FOURWARD CEO WILL WARD ANNOUNCES NEW PUBLISHING COMPANY: FOURWARD MUSIC, LLC
LOS ANGELES, Calif.— Just over three months since CEO Will Ward announced the launch of Fourward’s Nashville office, the global management, production and business development company announces the formation of new music publishing company, Fourward Music, LLC. Ward’s new venture enlists industry leader Shannan Hatch to serve as President with offices in both Los Angeles and Nashville.
"I am excited to expand and grow the Fourward brand in the publishing space," says Ward. “Our focus is to sign the most talented songwriters across all genres while bringing competitive advantages, particularly in the sync space, for the benefit of our writers at Fourward Music.”
“With over two decades of music industry experience, Shannan Hatch has an incredible reputation for discovering talent in music,” adds Ward. “Her relationships are unparalleled; coupled with her remarkable work ethic, arresting wit and infectious laugh, she was my first choice to head this venture. I’m honored to have her join the Fourward family.”
“I have long held great admiration for Will, as he has built some of the biggest movie stars and touring acts in the business,” shares Hatch. “Will’s experience combined with his passion and vision inspires and empowers those around him. I look forward to combining my own experience and relationships with his global access to create a truly diverse and world-class publishing company.”
“I will forever be thankful for my 17 years at SESAC as being a member of that team has been an incredible experience,” adds Hatch. “I am proud to announce this next chapter that affords me an exciting opportunity to continue to service the music community only now from the publishing side.”
A member of the SESAC team since 2002, Hatch most recently served as Vice President of Creative Services for SESAC PRO, where she led the Nashville-based Creative Services team in supporting SESAC-affiliated songwriters and publishers. She serves on T.J. Martell’s Southern Region’s Board of Governors and as a Director at Large for the Academy of Country Music.
For more information, please email info@fourward.com or visit www.fourward.com.
Congratulate Shannan Hatch at shatch@fourward.com.
About Will Ward: Will Ward founded Fourward, a global management, production, and business development company with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and Melbourne in April 2018 with Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Rush, Avengers, In the Heart of the Sea and most recently Avengers: Infinity War), Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games series, Independence Day: Resurgence), Cobie Smulders (Stumptown, How I Met Your Mother, The Avengers), Luke Bracey (Point Break, Hacksaw Ridge), Aisha Tyler (The Talk, Criminal Minds and Archer) and Alice Braga (Queen of the South) among their acting clients along with artists Elliphant, Abby Anderson, Emma Zander and others.
Ward began his career as an agent trainee at CAA in Nashville’s music department. Following his stint at CAA, Ward was recruited by WME (Endeavor) to be a motion picture talent agent and worked with Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, and Edward Norton among others. He eventually went on to establish ROAR where he built the careers of Chris Hemsworth, Zac Brown Band, Cobie Smulders, Aisha Tyler and more. Ward produced the Warner Bros. film In the Heart of the Sea directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth based on The New York Times bestseller.
Ward co-founded and continues to co-own a successful chain of restaurants in New York called Ottos Tacos. Recently, he launched Centr, the successful health, wellness and fitness app alongside Apple – a partnership between Fourward, Chris Hemsworth and one of the largest private equity firms in the world, Quadrant. Ward has also partnered and co-invested in several tech deals with some of Silicon Valley's top CEOs.