Category Archives: Why Owen?

This week, Owen students had the exclusive honor of attending Vanderbilt Media Group’s (VMG) event “An Evening with Music Industry Executives.”

The VMG, a newly-relaunched Owen club devoted to serving students with a professional interest in media and entertainment, hosted a panel discussion and Q&A with senior music industry executives and luminaries hailing from record labels, artist business management, songwriting, publishing, and digital/social media.

Panelists included:

• Tim Dubois, VP & Owen Adjunct Professor of Entertainment & Media Management
• Ken Robold, Executive VP/GM at Universal Music Group & Owen EMBA Alumnus ’99
• Duff Berschback, VP Business Affairs at Sony/ATV Music Publishing
• Jamie Cheek, Partner at Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc. (represents artists such as Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, and Pearl Jam)
• Brian Peterson, Founder of social media start-up, RedRovor
• Tom Douglas, Songwriter (2011 Grammy- and Oscar-nominated songwriter)

Hosted by industry legend Tim Dubois, this fascinating group discussed the inner workings and current state of a music industry famously in crisis, their visions for the future, how the industry might recover, and broader implications for media. The event was well-attended by a broad mix of first and second year students, who asked a number of insightful questions during the Q&A. Afterwards, a wine-and-cheese reception with live music took place, giving students the opportunity to mingle with the panelists. VMG is committed to hosting similar events in the future, covering different industries within media and entertainment.