Meet Randall Foster of Midtown / Music Row

Today we’d like to introduce you to Randall Foster

Hi Randall, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always been a musician. As long as I can remember, music has been integral to my life. My father is a musician, his father was a musician, my great grandmother was a musician as well as my great-great grandfather. Music is in my blood.

Growing up I was classically trained in piano and trumpet. Achieving success in music, I continued to pursue it into my college years at the University of Kansas. While in University, I began DJing in clubs and for private events in and around the greater Kansas City area and boasted residencies at the hottest bars and clubs in the area all while pursuing my degree.

Upon graduation after a gap year I moved to Miami to attend the University of Miami and pursue my Master’s degree in Music Business and Entertainment Industries. While at Miami I continued DJing all while helping run the athletic bands as a full-time Teaching Assistant. Also during that time I would meet my future Wife, Emily. While in the program at Miami I was fortunate enough to work part-time for MTV Latin America on South Beach as a production assistant and also enjoyed an intership at EMI Latin all while also working part time as a Sound and Lighting engineer. To say my interests in music were varied is a vast understatement. Upon my graduation I stepped into a short-term full-time role at MTV working in music rights and clearance and would remain there until my departure from South Florida.

In the Summer of 2005 I was offered the opportunity to move to Nashville to work in a Sales and Marketing role at Naxos, The World’s largest Classical music label and distributor. I would be working at the junction of music and music education which was a world I knew well and was excited to embrace. This first “real” gig in the industry would last nearly 10 years as I grew from a Coordinator, to Manager and finally Director in the company overseeing all Licensing and Business Development operations for the Americas. Additionally launching a record label imprint “Naxos Wind Band Classics” while there in my tenure. As head of Licensing I was overseeing 20% of the company’s Gross revenue before I turned 30 and had great success placing our music into Hollywood film and tv productions as well as movies, ads and videogames. We built a robust licensing business during that time for which I am immensely proud.

That success would lead to my matriculation out of Classical music and into popular music. In the spring of 2014 I joined the creative team at an independent music publishing company based in Canada called “ole Music Publishing” (now re-branded into present day “Anthem Entertainment”). I joined the company as Sr. Director of Creative Sync and Licensing that spring and would have a whirlwind of success working with our fantastic songwriters, producers, and artists over the course of the next 5 years. I was fortunate enough to work directly with the likes of Timbaland, RUSH, Jelly Roll, Haley Reinhart, Lil Dicky, Jordan Davis, Travis Denning, Adam Hambrick, and a slew of other talented writers and musicians during that time. Notable swan-song accomplishments included massive success in the Wrigley Extra gum ad campaign featuring the now double-platinum single, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” recorded by Haley Reinhart and produced by myself. Not to mention countless other syncs featuring the likes of RUSH, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Sam Smith, Ginuwine, Lil Dicky, Toby Keith, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Panama Wedding, Mother Mother and many others. Having secured the all-coveted Superbowl Ad, NBA Allstar Game ad, Large films, Tv shows, Video Games, and the viral hit song it was time for new things.

In the Spring of 2018 I met the founder of a scrappy independent music company based out of Tampa Florida called “Symphonic Distribution.” Having experience in the rights management world as well as a background in licensing and distribution, it felt like a natural fit. So in 2019 I opened the Symphonic Nashville offices and began growing our team adding company department heads in Client Marketing, Streaming Promotions, YouTube / User-Generated content monetization (tik-tok/Meta), Client Service and Publishing / Publishing Administration. The primary goals are continued content acquisitions and distribution deals, strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, oversight of rights management at Symphonic and the creative growth of its music publishing wing, Symphonic Music Publishing. Additionally, I oversees strategy and operations of Symphonic sister company, Bodega Sync- a sync licensing agency.

Symphonic stands today serving the needs of the independent music sector by by providing powerful technology, personalized service, access to additional revenue channels, enhanced marketing, and the industry experience to help realize full client potential. Marquis current and past clients include Bad Bunny, Imogen Heap, El Alfa, Sublime, Sixpence None The Richer, Sister Hazel, Clozee, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Matisyahu, Coffey Anderson, STS9, Vansire, Shooter Jennings and many others of varied genres and styles.

Outside of my work at Symphonic, I am currently an Adjunct Professor at the Curb College of Music Business and Entertainment Industries at Belmont University, President of the Board of Directors for the Nashville Film Festival and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the proud father of two smart, beautiful 14 year old daughters, along with my amazing and patient wife, Emily (patient mostly with me)

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The music industry is not for the faint of heart. Though many challenges have presented themselves, I have found that staying principled and disciplined have been the core values that have carried me to where I am today. Never in a million years did I think I would be doing what I am doing today… the path took many turns but it would seem that the paradox of life played out time and time again as one door would close another opened. I owe an awful lot to the mentors and champions in my life as well.

Be nice, be honest, work hard, and do what you say you’re going to do. It seems simple but these are the principals that worked for me.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
(I answered an awful lot of this in the first page describing my story… but I’d add… )

If I were to describe myself I’d use the phrases “Bon Vivant” , “Mensch,” or generally “good dude.”

I believe I have built a lot on my reputation here in Nashville and beyond. When I started doing Sync licensing out of Nashville, I was one of the only Sync executives on Music Row. This afforded me some amazing opportunities that I would have likely missed out on had I been in LA, or another more sync-focussed city. I have served on the boards of several non-profits and am currently President of the Board of Directors for the Nashville Film Festival. In general I believe that reputational success is important for an executive to grow and achieve and I am thankful for the opportunities that have been afforded me thus far.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I am a voracious “reader” of audiobooks. I love non-fiction books of all shapes and sizes from business texts, to autobiographies, etc. Some of my favorites recently include “The Infinite Game” by Simoin Sinek, “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, “The Storytellers Nashville” by Tom T Hall, “They Call Me Supermensch” by Shep Gordon, and “Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Michael Azerrad.

I also consume many industry blogs and podcasts as I am always trying to keep learning… Notably, “Your Morning Coffee Podcast”, Music Business Worldwide, Hypebot, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.randallfoster.net
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/randallfoster
• Twitter: https://x.com/randallfoster
• Other: https://www.symphonic.com