Sally D’Avanzo. Photo: Courtesy of Farris, Self & Moore

Business management firm Farris, Self & Moore has promoted longtime employee Sally D’Avanzo from Client Manager to Associate Business Manager.

D’Avanzo has been with FSM from the beginning, starting out as an office administrator just out of college. An Atlanta native, she graduated from The University of Georgia in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Risk Management and a certificate in Music Business. While at UGA, she interned for New West Records, Widespread Panic’s Management and Baby Robot Media. D’Avanzo can be reached at sally@fsmnash.com.

“Sally has been an asset to our team at FSM since day one, and her drive, knowledge and care for our clients and staff has helped elevate her to Associate Business Manager in 2025,” says Catherine Moore, Partner. “Sally encompasses the FSM values of all in, boutique, authentic and innovative and she continues to exude those values whether it’s working with clients or mentoring staff. I am excited to see where this year takes our team as she steps into this new role!”

Farris, Self & Moore is also celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year.

“Ten years ago, we opened our doors not knowing what was ahead,” says Partner Stephanie Self of the anniversary. “We set our mission statement: To be a boutique business management and financial planning company that provides the highest level of service to songwriters and entertainers. Our core values: Family/Boutique (anything but corporate, to have a style of our own); Innovative (constant but never standing still); Authentic (delivering what we promise); All In (determined advocates). And ten years in, those statements could not be more true. We have an outstanding team that works tirelessly and with endless integrity for our clients, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for FSM.”

Pictured (L–R, back row): Bridget Buchholz, Lauren Klein, Alexis Donn, Rachel Mangan and Jessica Hamorsky; (L–R, front row): Annissa Allen-Gore, Kelsey Roche, Mackenzie Adkins, Megan Astri and Beka Bishop

The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) has announced its 2025 Board of Directors, Board of Officers and new members.

The WMBA Board of Directors focuses on governance and long-term strategy for the organization. This year’s Board of Directors will be led by Chairwoman Amery Fridenstine (Above Board Consulting), Sheree Spoltore (Global Songwriters Connection), Jensen Sussman (Sweet Talk Publicity) and Christy Walker-Watkins (AristoPR). Brandi Simms (MooTV/Moo Creative/The Steel Mill) will continue as Board of Directors Emeritus, and Lauren Spahn (Buchalter) will serve as Legal Counsel.

Tasked with implementing the strategies and ensuring efficient day-to-day operations, the Board of Officers is elected by WMBA members and reports to the Board of Directors. The 2025 Officers consist of President Mackenzie Adkins (Rhonda & Co.), Vice President Megan Astri (Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum), Secretary Rachel Mangan (Lewis Brisbois), Treasurer Kelsey Roche (FBMM), Events & Education Co-Chairs Beka Bishop and Bridget Buchholz, Marketing Co-Chairs Lauren Klein and Alexis Donn, Membership Chair Jessica Hamorsky, and Community Outreach Co-Chairs Annissa Allen-Gore and Lucki Price.

This year’s class of new members includes Alexa Pressman (Stage Right Capital), Alexes Aiken (Westwood One), Alyssa Murphy (FBMM), Alyssa Ramsey (Play It Again Music), Anastasia Elliot (Anastasia Music, LLC), Ania Diallo (Recording Academy), Anna Filipic (FBMM), Anna Scott (Walk Off Entertainment), Annabella Gelmetti (Nashville Symphony/Graphite Publishing), Annie Scherer (Warner Music Group), Ashley Dax (iHeartRadio/The Grand Ole Opry), Cameron Rowe (Q Prime), Candace Fox (Journey Risk True), Cicely McDowell (Level Group Ltd.), Courtney A. Taylor (237 Global/One More Time VIP), Delaney Loughran (Academy of Country Music), Dezha Sexton, Donna Duncan (CMT/Paramount), Emma Gibby (Outback Presents), Erin Moorman (Syntax Creative), Eryn Cooper (Opry Entertainment Group/WSM Radio), Heather Howard (Academy of Country Music), Heather Rowntree (Northstar Artists), Heather Vaughn (FBMM), Jada Star Roberts (Dolly Parton Enterprises), Jada Wilson (Warner Music Nashville), Jessica Bloom (Warner Music Group), Jessica Mayts (Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum), Jordyn Newma (FBMM), Kate Cheyne (FBMM), Katie Neal (Audacy), Kayla Ott (The MLC), Kirstie Kraus (Kraus House of Entertainment), Kyra Tillotson (Fort Nash/Walk Off Entertainment), Leigh Cara (Venture Music), Liz Mayo (The MLC), Megan Schultz (Riser House Entertainment), Melissa Goldberg (CMT), Olivia Dahlstrom (WHY&HOW), Rachel Glidden (Courage Music), Rae Leigh (Rae Leigh Music/Songwriter Trysts), Rhiannon Ferronetti (WHY&HOW), Sam Bogle (Red Phoenix Events/Cam Bogle Management), Samantha DeSpirito (BMG), Sarah Irwin (Outback Presents), Shana Melissa Saunders (UMG Nashville), Shannon Lawrence (Warner Music Group), Shelby Landry (Outback Presents), Tatia Rose (RMG Inc./Nashville Music Academy) and Tess Schoonhoven (Venture Music).

WMBA’s first membership meeting of 2025 will take place next week at the Academy of Country Music headquarters.

Jeff Perkins

Soundstripe, the music licensing technology company, has appointed Jeff Perkins as the company’s new CEO.

Current Co-CEO and co-founder Travis Terrell will transition into the role of President. He will focus on further strengthening Soundstripe’s music business and leading its business development team to secure rightsholder and other strategic partnerships. Co-founder and Co-CEO Micah Sannan will shift to an advisory role, supporting Perkins, while co-founder Trevor Hinesley will remain CTO.

Perkins joins the company with a background in marketing and experience in the New York ad industry at notable agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi and Havas. He has led several companies to profitable growth, most recently as CEO of ParkMobile, where he helped increase revenue by more than 230% during his tenure.

Soundstripe now serves over 1,000 enterprise companies and more than one million individual content creators. Designed specifically for use in sync, its curated catalog now features over 15,000 songs selected to meet the unique needs of filmmakers, marketers and creators across a wide range of projects. The company recently launched its AI-powered Song Editing tool, which empowers creators to customize tracks for their projects. Additionally, Soundstripe reached a milestone of $13.2 million in all-time payouts to artists.

Perkins joins as Soundstripe prepares to launch an innovative new click-to-license music solution later this year.

“As co-founders, we are thrilled to welcome Jeff to our team,” says Terrell, co-founder of Soundstripe. “He has proven himself a highly effective leader with experience scaling businesses that cater to both large enterprises and individual users. We know Jeff is the right person at the right time to lead Soundstripe into our next stage of growth.”

“I am very excited to join the Soundstripe team,” shares Perkins. “Our founders, Travis, Micah and Trevor, have built an incredible company that combines the highest quality music with an innovative AI-powered platform that solves a major problem in the industry. I look forward to working with this talented team as we continue to expand our business and provide creators with the best music and technology solutions available on the market.”

Wyatt Flores. Photo: Natalie Rhea

Wyatt Flores will continue his “Welcome Back To The Plains Tour” through the spring.

The tour will include stops in St. Petersburg, Memphis, New Orleans, Charlottesville, St. Louis and more. Tickets for the new dates will be available for pre-sale starting today (Jan. 14) at with general on-sale following Friday (Jan. 17).

The upcoming shows add to a breakout year for Flores, who released his full-length debut album, Welcome to the Plains, this past fall and was recently featured as part of NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk Concert” series, made his late-night TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performed on CBS Saturday Morning last month and spoke with NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The burgeoning artist has garnered over 325 million streams to date.

Keith Urban

Keith Urban is adding a Canadian leg to his “High And Alive World Tour.” 

Urban will be firing up eight shows in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and more through Sept. 20 featuring special guests Chase Matthew, Alana Springsteen and Karley Scott Collins.

“Playing live is what I live to do,” says Urban. “Looking out from a stage and seeing people singing, forgetting about all the stress in their lives, cutting loose, and feeling ALIVE—that’s what it’s about for me. Lots of hits, new songs, things we won’t even think about until we’re onstage—and loads of guitar. We’re gonna make this tour the best night of your life!”

Urban will no doubt play many of his 25 Canadian No. 1 hits, including “Long Hot Summer,” “Days Go By,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Somewhere In My Car,” “The Fighter,” “Wasted Time,” “Somebody Like You,” “One Too Many,” as well as new songs from his just-released 11th studio album High.

June 21 – Toronto – Budweiser Stage
September 10 – Vancouver – Rogers Arena
September 12 – Calgary – Scotiabank Saddledome
September 13 – Regina – Brandt Centre
September 15 – Saskatoon – SaskTel Centre
September 16 – Winnipeg – Canada Life Centre
September 19 – Montreal – Bell Centre
September 20 – Ottawa – Canadian Tire Centre