BMI Honors Tim James with Three Million-Air Awards

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Leslie Roberts and Bradley Collins with BMI singer-songwriter Tim James and BMI’s MaryAnn Keen and Josh Tomlinson.

BMI singer-songwriter Tim James stopped by the company’s Nashville office to celebrate airplay milestones of three of his songs, including “Give It All We Got Tonight,” “Love Like Crazy” and “Holler Back,” which were all awarded BMI Million-Air certificates.

Fun fact: For the average song, a million spins is the equivalent of playing the song back-to-back for about six years.

Downtown Music Publishing Nashville Promotes Danny Berrios

Danny Berrios

Danny Berrios has been promoted to Director, A&R at Downtown Music Publishing’s Nashville office. In his new role, Berrios will continue to serve the company’s Nashville roster while functioning as the liaison between the Nashville office and the company’s creative counterparts worldwide. Berrios was previously Manager, A&R for Downtown Music Nashville. Prior to his work with Downtown, he began his career in publishing at EMI CMG Publishing in 2011.

Berrios has worked closely with songwriters Marc Beeson, Sara Haze, Jillian Jacqueline, Kelly Archer, Andy Albert, Kendell Marvel, Sam Ashworth, and Tony Esterly, among several others. He has been an essential part of writer signings in the company’s Nashville, Los Angeles, New York, and London offices and has helped to create opportunities for Downtown’s writers in multiple genres as well as in the sync world.

“Danny has played a major role in the startup of Downtown Music Nashville,” says Steve Markland, VP A&R for Downtown Music Nashville. “His knowledge of the music business as well as his understanding for all genres of music makes him invaluable to our existence here in Nashville as well as Downtown worldwide. We are very fortunate to have Danny on our team.”

Berrios is an alumnus of Belmont University.

Sony/ATV Updates SCORE Royalty Portal With Access To Real-Time Data

Sony/ATV has upgraded its royalty portal SCORE, now providing writers real-time access to their current royalty account with account information that is constantly updated.

Detailed data about current earnings is available alongside an overview of historic earnings information that can be searched and organized by song title, income source, time period and territory. Another new feature, SCORECARD, has been added to the service which uses a graphic interface to offer an up-to-date, top-view summary of royalties for both current and historic periods. Through SCORECARD, writers can also access in-depth information about their earnings in specific detail.

Future plans for the system include a SCORE app, which will greatly improve the experience of using the portal on a smart phone or tablet and conveniently provide writers with current information on their devices.

“As the world’s No. 1 music publisher, Sony/ATV prides itself on providing our songwriters and their teams an unsurpassed level of transparency and service with highly detailed royalty information,” said Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier. “Additionally, within the next few months we will unveil the complementary SCORE app, further providing them with an unrivaled and groundbreaking insight into both their historic and current period royalties.”

“The new changes are amazing,” added songwriter Tom Douglas. “The ability to see current earnings almost in real time is so helpful. The historical data provides a great snapshot as it relates to my royalties and I particularly love the ‘Song Summary’ tab. The creative relationship with a publisher is obviously critical, but maybe the most under-appreciated part of one’s relationship with the publisher is royalty and accounting.”

Industry Ink: Warner/Chappell, CTM Writer’s INK, T.J. Martell Foundation, SSM Nashville

Warner/Chappell, CTM Writer’s Ink Sign Jimi Bell

Pictured, back row (L-R): Matt Michiels (W/C), Alison Junker (W/C), BJ Hill (W/C), Travis Carter (W/C), Eddie Robba (CTM Writer’s INK), Brandon Perdue (CTM Writer’s INK).
Front row (L-R): Alicia Pruitt (W/C), Chris Poole (CTM Writer’s INK), Jimi Bell, Will Overton (W/C)

Jimi Bell has signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell and CTM Writer’s INK. The Hawkinsville, Georgia native moved to Nashville in 2014 to pursue a career as a songwriter/producer.

 

T.J. Martell Foundation Young Professionals Council Stands Up To Cancer, AIDS

Team APA races to victory at the Downtown Derby Bed Race. Photo: Alex Berger Photography

 

The T.J. Martell Foundation Young Professionals Council raised more than $90,000 for leukemia, cancer and AIDS research at the second annual Downtown Derby Bed Race, held in Nashville on Saturday, May 6. Twenty teams participated in a race up 5th Avenue to Bridgestone Plaza from companies such as APA, CAA, UTA, WME, Warner Music Nashville, Opry Entertainment, Margaritaville, Tin Roof, Jim ‘N Nicks, Omni Hotel, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and more. Team APA won the race with a record-setting time for the second year in a row. Awards were also presented for “Best Decorated,” “Best in Spirit” and The “Shining Star” award, presented to the individual who raised the most money through online fundraising.

“The T.J. Martell Foundation Young Professionals sought to build upon the scope, enthusiasm, and fundraising of our inaugural Downtown Derby Bed Race last year, and I’m proud to say that we succeeded beyond our own expectations,” said Justin Cahill, co-chair of the Young Professionals Council. “This year’s event raised over $90,000 for the T.J. Martell Foundation, and we experienced the full embrace of the Nashville community. This felt like the year that the Downtown Derby established itself as an exciting and unique event in the growing Nashville landscape, and we can’t wait to come back with more in 2018.”

Co-chair Nick Garvin added, “We are so thankful for all of the sponsors and teams who helped us surpass last year’s fundraising total. Every member of our board takes great honor in playing our part with the T.J. Martell Foundation’s vision to Put Cancer To Bed.”

SSM Nashville Records Signs A.C. Jones

A.C. Jones has signed with independent country label, SSM Nashville Records. She joins a growing roster including Branch and Dean, Alexandra Demetree, Redhead Express and Wes Hayden.
Jones, an Ohio native, was given the choice to pursue a career in biochemistry with a full ride scholarship, or concentrate on her music. Ultimately, she chose her music and will release a single to country radio later this year.
“Our format needs this quality of vocals and true showmanship that AC brings,” label President Patti Olsen-Garafola said. “Her depth of vocal talent is unparalleled.”

Industry Ink: BMI, Keith Stegall, Writer’s Den Music Group, K-LOVE Fan Awards

Keith Stegall Honored With BMI’s Million-Air Awards

Pictured: BMI’s Jody Williams, BMI songwriter Keith Stegall and BMI’s David Preston. Photo: Steve Lowry

BMI’s Jody Williams and David Preston dropped by BMI songwriter Keith Stegall’s home to present the decorated songwriter with two more Million-Air Awards. Marking the milestone of millions of radio air plays, Stegall was presented with designations for one million plays of “Sexy Eyes” and five million plays of “Don’t Rock The Jukebox.”

 

Writer’s Den Music Group Signs Noel McKay

Pictured (L-R, back row): Bobby Rymer, Writer’s Den; Shannan Hatch, SESAC; Sarah Feldman, Writer’s Den. (Front row): Noel McKay

Bobby Rymer and Sarah Feldman of Writer’s Den Music Group are pleased to announce the signing of writer/artist Noel McKay to a worldwide publishing agreement. Writer’s Den recently signed McKay’s fellow High Plains Jamboree member Brennen Leigh.

“So many of my established music business and songwriter friends have told me Writer’s Den is one of the good ones. The enthusiasm for great songs is contagious. I’m extremely happy to be writing for them.” says McKay.

Rymer said, “I was already a fan of Noel, but I knew we wanted to work with him after asking him where an idea for a song came from and he responded”, “The music business is fraught with people with emotional problems. That’s where.”

 

K-LOVE Fan Awards Coming To Select Theaters Nationwide

The fan-voted K-LOVE Fan Awards will be broadcast for the first time on the big screen as The K-LOVE Fan Awards: Ignite Hope will be shown in select movie theaters nationwide on Tuesday, June 13 at 7 p.m. local time.

The awards, hosted Matthew West and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, will take place May 28 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. Artists attending will include Danny Gokey, Jeremy Camp, Britt Nicole, Matthew West, Jesus Culture, Crowder, Mandisa, MercyMe, for King & Country, and more.

Tickets for The K-LOVE Fan Awards: Ignite Hope can be purchased online by visiting FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 500 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Exclusive: Key West Songwriters Festival Celebrates 22 Years

Natalie Hemby performs at San Carlos Theater during Key West Songwriters Festival

Today, numerous singer-songwriters descend on Key West to celebrate the 22nd annual Key West Songwriters Festival.

A massive lineup that includes Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Cam, Lauren Alaina, Shawn Camp, William Michael Morgan, Michael Ray, Luke Combs, Aaron Watson, Steve Cropper and Robert Earl Keen play alongside a party of Nashville luminaries and rising writers. The five-day festival, slated for May 10-14, will feature more than 50 free shows at various venues around the area, incorporating performances from more than 200 songwriters.

Key West Songwriters Festival founder Charlie Bauer has been managing venues in Key West since 1988, when he opened Hog’s Breath Saloon. The venue featured three shows a day, featuring singer-songwriters. A struggling songwriter presented him with the idea of offering performing rights organizations the chance to bring writers to Key West to play shows. Key West Songwriters Festival’s first year came in 1995, and featured six songwriters, including Shel Silverstein and Mickey Newbury.

Performing rights organization BMI stepped in as a partner and sponsor in 1996, helping to grow the festival into one of the country’s most unique songwriter festivals.

“At the time Mark Mason was with BMI and he offered for me to come back to Nashville with him, to introduce me to publishers and really crank it up to the next level,” Bauer recalls. “I was also booking songwriters to play the Hog’s Breath, so I was well-received in Nashville. I had a bar in Key West where songwriters could come down and play some of their original stuff and kind of get feedback on their original music and make some money too, so I was pretty popular when I came up to Nashville.”

Though the festival has attracted top artists over the past two decades, Bauer says the emphasis is still on the songwriters, and that the event’s growth has been organic.

“If you follow the chronologic lineups of our show over the years, a lot of the major artists were down here performing as singer-songwriters either on their own or with publishers. Everybody from Lee Brice to Randy Houser to Florida Georgia Line to Maren [Morris] and Kacey [Musgraves], all these people were down here sometimes four or five years in a row. Almost all of them have been down here performing. Our alumni is pretty much everyone who has been around the past 25 years or so.

Wendell Mobley performs at Sloppy Joe’s during Key West Songwriters Festival.

“We want the singer-songwriters here. We don’t try to get the big name acts. What has happened is a lot of them became big name acts and it’s cool that they will still come down, because they are not getting paid for these shows.”

Bauer says 90 percent of the festival is made of free concerts. Additionally, there are seven larger theater shows throughout the event. Each day will feature music at venues including Pier House Resort Beach, Sloppy Joe’s, Green Parrot Bar, and special events including the NSAI “Bluebird at Blue Heaven” show and the closing concert at Casa Marina Resort.

“It’s one of the few festivals where you can see so much free music. I’ve tried to keep it as a local event. I get a lot of tempting offers for people to come in and have outside vendors for food and other things, but we try to keep it local for local businesses.”

As word of Key West Songwriters Festival has spread over the past several years, Bauer says the festival has continually attracted more of Nashville’s music industry.

“It used to be kind of a way for writers to get away from Nashville to have some more fun, and now the industry’s kind of followed them down here.”

Charlie Feldman (BMI), Robert Earl Keen, and Charlie Bauer.

As country music and Nashville’s songwriters have incorporated various musical styles into their work over the past several years, so has the Key West Songwriters Festival. “We are following along with the lead that country music is heading. There’s a lot of pop involved and a lot of Nashville writers are not necessarily country writers. They go there to co-write and to work on their craft. When they come down to the festival, it’s fun to hear them perform songs that you wouldn’t necessarily hear on the country station, and maybe not on radio at all. It’s fun to let them cut loose and hear them play stuff they have written.”

Given the long-running popularity of Key West Songwriters Festival, Bauer says he is considering launching a new festival in late 2017 or early 2018.

“We are thinking of going a little more pop-oriented, and there is a lot of Latin influence here, too. Some of those performers are coming down from Miami and LA, too, and mixing up the genres a bit. “

Proceeds from the Key West Songwriters Festival will benefit the BMI Foundation, which supports creation, performance, and study of music via awards, scholarships, grants and commissions.

Bob DiPiero, Robert Earl Keen, Charlie Worsham

Warner/Chappell Production Music Names Director Of Licensing

Steve Swenson

Warner/Chappell Production Music has appointed Steve Swenson as Director of Licensing. In this role, Swenson will focus on developing the company’s licensing reach in sports, broadcast and corporate markets, and he will be based in Tampa, Florida.

Swenson joins Warner/Chappell Production Music from HSN, where he oversaw audio strategy.

He can be reached at steve.swenson@warnerchappellpm.com.

Corey Kent White Joins Warner/Chappell Roster

Pictured (Front row, L-R): Alicia Pruitt (WC), Corey Kent White, Ben Vaughn (WC). Pictured (Back row, L-R): Will Overton (WC), Alison Junker (WC), Matt Michiels (WC), Jessi Vaughn (WC)

Corey Kent White has signed a publishing agreement with Warner/Chappell. The Oklahoma singer/songwriter has opened for Willie Nelson, Lee Brice, Toby Keith, and Chris Janson, and was a top 8 finalist on NBC’s The Voice. In 2016 he released his EP Long Way.

 

Daniel Lee Promoted To VP, Creative At BMG Nashville

Daniel Lee

BMG has elevated Daniel Lee to VP Creative, BMG Nashville. Overseeing a roster of domestic and international hit songwriters, Lee will continue to report to Kos Weaver, EVP BMG Nashville.

Involved in music publishing since relocating to Nashville in 2005, Lee joined BMG in early 2012. His focus will continue to be on acquiring and developing talent, along with creating opportunities in the marketplace for BMG songwriters including Hillary Lindsey, busbee, Brett Beavers, Jim McCormick, Dave Barnes, and Jonny Price, as well as signed artists Clare Dunn and Carly Pearce.

During his tenure at BMG, Lee’s roster of writers and producers have been nominated for five Grammy Awards, 10 ACM Awards, and 10 CMA Awards. In addition, his BMG songwriters have accumulated over a dozen No. 1 singles, securing a number of high profile song placements and singles with artists ranging from Lady Gaga, P!nk, and Hailee Steinfeld to Keith Urban, Maren Morris, Carrie Underwood, and Thomas Rhett.

Weaver commented, “Daniel is one of the most effective music executives I have ever had the pleasure to work with. His gift of nurturing the talent of songwriters and songwriter artists has yielded an impressive string of successes that have meant a great deal to our overall accomplishments. This promotion is well-deserved.”

Disney Music Group, Patrick Joseph Music Renew Deal With Songwriter Melissa Peirce

Pictured (L-R): Bradley Collins, Executive Director, Writer/Publisher Relations, BMI; Ciara Shortridge, A&R Representative, Disney Music Group Nashville; Leslie Roberts, Executive Director, Writer/Publisher Relations, BMI; Melissa Peirce; Pat Higdon, President/Owner, Patrick Joseph Music; Austen Adams, Dickinson Wright PLLC

Disney Music Group and Patrick Joseph Music have renewed their publishing deal with songwriter Melissa Peirce.

“I am very happy and excited to continue the roll that Disney, Pat Higdon and I are on together,” Peirce says. “It’s been a wonderful publishing home for the last five years and I look forward to continuing the relationship and success we’ve built together for the years to come.”

In addition to her No. 1 hit single “A Guy Walks Into A Bar,” recorded by Tyler Farr, Peirce co-wrote “Hurt” on Lady Antebellum’s upcoming Heart Break album, and has had her songs recorded by Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Reba, Hunter Hayes, David Nail (“Red Light”), Lindsey Ell, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Holt and several songs for Disney projects, including an original song that will play during Walt Disney World’s iconic fireworks spectacular, “Happily Ever After” to debut May 12.