Sony Music Nashville Shakes Up Radio Promo Team, Names Dennis Reese as SVP

Sony Music Nashville has restructured its radio promotion team, appointing Dennis Reese as senior vp, radio marketing & promotion. Reese will oversee the development and execution of the strategic radio promotional plans for both the RCA Nashville and Columbia Nashville imprints. Reese will report to Sony Music Nashville chair/CEO Taylor Lindsey and president/COO Ken Robold, and will start in his new role on Feb. 14.

Reese spent the past year at Neon Coast, supporting the artist roster including Kane Brown, Restless Road, Nightly, Dylan Schneider and Kat Luna. His new role marks a returning of Reese to SMN; Reese previously spent seven years leading the RCA Nashville imprint. He joined RCA Nashville after working in pop music at Epic Records, Capitol Music Group, Elektra Records and Columbia Records.

“We are thrilled to welcome back Dennis to the company,” Lindsey said in a statement. “His experience at both the country and pop formats, excellent leadership skills and dedication to the artists he’s worked is unmatched and we are fortunate enough to have him this time at the helm of our promotion team. SMN remains committed to promoting our artists at radio and we know Dennis will continue to bring the No. 1s and advocate for our artists every day.”

Reese’s appointment follows a recent organizational restructuring at Sony Music Nashville, with several radio promotion team staffers having exited as part of the restructuring. Among those that exited were SMN senior vp, promotion Lauren “LT” Thomas, Columbia Nashville senior director, promotion Lauren Bartlett, Columbia Nashville directors of promotion Paige Elliott and Lisa Owen, as well as Sony Music Nashville manager of promotion and artist development Paul Grosser. 

Regarding the exits, Sony Music Nashville said in a statement obtained by Billboard, “Our focus is always on being the best partners for our artists and the creative community, especially in this rapidly evolving marketplace. Today we made changes to our team structure to streamline our resources and be more successfully connected to our valuable radio partners across RCA Nashville and Columbia Nashville.”

In November, Lindsey was named as chair/CEO, with Robold promoted to president/COO, as Randy Goodman announced his retirement after running the label since 2015.

Sony Music Nashville’s artist roster includes Brown, Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, Old Dominion, Nate Smith and more.