Porter’s Call Receives $15,000 Grant From Record Union Initiative

/by

Digital music distributor Record Union is donating $30,000 to boost projects that aim to prevent or treat mental illness among music makers. After more than 200 projects were submitted through the initiative The 73 Percent, three projects have now been selected to receive the donation.

Nashville-area service Porter’s Call was among the three chosen, and will receive a $15,000 donation to aid in its proactive strategies to help prevent mental illness. Porter’s Call offers free counseling for full-time, touring artists. The organization has a proactive strategy to help artists learn management strategies to handle the pressures of their career. As part of this “prehab” strategy, the organization is planning a boot camp program where musicians will be trained for a career within music.

Forty-five projects out of the initial 200 submitted were chosen for the public to vote on. The 10 projects with the most votes were pitched to a panel of experts in Stockholm for two days in mid-June. Porter’s Call (prevention), What’s Your Story (research) and The Crash and Ride podcast (awareness) were chosen as the recipients. 

“To meet the people behind the finalist projects together with the expert panel was a truly amazing experience. I was so impressed by the panel’s richness in perspectives and expertise, yet it was still difficult to decide what projects to award with the donations. I truly wish we could have given money to all projects, but we had to make a decision. So, we landed on Porter’s Call, What’s Your Story and The Crash and Ride podcast. Our hope is that the combination of the three will have a widespread impact on the music climate in terms of prevention, research and raising awareness,” says Johan Svanberg, CEO of Record Union.

By The 73 Percent initiative, Record Union is hoping to put the state of artists’ mental health on the agenda before streams and commercial success, and also to have a long-term impact on the music climate.

 

YouTube video

Weekly Register: Blanco Brown, Luke Combs Hold Top Country Sales Positions

/by

Blanco Brown and Luke Combs are entrenched in their top slots for country album sales and streaming songs this week, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Brown’s “The Git Up” continues to ride high on the top country streaming songs chart, with 21 million streams this week. Blake Shelton‘s “God’s Country” follows at No. 2 with 12 million streams this week, with Morgan Wallen‘s “Whiskey Glasses” at No. 3. Luke Combs‘ “Beer Never Broke My Heart” is at No. 4 with 9.7 million streams, while Lee Brice‘s “Rumor” rounds out the Top 5 with 91 million streams.

Meanwhile, Combs continues his reign at the top of the country albums chart, with This One’s For You moving 25K in total consumption this week. Dan + Shay‘s self-titled project is at No. 2 with 18K, followed by Combs’ The Prequel EP at No. 3 with 16K. Thomas Rhett‘s Center Point Road is at No. 4 with 15K, followed by Morgan Wallen‘s If I Know Me at No. 5 with 14.5K.

Mount Music Group Signs Erin & The Wildfire To Management Deal

/by

Mount Music Group has inked a long-term management deal with soul-pop R&B group Erin & The Wildfire.

“Since the first time I heard Erin’s limitless vocals and the band’s incredible mastery of instrumentation, I knew I had to work with them,” said company founder David MacMahon Mount. “Their message and what they believe in is compelling. I couldn’t be happier to welcome Erin & The Wildfire to the MMG family!”

The band features Erin Lunsford (vocals), Matt Wood (bass), Ryan Lipps (guitar), and Nick Quillen (drums). They met in college and have been evolving their sound together for six years with a rotating menagerie of talented musicians out of Virginia. The band released their first full-length project, Thirst, in 2017. The band’s latest single, “Yours Anymore,” released in May.

”We are thrilled to have David from Mount Music Group come on as our manager! It has always been our dream to have a manager that has a passion and a fire for our music. David’s ambition and enthusiasm for our project has us feeling incredibly excited for what is coming. He’s driven and has big goals for us, so we are stoked to get to work and make waves,” the band said in a statement.

Garth Brooks Plots Dive Bar Tour

/by

Garth Brooks.

Superstar Garth Brooks is returning to the local dive bars for a seven-city run of concerts.

In honor of National Dive Bar Day, Brooks announced via his Inside Studio G series that he will play seven shows at local dive bars, beginning with a show in Chicago on July 15. He advised Chicago fans to listen to their local country station on Monday (July 8) for more information on the specific Chicago venue.

So far, only the Chicago show has been announced.

The Dive Bar Tour coincides with Brooks’ current single, “Dive Bar,” featuring Blake Shelton. Shelton is set to perform the collaboration as part of Brooks’ July 19 show at Albertson Stadium in Boise, Idaho.

Though Brooks did not officially mention any other cities or dates that are part of the Dive Bar Tour, he did mention that if he does play a Nashville dive bar as part of the trek, he hopes it will be Layla’s, the venue on Nashville’s Lower Broadway where he previously performed an invite-only show in February 2018 as part of the annual Country Radio Seminar.

Blake Shelton Reaches Chart Pinnacle For 26th Time With “God’s Country”

/by

Photo ID (L to R): Brandon Blackstock (Starstruck Entertainment); Narvel Blackstock (Starstruck Entertainment); John Esposito (Chairman & CEO, WMN); Blake Shelton; Scott Hendricks (EVP A&R, WMN)

Blake Shelton‘s latest single, “God’s Country” crowns both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck and Billboard Country Airplay charts in less than four months since its radio debut. The tune is Shelton’s 26th country radio No. 1 and earlier this year became his 16th Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-topper.

“This is such a powerful song and I’m so proud to be a part of it,” said Shelton. “When I first heard the song I thought it sounded like a remedy. Like a cure. It just sounds like a missing link in country music for the last 10 or 12 years. It feels like a combination of ‘Ole Red’ and ‘Country Boy Can Survive’ to me which definitely have a place in country music. Those songs are just rare. As long as I’ve been making music I’m still shocked and amazed at the power of a song and I’m never prepared for it.‘God’s Country’ is an anthem for anybody and everybody who’s proud of where they come from. I’m honored to have been given this song from Devin Dawson, Hardy and Jordan Schmidt who are incredible writers.”

With more than 125 million on-demand streams already, the song is the fastest country single in the past year to reach one million track equivalents.

Ashley Gorley Reclaims The No. 1 Spot On ‘MusicRow’ Top Songwriter Chart

/by

Ashley Gorley is back at No. 1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week, with seven charting titles. Michael Hardy moves down a slot to No. 2. Hillary Lindsey advances to No. 3, Bobby Pinson to No. 4 and Ben Burgess to No. 5.

Jon Nite rises into the Top 10, propelled by the songs: “I Hope” (Gabby Barrett), “Knockin’ Boots” (Luke Bryan) and “Living” (Dierks Bentley).

The MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, published every week, uses algorithms based upon song activity garnered from airplay, digital downloaded 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.

New Hires, Promotions At Round Hill Music

/by

(Pictured, clockwise from top left): Emily Corter, Chelsea Grim, Amanda Hruska, Mikaela Hutson, Rebecca Turner, Casey Reznik, Ben Jones

Round Hill Music has promoted five members of its administration and royalty services teams. Amanda Hruska has been promoted to Senior Director and Head of Administration – Nashville, Rebecca Turner to Senior Director and Head of Royalty Services, Casey Reznik and Chelsea Grim to Manager of Administration and Emily Corter to Senior Coordinator of Royalty Services.

Nashville GM Mark Brown commented, “I am very impressed with these team member’s great work and the growth they have exhibited since joining Round Hill. I am pleased to announce these well-deserved promotions.”

Round Hill has also hired Mikaela Hutson as Manager of Royalty Services and Ben Jones as Coordinator of Royalty Services. Hutson, a native of St. Louis, earned a B.S. in Entertainment Management from Missouri State University and an M.B.A. from Belmont University. Her previous stops include Live Nation, CRS, ClearBox Rights and Warner Music Group. Jones, a native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of Belmont University, previously worked in Publishing Administration at Bailer Music and held the title of Royalty Analyst at Universal Music Publishing Group.

Brown said, “We are lucky to have the opportunity to work with such talented and capable young people as Mikaela and Ben. They will be a valuable addition to the Round Hill team.”

Round Hill Music Nashville’s writer roster includes Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson, Danny Myrick, Derek Austin, Devin Guisande, Eric Arjes, Gareth Dunlop, Jimmy Robbins, Katie Pruitt, SHEL, Suzie McNeil and Wade Kirby. Through its partnership with Big Loud, Round Hill also represents Chris Tompkins, Craig Wiseman, Jamie Moore, Joey Moi, Matt Dragstrem and Rodney Clawson.

Old Dominion Sets New Album For October

/by

Photo credit: Mason Allen

Old Dominion will release its third studio album on Oct. 25, it was announced Monday morning (July 8) on Good Morning America. The new self-titled project finds the band co-producing their album for the first time, alongside longtime collaborator Shane McAnally.

The group recently celebrated its seventh No. 1 song, “Make It Sweet,” and released a followup radio single in “One Man Band,” which has earned more than 40 million streams to date.

Old Dominion’s 2017 sophomore album, Happy Endings, debuted at No. 1 and the band is the reigning ACM Vocal Group of the Year for 2019.

In addition, Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey was recently featured on “And the Writer Is…with Ross Golan,” a songwriting podcast produced by Joe London and Ross Golan.

YouTube video

In Pictures: Kacey Musgraves, SESAC, John King

/by

Kacey Musgraves Introduces New Country Music Hall of Fame Exhibit

Pictured (L-R): Museum Senior Editor Michael Gray and Kacey Musgraves. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum hosted a conversation with Kacey Musgraves Saturday (July 6) that took those in the audience through the museum’s newest exhibition Kacey Musgraves: All of The Colors. The exhibit opened Tuesday, July 2 and runs through June 7, 2020.

 

SESAC At The Bluebird

Pictured (L-R): Eric Burgett, Justin Dukes, SESAC President and COO Kelli Turner, SESAC’s Lydia Schultz, Kelsey Lamb and Sasha McVeigh

SESAC hosted its monthly SESAC Presents Songwriter Series at the Bluebird Café on July 2, featuring affiliate songwriters Eric Burgett, Justin Dukes, Kelsey Lamb, and Sasha McVeigh.

 

John King Makes Opry Return

Starstruck Entertainment artist John King returned to the Grand Ole Opry stage on Friday night for the first time in over four years. The emotional King performed his first No. 1 song as a writer, “We Went,” and his current single “Try Saying Goodbye” for the crowd. On the heels of his Opry performance, King is celebrating 10 million cumulative on-demand streams of his current single “Try Saying Goodbye.” “It’s such an incredible feeling every time you get to play the Opry,” said King. “It’s so special and I will never take it for granted.”

United States Copyright Office Designates Mechanical Licensing Collective

/by

The United States Copyright Office (USCO) today designated the industry-consensus Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), created by U.S. music publishers and songwriters and backed by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and the Songwriters of North America (SONA), as the new entity tasked with licensing and administering rights under the Music Modernization Act (MMA).

The designated MLC’s board includes chairman Alisa Coleman (ABKCO) and directors Jeff Brabec (BMG), Peter Brodsky (Sony/ATV), Bob Bruderman (Kobalt), Tim Cohan (peermusic), Scott Cutler (Pulse Music Group), Paul Kahn (Warner/Chappell Music), David Kokakis (UMPG), Mike Molinar (Big Machine Music), Evelyn Paglinawan (Concord Music), Kara DioGuardi (Songs by KDG), Oak Felder (Crow’s Tree Publishing), Kevin Kadish (We Are Made of Music), and Tim Nichols (THiS Music). Non-voting members include NMPA EVP & GC Danielle Aguirre and NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison.

NMPA President & CEO David Israelite praised the Copyright Office’s decision saying, “This has been a long, deliberative process and we are pleased with the result. The Copyright Office set a high bar and the team behind the MLC submission was transparent, thorough and representative of the entire music publishing and songwriting community. We look forward to seeing the benefits of the Music Modernization Act come to fruition. As we now move to the funding phase, it is critical that the digital services commit to supporting the MLC properly and become more transparent, starting with disclosing the amount of unmatched money currently at their companies.”

“American songwriters have looked forward to this advance in music licensing for years,” said Steve Bogard, award-winning songwriter and President of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). “The MLC creates a number of historic gains for songwriters including participation in the governance of a mechanical rights agency on both board and committee levels and being guaranteed an activity-based share of unclaimed funds. We have an opportunity now to work with streaming companies to significantly advance digital mechanical licensing efficiency and transparency.”

SONA Executive Director Michelle Lewis praised the decision saying, “SONA would like to thank Karyn Temple and the US Copyright Office for their efforts and their expertise, and we welcome the designation of the coalition-led MLC as the chosen licensing collective. SONA will remain committed to being a guardian of the MMA, which we and other stakeholders worked so hard to pass. We intend to work with this MLC to help educate all songwriters on the importance of accurate registration and to ensure that a state of the art database be built, serving all entitled parties to receive the royalties they have rightfully earned.”

Now that the consensus MLC has been selected, the group will formally begin operations. This will include the negotiation of a budget with the digital streaming services who, by law, must fund the collective. It will also include partnering with a vendor to provide administration and matching services and development of a user portal through which publishers and songwriters will be able to manage rights and royalties.

The MLC plans to move quickly on all fronts in order to fully launch in January of 2021. If a funding agreement cannot be voluntarily determined, the MLC and the digital services will go before the Copyright Royalty Board which will set the MLC’s budget through an assessment proceeding. The proposal submitted by the industry consensus MLC can be viewed here.