DISClaimer: Reckless Kelly Bashes And Blazes

Reckless Kelly

Reckless Kelly

Here we are in the blazing heat of a Southern summer, but the sounds from the country world aren’t nearly as hot.

The new single by Reckless Kelly is a dandy, and the latest from Lucas Hoge is well worth some spins, too. But most of the rest of what is in today’s column is not really essential listening.

One exception is the Disc of the Day winner, “Wildflowers” by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, our eternally excellent Trio.

I also liked newcomer Shawn Byrne. He’s a singer-songwriter who has everything it takes to succeed. Give him a DisCovery Award.

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE & TIM McGRAW/May We All
Writers: Rodney Clawson/Jamie Moore; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; BMLG Records
– Yearning and nostalgic, yet still very breezy and romantic. The vocals and production are very “processed” sounding, but there is “heart” here as well. Nicely done.

AMERICAN YOUNG/God Sends a Train
Writers: Kristy Osmunson/Bob Regan; Writers: Jon Stone, Justin Niebank & Lee Brice; Publishers: Getting Grown/Osmunson/Dixie Stars/Tahoe Kid/HoriPro, BMI/ASCAP; Curb
– It’s an atmospheric story song about a woman who is delivered from an abusive relationship by a railroad tragedy. Spooky and cool.

LUCAS HOGE/Boom Boom
Writers: Philip LaRue/Ben Glover; Producer: Matt McClure; Publishers: Razor & Tie/Aroise/9t One Songs, BMI/ASCAP; Rebel Engine
– Jaunty and romantic, with a nifty, bubbling, burbling percussion track. Easily his most commercial outing yet. Infinitely programmable.

 

KELSEY WALDON/All By Myself
Writer: Kelsey Waldon; Producer: Michael Rinne; Publisher: none listed; Monkey’s Eyebrow
– This moody, downbeat ballad has a hypnotic appeal with its ghostly echo-chamber guitar and her hushed, haunted vocal delivery. Intriguing, despite some problems with the band keeping tempo. This gal has real promise.

SHAWN BYRNE/Lonesome Ol’ Guitar
Writers: Shawn Byrne/Chuck McCarthy/Todd Elgin; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; SB (track)
– I like this guy. His baritone voice has a warm resonance. The production is admirably spare. And there’s something about this lonely-troubadour performance that keeps you hanging on every line.

EMMYLOU HARRIS, DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT/Wildflowers (alternate version)
Writer: Dolly Parton; Producer: George Massenburg; Publisher: Velvet Apple; Rhino
– The 1988 and 1999 Trio masterpieces by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris will be the basis of a triple-CD reissue by Rhino next month. One disc will have the original album. The second will contain the tracks from its follow-up. A third disc will contain 12 previously unheard tunes and 8 alternate takes, plus “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and “Mr. Sandman” (Trio performances which appeared on Harris LPs). This previously-unheard alternate take of Dolly’s poetic song, available as a lyric-video download, has each woman singing a verse, full-throated trio harmonies and a bouncier, more twangy arrangement than the original. On the hit version, 28 years ago, Dolly sang lead throughout, the arrangement was more Appalachian/acoustic and she and Linda sometimes did duo harmonies. At any rate, I still tingle all over whenever I hear these three sing together, and the song is enduringly wonderful. I cannot WAIT to hear the rest of what is coming out of the vaults.

JEREMY & THE HARLEQUINS/Into the Night
Writers: Jeremy Fury; Producer: Jeremy & The Harlequins; Publisher: none listed; Yep Roc
– Galloping and pop-ish, with plenty of oomph and echo. The relentless tempo is very exciting, and the lead vocalist isn’t afraid to let the fur fly.

KENNY DAVIN FINE & THE TENNESSEE TEXANS/Ballad of the Tennessee Texans
Writer: Kenny Davin Fine; Producer: Michael Lloyd: Publisher: FinerMusic, BMI; Higher Ground
– A cheesy attempt at a retro sound that falls flat, largely because the song is as dull as mud. Also, the band’s playing is sloppy.

SMITH & WESLEY/You’re the One
Writer: Scott Smith; Producer: Shane Hill; Publisher: Dream Walkin,’ ASCAP; Garage Door (CDX)
– This is a change-of-pace love ballad for these Southern rockers.

RECKLESS KELLY/How Can You Love Him (You Don’t Even Like Him)
Writers: Willy Braun; Producer:Willy Braun, Cody Braun & David Abeyta; Publishers: Fah-Q Music; No Big Deal
– The band bashes and blazes in a tight, jangle-filled arrangement highlighting harmonica, organ, throbbing bass, cascading piano notes and shuddering guitars. The drawling, conversational vocal is just right. This would sound absolutely great on country radio. So nice I played it twice.

Artist Updates: Kelsea Ballerini, Toby Keith, Olivia Lane

Kelsea Ballerini On Jimmy Kimmel Live! As Part Of TV Blitz

Black River Entertainment’s Kelsea Ballerini took to Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s outdoor stage on Monday (August 1) to offer her Top 10 single “Peter Pan.” Filmed in front of a backlot audience, the program also treated fans to her platinum-selling debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It.” The first-time presenter at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards continued her week of national TV appearances on Wednesday on ABC with the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock. She will co-host the grand finale of Greatest Hits  on Thursday, live from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

 

Toby Keith Visits With Cody Alan at Oregon Festival

Cody Alan was on hand at the Oregon Jamboree music festival this past weekend to capture all the action and interviews with artists for CMT After MidNite with Cody Alan and CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown. On Saturday (July 30), Alan was invited to have an exclusive conversation with Jamboree headliner Toby Keith on his tour bus. The segment aired on CMT After MidNite with additional footage on Hot 20 Countdown airing this Saturday morning (August 6, 9:00/8:00 CT).

 

Olivia Lane Performs Anthem for Padres

Olivia Lane. Photo: Big Spark Music Group

Olivia Lane. Photo: Big Spark Music Group

On the heels of releasing her self-titled debut EP, rising country newcomer Olivia Lane delivered the national anthem prior to the San Diego Padres game at Petco Park on Monday (August 1). Lane continues to spread good vibes with her #SunshineMovement as part of the release of her single, “Make My Own Sunshine.”

 

RCA Nashville’s Kane Brown Earns First Gold Certification

 From (L-R): Keith Gale, RCA Nashville; Bob Foglia, Sony Music Nashville; Randy Goodman, Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Kane Brown; Ken Robold, Sony Music Nashville; Hannah Dudley, Sony Music Nashville; Martha Earls, Brown's manager; Caryl Healey, Sony Music Nashville; Darren Stupak, EVP/GM, Sales, Sony Music Entertainment.

From (L-R): Keith Gale, RCA Nashville; Bob Foglia, Sony Music Nashville; Randy Goodman, Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Kane Brown; Ken Robold, Sony Music Nashville; Hannah Dudley, Sony Music Nashville; Martha Earls, Brown’s manager; Caryl Healey, Sony Music Nashville; Darren Stupak, EVP/GM, Sales, Sony Music Entertainment.

RCA Nashville artist Kane Brown has notched his first gold-certified single with “Used To Love You Sober” from his major label debut EP Chapter 1.

Sony Music Nashville Chairman/CEO Randy Goodman and members of Brown’s team surprised him with his first plaque during Kane’s sold-out show at Gramercy Theater in New York City.

The track, which was penned by Kane, Josh Hoge and Matt McVaney, has amassed more than 25 million streams to date.

“I was completely surprised by Sony when they presented me with a plaque on stage in New York. I am so proud of ‘Used To Love You Sober’ going gold, and I am so grateful to all the fans and supporters along the way who helped me achieve this,” said Kane.

Kane is currently opening for Florida Georgia Line on their Dig Your Roots Tour through October. In November, Kane will kick off his 30-city Monster Energy Outbreak Ain’t No Stopping Us Now headlining tour, where he will return to New York City to play Irving Plaza on Dec. 3.

The Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, native has notched more than 54 million audio and video on-demand streams, has sold more than 700k track downloads, and has sold out more than 45 markets on his 2015/2016 debut headlining tour.

Muddy Magnolias Plan Oct. 14 Album Release

Muddy Magnolias. Photo: Josh Telles

Jessy Wilson and Kallie North of Muddy Magnolias. Photo: Josh Telles

Muddy Magnolias, the Nashville duo of Kallie North and Jessy Wilson, will release their debut album, Broken People, on Oct. 14 via Third Generation Records.

Produced by Rick Beato (with additional production by Mario Marchetti and Butch Walker), the album was recorded in Atlanta and Nashville in late spring 2016.  John Legend provides piano and vocals on the closing track, “Leave It to the Sky.”

The music video for the lead single “Brother, What Happened?” premiered on NPR on Tuesday (Aug. 2).

Muddy Magnolias albumNorth has roots in southeast Texas and the Mississippi Delta, while Wilson was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. They met in 2013.

North said, “The first day we wrote together, there wasn’t much thought that we were blending genres and worlds. That never came up. It was just natural. Ultimately, this album is a result of an unlikely friendship and is a testament to what can happen when you diversify your relationships.”

Wilson adds, “It’s about getting out of your comfort zone and being rewarded with a great friendship. We’ve both felt the power of that.”

The band was formerly signed to I.R.S. Nashville. They will perform at Mercury Lounge in New York City on Aug. 23. They are co-managed by Clay Bradley of Third Generation Entertainment and Coran Capshaw of Red Light Entertainment. They are represented by Scott Clayton at CAA.

Eric Church Creates Highway To Home Furniture Collection

Eric Church Highway To Home Collection.

Eric Church’s Heartland Falls bar set from the Highway To Home Collection.

Eric Church has launched his Highway To Home furniture collection, available in RoomsToGo stores and select retail outlets. The new line includes bedroom, dining room, occasional and upholstery pieces, as well as accent pieces.

If Church hadn’t established a name as one of country music’s most consistent hit-makers since releasing his debut project Sinners Like Me in 2006, the singer-songwriter might have made a living in a successful family furniture business in Granite Falls, North Carolina. Church is the son of longtime industry executive Ken E. Church, who has worked as president/CEO of Southern Furniture Company, Clayton Marcus, and LADD Upholstery Group. Eric Church formerly worked in his father’s upholstery plants.

In the track, “What I Almost Was” from his debut project, Church details how he almost cut his musical career short, as evidenced by the lyrics: “Yeah, I moved on back home and came awful close / To being some son-in-law to some CEO / Coulda been a corner office, country club, suit and tie man / Answerin’ to no one but her and him.”

Eric Church Highway To Home collection.

Eric Church’s Heartland Falls 5-piece dining room set from the Highway To Home collection.

Church pays homage to his North Carolina roots and to his life story through the new Highway To Home furniture line, which features four distinct collections: Heartland Falls, Silverton Sound, Arrow Ridge and Hickory Canyon. Named after fictitious places that represent destinations along his journey, the collections include a mix of arts and crafts, urban-industrial, and eclectic pieces with a touch of rock ‘n’ roll whimsy.

“Staying connected with my roots has always been important to me and Highway to Home is a natural extension of my family heritage,” says Church. “My dad was in the industry. My first job was in a furniture plant, so yes, it is in my blood. This project is truly about building a home around those experiences and memories that make up our lives.”

Highway To Home Collection Eric Church 3

From Eric Church’s Heartland Falls collection in the Highway To Home line.

“Highway to Home is about the journey home—the ultimate destination,” said Pulaski Furniture President Page Wilson, Church’s partner in the venture. “This is not necessarily about Eric’s songs or performances, but instead founded on the adventures and experiences of a traveling musician through the eyes of a creative writer as he travels the world from show to show and home again.”

Church has designated a portion of the proceeds from Highway to Home to be donated to JDRF through his Chief Cares foundation. JDRF is a leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes research.

For more, visit highwaytohome.ericchurch.com.

Highway To Home Collection Eric Church 4

From Eric Church’s Arrow Ridge collection from the Highway To Home line.

Exclusive: Andrew Leahey Forges Ahead With New Album

Andrew Leahey

Andrew Leahey

Nashville musician Andrew Leahey is back on track following brain surgery in 2013, when a tumor was discovered on a hearing nerve. Recovery kept him off the road for a while, but now he’s picking up where he left off with a new album, Skyline in Central Time, scheduled for release via Thirty Tigers on Friday (Aug. 5).

Over the past few years, Leahey has balanced several careers—one as an independent rock ‘n’ roller, another as a side musician, and yet another as a freelance journalist who frequently covers country music. Leahey will showcase his new music (credited to Andrew Leahey & The Homestead and produced by Ken Coomer) on Thursday at 10 p.m. at the Basement in Nashville.

Leahey and MusicRow caught up over coffee in Germantown to talk about assembling the right team, chasing melodies, and keeping a positive attitude.

MusicRow: What was the vibe in the studio when you were making the record?

Leahey: The room itself was a brand new studio. Ken Coomer had built his own place in East Nashville called Cartoon Moon and we were his first clients. So I think it was a good combination of getting to know each other and getting to know his new space.

Plus it was the first time we had done anything that serious since the operation that I had. And he had an operation very similar to what I went through. He had a heart attack at Exit/In in late 2013, right when I was having my operation. He had stents put in and he’s good now, but he and I were both in an equivalent place, trying to do something cool and not waiting ‘til tomorrow but trying to get it done it now. We had 10 days to get 11 songs but I think that wound up helping us too. No time wasted.

How much rehearsal time did you do with the band?

It was my band at the time and we had a lot of rehearsal time. Ken Coomer played drums also. He came over to my house and worked with us on arrangements. We got it to the place where we were could walk in and knock it out in a couple takes. I wish we did that more. That’s the thing about touring so much. You discover what works with your songs and get them to the maximum level.

Most of those songs I had been touring on for a long time. We were planning on making the album in 2013, then I got sick, so we had to put the brakes on for a while. So, that was a long time coming. And then it took a year and a half to get the album placed, with Thirty Tigers on board.

Andrew Leahey albumYou had a lot of business decisions that needed to be made.

Yeah, it took a long time to get the right team and take all the meetings, and to find a label that wasn’t afraid of the fact that I had a hole in my head, or that wasn’t cagey about loaning money to us.

I was trying to heal plus trying to work a lot to get my crazy insurance bills paid, and then trying to figure out how to take this album that I thought sounded great and to do something other than put it up on iTunes myself and say, “Hey, it’s out,” and then two weeks later it’s nowhere.

When you moved here, what did Nashville represent for you?

I probably mistakenly viewed it as a country-only town. I grew up in Virginia and then moved up to New York and interned at Spin magazine, which was my dream. That was awesome. Then Spin ended up getting sold and the editors I worked under either left or got kicked out.

So after a year and a half of bouncing around trying to get a music journalism job, I got an offer to go to work at AllMusic in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I moved there with my wife and spent a couple of years there before I moved here. Working at AllMusic was very cool. A lot of product came in and I was listening to a ton of albums and writing 300 pieces a year at least. I think that kickstarted my own songwriting engines again. I had allowed those to die down a good bit.

So I started writing songs and wanted to be somewhere that was more of a music town. I had already been to New York and that was too expensive, and I didn’t want to go to L.A. And I missed being in the South in a way that I didn’t I could. Nashville looked like a place that was more comfortable than what I knew, but also new to me.

One thing that struck me on this album is your strong sense of melody. Does that come naturally to you?

That’s what generally comes first. If I can chase down a melody without even playing it on an instrument for as long as I can, that makes me the happiest. Then you get a song that is driven by that. Once you get a guitar in your hands, you wind up unconsciously doing what you’re used to doing. Sometimes a good melody will dictate that you do just two chords for the whole song, but if you’re writing the chorus first, you would never allow yourself to be that simple. I try to let the melody guide it as much as I can.

There’s also an optimism I noticed in these songs and a lot of joy.

Yeah, it’s a story that has a good ending. I wouldn’t want to go back and relive that story, but it’s mine and I’m going to make the most of it and turn it into a source of light.

William Michael Morgan’s Debut Album Due Sept. 30

William Michael MorganWilliam Michael Morgan will release his debut album, Vinyl, on Sept. 30 on Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville.

The project was produced by Scott Hendricks and Jimmy Ritchey. Its lead single is “I Met a Girl,” which was co-written by Shane McAnally, Trevor Rosen and Sam Hunt. 

“I am so proud to finally announce the release of my first album, Vinyl,” Morgan said. “I had a great time working in the studio with Scott and Jimmy and can’t wait for the fans to hear it.”

A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Morgan released an six-song digital EP in March. His next scheduled tour date is Friday (Aug. 5) at WE Fest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Sony/ATV Staffers Offer Nearly 300 Volunteer Hours In Nashville

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at the Nashville Humane Association

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at the Nashville Humane Association

Sony/ATV Music Publishing employees are working just as hard to benefit their communities as they do to benefit their songwriters.

Over the past two weeks, 70 Sony/ATV Music Publishing employees volunteered nearly 300 service hours for six volunteer projects as part of Sony/ATV’s annual Community Outreach Weeks.

They worked with the Nashville Humane Association, which is committed to finding responsible homes, controlling pet overpopulation and promoting the humane treatment of animals. Sony/ATV staffers spent time playing with animals and bathing puppies. A few puppies were even adopted by some of the Sony/ATV volunteers.

A puppy that was adopted from the Nashville Humane Association by Sony/ATV staffers.

A puppy that was adopted from the Nashville Humane Association by Sony/ATV staffers.

Staffers teamed with United Way’s Stuff The Bus Days of Action to help collect and distribute school supplies to at-risk children in the Nashville area.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at United Way.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at United Way.

They also worked with The Next Door, which provides services for women and families impacted by addiction, mental illness, trauma or incarceration. Sony/ATV staffers organized closets, made encouraging cards, and served lunch to women participating in the program.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at The Next Door.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at The Next Door.

For Nashville’s Zoo at Grassmere, staffers worked with the horticulture staff to pull weeds and pick vegetables. The vegetables were later sorted and given to the animals to eat.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at The Nashville Zoo.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at The Nashville Zoo.

The Nashville Public Library recently launched the Studio NPL learning lab, which offers technology-driven learning environment for teens ages 12-18. Sony/ATV Staffers helped teens with photography, live instruments and music production.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at the Nashville Public Library.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer at the Nashville Public Library.

Staffers worked with Cumberland River Compact, which aims to enhance the health of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. Staffers canoed down the Cumberland, picking up trash and helping to beautify the river.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer to help clean up the Cumberland River.

Sony/ATV staffers volunteer to help clean up the Cumberland River.

Sony/ATV’s Vice President of Global Human Resources Angel Stewart commented “Volunteering is one of our team building efforts and one of the most highly-rated activities amongst our staff. Not only does it strengthen our team, but it also connects us to each other and our community. I’m proud of our employees and their involvement and dedication to these causes.”

Florida Georgia Line Previews Album, Samples Whiskey At Pandora Presents

Florida Georgia Line at OZ Arts Nashville, August 2. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Florida Georgia Line at OZ Arts Nashville, August 2. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Florida Georgia Line was the center of an album preview, whiskey tasting and Pandora Presents show at OZ Arts Nashville on Tuesday (August 2).

In preparation for the Aug. 26 launch of Dig Your Roots, the duo’s third studio album and first on the newly-renamed BMLG Records, industry members and VIP guests were invited to preview a handful of songs from the 15-track project. Samples of the band’s Old Camp peach- and pecan-infused whiskey, developed alongside Proximo Spirits, were also highlighted. The brand is rumored to hit shelves later this month.

Before the show began, FGL’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley were welcomed to the stage by host Alecia Davis for a 30-minute Q&A to discuss the new endeavors.

Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley (L) Tyler Hubbard (R) toast with their Old Camp whiskey and at OZ Arts Nashville, August 2. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley (L) Tyler Hubbard (R) toast with their Old Camp whiskey and at OZ Arts Nashville, August 2. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

“We started off with maybe 75 songs. Once we get it down to about 20 songs, it really becomes difficult,” said Hubbard of the song selection process for Dig Your Roots. “All the songs have a really special meaning in some form or fashion. ‘Grow Old’ will probably never be a single, but it was Hayley and I’s first dance at our wedding. ‘While He’s Still Around’ is a special song that BK sings that we wrote years ago after my dad passed, and his dad almost passed. There’s a lot of depth to this record.”

“May We All,” featuring Tim McGraw, was released to radio shortly before the party as the follow-up to the No. 1 hit, “H.O.L.Y.” A music video for “May We All” is expected to be released soon.

Florida Georgia Line at OZ Arts Nashville, August 2. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Florida Georgia Line at OZ Arts Nashville, August 2. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Pandora listeners were lined up for hours in the evening heat outside of OZ Arts in hopes of getting to attend the event. Around a dozen songs were featured, including the new tunes “Smooth,” “Dig Your Roots,” “Life Is A Honeymoon,” and “May We All.” While the latter two album tracks feature Ziggy Marley and McGraw, respectively, there were no surprise guests during the evening.

Additional hits emerged from the superstar duo’s previous projects, including “Anything Goes,” “Confession,” “Shine On,” and megahit “Cruise.”

FGL_Dig_Your_RootsFlorida Georgia Line is the most-played artist on Pandora’s second-biggest station, Today’s Country, with more than 3.7 million spins. Wrapping the Q&A, the duo offered their insight into declining music sales and the growth in popularity of streaming services.

Hubbard said, “Nobody’s selling 3.7 million copies of anything anymore. When we hear the numbers of streams, obviously that’s what’s going on. I personally love it. I think any way to get the music out is good. The music industry is exciting because it’s always evolving. As soon as we think we have it figured out and are making money, guess what? We don’t, and everyone’s broke again.”

He continued, “It is exciting and cool to think where we’ll be in five years, and how people will be consuming music and how we’re going to get ahead of the curve. I think we’re slowly figuring out how streaming is going to benefit all of us—songwriters included. There’s an equation that everyone’s been working on the last few years and scared of, but I think it’s something we should embrace and evolve with and re-roll the business model to make it work with us.”

Pictured (L-R): Pandora's Gurj Bassi and Jeff Zuckowski; FGL's Brian Kelley; Pandora's Nicole Carbone-Rogers; FGL's Tyler Hubbard; BMLG's Kelly Rich; and Pandora's Mike Spinella. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Pictured (L-R): Pandora’s Gurj Bassi and Jeff Zuckowski; FGL’s Brian Kelley; Pandora’s Nicole Carbone-Rogers; FGL’s Tyler Hubbard; BMLG’s Kelly Rich; and Pandora’s Mike Spinella. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Pandora

Dig Your Roots track list:
1. “Smooth” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Schmidt)
2. “Dig Your Roots” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jerry Flowers, Brett James, Ernest Keith Smith, Will Weatherly)
3. “Life Is A Honeymoon” featuring Ziggy Marley (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Cary Barlowe, David Marley, Jordan Schmidt)
4. “H.O.L.Y.” (busbee, Nate Cyphert, William Wiik Larsen)
5. “Island” (Ryan Hurd, Matt McGinn, Jordan Schmidt)
6. “May We All” featuring Tim McGraw (Rodney Clawson, Jamie Moore)
7. “Summerland” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jesse Frasure, Chris Tompkins)
8. “Lifer” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jordan Schmidt)
9. “Good Girl, Bad Boy” (Rodney Clawson, Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins)
10. “Wish You Were On It” (Smith Ahnquist, Hunter Phelps, Jameson Rodgers, Will Weatherly)
11. “God, Your Mama, and Me” featuring The Backstreet Boys (Josh Kear, Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson)
12. “Music Is Healing” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jordan Schmidt, Craig Wiseman)
13. “While He’s Still Around” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Chase Rice, Jesse Rice, Jordan Schmidt, Craig Wiseman)
14. “Grow Old” (Zachary Kale, Canaan Smith)
15. “Heatwave” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Kyle Fishman, Jordan Schmidt, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)

SESAC Holdings, SUISA Create Transatlantic Licensing Venture

suisa-sesac

U.S. music rights organization SESAC Holdings and Swiss collecting society SUISA are forming Mint Digital Licensing, the first transatlantic alliance between organizations that represent musical works on behalf of music publishers, songwriters and composers.

Starting in January 2017, the two companies will work closely together to license and administer the rights to use musical compositions in online music services under a joint venture. The collaboration aims to strengthen the competitive position and value of the music entrusted to SUISA and SESAC Performing Rights by copyright owners in the international online music market.

John Josephson, Chairman and CEO of SESAC Holdings said, “Mint Digital Licensing represents the first step in SESAC Holdings’ plan to build a multi-regional licensing platform at scale. The key to our success will be an unrelenting focus on our customer’s needs, access to the most comprehensive and accurate data available in the market and a best of breed technology solution. Like SESAC, SUISA is a leader in technology as well as a dependable and experienced partner. Together, we will significantly improve online licensing for creators, copyright owners and DSPs.”

Andreas Wegelin, SUISA CEO, added, “This partnership allows SUISA to expand its position in the online arena and remain autonomous in the long term in this competitive market. Furthermore, we will benefit from significant economies of scale in terms of data and IT infrastructure. In recent years, SUISA has invested heavily in updat-ing its IT infrastructure to be better positioned for the challenges of copyright licensing for the distribution of online music.”

Mint Digital Licensing will offer digital music services single source licenses for reproduction, distribution and performance rights for both SUISA’s and SESAC Performing Rights’ repertoires as well as the repertoires of music publishers seeking to license their catalogs across Europe and beyond.

It intends to provide licenses to online service providers such as YouTube, Apple, Spotify and others as well as administer licenses negotiated directly between music publishers and digital music services.

The integration of SUISA’s and SESAC Holdings’ expertise, data assets and technology allows a variety of improvements in multi-territorial licensing:

• Increased Song Matching: Continuous matching improvements and increased matching rates ensure that rights holders will be identified and properly paid in a timely manner.

• Greater Transparency: Easy access for rights holders to review and manage their catalogs, licenses and royalty reports.

• Faster Payment and Reporting: Substantially reduced file processing times will allow for even faster usage processing and royalty payment to copyright owners.

The joint venture’s database will include approximately 11.5 million documented works by SESAC Holdings and 4.5 million by SUISA, over 21 million sound recordings pre-linked to musical compositions by SESAC Holdings and 4 million by SUISA and over 60 million sound recordings by SESAC Holdings and 36 million by SUISA, which will form the basis of Mint Digital Licensing’s offerings.

SUISA and SESAC believe the cooperation, combination of data and pooling of repertoires embodied by the joint venture is consistent with the European Commission’s expressed wish for cooperation among music rights organizations to enable users to negotiate licenses with as few companies as possible. This new, multi-territorial platform will maximize efficiency for music users, music publishers, songwriters, composers and other rights owners while vastly improving transactional transparency.