The industry folk showcased here first appeared in our publication as eager young strivers—they’ve since acquired a bit more seasoning and, in many cases, have moved up to positions of greater responsibility. But they still don’t have enough juice to get out of dealing with
us.
Jen Ashworth
VP, Commercial Marketing & Streaming Strategy, Capitol Records
Ashworth, who’s been with Capitol Music Group since 2013—earning her VP stripes at the Tower in 2019—has gone from
Spotify account lead to overseeing the label’s relationship with Spotify
and Pandora and as of fall 2021, is also formulating streaming strategy for
Apple Music,
Amazon and
YouTube, remaining ever vigilant for DSP editorial and marketing opportunities. “With
Michelle Jubelirer as our new chair & CEO,” Ashworth says, “I’m feeling very optimistic.” We’d be optimistic, too, if MJ were running this joint instead of they who shall remain nameless.
Adam Mersel
Founder, Immersive Management/Records (Interscope Geffen A&M JV)
In 2021 Mersel launched
Immersive Records, a JV with IGA that kicked off with “21
st Century Vampire” and
Teenage Heartbreak, the first single and album by pop-punk artist
Huddy (fka Lil Huddy), who has more than 30m followers on
TikTok. On the management side, Mersel continues to handle
Grammy/
Emmy/
Tony-winning Broadway star
Ben Platt. And in a personal update, he notes, “I wear nothing but black T-shirts—I have worn one every single day since my last Noisemakers.” We’re accustomed to people wearing black in our presence, which tends to inspire mourning.
Paige Altone
VP, Marketing, Sony Music Nashville
Altone was elevated from Senior Director to VP of Marketing in 2020. This year, she’s basked in the success of
Old Dominion, who became five-time
ACM Group of the Year champs, and
Chris Young, whose “Famous Friends,” a collaboration with
Kane Brown, tore up the country charts. She’s also helped raise the profiles of developing artists like
Kameron “Steady Heart”
Marlowe and
Jameson “Porch With a View”
Rodgers. Altone says the words “
TikTok” and “content” have come to dominate her professional vocabulary. We’re still learning how to use Instaface, or whatever.
Braeden Rountree
Partner and Agent, WME Nashville
In 2019 Rountree made partner. He went on to book
Kane Brown’s 2021-22
Blessed & Free Tour, making Brown the first country headliner to play all 29
NBA arenas on a single tour. He continues to rep
Marcus King and
Ryan Hurd, is part of
Zach Bryan’s team and recently secured singer/songwriter
Granger Smith his first acting role—the lead—in the film
Moonrise. Since the last time we checked in, this
Belmont University alum and
Nashville Rescue Mission supporter has added two kids and a dog to his personal roster. The
HITS roster is pretty much all weasels.
Katie McCartney
GM, Monument Records
McCartney became GM in 2020 and subsequently witnessed the rise of
Walker Hayes, which she calls “an incredible ride,” and singer/songwriter
Caitlyn Smith, another “huge highlight.” Hayes’
Grammy-nominated “Fancy Like” topped country charts for weeks and inspired a national
Applebee’s commercial, while Smith has released the acclaimed
Supernova and
High, producing the latter, toured with
Old Dominion,
Little Big Town and
Reba and this year was
ACM-nominated for New Female Artist. We, on the other hand, have spent the last few years doing… well, this.
Jackie Shuman
Marketing Music Manager, Netflix
Shuman spent three-plus years as a supe at
Good Ear Music Supervision (known for its
collaborations with
Apple,
Target and
Google), where her work got her recognized by no less than
Rolling Stone. She hit the ground running at Netflix in 2018 and is now supplying music for trailers and other promotional content. Prior to her stint at Good Ear, Shuman managed licensing for artists like
Sia,
Lorde and
Fall Out Boy as Head of Sync at
Crush Management. She does indeed have good ears—which makes it all the more surprising that she didn’t hear us coming yet again.
Ian Planet
Co-Founder, The Peak Music
After nearly four years at
Crush Music handling such artists as the double-platinum
MAX, Planet co-founded his own management company with former Crush colleague
Eli Wenig. The Peak Music represents acts like
good problem, who recently opened for
JXDN on the road and will play its own dates later this year. TPM can also be counted on for tour consulting and logistical support. Among its clients in this capacity have been
Salem Ilese,
Cautious Clay,
PVRIS and
Isaac Dunbar. Planet is likely sick of people riffing on his name, so we won’t. You’re welcome.
Scott B. Bomar
Publisher and Senior Director, BMG Books
Bomar and his colleagues at BMG’s book-publishing program recently launched a line of limited-edition, high-end collectible titles, starting with
The Byrds: 1964-1967, a super-deluxe edition of which comes hand-numbered and signed by
Roger McGuinn,
Chris Hillman and
David Crosby.
Rodney Crowell’s book of lyrics,
Word for Word, will arrive in September. Among other volumes, Bomar is the author of 2014’s
Southbound: An Illustrated History of Southern Rock. As you can see, he sports some impressive facial hair. Ours is patchy, like everything else around here.
