Rakiyah Marshall Launches Music Publishing, Artist Development Company Back Blocks Music

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Rakiyah Marshall

Music publishing executive Rakiyah Marshall has launched the independent music publishing and artist development company, Back Blocks Music. The Nashville-based company will announce its roster in the coming weeks.

Marshall previously spent three years at BMG; her career also includes time at Republic Records in New York and Nashville’s Cornman Music. She was named a 2020 Billboard Power Player.

“Throughout my time in Nashville, I have been continuously inspired by independent entrepreneurs, especially in the independent music publishing and artist development space. Having the time that 2020 has afforded us all to be home has allowed me to realize that now is the time to chase my dream of owning my own business,” shares Marshall. “I am so thankful for my time at BMG and all of the relationships I have developed through the experience. I will miss my writers immensely and know they all have bright futures ahead.”

Marshall can be reached at [email protected].

Chris Stapleton Moves Into Top 10 On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Chris Stapleton. Photo: Becky Fluke

Following the release of his fourth studio album Starting Over, Chris Stapleton enters the top 10 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week with credits from five charting tracks from the album. At No. 8, Stapleton’s rise is powered by the songs “Cold, “You Should Probably Leave,” “Devil Always Made Me Think Twice,” “Maggie’s Song,” and “Starting Over.”

Josh Osborne maintains the No. 1 position, and Randy Montana stays at No. 2. Hillary Lindsey moves up to No. 3 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week, with co-writer credit on HARDY’s “One Beer,” Kelsea Ballerini’s “Hole In The Bottle,” and Jordan Davis’ “Almost Maybes.”

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

Weekly Register: Morgan Wallen Dominates Top Country Streaming Songs Rankings

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Morgan Wallen. Photo: John Shearer

Morgan Wallen holds the top three tracks on the country on-demand audio streaming chart this week, according to Nielsen. Wallen leads with “Somebody’s Problem” at No. 1 with 14 million streams, followed by “Still Goin’ Down” at No. 2 with 10 million streams, and “More Than My Hometown” at No. 3 with 9.4 million streams. Luke Combs‘ “Forever After All” ranks at No. 4 with 8.8 million streams, while Wallen also takes the No. 5 spot with “7 Summers” earning 7.6 million streams.

Combs continues to lead the country albums chart, with What You See Is What You Get at No. 1 with 41K in total consumption. Last week’s chart leader, Chris Stapleton‘s Starting Over is at No. 2 this week with 37K, followed by Carrie Underwood‘s holiday album My Gift at No. 3 with 35K. Dolly Parton‘s holiday offering, A Holly Dolly Christmas, is at No. 4 with 28K, followed by Wallen’s If I Know Me rounding out the Top 5 country albums this week, with 19K.

Garth Brooks‘ new project FUN is the top debut this week, entering at No. 7 on the country albums chart with 18K in total consumption. Lee Brice‘s Hey World debuts at No. 8 on the country albums chart with 17K.

LOCASH To Host Virtual Christmas Bash Dec. 16

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LOCASH is getting into the holiday spirit with the LOCASH Christmas Bash, a holiday livestream event on Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. ET. Fans have the opportunity to be a part of the show’s virtual “Front Row,” where participants will be seen and heard by LOCASH throughout the show. Front Row tickets also include admission to LOCASH’s pre-show hang.

“Every year we have our LOCASH holiday party and this year is no exception! Like 2020, it’s going to be different than in years past – we’re going virtual! We’re so excited because this time fans will get to join us,” said LOCASH’s Chris Lucas. “We all have so much to celebrate and want to give folks a reason to laugh and smile—and we are ready to bring that to our families and friends!”

The pair has lots to celebrate this season, with their No. 1 smash hit “One Big Country Song” recently being certified Gold, their latest single “Beers to Catch Up On” being second most-added at country radio this week, and their Platinum Tim McGraw hit “Truck Yeah” being included on McGraw’s McGraw Machine Hits (Greatest Hits).

Monument Records Announces New Hires, Promotion In Marketing Department

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Monument Records has made some additions to its marketing department, hiring Jamie Graves as Director, Digital Marketing & Streaming, Jacquie Painten as Coordinator, Marketing, and promoting Joel Beaver to Manager, Marketing. All three positions will report to Katie McCartney, General Manager of Monument Records.

Graves joins Monument from Universal Music Group Nashville where he worked in commercial partnerships and digital marketing for nearly a decade. In his new role, he will oversee digital marketing and strategy, sales, and streaming for all Monument artists.

“Jamie’s passion for this business is inspiring. His vision for Monument’s roster, vast knowledge of artist development, and creative nature made him the perfect choice for this role, and we are thrilled to have him on board,” said McCartney.

Beaver, who has been with Monument Records since its launch, has been promoted to Manager, Marketing. Previously, Beaver served as the company’s marketing coordinator and prior to that, one of Monument’s first interns. In this new role, Beaver will serve as project manager for Monument’s artist roster and be responsible for all marketing and brand initiatives.

Painten officially joins the Monument team as Coordinator, Marketing after two years as an intern for the company while she completed course work at Belmont University. Painten has worked throughout her studies with companies such as the Country Music Association, and joins Monument to support the staff’s various marketing efforts.

McCartney said, “Joel and Jacquie have been incredibly valuable members of this team. Their dedication and passion for the company and our artists has been instrumental. I am excited to officially welcome Jacquie, and to promote Joel into this new role. I know they will both continue to thrive, and we are lucky to have them.”

Services To Be Held For Esteemed Publicist Susan Keel

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Susan Keel.

Entertainment publicist Susan Keel died on Nov. 20 at age 58. A memorial service will be held on Sunday (Dec. 6) at 2 p.m. at Mount Olivet Funeral Home & Cemetery, following a visitation beginning at noon. The 2 p.m. service will be streamed on Facebook Live.

During her career in Music City, she was associated with Conway Twitty, Ray Stevens, Opry Mills, the Ryman Auditorium, TPAC, Kroger and the Tennessee Titans.

Keel was a Nashville native, the daughter of Pinckney Keel, a Nashville Banner newspaper editor and of Gloria Keel Coles, a marketing executive at Donelson Hospital. After graduating from the Recording Industry Management program at MTSU, she worked for Cashbox magazine, Bullet Recording studio and the Top Billing booking agency. She next worked for U.S. Sen. Jim Sasser and The Tennessean’s John Seigenthaler. She then returned to the music business.

Much of her career was subsequently spent at The Andrews Agency. She and company founder Susan Andrews were known as “The Susans” during the 1990s.

After leaving The Andrews Agency, Keel became director of public relations for Fletcher Rowley Inc. She ended her career with her own firm, Keel PR.

Susan Keel is survived by her mother, brother Dr. William Keel, stepsisters, nieces and a nephew. Also surviving is sister Beverly Keel, a dean at MTSU who has been a record label executive, a music journalist and a Music Row publicist.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to MusiCares or to the Music Health Alliance.

SiriusXM Launches Next Wave Virtual Concert Series

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SiriusXM is helping music lovers discover new artists and new music (virtually) with the launch of its Next Wave Virtual Concert Series, starting today (Nov. 30).

SiriusXM will present six new virtual concerts over three consecutive weeks: Alt Nation’s Virtual Advanced Placement Concert, Octane Accelerator Virtual Concert, Highway Finds Tour: Quarantine Edition, Coffee House Live: At Home Edition, Hip Hop Nation: Nation’s Next Virtual Concert, and Liquid Metal Hard Attack Virtual Concert. See the full schedule below.

SiriusXM Next Wave Virtual Concert Series debuts today with Octane Accelerator Virtual Concert on channel 37 and Coffeehouse Live: At Home Edition on channel 14 at 6 p.m. ET. Octane Accelerator Virtual Concert will feature new, live performances from new hard rock bands, Saul, Any Given Sin, and AVOID, hosted by Jose Mangin. Coffee House Live: At Home Edition will include exclusive sets from singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Sam Fischer and Ruth B.

On December 7, Alt Nation’s Virtual Advanced Placement Concert on channel 36, as well as Hip Hop Nation: Nation’s Next Virtual Concert on channel 44, will both begin at 6 p.m. ET. Alt Nation’s Virtual Advanced Placement Concert will feature breaking alternative artists Royal & The Serpent, beabadoobee, and Holly Humberstone. Hip Hop Nation: Nation’s Next Virtual Concert will hand the mic to Mulatto, Tyla Yaweh and Yella Beezy.

Highway Finds Tour: Quarantine Edition and Liquid Metal Hard Attack Virtual Concert will close out the three-week series on Dec. 14 on channel 56 and channel 40 at 6 p.m. ET. Highway Finds Tour: Quarantine Edition will showcase new performances from Drew Parker, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Angie K, and Shy Carter. Liquid Metal Hard Attack Virtual Concert will feature performances with Slaughter To Prevail, Spiritbox, and Tetrarch.

SiriusXM Next Wave Virtual Concert Series Broadcast Schedule:

Octane Accelerator Virtual Concert
Debuts Monday Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. ET & 9 p.m. ET
Rebroadcasts:
Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 12 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 9 a.m. ET
Thursday Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. ET

Coffee House Live: At Home Edition
Debuts Monday, Nov. 30 6 p.m. ET & 9 p.m. ET
Rebroadcasts:
Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m.ET
Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. & 8 p.m.ET
Thursday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. & 11 p.m.ET
Friday, Dec. 4 at 12 p.m.ET
Saturday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.ET
Sunday, Dec. 6  at 11 a.m.ET

Alt Nation’s Virtual Advanced Placement Concert
Debuts Monday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. ET & 9 p.m. ET
Rebroadcasts:
Tuesday, Dec. 8 8 a.m., 3 p.m. & 11 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Dec. 9 10 a.m. & 6 p.m. ET
Thursday, Dec. 10 8 p.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 11 4 p.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 12 3 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 13 6 p.m. ET

Hip Hop Nation: Nation’s Next Virtual Concert
Debuts Monday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. ET & 9 p.m. ET
Rebroadcasts:
Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 1 a.m. & 4 p.m. ET
Thursday, Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. & 10 p.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 11 at 12 p.m. & 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 13 at 11 p.m. ET

Highway Finds Tour: Quarantine Edition
Debuts Monday, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. ET & 9 p.m. ET
Rebroadcasts:
Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 18 at 12 a.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 19 at 12 p.m. ET

Liquid Metal Hard Attack Virtual Concert
Debuts Monday, Dec. 14  at 6 p.m. ET & 9 p.m. ET
Rebroadcasts:
Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 12 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 5 p.m. ET
Thursday, Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. ET
Friday, Dec. 18 at 4 p.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 19  at 8 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. ET

SiriusXM subscribers can listen to the SiriusXM Next Wave Virtual Concert Series beginning today via SiriusXM Radios, SiriusXM online or on the SiriusXM app on a wide variety of connected devices, including smart TVs, devices with Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more.

Quartz Hill Records Adds Ray Vaughn, Greg Raneiri

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Pictured (L-R): Ray Vaughn and Greg Raneiri

Quartz Hill Records has added two promotion and radio industry veterans to its label team. Longtime promotion executive Ray Vaughn has been named a Director of Promotion for the label while radio industry professional Greg Raneiri will serve as Manager of Promotion.

A 31-year promotion veteran, Vaughn has worked with some of the biggest names across all genres of music including George Strait, Tom Petty, Lyle Lovett, John Mellencamp, KISS, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Foo Fighters, The Who, Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse and more. Additionally, Vaughn was part of Warner Music Nashville’s original WAR staff, helping to develop the careers of Frankie Ballard, Big & Rich, Dan+Shay, Chris Janson, Gabby Barrett and Ashley McBryde.

Raneiri has spent the last 12 years working in nearly every radio format with stops in Philadelphia, PA (WRDW / WXTU), Meridian, MS (WJDQ) and Medford, OR (KTMT). He most recently served as Assistant Program Director/ Music Director for KSON in San Diego, CA.

Both positions are effective immediately and will report directly to Quartz Hill Records VP of Promotion & Marketing April Rider.

“There is so much excitement over Ray joining our team and bringing his extensive knowledge, experience and passion to the label. Equally so, we are thrilled and very lucky to have Greg making his promotion debut from radio and bringing an unparalleled passion and love for our format back to his roots at radio. This rounds out our team perfectly. I could not be prouder to introduce such an amazing group of people as our Quartz Hill promotion team,” said Rider.

Quartz Hill’s first single release, “You Ain’t Pretty” by flagship artist Nate Barnes is available now across all digital retailers and streaming services.

Lauren Daigle To Issue Limited-Edition Vinyl Version Of ‘Look Up Child’

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In 2018, Lauren Daigle released Look Up Child, a sales juggernaut that contained Daigle’s Grammy-winning, 3x multi-Platinum hit “You Say,” as well as the Platinum-certified “Rescue” and Gold-certified “Still Rolling Stones.” The album was also named Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at last year’s Grammy awards.

On Dec. 11, she will release a limited-edition vinyl version of the project, via Centricity Music and distributed by 12Tone Music. This double-LP features metallic foil accents and numbering in a double gatefold jacket. The project, which will be limited to 1,500 copies worldwide, was mastered by Bernie Grundman and pressed at Quality Record Pressings on 180-gram vinyl at 45 RPM.

“We put so much emphasis on maintaining the integrity of the sound on Look Up Child – keeping it as organic as possible,” Daigle said. “We focused on every note on the piano, every beat of the drum, every breath in the vocals and there’s nothing like vinyl to bring out that richness. So, we decided to share it through a limited-edition vinyl pressing.”

Matt Stell’s “Everywhere But On” Earns Gold Status

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Matt Stell was surprised with a Gold plaque during his Geico Green Room interview with Natalie Stovall on Nov. 28, 2020. Photo: Grand Ole Opry Photo by Chris Hollo

Matt Stell received a surprise during his appearance on the Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 28, when he was given the news that his recent single “Everywhere But On” has gone Gold and was awarded a plaque commemorating the achievement.

The moment took place backstage in the GEICO Green Room after the Circle TV show Opry Live, and host and Runaway June member Natalie Stovall presented Stell with the plaque celebrating his latest career accolade.

Stell’s new EP, Better Than That, released in October and features eight tracks (five of which he wrote), including the smash “Prayed For You,” which was one of NSAI’s 10 Songs We Wish We Had Written for 2020, and “Everywhere But On.” He has earned more than 360 million cumulative streams across his catalog to date.