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Fletcher Foster
President & CEO, F2 Entertainment Group
You'd expect a Nashville music executive's resume to include the likes of Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley and Brooks & Dunn. You might not expect to see names like Whitney Houston, Annie Lennox, Toni Braxton, Patti LaBelle, TLC and Live. Fletcher Foster's stints at labels in Los Angeles and Nashville have given him one of the most varied and eclectic backgrounds on Music Row. He starting his own company, Iconic Entertainment Group, which launched the career of Grammy-nominated songwriter and artist Kelsea Ballerini and currently is President/CEO of F2 Entertainment whose roster includes Priscilla Block, Jessie James Decker, Kellie Pickler, Runaway June and Levi Hummon.
After graduating from Nashville’s Belmont University, he joined the staff of Sony Records/Nashville working with a roster that included Rosanne Cash, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash among others. In 1990, he moved to Los Angeles to work for Arista Records and worked with artists including Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, TLC, Kenny G., Annie Lennox and more. He spent nearly two years at MCA as Vice-President, Television and Multimedia Marketing, logging rock/alternative band Live their first appearance on “Saturday Night Live” and helping launch them toward their Triple-Platinum success.
Moving back across the country, he took a position as Senior Vice President, Marketing for Arista Records/Nashville. In 1999, Foster was the Executive Producer of the label’s first soundtrack. The soundtrack to the Miramax film, "Happy, Texas" received rave reviews and earned two Grammy nominations. The album featured such diverse artists as Joan Osborne, Alison Krauss, Pam Tillis, Emmylou Harris, Keb Mo' and Kim Richey.
He left Arista to join Capitol/Nashville as Senior Vice President, Marketing, a position he held for over six years, helping build the careers of artists like Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, and Trace Adkins. Foster was then named Senior Vice President/General Manager for Universal Records South.
In 2010, he co-produced the first annual “American Country Awards” on Fox-TV. The two-hour show became the only purely fan-voted country awards program recognizing artists in all aspects of the industry (radio airplay, single/album sales, video airplay, online visibility and touring). In 2013, he Executive Produced the Alabama & Friends album and TV special (featuring the Country Music Hall of Fame group with other country artists including Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Eli Young Band, Florida George Line, Jamey Johnson and Trisha Yearwood).
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