MusicRow Weekly: News, Charts, More

This week’s MusicRow Weekly highlights exciting updates from Nashville’s music scene. Click here to see the full edition.

Ashley Gorley leads the headlines with his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class. He joins George Clinton, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, the Beach Boys’ Mike Love, Tony Macaulay and The Doobie Brothers’ Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons in the class of inductees. Gorley’s record-breaking 80 No. 1 radio singles make him the most commercially successful country songwriter ever.

Eric Church and Luke Combs will share the CRS 2025 Artist Humanitarian Award, presented on Feb. 21 at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville. The pair raised over $24 million for hurricane relief efforts in under a month, thanks in part to their Oct. 26 stadium concert in Charlotte, which drew 82,000 fans and set records.

615 Leverage + Strategy, founded in 2019 by John Zarling and Jackie Campbell, has rebranded as Results Global. The Nashville agency continues to represent Dolly Parton, who has held the top QScore as the world’s most marketable celebrity since 2019.

Neste Live!, a Live Nation company, announced leadership changes with Andrew Fortin promoted to President and founder Gil Cunningham stepping into the Chairman role, marking a new chapter for the live music company.

Nashville’s songwriting scene saw notable publishing deals this week. Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Sam Ellis signed with Warner Chappell Music and Madfun Entertainment. Joe Clemmons partnered with Big Machine Music and Ryan Hurd in a co-publishing deal, and Jacob Durrett signed with Big Loud Publishing/ERN’s Cadillac Music.

The Kentucky Gentlemen, a twin brother country duo, signed a record deal with River House Artists. Walk Off Entertainment, founded by Chris Ruediger, also inked a global deal with Virgin Music Group, continuing its growth in the industry.

This week’s interviews feature rising artist Ty Myers, who released his debut album, The Select, today (Jan. 24). In the My Music Row Story column, Ward Guenther shared the story behind Whiskey Jam, a live music series that’s hosted over 1,000 shows and supported countless artists.

In addition, the latest MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart is included, with Lainey Wilson maintaining the No. 1 spot for a third week with “4x4xU.” Explore more chart data here.

MusicRow Weekly is delivered every Friday, featuring Nashville’s top music industry news, exclusive interviews, song reviews, radio and songwriter charts and more. Sign up for free here.