LOS ANGELES, CA (Top40 Charts/ Universal
Music Publishing Group) -
David Renzer, Chairman & CEO, Universal
Music Publishing Group (UMPG) today announced the promotion of Pat Higdon to President for Universal
Music Publishing Group, Nashville. Most recently, Higdon served as Executive Vice President/General Manager for UMPG Nashville. In this new role, Higdon will preside over the company's country music publishing activities, reporting to Renzer.
With over 30 years publishing experience in the Nashville marketplace, Higdon is considered the "dean" of Nashville publishers. Pat is widely recognized as one of Nashville's most successful "song pluggers," with hundreds of top-ten chart recordings to his credit. The list of writers that have trusted their song careers in his guiding hands includes many songwriting icons such as Don Schlitz, Josh Turner, Dave Loggins, Troy Verges, Rivers Rutherford, Radney Foster, Shooter Jennings, Monty Powell, Matraca Berg, Anders Osborne, Gary Harrison, Troy Seals, Shawn Camp, Tim Mensy, and many more.
"Pat is an outstanding executive who is respected by his staff, our writers, and the entire Nashville community. His dedication, intelligence, and hard work have helped solidify UMPG's reputation as a company that combines creative excellence with business strength, and has helped make our Nashville office the premiere music publishing operation in Nashville," stated Renzer. "Pat seamlessly handled the important integration of numerous catalogues into our Nashville office - including, Rondor and BMG - and also always focuses on bringing Nashville's best songs to an audience outside of Nashville. I'm pleased to reward Pat's years of dedicated service and accomplishments with this promotion."
"What we've achieved is a testament to this company's artists, songwriters, catalogues, and employees," said Higdon. "I'm pleased to build on the great results we've achieved artistically and commercially over many years. I firmly believe in the mantra of great songs and great songwriters and have always invested in careers for the long haul. We're building a catalogue at UMPG that I believe will weather the test of time."
UMPG Nashville continually delivers hits for country music's most elite artists including Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Adkins, Lee Ann Womack, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and many more. Artists of all genres seek to work with this staff, including Celine Dion, Jon Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Paulina Rubio, Ricky Martin, John Mayer, Marco Borsato, and The Corrs.
A Nashville native, Higdon broke into the music industry in the early 70's as a recording engineer at one of Nashville's then more prominent studios, Woodland Sound before taking a position at Cedarwood Publishing. Higdon then took a post at MCA Music, where he remained with the company for the next seven years, rising to MCA's Vice President of Nashville operations. In the late `80s, Higdon moved to Warner/Chappell Music, where he served as Senior Director of Creative Services.
In 1989 Higdon founded Patrick Joseph Music as a joint venture with Warner/Chappell. Higdon established a similar relationship in 1992 with Los Angeles-based Windswept Pacific Entertainment The success of Patrick Joseph Music's boutique catalog caught the attention of Universal Music Publishing Group and Higdon was tapped to run the Nashville operation in 1999.
In his position with Universal Music Publishing Group, Higdon manages one of Nashville's most successful music catalogs that spans the width of the musical landscape, from the 1940's Folk/Blues of the Delmore Brothers, the 1950's and 1960's classics of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly, country classics from Webb Pierce, Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, and the works of Bob McDill, Rivers Rutherford, Pat Alger, Dickey Lee, Kostas, Mel Tillis, Marijohn Wilkin, Stephanie Bentley, Matraca Berg, Gary Burr, Troy Verges, Rivers Rutherford, Craig Wiseman, Emmylou Harris, Ed Hill, Marcus Hummon, and many more.
About Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is the industry's leading global music publishing operation and is part of Universal Music Group. UMPG represents music in every genre from many of the world's top songwriters and catalogs including U2, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Coldplay, Nelly, Juan Gabriel, Ciara, Dave Grohl, Prince, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Beastie Boys, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Paul Simon, Henry Mancini, Christina Aguilera and Linkin Park, among many others. For more information, visit: www.umusicpub.com.
