Industry Ink: Sony Music, Monument/SMACK, ASCAP, Morris Higham
Sony Music Nashville Hires Helena Akhtar and Houston Gaither
Houston Gaither, Helena Akhtar
Sony Music Nashville welcomes new hires Helena Akhtar and Houston Gaither. Akhtar has been named Arista Nashville’s Manager of Content and National Promotion, and Houston Gaither becomes Columbia Nashville’s Manager of Content and National Promotion.
Reporting to Lauren Thomas, Sony Music Nashville’s VP National Promotion, Akhtar and Houston join RCA Nashville’s Sami Shea to complete SMN’s 3-label imprint Manager of Content and National Promotion team.
Gaither is from Oklahoma and has eight years of radio and digital experience, most recently serving as iHeart Media Tulsa’s Asst. Program Director/Music Director, PM Drive Host and Digital Program Director. He can be reached at houston.gaither@sonymusic.com.
Akhtar was most recently Promotions Coord. and Assistant Digital Program Director for WKLB in Boston, following more than five years at Beasley Media Group. Her email address is helena.akhtar@sonymusic.com.
See shout outs to Gaither and Akhtar from Luke Combs and Old Dominion.
Monument/SMACK Hosts Tuesday Night Music Club
Pictured (L-R): Robert Carlton (SMACKSongs), Katie McCartney (Monument Records), Josh Osborne (SMACKSongs), Walker Hayes, Kylie Morgan, Teddy Robb, Shane McAnally (SMACKSongs/Monument Records)
On June 1, Monument Records and SMACKSongs hosted the first Tuesday Night Music Club at the Basement East; a monthly residency at the venue celebrating the return of live music. The sold out show was headlined by Walker Hayes, in anticipation of his forthcoming EP Country Stuff. His full band show was preceded by a songwriter session that included Grammy winners Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, along with Monument Records’ Teddy Robb, and EMI Nashville’s Kylie Morgan.
ASCAP Spring Master Class With Jimmy Robbins And Rachel Wein
Pictured (L-R, top row): Lexi Miller, Rachel Wein, Marissa Mansion; (L-R, middle row): Holly Chester, Ben Wagner, Kennedy Wilde; (L-R, bottom row): Caroline Dare, Dakota Ryley, Jimmy Robbins
Continuing a strong tradition of talent development, ASCAP Nashville virtually hosted the spring edition of ASCAP Master Class on Monday, May 24 with award-winning songwriter/producer Jimmy Robbins (“The Bones” by Maren Morris) and Prescription Songs’ Nashville A&R Manager Rachel Wein.
Curated and hosted by ASCAP Membership Manager Holly Chester, ASCAP Master Class provides a select group of promising songwriters with the opportunity to receive feedback from a publisher and hear firsthand advice from a hit writer.
Morris Higham Management Teams with The Bluebird Cafe and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation
Brantley Gilbert performs at The Bluebird Cafe for the Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s The Nashville Sessions. Photo: Katie Klochany, RSF
Morris Higham Management teamed up with The Bluebird Cafe and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation (RSF) to give pediatric patients across the country an authentic Nashville experience.
Morris Higham artists Brantley Gilbert, Brandon Lay, Chase Wright and Joey Hendricks participated in the RSF’s The Nashville Sessions—a mini concert series exclusive to the foundation’s Seacrest Studios network. They performed at The Bluebird Cafe and gave patients a behind-the-scenes look at the venue, thanks to the support of the Bluebird’s partner City National Bank.
“In a year with so much uncertainty, one thing remains clear and that is things are a lot lighter when there’s music to get you through it,” shares Clint Higham, President of Morris Higham. “We are so thankful for the great work the Seacrest Foundation continues to spearhead for these families who are already juggling so much.”
