This year’s Country Music Association Awards, set for Nov. 11, won’t have a live in-house audience of wall-to-wall fans and music industry members packing Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, as it has in years past.

In a recent letter to CMA members, CMA CEO Sarah Trahern noted that venue capacity for the upcoming 54th annual CMA Awards will be limited to essential personnel only. No tickets will be sold for this year’s CMA Awards, which will air on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 11.

Sony Music Nashville artist Miranda Lambert topped this year’s nominees with seven nominations, and making CMA Awards history in the process, as the first female artist to earn a record-breaking 55 total career nominations, breaking Reba McEntire’s record (McEntire earned her 51st career nomination this year). Lambert’s nominations include Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year (“Bluebird”), Album of the Year (Wildcard), Song of the Year (“Bluebird”), Musical Event of the Year (“Fooled Around And Fell In Love”), and Music Video of the Year (“Bluebird”).

Two more Sony Nashville artists, Luke Combs and Maren Morris also top this year’s nominations, with Combs earning six nominations (including his first for Entertainer of the Year) and Morris earning five nominations, adding to her previous 16 nominations and two wins.

Chase McGill. Photo: Jessica Amerson

Chase McGill has extended his global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville. The company has also acquired interest in McGill’s catalog.

In only two years, McGill has notched five No. 1 singles including “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” (Luke Bryan), “Lose It” (Kane Brown), “Break Up In The End” (Cole Swindell), “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” (Justin Moore) and “I Love My Country” (Florida Georgia Line). In 2019, McGill received two Grammy nominations, an ACM Writer of the Year nomination, a CMA Triple Play Award, and took home the NSAI Song of the Year award for “Break Up In The End.”
The songwriter continues his hot streak with recent cuts by Thomas Rhett, Morgan Wallen, Swindell, Moore, Chris Young, Gary Allan and Travis Denning, to name a few. Across his catalog, McGill’s songs have been recorded by Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Brett Young, Little Big Town, HARDY and Michael Ray, among others.

“Having Chase come to town with only a few songs and watching him put in the hard work, define his writing style, and gain the admiration of the Nashville writing community has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career,” said Travis Gordon, Senior Director A&R, UMPG Nashville. “Through this journey, he’s become an integral part of the UMPG family. We’re so proud of the strong catalog of hits he is continuing to build and excited to stay working alongside him in the future.”

“Like a lot of songwriters who move to Nashville, I didn’t have any family in town,” said McGill. “Over the years with Universal Music Publishing, that has all changed. If I’m out of town on a bus run, I know my wife can call anyone in that office for anything she needs, and they’ll be there in a hurry. Pair that with their work ethic, wisdom, leadership, and strategy, the decision to stay right where I’m at, was a no-brainer.”

Nashville-based music publisher TriScore Music, which entered the publishing rights acquisition business with the purchase of RPM Music Group last year, has added Juli Newton Griffith as Vice President of their publishing operations, effective immediately.

The deal was announced by TriScore principals Blake Chancey and Scott Siman, who will be working closely with Griffith to make additional catalog and rights acquisitions and oversee the songwriter roster. Griffith has previously served as VP of Magic Mustang Music, joining the company at its inception in 2003. Under Griffith’s direction, Magic Mustang Music was named SESAC’s Publisher of the Year for three consecutive years (2013-2015).

Prior to that, she worked with Corlew Music Group. She has represented over 100 songwriters and been involved in over 600 cuts.

TriScore is home to major copyrights that include songs recorded by Buddy Holly, Cher, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Jimmy Buffett, Toby Keith, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban and Old Dominion. Those songs include Grammy-winner “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” and No. 1 singles “We Back,” “Say You Do,” “Break Up With Him,” “Make You Miss Me,” “Save It For a Rainy Day,” “I’m Moving On,” “Leave the Pieces,” “Red Solo Cup,” “Highway Don’t Care,” and “Chainsaw,” among others. Grammy-winner Blake Chancey has produced records for such acts as David Ball, the Chicks, Montgomery Gentry and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Siman was a leading music attorney before moving to Sony and later taking over management for Tim McGraw among others.

Griffith can be reached at [email protected]

ACM Awards New Male Artist of the Year Riley Green will take fans on a virtual journey through his hometown in Jacksonville, Alabama, with the premiere of “The Golden Saw Series,” supported through a partnership with Busch. Proceeds from the series will benefit musicians out of work due to the global pandemic through Green’s #GetThatBandABeer and ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund, disbursed to individuals in the country music community who are currently on the waitlist for pandemic relief assistance. The four-part series will air bi-weekly on YouTube beginning Thursday (Sept. 3) with each episode featuring different guests performing alongside Green as well as surprise duets between artists.

“The Golden Saw is a special place to me,” Green says. “I learned how to sing and play guitar in that old house. I wanted to share the way those rough cut pine walls made me feel as a kid so I decided to do a concert series. I have some amazing singers and songwriters joining me and I can’t wait for y’all to see it.”
When Green was a teenager, his great-grandparents’ former home was turned into The Golden Saw Music Hall as a performance venue – named after the family’s nearby sawmill – for local musicians to play their favorite classic Country hits on Saturday nights.

Guests for the four-part series include singer-songwriters Drake White and Brent Cobb, and songwriters Jessi Alexander (“The Climb,” “I Drive Your Truck”), Randy Montana (“Beer Never Broke My Heart,” “I Hope You’re Happy Now”), Erik Dylan (“There Was This Girl,” “Outlaws Like Us”), Adam Hood (“Good Ol’ Days”), Dave Kennedy and Channing Wilson (“She Got The Best of Me”).