BRUCE
HINTON LEAVES POST AS CHAIRMAN, MCA NASHVILLE; LUKE LEWIS TO OVERSEE LABEL<
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Hinton Honored with Chairman Emeritus Position
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br /> Nashville, Tennessee and Santa Monica, California, August 7, 2002 - After 19 years of leading one of country music&
rsquo;s most successful labels, Bruce Hinton has chosen to leave his positi
on as Chairman of MCA Nashville. Commemorating his many contributions to th
e Universal Music Group over the years, he will be honored with the title o
f Chairman Emeritus, MCA Nashville, and will continue to serve as an adviso
r to the label. Luke Lewis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mercury
Nashville and Lost Highway, will now oversee the operations of all three l
abels.
&ld
quo;My time with MCA Nashville has been the most rewarding experience of my
career and I am extremely proud of the achievements of all of our great ar
tists as well as the tremendous staff behind these accomplishments,”
commented Mr. Hinton. “MCA Nashville has had an incredible run. Now,
after 19 years, I am ready to start a new chapter in my life and look forwa
rd to spending more time with my family. I am leaving the label in good han
ds with Luke Lewis.”
“Bruce is truly one of the legendary figures in coun
try music,” said Mr. Lewis. “Under his auspices, MCA Nashville
continued to set new standards for artistry and success over the years. It
is a great honor to take the reins from Bruce and I am pleased that he will
continue to serve as an advisor. I join all of the Universal Music Group i
n thanking him for his tremendous contributions to the company for so many
years.”
Added Doug Morris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Universal Musi
c Group, “As head of the leading country music label for nearly 20 ye
ars, Bruce has had a lasting influence on the entire business. We are very
proud to bestow on him the title of Chairman Emeritus in honor of his many
achievements within both MCA Nashville and country music. We thank him for
his many years of success and dedication to the Universal Music Group.&rdqu
o;
Zach Ho
rowitz, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Music Group, said,
“I have had the pleasure of working with Bruce during his entire car
eer with the Universal Music Group. He has not only been a great record exe
cutive, but one of the finest gentlemen in the business. His legacy is far
greater than the incredible success of MCA Nashville; it extends to his man
y philanthropic activities in Nashville and across the country. Bruce is tr
uly an inspiration to us all.”
A respected music industry veteran for 42 years,
Mr. Hinton built MCA Nashville into a country music powerhouse with an imp
ressive roster, which includes superstar artists Vince Gill, George Strait,
Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Gary Allan, and Lee Ann Womack as well as
newcomers Rebecca Lynn Howard and Shannon Lawson. Under his direction, MCA
Nashville was consistently rated the No. 1 country label by music trades &l
dquo;Billboard” and “R&R” for ten consecutive years (1991
-2000), leading to both publications naming MCA Nashville the “Label
of the Decade.”
MCA Nashville, under Mr. Hinton’s guidance, has set numer
ous country music records including most No. 1 singles (George Strait); mos
t Grammy Awards won by a country artist (Vince Gill); and No.1 selling fema
le country artist of all time (Reba McEntire). An Indiana native and graduate of Indi
ana University, Mr. Hinton began his music career at Warner Bros. Records i
n New York in 1960. He soon rose to the head of National Promotion for Warn
er/Reprise, relocating to their headquarters in Los Angeles. In 1965, Mr. H
inton joined Columbia Records as Western Promotion Manager and then moved b
ack to New York as Director of CBS’s Custom Label Group. He returned
to Los Angeles in 1967, joining record executive Jimmy Bowen at Amos Produc
tions. Subsequently, he co-founded the first national independent country r
ecord promotion company with Peter Svendson, and later co-founded a product
ion company with Jim Ed Norman, who later became President of Warner/Repris
e Nashville. In the early ‘80s, Mr. Hinton moved to Nashville as Seni
or Vice President and General Manager of MCA Nashville. In 1989, Hinton was
upped to President and then promoted to Chairman in 1993.
Mr. Hinton serves on the b
oards of the Country Music Foundation; Country Music Association; Tennessee
Performing Arts Center; Leadership Music; W.O. Smith Nashville Community S
chool; City of Hope Executive Board, Music & Entertainment Industry Chapter
; and the Senior Advisory Board of the Sports & Entertainment Academy/India
na University.
MCA Nashville is a division of the Universal Music Group, the world's
leading music company with wholly-owned record operations or licensees in 6
3 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group,
one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.
Universal Music Gro
up consists of record labels Decca Record Company, Deutsche Grammophon, Int
erscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Record
s, MCA Nashville, MCA Records, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Philips, Po
lydor, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records, and Verve Music Group as
well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record com
pany subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most
extensive catalog of music in the industry, which is marketed through two
distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and UM3 (outs
ide the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, a new media and t
echnology division.
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi Universal, a global me
dia and communications company.
