2020 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year

/by


Following the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 32nd annual MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year category.

The Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year is voted by MusicRow’s subscribed members to honor a Nashville songwriter and recording artist who for the first time wrote or co-wrote a Top 10 song for the first time during the eligibility period of April 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.

The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.

Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.

Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 17 at 5 p.m..

To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow member here.


Blanco Brown burst onto the music scene with the viral sensation “The Git Up,” ultimately earning four billion views across social platforms and holding the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 12 weeks. He wrote and produced the track, melding a style of southern music and rap he calls “TrailerTrap.” Brown is currently featured on Diplo’s new single “Do Si Do.” Brown’s career as a songwriter and producer includes work with Fergie, Childish Gambino, Chris Brown and Kane Brown.

Gabby Barrett shattered records as a co-writer of her debut single “I Hope.” The scorned lover anthem is a Platinum-certified country No. 1 with a video that tallied over 50 million views on YouTube alone. As the song surged in popularity, it powered up the Top 40 charts and a new crossover version was released featuring pop star Charlie Puth.

Ingrid Andress teamed with Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland to write the No. 1 song “More Hearts Than Mine.” Their collaboration has the rare distinction of being a debut single that is also nominated for Song of the Year. Andress’ breakthrough as a recording artist follows a burgeoning songwriting career, where she collaborated with a spectrum of stylists such as Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, Sam Hunt, and Alicia Keys.

Jameson Rodgers is the only nominee in this category with two qualifying hits, and whose songs were recorded by other artists: “I Don’t Know About You,” (Chris Lane) and “Talk You Out Of It” (Florida Georgia Line). While making significant headway as a songwriter, Rodgers also made strides as a recording artist and earned a nomination for Discovery Artist of the Year. Among his upcoming cuts is “Born Here Live Here Die Here,” the title track to Luke Bryan’s next album.

Matt Stell is the only artist in 2019 whose debut single topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart. He co-wrote the Platinum-certified song “Prayed For You” with Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Ash Bowers and Allison Veltz-Cruz. Additionally, Stell and Bowers co-produced the track. Stell follows that success with his currently climbing single, “Everywhere But On.”

Travis Denning scored his first No. 1 as co-writer of his own driving single “After A Few,” which has notched more than 130 million streams globally and is from his debut EP Beer’s Better Cold. Now he is following that success with songwriting credits on Michael Ray’s single “Her World Or Mine.” Denning has been building a strong reputation as a writer in recent years, securing cuts by Jason Aldean, Justin Moore, and Chase Rice.

‘CMA Best of Fest’ Airs Tonight On ABC

/by


Country music fans can take a look back at 16 years of performances from CMA Fest tonight (July 13), as Luke Bryan hosts CMA Best of Fest, a three-hour show airing at 7 p.m. CT tonight on ABC.

The show will feature performances including Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins performing “Hillbilly Bone” (CMA Fest 2010), Carrie Underwood performing “Last Name” (CMA Fest 2010), Luke Combs performing “When It Rains It Pours,” Jason Aldean performing “She’s Country” (CMA Fest 2015), Maren Morris performing “GIRL” (CMA Fest 2019), Keith Urban performing “Wasted Time” (CMA Fest 2017), Eric Church and Lizzy Hale performing “That’s Damn Rock & Roll” (CMA Fest 2014), Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus performing “Old Town Road” (CMA Fest 2019), and more.

Other artists on the show will include Sam Hunt, Kane Brown, Brooks & Dunn, Dierks Bentley, Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert and more, with special appearances from Bobby Bones, Jim Gaffigan, Kirk Herbstreit, Peyton Mannning, Lionel Richie, Rob Riggle, Gwen Stefani, Michael Strahan and Rita Wilson.

Bryan will also offer a new performance alongside Darius Rucker.

CMA Fest is the longest-running country music festival, which has been held in Nashville annually since 1972. The fest was postponed this year due to concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19, but will return to downtown Nashville June 10-13, 2021.

SiriusXM To Acquire Stitcher

/by

SiriusXM has entered into an agreement with The E.W. Scripps Company to acquire podcast leader Stitcher. The transaction will advance and deepen SiriusXM’s position in podcasting, the fastest-growing sector in the audio entertainment world. Top Stitcher podcasts include Freakonomics Radio, My Favorite Murder, How Did This Get Made?, SuperSoul Sunday from The Oprah Winfrey Network, Office Ladies, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Literally! with Rob Lowe, LeVar Burton Reads, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and WTF with Marc Maron.

With the acquisition, SiriusXM’s combined properties will contain the largest addressable audience in the U.S. across all categories of digital audio including music, sports, talk, and podcasts. The transaction will also further extend SiriusXM’s reach in the digital audio ad marketplace. The SiriusXM and Pandora owned-and-operated digital platforms, combined with the company’s exclusive ad sales arrangement with SoundCloud for the U.S., and the Stitcher and Midroll networks that are subject to the agreement, will reach over 150 million listeners.

Stitcher creates original podcasts, operates multiple content networks that each target a specific genre and audience, and provides podcast ad agency services for leading shows. Through its Midroll Media ad network, Stitcher acts as a sales and marketing representative to connect advertisers and podcasts based on the desired target audience. Stitcher also owns and operates an app listening platform where consumers can stream the latest podcasts and entertainment shows on-demand and free of charge.

“The addition of Stitcher is an important next step as we continue to develop and strengthen our offering in the fast-growing podcasting market,” said Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer of SiriusXM. “With Stitcher, we will expand our digital audio advertising presence and look to generate new ways for creators to find and connect with their audiences. Stitcher has a talented team with deep experience in the podcast space, and we look forward to working with them to better meet the needs of creators, advertisers, and listeners.”

Jimmie Allen Follows His Childhood Dreams On All-Star Collaborative EP [Interview]

/by

Jimmie Allen. Photo: John Shearer

In 2018, Jimmie Allen made history with his warm, polished debut single “Best Shot,” as the first Black artist to launch their career with a No. 1 at country radio.

The song spent multiple weeks atop of the Country Airplay chart, and was later certified Platinum by the RIAA. He followed the smash hit with another chart-topper, “Make Me Want To.”

Allen, a co-writer on both of his No. 1 hits, knows something of how working together can craft something bigger and brighter than any one contributor could do on their own. Allen took inspiration from the collaborative spirit of writers’ rooms for his new EP, Bettie James, which released Friday (July 10) via Stoney Creek Records/BBR Music Group.

“I love when different artists do music together,” he tells MusicRow. “A lot of people collaborate on writing a song, and bring in two or three people to write it. Just like with writing, it’s even better when there is more than one person singing it.”

The eclectic Bettie James welcomes artists ranging from Country Music Hall of Fame members Charley Pride and The Oak Ridge Boys, to pop/R&B star Nelly, country artists Mickey Guyton, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Rita Wilson, to CCM star Tauren Wells. Lead single “This Is Us” features Noah Cyrus and has earned more than 30 million streams.

The EP’s title is a tribute to two relatives who helped inspire Allen’s love for country music—his late grandmother Bettie Snead and his late father James Allen.

“Growing up, my dad loved country music and my mom loved Christian music, and I loved R&B and rock and hip-hop. I remember being a kid and saying, ‘I want to do something with Charley Pride and I want to do something with Darius Rucker.’ My dad introduced me to Charley Pride’s music, and we loved Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw so I wanted to do a song with them. My grandmother loved the Oak Ridge Boys, and of course, ‘Elvira.’”

Allen welcomes each one of those artists on this new project. The album’s centerpiece is the sober gut-punch of “Why Things Happen,” a multi-generational collaboration that finds Allen trading vocal lines with Darius Rucker, 54, and country music’s first Black superstar, Charley Pride, 86.

“It means that I’ve done something right,” Allen says of having Pride and Rucker on the song. “It’s a stamp of approval on my music that I was looking for. Two guys that really helped pave the way for my career and helped me to move limitations that sometimes people might want to place on me because of the way I look. Those two guys showed that there are no limits. So to be able to do a song with the first Black country star and the guy who is the Black lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands of all time, and for them to agree to do a song with me, means they respect me and my music and that’s the biggest compliment I can get.”

Some of the album’s finest moments focus on finding the positive in challenging times—and though Allen says he wrote most of the four songs that bear his writing credit prior to the pandemic, these songs seems tailor-made for these times.
“Made For These,” featuring vocals from Tim McGraw, is one of the project’s most uplifting.

“I was just thinking about my musical journey, the hard times,” Allen says. “I’m not where I want to be yet career-wise, but looking back about five years ago, you start to realize that the struggles and the life lessons you learn prepare you for the success you want to achieve.”

I hope these hard times make me better and not just older, he sings on the piano-based “When This Is Over,” a clear-eyed, hopeful take on the current pandemic penned by Zach Kale, Jon Nite and Laura Veltz. He welcomes Tauren Wells and Rita Wilson on the track, which ends with stirring harmonies by the Oak Ridge Boys.

“[Oak Ridge Boys member] William Lee Golden’s son Craig is my tour bus driver,” Allen says. “So that was my in. I was like, ‘Talk to your dad.’” he says, laughing. “I just reached out to guys that I happened to have relationships with that just happen to be legends. It still trips me out that I’m friends with these guys.”

In marrying together songs and vocalists, Allen and manager/co-producer Ash Bowers sought to find just the right arrangement to bring out the best in each vocalist—perhaps nowhere more so than on “When This Is Over.”

“For me, I was looking at it as not a Jimmie Allen song, where it’s just about me and my voice. I was listening for what arrangement of vocals will help tell the story the best as far as tone, intensity, what is sung. I wanted to highlight the different voices and make sure that moments were there for every artist. For me that song was like a ‘We Are The World’ type thing.”

He also gives credit to BBR Music Group EVP Jon Loba for green lighting the project.

“The label loved the idea and I got to make a lot of creative decisions for my record. For sure, Loba was like, ‘Jimmie, I always want your musical vision to come through.’ They always want to support artists and their creativity.”

While some artists still in the early sunrise of their careers, with a handful of hits to their credit, would be focused solely on extending their chart successes, it’s clear that Allen’s goals for his music are loftier than mere chart hits and No. 1 parties—he’s striving for music that testifies to his full spectrum of creative abilities.

“When I write songs, I put out music that is special to me. It’s self-therapy. I don’t write a song and say, ‘I just want a song that’s going to be successful on radio and make a bunch of money.’ That’s not my motivation. My motivation is to write a song I love, that means something to me, and hopefully someone else likes it. That’s how I approach everything I do creatively.”

Nick Di Fruscia To Join RMusic

/by


Nick Di Fruscia will soon exit his role as VP/Awards & Membership of the Academy of Country Music on July 16 and has taken a position as the Development Executive for RMusic, a company that has created an iOS app that enables music creators to collaborate.

Di Fruscia previously spent nine years with the Grammy Awards as Director of Awards and two years as Director of Music Licensing at MySpace. With this move to RMusic, he will continue to pursue his love for music creation by transitioning to the creative and content side of the business.

“My time at the Academy has been tremendous and I look forward to seeing its future unfold,” said Di Fruscia. “I’ve had an exceptional breadth of experience over my two decade career in music and that will serve me well in my next professional chapter.”

“Nick is one of the most brilliant and well-liked people in the music industry and we can’t imagine a better person to help us further develop this concept of bringing songwriters and producers closer together through technology,” said Peter Stengaard, founder of RMusic. “His experience as both a top notch creative and an awesome executive business leader makes him an obvious choice for RMusic.”

RMusic has created an iOS app that enables a music creator to record melody ideas, write lyrics immediately over an instrumental track or beat, and with one click, share takes and lyrics back to a collaborator. RMusic lets creators share ideas back and forth and keeps track of songs previously worked on.

Mechanical Licensing Collective Launches Tools For Self-Administered Songwriters, Publishers

/by


The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has announced two initiatives developed to help self-administered songwriters, composers, lyricists, administrators and music publishers organize and prepare their musical works data. By participating in The MLC’s Data Quality Initiative (DQI) or using the Music Data Organization Form, The MLC’s stakeholders can “Play Their Part” in helping The MLC fulfill its important mission of paying royalties accurately and expediently for their benefit.

The MLC created the Data Quality Initiative (DQI) to provide a streamlined way for music publishers, administrators and foreign collective management organizations (CMOs) to compare large schedules of their musical works’ data against The MLC’s data.

Through the DQI, The MLC will provide participants with reports that highlight the discrepancies between the two sets of data so that they can more easily address those discrepancies and improve the quality of The MLC’s data.

The MLC has begun working directly with a number of music publishers and administrators to on-board them into the initiative.

The MLC is also working with software vendors to help them enhance their platforms to enable users of their systems to participate in the initiative. The MLC looks forward to working with other music publishers, administrators, CMOs and software system vendors interested in participating in The MLC’s Data Quality Initiative.

“One of the biggest and most time-consuming challenges for music publishers, administrators and CMOs is checking the accuracy of their musical works’ data,” said Richard Thompson, CIO of The MLC. “We launched the Data Quality Initiative to help those parties increase the efficiency and effectiveness of this process. Participants in the initiative will be able to see where their musical works data does not match The MLC’s data, so that they can then take the necessary corrective action.”

The MLC created the Music Data Organization Form to help self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists begin to organize their musical works’ data ahead of The MLC’s roll-out of The MLC Portal.

“The Music Data Organization Form is designed as a worksheet to help guide self-administered writers through the process of collecting the data they’ll need to register with The MLC,” said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC. “The form essentially outlines the information self-administered writers will need to compile in order to register their musical works in The MLC Portal.”

The MLC intends to begin rolling out the first version of its user portal later this quarter. This version will enable users to set-up their accounts and then search, view and edit The MLC’s data for existing musical works and register new musical works.

Tanya Tucker, Kristian Bush, Cam Among International Songwriting Competition Judges

/by

The International Songwriting Competition has announced its 2020 panel of judges, which includes Tanya Tucker, Cam, Kristian Bush of Sugarland, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, Tom Waits, Arturo Sandoval, Linkin Park, and more. The panel also includes execs from many of the top major and indie labels.

Established in 2002, ISC is the world’s largest international songwriting competition and covers all genres of contemporary music. The competition gives away more than $150,000 in cash and merchandise split among 71 winners, with the Grand Prize comprised of $25,000 in cash plus additional prizes.

The list of previous ISC winners includes many notable artists, including last year’s Grand Prize winner Tones And I with her song “Dance Monkey” as well as Vance Joy, Illenium, R.LUM.R., Gotye, Bastille, The Band Perry, Kehlani, Kimbra, and Lindsey Stirling, among others.

“The panel of judges this year is an assemblage of some of the most successful and accomplished artists and influential music executives in the world,” said Candace Avery, Founder and Director of ISC. “This offers entrants a unique platform to have their music listened to by the upper echelon of the music industry.”

Chris Tomlin Releases Track List For New Collaboration Album

/by

Chris Tomlin. Photo: Robby Klein

Chris Tomlin is teaming up with Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Russell Dickerson, Chris Lane, RaeLynn, Cassadee Pope, Brett Young, Lady A and more for his latest album Chris Tomlin & Friends, and has revealed the track list for the new project.

The project will be available digitally on July 31 and a physical album will be released on Aug. 28. “Who You Are To Me,” featuring Lady A, is out at Christian radio today. The song was co-written by Chris Tomlin, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, who also co-produced the track.

“This song is about the realization that all the crazy stories in the scripture that you heard growing up, like David & Goliath, are real and that when you are in a place far from God, He comes in and meets you right where you are, and pulls you out of the deep,” said Tomlin. “This song really shows the power of being real and honest, and because it comes from a real place, I think people are going to connect with it.”

“When we got together to write we just shared who God was for us and how he is working from the inside out in our lives,” co-writer/co-producer Dave Haywood said. “We poured all of that into this song and we are grateful to be included in this project.”
Chris Tomlin & Friends Track Listing:

1. “Thank You Lord” (Intro)
2. “Thank You Lord” feat. Florida Georgia Line & Thomas Rhett (Chris Tomlin, Thomas Rhett,      Tyler Hubbard, Corey Crowder, David Garcia)
3. “Reaching For You” feat. We The Kingdom (Chris Tomlin, Shay Mooney, Ed Cash)
4. “Who You Are To Me” feat. Lady A (Chris Tomlin, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood)
5. “God Who Listens” feat. Thomas Rhett (Chris Tomlin, Thomas Rhett, Ashley Gorley, David Garcia)
6. “Power” feat. Bear Rinehart of NEEDTOBREATHE (Chris Tomlin, Pat Barrett, Ed Cash)
7. “Be The Moon” feat. Brett Young & Cassadee Pope (Chris Tomlin, Corey Crowder, Tyler Hubbard)
8. “Sing” feat. Russell Dickerson & Florida Georgia Line ((Chris Tomlin, Corey Crowder, Brian Kelley, Tyler Hubbard, Cary Barlowe)
9. “Chase Me Down” feat. RaeLynn (Racheal Lynn David, Josh Kerr, Hannah Ellis)
10. “Gifts From God” feat. Chris Lane (Chris Tomlin, Corey Crowder, Tyler Hubbard)
11. “Forever Home” feat. Florida Georgia Line (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Ashley Gorley,  Corey Crowder)
12. “Together” feat. Russell Dickerson (Chris Tomlin, Brian Kelley, Tyler Hubbard,
Russell Dickerson, Corey Crowder)
13. “Tin Roof” feat. Blessing Offor (Blessing Offor, Natalie Hemby)

Great Escape Record Retailer Gary Walker Dies

/by


Multi-faceted country music figure Gary Walker passed away on Wednesday (July 8) at age 87.

He is best known to today’s music fans as the founder of the record store and comic book chain The Great Escape. Walker had earlier careers as a hit songwriter, a recording artist, a manager, a publisher, a record producer, a song plugger, a record label executive and a studio owner.

He began his journey in the music business while he was still a college student in his native Missouri. Walker and Porter Wagoner co-wrote “That’s It,” which Wagoner released as a single on RCA in early 1953.

Gary Walker subsequently became a highly successful songwriter in Music City. Among his top-10 hits were “Trademark” by Carl Smith (1953), “According to My Heart” by Jim Reeves (1956) and “Repenting” by Kitty Wells (1957).

He also wrote songs covered by George Morgan (“Look What Followed Me Home Tonight”), Webb Pierce (“One Week Later,” with Kitty Wells), pre-teen Brenda Lee (“Doodle Bug Rag”) and several other top names.

Success as a songwriter led to Walker’s recording contract with MGM Records. In 1957-58, he issued a trio of now collectible singles on the label—“Everybody’s Gotta Go Sometime”/It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Makin’ Up With You”/”Then I Think of You” and “Runaway Heart”/”Pretty Patty.”

He gave up his recording aspirations to become a studio entrepreneur. He co-owned Reavis Studio, which became Fidelity Recording. This is where many aspiring acts recorded for the independent labels that sprang up to service the teen rockabilly market of the late 1950s.

Gary Walker next pioneered the profession of Nashville song plugger by representing a number of songwriters as well as several out-of-town music publishers. He notably represented Atlanta’s Lowery Music, whose songwriting stable included Jerry Reed, Joe South, Ray Stevens, Freddy Weller and Mac Davis. His successes for the firm included “Misery Loves Company” (Porter Wagoner), “That’s All You Gotta Do” (Brenda Lee) and “Walk On By” (Leroy Van Dyke).

During the 1960s, he branched out into record production. Walker produced sides for Sonny James, Bill Carlisle, Bobby Russell and Lynn Anderson, among others.

In 1964, Walker founded the Chart Records label. Its roster eventually included Anderson, Johnny Bush and Billy “Crash” Craddock, among others. Most of the label’s success occurred after he sold it to Cliff Williamson.

Walker next managed singer Sandy Posey. Her big pop hits of 1966-67 were “Born a Woman,” “Single Girl,” “What a Woman in Love Won’t Do” and “I Take It Back.”

He also continued to work as a song plugger. During the 1970s, he represented the catalogs of Painted Desert Music and Screen Gems. He later took on the posthumous catalog of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Don Wayne.

As a hobby, he began selling records and comics at flea markets and mall shows. The pastime eventually led him to open The Great Escape in 1977. The store has become a beloved Nashville icon.

The Great Escape deals in used records, comic books and pop-culture memorabilia. Its headquarters is a large storefront on Charlotte Avenue. Branches were established in Madison and Murfreesboro, as well as Bowling Green, KY and Louisville, KY. In 2000, The Great Escape Online was added to the retail chain.

Charming and talkative, Gary Walker could often be found in the stores chatting with customers and sharing anecdotes about his life with history-minded record collectors. After selling the retail chain in late 2017, Walker focused his energy on The Great Escape Music Group. It includes three publishing companies and a record label, Great Escape Records, which has had some success in the bluegrass music field.

He was proud of his Ozark County roots. He and his family regularly attended the annual Walker family reunions held in Missouri, most recently in 2019 in Branson.

Gary Ray Walker passed away at Vanderbilt Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, son Greg and daughter Karen, as well as many relations in the extended Walker family in Missouri.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Clinkingbeard Funeral Home in Gainesville, MO. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a memorial service will be delayed until a later time. A small graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, July 13, at Lilly Ridge Cemetery near Gainesville. Those attending are asked to maintain social distancing and wear face coverings.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Woodmont Christian Church Capital Campaign, 3601 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37215, or to the charity of the giver’s choice.

Weekly Radio Report (7/10/20)

/by

Click here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.