Passion and enthusiasm are the fuel that fires this Texas native.  As General Manager and Partner of THIS Music, Rusty oversees all creative and day to day operations of the publishing company he owns with partners/songwriters Tim Nichols and Connie Harrington.  The roster of eleven writer/artists he manages included Nichols (Live Like You Were Dyin) and Harrington (I Drive Your Truck) as well as Ben Hayslip (2011 & 2012 ASCAP Songwriter Of The Year), Jimmy Yeary (Why Wait), Marv Green (Amazed), Deric Ruttan (What Was I Thinking), and Molly Reed (Sparrow Records). His approach to music publishing is much like an artist/management relationship; he sees it, as imperative to create and manage opportunities/brands for all his writers.

THiS Music has celebrated more than 20 ASCAP/BMI award winning songs including the 2012 ASCAP Song of the Year “Honey Bee” and the 2011 BMI Song Of The Year “All Over Me”.

Previously Rusty spent 5 years as GM of Song Garden Music, a publishing company owned by producer Byron Gallimore (T.McGraw/F.Hill).  While there, he raised the small publishers cut average from 17 to over 50 major label cuts per year and managed writers such as Holly Lamar, James T. Slater, Jeremy Stover, Billy Yates, Don Pfrimmer and Billy Lawson.  He spent the 5 years prior as the Creative Director for another Warner Chappell joint venture, Smith Haven Music where he was involved in the signing and development of country artist Jeff Bates (RCA), local rock artist Will Hoge (Atlantic), country group Yankee Grey (Monument) and (Universal) pop artist Phoenix Stone.

He attended Texas Wesleyan University and is a graduate of Belmont University.   Rusty is a current Board Member of the T J Martell Foundation, a member of the CMA and ACM as well as a “Big” in Tennessee’s Big Brothers/ Big Sister program.