Toby Keith was awarded BMI Million-Air certificates for seven hit songs on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 30) at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in Nashville. The songs awarded totaled 23 million radio plays.

BMI executive David Preston presented Keith with the following certificates signifying the number of spins at country radio:

“How Do You Like Me Now” – 5 million performances
“Beer For My Horses”- 4 million performances
“You Ain’t Much Fun” with 4 million
“American Soldier” – 3 million performances
“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” – 3 million performances
“God Love Her” – 2 million performances
“You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This”- 2 million performances

During his remarks, Keith told the crowd, “Going into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City [in 2015] was the pinnacle reward I’ve been given. Songwriters, keep on writing songs because it’s the lifeblood of this industry and things like this can happen. Dreams can come true.”

Keith is a three time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, with Million-Air certificates for many tracks, including “I Love This Bar” and “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.”

Josh Kear picked up four MusicRow No. 1 Challenge Coins during a visit to the MusicRow office on Thursday (Aug. 25).

Since 2014, every artist and songwriter who achieves a No. 1 single on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart receives a coin.

Coins were presented for writing credits on Dierks Bentley’s “Drunk on a Plane,” Blake Shelton’s “Neon Light,” Lee Brice’s “Drinking Class,” and Lady Antebellum’s “Long Stretch of Love.”

Signed to Big Yellow Dog Music, Kear has achieved numerous hit singles over the years, including Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” and Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” as well as Tim McGraw’s “Highway Don’t Care,” Luke Bryan’s “Drunk on You” and Frankie Ballard’s “Helluva Life.”

Dustin Lynch and songwriters Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip rounded up friends, families and allies at a No. 1 party for “Mind Reader,” held Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 24) at South.

ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, BMI’s Nina Carter, Sony/ATV’s Tom Luteran and THIS Music’s Rusty Gaston all roused the crowd with startling statistics and good humor. One astonishing fact: Akins and Hayslip have written nearly a hundred major label cuts together.

Broken Bow Records’ Jon Loba, CMA’s Brandi Simms, and boisterous producer Mickey Jack Cones also praised the men of the hour during the party. A representative from Avenue Bank was unable to attend but a charitable donation was given to the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee.

Hayslip thanked his wife for sticking with him before the hits started rolling in, then pointed out his kids in the audience. After thanking Gaston for giving him a publishing deal 10 years ago, Hayslip reminisced about signing the agreement when one of his kids was just about to be born. “He doesn’t know Daddy without hits,” Hayslip said about his 10-year-old. “That’s his pickup line at school: ‘My Daddy wrote that.’”

Hayslip profusely thanked his friends at THIS Music, Warner/Chappell, Sony/ATV Music, Broken Bow Records and ASCAP. Speaking about Lynch and Cones, he added, “You guys are a good team. You all are doing something and making history in country music right now. I hope you guys stay together. It’s a good combination.”

Wrapping things up, he spoke about his longtime friendship with Akins.

“From two kids writing songs in the outfield of a baseball field in Valdosta, Georgia, to all these hit songs, relationships with all these artists like Dustin, to opening up 20,000-people tours on Luke Bryan’s Farm Tour… two guys just started out sitting on a bed playing guitar and playing Hank Jr. I don’t we got here, but we did.”

Akins continued that thread during his time at the podium, noting, “I don’t know how we continue to do this. I had no idea we had close to a hundred cuts together. If you could hear our songs we wrote in 1983, you wouldn’t think that would happen!”

He thanked Lynch, Cones, BBR Music Group CEO Benny Brown, BBR Music Group Executive Vice President Jon Loba, and Broken Bow Records VP /Promotion Lee Adams, as well as friends at Sony/ATV, BMI, and his mother, who was in attendance.

Akins concluded, “It’s cool to get in a room every Wednesday, or two or three times a week, with Ben and we have absolutely nothing. We say, ‘What are we going to write today? Well, let’s go eat and we’ll figure it out.’ We really don’t even get started until 2 o’clock but we always come up with something. I guess just because we grew up together the same way and speak the same language. We just have a thing, and thank y’all for letting us have that thing.”

With his parents proudly looking on, Lynch addressed the audience by first thanking his comrades at William Morris Endeavor, his band and crew, and his publicist and marketing team for raising his profile and trying new things on digital platforms.

After thanking his label, Lynch continued, “I want to take a moment to let everybody know what’s about to happen. This next album, I’m so fired up about it and we’re not even halfway done with it. It’s gonna be a big, big moment, so thank you guys for letting me be creative and letting me stretch my wings.”

Lynch told the audience that his first show in Nashville was in this very building, when it was known as Two Doors Down. He went on to say that “Mind Reader” was a song he’s wanted to record for a while, but just wanted the timing to be right.

“There’s a weird magic in Nashville that happens with songs that end up with whatever artist,” he said. “There are songs that I wanted to cut that I didn’t cut, then someone else had success with. And there’s probably a reason for that. I know I wasn’t the only artist that wanted to record ‘Mind Reader,’ so thank you guys for believing in me. And whatever weird magic is going around, thank you to the magic.”

 

For three years straight, Lee Brice has notched a No. 1 song on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart. To commemorate the achievement, the Curb Records artist dropped by the MusicRow office on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 23) to meet the staff and personally accept three MusicRow No. 1 Challenge Coins.

Since 2014, every artist and songwriter who earns a No. 1 single on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart earns a MusicRow Challenge Coin.

Brice’s chart-topping hits include: “I Don’t Dance” (July 31, 2014); “Drinking Class” (Feb. 5, 2015); and “That Don’t Sound Like You” (March 3, 2016).

He is currently working on a new album. His latest single, “A Little More Love,” is a duet with good friend and labelmate Jerrod Niemann.