Landmark Agreement For Phonorecords IV Proceeding Announced

On Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 31), the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and the Digital Media Association (DiMA) announced a landmark agreement for the Phonorecords IV Proceeding, resulting in higher mechanical rates for songwriters.

The agreement set the mechanical streaming rates in the U.S. for the years 2023-2027. The headline royalty rate will be set at 15.35%, which will be phased in over the five-year term. Now that the Mechanical Licensing Collective is fully operational, it will help deliver commission-free royalty payments, as set forth by the Music Modernization Act (MMA).

According to the NMPA, the deal also includes a number of changes to other components of the rate, including increases to the per-subscriber minimums and the “Total Content Costs (TCC)” calculations which reflect the rates that services pay to record labels.

In addition to NMPA and NSAI, this agreement was supported by DiMA member companies, Amazon, Apple, Google, Pandora, and Spotify.

Of the news, NMPA President & CEO David Israelite says, “This historic settlement is the result of songwriters making their voices heard. Instead of going to trial and continuing years of conflict, we instead move forward in collaboration with the highest rates ever, guaranteed. We thank the digital services for coming to the table and treating creators as business partners. Critically, since this is a percentage rate, we know that as streaming continues to grow exponentially, we will see unprecedented value of songs.”

NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison adds, “This collaborative process will lead to increased songwriter compensation from digital streaming companies and locks in our historic 43.8% increase from the previous CRB proceeding. Along with the upward rate momentum there are also new structures to help ensure minimum payments.”

“This agreement represents the commitment of the streaming services to bringing the best music experiences to fans and growing the streaming ecosystem to the benefit of all stakeholders, including the creative foundation of songwriting,” sums DiMA President and CEO Garrett Levin. “For streaming services, this moment presents an opportunity to pursue new collaborations with publishers and songwriters in the context of economic certainty that will support continued innovation. Perhaps more than anything, this agreement demonstrates the potential for industry progress when parties come to the table for good faith discussions.”

My Music Row Story: Neon Coast’s Martha Earls

Martha Earls. Photo: Angelea Presti

The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Martha Earls is the owner of management company Neon Coast, and personal manager to Platinum-selling artist Kane Brown. Signed to Neon Coast is country band Restless Road along with other music and non-music clients. Together with Brown, under the Neon Coast name, she started Sony joint venture record label, 1021 Entertainment, and production company Demasiado.

Demasiado has produced award-winning music videos, awards show performances and television commercials. More recent signings to the management company include Nightly, Dylan Schneider and Feather. Earls started her management company following a successful run in music publishing. She has been honored multiple times by Billboard and the Nashville Business Journal.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I was born in Ohio, but grew up in central Pennsylvania. I obviously had no idea about the music industry. I was good at playing the piano and I was good at track and field. I got a really great college scholarship based on my piano playing, so I went to a small music school in New Jersey. That’s where I met Mike Molinar and how we became friends. He’s from El Paso, but he moved up there to go to this music school.

What a coincidence. Did you know what you wanted to pursue while in college?

You had to declare a major and I didn’t know what I wanted my major to be. I didn’t want to be a teacher and I didn’t want to be a performer. I didn’t even really like playing the piano that much, I just got this great scholarship. While looking at majors, I found one and was like, “Oh my God, that job only works twice a week and makes a full salary. I’m going to major in church organ!” [Laughs] It was so ridiculous.

Two or three weeks into it, I was miserable, but I toughed it out for a year. The school was really small with only around 350 students, but there was one girl there who was graduating and going to NYU for law school. She said she was going to be an entertainment lawyer. That opened my eyes to the entertainment industry. Over the summer after my freshman year, I started looking online and discovered MTSU and Belmont. I knew I wanted to move out of the northeast, and being from a small town, country music was massive. I came down here to visit and just loved MTSU.

Pictured (L-R): Martha Earls, Kent Earls, Chuck Wicks, Luke Bryan, Rusty Gaston

How did you start your career while at MTSU?

I started interning at Warner Chappell. Dale Bobo was there at the time. Him and Michael Knox hired me for my internship. Tim Wipperman ran the company and he was amazing. I was in the catalog room, which was the last stop writers would make before they went out the side door into the parking lot at Warner Chappell. They would always drop by and hang out. I loved it. I really fell in love with the creatives. That was the start to my music industry career.

I interned that summer of my senior year and then told them I was having such a great time and didn’t want to leave. They let me do another internship. They didn’t have the budget to pay me but I didn’t care. Then the receptionist left and they offered me that job. I was still in school and taking a decent number of classes, but I was like, “Yes, absolutely.” In March of my senior year, they promoted me to a full time position in the tape room.

About a year later, they promoted me to a junior song plugger. I found during my time at Warner Chappell that I really liked working with the artists-songwriters even more than the regular songwriters. I really enjoyed taking the meetings with artists rather than going and meeting with other A&R people. For whatever reason, I could really dial into the artists. I got to work with Jason [Aldean] early on and Little Big Town.

What was next for you?

Next, I went to BMG publishing. At the time, Karen Conrad and Ron Stuve were there. That was great because it was different than Warner, where we had like 100 songwriters. At BMG, Ron and Karen ran it more like an independent—they only had about 20 songwriters. And again, I kept [being drawn to] signing artists. We signed Jake Owen, Chuck Wicks, and a couple other guys.

Pictured (L-R): Braeden Rountree, Martha Earls, Kane Brown, Liz Kennedy, Randy Goodman

Then you started a publishing company with Mike Molinar.

I felt a constant pull to do more. Mike was working for Cal Turner at the time. We decided we needed to start a company. I always felt a desire to have my own company and Mike was ready to spread his wings. We went around town and pitched our idea to start a publishing company to everybody. Nobody was really into it. We finally found an investor and he really believed in Mike and I.

He invested in our company and it was very family-oriented. Mike and I signed three or four songwriters. We had some success, we had some big cuts, and we got it going. The investor ended up buying us out, which was great. It gave us the capital to start the 2.0 version of the company, but it was all very bare bones.

When we started building the next version of the publishing company, I started feeling like I wasn’t maximizing myself. I always felt like the shoe didn’t quite fit. So when Mike and I started the 2.0 version of the company, we decided to sign more artists and producers. We signed an artist named Greg Bates, who was at Belmont at the time. Jimmy Harnen heard about him and invited him to come to Big Machine. He played at Big Machine and Jimmy signed him. Then I just started handling everything for him.

So that’s how you got into artist management.

I don’t even know if she knows, but Kerri Edwards is such an important example for female managers in the music industry. At that time, I was thinking, “Kerri started working with Luke [Bryan] out of the publishing company. I’m just going to follow that mold until it doesn’t work anymore.” It came so much more naturally to me to manage an artist’s career than this literal decade of publishing experience. That was what got me into management.

Things were going well with the company that Molinar and I started. Scott Borchetta didn’t have anything like that, so our company became what is now the publishing company that Mike Molinar has. He’s done such amazing things with it. I was able to be at Big Machine for a year while we transitioned that company over, and that was amazing. Even though everybody knew I was going to do management full time, I got to learn so much. It was right when Taylor Swift was releasing Red and making her jump from being a huge country artist to being a global superstar. That’s what I got to witness.

Fast forward to now, with what I’m doing with Kane, that experience was such a gift. It was placed in front of me for me to learn anything is possible. Scott had no fences built around anything.

What did you do after your time at Big Machine?

I knew I wanted do management full time, but I felt like there was more to learn. I went over to Sandbox and was there for two years. That was a whole different experience. They released Kacey MusgravesSame Trailer, Different Park album on a Friday and I started on the next Monday. It was really interesting to watch an artist blow up without having the traditional country radio piece.

At the end of that, I was asked to be a consultant for Michael Blanton and his company. In exchange for two hours of consulting a week, he gave me an office. Jay Frank, who had his own digital marketing company, called me and asked me to run his independent label. I had never done anything for an independent label before, but he needed somebody to oversee it. That was crazy, too. I learned how to make a music video for $5,000, how to get vinyl pressed, and all that kind of stuff.

Pictured (L-R): Kane Brown, Martha Earls

How did you end up working with Kane?

One day Jay said, “We have this guy that somebody on our staff found online. He’s country and we signed him to a management agreement if you want to help out with that.” I don’t think Jay really knew what he had with Kane at the time. I met Kane and I was like, “Jay, all this other stuff you’re working on is nonsense. This is the thing. Kane is the thing.” I just jumped in feet first with Kane.

In 2016, it became just me and Kane. We’ve just been building what we’re doing ever since. It’s kind of a mixture of the tenacity that Scott had that says we can have great success and do anything, and then also the understanding of you don’t have to do things the traditional way. From having created my own publishing company and really struggling, I didn’t get defeated by anything.

Now Kane is a multi-Platinum superstar, but what were those first few years like?

[The first thing we did] was put out an EP called Chapter One that had “Used To Love You Sober” on it. Florida Georgia Line and Seth England could see things early with him, so they put him on tour. He was first of four and got to play for 15 minutes, but it was amazing. We were having trouble at country radio with “Used To Love You Sober,” and there was a lot of preconceived notions about who people thought Kane Brown was, because of how he looks. He’s biracial, he had tattoos, he had success on social media.

Kane met Dann Huff. Dann cut “What Ifs,” a song that Kane wrote. “What Ifs” wasn’t a single yet, so we put that [Kane Brown] album out with no single on the radio, and it still did really great. In 2017, we got a new radio guy at RCA when Dennis Reese came over. He’s been Kane’s biggest champion at the label. He’s such a wonderful guy. He came from the pop world, so he didn’t have any boundaries. [With Dennis on board], “What Ifs” became an eight-time Platinum single. It’s one of the biggest songs in the history of country music. That got things going and we’ve just been building on that ever since.

Pictured (L-R): Clay Bradley, Michael Giangreco, Ernest, Rusty Gaston, Kane Brown, Stevie Frasure, Jesse Frasure, Kent Earls, Levon Gray, Vanna Moua, Martha Earls, Spencer Nohe, Dennis Reese. Photo: Steve Lowry

In the last few years, your company has grown substantially. You and Kane have built a joint venture record label with Sony Music Nashville, as well as a publishing company with Sony Music Publishing.

We were out in LA for for the “Saturday Nights” video shoot. I was feeling like it was time to start growing. I asked him, “How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as an artist who tours six months out of the year and then takes six months off and chills with his family? Or do you see yourself like a Florida Georgia Line, who when they’re not touring, they’re still writing, producing, signing artists, running a publishing company and a clothing store?” He said, “I want to be like that. I don’t know how long everything will last.”

That was when we decided to expand the company. I saw all these different verticals. I could see a joint venture label, where we sign artists, as well as a publishing side of things. We started a production company and signed other management clients, too. Kane gets a taste of all of it because I want him to feel invested in everything.

If someone were to ask you how to be successful in this industry, what would you tell them?

That’s a great question. You can measure success so many different ways. I feel like what it is is being comfortable, satisfied and proud of the work that you’re doing. Owning your space and acknowledging to yourself that you deserve to be there.

34th Annual MusicRow Awards Winners

MusicRow Magazine revealed the winners of the 34th annual MusicRow Awards in a series of videos on all MusicRow online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, today (Aug. 30).

City National Bank served as Presenting Sponsor of the 2022 MusicRow Awards.

Now in its 34th year, the MusicRow Awards are Nashville’s longest running music industry trade publication honors and celebrate the achievements of songwriters, artists, producers, and more. All the MusicRow Award nominees are profiled in the recently released MusicRow Awards print issue.

MusicRow Magazine Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson, and respected television host, entertainment journalist, writer and producer, Alecia Davis serve once again as “hosts” on each winner video.

The winners for the 34th annual MusicRow Awards are (winners marked in red):

Producer of the Year [VIDEO]
Zach Crowell
Dann Huff
Jay Joyce
Shane McAnally – WINNER
Joey Moi
Jon Randall

Label Group of the Year [VIDEO]
BBR Music Group
Big Loud Records – WINNER
Big Machine Label Group
Sony Music Nashville
UMG Nashville
Warner Music Nashville

Talent Agency of the Year [VIDEO]
CAA
Kinkead Entertainment Agency
Reliant Talent Agency
UTA
Wasserman Music
WME – WINNER

Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year [VIDEO]
Brinley Addington
Cameron “Cambo” Bartolini
Nick Columbia
Cale Dodds
Levon Gray
Kat Higgins
Adam James
Josh Jenkins – WINNER
Jason Nix
Brandon Paddock
Jennifer Schott
Nathan Spicer
Lee Starr
Russell Sutton
Brett Tyler
Lydia Vaughan

Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year [VIDEO]
Priscilla Block
BRELAND
Martin Johnson (of The Night Game, Boys Like Girls)
John Morgan
Elvie Shane
Lainey Wilson – WINNER

Male Songwriter of the Year [VIDEO]
Rhett Akins
Jesse Frasure
Ashley Gorley – WINNER
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne
Hunter Phelps

Female Songwriter of the Year [VIDEO]
Jessi Alexander
Nicolle Galyon – WINNER
Kat Higgins
Jennifer Schott
Alysa Vanderheym
Lydia Vaughan

Song of the Year [VIDEO]
“Circles Around This Town” — Songwriter(s): Ryan Hurd, Julia Michaels, Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins
“Doin’ This” — Songwriter(s): Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
“Down Home” — Songwriter(s): Jimmie Allen, Rian Ball, Cameron Bedell, Tate Howell
“Flower Shops” — Songwriter(s): Ben Burgess, Mark Holman, Ernest K Smith
“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” — Songwriter(s): Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce
“‘Til You Can’t” — Songwriter(s): Matt Rogers, Ben Stennis – WINNER

Discovery Artist of the Year [VIDEO]
Dalton Dover
Tiera Kennedy
MacKenzie Porter – WINNER
Nate Smith
Brittney Spencer
Bailey Zimmerman

Breakthrough Artist of the Year [VIDEO]
Priscilla Block
Zach Bryan
ERNEST
Ryan Hurd
Elvie Shane
Lainey Wilson – WINNER

Artist of the Year [VIDEO]
Kane Brown
Eric Church
Luke Combs – WINNER
Walker Hayes
Miranda Lambert
Carly Pearce

MusicRow also honors the Top 10 Album All-Star Musicians at the 2022 MusicRow Awards, recognizing the studio players who performed on the most albums reaching the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart during the eligibility period. The honorees are:

[VIDEO]

Bass
Jimmie Lee Sloas

Drums
TIE – Jerry Roe & Nir Z

Engineer
Drew Bollman

Fiddle
Jenee Fleenor

Guitar
Ilya Toshinskiy

Keyboards
Dave Cohen

Steel
Paul Franklin

Vocals
Perry Coleman

Dierks Bentley Takes Over Nashville’s ‘Biggest Honky-Tonk’

Dierks Bentley. Photo: Zach Belcher

Dierks Bentley took over what he called “the biggest honky-tonk” on Lower Broadway last Friday (Aug. 26), bringing his “Beers On Me Tour” home to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

After opening sets from rising singer-songwriter Elvie Shane and multi-Platinum BBR artist Dustin Lynch, Bentley exploded onto the stage to his 2003 smash hit “What Was I Thinkin'” after his band set the stage with a dueling guitar battle. The eager audience set the tone, already screaming the lyrics back to him.

“Bridgestone Arena! When I think about this building, the first thing I think about is that it’s home to my favorite hockey team: the Nashville Predators,” Bentley said to the buzzing crowd. “The main thing that I think about, though, is that this is the honky-tonk of Lower Broadway, y’all. It’s the biggest honky-tonk I know on Broadway!” he said with a smile.

“Thank you guys for your faith in us. Thanks for holding onto us for the last few years.”

Dierks Bentley. Photo: Zach Belcher

The decorated entertainer rolled through some of the biggest hits from his nearly 20-year career, including the fiery “Burning Man,” the faith-filled “I Hold On,” the sunshine-soaked “Livin’,” his break-up anthem “Gone,” the sensual “Black,” and more.

Before breaking out into “Woman, Amen,” Bentley made sure to give a shoutout to all the women who have propelled him in his career, listing off over a dozen critical females, including his longtime manager Mary Hilliard Harrington.

Following a high-energy cover of The Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” the multi-Platinum entertainer brought Shane back out for a rendition of “Bad Angel,” a track from Bentley’s 2010 Up On The Ridge album that originally features Miranda Lambert and Jamey Johnson. Bentley also welcomed Lynch back to the stage to help him perform the tour’s namesake and his most recent No. 1 with Hardy and Breland.

After giving fans a performance of his newest release, “Gold” which was most added at country radio upon its release, Bentley took the opportunity to unplug for a few songs, giving acoustic versions of “Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do,” “Settle For A Slowdown” and “Bourbon in Kentucky.”

The country superstar also brought out some extra special guests for his hometown show that, ironically, came from his home.

“It’s a Friday night in August, folks. All of my friends are on the road, so I had to go a little closer to the house for tonight. I’m bringing out my daughters.”

With his daughters by his side, Bentley and the girls gave the roaring audience a performance of P!nk’s “All I Know So Far,” fit with all the big notes, though missing the pop icon’s signature silks.

Bentley then kicked things back into high gear, knocking out more of his many hits. After dedicating his inspirational “Riser” to the many nurses and first responders in Nashville, he sang his certified party anthem “Am I The Only One,” as well as “Somewhere On A Beach” and “Free And Easy,” which the audience happily helped him sing. He wrapped with “5-1-5-0” and his iconic “Drunk On A Plane.”

Bentley’s ’90s parody band, The Hot Country Knights, took the stage for the encore, kicking off with their version of Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.” The band, who were decked out in over-the-top ’90s attire, bad wigs and some interesting facial hair, also ripped through a medley of massive ’90s country hits, including “She’s In Love With The Boy,” “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” “Bye Bye,” “The Dance,” “I Hope You Dance,” and more.

The Knights also fired off the first verse and chorus of Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” before the original Bentley returned to the stage, shutting the whole affair down.

To wrap the night’s festivities, Bentley broke out into his high-voltage hit “Sideways” before wishing the Nashville crowd goodnight.

Bentley will take a break from his “Beers On Me Tour” this weekend as he hosts his Seven Peaks Festival in Villa Grove, Colorado over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2-4). The trek will resume in Montana on Sept. 10-11.

Ashley Gorley Nabs Fourth Week Atop The MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

Ashley Gorley

Ashley Gorley notches a fourth week at No. 1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week. The decorated songwriter has co-writer credit on seven currently charting songs with Dierks Bentley’s “Gold,” Michael Ray’s “Holy Water,” Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” Parmalee’s “Take My Name,” Carly Pearce’s “What He Didn’t Do,” Brett Young’s “You Didn’t” and Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof.”

Ernest Keith Smith (No. 2), Morgan Wallen (No. 3) and Mitchell Tenpenny (No. 4) maintain their spots in the top five, while Zach Bryan bumps up one spot into the No. 5 spot with his own self-penned “Something in The Orange” and “Oklahoma Smokeshow.”

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.

Tune In To Learn The 2022 MusicRow Awards Winners Tomorrow

MusicRow will reveal the industry-voted winners of the 34th annual MusicRow Awards in a series of videos on all MusicRow online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, starting at 9:00 a.m. TOMORROW (Aug. 30).

The Top 10 Album All-Star Musicians Awards will also be announced on Aug. 30, recognizing the industry’s most in-demand studio players for Bass, Drums, Engineer, Fiddle, Guitar, Keyboards, Steel, and Vocals.

MusicRow Awards Schedule of Announcements:
9:00 a.m.: Top 10 Album All-Star Musicians Awards
9:30 a.m.: Producer of the Year
10:00 a.m.: Label Group of the Year
10:30 a.m.: Agency of the Year
11:00 a.m.: Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
11:30 a.m.: Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year
12:00 p.m.: Male Songwriter of the Year
12:30 p.m.: Female Songwriter of the Year
1:00 p.m.: Song of the Year
1:30 p.m.: Discovery Artist of the Year
2:00 p.m.: Breakthrough Artist of the Year
2:30 p.m.: Artist of the Year

Presenting Sponsor of the 2022 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.

Click here to read about the nominees up for each category. The nominees are also profiled in the recently released MusicRow Awards print issue.

In This Issue: MusicRow Awards Issue Features ’90s Country, Post-Pandemic Anxiety, More

MusicRow Magazine, Nashville’s leading music industry publication, released its 2022 MusicRow Awards print issue earlier this week with Capitol Records Nashville’s Jon Pardi gracing the cover.

The print magazine highlights this year’s MusicRow Awards nominees in a range of categories. Presented by City National Bank, the winners for the 34th annual MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. This print issue also honors the Top 10 Album All-Star Musicians Awards, which will also be announced on Aug. 30, recognizing the studio players who played on the most albums reaching the Top 10 of Billboard’s Country Albums Chart during the eligibility period.

The 2022 MusicRow Awards print issue also includes a look at the resurgence of popularity for ’90s country, tapping industry veterans Cris Lacy and Kerri Edwards to analyze this trend.

“It’s the cycle of music,” Lacy tells MusicRow regarding the surge of popularity for ’90s country. “It’s the music that millennials and Gen Z heard their parents listening to. I lean into things that my folks listened to when I was a kid, so I think that’s a piece of it.”

She adds, “I also think ’90s music was really fun. If you look at The Chicks, Faith Hill, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Joe Diffie and Shania Twain, there was a lot of fun music. It was positive and uplifting. There were certainly meaningful songs, but there were also songs that felt light and carefree. I think we all need that right now. Those two things are converging—the state of the world for the last couple years and the age of younger listeners and what they grew up on.”

Also featured in the 2022 MusicRow Awards print issue is a deep dive into the recent changing of the guard in Music City’s major label publicity departments, as Meg Kehoe takes over for Allen Brown at Sony Music Nashville and Fount Lynch assumes Wes Vause’s former position at Warner Music Nashville. Both Kehoe and Lynch detail their career journeys to this point and discuss their goals for their new positions.

Elsewhere, MusicRow hears from Onsite Entertainment’s Debbie Carroll to discuss the mental and emotional health challenges that have arisen due to the pandemic, and how we as an industry can move on. Onsite is an international leader in the emotional and mental wellness space. This spring the organization launched Onsite Entertainment, an innovative new division explicitly curated to meet the growing needs of the entertainment industry, tapping Carroll to lead the division.

“The pandemic has taken a toll on all of our mental health, so it’s important for everybody to acknowledge that and to normalize it a little,” Carroll shares.

The 2022 MusicRow Awards print issue also features a discussion on the ins and outs of the life of a business manager with FBMM’s Duane Clark. As President & COO of FBMM’s Nashville firm, Clark’s roster of clients includes top recording and touring artists.

In the article, Clark tells MusicRow how he got his start, details his journey with FBMM, and speaks about his philanthropy efforts that recently secured him an ACM Award.

He shares, “It’s a blessing to get to wake up every morning and do what you really are passionate about. I can come in and do what I really love doing and hopefully help guide some folks to their dreams.”

Also included in the 2022 MusicRow Awards print issue is an informative roundup of all the awards applicable to the Nashville music industry.

Single copies of the 2022 MusicRow Awards print issue are available for purchase at musicrow.com for $20, and are included with yearly MusicRow subscriptions.

Tyler Hubbard’s Lead Single As Solo Artist Goes No. 1 On MusicRow Chart

Tyler Hubbard’s “5 Foot 9” makes its way to the top of the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart this week. This is Hubbard’s first release as a solo artist. He wrote the single with Jaren Johnston and Chase McGill and co-produced the track with Jordan Schmidt.

With lyrics highlighting life’s small joys before pointing out that “God makes the good stuff,” Hubbard adds, “As much as the song talks about real life stuff like whiskey, country music, dirt roads and rain, I want listeners to be reminded that God really does make the good stuff. For me, over the last couple of years, I’ve really been reminded of that.”

Hubbard recently sat down with MusicRow to discuss his new solo endeavors. Click here to read the full interview. 

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

DISClaimer Single Reviews: Blake Shelton Proves His Country Superstar Pedigree On Newest Single

Seasons change, but some things in country music are constant.

The days are getting shorter, the kiddies are going back to school and summer will soon be gone. But whether it is brilliant sunshine or falling leaves, you can always depend on Blake Shelton. This country titan nails down this week’s Disc of the Day prize with ease.

His closest challengers are all duos—Maddie & Tae, Sunny Sweeney with Vince Gill and the stunning outing by Hardy & Lainey Wilson. All three are essential listening.

The DISCovery Award goes to Pennsylvania’s Conrad Fisher.

TYLER RICH / “Trucks Don’t Lie”
Writers: Tyler Rich/Adam Craig/Jim McCormick; Producer: Jaren Johnston; Label: Valory
–Heartache on four wheels. Well sung and well produced, even if it does deal in country’s well-worn (worn-out?) truck fetish.

BLAKE SHELTON / “No Body”
Writers: Rodney Clawson/Chris Tompkins/Josh Kear; Producer: Scott Hendricks; Label: Warner
–Deliriously catchy. Thumpin’ rhythm, sassy lyric, snappy attitude and production perfection. Then there’s the voice of one of our finest country singers…..

HARDY & LAINEY WILSON / “Wait in the Truck”
Writers: Michael Hardy/Hunter Phelps/Jordan Schmidt/Renee Blair; Producers: Joey Moi/Hardy/Derek Wells/Jordan Schmidt; Label: Big Loud
–Very creative. A dark and arresting story song involving domestic violence and vengeance. You’ll hang on every line of this gripping yarn. Applause to everyone involved in this awesome outing.

BREI CARTER / “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’”
Writer: Ben Peters; Producer: none listed; Label: BC
–She sings well, but I’m not sure it was a good idea to slow down this Charley Pride country classic.

CONRAD FISHER / “Trouble With a Hammer”
Writer: Conrad Fisher; Producer: none listed; Label: Ashbrook
–It’s a lively toe tapper with a workaday, everyman lyric. His strong tenor voice is backed by some twang guitar and a snazzy rhythm track. Promising. Send more.

MADDIE & TAE / “Spring Cleaning”
Writers: Maddie Font/Taylor Kerr/Josh Kerr/Tayla Parx; Producers: Derek Wells/Josh Kerr; Label: Mercury
–Bluesy, saucy and cool. It ain’t spring, but she’s cleaning house and wants him to get his shit outta there. The snarky vocals are matched by electric guitars on a rampage.

SUNNY SWEENEY & VINCE GILL / “Married Alone”
Writers: Hannah Blaylock/Josh Morningstar/Autumn McEntire; Producers: Paul Cauthen/Beau Bedford; Label: Thirty Tigers
–I have long been a fan of this gal. She’s as country as grits. On this downcast ballad, she’s joined by the incomparable Mr. Gill on spectacular vocal harmony. Steel and twang abound. Catch Sunny’s “Sunny Side Up” Sirius/XM radio show weekday mornings, 6 a.m.-noon on the Willie’s Roadhouse channel.

SHANE PROFITT / “How It Oughta Be”
Writers: David Frasier/Mitch Oglesby/Shane Profitt; Producers: Julian Raymond/Chris Janson/Scott Borchetta; Label: BMLG
–Rousing and rambunctious, he lays out a vision of a life where prices aren’t so high, folks treat each other right and teachers should be paid like lawyers are. You’ll get no argument from me.

KANE BROWN / “Go Around”
Writers: Kane Brown/Jordan Mark Schmidt/Ernest Keith Smith/Garrett Scott Nichols/Zachary Ryan Beeken; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: Arista
–This track marks time between his chart-topping “Like I Love Country Music” and his next single. The fiddle-embellished tune meanders aimlessly and so does the come-on lyric. Pass.

LEANN RIMES / “Awakening”
Writer: LeAnn Rimes; Producers: LeAnn Rimes/Darrell Brown; Label: LR
–LeAnn is turning 40: How can this be? As a mark of her new maturity, she’s issuing this confessional ode about mental health and psychological survival. It’s an extremely well produced pop track with lush strings, rumbling rhythms and layered vocal echoes.

ADAM DOLEAC / “Close That Tab”
Writers: Adam Doleac/Derrick Southerland/Zach Abend; Producer: Andy Skib; Label: Arista
–She keeps making the same mistakes, so he advises her quit that no-good guy. “Why you wanna spend another Happy Hour sad?” “He’s another watered-down vodka/soda.” Repetitive, but listenable.

MAREN MORRIS / “Make You Say”
Writers: Zedd/Maren Morris/Charlie Puth/Jacob Kasher Hindlin/Johan Yang/Bernie Yang; Producers: Zedd/BEAUZ; Label: Sony
–Zedd & Morris collaborated on her monster million selling “The Middle.” This reunion isn’t as insanely catchy, but it shares one fact with its predecessor: There is nothing country about it. There are a lot more electronic loops this time around, presumably by the two Yangs, who work under the billing BEAUZ.

Music Row Commends Parmalee And Songwriters At ‘Take My Name’ No. 1 Party

Pictured (L-R, back row): BBRMG’s Jon Loba, Round Hill’s Mike Whelan, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, Sony Music Publishing’s Rusty Gaston, Reservoir’s John Ozier, Tape Room’s Blain Rhodes and BMI’s Josh Tomlinson. (L-R, middle row): Parmalee’s Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, Matt Thomas and Scott Thomas. (L-R, front row): ASCAP songwriter Ashley Gorley, and BMI songwriters Ben Johnson and producer David Fanning. Photo: Steve Lowry for BMI.

Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 23), industry members came together at BMI to celebrate Parmalee‘s hit “Take My Name.”

The atmosphere inside felt as warm and sunny as it did outside in the summer heat as everyone gathered around the black high table-tops sprinkled throughout the room. BMI’s Josh Tomlinson stepped on stage to host and called the Stoney Creek recording group and the songwriters up to join him.

Tomlinson began by congratulating BMI writers Ben Johnson, David Fanning, and band member Matt Thomas. “I have a feeling this song is probably the soundtrack to a lot of couples’ memories around the world,”  he said. The BMI Director of Creative then introduced ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, who welcomed ASCAP CEO Beth Matthews and praised songwriter and Tape Room Music owner Ashley Gorley for his success “at a level never seen before.” Sistad added, “Ashley, we’re proud you’re part of the ASCAP family. Thank you so much for being a part of us and congratulations on another No. 1.”

The wedding song written on a snow day marks Gorley’s 62nd No. 1 hit and his first No. 1 with Sony Music Publishing. The 8-time ASCAP songwriter of the year and 4-time Billboard country songwriter of year will be recognized as Songwriter of the Decade by NSAI in the weeks to come. Toward the end of the event, Fanning reiterated his co-writer’s talent by sharing the voice recording Gorley sent him while the snow was falling in which he shares the idea for the song and sings a portion of the chorus.

Next up was Blain Rhodes from Tape Room Music. Beer in hand, he marveled at how “this band and [BBR] are putting out smash after smash.” Rhodes brought to everyone’s attention that Johnson is not even 30 and has already accomplished so much in his career, noting his seven country No. 1s; awards for BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC’s Song of Year; and his Grammy nomination for Rock Song of the Year. The Track45 band member is also a producer and has worked with artists such as Kylie Morgan and Hunter Phelps.

Pictured (L-R, back row): MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson; Parmalee’s Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, Matt Thomas and Scott Thomas; MusicRow‘s LB Cantrell; (L-R, front row): ASCAP songwriter Ashley Gorley, and BMI songwriters Ben Johnson and producer David Fanning. Photo: Steve Lowry for BMI.

Sony Music Publishing’s Rusty Gaston was on deck to speak next. “This is an exciting time for country music and a crazy exciting time for the band Parmalee,” Gaston said. “What I love most about the music business, and getting to work with songwriters in general, is the fact that we get to have a front row seat to watch dreamers go to work and then watch those dreams come to life. We are all getting to watch Matt Thomas’ dream come true right now.”

Gaston noted that, like many artists, Parmalee’s journey has not been an easy one, “but Matt and the guys in his band never lost heart.” He praised BBR’s Jon Loba and JoJamie Hahr for their success and also gave shout outs to Sony Music Publishing’s Tom Luteran, 33 Creative’s Tina Crawford, and Fanning for having the band’s back since the beginning.

“This is the first No. 1 party I’ve had to speak at, and I can’t believe I have to follow Rusty Gaston,” joked Lindsay Will of Round Hill Music. She sung her praises to the songwriters, noting that in lieu of a plaque, Round Hill Music would be making a donation to the My Life Speaks foundation of behalf of Gorley.

Reservoir’s John Ozier declared that “everything about the song was perfect.” Ozier congratulated Fanning on his first No. 1 as a songwriter and reminded everyone that he also co-wrote and produced Parmalee’s first single “Musta Had a Good Time” in 2012. He also acknowledged Crawford and the risk she took on the band, as well as Reservoir’s VP of Creative Greg Gallo and the significant role he played in bringing Fanning to Reservoir.

Jim Landers from Pinnacle Bank reminisced on celebrating the group’s hit “Carolina” in 2014 and congratulated them on their achievement. Landers announced that in place of plaque, Pinnacle Bank made a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Loba stepped up next to talk about the band’s future. “If these guys are not nominated for Group of Year at the CMAs and ACMs, it will be criminal,”stated the label president.

Gorley followed and thanked his co-writers, his publishers, and ASCAP. He also thanked God, his family, and the crowd for coming out. Gorley commented on the fact that “Take My Name” had remained in the top echelons of the chart nine weeks after hitting No. 1. “Thank you Stoney Creek. Everybody has echoed it but they have been up here a lot lately because they work like crazy. They believe in these songs and they push them,” he said.

A long-awaited moment for the artist/producer/songwriter, Johnson hopped on stage to share his excitement for his first No. 1 party and to applaud his co-writers, the Tape Room Music team, and BMG.

“I’m pretty sure every single publisher in all of Nashville told me ‘no’ at one point, and then Ashley told me ‘yes’ and changed my life,” he shared. “It is so special that not only is this with Tape Room, but it’s with BMG, who believed in me, my music, and [Track45] two years ago. We are signed to Stoney Creek as well, so just another reason I’m glad this is my first No. 1 party.” He concluded by thanking his wife Lauren—who is “more important to [him] than any No. 1 [he has] ever had”—his sisters who were unable to attend, and everyone involved in the project.

Finally, an emotional Thomas took the mic. The band leader said, “So many people in here have been with us since day one, and it’s awesome to stand  on this stage right here 10 years later.” Thomas acknowledged his family’s presence in the audience and went on to thank everyone that has accompanied Parmalee on their journey to success.

“We’ve been a band for a very long time and we’re all brothers,” added band member Barry Knox. He took time to recognize all of Thomas’s hard work and made known how much the band appreciates him and his efforts.

Co-writer, Parmalee manager, and producer Fanning recapped how the hit came to be, sharing that the group agreed that the song was “the coolest way to ask, ‘will you marry me?'” He told the crowd how proud he is to work with everyone at Stoney Creek, and brought it home by emphasizing Loba’s view on the CMA and ACM nomination. “Voting is come up!” he said with grin.