With HEY NOW Records delivering unprecedented response to their first single, President and Co-Founder Kris Lamb announces key business and commerce hires for the streamlined independent label designed to super-serve singularly talented artists in ways that match their individual needs.
“As the label expands its reach, it’s critical to have systems in place to support the work being done by the various teams,” Lamb says. “To be able to engage executive talent that includes Danny Bess and Rachel Brown on the business side, and Troy Scott for commerce and consumer products, we’re going to be able to move twice as fast, knowing our needs will be supported by a strong foundation.”
Senior Vice President Danny Bess returns to a label from his independent DFB Consulting, where he provided tactical insight for several corporations. A veteran of major labels, he spent seven years as Chief Financial Officer at Warner Music Nashville and 25 years as the Vice President of Finance at Universal Music Group Nashville. A Vanderbilt graduate with an MBA from Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business, he began his career at RCA Records/BMG.
Manager of Operations Rachel Brown has an extensive background in project management, marketing and merchandising, having spent several years at Aroluxe Marketing where her strength was integrating cross-functional campaigns for a variety of clients. With a Pepperdine MBA, her skills were honed in the fashion space, supporting product strategy and merchandising initiatives for Kendra Scott jewelry. Her expertise in business strategy and brand growth will be deployed to dial in the label’s growth.
“Danny and Rachel both understand the practical business piece of how we get our artists from music created to music consumed,” Lamb explains. “Bess’s knowledge base reflects earned experience, as well as creating a business strategy that gives our staff real support when they are making it happen. Rachel bridges the creativity-execution sectors with not just passion, but an analytic sense that allows us to be tactical and effective.”
Vice President of Commerce & Consumer Products Troy Scott has a quarter century of experience across labels, radio and social media platforms. Starting across the Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston markets managing operations and marketing campaigns for BMG artists including P!nk, Dave Matthews Band, Backstreet Boys, TLC, *NSYNC, Outkast, Martina McBride and Maroon 5, he moved to Universal Music Group in New York as Sales Account Director, securing major brand campaigns for Mary J. Blige, Fall Out Boy, Ne-Yo and Trisha Yearwood. Moving into media, Scott took the role of Sales Manager at Alpha Media in Richmond, Va., overseeing 300+ local and national accounts across a three-station cluster. He then returned to the label side, joining Universal Music Group Nashville in 2014 as Director of Commercial Development, ultimately rising to Senior Director of E-Commerce & Retail. His direct-to-consumer strategies and campaigns for Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt, Reba, Luke Bryan and Little Big Town achieved significantly impactful growth in consumer engagement.
“Troy approaches each artist and situation to understand how the pieces connect,” Lamb says. “Over the years, his style’s never been ‘This is how we do it,’ but ‘What is the best way to expose this music and get people to engage?’ Given what we’re hoping to do, the diversity of acts he’s worked with and venues he’s worked in makes him someone who can meet HEY NOW’s roster where they are and super-deliver.”
After locking out the entire reporting country radio panel with Kenny Chesney’s “Carry On” in its first week, only the third time in chart history and first time an independent label has managed the feat, HEY NOW Records is building a future based on artist-first delivery from the moment the music is delivered until long after a project has run its cycle. Focused on what makes music matter to people, the business and consumer-facing functions are as integral to what’s being built as the promo team that continues to create momentum in the traditional means of exposure.
“To me, this isn’t just about how it’s been done,” Lamb offers. “It’s also about how else can we do this? If you can create a structure where trusting the process includes honoring all the ways people find, consume and commit songs to their lives and feed that passion, it doesn’t matter how we shape the process – only finding a path that takes us to where the people who need this music can be found.”
About HEY NOW Records
HEY NOW is an independent record label founded by Clint Higham, Kenny Chesney, John Esposito and Kris Lamb. With an artist forward focus, the boutique label stresses individuality, development and creating a bridge between people seeking music that reflects their lives and artists seeking to connect from the inside out. Based in Nashville, HEY NOW deploys a team across all disciplines, including a promotion staff who work from passion and super serve the hand selected roster at radio, a streaming and digital marketing team focused on driving discovery and audience growth across platforms, and A&R executives who operate from their strengths and bring a diverse spectrum of musical influence. www.heynowrecords.com