Jason Owen (born 1976 or 1977), is an American

music manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...

record executive A music executive or record executive is a person within a music company, in particular, a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can over ...

, and Tony-nominated producer best known for launching artist management company Sandbox Entertainment and leading the careers of

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...

, Dan+Shay, and

Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, she began having success in the 2010s, being honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards#Special awards, Ge ...

among others. In 2015, Owen was named one of Billboard's “40 Under 40: Music’s Top Young Power Players”, and has since been included twice in the trade magazine's "Power 100" industry ranking.

Early life

Owen grew up in Monticello, Arkansas, where his father ran a chemical distribution company. He was inspired by the first concert he attended by

The Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist-guitarist Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi Judd on backup vocals. The duo signed to RCA Records in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds wer ...

at an early age, and was a fan of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

, and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

during his childhood. He attended college at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Career

Film and television industry

After graduating from University of Arkansas, Owen held several roles within the film and television industry in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He first worked for

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

and

Fine Line Features Fine Line Features was the specialty films division of New Line Cinema. From 1991 to 2005, under founder and president Ira Deutchman, Fine Line acquired, distributed and marketed independent films. In 2005, New Line teamed up with fellow Time W ...

in a

publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) via the media. The sub ...

and talent relations position before moving to Spelling Entertainment, where he worked for

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the television series ''Family'' (1976–1980), ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977� ...

as manager of talent relations. He also served as director of marketing and talent relations for

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...

, where he oversaw press strategies for shows including ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

'', ''

Ricki Lake Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film '' Hairspray'', for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for ...

'', and ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''.

Universal Music Nashville

Owen joined

Universal Music Group Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

's country music subsidiary, in 2002. In 2005 he was promoted from vice president to senior vice president of artist, media relations, and creative services, which involved responsibilities with

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

DreamWorks Nashville DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated ...

MCA Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

, and

Mercury Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as #MCA Nashville, MCA Nashville and #Mercury Nashville, Mercury Nashville wh ...

. In this Role, Owen helped launch careers for artists such as

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, when Kristen Hall (vocals, gu ...

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, singer, actress and television personality. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrit ...

, and

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his Long Black Train, debut album's title t ...

. He then rose to senior vice president of artist development and marketing in March 2009, where he developed campaigns for

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack (; born August 19, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. She has charted 23 times on the American ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts; her highest peaking single there is her crossover signature song, " I Hope You Dance" ...

, and

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

Sandbox Entertainment

In August 2010, Owen stepped down from his role at Universal Music Nashville to launch artist management company Sandbox Entertainment. He opened the company in September 2010, with Shania Twain as his first management client after working with her for 8 years with Universal. Owen remained connected to Universal Music Nashville by serving in a

consultancy A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Con ...

role with then chairman & CEO Luke Lewis. Sandbox was initially formed with a publicity,

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

, and creative focus, but has since grown to include a touring division and a

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based Information technology, digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and service ...

department. Since opening its doors, Sandbox and Owen have added a number of formidable country music acts to its roster including Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Faith Hill,

Dan + Shay Dan + Shay is an American country pop duo composed of vocalists and songwriters Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney. They are signed to Warner Records Nashville and have released six albums, '' Where It All Began'', '' Obsessed'', '' Dan + Shay'', '' ...

(co-managed by

Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun ( ; born June 18, 1981) is an American businessman, investor, and record executive. Since 2023 he has served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hybe America, the North American subsidiary of South Korean entertain ...

), Midland, and

. In 2017, Owen arranged for Kacey Musgraves to

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...

for

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

on 20 dates of his US his summer tour. He also established the first yearlong

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

at the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (originally Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed Grand Ole Opry House for a period) is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennesse ...

dubbed "Little Big Town at the Mother Church", during which Little Big Town played a number of shows at the celebrated venue and sold more than 23,000 tickets in total. In 2018, Owen was named Executive of the Year on Billboard Magazine's 2018 Country Power Players List, ranking "movers, shakers, and influencers" within country music. In 2019, Owen's clients Kacey Musgraves and Dan + Shay collectively won 5 awards at the

Grammys The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

, including all country music categories as well as Album of the Year for Musgraves.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

named Owen their Hitmakers Manager of the Year in December. Owen's executive producer credits include the

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

holiday variety special ''The Kacey Musgraves Show'', the syndicated daytime show ''

Pickler & Ben ''Pickler & Ben'' is an American syndicated daytime talk show hosted by country singer Kellie Pickler and media personality Ben Aaron, focusing on lifestyle, beauty, celebrity and advertorial segments, along with the subjects of human interest ...

'', the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

tour documentary ''Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul'', the Food Network's ''Kimberly’s Simply Southern'', the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

concert special ''Shania: Still the One Live from Vegas'',..

Fox TV Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...

series; ''Monarch,'' starring

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

, set in the world of country music. ''Love,Tom''; a storytelling documentary on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

, CMT's ''A River of Time: Naomi Judd Memorial'', and ''COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER: A celebration of the life & music of

LORETTA LYNN Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

.'' Owen is also a producer of the Tony-nominated broadway musical, ''

Shucked ''Shucked'' is a 2022 musical with music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and a book by Robert Horn (writer), Robert Horn. The Broadway theatre, Broadway production began previews at the Nederlander Theatre on March 8, 2023, before ...

.'' Additionally, he has been an Executive Producer for 2021 and 2022,

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The ceremony launched in 1967 as Music City News Awards; it is the oldest award show currently airing under Paramount Global. The ceremony ...

Monument Records

In 2017, Owen partnered with award-winning producer and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Shane McAnally Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He debuted as a singer in 1999 with his Shane McAnally (album), self-titled album on Curb Records. This project produced three sing ...

to revive

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

, an imprint of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

known in its past iterations for signing

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

, Dolly Parton,

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, and the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

. Their first signings included Caitlyn Smith and

Walker Hayes Charles Edgar Walker Hayes (born December 27, 1979) is an American country pop singer and songwriter. He has released four studio albums: ''Reason to Rhyme'' in 2011 on Capitol Records Nashville, and ''Boom (Walker Hayes album), Boom ''(2017), ' ...

, but their roster has since grown to include Brandon Ratcliff, Teddy Robb, Anna Moon, and a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

with music industry veterans Susan Nadler and Evelyn Shriver, coined “Shady Ladies of Music City”.

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Owen is openly gay and is married to Sam Easley, owner of

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

based artist

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

company Crown Merchandise. Together they have three children. He and his husband are avid art collectors, and in May 2018 together they guest-curated a photography exhibition titled "Vestige" at David Lusk Gallery in Nashville showcasing works from their photography collection.

References

External links

Sandbox Entertainment

Monument Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Jason American music industry executives Universal Music Group American talent agents Living people Year of birth missing (living people)