Following the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 30th annual MusicRow Awards, we take a closer look at the Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year nominees.

CATEGORY 2: BREAKTHROUGH SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Voted by MusicRow’s subscribed members to honor a Nashville songwriter who wrote or co-wrote a Top 10 song for the first time. In addition, the qualifying song was not recorded by the nominated songwriter.

The MusicRow Awards will be presented at a private ceremony. See the full list of nominees.

Winners are determined solely by MusicRow subscribers. Voting closes on May 25 at 5 p.m. If you do not have a subscription, you may subscribe to receive a ballot.

Kevin Bard soared to his first No. 1 hit with “How Not To,” co-written with fellow MusicRow Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Adam Hambrick, and established hitmaker Paul DiGiovanni. The track was recorded by Dan + Shay and helmed by Producer of the Year nominee Scott Hendricks.

Casey Brown teamed with Parker Welling and Russell Dickerson to co-write “Yours,” which would eventually become Dickerson’s first No. 1 as an artist, earning all three songwriters MusicRow Awards nominations in 2018.

Andrew DeRoberts scored his first Top 10 hit as a cowriter of “The Weekend,” recorded by Brantley Gilbert. The rocking track was produced by MusicRow Awards nominee Dann Huff.

Luke Dick boosted his career with his first No. 1, “Round Here Buzz.” This song and his previous hit “Kill A Word” were both co-written with Jeff Hyde and Eric Church. The songs were recorded by Church with MusicRow Producer of the Year nominee Jay Joyce.

Jacob Durrett and twin brother Devin Dawson have been collaborating for years, and their hard work came to fruition with Dawson’s Top 10 hit “All On Me,” which they co-wrote with fellow MusicRow Awards nominee Austin Taylor Smith.

Kyle Fishman notched his first No. 1 as co-writer of Dustin Lynch’s “Small Town Boy.” The Platinum-certified track is Lynch’s fifth consecutive No. 1 and spent four weeks at the top of the charts.

Ray Fulcher’s fortune went into overdrive when he cowrote “When It Rains It Pours,” with fellow MusicRow Awards nominees Jordan Walker and Luke Combs. The catchy song about good luck was the first No. 1 for Fulcher and Walker.

Adam Hambrick scored two No. 1 hits during the last year. He is co-writer of Justin Moore’s “Somebody Else Will” and Dan + Shay’s “How Not To,” the latter of which was tracked by MusicRow Producer of the Year nominee Scott Hendricks.

Matt McGinn was instrumental in Kane Brown’s backto-back hits. McGinn scored his first No. 1 as co-writer of “What Ifs” (ft. Lauren Alaina). McGinn and fellow Breakthrough Songwriter nominee Lindsay Rimes teamed for Brown’s current single “Heaven.”

Josh Miller scored his first No. 1 as co-writer of KipMoore’s “More Girls Like You.” Miller followed that with the monster chart-topper “Meant To Be,” recorded by Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line. Miller also has writing credits on the currently climbing hit “Take Back Home Girl,” recorded by Chris Lane ft. Tori Kelly.

Sammy Mitchell, Rob Williford, Steven Andre Battey and Luke Combs co-wrote “One Number Away,” which became Combs’ third consecutive hit. Williford is also nominated for MusicRow Breakthrough Songwriter and Combs is up for Breakthrough Artist.

Lindsay Rimes scored his first hit with “Heaven,” co-written with fellow MusicRow Awards nominee Matt McGinn and veteran hitmaker Shy Carter. The song was recorded by Kane Brown and produced by Dann Huff, who are also 2018 nominees.

Mitch Rossell’s “Ask Me How I Know,” was his first major cut and first No. 1, recorded by one of the biggest artists of all time—Garth Brooks. Rossell is the only nominee in this category to earn his nomination with a solo-written song.

Emily Shackelton and Carly Pearce brought female perspectives to the ballad of lost love, “Every Little Thing,” which they co-wrote with MusicRow Producer of the Year nominee busbee. Breakthrough Artist nominee Pearce recorded the No. 1 hit.

Austin Taylor Smith co-wrote “All On Me,” alongside Jacob Durrett and Devin Dawson, the latter of which recorded the song and turned it into a cool radio Top 10 hit. All three are 2018 MusicRow Awards nominees.

Parker Welling, Casey Brown and Russell Dickerson cowrote “Yours,” which became the first No. 1 for all three singer-songwriters, earning them each MusicRow Awards nominations. The same trio collaborated for Dickerson’s new single “Blue Tacoma.”

Rob Williford is Luke Combs’ guitarist and band leader. They teamed with co-writers Sammy Mitchell and Steven Andre Battey to craft Combs’ latest Top 10-and-climbing hit “One Number Away.”

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A recent proposal from developer Panattoni has some in the Nashville music community concerned. The developer is considering five buildings on 16th Avenue, in the heart of Nashville’s Music Row area, with plans to demolish the buildings and replace them with a new office building.

The houses include several 16th Avenue addresses, including 1022 (formerly Ed Bruce Agency), 1024 (home to Big Spark Music, Classic Ax, Wolf Mastering and Krazy Pop Studio), 1026 (formerly Creative Soul Music Academy), 1028 (current home to Bobby’s Idle Hour Tavern), and 1030 (Warner/Chappell Production Music).

The area is zoned for buildings up to five stories in height. Panattoni previously developed the building at 35 Music Square East which houses the Country Music Association, SESAC, and Panattoni’s Nashville office. The company is also developing an office building at 1 Music Circle South that will be home to BMG’s new offices.

An open meeting for the local community to discuss the plans will be held Tuesday (May 22), beginning at 6 p.m. at Edgehill United Methodist Church (1502 Edgehill in Nashville).

ASCAP Holds “We Write The Songs” Event In Washington, D.C.

Brandy Clark

The ASCAP Foundation and The Library of Congress jointly held the tenth annual “We Write the Songs” event at the historic Coolidge Auditorium in The Library of Congress in
Washington, D.C. As part of this special event, hosted by Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden and ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams, ASCAP songwriters donated manuscripts, lead sheets, lyrics sheets, photos and letters to the library.

Among those taking part were Sen. Lamar Alexander, Brandy Clark, Rep. Doug Collins, Johnta Austin, Rep. Lacy Clay, Michael McDonald, Rep. Joe Crowley, Suzanne Vega, Sen. Tim Kaine, Jason Mraz, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Mike Love, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senators Dean Heller, Mike Enzi, Pat Roberts and Rand Paul and Representatives Ted Lieu, Ami Bera, Billy Long, Bob Goodlatte, Lamar Smith, Martha Roby, Steve Cohen, Marsha Blackburn and more.

Brickshore Media Adds To Roster

SESAC Writers Perform At Bluebird Cafe

Pictured (L-R): SESAC songwriters Matt McGinn and Allison Veltz Cruz; Manager of Creative Services Lydia Schultz; songwriters Mitch Thompson and Tom Jordan of Seaforth; VP of Creative Services Shannan Hatch; and songwriter Michael Whitworth.

SESAC affiliate songwriters recently performed a stellar round at the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

Steve Wariner, Charlie Morgan

Steve Wariner and Charlie Morgan will be honored at the upcoming Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards ceremony, to be held June 20 at 6 p.m. at Marriott Nashville.

Wariner, who has released 20 albums and earned 14 No. 1 hits, will be honored with the 2018 CRB Artist Career Achievement Award. The award is presented to an individual artist or act that, through their creativity, vision, performance or leadership has made a significant contribution to the development and promotion of country music and country radio.

“Steve Wariner is still enjoying of one of the most amazing careers in Country music history; singer, songwriter, Grand Ole Opry member, contributor to his fellow artists, and a member of the most prestigious clubs for extraordinary guitarists. All of this in addition to being the best friend anyone on earth could be blessed to have!” says Bill Mayne, Executive Director of CRB.

Morgan, Senior Vice President/Market Manager of Emmis New York, which includes WBLS, WLIB, and WQHT, will receive the President’s Award.

CRB/CRS President, Kurt Johnson comments, “Charlie is simply one of the best at what he does. And he does a lot. It’s hard to think of anyone who’s made more impact as a leader across a diverse list of organizations in and around Country Radio, earning accolades at every step. He’s been a fixture at CRB and CRS for years and is a good friend to artists, managers, labels, DJs…basically pro’s in every part of Country music. Charlie personifies the spirit of CRS and I’m proud to give him the President’s Award on behalf or the CRB Board.”

The Country Radio Hall of Fame event will also honor the “Class of 2018” radio inductees that were announced during Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2018. Seven on-air personalities and two off-air broadcasters will be honored and include Radio category honorees Michael O’Malley of the Albright, O’Malley & Brenner consulting firm, and the late Lisa McKay, VP/Programming at Curtis Media/Raleigh, who doubled as PD for WQDR. The On-Air Personality category includes Andy Ritchie and Alison Mencer (“Andy & Alison”) formerly of WIVK/Knoxville; Steve Harmon and Scott Evans (“Harmon And Evans”) formerly of KPLX/Dallas and WXTU/Philadelphia; and Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, and Tracy Berry (“Barrett, Fox, And Berry) still active at KKNU/Eugene, Oregon.

The Country Radio Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of those individuals who have made significant contributions to the radio industry over a 20-year period, 15 of which must be in the country format. The Country Radio Hall of Fame was founded in 1974 to recognize outstanding individuals working in the broadcasting industry who are promoting the country radio format.

A limited number of individual tickets are still available and are $130 each and tables are $2500. Individual tickets can be purchased here or by contacting Darcie Van Etten at [email protected].

Brenda Colladay has been hired as vice president, museum services at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. In her position Colladay will assume the role of administering the museum’s collection of more than 2.5 million artifacts along with overseeing planning, design and installation of exhibits in the museum’s gallery space, Historic RCA Studio BTM and the Taylor Swift Education Center.

“After working with Brenda in many capacities over the years, we’re delighted to welcome her officially to the museum team,” said CEO Kyle Young. “Brenda brings a unique blend of relevant knowledge that will be invaluable to us as we continue to fulfill our mission of preserving and interpreting the history of country music.”

Colladay holds a master’s degree in public history from Middle Tennessee State University. Her expertise includes 18 years with Gaylord Entertainment/Ryman Hospitality Partners as museum and photograph curator. In 1997, Colladay became the first curator for the historical collections of WSM radio, the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry. Most recently, she served in a consulting role for several projects including project manager for the research and documentation of the history of RCA Studio A, and historical advisor to the forthcoming documentary series Country Music by Ken Burns. Colladay also has done extensive work with the collection of Marty Stuart. She has curated multiple new exhibits for the Grand Ole Opry Museum, managed and completed an upgrade of the Ryman Auditorium museum experience, and co-wrote the book Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. As a student, Colladay interned at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

“I’ve watched in awe as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has grown into one of the world’s premier museums and art institutions, and I have nothing but respect for the incredible work that they do,” said Colladay. “I am a longtime fan of the museum and its mission. The opportunity to lead and shape the future is a dream come true. I look forward to working with friends and colleagues at the museum as we continue to explore, expand and elevate the ways in which we preserve and share fascinating country music stories and collections.”