UTA Announces New Hires Across Several Divisions Including Music, Brand Partnerships And Comedy Touring

Justin Kroll
·4 min read
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UTA has brought on music agents Emily LaRose, Marissa Smith, Elisa Vazzana to join their Nashville offices as well as Amy Lynch to join the Comedy Touring division as an agent. Brandi Brammer will serve as senior HR business partner, and Emily Wright serves as a music brand partnerships agent. These new hires further highlight UTA’s continued focus on establishing an equitable and dynamic workforce. The hirings follows on the heels of the recent news of Nashville-based Scott Clayton joining UTA Nashville as Co-Head of Global Music, Matthew Morgan as Co-Head of UTA Nashville and Buster Phillips as a Rock Agent.

“We are honored to welcome this powerhouse group of industry professionals into our Music City headquarters,” said David Zedeck, Partner and Go-Head of Global Music. “The collective breadth and scope of our new colleagues will be a tremendous addition as we continue to expand our footprint in Nashville and beyond.”

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LaRose joins the agency with close to 10 years’ experience working across multiple genres including Indie, Alternative, Pop, Rock and Country music. She has worked with artists such as Sasha Alex Sloan, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, The Main Squeeze, Nightly, Leah Kate, Payday, somegirlnamedanna, Henry Jamison, Charli Adams, and Caroline Jones, among others. Most recently she advanced dozens of contemporary artists’ careers through developing intentional touring strategies across colleges and clubs throughout North America. LaRose comes to UTA from WME and previously worked at CAA and APA.

Smith is a Music Agent based in Nashville working with clients such as JP Saxe, GAYLE, JVKE, John Harvie, and Daniel Blume. She began her career at WME, where outside of her work in North America touring, she helped build and lead WME’s first Virtual Appearance Department, booking hundreds of virtual concerts for artists such as Kehlani, Charlie Puth, Culture Club, Lindsey Stirling, Sabrina Claudio, and more. Smith also served as WME’s first-ever Social Action Music Agent, booking the department’s non-profit, political, and social action related events. Smith holds board positions with several non-profit organizations including She Is The Music, Noise for Now, Children in Conflict, Sustainable Partners, Inc., Diversify the Stage, and Tennessee Alliance for Kids.

Vazzana joins UTA as a Music Agent in the Country fair and festival space. Most recently Vazzana worked at CAA for over 14 years where she represented many of the world’s leading Country musicians, including Runaway June, Carly Pearce, Home Free, and Walker Hayes, among others. She plays a big role in the Nashville community, as a founder of the Nashville chapter of Rhythm of Hope, a partnership between The Lollipop Foundation and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and is also a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), Country Music Association (CMA), Academy of Country Music (ACM), and International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA).

Lynch joins UTA from WME as an agent in the Comedy Touring division. While at WME, she represented the live touring careers of comedians, podcasts, and influencer talent, as well as overseeing the launch of the comedy department’s major arena and theater tours. As a former promoter and producer at Mills Entertainment, she brings diversified expertise in all facets of the touring and live events landscape. Lynch has worked on tours for some of the industry’s top talent including Kevin Hart and Amy Schumer, amongst many others and most recently comedic sensation Leanne Morgan.

Brammer comes to UTA with over 20 years’ experience in the entertainment industry. She most recently served as VP, Human Resources at WME, where she oversaw HR for the global music division. In her previous role, Brammer led the HR team for the southeast region at CAA, overseeing both the music and sports divisions. As the Nashville music scene diversified, she grew the CAA Nashville office from 38 employees to over 120.

Wright recently joined UTA as an Agent in the Music Brand Partnerships division. Previously, Wright worked at CAA in the music brand partnerships department for nearly 10 years where she developed unique and innovative partnerships between music artists and brands. Wright was named a winner of the Nashville Business Journal’s 2019 Women in Music Awards and has closed deals for a variety of artists including Cardi B, Becky G, Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Brett Young, Russell Dickerson, Kehlani, Brittney Spencer, Midland, Jimmie Allen, Clay Walker and Clint Black and many more. Over the years, Wright has worked with top brands overseeing talent negotiations for campaigns with companies such as Moet Hennessy, Gap, Ford, Bose, REVOLVE, Madewell, Anheuser-Busch, Hewlett-Packard, FedEx and many more.

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