MSO BUILDS NASHVILLE PRESENCE AS IT UNITES WITH LYNDIE WENNER

DATE: JULY 10, 2008

FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER

MSO BUILDS NASHVILLE PRESENCE

AS IT UNITES WITH LYNDIE WENNER

MSO, the music publicity firm that handles artists and festivals in the fields of rock, alternative, country, hip-hop and electronic, has announced that it is building its presence in Nashville by uniting with Lyndie Wenner as MSO’s Nashville Representative & Consultant.  The Nashville-based music industry executive and communications consultant will develop new business prospects and strategic alliances for MSO with artists, record labels and management companies as well as cover MSO artists on-site in the city. 

Mitch Schneider, President of MSO, first worked with Wenner when they met at the publicity company Solters/Roskin/Friedman in Los Angeles.  Since she moved to Nashville in 1994, the two have maintained strong ties, paving the way for this union. 

MSO: THE MITCH SCHNEIDER ORGANIZATION represents a wide range of artists including David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Allman Brothers Band, Aerosmith, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, Hank Williams III and Paul Oakenfold as well as such festivals as Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Stagecoach: California’s Country Music Festival, Vans Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Rock The Bells, Voodoo Experience and the Ultra Music Festival, among others.

Lyndie Wenner’s credits include working with legendary photographer Norman Seeff, producing photo sessions, working as photo editor, and producing his book "Sessions" (James Taylor, Johnny Cash, Judds, Tammy Wynette, Joni Mitchell, Willy Nelson, Aerosmith, Jimmy Page).  She was also Assistant Art Director to Virginia Team at the company Team Design, directing photo shoots, photo editing and overseeing CD cover designs and copy for ads, box sets and marketing tools including projects by Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks Reba McEntire, Jimmy Buffett and many more.

“As MSO expands its services into Nashville, I feel Lyndie is a fantastic asset for the company, as her expertise will result in lots of new opportunities and excitement for MSO,” says Mitch Schneider.  “Having Lyndie based in Nashville,” adds Schneider, “will also be a huge benefit for all our artists.” 

"The pulse in Music City is so exciting and so incredibly strong,” says WENNER. “The music and the talent that is coming out of here is amazing!  Nashville is a great place to be as witnessed by many of the newly introduced artists and multi-platinum selling artists in Country, Rock, Pop, Rap and Hip Hop, and other genres of music who are calling Nashville their home in recent years.  We have so many great and diverse artists living here. Injecting MSO into the mainstream of Nashville is a vision I have shared with Mitch for several years now, and I am extremely proud and excited to have this opportunity to introduce and implement MSO into the Nashville community.” She adds: “The thing that I have always admired about Mitch in our 20-some year relationship is his ability and talent to stay on the cutting edge.    Any artist or event that wants to be ‘out in front’ and ‘lead the pack’ in a unique and innovative manner will definitely benefit from Mitch and his team.”

Schneider founded MSO in 1995 with longtime Senior Vice Presidents Todd Brodginski, Marcee Rondan and Kristine Ashton-Magnuson.  The company, which also recently announced the promotions of Alexandra Greenberg and Libby Henry to Vice Presidents, currently employs 15 people in its Sherman Oaks, CA office. 

MSO (an offshoot of Levine/Schneider Public Relations) has represented various country artists including Dwight Yoakam (from 1988’s Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room through 2000’s Tomorrow’s Sounds Today as well as  Blame the Vain  in 2005), Brooks & Dunn, Elizabeth Cook, Stacy Dean Campbell, Little Texas, BR-549, The Derailers and Victoria Shaw.  MSO also handled the publicity for the inaugural Stagecoach: California’s Country Music Festival in 2007, as well as the 2008 Stagecoach which was expanded from two to three days.  MSO joined forces with Dolly Parton in 2007 to implement the campaign for Backwoods Barbie, her first mainstream country album in 17 years, marking the first-ever release on her own label.  The album entered the Top 200 Albums chart at #17 and at #2 on both the Country Album and Indie Album charts and marks her highest album debut ever on the Billboard pop albums chart, and first entry into the Top 20 since 1993’s Slow Dancing With The Moon.

Contact info:

Mitch Schneider                       Lyndie Wenner
mschneider@msopr.com         lwenner@msopr.com
818-380-0400 ext. 235           615-973-4160

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