This is HUGE. Dave Cobb Announced as Chief Creative Officer at UMG Nashville

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photo: Becky Fluke


Normally, the musical chairs of Music Row executives and underlings in Nashville rearrange themselves on a monthly, or even sometimes a weekly basis. The implications on the music itself are often marginal, if not inconsequential—or at least hard to determine when it comes to how the downstream effects will shake out. In this instance, ladies and gentlemen, that is not the case.

When the news broke Thursday afternoon (2-6) about the departure of Cindy Mabe as the Chair and CEO of Universal Music Group Nashville, it felt monumental and newsworthy all unto itself. As the head of one of the four major label groups in Nashville, this sent reverberative shock waves throughout the industry, even if the average music consumer didn’t feel it. Mabe had been with Universal for 18 years, including the last two as the sole head of the company after sharing that role with Mike Dungan for a number of years.

Even more shocking is who was announced as the leadership to replace Mabe. Her direct replacement is a guy named Mike Harris, who previously worked at UMG Nashville as the COO, and an Executive Vice President, and who departed in 2024 after first joining the label group in 2016. Harris previously worked for EMI.

But most importantly, as part of the reshuffling, producer Dave Cobb has been announced as UMG Nashville’s CCO, or Chief Creative Officer. This puts one of the primary actors in the country music turnaround of the last decade in a direct position of power in the mainstream to influence and shape the future of country music.

If you’re unaware, Dave Cobb is the producer who was responsible for such landmark albums as Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, Jason Isbell’s Southeastern, Chris Stapleton’s Traveller, Brandi Carlile’s By The Way, I Forgive You, let alone scores of other albums subsequently, including Made By These Moments by The Red Clay Strays in 2024. He’s earned 13 Grammy Awards and numerous CMAs as a producer.

Some might conclude that some of Dave Cobb’s production has been hit or miss. But what nobody can deny is that he’s been at the very heart of the realignment of country music to a more country, a more rootsy, a more organic, and a more songwriter-based era as this type of music has swelled in popularity to the arena level, and revolutionized the country music space.

Placing Dave Cobb in the Chief Creative Officer spot at UMG Nashville can’t be in spite of these accomplishments. It’s likely because of them, and the direction any smart CEO can see the music is headed. Previously, Cobb had been operating the label Low Country Sound as an imprint of Elektra Records, which was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records that nests under the Warner Music Group.

It might take months or even years to suss out what exactly all of this means. But it definitely puts an interesting character in the cat bird’s seat at a major position on Music Row. UMG Nashville is the label home of Alan Jackson, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Kacey Musgraves, Jon Pardi, Parker McCollum, The War & Treaty, Sam Hunt (*cough*), and many more.

Also not unimportant to note is the departure of Cindy Mabe from one of the most important positions in the country music industry. Along with Leslie Fram at CMT, and the CEO of the Country music Association, Sarah Trahern, they made up the most prominent, powerful, and important women within the country music industry.

For years some have portrayed country music’s executive positions as a good ol’ boy system, and one of the reasons women struggled so much to find traction in the industry. But this flew in the face of these three women, and the positions of power they had attained. With Fram leaving CMT in 2024, and now Cindy Mabe’s departure, this gives country music’s executive offices a much different complexion.

The next few years will be very interesting to follow for UMG Nashville, and for the rest of the mainstream country music industry as it adapts to a reality where independent releases continue to increase market share in the musical marketplace.

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