Gorley, Hardy, Copperman Top MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

Ashley Gorley is at No. 1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart with nine titles this week, including Thomas Rhett’s “Remember You Young,” Chase Rice’s “Eyes On You,” Eli Young Band’s “Love Ain’t,” Lee Brice’s “Rumor,” Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You,” Dierks Bentley’s “Living,” Chris Janson’s “Good Vibes,” Dustin Lynch’s “Ridin’ Roads” and LOCASH’s “One Big Country Song.”

Michael Hardy is just behind Gorley at No. 2, Ross Copperman at No. 3, Jordan M. Schmidt at No. 4 and Shane McAnally at No. 5.

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, published every week, uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital downloaded 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.

Spirit Music Group Appoints Frank Rogers As CEO, Spirit Music Nashville

Frank Rogers

Spirit Music Group has appointed Frank Rogers to Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Music Nashville. Rogers will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of Spirit Music Nashville’s creative and operational activities. Daniel Hill will exit the company.

“Frank Rogers is a rare talent—from his ability to produce and write No. 1 hits, to his amazing business acumen,” said Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group. “Frank has a vision for Spirit Music Nashville and I have no doubt he will execute on that vision and exceed expectations. We are fortunate to have Frank lead our talented writers and staff in this next chapter. I also want to thank Daniel Hill for all of his years of service and have the utmost respect for him.”

“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the talented staff and roster at Spirit Music Nashville,” said Rogers. “The entire Spirit Music Group team has been wonderful partners for myself and Fluid Music Revolution. I look forward to continuing to build something special with both the Spirit and Fluid teams.”

“Songwriters and songs are my passion and I am honored and grateful to have worked alongside some of the best at Spirit,” said Hill. “I am proud of the Spirit team and our many accomplishments, and I look forward to even more successes for us all.”

Frank Rogers is a multi-platinum producer and songwriter who has won MusicRow’s Producer of the Year award four times and Billboard’s No. 1 Hot Country Producer Award from 2006 – 2010. His work to date has resulted in thirteen Country Music Association award nominations, including a win for Album of the Year for Time Well Wasted with Brad Paisley. Rogers also has credits with Trace Adkins, Josh Turner, Darius Rucker, Phil Vassar, Darryl Worley, and Scotty McCreery, and has received five Academy of Country Music awards.

Rogers has also co-written several No. 1 songs, including: “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” by Brad Paisley, “Alright” and “This” by Darius Rucker, “Five More Minutes” and “This Is It” by Scotty McCreery, and “Backroad Song” by Granger Smith.

Rogers moved to Nashville in 1990 and got his Music Business degree from Belmont University, where he met friend and future collaborator Brad Paisley. Rogers then worked for EMI Nashville Production and opened Nashville independent publisher Sea Gayle Music with Paisley and Chris DuBois.

In 2016, Spirit Music Group formed a multi-faceted deal with Rogers and together established Fluid Music Revolution. Through the agreement, Spirit acquired Rogers’ one third interest in certain copyrights of the respected Sea Gayle Music. The deal also leveraged Rogers’ executive abilities and creative talent. Spirit’s venture with Rogers empowered him to bring new artists, producers, and writers to the company. He also joined Spirit’s roster as a songwriter, and the company exclusively administers all of his new compositions worldwide.

In addition to its deal with Rogers, Spirit’s deals in the country music landscape have included a deal with Zach Crowell that included the acquisition of his I Love Pizza Music catalog, which features many No. 1 hits. Spirit also formed a co-publishing venture with Crowell along with Ashley Gorley’s Tape Room Music, that encompasses Crowell’s future compositions. Spirit also made a deal with Grammy-winning Nashville songwriter Josh Osborne to acquire his co-published catalog, which features 500 songs. Spirit Music Nashville and Fluid Music Revolution also completed deals with Justin Adams, Derek George, Jason Lehning, Monty Criswell, Kyle Rife, Erik Belz, Marcus Hummon, Palmer Lee, Mike Fiorentino, Phillip White, and SESAC Songwriter of the Year Cary Barlowe. The company acquired the successful Nashville-based independent music publisher, production, and artist management company, Cal IV Entertainment, which brought top country writers, artists, and staff into the fold along with 25 No. 1 country copyrights and top ten singles. Spirit also acquired the StyleSonic catalog, bringing another four No. 1 country songs to its portfolio as well as over fifteen Top 20 country songs spanning the last decade.

Recent successes by Spirit Music Nashville and Fluid Music Revolution include a publishing interest in ASCAP’s Song of the Year (“Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt, Zach Crowell and Josh Osborne); SESAC’s Song of the Year (“It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” by Billy Currington); CMA Song of the Year (“Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban) and CMA Album of the Year From a Room: Volume 1 by Chris Stapleton); and a publishing interest in ACM nominations for Song of the Year (“Whiskey & You” by Chris Stapleton); Single of the Year (“Broken Halos” by Chris Stapleton and “Drinkin’ Problem” by Midland) and Songwriter of the Year (Josh Osborne).

 In January, Spirit Music Group executives Jon Singer and Ross Cameron formed Lyric Capital Group to take ownership of Spirit Music Group and secure a recapitalization of over $350 million. Now wholly-owned by the newly formed Lyric Capital Group, Spirit Music Group remains a strong, independent publisher.

NSAI Reveals Winners Of The 19th Annual Song Contest

 

Pictured (L-R): Jacob Noe, Michael Roth

NSAI, along with presenting partners CMT and C.F. Martin & Co., is proud to announce Jacob Noe as the Grand Prize Song+Lyric winner of NSAI’s annual Song Contest with his entry “Weight of Words” (co-written with Canaan Stanley), and Michael Roth as the Lyric Only Winner with his entry “The Price Of A Song.”

With the addition of presenting partner C.F. Martin & Co. this year, the Grand Prize winning package was bigger than ever and included $5,000 cash, a one-year single-song contract with ole, mentoring sessions with legendary hit songwriter Craig Wiseman and musician, writer, performer and Martin ambassador Hunter Hayes, and a Martin guitar. Additional prizes included a round-trip flight to Nashville, TN, tickets to the 2019 CMT Music Awards, a mentoring session with a CMT executive, a performance slot during the 2019 Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival and more. The total prize package was valued at over $15,000. All eight runner-up entrants in the Song+Lyric category also each were awarded their very own Martin Dreadnought Junior acoustic electric guitar, as well as an industry meeting and a year membership to NSAI.

Roth, the winner of the Lyric-Only category won a prize package that included a mentoring session with hit songwriter Lori McKenna, a Martin guitar, industry access, a round-trip flight to Nashville, TN, a pass to the annual Music Biz conference and more.

Beating out nearly 2,600 entries, each placing song advanced through several levels of judging with the final judging event taking place on February 5, 2019, where the Grand Prize-winning song was determined by a panel of elite judges.

Pictured (L-R): Chris Martin, Craig Thatcher, NSAI’s Bart Herbison and Lindsay Gum, John Ozier, Jordan Walker, and Brett James

Judges included Chris Martin (Chairman & CEO, C.F. Martin & Co.), Craig Thatcher (Recording artist and International Clinician/Ambassador for C.F. Martin & Co.), Brett James (Grammy-Winning Songwriter/Producer), Jordan Walker (Manager, Music & Talent, CMT) and John Ozier (Vice President, Creative, ole). For the final judging, each song was played and received a score of 1-10 from each panelist. The song with the highest score in total was declared the winner.

Can’t Stop The Train: Luke Combs Celebrates Fourth No. 1

Pictured (L-R): BMI Songwriters Channing Wilson, Luke Combs, and Rob Snyder with BMI’s Mason Hunter

Trains thundered by when Luke Combs and co-writers Channing Wilson and Rob Snyder gathered to celebrate Combs’ fourth No. 1 as an artist, “She Got the Best Of Me” on a cold and rainy afternoon at the Corsair Distillery on Tuesday (Feb. 19). In a party sponsored by BMI, friends and family surrounded the grateful and humbled trio.

BMI’s Mason Hunter hosted the event for the BMI writers, kicking everything off by saying, “Anytime you have a Luke Combs No. 1, it recharges your batteries on why we’re all here and why we do what we do.”

Hunter went on to tell the story of Snyder and Wilson’s meeting. “Rob moved to town seven years ago,” he said. “Right about that time, he was working the door at Losers [Bar & Grill], and who would be at Losers? Mr. Channing Wilson. A year later, Rob started the Revival [at Tin Roof] and that’s really where the song started.

“This song was written when Luke Combs was still in college,” Hunter continued. “I don’t know about y’all, but I wasn’t writing songs like this in college. From 2014 when these guys met through Revival until now, it’s been a whirlwind. Luke has surrounded himself with the right people and has fought for the right songs.”

Hunter then made it clear that Combs is the first solo artist in history for his first four songs to go No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Out of his four No. 1’s—”Hurricane,” “One Number Away,” “When It Rains It Pours” and now “She Got the Best Of Me”—10 songwriters have had their first No. 1, now including Wilson and Snyder.

Back row, (standing L-R): Big Machine’s Mike Molinar, 50 Egg’s Jonathan Singleton, Warner Chappell’s Ben Vaughn, Little Extra Music’s Joe Scaife, Little Extra Music’s Lisa Ramsey-Perkins, BMI’s Mason Hunter, Sony Music Nashville’s Shane Allen. (seated, L-R): BMI Songwriters Channing Wilson, Luke Combs, and Rob Snyder. Photo: Steve Lowry for BMI

As is tradition, the BMI writers got a Taylor guitar to write more hits on. Pinnacle Bank made a donation to Thistle Farms on behalf of the songwriters.

Brandi Simms and Brenden Oliver from the CMA were on hand to present the songwriters with their No. 1 medallions. Wilson had to adjust his long beard to fit the medallion around his neck properly.

MusicRow‘s Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson presented the songwriters with No. 1 Challenge Coins for “She Got the Best Of Me” hitting No. 1 on the MusicRow chart.

Warner/Chappell’s Ben Vaughn had a lot to say about Wilson.

“I’m so proud of Channing Wilson and if you’re in this room and you believe that Nashville is a place where sacrifice and hard work matter, then you too should be proud of Channing Wilson,” he said.

Vaughn went on to compare Wilson’s songwriting with the likes of Steve Earle and the late Guy Clark, bringing tears to Wilson’s eyes as he shook his head. “After we met,” Vaughn continued. “We learned that we both love Guy Clark songs, and at the time I was fortunate to represent Guy. He and Channing I’m proud to say [wrote] over 20 songs together. He’d be very proud of you,” he said to Wilson.

Vaughn let the crowd know that Wilson’s commute to work is 158 miles one way from his home and family in LaFayette, Georgia, and that he has made that commute every week for over a decade. He made sure to thank Dave Cobb for their joint publishing deal and Sony Nashville for their work with the song. Warner/Chappell presented the songwriters with plaques and custom made whiskey containers.

Vaughn also made Wilson perform a special talent, making an uncanny train whistle sound with his mouth. When a train rolled past the windows behind the men moments later, it felt like Wilson had planned it.

Little Extra Music’s Lisa Ramsey Perkins was on hand to speak about Snyder and present him with a plaque. “Rob shows up every day,” she said. “He’s the hardest working man I’ve ever know. Double writes every day. Shows up every day. Cares about what he’s doing every day.

“Luke,” Perkins continued. “You are the most loyal friend to these writers. You’re such an amazing artist, you deserve this more than anybody I know. Thank you for letting us be a part of this journey.”

Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar and 50 Egg Music’s Jonathan Singleton made their way to the stage next to talk about Combs. “For those of you who are new to the Luke Combs No. 1 parties, this is our Penn & Teller show,” Molinar quipped. “One of us speaks, the other one make fun of the guy who speaks.”

“It feels like it was yesterday we were celebrating Luke’s first No. 1 ‘Hurricane,’ because it was,” Molinar continued. “It was about a year and three quarters ago that we were celebrating the first, and now here we are on the fourth! I hear, Sony, you’re already guaranteeing the next one? Is it today, tomorrow, next week?” he joked.

Molinar made sure to recognize Combs’ team, naming: Chris Kappy (Make Wake Artist), Lynn Oliver-Cline (River House Artists), Aaron Tannenbaum (CAA), Sony Nashville and its entire promotion team, Scott Moffatt (producer), and more.

Singleton must have felt that Molinar said it all, because he had nothing to add.

Columbia Nashville’s SVP of Promotion, Shane Allen, was in attendance and let the crowd in on the stats surrounding “She Got the Best Of Me,” noting that the song was the longest-running No. 1 last year at four weeks. Allen also relayed that Combs is currently the third most-played country artist in 2019, and was the first country artist to have two songs in the top 10 at the same time since Tim McGraw did in 2000.

Channing Wilson, Luke Combs, MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson, Rob Snyder

When Rob Synder stepped up to the mic, a real train whistle resounded through the distillery. Everyone laughed and Wilson shrugged, slyly.

“Wilson is also a ventriloquist,” Synder joked.

“I’m just super grateful to be in this room, especially with these three guys,” Snyder continued. “You move here and you hope that you can be able to do this one day and if you don’t, you hope you’re able to at least make friends and surround yourself with good people. I love these guys more than anything.

“I know Luke fought for this song. He’s fought for everything in his career, he’s an underdog. We’re all underdogs. He said we were underdogs when he had us play on the Opry. I played on the Opry because of him. I dropped a pick and I picked it back up,” Snyder said with a smile.

An emotional Channing Wilson thanked his friend Snyder. “Rob let me sleep on his spare bed for fours years. Never really asked for a dime. Another guy that did that was Tyler Reeve,” Wilson said. “I can’t thank y’all enough. It’s not just for me, it’s for my kids.

“Luke,” Wilson continued. “I walked in and saw you at Brewhouse in Rome, Georgia. In a bar that I could put 40 people in any given night, it was your first run of shows and you had 350 people singing ‘Best Of Me’ back. I’ve never seen that before. We immediately championed Luke because the status quo isn’t friendly to people who aren’t in it, but sometimes talent deserves it and sometimes you just can’t stop it.

“You can’t stop the train,” Wilson said with a smile.

When the man of the hour stepped up to mic, he said, “I’m Luke, by the way.” He thanked his co-writers, Sony Nashville, his band and crew, his fiancé and many more.

“I’ve had some of my favorite times in Nashville with these guys because I feel like the underdog spirit really resonated with the three of us,” Combs said. “It lives in me and my team, it lives in everybody in this room. I want to thank everybody on my team. Lynn and Kappy have been champions for me from day one, underdogs right there with me.”

Combs got emotional as he thanked his entire team around him. “If you’re in this room and here, all my co-writers, the guys in my band, Ethan, my whole entire Row family, Austin, everybody that is with me, dedicating their life to me,” Combs said as he held back tears. He managed to get out a “thanks,” before the party closed with “She Got the Best Of Me” playing loud over the speakers.

Let The Music Play: Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Ashley Gorley Among CMA Triple Play Winners

Pictured (L-R): Troy Tomlinson, Jesse Frasure, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs, Josh Kear, Nicolle Galyon, Josh Osborne, Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill, Jody Williams, Sarah Trahern. Photo: Electric Machine/CMA

“This one is like the Super Bowl for us,” said Jesse Frasure, one of 10 winners this year at the CMA Triple Play Awards, which honors writers for having penned three No. 1 songs within a 12-month period based on the Country Aircheck, Billboard Country Airplay and Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The event was held Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.

Frasure was honored for co-writing three No. 1 hits for Thomas Rhett, including “Unforgettable,” “”Marry Me,” and “Life Changes.”

“It doesn’t matter how hard you work, everything has to line up for this one to happen,” Frasure said, and it would be a familiar refrain throughout the afternoon awards ceremony.

Nicolle Galyon was also accepting her very first Triple Play Award, for penning “All The Pretty Girls,” “Tequila,” and “Coming Home.”

“I don’t even like tequila,” she quipped, before thanking her publishing home Warner/Chappell. “I want to thank [husband and fellow writer] Rodney Clawson. Now I know what it looks like. Thank you for being such a champion for me. A lot of people like to point out that I’m the only woman up here, but I was thinking today how I think the really cool story about that is that I’ve written I think with all the men who are winning this award today, and I’ve never been treated with anything but encouragement, like a sister. I’ve been empowered, and respected by all of my brothers in this business. I think that’s a story we don’t hear enough. I’m proud of this community, how we all cheer for each other, brothers and sisters alike.

“This has made me think about how when you come to Nashville and you want to be a songwriter, everyone tells you that you are going to hear the word ‘no’ a million times. But what no one told me about was this word called ‘almost,’ which to me has had more of an impact on my career and my character and my journey. Things like, ‘This almost got cut,’ or ‘It almost went No. 1.’ Here I am on the other side of a lot of ‘almosts’ that have turned into yeses, and I can’t help but think that you write 1500 songs and the difference in getting one of these and not getting one of these is 20 spins. I think in this moment, I feel like this is very fragile, because there is no amount of talent, or hard work, or hustle, that turns that ‘almost’ into a ‘yes.’ It’s God and it’s either meant to be or not and I’ll never wrap my mind around why this was meant to be for me, so thank you and congratulations to all the other winners.”

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern and Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson were also on hand to honor the writers. As each writer was feted, video clips were shown, revealing aspiring musicians covering the hit songs of the day.

Luke Combs was honored with his first CMA Triple Play award, for his work in co-writing his own chart-toppers “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours,” and “One Number Away.” Dan + Shay showed up in the various covers clips shown, offering a snippet of an acoustic version of “Hurricane.”

“I’m Luke by the way,” Combs greeted the audience. “I probably look like the guy who changes your oil, but I’m not.

“This is pretty wild. This is definitely something that me and my team worked really hard to try and accomplish. So I say thanks to everybody, my songwriting buddies, everyone in this room who works with me.”

Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard was among the honorees, earning his second Triple Play Award (“Meant To Be”/”You Make It Easy”/”Simple”). He was not in attendance. Josh Kear collected his fourth Triple Play Award, for penning “God, Your Mama, and Me,” “Most People Are Good,” and “Woman, Amen.”

Shane McAnally, who was not in attendance (he is currently working as part of the upcoming television show Songland), was honored with his eighth CMA Triple Play award. He has had 38 No. 1 hits to date. He penned “Written In The Sand,” “Marry Me,” and “Get Along.”

Chase McGill collected his first Triple Play Award (“Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”/”Break Up In The End”/”Lose It”), while Josh Osborne picked up his fourth (“Drinkin’ Problem”/”All The Pretty Girls”/” Get Along”).

Thomas Rhett was on hand to accept his second Triple Play Award, for his work in writing his own hits “Unforgettable,” “Marry Me,” and “Life Changes.”

“I’m so grateful to be part of Nashville’s country songwriting community. There are so many freakin’ talented people. This award means the world. Just like everyone on this list, I feel like we write songs about what we know. “ He thanked God, his family and his management and label teams.

Ashley Gorley, the most-awarded Triple Play recipient, collected his 12th Triple Play honor. In 2018, he had nine No. 1 songs in a 12-month period, repeating his 2017 total. This year he was honored for penning “Fix A Drink,” “Marry Me,” and “Life Changes.”

“Country music in Nashville is a unique thing…it’s not just about making up and breaking up, it’s about tequila, it’s about a body like a back road, it’s about scratch-off tickets, it can be about the way you walk, the way you talk, and there’s so much subject matter that we get to cover as writers because you’ve all been through that,” Gorley said.

In addition to the special performance, $3 of each ticket sold benefited CMA’s philanthropic arm, the CMA Foundation, which is committed to improving and sustaining high-quality music education programs across the country.

 

Pictured (L-R): Josh Osborne, Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley, Sarah Trahern, Josh Kear, Chase McGill, Luke Combs. Photo: Electric Machine/CMA

 

Pictured (L-R): Nicolle Galyon, Josh Kear, Luke Combs, Josh Osborne, Chase McGill, Ashley Gorley. Photo: Electric Machine/CMA

The 10th annual CMA Triple Play Awards recipients were recognized for the following:

Luke Combs
“Hurricane”
“When It Rains It Pours”
“One Number Away”

Jesse Frasure
“Unforgettable,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
“Marry Me,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
“Life Changes,” recorded by Thomas Rhett

Nicolle Galyon
“All the Pretty Girls,” recorded by Kenny Chesney
“Tequila,” recorded by Dan + Shay
“Coming Home,” recorded by Keith Urban ft. Julia Michaels

Ashley Gorley
“Fix A Drink,” recorded by Chris Janson
“Marry Me,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
“Life Changes,” recorded by Thomas Rhett

Tyler Hubbard
“Meant to Be,” recorded by Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line
“You Make It Easy,” recorded by Jason Aldean
“Simple,” recorded by Florida Georgia Line

Josh Kear
“God, Your Mama, And Me,” recorded by Florida Georgia Line ft. Backstreet Boys
“Most People Are Good,” recorded by Luke Bryan
“Woman, Amen,” recorded by Dierks Bentley

Shane McAnally
“Written in the Sand,” recorded by Old Dominion
“Marry Me,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
“Get Along,” recorded by Kenny Chesney

Chase McGill
“Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” recorded by Luke Bryan
“Break Up in the End,” recorded by Cole Swindell
“Lose It,” recorded by Kane Brown

Josh Osborne
“Drinkin’ Problem,” recorded by Midland
“All the Pretty Girls,” recorded by Kenny Chesney
“Get Along,” recorded by Kenny Chesney

Thomas Rhett
“Unforgettable”
“Marry Me”
“Life Changes”

[Updated]: ole Acquires Parallel Catalog, Adds Tim Hunze As Sr. Director, Creative

Tim Hunze

[Updated, Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 9:05 a.m.]

The six Parallel writers added to ole’s roster from the acquisition are reported to be Alex Hall, Lance Carpenter, Blake Chaffin, Joey Hendricks, Michael Lotten and Michael White.

Parallel’s Dir. of Admin, Mary Kate O’Boyle, has also joined ole as Client Services Manager, Catalogue. Parallel’s recently promoted Senior Creative Director, Travis Myatt, was not reported to have a place in the acquisition.

[Previous Story]

ole has concluded an exclusive worldwide deal with Parallel Music Publishing, acquiring 100 percent of Parallel’s catalog of more than 6,500 songs, including No. 1 hits The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two,” Kelsea Ballerini’s “Love Me Like You Mean It,” Justin Moore’s “Till My Last Day,” and Michael Ray’s “Kiss You In the Morning,” as well as Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart” which went to No. 2 at country radio. Parallel songwriters are responsible for five No. 1 hits.

As part of the deal, ole also adds six active songwriters to its roster, as well as adding Parallel Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Tim Hunze as Senior Director of Creative at ole. Working out of its Nashville office, Hunze will be responsible for working with ole’s roster of songwriters and artists. A pipeline of singles are expected to hit the charts in 2019.

“This acquisition checks so many boxes for us. Parallel has a great roster of writers and artists; the staff is incredibly well-respected and knowledgeable, and the momentum built by Hunze and his team continues to grow. We’re proud to have them as part of the ole family now,” commented ole’s Vice President of Creative, John Ozier.

“I am so fired up to join John and his team. I think joining forces will create some amazing momentum for all our writers and artists. Watch out Music Row, ole is coming in hot,” added Hunze.

Founded in 1992 as a personal management company to launch the celebrated Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Parallel quickly became one of the most successful talent management, music publishing and production companies in the entertainment business.

Gorley Spends Third Week At No. 1 On ‘MusicRow’ Top Songwriter Chart

Round Hill Music’s Ashley Gorley notches his third consecutive week at No. 1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart while Kevin Welch remains at No. 2. MusicRow‘s recently honored CountryBreakout Songwriter of the Year for 2019, Shane McAnally, sits at No. 3.

Brett James and Luke Combs follow at No. 4 and 5, respectively. David Garcia moves up three slots to No. 6, with his songs “Love Wins” by Carrie Underwood, “Meant To Be” by Florida Georgia Line (with Bebe Rexha), and “Women,” FGL’s new song with Jason Derulo.

The first woman songwriter to be appear on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week is Carrie Underwood at No. 36. Unfortunately confirming the female ratios yet again this week, Underwood is one of three in the Top 60, with Kelsea Ballerini at No. 47 and Heather Morgan at No. 53.

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, published every week, uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital downloaded 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.

Ashley Gorley, Jon Nite, Matt Jenkins, Cassadee Pope Bring ASCAP ‘I Create Music’ EXPO To Bluebird Cafe

Pictured (L-R): Michael Martin, ASCAP VP of Membership; Erika Wollam Nichols, GM, The Bluebird Café; Mike Sistad, ASCAP Senior Creative Director; Ashley Gorley, Cassadee Pope, Jon Nite, Matt Jenkins; Holly Chester, ASCAP Membership Manager. Photo: Ed Rode.

ASCAP songwriters Ashley Gorley, Jon Nite, Matt Jenkins, and Cassadee Pope brought the ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO In The Round event to the Bluebird Cafe last night (Feb. 13) to promote the PRO’s upcoming EXPO in Los Angeles this May.

The songwriters were happy to talk about their experiences with ASCAP and at the EXPO, and honored to play their hits at the intimate venue. ASCAP’s Mike Sistad was on hand to introduce the writers and give some information about the conference.

“Fourteen years ago we launched our first ASCAP ‘I Create Music’ EXPO in Los Angeles,” Sistad said. “We felt there was a need for a music conference dedicated to the art-craft and business of songwriting, and boy were we right. That first year we had Tom Petty as our keynote, and we were off and running.

“From the start we presented panel discussions on everything from music publishing, music marketing, music placements,” he continued. “Everything a songwriter would need to know to move his or her career forward. We also have song feedback panels and one on one sessions.”

Ashley Gorley. Photo: Ed Rode

Six-time ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year, Ashley Gorley, played some of his numerous hits, including Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It,” Thomas Rhett’s “Marry Me,” Jon Pardi’s “Dirt On My Boots” and Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This.”

“ASCAP does lots of things,” Gorley said. “It’s tricky to explain what they do. They have EXPO, they have panels, they have writers’ nights, they listen to new writers’ songs. One of the things they do is figure out ways to pay us for songs that are on the radio, which is a great job. We love it. But there’s a lot that goes into that and they’re trying to fight battles for us and figure out how we can get what our songs are truly worth.

“I wrote this next song with a guy named Dallas Davidson,” he continued. “We sat down and said we want to write someone’s favorite song today. We want to pinpoint somebody finding their favorite song on the radio and that’s it.” He then started into Luke Bryan’s No. 1, “Play It Again.”

“I don’t know what to play after your super smashes,” Nite joked after Gorley played one of his 38 No. 1 hits.

“Well, you can play some of yours!” Gorley jested with a smile.

“What do I do? I’ll just play a medley of mine,” Jenkins teased Nite.

Nite, who will be a panelist at the EXPO this year, had just gotten back in town after attending the Grammys, where he had been nominated for Best Country Song. He played that Cole Swindell hit, “Break Up In The End,” as well as Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert’s “We Were Us,” Urban’s “Break On Me,” David Nail’s “Whatever She’s Got” and Lee Brice’s “Boy.”

“I’m excited to go out and talk to young songwriters,” Nite said. “I remember sitting in these seats right here and watching Jeffrey Steele just shred and sing higher than I could ever dream of singing; and Bob DiPiero and all these guys who were the class before us. Just trying to figure out how terrible my songs were in comparison to how good theirs were. They’d play songs like ‘What Hurts The Most’ and I’d go back home and be like ‘Woah, there’s another level you’ve got to get to, big man!'”

Pictured (L-R): Ashley Gorley, Cassadee Pope, Matt Jenkins, Jon Nite. Photo: Ed Rode

Matt Jenkins played a sampling of his No. 1’s, like his clever Old Dominion hit “Song For Another Time,” Sam Hunt and Keith Urban’s “Cop Car,” Dustin Lynch’s “Where It’s At” and a pretty, mild version of Florida Georgia Line’s “Confession.” Jenkins also performed a song called “Fade Into You” that felt appropriate to play at the Bluebird because it had been featured on the TV show Nashville. Pope provided the female harmonies reminiscent from the duet on the show.

“This was a song I wrote with Shane McAnally and Trevor Rosen that I really loved,” he said. “We write tons of songs, aiming for radio a lot of the time, but sometimes you write songs that you love hoping that they maybe could find a home. This had been around for a minute and the show Nashville was getting rolling and they found this song. I think they sang this at the Bluebird [on the show.] I never play this song out but it feels decently appropriate in the house.”

With the reverence of the Bluebird in mind, Pope played both songs she’d written and songs she wished she’d written, a couple of which show up on her recently released album, Stages.

“I love to write songs and it’s very therapeutic, but I also love to take advantage of living here and being exposed to these amazing, amazing songs,” she said before she went into her wistful “Take You Home” penned by Paul DiGiovanni, Ben Hayslip and Emily Weisband.

Pope also played “One More Red Light,” “Alien” and the tender “If My Heart Had A Heart”—written by CMT’s Next Women of Country tourmate Hannah Ellis with Josh Kerr and Matt McGinn—as well as her hit “Wasting All These Tears.”

The ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO will take place May 2-4. Tickets are available now. Purchasers can receive a discount with the code: BLUEBIRD.

Mitchell Tenpenny Packs Tin Roof To Celebrate “Drunk Me”

Pictured (L-R, standing): Play It Again’s Juli Netwon Griffith, SESAC’s Kelli Turner, Sony/ATV’s Dane Schmidt, Sony Music Nashville’s Steve Hodges, BMI’s Josh Tomlinson, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker, BMG’s Jake Gear, Tree Vibez Music’s Leslie DiPiero, Warner/Chappell’s Jessi Vaughn. (L-R, seated): SESAC writer Justin Wilson, BMI songwriter and Columbia Nashville recording artist Mitchell Tenpenny, ASCAP writer Jordan Schmidt. Photo: Steve Lowry

Riser House and Columbia Nashville artist Mitchell Tenpenny packed Tin Roof on Demonbreun in Nashville to celebrate his first No. 1 as an artist and a songwriter. The Sony/ATV writer commemorated the Platinum-certified hit with his co-writers Jordan Schmidt (Tree Vibez Music Publishing; Warner/Chappell; We-Volve Music) and Justin Wilson (BMG; Play It Again Music). The party was thrown by BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. Schmidt and Tenpenny produced the track.

BMI’s Josh Tomlinson helped keep the joyful and rowdy room on task as he led the event. As is tradition, BMI presented Tenpenny with a Taylor guitar.

“I have an innumerable amount of stories that I could talk about with Mitchell,” he said with a smirk. “Two summers ago I got a text that said ‘hey, do you want to come out on the bus with Mitchell to go down to Rome, Georgia with Jordan Rager?’ and I was like ‘yeah, sure sounds awesome!’

“It somewhere got lost in translation to me that it wasn’t a bus,” he continued. “It was a party bus. A full-blow, prom-style party bus. And then getting to Rome and just wanting to go to the green room so bad where there was air conditioning and then realizing that there was no air conditioning in the green room in Rome, Georgia. The most important part of that day, though, was Mitchell was [sick], but he was super concerned about everybody else and making sure they were having a good time.”

Tomlinson also quoted lyrics from the heartfelt track “Walk Like Him” on Tenpenny’s debut album, Telling All My Secrets, which reads:

I spend every day tryna make him proud
If I said that I didn’t, I’d be lying.

“All I can say today for a fact,” Tomlinson said. “All this stuff is fine, all this stuff is awesome, but Mitchell, this room is completely full of people who are so proud of you.”

ASCAP’s Beth Brinker was there to lend her always lovely sentiments about Schmidt, who was celebrating his fourth No. 1, and Tenpenny.

“The incredible things that have happened for Jordan Schmidt in the very small amount of time from 2015 when he joined the Tree Vibez family,” she said. “It’s incredible and clearly not stopping any time soon. It’s a testament to his hard work and his truly fresh take not just on production but on the craft of songwriting.”

Brinker also gave a shout out to First Tennessee Bank for their support of songwriters and music people.

SESAC’s Kelli Turner filled in for Shannan Hatch, who was on her way back from the Grammys.

“We’re thrilled to be here to celebrate Justin’s third No. 1 song!” she said. “Justin was one of the first songwriters that I met when I moved to Nashville. SESAC is so proud to represent you. We look forward to so many more awesome No. 1 songs and No. 1 parties.”

Pinnacle Bank’s David Smith announced that they would be making a donation to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in honor of “Drunk Me.” The CMA’s Brandi Simms expressed pride in the songwriters and presented them with their No. 1 medallions.

Country Aircheck‘s Lon Helton gave some perspective when he presented Tenpenny with his No. 1 plaque. “This is kind of a full-circle moment,” he said. “I don’t know how many of these No. 1 parties I attended with Mitchell’s grandmother, Donna Hilley. Those of you in this room that don’t know that name, you should. Back in the ’80s when there were very, very few women music executives in this city, Donna rose to become the CEO of Sony/ATV. So look her up, you need to know her.”

Pictured (L-R, standing): Sony Music Nashville’s Lauren Thomas, Christy Garbinski, Shane Allen, Jen Way, Jim Catino, Steve Hodges, Taylor Lindsey, Lyndsay Church, Olivia Laster. (L-R, seated): Justin Wilson, Mitchell Tenpenny, Jordan Schmidt. Photo: Steve Lowry

BMG Nashville’s Jake Gear stepped up to the podium and quickly ordered a round of tequila to toast the “Drunk Me” writers.

“I’ve been a Justin Wilson fan for quite a while now,” Gear said. “Justin, you have a gift of writing kick-ass country songs. Songs that make you proud of where you come from, songs that make you want to drink beer and songs that make you feel the nostalgic heart pains of love lost. You have another gift, your voice. But these gifts would be wasted if it wasn’t for your drive. Thank you for your hustle, thank you for not canceling co-writes last minute, thank you for always being open to new ideas.”

Play It Again Music and Magic Mustang’s Juli Newton Griffith echoed Gear’s sentiment about Wilson.

“I think most of you guys know how far Justin Wilson and I go back,” she said. “I signed Justin in 2013 and I absolutely adore Justin Wilson more than most people in this town. He works hard and creates good music, and that is what brought us here.”

She joined Play It Again President and CEO, Dallas Davidson, to present Wilson with a certified Platinum plaque. “That’s a non-recoupable plaque,” Davidson joked.

Griffith also gave a shout out to Sony Nashville’s Randy Goodman and Steve Hodges, as well as Riser House’s Jennifer Johnson, and their teams.

Tree Vibez Music’s Leslie DiPiero was in attendance to honor Schmidt. She presented them with No. 1 hats. “We’re not as rich as Dallas just yet,” she quipped.

“Tyler and Brian want Jordan to know that they wish they could be here,” she said of Tree Vibez founders (and Florida Georgia Line members) Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. “You were their first signing! We all believe that Jordan is stepping into the sweet spot of his career with not only writing but producing.

“His drive and talent are so ferocious,” she continued. “There are two important insights everybody needs to know about Jordan that I’ve observed in the past year and a half. He seems to be the first person everyone calls when they’re looking to write a hit and he appears to be the first person everyone calls when they’re about to throw a party!”

Sony/ATV’s Dane Schmidt was on hand to celebrate with his brother Jordan, as well as Tenpenny and Wilson. He made sure to thank Johnson, Kristen Ashley and JT Pratt (11/10 Management) and Enzo DiVincenzo (377 Management) along with the Sony Music Nashville team.

He also listed Hodges, Shane Allen, Lauren Thomas, Bo Martinovich, Lyndsay Church, Cliff Blake, Paige Elliot and Mark Jennings of the Sony Nashville promotion team.

Allen made sure to deliver the facts. “To come out with ‘Drunk Me’ and to have the biggest impact date of any song in two years, since Maren Morris’ ‘My Church,’ that’s a huge thing,” he said. “And then you come out with the album, Telling All My Secrets having had the biggest debut week for a debut artist of anybody in 2018.”

Allen also relayed that “Drunk Me” is industry veteran Blake’s final No. 1 after a career of promoting 70 No. 1 hits.

Johnson expressed her thanks and gifted the songwriters with a gift card to Nike, so that they could be as “swole” as Tenpenny.

“I want to especially thank the entire team at Riser House and Sony for working beautifully together,” she said.

Pictured (L-R): Justin Wilson, Mitchell Tenpenny, Jordan Schmidt. Photo: Steve Lowry

When it came time for the songwriters to speak, it was a brotherly love fest.

“Thank you guys,” Wilson said to his co-writers. “You love hard and you love fast. That’s lacking in a lot of places in the world today. I want to let you guys know that music heals and music saves and music is powerful. If not for this industry, I wouldn’t exist because I just need as much as all of us do. I’m a fan of everyone in this room, because all of us are stupid as hell for doing what we do.”

Wilson also mentioned that he had advised Tenpenny not to release “Drunk Me” as his debut single, because of its dark subject matter.

Jordan Schmidt showed his humor when it came time for him to speak.

“We’d written a few songs and Mitchell goes ‘I think I’m going to do the artist thing’ and he said ‘I’m going to cut ‘Drunk Me’ and I swear I’m going to make it No. 1,'” Schmidt said. “And I was like, ‘sure you are, buddy. You got this, man. All the way to the top, me and you.’ And then the guy freaking does it! And that’s Mitchell Tenpenny in a nut shell.

“Pretty much everybody knows that I wouldn’t be up here without Dane, so thank you,” Schmidt continued of his brother. He also thanked BMG, Kos Weaver, Jeff Braun, Alex Wright, and many more.

When Mitchell Tenpenny stepped up to the mic, he was smiling ear to ear.

“I went to probably a hundred of these when I was a kid and I’ve been dreaming of one day being up here so this is just a full-circle moment for me,” Tenpenny gushed. “I’m very grateful to see everybody out there, friends and family, you have no idea what it means.”

Tenpenny thanked his family, grandmother, Kristen Ashley, Matt Swanson and Jennifer Johnson and Riser House, Randy Goodman, Bo Martinovich and Sony/Columbia, Red Light, WME, his band, his girlfriend and many more.

“Justin Wilson is one of the best songwriters in Nashville,” Tenpenny said. “Yes, he is the drunkest songwriter in Nashville, but he is also one of the best. All you hear as an artist from songwriters is are you going to make my song a single. He was trying to make his song not a single because he believes in the artist side of it. That shows you Justin.

“This is one of my best friends in the entire world, Jordan Schmidt,” he continued. “There’s no denying his talent, the world knows it now. I was the first one who got him though, and I will always brag on that! He put out an amazing record. Same with Paul DiGiovanni who produced some on this record as well.”

In the spirit of “Drunk Me,” Tenpenny ended the celebration with, “thank you guys, thank you God, let’s go drink.”

Ashley Gorley Takes Second Week At No. 1 On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

Ashley Gorley maintains the No. 1 position on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week for the second week. Gorley was MusicRow‘s 2018 Songwriter of the Year at the CountryBreakout Awards. The 2019 Songwriter of the Year honor will be given Wednesday (Feb. 13) at the 2019 Awards.

Repeated from last week, Kevin Welch is at No. 2 and the 2019 Grammy “Best Country Song” co-writer, Shane McAnally, is at No. 3. Brett James follows at No. 4.

Bobby Pinson moves into the top five with Dierks Bentley’s “Burning Man” and Eric Church’s “Some Of It” propelling him.

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, published every week, uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital downloaded 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.