MusicRow’s Top 100 Songwriters Of 2023

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Zach Bryan. Photo: Trevor Pavlik

Since 2018, MusicRow has published a weekly Top Songwriter Chart that ranks the week’s top 60 songwriters based on song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams.

Using proprietary software, the points earned by each song are evenly split among the song’s co-writers, echoing how the publishing business works in Music City with respect to revenues and ownership, while displaying the overall success of active songs for each songwriter. This way, the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart reflects the most active and successful songwriters in Nashville one week at a time.

Zach Bryan earned the most points on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart throughout 2023, putting him at the top of the year-end list.

After breaking through in a big way in 2022 with his Warner Records debut album American Heartbreak, which remained in the upper echelons of the charts throughout 2023, Bryan continued to release a lot of new music this year. American Heartbreak, his self-titled project and his Boys Of Faith EP included primarily solo-writes, allowing Bryan to collect all of the points those songs earned.

Songs that kept Bryan dominating the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart include “Something in the Orange,” “Oklahoma Smokeshow,” “Burn, Burn, Burn,” “Sun To Me,” “Dawns,” “I Remember Everything,” “Hey Driver,” “East Side of Sorrow,” “Tourniquet,” “Sarah’s Place,” “Deep Satin” and more. All but three are solo writes.

Ashley Gorley. Photo: Katie Kauss

Ashley Gorley comes in at No. 2 on MusicRow‘s Top 100 Songwriters of 2023 list. A fixture on the country charts, Gorley added many more hits to his songbook this past year, including “Gold” (Dierks Bentley), “Girl In Mine” (Parmalee), “Truck Bed” (Hardy), “God Gave Me A Girl” (Russell Dickerson), “All I Need Is You” (Chris Janson), “World On Fire” (Nate Smith), “Save Me The Trouble” (Dan + Shay) and more.

Gorley also nabbed 12 cuts on Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time album, which has broken consumption records since its release in early 2023. He was named the 2023 ACM Songwriter of the Year, took home ASCAP’s Country Music Songwriter of the Year award for the tenth time and was awarded Songwriter of the Year across all genres for Variety‘s annual Hitmakers event.

At No. 3 on MusicRow‘s Top 100 Songwriters of 2023 list is Ryan Vojtesak, who was another major player on Wallen’s One Thing A Time. Vojtesak, also known as Charlie Handsome, co-wrote “Last Night,” “Everything I Love,” “One Thing At A Time,” “Hope That’s True,” “Whiskey Friends,” “You Proof,” “Neon Star,” “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” “Single Than She Was,” “Me To Me,” “180 (Lifestyle),” “Had It,” “Cowgirls” and “Good Girl Gone Missin’.”

Ryan Vojtesak

Morgan Wallen himself placed at No. 4 on the year-end list. In addition to his One Thing At A Time album soaring through 2023, his 2021 Dangerous: The Double Album continued to be a major success. Wallen also sold out stadiums across the world all year on his “One Night At A Time World Tour.”

Tracy Chapman rounds out the top five songwriters of 2023, again exemplifying the power of a solo write. Chapman’s 1988 anthem “Fast Car” was given a second chapter to its story when Luke Combs (No. 13 on the list) recorded it for his Gettin’ Old album.

Combs’s version was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in 2023, and won Chapman the CMA Award for Song of the Year, making her the first Black woman to win the award.

Chapman is also the highest ranking female on the list. As the annual data continues to be male dominated, 14 additional female songwriters can be found in the top 100 this year—which is made up of 116 songwriters due to tied scores. This is tied with last year’s 15 female songwriters included in the list and is down from 2021’s group of 20 within the top 100.

MusicRow’s Top Songwriters of 2023:
1. Zach Bryan
2. Ashley Gorley
3. Ryan Vojtesak
4. Morgan Wallen
5. Tracy Chapman
6. John Byron
7. Chase McGill
8. Jordan Schmidt
9. Taylor Swift
10. Michael Hardy
11. Ernest Keith Smith
12. Jason DeFord
13. Luke Combs
14. Josh Thompson
15. Ray Fulcher
16. Hunter Phelps
17. Thomas Rhett
18. Chayce Beckham
19. Lainey Wilson
20. Taylor Phillips
21. Ross Copperman
22. Jessi Alexander
23. Parker McCollum
24. Dallas Wilson
25. Zach Crowell
26. Jacob Kasher
27. Dan Isbell
28. Christopher Anthony Lunsford
29. Matt Dragstrem
30. Shane McAnally
31. James McNair
32. Jon Nite
33. David Fanning
34. Josh Osborne
35. David Ray Stevens
36. Julian Bunetta
37. Chris Stapleton
38. Heath Warren, Jacob Hackworth, Jet Harvey
39. Josh Kear
40. Austin Nivarel, Joe Ragosta, Rob Ragosta
41. Tony Lane, Travis Meadows
42. Monty Criswell
43. Jordan Davis
44. Josh Hoge
45. Brett Tyler
46. Dan Wilson
47. John Pierce
48. Tully Kennedy, Kurt Allison
49. Geoff Warburton
50. Blake Pendergrass
51. Craig Wiseman, Tommy Cecil, Patrick Murphy
52. Justin Ebach
53. Bart Butler
54. Travis Wood
55. Brock Berryhill
56. Dan Smyers, Jordan Reynolds
57. Cole Taylor
58. Tyler Hubbard
59. Chris LaCorte
60. Randy Montana
61. Scotty McCreery
62. Rhett Akins
63. Carly Pearce
64. Ben Johnson
65. Nate Smith
66. Miranda Lambert
67. Nicolle Galyon
68. Bryan Simpson
69. Hillary Lindsey
70. Keith Urban
71. Luke Dick
72. Kane Brown
73. Hailey Whitters, Ryan Tyndell
74. Mitch Oglesby
75. Kelly Archer
76. Dylan Scott
77. Kacey Musgraves
78. Josh Melton, Matt Alderman
79. Megan Moroney, Ben Williams
80. Greylan James
81. Trannie Anderson
82. Bailey Zimmerman
83. Lindsay Rimes
84. Lee Thomas Miller
85. Jessie Jo Dillon
86. David Garcia
87. Neil Thrasher, Kelley Lovelace
88. Jaxson Free
89. Kelsea Ballerini
90. Rodney Clawson
91. Austin Shawn
92. Alex Palmer
93. Casey Brown
94. Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen
95. Paul Jenkins
96. Marty James, Frank Romano
97. Brad Tursi
98. Gregg Allman, Robert Kim Payne
99. Jared Mullins
100. Jaten Dimsdale

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