their Nashville division. Here, Vassar plays a pivotal role in operations, marketing and promoting EMPIRE’s presence in Music City, steering strategies for a diverse roster, including record-breaking artist Shaboozey, Wyatt Flores, Niko Moon, Sophia Scott, Don Louis, Reyna Roberts, Tenille Arts and Randy Houser. She oversees all facets of label operations, artist signings, marketing plans, release strategies and development in addition to driving digital marketing initiatives, pioneering efforts in Web3 and managing key partnerships with sales and streaming platforms.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in west Texas. I was born and raised in a really small town, my parents and grandparents are still there. I got my undergraduate degree at Texas Tech in Lubbock, which is about two hours from home.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
What did you study?
Marketing. I was big into sports growing up, and I went to Tech to play softball. I come from an accounting family, so they advised me to go to the business school. I thought, “I won’t do accounting, that sounds miserable, but I could do marketing and management. That’s way better than accounting.”
How did music come into play?
I’ve always been a big music fan. When I was young, I could hear a commercial and could sing the jingle back. My parents noticed that early on, but I was really into sports so I focused on that. I participated in music at church and I took piano lessons, but I didn’t know that music could be a career.
When I quit playing softball at Tech, I picked up guitar and started playing in a band. All of my electives were music courses and songwriting classes. I knew it was a gift, I just didn’t know what to do with it. My parents ended up flying me to Nashville for a songwriting contest and I loved it. I graduated from undergrad that May and by August I was living in Nashville.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
What did you do when you got here?
I just started writing and was working on a Christian album. I was still working online for my family’s CPA firm to pay the bills and quickly realized that music wasn’t going to make me much money in the beginning. There was no revenue coming in for as much effort as I was putting in. But I met some great people who started to teach me the business, like Brandon Ray and Don Koch.
I was a fine songwriter and I have a great ear, but I wasn’t cut out for the Nashville world yet. I decided it wasn’t for me, but that I was going to work in music in some capacity. I ended up going to grad school at Belmont. That’s when I got my first job at Universal.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Tell me about that.
I just cold applied. I didn’t have a connection. I ended up getting a call from Tony Grotticelli in UMG’s Digital department. He ended up hiring me. I was taking night classes, so I’d work all day and then go to school from 6–10 p.m. It was an exciting time.
I did digital marketing for the first three or so years at UMG. Keith Urban was the first record that I worked and we went No. 1. It was a dream come true. Because of my numbers background, I ended up finding a little niche within the digital space. That’s when YouTube covers were really taking off and streaming was starting to ramp up. I started looking at the numbers of what we were running in digital advertising and social metrics. I remember starting George Strait‘s Instagram. I ran Universal socials for a couple of years and was just in the mix of it all. I was like a sponge trying to soak it all in.
I ended up being the numbers person because I can look at an Excel sheet and pull a story out of it, and I realized how valuable that is. I ended up moving over to report to Mike Harris and we launched a new Strategy & Research department, where we worked with all the departments. The radio team would come to me and say, “I need a reason why a station should play Jordan Davis over another artist.” I was able to look at all the numbers and say, “This is why.” I ended up being what I now call a “strategic storyteller.” That’s where I under started to understand the full scope of the business. I was so fortunate to learn under Mike Dungan and Mike Harris.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Then you were approached about helping to start EMPIRE’s Nashville division.
EMPIRE was starting a Nashville division. Eric Hurt [our VP of Publishing now] had started and signed Willie Jones. EMPIRE’s CEO, Ghazi, flew me out to San Francisco and I had a great meeting and a lot of questions. I wanted to know why an independent, hip-hop distribution company wanted to be in Nashville. I just didn’t know how successful it’d be, but I knew I wouldn’t let it fail. By the end of our first meeting together, I knew it was the next right step for me.
I told Ghazi before I left the meeting, “Give me five years to be profitable. It won’t be before that, but I need to know you’re committed to at least five years in this town and in this process. Otherwise, I can’t make the jump from UMG.” I left UMG in December of 2019.
What were those first few years like?
COVID hit three months later and at first I was like, “Oh my word. What have I done?” But I had never been busier. We were signing artists, and since we’re so focused on digital, [we didn’t have to slow down much]. I remember we shot a music video in a house with the director on FaceTime on a phone we suction cupped to the window. [Laughs] It was an interesting time.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Tenille Arts had been on my A&R list when I left UMG, so I hit her team up. She was already at radio and it was dwindling, so I helped put a plan together to revitalize the song and upcoming releases. Through that year, we got a country radio No. 1 and a Platinum record. That was our first win that showed me this could work. We also signed Shaboozey in 2020.
Tell me about your journey with him.
Shaboozey is one of the first artists that I’ve worked this closely with that holds so true to his convictions of who he is and the brand that he is. He’s incredibly intelligent and understands the world that he’s building. I’ve never met an another artist that moves that way and holds so tight to it. He’s a natural storyteller by film, music and movements.
It’s been so fun to have such a big hit with “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” I was at the Grammys at the beginning of the year when I first heard it as we were driving through L.A. A few weeks later, I went to New Orleans and met up with some friends, I had a work call and my friends were curious what I was working on, so I played them the song. I remember telling them it was going to be big but I had no idea it was going to be this big!
I just feel so grateful. I know it doesn’t come often and I also know that it may never come again in my career, so you just take it in stride and soak in as much as you can. At the same time, I’m also the one saying, “Keep your foot on the gas!”
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
What have you learned about leadership in the last five years?
I have an older sister, so when I was young, I would always play up on my sister’s teams. What I learned from that experience is you always play to the stage that you want to be on. That’s how you show up. I didn’t know how to spearhead an independent label division, I just knew how I would run a major if I was at a major. When I was figuring out what processes we needed in place at EMPIRE Nashville and how we should go from signing an artist to hiring team members… I just started operating at the level I wanted to be at. I tell artists and our team all the time: “work at the level that you want to be at, whatever title you want or whatever stage you want to play, show up and prove you deserve to be there.”
Ghazi met me in Dallas for the ACM Awards, and it had almost been four and a half years exactly to when I told him it would take me five. We had such a sweet moment reminiscing on that and being so proud we had done it.
What are you excited about now?
Of course I’m excited about what’s next with Shaboozey. We’re hoping for CMA Awards and Grammys leading into even the next wave of his music. There are also some other artists that I have that I think are next. CeCe is a new artist to EMPIRE that I’ve signed and the music is incredible. We have Don Louis‘ album that just came out and is doing so well, which is great. Jake & Shelby, a pop duo that we’re working with, have some of the best music coming out of Nashville in a long time. We’ve also got Jordy out in L.A. making incredible music too. I’m excited about all the music coming out and the team that we’re building. We’re getting to move in town in a way that hopefully feels refreshing.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Who have been some of your mentors?
Mike Dungan for sure. Tina Davis here at EMPIRE has been so great. I’ve had a great executive coach, Shelley Till. I also have mentors and best friends outside of the business, like Adam Sansiveri, who runs Alliance Bernstein here in Nashville who has been an amazing advocate and support.
I’ve learned throughout my career that it’s really healthy to have networking groups, friends and mentors that are outside of this business. We can lose sight of what makes life meaningful and special in tunnels of work. For me, that was finding my core people. They don’t know much of what goes on in the music industry and I love that. They’re all incredible badasses in the worlds that they are in. It’s really fun to be a part of that, cheering one another on.
Only Bands Offers Opportunities To Nashville Musicians [Interview]
/by LB CantrellJustin de Graaf. Photo: Austin Friedline
In a city like Nashville, talented musicians are not hard to find. Nearly every person you meet is musically inclined or knows someone who is.
The musically inclined can make a good living in the studios of Nashville, out on the road with touring artists and in the bars of the lively lower Broadway. While a Nashville-based musician can certainly thrive here, one Nashville resident noticed an area where players were getting the short end of the stick: private events.
When planning his own wedding, Justin de Graaf, 20-year touring musician who currently backs Seaforth and Madeline Merlo, was flabbergasted by how expensive a generic wedding/corporate event band could be. Being a musician, he also knew first-hand that the musicians were likely not seeing the majority of the money.
This inspired him to use his experience and connections in the industry to make a difference.
Justin and with his wife, music business professional Care de Graaf, launched Only Bands Live Entertainment in 2021 to help bridge the gap between musicians and clients, paying musicians a generous rate while delivering high quality entertainment to Nashville’s private event sector. Focused on weddings, parties, corporate events and other gatherings, the company aims to bring a concert-level experience to private events with Nashville touring musicians and artists who are in between gigs, need to spend more time at home or just want to make some extra money.
“When my wife and I started planning our wedding back in early 2021, it was important to us to have a band for our entertainment, as we are both in the music industry and music is quite literally our lives,” Justin tells MusicRow. “It was even more important to me that the quality of the band matched the caliber of artists that are here. The more I looked at the many local party bands, I just wasn’t finding the unique Nashville feel I wanted our guests to experience. Being a hired touring musician for 20+ years, I decided to hire my previous band mates that met my own personal expectations of what a Nashville Party Band should be.”
After forming the company’s initial band, Party Down Live, Justin and Care started forming other groups to please a variety of genres as offerings for their clients.
“Party Down Live was the start of what later became Only Bands Live Entertainment,” he says. “Our catalog now features multiple party bands made up of seasoned touring musicians, who have toured with artists such as Billy Joel, Guns N’ Roses, Keith Urban, One Direction, Kelly Clarkson and so many more.”
When booking with Only Bands, there’s no middleman like an agent or manager. You book directly with the musicians you want to hire. That ease of communication has led to Only Bands being recognized by wedding planning giants like The Knot and Wedding Wire. They also believe they are the highest-paying private event gig in Nashville.
“The concept of a band designed for weddings and private events is not unique. I have seen it done plenty of times over. What is unique here is Nashville. The music and entertainment in Nashville are unlike anywhere else,” Justin shares. “In a city like Nashville, it’s essential to have a level of consistency that can be brought to all events–private or public–to reflect the true caliber of talent and energy at the fingertips of this town. Only Bands Live Entertainment was built to bring customization and uniqueness of Nashville to our clients, while providing our musicians with the same level of consideration and respect.”
Justin and Care are focused on growing both the clientele and their book of available musicians for Only Bands.
“Over the past three years we have traveled outside of Tennessee and even out of the country for multiple corporate events. The number of clients from other states that reach out wanting us to come bring a bit of Nashville music to their wedding, or event is such an honor,” Justin says. “It has also provided incredible experiences for our bands and their own exposure. My plan is to continue cultivating those opportunities and honor the music scene in Nashville on a much larger scale.”
When asked what he wants musicians to know about the platform, Justin shares that first and foremost, he knows their value.
“While my sole priority is providing the most genuine, authentic and energetic entertainment experience in the private sector, I know that the caliber of musician required for that is not cheap and shouldn’t be compensated as such. That’s why Only Bands is one of the highest paying gigs in town,” he says. “This entire industry is built on the backs of musicians, we all know it, but it’s brushed over more times than not.
“Only Bands is my way of giving back to the city, the industry and my people. To me, it’s so much more than a catalog of bands. It’s more than a memorable and quality experience. It is recognition of years and years of long hours, tireless work, and the uniqueness of what musicians bring to the stage here and everywhere.”
Hitmaker John Ryan Signs With Warner Chappell Music
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Katy Wolaver (WCM), John Ryan, Gabz Landman (WCM), Ryan Press (WCM) and Damon Bunetta (Big Family)
Songwriter John Ryan has signed a global publishing agreement with Warner Chappell Music.
Originally from Rochester, New York, Ryan wrote his first song in third grade and learned to play the guitar and piano at a young age. He later attended Berklee College of Music, where he fronted two bands, penned his own material and began producing. After graduating in 2010, Ryan moved to L.A. to pursue a career as a songwriter and producer. In 2012, he landed his first big cut with One Direction’s hit “Story of My Life,” which reached the yop 10 on the Billboard charts and has streamed over a billion times.
To date, Ryan’s catalog has surpassed 30 billion streams and he has collaborated with top artists including Sabrina Carpenter on “Feather” and “Because I Liked a Boy;” One Direction on “Drag Me Down,” “Night Changes” and “Steal My Girl;” Thomas Rhett on “Look What God Gave Her” “Beautiful As You” and “Cold (feat. Future)” and Niall Horan on “Slow Hands” and “Heaven.”
Ryan most recently partnered with Carpenter and co-wrote and produced six songs on her album Short n’ Sweet, which debuted at No. 1 this week on the Billboard 200. He also recently teamed with Rhett on his latest album, About A Woman, as well as Teddy Swims on his single “The Door.” Over the past decade, he’s worked with the likes of Harry Styles, Benson Boone, Maren Morris and Maroon 5, among others.
“John’s career as a pop powerhouse is inevitable,” says WCM President, North America, Ryan Press. “The way he connects with artists and his songs resonate with listeners underscores that talent, and there are many more great songs to come.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with Ryan, Gabz, Katy, and the rest of the WCM team,” says Ryan. “They’ve been incredibly supportive of my songwriting since day one, and I am excited to begin this new chapter of my career as a Warner Chappell writer.”
BMI Names Martijn Tel As CFO
/by Liza AndersonMartijn Tel
BMI has named Martijn Tel as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Based in the PRO’s New York office, Tel joins its executive leadership team alongside Chief Technology Officer Tom Kershaw and Chief Transformation Officer Justin Rohde, whose appointments were announced in July, and will report to President & CEO Mike O’Neill.
He brings experience serving in senior financial positions at both public and private companies to his new role. Most recently, Tel served as CFO of Gerson Lehrman Group, a global data & information services provider backed by the private equity firm SFW Capital Partners. During his time there, he worked to lead a finance transformation that enabled the leadership team to better understand performance across different businesses, regions and clients while enhancing automation and upgraded systems, including the implementation of an enterprise data management system. Tel also previously served in CFO and operating positions at a number of companies in the information services industry and has worked with several private equity sponsors. A native of the Netherlands, he has two finance degrees from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
“Martijn’s wealth of experience, particularly working with companies with ambitious growth plans, makes him a perfect fit for BMI now,” says O’Neill. “I look forward to working with him and our team as we continue to implement strategic initiatives designed to fulfill BMI’s mission to grow the value of music for our creators and copyright owners.”
Hillary Lindsey To Be Featured In CMHOFM’s ‘Poets And Prophets’ Series
/by Lorie HollabaughHillary Lindsey is set to be featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “Poets and Prophets” interview series. The program will take place on Oct. 26 at 2:30 p.m. in the museum’s Ford Theater and is included with museum admission.
The Washington, Georgia arrived in Nashville in 1994 after enrolling in Belmont University. She signed her first publishing deal as a college senior and earned her first No. 1 in 2002 with Martina McBride’s “Blessed.” In 2007, Lindsey won her first of three Grammys for “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” which is one of more than four dozen of her compositions recorded by Carrie Underwood.
Her songs have also been cut by Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Michelle Branch, Florida Georgia Line, Hardy, Parker McCollum, Tim McGraw, Kacey Musgraves, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, among others. Lindsey’s work was performed on the television drama Nashville and in the 2018 film A Star Is Born starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. She also worked with Lady Gaga on the pop star’s 2016 album Joanne, writing four songs and singing backing vocals.
Lindsey often writes with fellow songwriters Lori McKenna and Liz Rose as the Love Junkies. In 2020, she founded her own publishing company, Hang Your Hat Music, in partnership with Concord Music Publishing. She is a 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, a 2022 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (NaSHOF) inductee and a two-time ACM Songwriter of the Year winner. Lindsey also took home CMA Song of the Year in 2015 for Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush.”
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Date Announced For 2024 SESAC Nashville Music Awards
/by LB CantrellThe 2024 SESAC Nashville Music Awards will be held on Sunday, Nov. 17, kicking off CMA Awards week in Nashville. The invitation-only event will celebrate the top performers in the country and Americana genres, with awards given out for Song of the Year, Publisher of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
Previous award winners include Lee Brice, Zac Brown, Dillon Carmichael, Sierra Ferrell, Josh Jenkins, Niko Moon, Megan Moroney, Margo Price, Jon Nite, Hillary Scott and more.
“Celebrating our songwriters and publishers is our favorite thing to do at SESAC—we look forward to this night all year,” says Shannan Hatch, SESAC SVP Head of Nashville Creative. “The music they make means so much to so many, and we can’t wait to honor them.”
The 58th annual CMA Awards will take place at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. CT.
Weekly Register: Lainey Wilson Lands Top Debut On Country Albums Chart
/by Liza AndersonPhoto: Eric Ryan Anderson
Lainey Wilson‘s Whirlwind lands the top debut on the country albums chart this week, ranking No. 3 with 48K in total consumption (34K album only/17 million song streams), according to Luminate data.
Post Malone‘s F-1 Trillion stays at No. 1 with 111K (13K album only/122 million song streams), followed by Morgan Wallen‘s One Thing At A Time at No. 2 with 58K (1.1K album only/74 million song streams). Zach Bryan‘s The Great American Bar Scene slides down to No. 4 with 41K (373 album only/52 million song streams), and Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album descends to No. 5 with 35K (439 album only/45 million song streams).
On the country streaming songs chart, Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” reclaims the top slot with 25 million new streams, adding to 656 million ATD. Post Malone and Wallen’s “I Had Some Help” moves down to No. 2 with 24 million streams, adding to 590 million ATD, while Bryan’s “Pink Skies” persists at No. 3 with 16 million new streams, adding to 290 million ATD. Bryan and Kacey Musgraves‘ “I Remember Everything” rises to No. 4 with 13.2 million streams, adding to 960 million ATD, and Wallen’s “Lies, Lies, Lies” is lifted to No. 5 with 13 million new streams, adding to 146 million ATD.
Nashville’s United Record Pressing Celebrates 75 Years
/by Lorie HollabaughUnited Record Pressing
United Record Pressing, America’s oldest vinyl record pressing plant, is celebrating 75 years in business.
Five days a week for the last 75 years, over 120 employees cut, silver, electroplate, press, inspect and package vinyl records to be sent to every corner of the globe, all from their operation on Allied Drive in Nashville.
From Francis Craig Band’s Red Rose / Near You, which spurred the construction of United Record Pressing’s first plant as an offshoot of one of Nashville’s first independent labels, Bullet Records, to the first U.S. 7-inch of The Beatles’ Please Please Me / From Me To You to offering what is now referred to as the “Motown Suite,” an on-site place for Black artists and professionals to stay while pressing their albums during segregation to producing quantities of vinyl for Minor Threat, Kendrick Lamar, Thom Yorke, Taylor Swift, Paramore and David Byrne, United Record Pressing has worked to refine the pressing process.
Over seven decades of experience has translated into modern-day integration, such as exploring how AI-powered technologies can detect plating issues before they affect production or through collaborations with Sibert Instruments to apply optical disc technology to vinyl as well as the plant’s installation of 24 new Pheenix Alpha pressing machines in addition to the restoration of 40 historic Lened and SMT machines. United Record Pressing has also made significant strides in sustainability, becoming the first North American plant to earn a Sony Green Partner Certification in 2023.
Vinyl has seen 17 consecutive years of revenue growth, reaching $1.4 billion in 2023, and United Record Pressing has sought to be a significant contributor to this resurgence.
“Our ability to scale up to the size of our major label partners while staying accessible to independent artists and labels is something we take a lot of pride in,” says Cam Sarrett, Director of Sales & Marketing, United Record Pressing. “The market demands on vinyl are at an all time high, but United has kept the doors open through downturns too, operating with as few as 12 employees in the ‘90s. I believe that’s in large part because of creativity from independent artists and labels and the support of their fans.”
Cody Johnson’s ‘Dirt Cheap’ Goes No. 1 At Country Radio
/by Lorie HollabaughCody Johnson has scored a No. 1 at country radio this week with “Dirt Cheap.”
The song, which was penned by Josh Phillips and produced by Trent Willmon, has achieved a new career benchmark for Johnson, amassing 215 million global streams to date, and is the second single from his Leather album.
The video for “Dirt Cheap” premiered on CMT and on the Paramount Times Square Billboard in New York City, followed by a YouTube premiere and post-watch party where fans could watch a behind- the-scenes conversation with the artist and Director Dustin Haney about the making of the visual.
Additionally, Johnson’s “The Leather Tour” will resume this Friday (Sept. 6) after a sold-out performance in Brazil, where he played for over 42,000 fans at the Festa Do Peao De Barretos.
My Music Row Story: EMPIRE’s Heather Vassar
/by LB CantrellHeather Vassar. Photo: Sam Frawley
Heather Vassar serves as Senior Vice President of EMPIRE and brings over a decade of experience in the music industry to her role. With a Master’s degree in business specializing in marketing, Vassar’s career commenced at UMG Nashville, where she initially excelled in digital marketing. Over six years, she advanced to spearheading strategic initiatives and research, focusing on optimizing release workflows and leveraging competitive advantages. Her contributions led to pioneering analyses and innovations that shaped the industry. Notably, Vassar contributed to digital strategy for renowned artists such as George Strait, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban.
In 2019, she was tapped by EMPIRE to establish and elevate their Nashville division. Here, Vassar plays a pivotal role in operations, marketing and promoting EMPIRE’s presence in Music City, steering strategies for a diverse roster, including record-breaking artist Shaboozey, Wyatt Flores, Niko Moon, Sophia Scott, Don Louis, Reyna Roberts, Tenille Arts and Randy Houser. She oversees all facets of label operations, artist signings, marketing plans, release strategies and development in addition to driving digital marketing initiatives, pioneering efforts in Web3 and managing key partnerships with sales and streaming platforms.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in west Texas. I was born and raised in a really small town, my parents and grandparents are still there. I got my undergraduate degree at Texas Tech in Lubbock, which is about two hours from home.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
What did you study?
Marketing. I was big into sports growing up, and I went to Tech to play softball. I come from an accounting family, so they advised me to go to the business school. I thought, “I won’t do accounting, that sounds miserable, but I could do marketing and management. That’s way better than accounting.”
How did music come into play?
I’ve always been a big music fan. When I was young, I could hear a commercial and could sing the jingle back. My parents noticed that early on, but I was really into sports so I focused on that. I participated in music at church and I took piano lessons, but I didn’t know that music could be a career.
When I quit playing softball at Tech, I picked up guitar and started playing in a band. All of my electives were music courses and songwriting classes. I knew it was a gift, I just didn’t know what to do with it. My parents ended up flying me to Nashville for a songwriting contest and I loved it. I graduated from undergrad that May and by August I was living in Nashville.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
What did you do when you got here?
I just started writing and was working on a Christian album. I was still working online for my family’s CPA firm to pay the bills and quickly realized that music wasn’t going to make me much money in the beginning. There was no revenue coming in for as much effort as I was putting in. But I met some great people who started to teach me the business, like Brandon Ray and Don Koch.
I was a fine songwriter and I have a great ear, but I wasn’t cut out for the Nashville world yet. I decided it wasn’t for me, but that I was going to work in music in some capacity. I ended up going to grad school at Belmont. That’s when I got my first job at Universal.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Tell me about that.
I just cold applied. I didn’t have a connection. I ended up getting a call from Tony Grotticelli in UMG’s Digital department. He ended up hiring me. I was taking night classes, so I’d work all day and then go to school from 6–10 p.m. It was an exciting time.
I did digital marketing for the first three or so years at UMG. Keith Urban was the first record that I worked and we went No. 1. It was a dream come true. Because of my numbers background, I ended up finding a little niche within the digital space. That’s when YouTube covers were really taking off and streaming was starting to ramp up. I started looking at the numbers of what we were running in digital advertising and social metrics. I remember starting George Strait‘s Instagram. I ran Universal socials for a couple of years and was just in the mix of it all. I was like a sponge trying to soak it all in.
I ended up being the numbers person because I can look at an Excel sheet and pull a story out of it, and I realized how valuable that is. I ended up moving over to report to Mike Harris and we launched a new Strategy & Research department, where we worked with all the departments. The radio team would come to me and say, “I need a reason why a station should play Jordan Davis over another artist.” I was able to look at all the numbers and say, “This is why.” I ended up being what I now call a “strategic storyteller.” That’s where I under started to understand the full scope of the business. I was so fortunate to learn under Mike Dungan and Mike Harris.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Then you were approached about helping to start EMPIRE’s Nashville division.
EMPIRE was starting a Nashville division. Eric Hurt [our VP of Publishing now] had started and signed Willie Jones. EMPIRE’s CEO, Ghazi, flew me out to San Francisco and I had a great meeting and a lot of questions. I wanted to know why an independent, hip-hop distribution company wanted to be in Nashville. I just didn’t know how successful it’d be, but I knew I wouldn’t let it fail. By the end of our first meeting together, I knew it was the next right step for me.
I told Ghazi before I left the meeting, “Give me five years to be profitable. It won’t be before that, but I need to know you’re committed to at least five years in this town and in this process. Otherwise, I can’t make the jump from UMG.” I left UMG in December of 2019.
What were those first few years like?
COVID hit three months later and at first I was like, “Oh my word. What have I done?” But I had never been busier. We were signing artists, and since we’re so focused on digital, [we didn’t have to slow down much]. I remember we shot a music video in a house with the director on FaceTime on a phone we suction cupped to the window. [Laughs] It was an interesting time.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Tenille Arts had been on my A&R list when I left UMG, so I hit her team up. She was already at radio and it was dwindling, so I helped put a plan together to revitalize the song and upcoming releases. Through that year, we got a country radio No. 1 and a Platinum record. That was our first win that showed me this could work. We also signed Shaboozey in 2020.
Tell me about your journey with him.
Shaboozey is one of the first artists that I’ve worked this closely with that holds so true to his convictions of who he is and the brand that he is. He’s incredibly intelligent and understands the world that he’s building. I’ve never met an another artist that moves that way and holds so tight to it. He’s a natural storyteller by film, music and movements.
It’s been so fun to have such a big hit with “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” I was at the Grammys at the beginning of the year when I first heard it as we were driving through L.A. A few weeks later, I went to New Orleans and met up with some friends, I had a work call and my friends were curious what I was working on, so I played them the song. I remember telling them it was going to be big but I had no idea it was going to be this big!
I just feel so grateful. I know it doesn’t come often and I also know that it may never come again in my career, so you just take it in stride and soak in as much as you can. At the same time, I’m also the one saying, “Keep your foot on the gas!”
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
What have you learned about leadership in the last five years?
I have an older sister, so when I was young, I would always play up on my sister’s teams. What I learned from that experience is you always play to the stage that you want to be on. That’s how you show up. I didn’t know how to spearhead an independent label division, I just knew how I would run a major if I was at a major. When I was figuring out what processes we needed in place at EMPIRE Nashville and how we should go from signing an artist to hiring team members… I just started operating at the level I wanted to be at. I tell artists and our team all the time: “work at the level that you want to be at, whatever title you want or whatever stage you want to play, show up and prove you deserve to be there.”
Ghazi met me in Dallas for the ACM Awards, and it had almost been four and a half years exactly to when I told him it would take me five. We had such a sweet moment reminiscing on that and being so proud we had done it.
What are you excited about now?
Of course I’m excited about what’s next with Shaboozey. We’re hoping for CMA Awards and Grammys leading into even the next wave of his music. There are also some other artists that I have that I think are next. CeCe is a new artist to EMPIRE that I’ve signed and the music is incredible. We have Don Louis‘ album that just came out and is doing so well, which is great. Jake & Shelby, a pop duo that we’re working with, have some of the best music coming out of Nashville in a long time. We’ve also got Jordy out in L.A. making incredible music too. I’m excited about all the music coming out and the team that we’re building. We’re getting to move in town in a way that hopefully feels refreshing.
Photo: Courtesy of Vassar
Who have been some of your mentors?
Mike Dungan for sure. Tina Davis here at EMPIRE has been so great. I’ve had a great executive coach, Shelley Till. I also have mentors and best friends outside of the business, like Adam Sansiveri, who runs Alliance Bernstein here in Nashville who has been an amazing advocate and support.
I’ve learned throughout my career that it’s really healthy to have networking groups, friends and mentors that are outside of this business. We can lose sight of what makes life meaningful and special in tunnels of work. For me, that was finding my core people. They don’t know much of what goes on in the music industry and I love that. They’re all incredible badasses in the worlds that they are in. It’s really fun to be a part of that, cheering one another on.
Alexander Palmer Signs With Warner Chappell & Cornman Music
/by Madison HahnenPictured (L-R): Chris Owen (Cornman Music), Nate Lowery (Cornman Music), BJ Hill (WCM), Alexander Palmer, Ben Vaughn (WCM), Brett James (Cornman Music) and Julie Hess (WCM)
Hit songwriter and producer Alexander Palmer has signed a joint global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music and Cornman Music.
Palmer began learning classical and jazz piano at five years old in his home country of Germany, and also taught himself to play the drums and bass. Splitting his time between Nashville and Los Angeles, Palmer has worked with a bevy of country, pop and hip-hop artists. He has celebrated three multi-Platinum No. 1 country hits with Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere On A Beach,” Jason Aldean’s “Got What I Got” and Bailey Zimmerman’s “Religiously.” He also worked with Jason Derulo on the five-times Platinum “Whatcha Say” and Chris Brown’s double-Platinum “Turn Up The Music.” Most recently, he co-penned “Huntin’ By Yourself” from Luke Combs’ Fathers & Sons album, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“Alex is a seasoned veteran in so many aspects, yet he continues to step up with every new opportunity,” says BJ Hill, SVP, A&R, WCM Nashville. “Being able to partner now with the incredible team at Cornman is like adding rocket fuel to the fire.”
“We’re honored to partner with Alex and have him join the Cornman Music and Warner Chappell family,” adds Nate Lowery, GM and VP, Cornman Music. “I first heard of Alex back in 2016 when we collaborated on the Dierks Bentley hit, ‘Somewhere On A Beach,’ and I’ve been a fan ever since. Brett James, Chris Owen, and I are excited to work with Ben Vaughn, BJ Hill, and the rest of the team, and we look forward to what the future holds.”