Warner Nashville Head Cris Lacy on Leadership as She Joins SOURCE Hall of Fame
In this week's Country Update, Cris Lacy talks about where she finds leadership inspiration.
Cris Lacy, chair/president of Warner Records Nashville, credits her experience as a waitress at a now-defunct music club in Music City for shaping her leadership skills. While working at the Stagecoach Lounge on Murfreesboro Pike, Lacy overheard a bouncer challenge her to interview the staff, including the performers, and gain a better understanding of their stories.
This encounter taught her to view people as multi-dimensional, which she now applies throughout her career. Lacy joins six other women in the SOURCE Nashville Hall of Fame on August 25, recognizing their contributions to the $10 billion music industry in Nashville. Country music is currently more welcoming to female executives and artists, with women holding all five spots on Billboard's Hot Country Songs for seven consecutive weeks in the past.
Despite progress, women remain underrepresented in the artist and executive spaces. Lacy's leadership style, which emphasizes understanding and empathy, is particularly well-suited for managing a roster of artists with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, such as Cody Johnson, Dan + Shay, Ashley McBryde, Cole Swindell, The Castellows, and Hudson Westbrook.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
