MUSIC INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE AND CHIEF STUDIO PRODUCER IN NASHVILLE TO VISIT CAMPUS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Over the past few years, Mark Wright, Executive Vice President of Artistry and Recording for Sony Records, Nashville, has become a member of a group of elite Nashville music creators. His richly felt and arranged hit productions — for artists as diverse as Lee Ann Womack, Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood and Gary Allan — have placed him among Nashville’s handful of chief studio architects.

He will visit the University of Arkansas October 10 to deliver a public lecture at 3 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. His visit is being sponsored by the Chancellor’s Office and the Department of Music in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Music has always consumed Wright. As a boy he sang in the choir that his father, a Baptist Minister of music, directed in Wright’s home of Fayetteville, Arkansas. As a Belmont University student, he worked as an assistant to various publishers and producers.

"I wanted a key to the studio and into Nashville’s professional recording arena," said Wright. By the late 1970s and early ’80s, Wright had already become a successful songwriter. Today, his credits range from compositions recorded by Amy Grant and Reba McEntire to Kenny Rogers and George Strait. In 1989, he worked as an A&R talent manager for RCA Records, a tour which ended with his co-production of the highly acclaimed 1989 multi-platinum debut of Clint Black.

Wright’s tremendous enthusiasm for music itself, he said, motivated him to return to full-time record company life in the early 1990s.

"When I was an independent, I ended up doing some records because I needed to make a living," he said. "But then I found myself being miserable. I found myself making music that I really didn’t believe in. I decided to go back to work for a record company so I could pick and choose what music I turned my attention to. I have been much happier as a result."

At Sony Records, he works to ensure the company is driven by music.

"I’m not going to base my decisions on reading spread sheets," he said. "I didn’t go to the Wharton Business School. I base my decisions on music."

Kabin Thomas, assistant professor of music who worked to arrange Wright’s visit, said that students will find Wright’s experience and knowledge extremely helpful.

"We have a fledgling music business program that allows students to learn about the music and entertainment industries," said Thomas. "We’re setting up internships with the Walton Arts Center and hope to establish a relationship between Sony Music in Nashville and the University of Arkansas. Our goal is to prepare students to enter careers in arts management, become agents, and acquire the business savvy they need become executives in the entertainment industry."