The Valory Music Co. has promoted Ashley Sidoti to Senior Vice President, Digital & Promotion, effective immediately.

“We’re pleased to announce the promotion of Ashley Sidoti to Senior Vice President, Digital & Promotion,” says George Briner, The Valory Music Co. President. “Ashley started as an intern in 2008 when The Valory Music Co. launched and since then has worked her way up, becoming an invaluable member of the team.”

Sidoti most recently served as Vice President, Digital & Promotion for the Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) imprint, and has been a driving force behind 36 of its 43 chart-toppers. She has helped to launch and develop the imprint’s roster including Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Conner Smith, Mackenzie Carpenter and Thomas Rhett, who recently achieved his 22nd No. 1 in 10 years. Additionally, the Belmont University and Leadership Music alum was honored by the Nashville Business Journal in 2019 with a Women in Music City award, and currently sits on the St. Jude Country Cares Advisory Board.

“I’ve had the honor and privilege of working alongside this incredible team for over a decade now. We have had so much fun building this brand together and I’m eager to continue that,” shares Sidoti. “It’s an exciting time of evolution within our industry and with our impressive roster of artists, the new opportunities are endless. I look forward to working more closely with our team as we elevate that roster and grow the future of The Valory Music Co.”

Anthem Entertainment has established a new publishing joint venture with Jared Gutstadt, Founder & CEO of audio-based entertainment company Audio Up.

This puts Gutstadt back in business with Anthem after his departure in 2019 from their subsidiary company, Jingle Punks, where he also served as Founder & CEO. Through this joint venture, Audio Up now has the opportunity to refresh and accelerate some of the former publishing and intellectual property assets that he created at Jingle Punks, including the Bear And A Banjo scripted podcast series, which features original music from Gutstadt, T-Bone Burnett, Poo Bear and Bob Dylan.

The alignment also allows the company to work with new and existing Anthem music catalogues, creating new IP lanes for Anthem’s frontline artists. Additionally, Anthem and Audio Up will have access to each other’s premiere studio spaces in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. Audio Up’s studio spaces in Los Angeles and Nashville, dubbed Audio Chateau West and South, have hosted a wide array of talent, including Miranda Lambert, Elle King, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Wayne, Machine Gun Kelly, Trippie Redd, 24KGldn, Snow Tha Product and more.

The first two signings under the joint venture include Randy Savvy of the Compton Cowboys and alternative pop-folk singer-songwriter Kayslee Don Collins. With his own blend of cowboy and street culture, Savvy has already garnered attention and made appearances at notable events such as Stagecoach and CMA Fest. Collins most recently received acclaim for co-writing “The River” for the Grammy-nominated Daisy Jones & The Six soundtrack. She has also penned songs for artists under the Audio Up banner while contributing to branded content and ad work. Collins is currently gearing up to release new music through the summer and fall.

“Randy and Kayslee embody a wide range of diverse, disruptive and innovative voices across different genres that Audio Up has been exploring,” says Gutstadt. “Whether we’re creating a pop-country, Americana or street-country vibe, or the perfect hit for the next Sabrina Carpenter, we’re crafting a versatile tool kit with writers that are unparalleled across the genre spectrum.”

“Randy Savvy is a trailblazer in the industry, and Kayslee Don Collins is part of the new breed of powerhouse music creators on the scene. We are thrilled to welcome them both to the Anthem family,” states Gilles Godard, President of Anthem Music Publishing Nashville. “Their unique sound and commitment to their craft perfectly align with our mission to support innovative creators. We look forward to the incredible opportunities that lie ahead for Randy, Kayslee and all of us at Anthem with this amazing new JV with Jared and Audio Up.”

Kelly Bolton has joined Warner Records as VP of A&R.

Working out of Nashville, Bolton will collaborate closely with Co-Chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck on signing, developing and cultivating country artists for the Los Angeles-based label. She will report directly to EVP/Head of A&R Karen Kwak.

Bolton most recently spent five years at Ashley Gorley’s Tape Room Music, where she rose from VP of Creative to SVP, A&R. She built a roster of 15 songwriters, overseeing creative and artist strategy for the company. Throughout her tenure, Tape Room Music earned 25 country No. 1s, while Gorley personally notched a staggering 40 No. 1s. Bolton’s prior career stops also include Big Deal Music, where she signed and developed talent in both Nashville and Los Angeles, as well as Black River Entertainment, where she launched her career in publishing over a decade ago. During her three years with Black River, Bolton was instrumental in guiding the career of Kelsea Ballerini, among others.

“I’ve known Kelly for years, and her ear for talent is impeccable. She’s widely admired not only in the Nashville artist and songwriter community, but throughout the industry,” says Bay-Schuck. “Her addition to the team enables us to have boots on the ground in Music City with the advantage to actively engage, sign and develop new artists hands-on. The potential to make a major impact is limitless.”

“I’m excited for this new role, and I’m honored to have the ability and latitude to take these artists to a mainstream label. It’s a unique position. Living and working in Nashville and helping artists reach a global platform is the best of both worlds,” shares Bolton. “I’d like to thank Aaron, Tom [Corson], Karen and the entire team for this incredible opportunity.”

She can be reached at Kelly.Bolton@warnerrecords.com.

Terri Clark is getting her much-deserved flowers this year.

Nearly 30 years after releasing her self-titled debut album in 1995, the multi-Platinum country hitmaker is celebrating her career in multiple ways. At the end of May, she released two retrospective projects: her 2004 Greatest Hits collection on vinyl and a highly-anticipated duets album. During CMA Fest, Clark took her beloved tunes to the big stage at Nissan Stadium and more. She also commemorated her 20th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member. Needless to say, the country music icon has been feeling the love.

Taking vinyl form for the first time, Clark’s 14-song Greatest Hits project features her classic top 10 singles as well as her No. 1 “You’re Easy on the Eyes.” On the duets project—titled Terri Clark: Take Two, Clark gathered some current hitmakers she admires and revisited her material.

“My manager Clarence [Spalding] and I started talking about doing this probably five years ago, but then COVID hit. We got back into the conversation a couple years ago and got to work on it. I started with four tracks and then Universal Music got involved and we decided to make it a whole album. I asked some friends and anybody I admired if they would come in and sing on it. I got almost everybody I asked, which was really wonderful.”

Cody Johnson joins Clark on “I Just Wanna Be Mad,” Lauren Alaina on “I Wanna Do It All,” Carly Pearce on “Girls Lie Too” and Paul Brandt on a live version of “You’re Easy On The Eyes.”

Pop contemporaries Kelly Clarkson and Ben Rector are also featured on Take Two, with the former joining Clark on “If I Were You” and the latter on “Now That I Found You.” Two stand-out collaborations are Clark and Lainey Wilson‘s “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” and her and Ashley McBryde‘s “Better Things To Do.”

“Ashley is like a sister to me now. She was the first one I went to,” Clark says. “‘Better Things To Do’ felt like a natural fit for her. She talked about how that first album was kind of a big one for her and the image was something she could relate to when she was a teenager trying to find her way, being her own person and being individual.”

Clark has reached the point of longtime stardom that current country stalwarts cite her as a musical influence, something that she’s flattered by but humble about.

“I had never met Cody. He walked in the studio and said, ‘I had posters of you on my wall when I was a teenager!’ He was so sweet. He was such a fan of, ‘I Just Want To Be Mad.’

Wilson, who kicked off her 2024 headlining tour the night of Take Two‘s release, invited Clark to sing their version of “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” in Nashville. The two also performed it during Wilson’s Nissan Stadium set at CMA Fest, and Clark’s anniversary show at the Opry—which also happened to be Wilson’s Opry induction night, making for a full circle moment between the two important female voices.

When reflecting on the transcendent moment, Clark thinks back to when she was inducted in 2004 with gratitude for the journey.

“If I could go back to 2004, I would tell myself, ‘You’re still going to be playing shows, you’re going to be playing the Opry, you’re going to be alive, healthy and the happiest as you’ve ever been in 20 years.'”

When asked about how long Clark has maintained her career, she attributes it to being good to people, keeping fans first and surrounding herself with honest and talented team members. She highlights the work of Maverick Nashville, her longtime management company.

“Clarence Spalding has been with me for 20-something years. Marne McLyman is just amazing,” she says. “In this business, you have to surround yourself with people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself, and who tell you the truth.”

Clark also shares her gratitude for her agent Nick Meinema of the Action Entertainment Collaborative group, saying that his creativity and understanding of sustaining a long career on the road has helped her move through all the stages of touring.

“He is strategic, he’s smart, he knows Canada very well and he’s very good at planning for the long game with me instead of going for the short term,” she notes. “He truly has my best interest at heart.”

Clark’s monumental year will continue throughout 2024. In August, she will headline the Ryman Auditorium for the very first time.

“I’m so excited and blown away to be playing the Ryman. I started in 1987 playing for tips in Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, and I would pay to go tour the Ryman pre-renovation in between sets because I was dreaming about it. I can’t believe I’m actually going to be playing there.”

Clark has a lot of gratitude for the current popularity of ‘90s country. “A career ebbs and flows. Some artists and eras lose popularity for a while, and it’s a grind. It’s often said that people remember the beginning and the end, but they forget a lot of the in between—and there are a lot of shit gigs that you play in between.

“But you keep going and all of a sudden, you’re playing the Ryman 30 years later,” she says. “I’m not complaining about the gigs—we’ve all been there—but it’s fun now that ‘90s country has regained interest. [Us hitmakers of the ’90s] are all very appreciative of it. There were times where we had to slug it out and stay after it, but now we’re getting the reward for staying true to ourselves and doing what we do.”

As for the next 20 years, Clark hopes to keep creating and giving her fans the best version of herself she can.

“I want to stay healthy and do this for as long as people show up to see my play,” she expresses. “I’m one of those people that if I can’t honor my legacy the way that I want to, feel good, sing well and have the same kind of energy people expect of me … I want to be able to be Terri Clark the way people remember me from when I was 30 as long as possibly can. If there comes a time that I can’t—there will be a conversation, but right now I feel like I’ve got some time.”

Clark shares that what keeps her going is feeling like she’s made a difference in someone’s life.

“What you leave behind and how you made people feel is so important. That’s what drives me to keep going. I’m under no illusions that I’ll have a big hit at country radio again, but you never know what could happen. You just gotta put your best foot forward, work really hard and treat people with kindness and respect.”