➽ AGENCIES
Sloane Cavitt Logue
HEAD OF CROSSOVER OF THE NASHVILLE OFFICE, WME
Michael Jasper
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS AGENT, WME Shari Lewin
PARTNER, WME
Aaron Tannenbaum
PARTNER, WME
WME spent the last year securing major deals for its clients, including virtual branded performances for Brad Paisley, Kane Brown and Thomas Rhett, who teamed up with Bud Light. Brown also extended his Dr Pepper deal for an additional year, and Paisley scored a deal with Publishers Clearing House that resulted in a series of TV commercials.
The agency also helped bring Dolly Parton and Squarespace together for a Super Bowl LV ad that plugged Parton’s fragrance, Scent From Above. Lewin, 35, says she closed more deals in 2020 for country artists than ever before. “It was a challenging year,” she says, “but we were busier than ever, working hard to find new revenue streams for our clients in the absence of touring opportunities.”
ADVICE FOR ANY ARTIST POSTING ON
SOCIAL MEDIA “Remain consistent. Creating and posting a steady stream of content and having a uniform voice is key to creating an artist’s brand on social media.” —Jasper
Marc Dennis
Darin Murphy
CO-HEADS OF THE NASHVILLE OFFICE, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY
Jeff Krones
Kylen Sharpe
MUSIC AGENTS, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY
In a year with virtually no touring, CAA’s country music group grossed over
$11 million from private events alone. In addition to deals involving podcasts and non-fungible tokens, the agency negotiated book contracts for Carrie Underwood, Brett Young, Kelsea Ballerini, Tim McGraw and more while landing partnerships between Sam Hunt and Visible, Darius Rucker and the Texas Lottery, Jon Pardi and Chevy, and Kip Moore and Ford Bronco. “Surviving and making it through a global pandemic should be highlight enough,” says Sharpe, “but we are super proud of how much we’ve accomplished during this time.”
MY NEW PANDEMIC HABIT THAT I WILL CONTINUE “Cooking at home. It has helped me save money and lose weight. I also hope that we will continue a lot of
“The amount of deals we’ve seen in nontraditional markets like podcasts, literary opportunities, non-fungible tokens and other areas has been staggering.”
—KYLEN SHARPE, CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY
the video conference meetings. There is a lot of fat that we’ve trimmed from meetings, and I hope we keep that up in the future.” —Sharpe
Jonathan Levine
EXECUTIVE VP/MANAGING EXECUTIVE, WASSERMAN MUSIC
Mike Betterton
SENIOR VP, WASSERMAN MUSIC Lenore Kinder
SENIOR VP, WASSERMAN MUSIC
In April, Casey Wasserman’s lifestyle marketing and management firm completed its purchase of Paradigm’s North American music division, giving executives in
Wasserman’s Nashville office not just a new employer, but a refreshed outlook on their work, which includes booking clients Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton and Kacey Musgraves. “Wasserman Music is a new company and a new start for us, and that itself is an achievement,” says Levine, 59. “We have a renewed passion to build incredible careers and empower artists to create the culture.”
MY NEW PANDEMIC HABIT THAT I WILL CONTINUE
“Seeing how torn our country and society became and the division that remains, to further the unrelenting pursuit of inclusiveness with every step and every action.” —Levine Curt Motley
Lance Roberts AGENTS/NASHVILLE MUSIC LEADERSHIP, UTA
Josh Garrett
AGENT, MUSIC, UTA
In the year of live music’s great pivot, Motley applauds UTA’s music department for finding new areas of growth amid the shutdown through “securing innovative brand partnerships, drive-in tours and virtual experiences.” After the major agencies cut salaries at the beginning of the pandemic, in September 2020, UTA became the first to reinstate full pay, a move that Motley says emphasizes the company’s “clear, decisive vision, with the needs of the employees always coming first.” In early June, UTA opened its new Nashville headquarters in the former downtown Carnegie Library.
MY NEW PANDEMIC HABIT THAT I WILL CONTINUE “Making craft beer.”