MusicRow’s Top 100 Songwriters Of 2018

Josh Osborne. Photo: Moments By Moser

2018 was a milestone year for songwriters. After years of campaigning for updated legislature regarding streaming royalties, the Music Modernization Act was passed in October. This important piece of legislature is crucial to the survival of the modern songwriter, and will create a landscape for songwriters to thrive in years to come.

This past year also proved to be a prosperous year for these 100 songwriters who saw the most chart success on the weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart. Using algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital downloaded track sales and streams, these 100 songwriters were on top in 2018.

SMACKSongs and Sony/ATV’s Josh Osborne takes the No. 1 slot aggregating chart data from each weekly MusicRow Top Songwriters Chart in 2018. The songs that solidified his top spot in 2018 included LANCO’s “Born To Love You,” Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Backroad,” Midland’s “Burn Out,” Old Dominion’s “Hotel Key,” Blake Shelton’s “Turnin’ Me On,” and more.

It looks as if 2019 will be a strong year for Osborne, as well. He announced this week his worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV.

Ross Copperman

Rezonant Music Publishing’s Ross Copperman takes the No. 2 slot on the 2018 Top Songwriter Chart. The BMI writer was propelled by songs like LANCO’s “Born To Love You,” Dierks Bentley’s “Woman, Amen,” Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It” and Kenny Chesney’s “Get Along.”

Shane McAnally

SMACKSongs’ Shane McAnally follows Copperman at No. 3 with Jake Owen’s “Down To The Honky Tonk,” Midland’s “Burn Out,” Old Dominion’s “Written In The Sand,” and many more.

Ashley Gorley. Photo: Ed Rode

Round Hill Music’s Ashley Gorley falls at the No. 4 position in the top 100. Gorley won ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year for the sixth consecutive time in 2018. Tunes like Luke Bryan’s “What Makes You Country,” Carly Pearce’s “Hide The Wine,” Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It,” and Thomas Rhett’s “Life Changes” and “Marry Me” solidified his position.

Tyler Hubbard. Photo: Delaney Royer

Big Loud Publishing’s Tyler Hubbard takes the No. 5 slot, with writing credits on songs like Jason Aldean’s “You Make It Easy,” as well as Florida Georgia Line’s “Simple” and the 50-week Billboard No. 1, “Meant To Be.”

MusicRow’s Top 100 Songwriters of 2018:

1. Josh Osborne
2. Ross Copperman
3. Shane McAnally
4. Ashley Gorley
5. Tyler Hubbard
6. Nicolle Galyon
7. Chase McGill
8. Hillary Lindsey
9. Lindsay Rimes
10. David Garcia
11. Luke Combs
12. Jon Nite
13. Rhett Akins
14. Josh Miller
15. Jesse Frasure
16. Jordan M. Schmidt
17. Jessie Jo Dillon
18. Morgan Evans
19. Brett Young
20. Trevor Rosen
21. Michael Hardy
22. Scooter Carusoe
23. Kevin Welch
24. Shay Mooney
25. Josh Kear
26. Dan Smyers
27. Jordan Reynolds
28. Matthew McGinn
29. Shy Carter
30. Thomas Rhett
31. Laura Veltz
32. D. L. Murphy
33. Matthew Ramsey
34. Robert Williford
35. Brian Kelley
36. Justin Ebach
37. Sean McConnell
38. Ben Hayslip
39. Chris Stevens
40. Bobby Pinson
41. Eric Church
42. Chris DeStefano
43. Russell Dickerson
44. Casey Brown
45. Parker Welling
46. Taylor Swift
47. Kane Brown
48. P.T. Monahan
49. Bebe Rexha
50. Josh Hoge
51. Chris Young
52. Luke Dick
53. Jordan Davis
54. Ray Wylie Hubbard
55. Brett Eldredge
56. Zach Crowell
57. Justin Wilson
58. Seth Ennis
59. Luke Laird
60. Chris Janson
61. Tom Douglas
62. Josh Thompson
63. Corey Crowder
64. Maren Morris
65. Will Weatherly
66. Brad Clawson
67. CJ Solar
68. Matt Rogers
69. Scotty McCreery
70. Chris Stapleton
71. Mike Henderson
72. Brandon Lancaster
73. Pavel Dovgalyuk
74. Abe Stoklasa
75. D. Frasier
76. E.M. Hill
77. Jimmie Allen
78. JP Williams
79. Liz Rose
80. Rob Snyder
81. Channing Wilson
82. Mitchell Tenpenny
83. Sammy Mitchel
84. Steven Andre Battey
85. J. Yeary
86. Dierks Bentley
87. R. Hurd
88. Brandon Kinney
89. Jeff Middleton
90. Ben Stennis
91. Carrie Underwood
92. Kelsea Ballerini
93. Derek George
94. Darius Rucker
95. Josh London
96. Dustin Lynch
97. Andy Albert
98. Mark Holman
99. Devin Dawson
100. Jacob Durrett

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LB Cantrell

LB Cantrell is Editor/Director of Operations at MusicRow magazine, where she oversees, manages and executes all company operations. LB oversees all MusicRow-related content, including the publication’s six annual print issues and online news. She is a Georgia native and a graduate of the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University.

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