Sea Gayle Music has signed Steve Schnur to an exclusive worldwide songwriter agreement.

“Steve is such a uniquely talented songwriter. His passion for music and his creative instincts are at the heart of his songwriting. We are excited to work with him and enjoy many years of success together,” said Marc Driskill, EVP/GM of Sea Gayle Music.

Schnur began his career as a teenage musician in bands. He has since served in many segments of the music industry, including working on the original programming team at MTV, working in record label promotion, A&R and marketing, as well as music supervisory roles for movies.

“Before anything else in my career, I was a songwriter. And while it had always been my hope to circle back to it, it’s always been my dream to return to songwriting in a community as creatively productive and welcoming as Nashville. Sea Gayle is a true independent, founded and run by songwriters, and I look forward to writing hits for them for years to come,” said Schnur.

Spirit Music Group has teamed with T Bone Burnett in a joint venture. They have also signed Burnett to an exclusive publishing agreement for his song catalog in North America.

Under the join venture, Burnett will sign and develop songwriters under the Spirit Music Group umbrella. SMG will handle song promotion, licensing, and administration on a global basis. SMG will also administer all Burnett’s catalog as well as future works.

David Renzer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group said, “We have a huge amount of respect for T Bone’s creative prowess. With T Bone’s creative vision combined with Spirit’s song marketing/ publishing expertise, our ability to find and nurture exciting talent is something the entire team is excited about. We are proud to work with T Bone, his prolific catalog of songs, and look forward to developing the best new talent through this partnership.”

Burnett commented, “I am happy to have David Renzer and his killer team at Spirit as allies as we go about discovering and, hopefully, affecting what the business of music looks like in the 21st Century.”

Burnett has earned numerous Grammys — including Album of the Year and Record of the Year — for his production work on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss‘ Raising Sand. He was also awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for his work on B.B. King’s One Kind Favor. He previously earned five Grammys for his work on the eight-times Platinum release, O Brother Where Art Thou? Further Grammys followed for his work on the platinum soundtrack to the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line, and the platinum Tony Bennett / k.d. lang duets album, A Wonderful World.

He also collaborated with Joel Coen and Ethan Coen on their film Inside Llewyn Davis which followed his successful collaboration with the Coen Brother on The Big Lebowski, for which he served as “Musical Archivist.” Burnett is also the Executive Music Producer and Composer for the HBO series True Detective, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. He was Executive Music Producer and co-composer for the first season of the highly-acclaimed ABC television series, Nashville. That show spawned two best-selling soundtrack albums as well as millions of individual song downloads. He has served as Executive Music Producer on numerous films, including Across The Universe, Walk The Line (he also composed its score) and The Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood. He was nominated for an Academy Award, along with Elvis Costello, in the category of Best Original Song for “The Scarlet Tide” from the film, Cold Mountain. For his work on that film, Burnett also earned the BAFTAs Anthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music.

Photos: Erika Goldring, unless otherwise noted.

Songwriters showcased new songs and well-known hits under balmy weather last week during the 20th annual Key West Songwriters Festival, held May 6-10, presented by BMI. More than 40 shows and in-the-round performances were featured, as well as ticketed shows at area venues including San Carlos Institute, Tropic Cinema, and the Key West Theater.

Among the performers were Chris Young, Robert Earl Keen, Dean Dillon, Jeffrey Steele, Bob Dipiero, Lee Thomas Miller, Al Anderson, Pat MacLaughlin, Shawn Camp, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose, James Slater, Even Stevens, Steve Bogard, Steve McEwan, Guthrie Trapp and the Mulekickers, Chuck Cannon, Loving Mary, Josh Dorr, Dylan Altman Blues Band, Kostas, Aaron Watson, and more.

Kenny Chesney’s ‘American Kids’ Goes Platinum

At San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium recently for the first stadium date of his The Big Revival Tour, Kenny Chesney was presented with an RIAA Platinum plaque for his chart-topping smash, “American Kids,” from his album, The Big Revival.

LOCASH Celebrates Signature Wine Line

Reviver Records duo LOCASH recently celebrated their new signature wine line with an industry party at a private home in Brentwood. The signature line is in partnership with Stonum Vineyards of Lodi, Calif.

 

Razor & Tie Music Publishing Adds Creative Coordinator

Razor & Tie Music Publishing has hired Jennifer Duke as Creative Coordinator. The recent Belmont University graduate assisted Razor & Tie Music Publishing with organizing their week-long film/tv/sync camp, which included approximately 75 producers, artists and writers last year.

“Jennifer has already demonstrated a high level of skill, as she worked part-time for the company while wrapping up her degree. We couldn’t wait to bring her on full-time. I’m thrilled we scooped her up before someone else did!” said Vice President of Creative, Brad Kennard.

 

Producer Butch Walker Launches Autumn Leaves Project

Producer and artist Butch Walker has partnered with Nashville-based non-profit organization The Nikki Mitchell Foundation to launch the Autumn Leaves Project in an effort to fight pancreatic cancer. Founded in honor of Walker’s late father, Butch Walker Sr., the Autumn Leaves Project will work in conjunction with the Nikki Mitchell Foundation to support individuals and families affected by pancreatic cancer, especially artists and musicians who do not have access to proper healthcare.

“Pancreatic cancer doesn’t give you a chance to reconcile with it, doesn’t let you make plans sometimes, or prepare for the ending it just usually sneaks up on you and gives you no warning until it’s too late. We need better programs for pre-screening. We need more affordable alternatives to the methods and drugs that are out there to cope once it’s diagnosed, and most importantly, we’ve got to find a cure for it,” states Walker.

For more information, visit autumnleavesproject.org.

Producer, musician, and songwriter Mickey Jack Cones has produced songs including Joe Nichols‘ “Sunny and 75” and “Yeah,” and Dustin Lynch‘s “Where It’s At (Yep Yep).” He’s also worked with Trace Adkins, Jeff Bates, Thompson Square, and more.

The multi-talented Cones has now joined Combustion Music, along with partner Atlas Music Publishing, under a long-term publishing agreement.

Combustion Music’s President, Chris Farren, says, “I have been a big fan of Mickey’s for some time. He is a triple threat as a musician, songwriter and producer, and is one of the hottest producers in Nashville. What the rest of the town may not know is that he is an equally good songwriter, and we plan on helping him grow that facet of his career. We couldn’t be more fired up.”

Cones will work with Combustion’s creative team (Chris van Belkom and Kenley Flynn) to seek out new opportunities, manage his calendar and pitch his songs.

In addition to his work as a musician, songwriter and producer, Cones owns Westwood Studios, a retreat-like recording studio in Nashville’s Berry Hill area.

Cones says, “I am beyond thrilled to be joining such a force of a team with Combustion and Atlas. They are, irrefutably, among the heaviest of hitters in the music publishing industry. Their proven hit making track record speaks for itself. Not to mention, it doesn’t get any better than this caliber of people. Creatively and personally, I couldn’t ask for a better partnership.”