Veteran A&R Execs Katie Winter And Zach Lund has announced the launch of a new Nashville-based management company called Wild Child Music. The new company was launched in collaboration with the Eclipse Music Group and founded last year and already has a robust list of artists and producers, including Delacey, Hayden Blunt, Valley James, Wells Ferrari, Cecley, Logan Turner, Brett Truit, Willie Breeding, Cameron Nal.
(Picture above, LR: Eclipse’s Penny Gattis, Lund, Winter, Eclipse’s Kurt Locher.)
The two give decades of experience to the company. The winter, which is Wild Child’s founder and CEO, previously served as a Senior Vice President of A&R at Columbia Records in New York, where she worked with and/or signed artists such as Leon Bridges, Dove Cameron, Alana Springsteen and Tanner Adell. Previously, she was a head of A&R at Warner Chappell Music Publishing in Los Angeles, signed Shaboozey, Julia Michaels, Hailee Steinfeld, Kygo, Christina Aguilera and Bishop Briggs, among others. She also launched Facet House Label and Publishing Company With hit songwriter Justin Trants and was the first woman to contain the CEO of the residence role at the New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
Lund, who is Wild Child’s senior partner and principal, was former head of the Universal Music Publishing Group, where he signed and/or worked with acclaimed artists such as Stephen Sanchez, Morgan Wade, Matt Shultz (Cage the Elephant), Natalie Hemby and Carter Faith.
Kurt Locher, Eclipse Music Group’s founder and principal says: “At Eclipse, our foundation has always been a deep commitment to artists and their songs. Wild Child’s vision adapts perfectly to our mission, and we could not ask for a more passionate and innovative partnership than with Katie and Zach.” Penny Gattis, Eclipse Music Group Partner, adds, “their driving force, authenticity and commitment to artistic integrity is unsurpassed. We are pleased to merge with Wild Child when they create an inspiring home for their list to thrive.”
Amount Got on the phone with the winter and Lund last week; The conversation follows below.
What did you get to work together?
We have always had very similar passions in what we listen to. Zach was really embedded in the Americana-alternative scene, and that is a lot of what I listen to as an individual but my career took more in the pop music landscape, but after I was very friendly with Justin, during Covid I just felt that I needed a change after I had run or collaborated A & R for Warner Chappell under Jon. So I took a job at Columbia Records, where I got to learn a lot about making records and got to work on a diverse list, which was also very valuable. And over the years people would say “you would be good at dealing with artists”, and I will not speak for Zach but people have always told him too. And I was at a point in my career where it was, it is now or never, let’s give this once. Zach and I have always adapted and have the same general view of artists and put them first, which to be honest is not always the case in the music industry.
Over the years I had spent a lot of time in Nashville and I grew up in North Carolina, so it will not scour culturally, and it felt like the right place to launch this, and Zach has worked in alternative and American scenes for several years and has fantastic relationships.
How did you contact your investors?
Kurt Locher has an independent national publishing company called Eclipse, and he and his business partner, Penny Gaddis, are really passionate about music and we got to know each other really well. They really respect what we do, which was much different from what Eclipse does, and loves that we want to work in different genres and not be exclusive to just one. He invested in us, so it gives us grace to grow without feeling that we are in a chokehold financially. We are so appreciative for them, because it really makes it possible and we have to take many chances and give a basis for artists to grow.
Zach, how long have you been to Nashville, and how did you start?
Almost 12 years, yes. I originally come from Tulsa, Oklahoma. My first gig was an internship at A&R at Universal in London. Then I moved to Nashville and went to the law school, spent about three and a half years at a music lawyer in town, Marcus & Colvin. I decided in Didn’t Want to do that as my profession, but the firm was super ingrained in the changing scene in nashville, like the rock scene and kings of leon and all that, and i started noticing that most company waste adding some to cover music At Universal, Starting in 2017: I started as the non-country a & r guy and then as the more alt-country and americana stuff got big, that became a big part of my roll as well. So I had to grow that side of things for almost seven years universal.
Why were you in London at such a young age?
(Laughs) Uh, yes, I studied technically abroad. I took a class so I could get there, but the main point was to do that internship. I had actually met Mike Davis, who was an EVP at Universal at that time, through a friend. And I just lied and told him that I would live in London, and he joined me and then I had to retroactively, who, climb to find out how the hell I would live there! But I did, and it was also an amazing experience. I was 20 years old, running around and saw shows in London.
Let’s have a quick 411 on some of your top artists – there are many of them!
Well, we started with an indie artist named Delacey, who has had a lot of success in the pop songwriting world, from hits with Halsey and Jenny and Dua Lipa. I have worked with her for almost four years-I have a cut in Columbia and we have created a fantastic relationship. I guess you can say that she is our official flagship artist for the new company because she is such a light and a great ambassador for us.
We have Valley James, whom Zach worked with she calls herself a “Goth Country” artist and has this a kind of essential voice and plays these as Dark Country songs. She is on her way with Steven Wilson Jr. Right now and will play Orville Tech Rodeo later this year.
Hayden Blunt, who is 22 years old, had a top five viral song with “Heaven on Earth.” He opens for Casellas in the fall and he did a run with Baker Blankenship, his opportunity opportunities have happened really quickly. And we have an incredible band-slash duo called Wells Ferrari which is signed by Atlantic Records. They are like Social Rock, very Laurel Canyon with a modern indie vibe. And we have CECE Coakley an indie people artist with pop tunes based here in East Nashville.