THiS Music co-founder Rusty Gaston will head up the Nashville operation of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, replacing Troy Tomlinson, who now runs Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville.

In addition, Sony/ATV has acquired Gaston’s company whose roster includes Ben Hayslip, Emily Weisband, Jessi Alexander and co-founders Connie Harrington and Tim Nichols.

We learned he was running things a good six months ago.

As CEO of the Nashville operation, where he will be responsible for the signing of songwriters and catalog development strategies, he will report to Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Jon Platt.

“Rusty is one of music’s most influential executives today, and his success in developing game-changing opportunities for songwriters makes him the perfect leader to step into this important role at Sony/ATV,” Platt said in a statement. “I’m excited to work alongside Rusty and our Nashville team on nurturing the next generation of music’s hitmakers.”

Prior to THiS Music where he was GM, Gaston was GM of Byron Gallimore’s Song Garden Music, and Creative Director for the Warner Chappell jv Smith Haven Music.