Pictured (Front Row, L-R): Wendi Crosby York, VP of Publishing Admin.; Josh London; Tina Crawford, VP. (Back Row, L-R): Frank Reynolds, Copyright Admin. Asst.; Chandler Thurston, A&R Coord.; Bob Doyle, CEO/President.

Major Bob Music has added singer/songwriter Josh London to an exclusive worldwide songwriting deal. London is a Kentucky native living in Nashville.

“Josh is an amazing singer/songwriter and we are thrilled to welcome Josh to the Major Bob family. We are excited to be working with him and continuing to build his brand,” said Tina Crawford, VP at Major Bob Music.

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Paul Overstreet will be honored in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s songwriter series Poets and Prophets on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 1:30 p.m. An in-depth interview hosted by museum editor Michael Gray will be illustrated with rare vintage photos, film footage and recordings from Overstreet’s career. Overstreet will also perform a few of his compositions.

Raised in Mississippi, Overstreet moved to Nashville in 1973 and had his first hit in 1982 with George Jones’ “Same Ole Me,” which climbed to No. 5 on the country chart. Overstreet became a chief source of material for Randy Travis, and by the end of the 1980s Travis had topped the charts with “On the Other Hand,” “Diggin’ Up Bones,” “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Deeper than the Holler.” Overstreet went on to write dozens of other hits, including “When You Say Nothing at All” (Keith Whitley, followed by Alison Krauss), “Love Can Build a Bridge” (the Judds), “A Long Line of Love” (Michael Martin Murphey) and “Some Beach” (Blake Shelton).

Overstreet also has had a career as an artist, with No. 1 hits “I Won’t Take Less than Your Love” and “Daddy’s Come Around.” In addition to Grammy awards for “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Love Can Build a Bridge,” Overstreet has received numerous CMA, ACM and Dove Awards. He was BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year every year from 1987 to 1991.

The Poets and Prophets program is included with museum admission and free to museum members. Seating is limited, and passes are required for admittance. Museum members can reserve program passes in advance by phone (615-416-2050) or via [email protected]. The program will be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming.

Top Row (L-R): Alison Junker (WC), Will Overton (WC), Matt Michiels (WC), Ben Vaughn (WC), Jon Platt (WC), Rhett Akins, Jess Rosen (Greenberg Traurig LLP), Leslie Roberts (BMI), Steve Butler (WC), Travis Carter (WC), Phil May (WC), Phil Graham (BMI).
Bottom Row (L-R): Lisa Boullt, Alicia Pruitt (WC), Jessi Vaughn (WC).

Rhett Akins has entered a worldwide publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music.

The two-time BMI songwriter of the year will resume working with Warner/Chappell’s Ben Vaughn (EVP, Warner/Chappell Nashville) and Jon Platt (Chairman & CEO, Warner/Chappell Music), who worked with Akins while at EMI Publishing.

Effective immediately, Warner/Chappell will publish Akins’ future work as well as select catalog.

Akins’ recent hits include No. 1 songs “Huntin’, Fishin’, & Lovin’ Everyday” with Luke Bryan, “Mindreader” with Dustin Lynch, and the most added song at country radio last week, “Dirt On My Boots” with Jon Pardi.

“I’m extremely proud and excited to work with the Warner/Chappell family,” said Akins. “I’ve had a long and successful relationship with Ben Vaughn and Jon Platt, and I can’t wait to continue my career with their talented team.”

“Rhett recently celebrated his 24th No. 1 song, which is an astounding achievement,” said Vaughn. “He lives and breathes songwriting—co-writers love working with him and so many artists call him a friend and mentor—and I speak for the entire Warner/Chappell team when I say how thrilled we are to be working with such a special songwriter and his incredible body of work.”

Akins is the recipient of 29 BMI Awards and was named BMI Songwriter of the Year in 2011 and 2014. His songs have been awarded BMI Song of the Year (2011 and 2012) and ASCAP Song of the Year (2012 and 2014), and Akins has received the Triple Play Award five times for having three No.1 singles in a 12-month period.

On Wednesday night (Sept. 21), Warner/Chappell Nashville and BMI co-hosted a dinner to celebrate Akins’ illustrious songwriting career, which includes a whopping 24 No.1 songs. The dinner was attended by Akins, Warner/Chappell and BMI staff, and Rhett’s attorney, Jess Rosen of Greenberg Traurig LLP.

Beyond his success as a recording artist with hits like “That Ain’t My Truck” and “Don’t Get Me Started,” Akins has written for many other artists, often as one-third of The Peach Pickers, a songwriting team that also includes Ben Hayslip and Dallas Davidson.

Akins has written songs for many country artists, including Blake Shelton, William Michael Morgan, Tyler Farr, Brantley Gilbert, and others, including Akins’ own son, singer-songwriter Thomas Rhett.

Jaron Boyer

peermusic Nashville has extended its exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with songwriter Jaron Boyer.

Boyer currently has three cuts on Jason Aldean’s album They Don’t Know, including the title track, “When the Lights Go Out,” and “First Time Again” featuring Kelsea Ballerini. “First Time Again” was co-written with fellow peermusic songwriter Michael Tyler, while They Don’t Know was also produced by peermusic Nashville executive Michael Knox.

“Jaron is well on his way to becoming one of Nashville’s go-to songwriters,” said Knox. “It’s amazing to watch him do his thing, bringing a fresh perspective each time, and the Nashville music community is taking notice of that.”

“I am excited to announce that after three amazing years, I have chosen to re-sign with peermusic,” said Boyer. “It has been more than a privilege to work under Michael Knox and Kim Wiggins. Knox is not only a leader in the industry, both as a producer and publisher, but he has been an invaluable mentor to me as well, inspiring and pushing me to reach my fullest potential as a writer. Everyone at peermusic feels like family to me and I couldn’t feel more blessed to have the opportunity to continue this journey with them.”

Boyer signed with peermusic Nashville in 2013. He recently notched a three-week No. 1 hit as a co-writer on Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere on a Beach.” Othercuts penned by Boyer include “Riot” (Rascal Flatts), “Hell of a Night” (Dustin Lynch), and “Flatliner,” (Cole Swindell ft. Dierks Bentley).