Reservoir Expands To Nashville, Names John Ozier As Exec. VP, Creative

John Ozier

Reservoir has added a fifth global office, expanding into Nashville, Tennessee. John Ozier has been named Executive Vice President of Creative and will oversee operations for the company in Music City. Ozier will also sign and develop new talent, working closely with the teams in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and London, alongside a staff based in Nashville.

The company will occupy a 5,000-square-foot building, complete with six writing rooms, located on West End Avenue in Nashville.

“I am incredibly excited to join Reservoir and help expand the company’s footprint into Nashville,” said Ozier. “Golnar, Rell and their entire team have built an exceptional global roster and one of the leading independent music publishers in the business. Their commitment to Nashville is thrilling and I am confident we are going to knock it out of the park.”

Reservoir’s country music roots tie back to the company’s foundation in 2007, as some of the first artists represented were Kenny Alphin and John Rich of Big and Rich and Vicky McGehee. A few years later, the company came to publish the catalogs of country music icons like John Denver, Sheryl Crow, and Leon Russell, and evergreen singles including Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” Lonestar’s “Amazed” and Dorothy Moore’s “Misty Blue,” among many others. The addition of Ozier and a Nashville office builds upon an already fruitful 2019 for the company, which recently celebrated six Grammy wins including Song of the Year and Record of the Year, among its 22 nominations.

Ozier joins Reservoir following a six-year tenure at olé that included marquee signings Jeff Trott, Tony Martin, Jordan Davis, Chris Janson, Adam Hambrick, and Tyler Farr, and the acquisitions of the Red Vinyl Music, Parallel Music, and Better Angels Music publishing catalogs. Prior to that, he looked after the recording careers of the likes of Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Wynonna Judd, Lee Brice, and Rodney Atkins at Curb Records. He has overseen more than 30 No. 1s throughout his career and over 100 singles internationally in the last three years alone, including No. 1s by Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, LOCASH, Randy Houser, Jordan Davis, Chris Janson, Justin Moore, Brett Young, Dan + Shay, and more.

Ozier is additionally an accomplished songwriter in his own right, having co-written award-winning No. 1 hits for Lee Brice and Tyler Farr, plus cuts recorded by Kid Rock, Kellie Pickler, Air Supply, and more.

“John is one of the most respected music executives in Nashville and his extraordinary track record for success speaks for itself,” added Reservoir President and COO, Rell Lafargue. “When we met him, we knew he was the guy to break ground with in Nashville and we look forward to digging deeper into our country catalog, welcoming new local talent together, and helping their music reach a global audience.”