Cindy Mabe is one of Music Row’s most respected music executives and distinguished marketers. A trailblazer throughout her career, she became Nashville’s highest ranking woman label executive when she was appointed UMGN President in 2014. She made history again in 2023 by becoming the first woman to serve as Chair & CEO of a Nashville-based major label group. During her tenure at UMG Nashville, the label group which included Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville, and Mercury Nashville, Mabe helped guide and grow the careers of some of country music’s biggest stars including Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Jordan Davis, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt, Alan Jackson, Parker McCollum, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves, Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Brothers Osborne, and Little Big Town, among countless others.
Also, during her tenure at UMGN, Mabe launched a new comedy-centered imprint in 2023, Capitol Comedy Nashville, with Grammy-recognized flagship comedian Nate Bargatze. That same year, Mabe unveiled Silver Wings Records, a distribution and independent artist services arm of the label group, and Sing Me Back Home Productions, a TV and Film production company. Sing Me Back Home executive produced the NBC special Toby Keith American Icon which was the highest rated live special on NBC for 2024.
Mabe joined UMGN in 2012 as Senior Vice President, Marketing responsible for leading marketing across Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville, and Mercury Nashville and UMG Nashville’s expanded suite of country labels following its acquisition of EMI. Prior to that, Mabe spent five years at Capitol Records Nashville, where she held the position of SVP, Marketing and played an integral role in the long-term creative and commercial success of the label that saw it named Billboard magazine’s “Country Label of the Year” consecutively for seven years from 2005 – 2012.
A North Carolina native, Mabe attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated from Belmont University in Nashville with a B.S. in Business Administration. She began her music career as promotions coordinator at RCA Nashville, before shifting to sales and then artist marketing and development, during which time she worked with artists including Clint Black, Martina McBride, and Alabama. She later served as Senior Director, Marketing and Artist Development at Arista Records Nashville from 1999-2007 working with the likes of Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, and Diamond Rio before joining Capitol Records Nashville in 2007.
Mabe’s dedication and tremendous work for her artists and her countless contributions to the music community have earned the industry leader multiple awards and honors including the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum Award, the SOURCE Hall of Fame Award, and recognition by Save The Music Foundation. Mabe was named as one of Billboard’s Women in Music 2015-2024 and landed on Billboard’s Country Power Players list every year since its inception in 2015 including earning 2019’s Billboard Country Power Players Executive of the Year. Mabe also serves on the Country Music Hall of Fame board. Mabe is also the recent recipient of “The First Responders Children’s Foundation Corporate Hero Award.” Her ongoing commitment to philanthropic leadership led to the creation of the Joan of Arc Music Preservation Foundation, dedicated to protecting the timeless legacy of Country music while championing its continued evolution. Defining JOA’s ethos from day one, every project across its ecosystem supports the Foundation through charitable initiatives that benefit the Country music community.
