Rhythm House
It’s a cautionary tale as old as time: Spouses should not work together.
But for husband and wife duo Jesse and Stevie Frasure, there’s nothing better than exploring a love of shared passions, endless memories, and an unspoken understanding that can only come from two people who know the ins and outs of the work they share. As the driving force behind Rhythm House, one of Nashville’s most successful publishing startups, the Frasures are proving that merging the roles of spouses and business partners yields double the love, double the support, and double the success.
In traditional Nashville fashion, music brought Jesse and Stevie together. Today, Jesse’s reputation precedes him as the go-to songwriter and producer for chart-topping hits spanning an array of genres. He has secured 16 No. 1 hits as a songwriter/producer for artists including Marshmello, Meghan Trainor, and Kacey Musgraves. Additionally, his DJing talents as Telemitry landed him tours with Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett and events for the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne, to name a few. His wife Stevie, having an extensive background in publishing, serves as the vice president of Rhythm House, and together the couple is taking the music industry by storm.
Despite the incomprehensible success they have achieved over the years, their love story began as two young college grads sharing an unwavering desire to break into the industry of their dreams.
Rhythm House
“Stevie was at Warner Brothers Records interning and I was at a music publishing company called Major Bob Music. Whether you’re an MTSU grad or a Belmont grad you come up through the internship ranks. The music industry, especially at the time, was on three streets so you bump into each other at a lot of functions and different events. So, you kind of come up with that class or crew of folks and you end up working with them for the rest of your career,” says Jesse. “That’s how we met. It’s really neat and I think that’s part of what makes this town unique.”
But the music industry didn’t just play a leading role in how the Frasures met; their mutual passion and shared understanding of the business has largely contributed to the 14 years they have been together and the five years of marriage they have under their belts.
“I thought she was an amazing, independent woman out there moving along in her career in the music industry,” Jesse says. “She understood how to survive in a weird entertainment world that is not always friendly, especially back then, and doing it gracefully. But also, just her business savvy and musical ears.”
For Stevie, that unspoken understanding helped to build a relationship that can only be described as destiny at work.
“I have been in relationships with people who were not in music business, and it definitely was so nice to just kind of have that unspoken language of understanding,” she says. “I don’t even know if it was ever realizing that he was the one, he just always was. We have so much fun together and it was just kind of like, ‘I want to be around this person all the time.’ I couldn’t imagine any other way. It’s pretty much like soulmate stuff.”
Rhythm House
Their shared understanding reached new heights in 2016 when the Frasures created Rhythm House alongside Warner Chappell and Roc Nation, the music and entertainment company co-founded by rapper Jay-Z. With Stevie as the VP of Creative, Rhythm House is composed of Jesse’s own writing and production in addition to other composers and producers including Cary Barlowe, Brandon Day, Steven Lee Olsen, and Alysa Vanderheym. Though they never intended to work together, the Frasures’ partnership in business developed as organically as their relationship. They credit their ability to navigate the delicate balance between professional and personal life to their commitment to communication, and an unmatched support system.
“It’s a family business and literally no one in this music industry will care more about Stevie, or Stevie about me. Nobody,” says Jesse. “It’s been not only amazing to share our lives together and travel and make all these memories, but to be with someone that is literally a strategic business partner.”
“I think part of the drive to do that is just already loving someone, and respecting them and caring for them,” says Stevie. “I think knowing that you have a partner that’s willing to communicate and willing to try; that’s what attracted me to Jesse. We are a true team in everything—whether it’s handling families or handling songwriters, we approach everything as a team, and it feels so good to have that partner like that.”