The Orchard has announced the appointment of Heather Vassar as its new Senior Vice President, Nashville.
In her new position, Vassar will lead The Orchard’s Nashville division, reporting to Colleen Theis, the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Vassar previously served as SVP at EMPIRE, where she launched their Nashville division and is credited by The Orchard for her “instrumental” role in signing and developing breakout acts such as Shaboozey, CeCe, and Wyatt Flores.
New York-headquartered The Orchard, a distribution and artist/label services company owned by Sony Music Entertainment, says that Vassar brings “over a decade of proven leadership and artist development expertise.”
Under Vassar’s tenure, EMPIRE Nashville scored numerous Billboard Hot 100 chart placements and billions of streams, in addition to “high-profile” partnerships with DSPs, brands, and media outlets.
Her remit at The Orchard will focus heavily on strengthening its “overall footprint and visibility” throughout the market, according to the firm, from “driving new relationships within Nashville’s independent music community, to overseeing day-to-day operations.”
She will also bolster support for the company’s local clients, helping expand their global reach and connect them with new audiences and partners worldwide.
“Heather brings an invaluable level of expertise to our organization.”
Colleen Theis, The Orchard
Announcing Vassar’s appointment, Theis said: “We are excited to welcome Heather to The Orchard.
“Heather brings an invaluable level of expertise to our organization, given her deep-rooted relationships within the Nashville market and significant connections throughout the wider music industry.
Added Theis: “Her proven ability to strategically cultivate opportunities for artists spanning an array of genres will be instrumental in helping us further our mission: to connect our diverse roster of clients with exponentially growing global audiences.
“Her appointment also represents a pivotal step in our ongoing commitment to elevating and empowering women in high-visibility leadership roles across our company. ”
“I look forward to elevating our footprint to support this momentum while maintaining the vision and integrity established by Brad, Colleen and The Orchard team.”
Heather Vassar, THE ORCHARD
“I’m honored to join The Orchard as SVP, Nashville, at an exciting time as genre lines blur and independent artists scale globally,” said Vassar. “I look forward to elevating our footprint to support this momentum while maintaining the vision and integrity established by Brad, Colleen and The Orchard team.”
Alongside her new role, Vassar will continue to maintain ownership of her multi-faceted music and media company, Casual Media Partners.
Elsewhere at the Orchard, last month, kids and family entertainment company Animaj entered into a global music partnership with Magic Star, the children’s and family division of The Orchard, and Sony Music Publishing.
The Orchard also recently confirmed a distribution deal with Avex Music Group, the global music division of Japanese entertainment giant Avex.Music Business Worldwide
