ESPO'S VERY GOOD WEEK

Warner Music Nashville’s John Esposito has added Chairman stripes to his role as CEO of the company. In his expanded role he’ll continue to report to WMG chief Steve Cooper. Espo, who’s headed WMN since 2009, is also being honored at this week’s Music Biz gathering in Nashville with the Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement.

On his watch, WMN acts have had seven platinum albums and 16 platinum singles, not to mention a pile of CMA, ACM and other trophies. His roster includes Blake Shelton, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay, Hunter Hayes, Frankie Ballard, Randy Travis, Ashley Monroe and recently inked Texas band The Last Bandoleros, among others.

The veteran exec's prior experience includes heading WEA Corp., serving as EVP/GM at Island Def Jam and working in various capacities at PolyGram.

“Driven by his innovative thinking, inspiring leadership, and infectious enthusiasm,” Cooper declared, “WMN has attracted and developed a fresh roster of amazing artists, built a world-class executive team, and delivered exceptional results. With Espo at the helm, we are expanding our commitment to Nashville and country music at large.”

For his part, Esposito declared the company “is blessed to work with brilliant artists who make tremendously exciting music, and are supported by the best A&R, marketing, and promotion teams in the business. We strive every day to create the most nurturing environment for our artists to do their best work, and we are thrilled to see our efforts bear fruit with a constant flow of hit records and industry awards. I look forward to the next chapter in building this great company.”

He and Cooper then lined up a row of Fireball shots.