SoundExchange Ups Linda Bloss-Baum To VP, Government Relations & Public Affairs

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Linda Bloss-Baum

SoundExchange, the leading provider of technology solutions for sound recordings and music publishing, has named Linda Bloss-Baum as Vice President, Government Relations and Public Affairs.

In this new role, Bloss-Baum will head up a revamped public affairs department with a focus on industry-shaping advocacy efforts in favor of the fair treatment of music creators in the digital age. She will represent SoundExchange with critical external audiences, including lawmakers, regulators and industry stakeholders. Bloss-Baum will report to Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of SoundExchange, Esther-Mireya Tejeda.

Prior to SoundExchange, Bloss-Baum served as a strategic consultant to music and entertainment companies and organizations. She is an industry veteran who ran the Warner Music Group office in Washington, D.C. and served as Vice President, Public Policy/Government Relations at Universal Music Group/NBC Universal and Time Warner, Inc.

“We are at a critical juncture of transformation that will challenge the ways in which the music industry is organized and the policies we need to ensure its long-term health,” says Tejeda. “Linda’s expertise and background spanning the creator community, Capitol Hill and other policymakers is a perfect fit as SoundExchange seeks to address the industry’s challenges.”

Prior to her appointment, Bloss-Baum spent eight years serving as a liaison between SoundExchange and artists and industry leaders, most recently in the role of Senior Director, Artist and Industry Relations. Through that experience, she will be able to effectively bring together the creator and policy worlds in search of answers to pressing music business and policy issues.

“The next five years will reshape the music industry, from where and how music is created and distributed, to the systems that make the business side easier, to how we create a just and equitable ecosystem that reflects the value of artists, labels, and other creators,” says Bloss-Baum. “With a member community of over 245,000, SoundExchange is the only organization that respects the totality of the industry, giving us an important responsibility at the intersection of the technology and music ecosystems.”

UMPG Nashville Appoints Roxy King As Director, A&R [Exclusive]

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Roxy King. Photo: Lily Nelson

Universal Music Publishing Nashville has appointed Roxy King to Director of A&R, effective immediately. She reports to Chairman and CEO of the division, Troy Tomlinson.

King boasts a strong track record in publishing A&R. Prior to joining UMPG Nashville, she served as A&R Manager at Concord Music Publishing and worked with songwriters including Tofer Brown, Donovan Woods, Ian Fitchuk and Hillary Lindsey, among others. Previously, King worked on Songtrust’s global music rights management team in New York City. King is a graduate of NYU’s Music Business program.

Tomlinson says, “I am so excited to have Roxy join our team. She brings a fresh perspective, attitude and energy that will complement our A&R staff. Her love for songwriters and her passion to help them reach their goals make her the perfect fit for us.”

“Nashville songwriters have been an influence on my life for as long as I can remember. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and learn from Troy Tomlinson, the creative team, and the entire roster of incredible songwriters at UMPG,” says King.

Nicolle Galyon Enters Top 10 On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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Nicolle Galyon moves up six spots to No. 6 this week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart. She is a co-writer on Dierks Bentley’s “Gone,” Blake Shelton’s “Minimum Wage,” and Kelsea Ballerini’s “Half Of My Hometown.”

Taylor Swift remains at No. 1 this week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, with her “Love Story,” “You All Over Me,” “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” “Forever & Always,” “Fearless,” and “You Belong With Me” charting on the country charts. Jesse Frasure stays at No. 2 this week, and Josh Osborne moves up one spot to No. 3.

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.

Sandbox Entertainment Launches Estate Management Division

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Sandbox Entertainment has announced the launch of Sandbox Succession, the company’s newly formed division providing comprehensive estate management services in all exploitations focusing on name and likeness.

The division will be led by Josh Matas, who joined the company in 2015. Working with Sandbox Entertainment President/CEO Jason Owen, Matas aims to cultivate a business that delivers best-in-class services across artist management, legacy preservation and development of creative artistic opportunities in today’s cultural landscape.

Sandbox Succession counts the estates of late American icons Johnny Cash (John R. Cash Revocable Trust), June Carter (June Carter Cash Trust) and The Carter Family (The Carter Family – FFCM LLC) as clients.

The announcement comes on the heels of signing NASCAR’s most decorated driver in history, NASCAR Hall of Fame member Richard Petty (Richard Petty IP LLC).

The division’s full scope of services includes brand development and partnerships; merchandising and licensing; hospitality; exhibitions; live performances; and entertainment development across film, television, music, content, gaming and books.

“I’m thrilled to announce the creation of Sandbox Succession which is a natural extension of the artist-first mentality that drives all of our businesses,” says Owen. “It’s an honor and a privilege to work with the Estates of these icons. We look forward to preserving and furthering their enduring legacies.”

“Jason and I both come from branding backgrounds, and I got a unique opportunity early on in my time at Sandbox to work with Johnny Cash’s estate.” Matas adds. “The depth of this work emphasized the importance of managing these critical brands. Audiences have shown a continued reverence for this particular collection of individuals—and that’s where we as brand managers are excited by the idea of not only presenting sustainable business models, but also continuing to tell their stories as a pillar of the greater cultural landscape.”

The Recording Academy Votes To Eliminate Nominations Review Committees

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The Recording Academy announced today (April 30) significant changes to its awards process, including the elimination of nominations review committees in general and genre fields.

Nominations in all of the Grammy Award general and genre fields will now be determined by a majority, peer-to-peer vote of voting members of the Recording Academy. Previously, many of the categories within these fields utilized 15-30 highly skilled music peers who represented and voted within their genre communities for the final selection of nominees. The Academy confirmed that more than 90 percent of its members will have gone through the re-qualification process by the end of this year, ensuring that the voting body is actively engaged in music creation.

Additionally, the Academy announced a reduction in the number of categories in which voters may vote. In an effort to ensure music creators are voting in the categories in which they are most knowledgeable and qualified, the number of specific genre field categories in which Grammy Award voters may vote has been reduced from 15 to 10. Those 10 categories must be within no more than three fields. All voters are permitted to vote in the four General Field categories (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist).

The Academy also announced that six existing craft fields will be consolidated into two fields: Presentation Field and Production Field. In either newly consolidated field, voters would have the ability to choose how many categories they feel qualified to vote in, respecting category vote limits, without being excessively limited by the three-field restriction.

Finally, two new categories have been added, bringing the total number of Grammy Award categories to 86. Those categories are Best Global Music Performance (Global Music Field) and Best Música Urbana Album (Latin Music Field).

These changes go into effect immediately for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards taking place Jan. 31, 2022. The eligibility period for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards is Sept. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021.

“It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our Awards process,” says Harvey Mason jr., chair & interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy. “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community. While change and progress are key drivers of our actions, one thing will always remain — the Grammy Award is the only peer-driven and peer-voted recognition in music. We are honored to work alongside the music community year-round to further refine and protect the integrity of the Awards process.”

Chief Zaruk And Simon Tikhman Talk Launching Well-Rounded Artists At The Core [Interview]

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The Core’s Kevin “Chief” Zaruk, Simon Tikhman

When veteran music manager Kevin “Chief” Zaruk and successful business investor Simon Tikhman met after their mutual attorney set them up, they knew they had to work together.

Chief was a founding partner of the Nashville-based Big Loud, and was instrumental in the careers of Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen, Morgan Wallen, Chris Lane, Hardy, and many more. The Vancouver, British Columbia-native began his career as the tour manager for Nickelback before helping start Big Loud in 2011.

Simon started his career in business while still in college, founding Interactive Athlete, a company that helped professional athletes and coaches create content and merchandise directly for their fans. He then became a strategic investor in companies Monclarity and TikGames, before starting his own Simont Enterprises, an innovative spirits company. Simon was managing partner at the Fund by First Access Entertainment, and has also invested independently in a growing portfolio of companies.

The two came together to found artist management company The Core in 2019, in partnership with Live Nation, and have built its roster to include country and pop artists including Grammy-winning pop artist Emily Weisband, genre-bending country duo After Midtown, alt pop band Valley, soulful country singer Nate Smith, and hybrid rock and country artist Dillon James. In addition to traditional music management, The Core also form strategic joint ventures with athletes, technology startups, and develop television and film projects that align with the company’s vision.

“When I met Chief it was truly love at first sight,” Simon jokes. “We knew right away that we were going to do something together.”

Chief and Simon are interested in building artist careers that touch multiple parts of the entertainment business.

Chief says, “We wanted to have a company where we can touch not just one part of the music business with management, but in investments, sports, entertainment, branding, sponsorships, TV and film—and Live Nation allows us to do that with their platform. But I think the difference for us, especially in Nashville more than other places, is we really want our artists to not only become successful artists, but we’re asking them, ‘While you’re building your career, what else do you want to do?'”

“We’re telling our artists, let’s get your career going but once it takes off, do you want to have your own management company one day? Do you want to do a JV publishing deal? Do you want to do a JV record deal? Do you want to do your own clothing company? A lot of what we did with FGL is asking ourselves what are the other businesses we can create? So during a pandemic when you can’t tour, they were fine. They have a record label, a publishing company, a clothing company—they made as much money last year as any other year without touring.”

Pop singer-songwriter Emily Weisband was the first artist that The Core picked up. Weisband has had hits with artists including Camila Cabello, Danny Gokey, Dan + Shay, BTS with Halsey, Jeremy Camp and Keith Urban, and recently released her own pop EP Call It Being Human on Warner Records.

Emily Weisband

“She’s just incredible,” Chief says. “She has massive hits worldwide with all sorts of different artists, she has her Grammy, but when she wanted to do the artist thing, it felt like nobody really believed her or bought into it because she was so successful as a songwriter. So it’s our job to change the narrative for her and really try to get people to understand that she’s really an artist.”

The Core’s After Midtown, who is managed in partnership with 10th Street Entertainment, have created a genre-bending sound that is quickly creating a buzz with their recently released EP Don’t Give Away The Ending. The duo comprised of Adam Ernst and Michael Rotundo have signed with Sony Music Publishing Nashville and CAA.

After Midtown

Simon says, “They were brought to us and they didn’t have that many songs. They had ‘Boys Like Us’ and maybe a few others. But when we heard it and we were like, ‘This is country, but you can hear rock influences. You can hear all these different influences that are so unique to like a quote unquote country duo.’ With Michael, his influences are very little country yet he has this voice that’s so recognizable and country. So for us, we never wanted to take that away from them. I think in a lot of ways in country, everybody puts artists in a box, like, ‘This is how you’re supposed to look and how you’re supposed to sound.’ They don’t look that way or sound that way, and we want to harness that. We want them to stay like that.”

“We went through the same thing with FGL, they couldn’t get arrested in town. We ended up getting signed in New York because no one here got it. But that’s how you build career artists. They’re the ones that are leading the next wave,” Chief says. “I look at After Midtown and say, ‘You guys aren’t going to get signed right away because you’re the next wave and people don’t like that. That’s a risk and they don’t want to take that chance when they can just sign somebody who fits in the box and they can promote and have some success with short term. So, for [After Midtown], it’s touring, touring, touring. While we keep releasing music and content, we build the fan base, build a body of work and just keep making fans out of promoters and radio stations, and other acts in town.”

The Core’s Nate Smith broke through in 2019 when he released the song “Wildfire,” which has now garnered more than 15 million streams. The single went viral on TikTok and Smith has since signed a publishing deal with Sony in addition to his management deal.

“That voice, it’s unbelievable,” Simon says. “Everyone’s still a little bit hesitant when it comes to TikTok because sometimes it has this flash in the pan type of connotation. But he dropped ‘Wildfire’ and the streaming numbers were just out of this world on Spotify. We flew to Nashville and met with Nate, and then we actually heard him live. He got on stage and you could just hear the crowd just get quiet. The guy just sucked up the whole room.”

Traveling between Nashville and Los Angeles, Chief and Simon are building The Core team members. They just announced the appointment of Tracy Martin to President of The Core Canada. She will open the Toronto office.

Martin arrives at The Core from her position as President of the Canadian Country Music Association, a post she held since July of 2017. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Simon and Chief,” Tracy says. “Watching what they have built at The Core in one short year is beyond exciting. Their specialized approach is driven by values that have defined my career—teamwork, innovation and respect—and I cannot wait to get started in building sustainable careers for the talent we represent.”

Tracy Martin

“I have personally known Tracy for well over a decade and she has always been a powerhouse in the music business,” Chief says. “Simon and I could not be more excited to have her join us at The Core, bringing a reputation and skillset that sets her apart. She will immediately help us grow, not only in Canada, but globally.”

”Tracy has been a leader in the music industry in Canada for many years and her addition to The Core is a real coup for the company,” says Simon. “She is going to be an integral part in making our artists known around the world.”

Now in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Toronto, The Core Entertainment is building well-rounded artists from country to pop, and spreading their strategy across North America.

Luke Combs Lands Two Week No. 1 On MusicRow Radio Chart

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“Forever After All” by Luke Combs remains the No. 1 single on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart for its second consecutive week. The single was penned by Combs, Drew Parker, and Robert Williford. It appears on Combs’ deluxe album, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get.

It was announced yesterday  (April 29) that Combs was nominated for Top Country Artist and Top Country Male Artist at the Billboard Music Awards (airing Sunday, May 23 at 7 p.m. CST on NBC.) He took home Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Album at last year’s awards.

Click here or above to view the latest edition of The MusicRow Weekly.

Warner Music Nashville Welcomes Zac Brown Band

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Warner Music Nashville has signed Zac Brown Band via a deal with Warner Music Nashville / Home Grown Music. New music is expected soon from the band that has tallied more than nine billion streams and 15 No. 1 radio singles over the course of more than a decade.

“Warner Music Nashville and Zac Brown Band share a fundamental value: forging connections through amazing and heartfelt music,” says Warner Music Nashville Chairman & CEO John Esposito. “Their songs have ceaselessly fed our hearts and souls, and I am so proud to welcome them to our label home as we journey together into this new chapter.”

The multi-Platinum, three-time Grammy-winning band has had six consecutive albums reach the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and five consecutive albums debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart.

Warner joins the band’s team which includes managers David Plyler and Dirk Lemmenes at Home Grown Music, Scott Clayton and Matthew Morgan at WME, Cameo Carlson and Michael Corcoran at mtheory, Stephanie Jones at JONESWORKS and Reid Hunter at Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Worob & Averill LLP.

“We couldn’t be more excited to become part of the Warner Music Nashville family,” says Zac Brown. “We feel incredibly blessed to be working with John Esposito, Cris Lacy, Ben Kline and their talented team. We’ve been hard at work in the studio and can’t wait to share our new music with our fans!”

Adds WMN EVP A&R Cris Lacy: “Zac Brown Band is known worldwide for their consummate musicianship, litany of timeless hits and incomparable live shows. From the moment they stepped onto the scene, they were grinding out this game-changing vision. When we heard the new music our only question was, ‘How quickly can we get this to the fans?’ It was absolutely, positively undeniable. Enough said. It feels good to have them back in the Warner family, and we’re excited to make some new history together.”

2021 AIMP Nashville Awards Winners Announced at 6th Annual Event

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The AIMP Nashville Chapter Board of Directors; Back row, (L-R): Mark Brown (Round Hill), Mike Sistad (ASCAP), John Ozier (Reservoir), Michael Martin (Endurance Music Group), ET Brown (SESAC), Chris VanBelkom (Combustion), Courtney Crist, and Alex Heddle (Big Machine). Front row, (L-R): Duff Berschback (Concord), Shannan Hatch, Courtney Kruckeberg (Endurance Music Group), Kendall Lettow (Peer), and Emily Boardman (Hipgnosis). Not Pictured: Robert Carlton, Ree Guyer, Tim Hunze, Leslie Roberts, and Shannon Sanders.

The Nashville Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) announced the winners of its 6th Annual AIMP Nashville Awards at a special socially distanced event hosted by Charles Esten at The Listening Room Café in Nashville on Tuesday, April 27. The ceremony was also livestreamed to AIMP members.

During the ceremony, Big Machine Music was named Publisher of the Year, with Songwriter of the Year going to Hillary Lindsey (Concord Music Publishing) and Artist-Writer of the Year to Ashley McBryde (Jody Williams Songs).

In addition, Song of the Year went to Lee Brice’s “One of Them Girls” (written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Dallas Davidson, and Lee Brice). Hardy’s “Give Heaven Some Hell” (written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps, and Michael Hardy) was named Publisher’s Pick.

AIMP Nashville also recognized Matt Alderman (Curb | Word Music Publishing) as Rising Songwriter of the Year and Ruston Kelly (Concord Music Publishing) as Rising Artist-Writer of the Year. The Song Champion award was presented to Ward Guenther (Whiskey Jam).

The event featured live performances of many of the Song of the Year and Publisher’s Pick nominees, including Ashley McBryde performing Jon Pardi’s “Ain’t Always the Cowboy,” Carly Pearce performing Maddie & Tae’s “Die from a Broken Heart,” Hardy performing Jameson Rodgers’ “Some Girls” (which he co-wrote), Jon Pardi performing Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird,” Maddie & Tae performing Ashley McBryde’s “One Night Standards” (with McBryde accompanying on Jon Pardi’s guitar), and Tenille Arts and Adam Hambrick performing Carly Pearce and Lee Brice’s “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”

Video performances of Lee Brice playing “Give Heaven Some Hell” and Ryan Hurd playing “One of Them Girls” were also presented.

“Last night was a reaffirmation of the Nashville independent music community and the powerful work they have done to get us through this past year,” said Ree Guyer, Vice President of the AIMP Nashville Chapter and Co-Chair of the AIMP Nashville Awards. “As we approach the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are excited about the return of in-person songwriting sessions, writers’ rounds, and live performances, and know our winners and nominees will continue to create amazing music to soundtrack the hopefully joyous year ahead.”

“Congratulations to all the independent publishers and songwriters who won or were nominated for AIMP Nashville Awards this year!” said John Ozier, AIMP National Chair and President of the AIMP Nashville Chapter. “In an unprecedented and dark time, their songs provided a light for so many. It is a testament to the power of music, which would not exist without those who do the difficult and sometimes unheralded work of songwriting. We are happy to shine a light on them today.”

The full list of winners and nominees by category can be found below.

Big Machine Music celebrated another major milestone when they took home Publisher of the Year for the first time at the 6th Annual AIMP Nashville Awards. BMM’s dynamic catalog features over 12,000 songs and three dozen chart-toppers, including five-week No. 1 “Better Together” (written and recorded by Luke Combs) as well as works from Grammy-nominated songwriters Laura Veltz’s “The Bones” (recorded by Maren Morris) and Jessie Jo Dillon’s “10,000 Hours” (recorded by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber), which holds the highest streaming first-week in country music history. Pictured back row, (L-R): Catalog Manager Taylor Courtney, Vice President Tim Hunze, Vice President Alex Heddle, Sr. Director of Royalties and Finance Grayson Stephens; Front row, (L-R): Creative Director Michelle Attardi, General Manager Mike Molinar, and Creative Coordinator Lizzy Gallatin. Photo Credit: Katie Kauss

 

RISING SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Alex Kline (Ziggys Z Music)
Benjy Davis (Big Machine Music)
Jake Mitchell (Reservoir Media / Patrick Joseph Music)
WINNER – Matt Alderman (Curb | Word Music Publishing)
Neil Medley (Mojo Music & Media / Son of a Carl Music)
Nicolette Hayford (River House / SMACKSongs)
Steph Jones (Disney Music Publishing / Hipgnosis Song Group)

RISING ARTIST-WRITER OF THE YEAR
Avenue Beat (Tape Room Music)
Jameson Rodgers (Combustion Music)
WINNER – Ruston Kelly (Concord Music Publishing)
Ryan Hurd (Big Machine Music)
Tenille Arts (Oven Music)
Tenille Townes (Big Yellow Dog)

ARTIST-WRITER OF THE YEAR
WINNER – Ashley McBryde (Jody Williams Songs)
Brothers Osborne (King Pen Music)
Carly Pearce (Altadena)
Eric Church (Little Louder Music)
Jon Pardi (Song Factory Music)

SONG CHAMPION OF THE YEAR
Allison Jones (Big Machine Label Group)
Ciara Shortridge (Curb | Word Music Publishing)
Jake Gear (Hang Your Hat Music)
Laurel Kittleson-Cobb (Curb | Word Entertainment)
Trina Smith-Dort (Me Gusta Music)
WINNER – Ward Guenther (Whiskey Jam)

PUBLISHER’S PICK
“Beautiful Noise” written by Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Hailey Whitters, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Linda Perry, Ruby Amanfu.
 Independently published by Atlas Music Publishing, Big Machine Music, Carnival Music, Concord Music Publishing, Creative Nation, Deep Dark Robot Music, Happy People Music, Like Butta Baby Music, Maps and Records Music, peermusic. 
Recorded by Brandi Carlile & Alicia Keys

“Better Than We Found It” written by Jessie Jo Dillon, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz, Maren Morris
. Independently published by Big Ass Pile of Dimes Music, Big Machine Music, Heroes and Halos Music, Millicent Hill Music, JRM3, Muse Magic, Round Hill Music. 
Recorded by Maren Morris

“Chasing After You” written by Brinley Addington, Jerry Flowers. 
Independently published by Adding Tone Music, Combustion Music, Downtown Music Group, Mojo Music & Media, Tape Room Music
. Recorded by Maren Morris & Ryan Hurd

WINNER – “Give Heaven Some Hell” written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps, Michael Hardy
. Independently published by Big Blue Nation Music, Caleb’s College Fund, Relative Music Group, Round Hill Music, Tape Room Music
. Recorded by HARDY

“Janice at the Hotel Bar” written by Hailey Whitters, Lori McKenna. 
Independently published by Carnival Music, Creative Nation, Concord Music Publishing, Maps and Records Music, Pulse Music Group
. Recorded by Hailey Whitters

“Things a Man Oughta Know” written by Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson. 
Independently published by Big Machine Music, Spirit Music. 
Recorded by Lainey Wilson

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Ain’t Always the Cowboy” written by Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson. 
Independently published by Big Machine Music, MV2 Music, peermusic, Whiskey Tub Music. 
Recorded by Jon Pardi

“Bluebird” written by Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby. 
Independently published by Emileon Songs, Little Louder Songs
. Recorded by Miranda Lambert

“Die From a Broken Heart” written by Deric Rutan, Jonathan Singleton, Madison Marlow, Taylor Dye
. Independently published by Big Machine Music, Jehovah Nissi Music, Seven Red Birds Publishing, Spirit Music
. Recorded by Maddie & Tae

“I Hope You’re Happy Now” written by Carly Pearce, Jonathan Singleton, Luke Combs, Randy Montana. 
Independently published by 50 Egg Music, Altadena, Big Machine Music, Jett Music, Spirit Music, Straight Dimes Publishing
. Recorded by Carly Pearce & Lee Brice

WINNER – “One of Them Girls” written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Dallas Davidson, Lee Brice
. Independently published by 8Minute Publishing, Artist Publishing Group, Big Blue Nation Music, Caleb’s College Fund, Play It Again Music Group, Natalia’s Music Money, Round Hill Music. 
Recorded by Lee Brice

“One Night Standards” written by Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally. 
Independently published by Canned Biscuit Songs, River House, SMACKSongs, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments
. Recorded by Ashley McBryde

“Some Girls” written by CJ Solar, Jake Mitchell, Michael Hardy
. Independently published by Harding Road Music, Sea Gayle Music, Relative Music Group, West Pass Music. 
Recorded by Jameson Rodgers

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Michael Hardy (Relative Music Group)
Ashley Gorley (Round Hill Music)
Shane McAnally (Tempo Investments)
Josh Thompson (MV2 Entertainment)
Ernest K Smith (Big Loud Music)
WINNER – Hillary Lindsey (Concord Music Publishing)

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
WINNER – Big Machine Music
Downtown Music Publishing
Kobalt Music
peermusic
Round Hill Music
SMACKSongs

 

AIMP Nashville Awards:
Founding Chairman: 
Michael McAnally Baum, 
Ree Guyer
2021 AIMP Nashville Awards Committee:
 Ree Guyer, Courtney Crist, Shannan Hatch, Alex Heddle, Abbe Nameche, Sophie Moll
Production Team: Tim Fink, Nic Dugger
Graphics: Andy Sundin, Molly Bouchon

BREAKING: ‘MusicRow’ Parent Company Launches New Sports Publication

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Music Row Enterprises, LLC, the parent company of MusicRow magazine is launching a new Nashville sports industry trade publication, The Sports Credential.

MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson says, “Last year I asked myself, ‘What if there was a MusicRow-type trade publication for the exploding Nashville sports industry?’ and that idea proved to be one I could never shake off.”

Robertson adds, “After a lot of hard work and planning the last few months, I am pumped to have our new sister publication, The Sports Credential, come to fruition. I personally know that I want to be part of the growing Nashville sports industry and I think many others do to. It’s a natural fit for us because we can use our incredibly successful MusicRow model and apply it to the sports industry here in Nashville and do so successfully. We’ve added great talent to our team who will be laser focused on this venture and my excitement is honestly, hard to contain. Come join The Sports Credential. It’s going to be a fun ride!”

With sports being a dynamic and growing industry, The Sports Credential serves as a helpful resource, the kind of publication that focuses on the sports industry and its decision makers, in order to connect and inform those of who want to be ‘in the know’ and on the front row as Nashville inevitably becomes a national sports hub.

Whether it’s Darius Rucker joining the effort to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville, Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine becoming title sponsor for IndyCar Music City Grand Prix, or the Nashville Sounds affiliating with Milwaukee Brewers, there’s no doubt Nashville’s explosive growth in sports is just beginning.

Since The Sports Credential is a separate publication from MusicRow, those wishing to receive information and news will need to sign up directly to receive its FREE weekly and breaking news emails. Click here to sign up.

The new publication’s website and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) are live now.