Pete Fisher, CEO of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music announced today (Jan. 9) that Pete Fisher has been selected as the Academy’s new Chief Executive Officer. He will take the helm beginning Monday, January 30, 2017 and will relocate with his wife from Nashville, TN to Los Angeles, CA.

Fisher has served as the Vice President and General Manager of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, a post he held for 17 years that will end on January 20. Fisher oversaw the Opry through significant transformation over the years and was instrumental in navigating the Opry through the historic Nashville flood in 2010 with a $20 million renovation of the Opry House.

Ken Tucker, Chairman of the Academy’s Board of Directors, says “Pete is a team builder, a champion of the importance of office culture and a person who believes strongly in discerning and following a strategic path alongside those around him. Through Pete’s successful leadership, the Opry became a place that recognized the importance of exposing legendary, contemporary and emerging artists equally. Tucker adds, “The Board thanks Tiffany Moon for her command through this interim search period as well as the staff for keeping the Academy on a forward trajectory. We feel very lucky to have Pete’s leadership in the next phase of the Academy’s growth and presence on the world’s entertainment stage, heading into 2017.”

“Our mission when we started the selection process was to take our time and do it right,” says Duane Clark, ACM Vice President and co-chairman of the CEO selection committee. “We wanted to have a process that was thorough and one that opened the doors so we had every opportunity to find the right candidate. We were very fortunate to have had such a wide range of great candidates and we were all very excited when Pete voiced his interest in the position.” Clark also shared with MusicRow some of the key criteria in filling the position. These traits included someone with leadership experience, TV and entertainment background, the ability to be an ambassador for the Academy and to represent the face and voice of the Academy moving forward. Other important qualities included strong brand awareness and strong partnership management skills.

Fisher will be only the second Chief Executive Officer in the Academy’s 53-year-history. Bob Romeo stepped down from the post in May of 2016 after 13 years at the organization. Prior to that, the Academy was managed day-to-day by Fran Boyd and Bill Boyd, dating back to the Academy’s inception in 1964.

Fisher spoke to MusicRow to discuss his new leadership position with the ACM:

With such a significant career change after many successful years at the Opry, what are you feeling right now?
I am thrilled. My 17 years at the Opry have been extraordinary and I’m so proud of what the team has accomplished during that time and now it’s time to start a new chapter in my career. Industry service and music industry trade organizations have always been a passion of mine and when this opportunity came up, I didn’t hesitate to throw my name in the hat.

What attracted you to the CEO position with the Academy of Country Music?
First of all, I’ve been a board member and a believer of everything the Academy represents since 2003. A few years later, I became a board member of ACM Lifting Lives as well. Throughout my career, I’ve always made it a priority to serve industry organizations. It has been a passion of mine and very fulfilling. When I look at the Academy of Country Music, it’s a perfect alignment with the things I love to do. As CEO, I think I bring the skill sets that will help this organization grow into the future and enjoy new accomplishments and build upon everything that has been accomplished so far.

What have you learned at the Opry that you will be taking with you in this new leadership role?
The Opry has prepared me so well. I am so grateful to people like Colin Reed, Mark Fioravanti and Steve Buchanan for all they have taught me over the years. The Grand Ole Opry is one of the world’s renowned brands so I have developed a great understanding of branded entertainment and brand development. I have been involved in the production of over 300 television shows, specials, DVDs and audio projects. My time at the Opry has fed me an incredible array of relationships throughout the music industry both in Nashville and Los Angeles. I have developed close and sometimes personal relationships with almost all of the artists in the country music industry. The Opry is a showcase for the entire country music artist community so over the years, I have literally grown up with many of those careers and consider many of those artists my friends. Also, being in a corporate environment that the Opry is part of, I learned some incredible ‘best practices’ for how to run a successful organization. I have learned to appreciate the importance of people first, culture second, and strategy third. If you don’t get people and culture right, the best strategy in the world is not going to be executed with success.

Speaking of strategy, are you looking to expand the brand and reach of the ACM?
My first commitment to the organization is to listen and learn from the staff, the board, and from the music industry at large. I want to understand their perceptions of the academy and hear their ideas for what the academy can become. Then we plan to move into a successful awards show in Vegas. Lastly, we will enter into a collaborative strategic planning process with the board, revisit the mission, and create a roadmap to that vision.

After 32 years in Nashville, relocating to Los Angeles is a big move. How will that affect your relationship with Nashville?
My job will be to be as connected as I’ve ever been to Nashville. I really want to increase the presence of the Academy of Country Music in Nashville and also discover what the Academy might be able to bring from the west coast to country music to help broaden and strengthen its reach.

Colin Reed, Chairman and CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties, released a statement regarding Fisher and the GM/VP position at the Grand Ole Opry. “We are excited for Pete and believe this position is a tremendous opportunity for him, the ACM and our industry,” said Reed. “I feel certain that the Opry will continue to have a great relationship with him in this new capacity. We have begun our search for someone to fill this key role within our organization and will have more to share once we have identified that individual.”

To send congratulations, you can reach Pete Fisher at [email protected].

Blake Shelton is transforming his hit “Ol’ Red” into an entire lifestyle brand, anchored by a huge, new, multimillion dollar entertainment venue set to open on Nashville’s lower Broadway. Shelton is partnering with Ryman Hospitality Properties for the new venture, which is part of Ryman Properties’ strategy to create retail, entertainment venues, and digital content that celebrate the country lifestyle and resonate with country’s rapidly growing fan base around the globe.

Ole Red Nashville will be a multi-level, 26,000-square-foot entertainment venue with a two-story bar and restaurant, retail area, performance space, dance floor and private VIP booths for small groups. Set to open in 2018 at 300 Broadway, the complex will also include a private event space and a 6,000-square-foot rooftop with an indoor/outdoor bar/restaurant with views of Lower Broadway. The venue’s performance space will be equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system tailor-made for everything from intimate concerts and live band karaoke to artist showcases.

“It’s amazing to me to see a song that’s been such a big part of my career come to life in the plans for Ole Red,” said Shelton. “Nashville and Tishomingo are both places that are important to me, and it’s great that each location is going to have its own personality inspired by one of my favorite songs. It’s always been a dream of mine to create something like this where people know they’re going to have a good time as soon as they walk in the door, and I couldn’t be more excited that my friends at the Opry and Ryman Hospitality Properties are making it happen.”

“The Grand Ole Opry is known for connecting fans to the artists and the music they love and that is what the Ole Red brand is all about,” said Colin Reed, Ryman Hospitality Properties Chairman/CEO. “Not only is Blake Shelton one of the most popular entertainers of his generation, his performance style and passion for authentic country music have also made him a fixture on the Grand Ole Opry stage since the early days of his career. Ole Red will immerse fans in all the elements of a great country song—with some unexpected twists from Blake along the way.”

Shelton and Ryman Hospitality Properties also announced plans to open a second venue, Ole Red Tishomingo, set to open in late 2017 in Shelton’s hometown of Tishomingo, Okla.

Renderings for the Nashville location can be seen below.

Private equity firm Blackstone has purchased the nation’s third-largest performing rights organization SESAC from Rizvi Traverse Management. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

SESAC’s 30,000 artist and songwriter affiliates include Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, RUSH, Charli XCX (PRS), Zac Brown, Mumford & Sons (PRS), Lady Antebellum, Mariah Carey, Axl Rose, Shirley Caesar, and Robin Thicke.

SESAC Chairman and CEO John Josephson said, “We are excited to partner with Blackstone. The long-term investment horizon of their core private equity platform was especially attractive to us as we seek to execute our company’s growth strategy in our primary performance rights business, as well as mechanical rights, administrative services, multi-rights and multi-territory licensing. Blackstone is acquiring our company with the specific intent of backing the existing management team, and shares our long-term vision for the company with a history of adding value to their portfolio companies as a supportive strategic partner and capital provider. We anticipate a seamless transition in ownership with no disruption to our business activities as a result of this transaction. Going forward, we believe our long-term partnership with Blackstone will position SESAC well for enhanced growth and continued delivery of best in class service to our affiliates, licensees and commercial partners.” Josephson added, “We would also like to thank Ben Kohn and his partners and colleagues at Rizvi for their strong support of SESAC during its ownership of the company over the last four years, and key role in building the business alongside the management team.”

Robert Reid, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said, “We are thrilled to be backing John, Kelli Turner and the entire SESAC team and investing in the most progressive music rights organization for songwriters and artists. Music is fundamental to our society and is consumed both actively and passively by users worldwide, across increasingly diverse methods of distribution. We expect music listenership to continue to grow over the long-term and are excited to invest in SESAC, one of the key facilitators of the music market and related copyright management infrastructure.”

David Kestnbaum, Managing Director at Blackstone said, “We view SESAC as an attractive fit for our core private equity investment platform and are pleased to partner with the company’s experienced, highly capable management team to help support their growth strategy over the long term to continue to serve their key affiliate and licensee constituents.”