UMG Nashville
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Brad Paisley has shifted labels, from his longtime home at Sony’s Arista Nashville, to EMI Records Nashville, under the Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) umbrella.
The move reunites Paisley with UMGN chairman/CEO Mike Dungan and president Cindy Mabe. Dungan was instrumental in signing Paisley to his first deal at Arista Nashville, while Mabe served as Paisley’s marketing point person through many of his early album cycles including Mud on the Tires and Time Well Wasted. He also joins a label group roster that includes several of his collaborators, including Carrie Underwood, with whom Paisley co-hosted the CMA Awards for more than a decade and together earned a No. 1 Country Airplay hit with “Remind Me” in 2011. He is also now labelmates with his “Start a Band” collaborator Keith Urban.
“There were two people that should get the credit that you even know my name – Mike Dungan and Cindy Mabe. I ran into Mike at the fishing department at Walmart after having met with several labels and he talked me into signing my first deal with Arista. They assigned this woman named Cindy Mabe to me – we graduated the same day at Belmont. I got to work with her on my first few albums and now I get to work with her at UMG,” Paisley said via a statement. “Cindy’s a genius and terrific human being. She heard what I was up to with the new music, and she pointed me further into the direction I was headed. I’ve never had this kind of enthusiasm and empowerment. She said, ‘Make music that matters.’ It’s an amazing thing to work with Mike and Cindy again. It’s great to know they believe in this music as much as I do.”
For more than two decades, Paisley’s razor-sharp songwriting, keen wit and dedication to country music have garnered him three Grammy Awards, 14 CMA Awards, 15 ACM Awards and more accolades. He was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2001. During his career, he’s posted nine albums at the pinnacle of Billboard’s top country albums chart, and earned nearly two dozen hits on the Country Airplay chart.
Paisley’s first UMG Nashville album is slated for later this year, while he will release a new song from the upcoming project on Feb. 24. Titled “Same Here,” Paisley wrote the song with Lee Thomas Miller and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, with production by Luke Wooten.
“Brad is a true creative. He has no boundaries to what he uses as his canvas. He has used his voice and his words as a gift to heal the world through his philanthropy, his song writing, his guitar playing, his entertaining, his music videos, his sense of humor and his heart,” Mabe said via a statement. “He has been a part of the country music duo with Carrie Underwood that helped define country music to the world. And getting to reunite with my friend and collaborator in his next creative adventure is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I cannot wait for him to share the music he has created with the world.”
Katie Dean is exiting her role as senior vp of promotion at MCA Records Nashville to pursue new opportunities, following a two-decade career at Univeral Music Group Nashville (UMGN). Dean has led the promotion team at MCA Records Nashville since 2015.
Elsewhere, David Friedman has been named vp of promotion for MCA Records Nashville while Miranda McDonald rises to vp of national promotion.
Friedman began his major label career at Capitol Records Nashville and also spent time at Arista Nashville and Columbia Nashville. For the past seven years, he’s worked as vp of national promotion at UMG Nashville. In his new role, he heads up the MCA Nashville promo staff, leading strategies for an artist roster that includes Kassi Ashton, Jordan Davis, Vince Gill, Parker McCollum and George Strait.
“Having David move to run MCA’s promo department is one of the easiest decisions I’ve made in a long time,” UMGN executive vp of promotion Royce Risser said in a statement. “He has been ready for this position for years, and I have been selfishly keeping him in his former role because I loved having him there. He will be an incredible asset to MCA’s iconic roster, and I have every bit of confidence that he will continue the building success story at MCA Nashville.”
“Like Lynyrd Skynyrd once said, I’m ‘Workin’ For MCA!’” added Friedman. “I’m beyond excited to transition within the UMGN family to the MCA promotion team and look forward to working alongside these flamethrowers in breaking new artists and growing the careers of this phenomenal roster. Thank you, Royce, Mike Dungan, and Cindy Mabe, for this amazing opportunity.”
McDonald joined MCA Nashville in 2012, working as the label’s Southwest regional director. She had previously worked as a radio regional for Valory Music and as a radio host and reporter for CMT Radio. In her new role, McDonald will work with Risser on radio initiatives for the label group’s four imprints: Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville.
“Miranda McDonald has been our secret weapon for years,” Risser said. “Not gonna be so secret anymore. Her intuitive nature and deep relationships are some of the best I’ve ever seen in radio promotion. She is also a true ‘creative’ and now I will have the ability to utilize her skills for all four of our labels. I am so excited for her to begin ripping it up for UMG Nashville.”
“MCA has been my beloved chosen family for over a decade now,” McDonald added. “So, to be given the opportunity to not only continue working alongside MCA, but also with my extended family at each of the imprints, their incredible artists, and an entirely new group of partners in radio, is an honor. I am so fortunate to continue to grow my career with the best team in the industry. Answer my calls please.”
The shift at MCA Nashville follows the recent news that Cindy Mabe will succeed Mike Dungan as chairman/CEO of UMG Nashville, effective April 1. Dungan recently announced his upcoming retirement after more than four decades in the music industry. Mabe was named president of UMGN in 2014. With her ascension, she becomes the first woman to serve as chairman/CEO of a Nashville-based major-label group. Dungan will continue to serve as an adviser to UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge.