Music Business Panel

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Join us on Wednesday, September 23 at Spinster Abbott’s located in historic Uptown St. Augustine for The Indie Advantage Music Business Panel. Three music industry leaders will explore how independent artists can distribute their music, generate income, protect their work, and build lasting careers outside the traditional major-label system. Featuring Randall Foster, Head of Symphonic Distribution; independent artist manager Courtney Oertel; and John Ozier of Reservoir Media, with moderation by Arlis Albritton, founder of the St. Augustine Songwriters Festival.

This event is free and open to the public, but RSVP is required to attend. To RSVP, click here.
Happy Hour from 6:00PM - 7:00PM | Panel from 7:00PM - 8:00PM | Q&A from 8:00PM - 8:30PM

Meet Your Panelists:

Courtney Otel, Independent Artist Manager (Panelist)

Randall Foster, Chief Creative Officer and Global Head of A&R for Symphonics (Panelist)

Randall Foster is an innovative entertainment executive and music professional. He is Chief Creative Officer and General Manager of Symphonic’s Nashville operation, and has more than 20 years of experience spanning music publishing, distribution, licensing, and artist development. As CCO and General Manager of Symphonic Distribution's Nashville office, he leads the company's creative strategy, business development, rights management, music publishing, and sync licensing operations, while overseeing the growth of Symphonic Music Publishing and sister company Bodega Sync. Before joining Symphonic, Foster held leadership roles at Anthem Entertainment (formerly ole Music Publishing) and Naxos, where he led successful licensing campaigns and secured high-profile sync placements for artists including Rush, Justin Timberlake, Sam Smith, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, and many others.

In addition to his executive career, Foster is an Adjunct Professor at Belmont University, a frequent industry speaker, and an active leader in music advocacy organizations. He serves as Chairman of the Nashville chapter of A2IM, is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMYs), and has held leadership roles with organizations including the Nashville Film Festival and Leadership Music. Foster has been recognized as a Billboard Power Player and a University of Miami Frost School of Music Centennial Medalist for his contributions to the music industry.

For more information or to contact Randall Please go to http://www.RandallFoster.net  

John Ozier, Executive Vice President, Creative, Reservoir; President Nashville Chapter - Association Of Independent Music Production (Panelist) 

As Reservoir’s EVP of Creative, John Ozier heads the company’s Nashville office, which he helped launch in 2019. Ozier serves on the senior management team of Reservoir, which celebrated its fourth year as a publicly traded company in 2025. His reputation has helped Reservoir solidify deals with some of country music’s most legendary names, while his keen ear has identified and fostered the growth of its up-and-coming songwriters. By delivering on catalog acquisitions and numerous chart-topping hits, Ozier was named a Billboard Country Power Player in 2025. Ozier also serves on the Board of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) as the Nashville Chapter's President.

Over the last 18 months, Ozier’s signings contributed to over 10 Hot 100 tracks and over 20 Billboard 200 Albums, including 14 #1s across all Billboard charts. He is also a hit songwriter having written 5x Platinum single “Hard To Love” for Lee Brice; as well as Platinum single, “Whiskey In My Water” for Tyler Farr. He has won multiple BMI Awards, the covered “Top 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” Awards by the NSAI, and multi-platinum awards from the NMPA and RIAA.