This Week’s Disruptors 12/15/2023
This weeks DISRUPTORS are in! Get to know them all!
- Zak Kuhn (Founder, Nashville Briefing)
Courtney Beebe
Associate Director, Media, Sony Music Nashville
Bio: UNC-Chapel Hill alumna Courtney Beebe has spent the past decade rooted in Nashville, sharing the stories of some of Music City’s most talented artists. Beebe joined the media department at Sony Music Nashville in 2018, leading label publicity efforts for artists including Old Dominion, Gavin DeGraw, Chris Young, Morgan Wade, Kameron Marlowe, Tenille Townes, David J, and more. Prior to SMN, she worked as a publicist at independent firm Sweet Talk Publicity representing Morgan Wallen, Dustin Lynch, a Capella group Home Free, and celebrity trainer Erin Opera, among others. Beebe began her career as an intern at the Country Music Association, later rising from Communications Assistant to Manager during her five-year stint while also serving as Managing Editor of the trade organization’s member publication CMA Close Up. She was named to MusicRow’s Next Big Thing Class of 2023, is an ACM and CMA voting member, and serves on Sony’s Nashville Equity Taskforce.
Proudest moment: A few highlights that stick out are being with CMA for the 50th Annual CMA Awards and the “Forever Country” campaign, watching Dustin Lynch be No. 1 for four weeks with “Small Town Boy,” Morgan Wallen getting his first No. 1 with “Up Down,” Morgan Wade’s Reckless being the top pick for Rolling Stone’s Best Country Albums, Old Dominion matching the CMA Vocal Group of the Year record, and Kameron Marlowe releasing his debut album We Were Cowboys. But I think what’s most rewarding is watching the growth of my former interns as they find their place in our industry. I’ve had some phenomenal mentors over the years, and I think it’s incredibly important to pay it forward to the next generation of professionals.
Drea Jackson
Senior Manager, Artist Relations, SoundCloud
Bio: As a tastemaker, Drea’s lifestyle has always been through the lens of music. She attended Spelman College and spent the entirety of 2010’s in Atlanta, GA which shaped much of her culture, network, and taste in sound & talent. Post graduation she dedicated her free time to her music blog, Drea Vibes, co-hosted the podcast Urban Overdose, reported from red carpets for media brands, and frequented nightlife in the city to build relationships. She broke into the business by taking an entry level sales role at Pandora media. While in sales she built relationships across other orgs and contributed to the music and programming teams as support for artist relations. She eventually applied for a brand partnerships role at SoundCloud, snagged it, moved to NYC and began to thrive as a member of the SoundCloud community. The majority of Drea’s love for music came from her discoveries on SoundCloud and respective emerging artist scenes in ATL. In her current role as Senior Manager, she focuses on artist discovery, artist development as a driver for the First On SoundCloud annual program, brand evangelism through 1:1 support and education for creators, and amplification of emerging artists and scenes in culture that use SoundCloud as a vessel.
Proudest moment - One moment that stands out is curating the line ups for SoundCloud’s showcases which gave Ice Spice and SoFaygo their first performances ever.
Joy Denver Spears
Professional Dancer, Choreographer, Stage Movement Coash & Master Teacher
Bio: Alabama native Joy Denver Spears began her professional career in 2006 as one of the top 10 female contestants on the Fox hit television show, “So You Think You Can Dance”. Spears quickly made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, performing with artists such as Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Paula Abdul, Pharrell, Pitbull, Will.i.am, Fall Out Boy, Kat Graham, Priyanka Chopra and DJ Havana Brown. She has worked with the industry’s top choreographers, working on TV series, feature films, an array of music videos and award shows including VMA, CMT & CMA Awards. Spears received her BA in dance and journalism from the University of Alabama and is now residing in Nashville, TN. She transitioned from not just being the performer, but also a choreographer and choreographed the final season of the ABC/CMT TV show, “Nashville”. Spears is one of the most sought after choreographers/dancers/movement coaches in Music City and has worked with country artists including Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi, Madeline Edwards, Reba McEntire, Lauren Alaina, Danielle Bradbery, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, Kassi Ashton, Little Big Town, Tucker Nichol, Niko Moon, Kenny Chesney, Maddie & Tae, Tenille Arts, Walker Hayes, Brad Paisley, Tyler Hubbard and Hot Country Knights, amongst many more. Most recently she choreographed and performed for Walker Hayes on The Today Show, Citi Concert Series, as well as choreographing the last project Leslie Jordan was a part of, alongside Blanco Brown and LOCASH. When Spears is not on set, or performing you can find her teaching at Millennium Dance Complex Nashville as well as many other dance studios in the south and across the country.
Proudest moment - The fact that I’m 36, and still doing what I love. Every single accomplishment and moment has driven me to keep going. I love evolving, working with other creatives, and most importantly, working with GOOD humans. I’m also so proud and grateful to now be a wife!!! My husband, Will Dakota (go stream his music), uplifts me, encourages me and for that, I thank God every day.
Nina Musolino
Artist & Producer/Writer Manager, Page 1 Management
Bio: Nina Musolino is a manager at Page 1 Management. She started her career at Red Light Management, while simultaneously finishing school at Belmont University. She handled day-to-day work for artists such as BONES UK, Zella Day, Rayland Baxter, and Sure Sure. During this time, she assisted with the release of BONES UK’s debut album, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance in 2020. Her love for songwriting then led her into publishing at Fourward Music where she looked after the Nashville roster consisting of Carrie K, Mike Robinson, Hastings, Abby Anderson and Andrew Stoelzing. All of which prepared her for her time at Page 1, where she is currently building her own management roster. Her clients include hip-hop/rock producer David Kerckhoff, pop/country songwriter Isabella Kearney-Nurse, R&B/Rock artist Sayak Das, and pop/country producer and songwriter Evan Cline. She is focused on expanding the Nashville office and bringing more opportunities to her clients not only in town, but globally. Outside of management, she co-founded House of Song, an organization that creates opportunities for non-country artists and creatives in a predominantly “country music focused” city. It’s goal is to seek community, put on live events, network, and support local creatives.
Proudest Moment - This is always a tricky question because I am proud of many things.. I'd have to go with my proudest moment being the launch of Sayak Das' artist project. Just 9 months after his debut EP was released, he opened for Jai Wolf at the Brooklyn Mirage and landed a support slot with artist Hojean. These opportunities made our team extremely excited for what's to come. Watch out 2024!
Stevie Heckert
Digital Manager, Strategy, Sandbox Entertainment
Bio: Stevie Heckert oversees all facets of the social media presence, including social partnerships and overall digital strategy, for Sandbox Entertainment’s roster as the Digital Manager. She started at Sandbox in 2019 as a Digital Coordinator and has spent the last four years developing and executing many high level marketing campaigns alongside her teammates for their roster which includes artists like Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Dan + Shay, and Little Big Town among others.
Proudest moment - It’s hard to pinpoint one specific moment - I am so proud to be a part of the team at Sandbox and have had the privilege of working on some really amazing projects during my time here. I think the most rewarding part of my job is watching fans connect with music around a song or album launch after spending months strategizing on how to do just that. Most recently, being a part of the team on Kelsea Ballerini’s Grammy-nominated EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat and watching her fandom reach new heights over this past year has been really exciting.
Wes Davenport
Culture Marketing Director, °1824 at Universal Music Group
Bio: Wes Davenport is a Director at Universal Music Group’s °1824 division. He oversees °1824 projects for UMG’s Nashville-based artists, as well as runs the department’s publicity and social media teams. Since joining °1824, Wes has produced an Animal Crossing concert with Tove Lo, brewed a custom craft beer for The Struts, spearheaded creative strategy to launch the company’s livestreaming division and booked programming with organizations like Music Biz, Belmont University, University of Southern California, GrammyU, She Is The Music, the Mental Health Coalition and YMCA International. He also founded an ongoing press conference series to regularly connect Gen Z blogs, zines, student media and curators with artists like Katy Perry, Yungblud, Jon Batiste, Lauv, Still Woozy, Glass Animals, Reneé Rapp, Gracie Abrams and many more.
Proudest moment - Contributing to the lift-off to Stephen Sanchez’s career by producing early music videos that now have millions of views. Outside of any individual project, I’m so proud of my team and the 200+ young creatives we’ve placed in full-time music industry roles through °1824!
