Industry Ink: Frankie Ballard Earns Gold, Round Hill Music, Sugar Hill Records

Warner Bros. Records’ Frankie Ballard has earned gold certification from the RIAA for his  No. 1 hit single, “Sunshine & Whiskey.” Ballard performed last week at The Grove’s 12th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Spectacular in Los Angeles, alongside Fifth Harmony, Darlene Love, and Earth, Wind & Fire.
The one-hour syndicated TV special A Hollywood Christmas at the Grove will air on CBS affiliates nationwide through Jan. 4, 2015.

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Round Hill Music’s Nashville office has added two new staffers. Amanda Prenevost has been hired as Manager of Administration, and joins Round Hill Music Nashville from Warner/Chappell Los Angeles. She began her career at Bug Music (now BMG Rights Management) before joining Warner/Chappell Music, specializing in pre-1978 copyright research.
Josh Saxe has been added as Associate Director of A&R. He joins Round Hill Music Nashville from BMG Chrysalis Nashville, where he was involved in managing the company’s song catalog data, as well as helping streamline the system of song delivery. Saxe is co-chair on the Leadership Council of Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP).

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Liz Longley has signed with Sugar Hill Records, and is slated to release a new project for digital distribution in March 2015. Longley’s self-titled release was produced by fellow Berklee College of Music graduate Gus Berry at Nashville’s Ocean Way Studios, and features special mixes from Sugar Hill’s Gary Paczosa.
Longley has taken home top prizes at the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Scholarship Competition, the International Acoustic Music Awards and the Rocky Mountain Folk Fest Songwriting Competition. Longley’s music has had several television placements on networks such as ABC and Lifetime and Sirius XM radio airplay.