Tim McGraw, Faith Hill Give Students All Access

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Pictured (L-R): Katie Cook of CMT, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Director and CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Kyle Young attend the All Access program at The Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum’s CMA Theater on May 3, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum [Click photo to enlarge]

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill took part in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s All Access program recently, sharing their experiences and career lessons with high school students at the CMHoF’s CMA Theater. The program was hosted by Katie Cook, actress, musician, and correspondent for CMT Insider. McGraw and Hill are currently featured in an exhibit at the museum titled Tim McGraw & Faith Hill: Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man.

The All Access program connects students with country music’s creative and entertainment communities and illuminates the history and culture presented in the museum galleries.

Pictured (L-R): Katie Cook of CMT, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill take a photo with the crowd during the All Access program at The Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum’s CMA Theater on May 3, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum. [Click photo to enlarge]

Pictured (L-R): Katie Cook of CMT interviews Faith Hill and Tim McGraw during an All Access program at The Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum’s CMA Theater on May 3, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum. [Click photo to enlarge]

Tim McGraw (L) and Faith Hill (R) take photos with the crowd during an All Access program at The Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum’s CMA Theater on May 3, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum)

Mike Molinar, Alex Heddle Upped At Big Machine Music

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Pictured: Mike Molinar (L), Alex Heddle (R)

Big Machine Music has promoted Mike Molinar to General Manager and Alex Heddle to Vice President, Publishing. Molinar and Heddle will continue to sign and develop the independent music publisher’s array of hitmakers such as Jonathan Singleton, Brett Young, Josh Thompson, Laura Veltz and Jessie Jo Dillon, among others.

Since BMM’s inception nearly six years ago, Molinar has lead the charge on over 500 song placements, 13 No. 1 hits and 20 Top 10 singles, while nine BMM songwriters achieved their first career No. 1 or Top 5 hit. A graduate of Leadership Music Class of 2015, Molinar was named a member of the 2012-2013 MTSU Class of Distinguished Alumni and currently serves as a member of the Independent Publishers Advocacy Committee as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame Education Council.

Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta commented, “Mike Molinar is a publisher’s publisher. He knows talent, he knows the streets and he knows and helps create the biggest opportunities for our writers and publishing staff. He’s always been the perfect executive to lead Big Machine Music and his track record speaks for itself. Richly deserved!”

“I’m grateful to Scott Borchetta, Andrew Kautz and Malcolm Mimms for their continued faith in me to lead this team,” said Molinar. “The cultural impact of our hits is a testament to the work of our incredibly dedicated BMM staff, talented songwriters, publishing partners and colleagues at BMLG’s A&R and Rights Management teams. This is just the beginning and I look forward to continuing our growth.”

Joining BMM in 2013, Heddle has been vital in the signing and daily development of hit songwriters Maddie & Tae, Josh Thompson, Jessie Jo Dillon, Trent Harmon and Benjy Davis. Heddle currently serves as a Music Row Ambassador for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and a member of the AIMP Nashville Awards committee.

“Alex has been crucial to the success and exponential growth of Big Machine Music,” states Molinar. “His tireless efforts and strong hit song sense have helped him become one of the most trusted publishers among our artist and A&R community. I’m incredibly proud and grateful to have him on our team!”

Heddle commented, “The level of talent on BMM’s songwriter roster is truly humbling. It is an honor to represent their songs and careers on a daily basis. I am grateful to Scott Borchetta and Mike Molinar for their continued support and am excited to continue the high trajectory of this team.”

Molinar can be reached at [email protected] and 615- 324-9321. Heddle can be reached at [email protected] and 615-324-9320.

NMPA To Honor Caroline Beinstock, Bart Herbison, Sheldon Whitehouse

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The National Music Publishers’ Association has announced the honorees and keynote speaker for its annual meeting in Manhattan on June 13, 2018.

NMPA’s annual event brings together the entire music industry each spring to celebrate music creators and discuss the most relevant issues affecting the industry. In addition to performances, NMPA honors outstanding songwriters, advocates and NMPA President & CEO David Israelite gives his State of the Industry Address.

This year’s keynote will be presented by United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim.

The Lifetime Service Award will be given to publishing legend Caroline Bienstock to celebrate her invaluable contributions as the President & CEO of Carlin America as well as her role on the NMPA board.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will be honored with the President’s Award for his dedication to helping songwriters and his work on reforming music copyright law in Congress, including his support for the Music Modernization Act.

Nashville Songwriter Association International (NSAI) Executive Director Bart Herbison will be given the Industry Legacy Award. Mr. Herbison is renowned as a champion for songwriters in Nashville and on Capitol Hill, and has worked tirelessly to give music creators the fair compensation they deserve.

The meeting with will be kicked off by phenomenal singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Victoria Canal.

“Caroline Bienstock, Senator Whitehouse and Bart Herbison could not be more deserving of NMPA’s top honors. The music industry is in a better place because of their tireless efforts to protect and enhance the rights of music creators, and we are proud to recognize them for their achievements,” said Israelite.

The NMPA annual meeting will take place at the Edison Ballroom in New York City. The previously announced Songwriter Icon Award will be presented to Grammy-winning, multi-platinum songwriter, producer, arranger and musician Alicia Keys.

Andrew Colvin, Adam Voith Join WME’s Nashville Office

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Pictured: Andrew Colvin (L), Adam Voith (R)

Andrew Colvin and Adam Voith have joined WME’s Nashville office. The duo join from Billions where they worked with a leading roster of contemporary artists including Bon Iver, Dawes, Brett Dennen, Robert Ellis, Jason Isbell, Lucero, Kevin Morby, Mumford & Sons, Erin Rae, The Staves, Justin Townes Earle, and Vampire Weekend.

“Andrew and Adam have distinguished themselves with their impeccable taste, stellar reputations, and a unique understanding of artists’ needs. Since arriving in Nashville less than a decade ago, they have already had a significant impact on the music community here,” said Scott Clayton, Head of WME’s Rock Division and Co-head of the Nashville office.

“Andrew and Adam are a tremendous addition to our team as we continue to build out our contemporary business in Nashville,” added Jay Williams, Partner and Co-Head of WME’s Nashville office. “We look forward to working with them to provide their artists with further resources to support their careers.”

Colvin moved to Nashville in 2012 and subsequently to Billions following nearly a decade in New York with Ground Control Touring. The artists he has worked with include The Baseball Project, Blue Rodeo, Brett Dennen, Cory Chisel, Dawes, Dawn Landes, The Dream Syndicate, Justin Townes Earle, Jason Isbell, Jonny Fritz, Lucero, The Minus 5, Robert Ellis, The Sadies, and Traveller. He has been nominated for Third Coast Agent of the Year by Pollstar.

Voith moved to Nashville in 2011, and has been in the business for nearly two decades working at various boutique agencies. The artists he represents include Amason, Bear’s Den, Blank Range, Bon Iver, Dams of the West, Hiss Golden Messenger, Kevin Morby, The Mountain Goats, Mumford & Sons, Erin Rae, ROSTAM, The Staves, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Vampire Weekend. Voith earned a nod from Pollstar as Third Coast Agent of the Year, and has been nominated multiple times for the Bobby Brooks Agent of the Year award. His client Mumford & Sons took home Major Tour of the Year in 2014.

Bobby Bones Announces Second Leg Of Red Hoodie Comedy Tour

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Bobby Bones has added dates to his Bobby Bones Red Hoodie Comedy Tour following sellouts in numerous cities. Bones has added dates in Boston, Biloxi, Little Rock, Sacramento through December.

Known for his continued support of up-and-coming artists, Bones is bringing some of Country’s freshest talent along on the in-demand tour, including Lauren Duski, Jillian Jacqueline, Maggie Rose and Tenille Townes.

Tickets for the added dates go on sale this Friday, May 11 at bobbybonescomedy.com.

Curb Consolidates Curb Music Publishing, Word Music Publishing, And Wordcountry

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Janine Appleton Ebach

Mike Curb has announced the formation of Curb | Word Music Publishing. This entity will combine the music publishing enterprises Curb Music Publishing, Word Music Publishing and Wordcountry into one powerhouse company.

Janine Appleton Ebach, who is currently the Head of Wordcounty, will be elevated to the position of Vice President of Curb | Word Music Publishing. She will report to Josh Bailey, SVP A&R & Publishing for Curb | Word Entertainment and Jim Ed Norman, CEO, Recorded Music and Publishing for Curb | Word Entertainment.

“We are very fortunate to have Janine leading this team. She’s achieved tremendous success with Wordcountry and I’m confident that success will continue on as we further unite the Curb and Word teams,” comments Mike Curb, Chairman of Curb | Word Entertainment.

“The success of Wordcountry speaks directly to Janine’s remarkable leadership ability. Her keen creative sense and her strong artist relations skills make her a perfect fit for Curb | Word combined venture. The same creative spirit that led to her phenomenal success with Wordcountry will no doubt inform her new role with Curb | Word Music Publishing,” comments Jim Ed Norman.

A native of Missouri, Appleton joined Word Music Publishing in 2013, after spending 7+ years at THIS Music Publishing as Creative Director. In September of 2017, she was instrumental in the creation of Word’s extraordinarily successful Country division, Wordcountry.

Since its inception and under Appleton’s direction, Wordcountry has had cuts in multiple genres, along with three No. 1 Country Singles, most recently the Gold-certified song “Singles You Up” (Jordan Davis); Platinum-certified “Sleep Without You” (Brett Young) and “Heartache On The Dance Floor” (John Pardi).

Wordcountry also has current singles on the charts by Trent Harmon & Danielle Bradbery and several others due in the coming months.

“I’m extremely humbled and excited to expand my current role from Head of Wordcountry to VP of Curb | Word Music Publishing. I’m honored to lead and combine these great publishing companies into one joint force. There are many talented writers and artists on both rosters that I will now have the privilege to represent, and I look forward to celebrating many successes as a unit in this new season for Curb | Word Publishing,” comments Appleton.

Reporting to Appleton will be Colt Murski, Senior Creative Director and Nina Jenkins, Creative Manager.

Appleton earned a Music Business degree from the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University. She is a current nominee for the 2018 AIMP ‘Song Champion of the Year’ and is an active member of the W.O. Smith School Board.

The Country Music Association Announces 2018 Ballot Schedule

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Eligible members of the Country Music Association can now submit applications online for the 2018 CMA Broadcast Awards for Broadcast Personality, Station and National Broadcast Personality of the Year at broadcast.CMAawards.com.

CMA Broadcast Awards are presented for Personality and Station of the Year in four categories that are determined by market size (major, large, medium, and small), as well as CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year.

To submit an entry, CMA member radio stations and broadcast personalities in the U.S. and Canada can log on to broadcast.CMAawards.com, where guidelines and instructions for entries are posted. The site will continue to accept submissions until Saturday, June 30 (6:00 PM/CT).

All entries must reflect performances and events between June 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. CMA’s panel of judges, which includes distinguished radio and industry professionals, will be able to view and evaluate each entry online.

The eligibility period for “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” is July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. All voting for the CMA Awards will be conducted online.

The first ballot and instructions will be emailed Monday, July 2 to CMA members in good standing who are eligible to vote. Voting for the first ballot closes Thursday, July 12 (6:00 PM/CT).

The second ballot will be emailed to CMA members Monday, Aug. 6. Voting for the second ballot closes Thursday, Aug. 16 (6:00 PM/CT). The final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced later this summer.

Winners of The 52nd Annual CMA Awards will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting CMA members. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Monday, Oct. 1. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Tuesday, Oct. 23 (6:00 PM/CT). All balloting is officiated by the professional services firm Deloitte & Touche LLP.

CMA Broadcast Award winners will be notified in early October and recognized at The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, which will be held in November in Nashville. The annual, three-hour awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network.

Nominees and winners for the 2018 CMA Broadcast Awards and The 52nd Annual CMA Awards are determined by more than 7,400 professional members of CMA, which is the first trade organization formed to promote an individual genre of music, established in 1958 and celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on television for the first time, making it the longest running annual music awards program on network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, CMA Fest and CMA Country Christmas, through 2021.

busbee Signs Global Deal With Warner/Chappell Music

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Pictured (Front row, L-R): Ben Vaughn (WC), busbee, T.D. Ruth (Keller Turner Ruth Andrews & Ghanem). (Back row, L-R): all WC – Steve Butler, Travis Carter, Alicia Pruitt, Jessi Vaughn, Alison Junker, Will Overton, Katie Jelen (synch), BJ Hill, Ryan Beuschel

busbee has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Warner/Chappell Music. The writer and producer known for his genre-bending talents has collaborated with a broad range of artists, including Shakira, Usher, Lady Antebellum, Jon Bellion, Blake Shelton, Timbaland, 5 Seconds of Summer, Keith Urban, and Jason Aldean, among others. He was previously signed to BMG.

“busbee is a visionary whose experimental approach to songwriting will fit in perfectly at Warner/Chappell, ” said Jon Platt, CEO of Warner/Chappell Music. “With the support of Katy Wolaver, Ben Vaughn, and our entire global team I’m confident that he will push boundaries and deliver global hits across a mix of genres.”

In 2017, busbee received a BMI Song of the Year award for co-writing Florida Georgia Line’s No. 1 hit, “H.O.L.Y.” He also co-produced Grammy-winning artist Maren Morris’ breakthrough album, Hero, and co-wrote her first two hit singles, “My Church” and “80s Mercedes.” busbee also co-wrote Carrie Underwood’s “The Fighter” with Keith Urban which he won an ACM Award for last month, and produced Lady Antebellum’s 2017 Grammy-nominated album, Heart Break, co-writing six songs, including the hit single, “You Look Good.” Additionally, busbee produced and contributed to songs on the breakout albums from emerging country stars Lauren Alaina (Road Less Traveled) and Carly Pearce (Every Little Thing), having written Pearce’s breakout single of the same name, which made her the only female to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2017.

He also co-wrote and co-produced Rachel Platten’s “Collide”; co-wrote and produced P!nk’s “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” and co-produced Gwen Stefani’s recent holiday album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, co-writing all six of the original songs. Other notable busbee hits include “Try” by P!nk, “Dark Side” by Kelly Clarkson, and numerous other top ten singles. His recent collaborations include Jon Bellion, Justin Tranter, James Arthur, Lady Antebellum, Missio, and Maren Morris for her forthcoming project.

“Warner/Chappell feels like home. From my early meetings with the creative teams in L.A. and Nashville to my interactions with executives at every level, I can confidently say it is not only the best fit for me as a creative but it’s also the best place to grow my business,” said busbee. Adding, “They have the reach, wisdom and integrity to elevate careers within all viable markets – it’s no surprise they continue to be the premier publisher in the world, year after year. I’m honored to be partnering with Warner/Chappell.”

Carrie Underwood To Make Guest Mentor Appearance On ‘American Idol’

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Carrie Underwood.

Carrie Underwood will return to American Idol as a superstar guest mentor on Sunday, May 13 (airing live on ABC 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central/5:00 PM Pacific). Her appearance was announced during Idol’s live show on Sunday, May 6, along with a worldwide exclusive look at her new music video for the lead single and title track from her forthcoming album, Cry Pretty.

Underwood, who won American Idol in 2005, will welcome the top five contestants (Gabby Barrett, Cade Foehner, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Maddie Poppe, and Michael J. Woodard) to Nashville for a mentoring session. The contestants will perform songs from Underwood’s catalog of hits on next week’s (May 13) show. Underwood will also perform her new single, “Cry Pretty.”

The superstar’s upcoming album by the same title, her first project for Capitol Records Nashville, will release Sept. 14.

Warner Music Group Sells 75 Percent Of Spotify Shares For $400 Million

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Warner Music Group has sold 75 percent of its shares in Spotify, for an estimated $400 million. WMG CEO Stephen Cooper stated that $300 million would go to shareholders, noting the company will share equity proceeds with distributed labels if that stipulation is included in their agreements.

Cooper also emphasized that Warner Music Group has full confidence in Spotify. “Just so there won’t be any misinterpretation about the rationale for our decision to sell, let me be clear: We’re a music company, and not, by our nature, long-term holders of publicly traded equity,” he said. “This sale has nothing to do with our view of Spotify’s future. We’re hugely optimistic about the growth of subscription streaming, we know it has only just begun to fulfill its potential for global scale. We fully expect Spotify to continue to play a major role in that growth.”

During the first quarter of 2018, WMG’s recorded music operations turned $791 million, and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing turned over $174 million in the first quarter.

The move follows a similar strategy from Sony Music earlier this year, when the company sold 17.2 percent of its Spotify shares, earning upwards of $260 million.