Taylor Lindsey has been promoted from Vice President, A&R, Sony Music Nashville to Senior Vice President, A&R, SMN. Lindsey joined the label group in September 2013 and will continue to report directly to Jim Catino, Executive Vice President, A&R, SMN.

“Taylor’s instincts, relationships, and creative standard sets the bar for A&R executives – anywhere,” Catino said. “Her tireless pursuit of talent and great songs has helped shape the unique creative vision we have at Sony Music Nashville and contributed on an impressive level to the success of our roster of artists.”

“Watching artists go from playing no-cover shows to stadiums is a stunning experience, and I’ve been able to witness that multiple times in my tenure at Sony,” said Lindsey. “I’m so fortunate to work with some of the most inspiring, insanely talented artists in the world, and teammates determined to get their music heard. I’m excited to get to continue to amplify what we’ve been building these past few years.”

Lindsey has been instrumental in the signing and development of a diverse, award-winning group of artists including Maren Morris, Old Dominion and Luke Combs, among others. Respected for her hands-on style, Lindsey takes an active role in setting the creative direction for the full complement of acts on Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville and RCA Records Nashville, and she is heavily involved in the development and recording process.

A native of Washington, Georgia, Lindsey developed an early love of music, thanks in large part to the encouragement of her parents and the talent of her award-winning, songwriter sister Hillary Lindsey. Originally a biology major with her sights set on a medical degree, an elective music industry class changed her trajectory at University of Georgia and she soon started pitching her sister’s songs. The sister team created Raylene Music, which was eventually acquired by BMG and Lindsey continued to pitch her sister’s creations as well as sign, develop, and pitch 12 other chart-topping writers.

Lindsey met Catino, who hired her as Director of A&R in September 2013. She was promoted to Senior Director in 2015 and then Vice President of A&R in 2017.

“Part of my job in development is to help elevate and foster the artists so that they can live up to their full potential,” she said. “And that would not be possible without the numerous contributions from the internal and external artist teams who understands the vision of the artist and why we signed them in the first place.”

Lindsey is married and lives in Nashville with her songwriter husband Derrick Southerland and their daughter.

Craig Morgan has reunited with his former label home, BBR Music Group’s Broken Bow Records, to release his first new music in three years. Morgan was previously signed to the label from 2002-2008, during which he released his songs including “Almost Home,” “International Harvester,” “Tough,” and “That’s What I Love About Sunday.”

“The Father, My Son, And The Holy Ghost,” a vulnerable, emotional track Morgan penned following the death of his 19-year-old son Jerry, reached No. 1 on the iTunes all-genre Top Songs Chart, as well as the Top Country Songs chart, last week. The song has earned over 1.5 million views.

Longtime friend Blake Shelton helped launch a social media campaign in support of the song last week, bringing in support from fellow artists and celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, Luke Combs, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Blanco Brown, The Today Show, and more. The track is being sent to country radio today.

The Music Expo conference series presented in association with Sound On Sound magazine has announced its program lineup for Nashville’s full day of workshops and talks hosted by SAE Institute on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Music Expo Nashville 2019 welcomes back over 30 speakers including multiple Grammy-winning producers, engineers, songwriters, artists and leading technology brands. Newly added to the lineup are producers and engineers Gena Johnson (Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlile), Piper Payne (Third Eye Blind, Madame Gandhi, Geographer), Dave Gardner (Louis Armstrong, Portugal The Man, Bassnectar) and Raelynn Janicke. Newly added music industry leaders include Dead Horse Branding’s Melissa Core-Caballo, MusicRow Magazine’s Sherod Robertson, Average Joes Entertainment’s Nathan Thompson, Oh Boy Records’ Jody Whelan and Navigation Partners’ Peggy Dold.

Keynote speakers and Producers F. Reid Shippen and Jacquire King kick off the event, opening the day with a talk about relationships, reputation and staying alive in the music business. The program will offer tracks covering creative, technology and music business, and acknowledge all stages of music creation with an emphasis on production. Highlights include a streaming panel led by top Nashville industry leaders, a beat-making session, a drum recording clinic, a three-part production series and talks from several award-winning producers and engineers.

Music Expo offers unparalleled access to some of the most successful creators, and is open to the public. Limited tickets are still available starting at $30 by visiting musicexpo.co/nashville.

Newly added program highlights in addition to previously announced include:

Opening Keynote – Relationships, Reputation, and Staying Alive in the Music Business –  F. Reid Shippen and Jacquire King host a discussion moderated by Triple 8 Management’s Alena Moran about fostering meaningful relationships, finding knowledgeable collaborators, developing a successful musical and professional reputation, and how to create a sustainable career through weaving together diverse activities. They will share their personal journeys and explain what it takes to have a successful and creatively fulfilling career.

An Insider’s Guide to Streaming: Playlisting, Best Practices and the Powerful Tools for Artists – Join top executives Beville Dunkerley (Pandora) and Nathan Thompson (Average Joes Entertainment) and Jody Whelan (Oh Boy Records) to discuss the powerful tools available to artists when it comes to streaming, the tips and tricks of playlisting and the various strategies of releasing music. Moderated by MusicRow Magazine’s Sherod Robertson, this powerful panel of label and streaming perspectives will offer up an insider’s guide to the latest trends, common pitfalls and success, and share how artists can leverage and effectively maximize exposure in the current digital landscape.

Drum Recording Techniques with Zach Allen Presented by Leapwing Audio – Great drum recordings take preparation! Simplify the variables in the studio when it comes to capturing the sounds of drums. Grammy-winning Engineer Zach Allen will discuss a variety of techniques and demonstrate mic choice and placement with a live drummer in the studio. This Q&A session will be interactive and highlight the rhyme and reason behind mic techniques, preparation and the various ways to achieve different sounds.

Production Tips and Secrets – In this power-packed class, award winning producer/engineer Robert Venable will share advanced production techniques and secret tips to take your music production skills to the next level. Whether you’re new to the recording industry or already know it all, we’re sure you’ll learn some new tricks to add to your arsenal!  Don’t miss this one!

Ask Me Anything – Acclaimed Mixing Engineers Piper Payne, Shani Gandhi and Gena Johnson will join together for an Ask Us Anything round. Answering Q&A’s from the audience about mixing, the three pros will double down and share their differing approaches and varying techniques and tips!

How to Create Compelling Mixes – What makes the difference between a mix and a compelling one? In this fascinating session, Craig Anderton shares techniques and secrets about how you can grab your listeners’ attention, keep them hooked, and leave them wanting more.