Scott Foster Siman (born July 22, 1954) is a leading American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
entertainment executive based in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
.
He oversaw the rise of country music superstar
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albu ...
and the launch of Dancing With the Stars celebrity
Julianne Hough, among others.
Career
Attorney
Siman was previously an entertainment attorney with Benson & Siman, whose clients included
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as " neotraditional country"), as well as penning man ...
(Country Music Hall of Fame Member),
Brooks & Dunn (Country Music Hall of Fame Member),
Charlie Daniels
Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit " The ...
,
Deanna Carter
Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album '' Did I Shave My Legs for This?'', which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United State ...
,
John Berry,
Chris LeDoux,
James Stroud,
Paul Worley and
Chips Moman. He worked with such diverse artists as
Judson Spence,
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was ...
,
Will Owsley,
Millard Powers and Jody Spence; as well as numerous executives and music publishers.
Senior Vice President Sony
Siman later served as senior vice president of
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
-Nashville, where he signed
the Dixie Chicks
The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...
to their initial deal as well as writers Marcus Hummon
One of These Days (Marcus Hummon song) and David Vincent Williams ("I'm Movin' On"). He would later serve as attorney for the Dixie Chicks. While at Sony, he was appointed to the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...
board of directors and would go on to serve as president and chairman of the board. Additionally, he served on the Country Music Association board where he spearheaded the board decision to establish CMA Music Fest after the board had voted to end Fan Fair.
RPM Management
He managed country music star Tim McGraw where his guidance lead McGraw to be named Artist of the Decade securing more airplay than any artist in any format and the most played song of the Decade, all formats with
Something Like That
"Something Like That" is a song written by Rick Ferrell and Keith Follesé and recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in June 1999 as the second single from McGraw's album '' A Place in the Sun''. The song reached n ...
. Other management highlights include #1 singles with Jessica Andrews (
Who I Am) and Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Single White Female
''Single White Female'' is a 1992 American psychological erotic thriller film based on John Lutz's 1990 novel '' SWF Seeks Same''. It stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and was directed by Barbet Schroeder.
Plot
New York City software ...
, and he guided two-time ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
'' champion and actress Julianne Hough to a #1 country album and two ACM Awards in 2009. He worked with the youngest artist to ever reach #1 on Billboard Top Country Album charts, Billy Gilman.
While Siman was president and chairman of the board of the
Academy of Country Music Awards
The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...
(1996–2000) where he was instrumental in the repositioning of the association within the country music industry. He is former board member of the Country Music Foundation, and a participant in Leadership Music and Leadership Nashville. Siman served on the Nashville Cystic Fibrosis Foundation board and was a recipient of the Heart of Country award from the national organization.
RPM Music Group
As a co-owner of RPM Music Group, he has helped develop a publishing catalog that owns the rights to such hit songs as the Grammy winning "
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere
"It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" is a song performed by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, and written by Jim "Moose" Brown and Don Rollins. It was released in June 2003 as the lead single from Jackson's 2003 compilation album '' Greatest Hits Volume ...
" (
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as " neotraditional country"), as well as penning man ...
), "The Power" (
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
and
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...
; ACM Song of the Year "
I'm Movin' On" (
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second co ...
), "
Leave the Pieces
"Leave the Pieces" is a song written by Jennifer Hanson and Billy Austin, and recorded by American country music duo The Wreckers for their debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'' for which it served as lead single with a February 7, 2006, relea ...
" (
The Wreckers
The Wreckers were an American country music duo formed in 2005 by Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, both of whom had solo recordings before the duo's foundation. In 2006, the duo released its debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which prod ...
), "
What Kinda Gone
"What Kinda Gone" is a song recorded by American country music singer Chris Cagle. It was released in July 2007 as the first single from his album '' My Life's Been a Country Song'', which was released in early 2008. Having reached a peak position ...
" (
Chris Cagle
Christopher Norris Cagle (born November 10, 1968) is an American country music artist. He was first known for writing songs for David Kersh before signing to Virgin Records Nashville in 2000. Cagle made his debut on ''Billboard'' Hot Country Si ...
), "
Anything Goes
''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ...
" (
Randy Houser
Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single " Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart ...
),
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...
singles "
One in Every Crowd
"One in Every Crowd" is a song recorded by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released in February 2009 as the third single from their album '' Back When I Knew It All''. Eddie Montgomery, one-half of the duo, co-wrote the song wi ...
" "
Long Line of Losers" and "
Oughta Be a Song About That
The English modal verbs are a subset of the English auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality (properties such as possibility, obligation, etc.). They can be distinguished from other verbs by their defectiveness (they do not have participle ...
", "Let There Be Cowgirls" (Chris Cagle), "I Ain't Your Mama" (Maggie Rose),
Better (Maggie Rose Song)
"Better" is a song recorded by American country music singer Maggie Rose. It was released in February 2013 as the second single from her first studio album, '' Cut to Impress''. The song was written by Candy Cameron, Deanna Bryant and Dave Berg.
...
" (Maggie Rose), "Wake Up Loving You" (Craig Morgan), "Say You Do" (Dierks Bentley) and has songs featured on four number 1 country albums in 2014 from the Band Perry ("Chainsaw") Luke Bryan ("Goodbye Girl", Dierks Bentley ("Say You Do") and Scotty McCreery ("Blue Jean Baby"). Other significant cuts include "Ex to See" and the #1 single "
Make You Miss Me
"Make You Miss Me" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Sam Hunt. It was released to country radio, by MCA Nashville on March 7, 2016 as the fifth single from his debut studio album ''Montevallo'' (2014). The song is ...
" on the multiplatinum
Sam Hunt
Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played American football, football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sports career befor ...
debut album; "
Save it for a Rainy Day
Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to:
Places
* Save (Garonne), a river in southern France
* Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique
* Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save
*Savè, Benin, a commune and city
* Save, Gov ...
," Kenny Chesney (a 3-week #1 single); and "
Break Up With Him
"Break Up with Him" is a song written and recorded by American country music group Old Dominion (band), Old Dominion. Originally released as the second single off their self-titled EP on ReeSmack in January 2015, the band later signed with RCA Rec ...
,"
Old Dominion (band)
Old Dominion is an American country music band formed in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Matthew Ramsey (lead vocals), Trevor Rosen (guitar, keyboards), Whit Sellers (drums), Geoff Sprung (bass guitar), and Brad Tursi (guitar). The ...
(a 2-week #1 single).
RPM Entertainment
RPME's first release was vocal phenom
Maggie Rose
Maggie Rose Durante (born May 19, 1988) is an American soul and country music singer. In 2009, Durante signed to Universal Republic as Margaret Durante and released a cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody". A year later, she left Universal Repub ...
. Her first single,
I Ain't Your Mama was #1 Most Added on the Mediabase country singles chart the first week of its release. RPME also represented, among others, Dack Janiels/
Chase Rice
Chase Rice (born September 19, 1985) is an American country music singer, songwriter and reality television personality. He first came to prominence in 2010 while he was a contestant on '' Survivor: Nicaragua'', where he was the runner-up to Jud ...
at country radio. The first single
Ready Set Roll
"Ready Set Roll" is a song recorded by American country music artist Chase Rice. It was released in November 2013 as his first single from his EP album, ''Ready Set Roll'', and later appeared on his first major-label studio album, ''Ignite the Nig ...
and was a top 5 single at Country radio. Siman left RPM Entertainment in 2014 to head up EMCo.
EMCo
Since 2014, Siman serves as President of EM.Co which oversees the operations for Tim McGraw. Major successes include a performance by McGraw on the 2015 Oscars; a
Clio Award for an integrated campaign for
"Humble and Kind" helping propel the song to such honors as a Grammy for Best Country Song, CMA Song of the Year, NSAI Song of the Year and Favorite Country Song AMA's. Billboard Magazine named Siman one of their 2018 Power Players for his work with McGraw and helping oversee the launch of his
Soul2Soul World Tour
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...
with Faith Hill, garnering them the Legends of Live award and Billboard's No. 1 country music tour for 2017. He was named to the Billboard list again in 2019. McGraw headlined the VIP Tailgate Pregame at
Super Bowl 53 in 2019, and released two books which reached #2 on the New York Times Bestseller lists. McGraw headlined the
College Football Championship
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...
game in his home state of Louisiana in 2020. EMCo helped oversee the launch of McGraw's fitness brand, TRUMAV, with the establishment of the first fitness center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nielson Broadcast Data System Nielson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Claire Nielson (born 1937), British television actress
*Howard C. Nielson (born 1924), American politician from Utah; U.S. Representative 1983–91
* Niel Nielson (born 1954), America ...
named Tim McGraw the artist with the biggest radio audience for all genres, all artists, for the 2010s.
Personal life
Siman is the son of country music pioneer
Si Siman
Si Siman (born Ely E. Siman Jr.; January 17, 1921 – December 16, 1994) was an American country music executive as a radio producer, talent agent, songwriter, record producer, television producer and music publisher who helped transform the ...
, who was also in the talent and music publishing business and was an executive with Crossroads TV Productions, which created the first popular country music program on network television, ''
Ozark Jubilee
''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s United States network television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ...
''. His middle name is in honor of
Ralph Foster, Crossroads TV's president and his father's mentor when he was born in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estima ...
. Si Siman is credited with securing record deals for Chet Atkins, Porter Wagoner and Brenda Lee, among others. He also is responsible for securing multiple recordings of "Satisfied Mind," all of which were in the top 10 at country radio at the same time.
He is a graduate of
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
. and the
University of Missouri School of Law
The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The sch ...
. While at Vanderbilt he joined the Gamma chapter of
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fift ...
fraternity, where he was chapter president. He is a former Old Natchez CC club champion and qualified for the Tennessee State Mid Am and the Tennessee Four Ball and Senior Four Ball Championships multiple times.
Siman is married to Teresa Siman and has three daughters, Rosie Siman Yakob, Lillian Keil and Marion Siman.
In 2014, Siman was elected to the Springfield, Missouri Public Schools Hall of Fame.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siman, Scott
1954 births
Living people
People from Springfield, Missouri
University of Missouri alumni
Talent managers
American music industry executives