Morgan Wallen Commands Spotify’s 2023 Year-End Lists

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Spotify unveiled its 2023 Wrapped campaign, showing users’ top artists, songs, albums and podcasts of the past year.

The platform also revealed its most-streamed artists, songs and more from its more than 574 million subscribers around the world. Globally, the top streaming artist was Taylor Swift, with more than 26.1 billion global streams since Jan. 1. The most-streamed song was “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and the album was Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny.

Swift was also the top-streamed artist in the United States, followed by Drake, Morgan Wallen, The Weeknd and Bad Bunny. Wallen’s “Last Night” was the most streamed song in the U.S. in 2023.

Two of Wallen’s albums, 2023’s One Thing At A Time and 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album, were in the top five most streamed albums in the United States, with One Thing At A Time topping the list.

For more Spotify year-end data, visit spotify.com.

Reba McEntire Appoints Justin McIntosh As Manager, Among Other Team Changes

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Justin McIntosh

Reba McEntire has made changes within her core team, adding Justin McIntosh as her new Manager. She has also added Tyler Lewis as Management Coordinator and expanded Leslie Matthews Dugger‘s role of Brand Manager.

McIntosh has worked closely with McEntire for more than a decade since he joined her former management home Starstruck Entertainment as VP of Marketing & Creative. Prior to Starstruck, McIntosh worked at Big Machine Label Group, where he was instrumental in digital & marketing strategies for the label’s roster. A Belmont University graduate, his professional experience also includes a role with Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB), in addition to his own creative consulting agency. He is a member of the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music and the Recording Academy, and has served on the Boards of the Nashville Film Festival and The Theater Bug.

Lewis previously worked as a talent agent for Ovation Artist Group, where he played an important role in the careers of artists including CeCe Winans, Dailey & Vincent, The Isaacs and more. The Lipscomb University alum has extensive experience working major live events and television productions such as the CMA Awards, CMA Fest and ABC’s Nashville.

Dugger is continuing to build upon her 15-year plus position as the country star’s Brand Manager. In addition to managing McEntire existing brand partnerships with Dillard’s and Justin Boots, her role has expanded becoming an integral decision maker in McEntire’s overall brand. The Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) graduate has also leveraged her extensive fashion and retail experience to include personal styling for the artist.

“I consider my team a well-oiled machine,” says McEntire. “We have fun and we get the job done, but the best part is we like each other. Everyone brings something different to the party with their creativity and curiosity, while earning the respect of others. 2024 is going to be an amazing year!”

She continues to be represented by WME, The GreenRoom PR and Tri Star Sports & Entertainment.

Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen Dominate Year-End Apple Music Charts

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Apple Music has revealed its 2023 Year-End Charts, spotlighting the biggest songs of the year across Apple Music and Shazam and, for the first time, the songs music fans sang along to the most using Apple Music Sing.

Taylor Swift is Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, with more Apple Music subscribers listening to her in 2023 than to any other artist in the world. With this feat, Swift set a new all-time record for the most listeners for any artist in a single year on Apple Music. In the first 10 months of 2023, she saw 65 songs reach Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100—more than any other artist.

Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” was crowned No. 1 on the Top Songs of 2023: Global, with more listens on Apple Music worldwide than any other song this year. It marks the first country song since “Old Town Road” (2019) to top the chart. In 2023, “Last Night” smashed the record for the country song with the most days at No. 1 on the Global Daily Top 100. 11 country songs reach the Top Songs of 2023: Global chart, up from four last year. Wallen also scored the No. 1 album of the year with One Thing At A Time.

The full suite of Year-End Charts are available to view and listen to on Apple Music.

The platform also rolled out its Apple Music Replay 2023 feature, where subscribers can discover, listen to and share their top songs, artists, albums genres and more.

Longtime Music & Radio Industry Executive Bill Mayne Passes Away

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Bill Mayne

Longtime music and radio industry executive and former CRB/CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne has died at 72 after a long-term illness.

Mayne’s nearly 50-year career included a decade at the helm of CRS as well as time at multiple radio stations and a 15-year stint at Warner Bros. in Nashville.

Mayne started his career in radio, working on-air in programming roles across diverse formats, including top 40, rock and country music, where he found his calling. Mayne launched KASE in Austin and went on to lead KZLA/KLAC in Los Angeles and KSCS/WBAP in Dallas.

After time spent in radio, he transferred over to the records side of the building, joining Warner Bros./Nashville. During his 15 years there, Mayne held various influential roles, from regional to VP of Promotion, eventually becoming Sr. VP/General Manager and VP of Promotion.

A devoted member of the CRB Board, Mayne became the Board Vice President before assuming the role of Executive Director in 2009. He held the position for a decade before stepping down in 2019. The same year, Mayne received the organization’s President’s Award and was recognized for the significant contributions he’d made to the radio industry.

The multi-hyphenate business man also presided over Mayne Entertainment, an artist management company, and Mayne Street Consulting, a private entertainment consulting firm, offering valuable insights and guidance to clients in the entertainment field.

Mayne was also deeply involved in the industry’s charitable endeavors, serving as a former Board member of the Country Music Association and spent over 35 years on the Academy of Country Music Board of Directors, including roles as Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the ACM. His legacy also includes co-founding the St. Jude Country Cares for Kids Program, a monumental initiative that has raised over $700 million for St. Jude since its inception in 1989. Additionally, he held the role of National VP for MDA and was a distinguished member of Leadership Music and the Mayor’s Nashville Music Council.

Mayne is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Sallie Mayne, who was his steadfast partner throughout his incredible journey. He is also survived by his sons Bryant Mayne and Christopher Mayne, his grandchild Everleigh Mayne and mother-in-law Helen Wood.

Mayne’s life will be memorialized at a Celebration of Life event on Jan. 30, 2024 on the second floor of ACME Feed & Seed from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to drop by at their convenience, and come ready to share stories and fond memories of Mayne. In addition to sharing stories, a special montage is being created to commemorate Mayne’s journey through the years. Contributions to the photo montage can be sent to [email protected]g to be included.

Donations can be made in his honor to St. Jude and ACM Lifting Lives.

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RJ Curtis, the current Executive Director of CRB/CRS, shared the following statement regarding Mayne’s passing: “The passing of Bill Mayne marks a profound loss for the entire country music community. Bill was a true giant in every sense of the word. His fifty years of passionate work positively impacted everyone he met, in nearly every segment of our business, through his time in radio, the music industry, artist management, entrepreneurialism, and, of course, his decade of leadership as Executive Director for CRB. Bill Mayne navigated the organization through a period of great adversity, ultimately reestablishing CRS as the premier industry event that it is today.”

Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music, shared, “On behalf of our membership and Board of Directors of the Academy and ACM Lifting Lives, I am deeply saddened by the loss today of Bill Mayne, a true giant of the Country Music industry, an invaluable champion of the Academy of Country Music, and one of our longest serving Board Members. Bill dedicated more than 35 years of service to the ACM Board, including serving as the Chairman for both the Academy and ACM Lifting Lives. I am comforted that we were able to celebrate his phenomenal legacy this summer by presenting him with our ACM Service Award at the 16th ACM Honors. Bill had a huge heart, as evidenced by his incredible philanthropic work, including his service to ACM Lifting Lives. His impact, passion, and devotion to the Country Music industry and community will live on forever. On behalf of all of us at the ACM, we send our love and prayers to his family, friends, and all who have been lucky enough to work with and know him.”

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said, “Bill had great passion for Country Music going back to his days in radio. I first worked with him in 1996 on a TV special when he was with Warner Bros. Nashville. I was struck by his enthusiasm for the format and ability to get things done. Years later, we were both officers of the ACMs, where his great knowledge of board governance and organization was a huge asset to our leadership team. Most recently, we got to work together when he joined the CMA Board of Directors, where he served from 2016 to 2018. My deepest condolences to Sallie and his sons.”

JUST IN: CTM Outlander Signs Sam Hunt To A Worldwide Publishing Deal

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Pictured (L-R): Derek Crownover (Loeb & Loeb LLP), Van Hunt (Between the Pines Music), Mike McKool (Co-Founder, Outlander Capital Management), Erin McKool, Sam Hunt, André de Raaff, (CEO, CTM Outlander), Thomas Deelder, (Creative Director, CTM Outlander), Jitze de Raaff, (President, CTM Publishing) and Willie Jones (Loeb & Loeb LLP). Photo: Weatherly Photography

CTM Outlander has acquired the publishing catalog of five-time Grammy-nominated, multi-Platinum singer-songwriter Sam Hunt, and signed him to a go-forward publishing deal for his future works.

CTM Outlander is a partnership between the Dallas, Texas-based Outlander Capital, led by Les Ware and Mike McKool, and the Dutch-based leading independent music entertainment company CTM, led by industry veteran André de Raaff.

“Discussing the sale of some of my catalog took a while and I am glad that it did, as I got to know André and his CTM Outlander team better and better. They continued to meet with me and my team over the last several months to discuss what working together might look like. I appreciate their diligence and belief in what I am doing as an artist, and more importantly, as a songwriter. I believe we will have a productive partnership both internationally and here at home,” shares Hunt.

de Raaff says, “Sam has been on our radar for a long time, and we were very eager to work with him. Since we landed in Nashville, we signed some of the most prolific songwriters like Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby, Ross Copperman and Michael Tyler. By adding Sam to our roster, who is not only one of the most respected songwriters in town but also a global superstar and touring artist, we feel we can service the community even better.”

He continues, “We are truly honored that Sam, after being in talks with us for a long time, decided to sign with our company. Sam is an example of an artist and songwriter that we can help move forward in the international market; his body of work doesn’t only dominate the U.S. radio waves and streaming world but also travels throughout the world. We look forward to supporting Sam in his endeavors and expansion, and are excited to work with him in the country music space and international scene.”

McKool adds, “We’re thrilled to add a singer-songwriter with the stature of Sam Hunt to the CTM Outlander family. Not only is he the type of artist that we want to be in business with, but more importantly he’s the type of person that we want to invest in. Sam has clearly experienced an immense amount of success, and our goal at CTM Outlander is to provide Sam with the resources he needs to achieve all his future endeavors.”

Throughout his career, Hunt has been honored with numerous awards including multiple ACM Awards, an American Music Award and CMT Music Award as well as numerous nominations for the Grammys, CMA Awards and Billboard Music Awards.

The Georgia native has nine No. 1 hits including: “Body Like a Back Road,” “Kinfolks,” “Hard to Forget,” “House Party,” “Leave The Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “Make You Miss Me” and “Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s.” Hunt also has success as a songwriter with several top artists. Some of his No. 1 hits as a songwriter include “Come Over” by Kenny Chesney, “Cop Car” by Keith Urban, “I Met A Girl” by William Michael Morgan and “We Are Tonight” by Billy Currington. Hunt has continued his success with the release of his No. 1 hit “23” and his current radio single “Outskirts,” which is currently top 40 and climbing on country radio.

Hunt’s single “Body Like A Back Road” recently obtained RIAA Diamond-certification, becoming the eighth country artist ever to reach this status. The single has since surpassed that status, and currently sits at 11-time Platinum-certification.

Derek Crownover, Willie Jones, Megan Pekar and John Rolfe of Loeb & Loeb LLP handled the transaction on behalf of Hunt.

Chris Stapleton Leaps Into Top Three On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Chris Stapleton. Photo: Becky Fluke

As his new studio album Higher impacts the country charts, Chris Stapleton jumps from No. 12 to No. 3 this week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

Four songs from Stapleton’s Higher are currently charting, including “White Horse,” “Think I’m In Love With You,” “What Am I Gonna Do” and “It Takes A Woman.”

Ashley Gorley remains at No. 1 this week with nine songs on the charts. Artist-writers Zach Bryan (No. 2), Jelly Roll (No. 4) and Chayce Beckham (No. 5) complete the top five.

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download 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.

Plight Of Songwriters Captured In New TV Show ‘Chart Breakers’ [Exclusive]

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Chart Breakers judges Filmore, Janine Ebach and Wyatt Durrette

The journey of becoming a professional songwriter is being explored on the new television show Chart Breakers, which will film its finale episode on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at the Listening Room Cafe in Nashville.

Executive produced by Jason Sciavicco and singer-songwriter Chris Lane, Chart Breakers speaks to the true-to-life struggles that songwriters deal with when trying to move to Nashville and get a publishing deal. Veteran publisher Janine Ebach, hit songwriter Wyatt Durrette and artist-writer Filmore serve as judges for the competition series.

Behind the scenes of Chart Breakers

A winner will be selected on Wednesday from three finalists. The champion will receive $100,000 and a publishing deal.

“As a veteran Nashville music publisher, I am thrilled to be a part of a Chart Breakers as it helps to tell the story of the songwriter—something that the world needs to know more about. Afterall, it all begins with a song and I’m grateful to get to help find and nurture the next generation of special songwriters,” shares Ebach.

To gather competitors for the series, show organizers traveled around in tour buses and hosted auditions in five different cities, including Nashville, Greenville, Marietta, Pensacola and Statesboro. Each contestant competed for a spot on the bus to take them to the next city, where they would have to battle to stay on the bus against the new songwriters auditioning. After a group of eight songwriters were teased out, they were bussed to a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Behind the scenes of Chart Breakers

Each day in the cabin, the competitors were given different challenges to get them into the headspace for the songwriting they’d have to do later in the day. The winner of each mini challenge would get extra mentor time with an industry professional, such as Dave Kennedy, Levi Loury and Justin Ebach. Contestants would write a song and perform it by the following evening for the judges.

“I’ve never been more excited to produce a series than I am for Chart Breakers,” says Sciavicco. “This is truly a first-of-its-kind show where we are shining the spotlight on the songwriters. The talent on this series blew me away. These are names that people will soon know for a long time to come!”

The songwriters left competing in the finale of Chart Breakers are Tampa, Florida’s Emma Dunne, Grafton, Massachusetts’ Taylor O’Connor and Cincinnati, Ohio’s Nolan Gray. Each songwriter recently spent time in Nashville working on their finale song with the help of Sugarland’s Kristian Bush and songwriter Tyler Reeve. They’ve also recorded scratch vocals in Station West’s studio to get a taste of what it’s like to be a recording artist.

The finale of Chart Breakers will also include a red carpet event at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, and all top nine contestants will perform a song along with judges Filmore and Durrette as well as special guest Lane.

Details on how viewers can watch Chart Breakers will be announced as they are finalized.

Dolly Parton Scores The Biggest Album Debut Sales Week Of Her Career With ‘Rockstar’

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Global superstar Dolly Parton has landed her biggest album debut of her seven-decade career with her 30-track Rockstar album, with 127,778 units sold in its inaugural week.

The star-studded project debuted at No. 1 on six different Billboard charts, including the Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Country Albums, Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales and Independent Albums charts. It also debuted at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Vinyl Albums Tastemaker Albums chart.

“Wow, this is a big thrill!” says Parton. “I owe a thank you to the fans who have always been there for me. Their support made this achievement possible. I’d also like to thank my producer Kent Wells, all the wonderful artists, musicians, and engineers who brought their talents to this project.”

Released via Parton’s own Butterfly Records with worldwide distribution from Big Machine Label Group, Rockstar joins Drake’s For All The Dogs – Scary Hours Edition album and Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in the overall top three, marking Parton’s career-best rank on the all-genre list.

Rockstar also marks Parton’s biggest debut week ever and biggest sales week in 30 years, since 1993’s Platinum-selling Slow Dancing With The Moon logged 50,000 units in its second chart week. With its No. 1 debut on the Billboard Country Albums chart, the album becomes Parton’s 48th top 10 entry on the chart, extending her record for most top 10 albums by a female artist. It also extends her run of No. 1 albums on the chart to 46 years—starting with 1977’s Here You Come Again to present.

The Rock & Roll and Country Music Hall of Famer captured the world’s attention once more during her halftime performance at the Dallas Cowboys Red Kettle Kickoff game on Thanksgiving Day. Her appearance in the game helped it become the third most-viewed regular-season game in NFL history with a 44 million viewership peak.

Prior to her performance, Parton surprised Dallas Cowboys’ Charlotte Jones with a donation of one million dollars to the Salvation Army.

“Words can’t describe how proud I am that Dolly trusted us to deliver her Rockstar vision,” says Danny Nozell, Parton’s longtime manager and CEO/CTK Enterprises & NOZ Entertainment Soundstages. “I want to thank my Butterfly Records global marketing team of Kyle McClain, Steve Ross, John Zarling, Kelly Ridgway, Olly Rowland, global publicist Marcel Pariseau, and the teams at Marbaloo and TDS. I also want to recognize my entire CTK Enterprises staff for the sleepless nights bringing this vision to life. Additionally, a thank you to the best partners in the world—Scott Borchetta, Mike Rittberg, Julian Raymond and the Big Machine family for their hard work and team effort.”

Riley Green & Luke Combs Top MusicRow Radio Chart

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Riley Green and Luke Combs earn the No. 1 spot on the the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart this week with “Different ‘Round Here.”

Since it was originally released in 2019, the original version of Green’s “Different ‘Round Here” has remained a fan-favorite. Recognizing something special in the song, Green teamed up with Combs to deliver a fresh version to country radio.

Written by Green, Randy Montana and Jonathan Singleton, the collaboration appears on Green’s Ain’t My Last Rodeo album, which released in October.

“Different ‘Round Here” currently sits at No. 13 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and No. 12 on the Mediabase chart.

Click here to view the latest edition of the MusicRow Weekly containing the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart.

BREAKING: New Mountain Capital To Lead A Shareholder Group To Acquire BMI

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New Mountain Capital, LLC, a leading growth-oriented investment firm with over $45 billion in assets under management, will lead a shareholder group to acquire Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).

New Mountain will acquire the company from the shareholders who own BMI today. Mike O’Neill, BMI’s President & CEO, will continue to lead the company, along with his leadership team, following the closing. New Mountain has also reserved additional capital to fund growth investments, new ventures and technology enhancements to help accelerate BMI’s long-term plan to maximize distributions for its affiliates and improve the service it provides to songwriters, composers and publishers.

As part of the agreement, BMI’s current shareholders will allocate $100 million of the proceeds of the sale to affiliates shortly after the transaction closing. The allocation of those funds, while not a distribution of royalties, will be in keeping with the company’s distribution methodologies, which are based on performance levels over a set period of time. BMI will work to finalize an equitable payout plan for this allocation in the coming months.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for BMI that puts us in the best possible position to stay ahead of the evolving industry and ensure the long-term success of our music creators,” says O’Neill. “New Mountain is an ideal partner because they believe in our mission and understand that the key to success for our company lies in delivering value to our affiliates. We are excited about the many ways New Mountain will accelerate our growth plan, bringing new vision, technological expertise and an outstanding track record of strengthening businesses, all of which will help us build an even stronger future for BMI and our songwriters, composers and publishers.” He added, “I would also like to thank the BMI Board of Directors and BMI’s shareholders for their excellent stewardship and unwavering support of our creative community since the company’s founding in 1939.”

“BMI has been a trusted guide and champion of music creators from the beginning, and we are privileged to work with the company and its 1.4 million affiliates to build on that incredible legacy,” says Pete Masucci, Managing Director at New Mountain. “There are numerous growth opportunities ahead for BMI with significant potential to generate more value for the work of its songwriters, composers and publishers. We look forward to working together alongside Mike and his team to capitalize on those opportunities for the benefit of all BMI stakeholders.”

“While the music industry has undergone a technology-driven transformation over the past two decades, music infrastructure, including the performing rights ecosystem has been slower to transform,” shares Mike Oshinsky, Director at New Mountain. “There is tremendous opportunity to modernize this critical part of music infrastructure and ensure that long term royalty collections for songwriters, composers and publishers continue to grow. With our support, BMI is ideally positioned to drive this transformation as the only PRO in the world to combine an open-door policy to all music creators with the innovation and commercial drive of a for-profit business.”