Pictured (L-R, back row): Kelsey Waldon, S.G. Goodman, Nat Myers, Sam Bush and C.J. Lewandowski; (L-R, middle row): Tanya Trotter of The War And Treaty, Martina McBride, Molly Tuttle, Chauntee Ross and Monique Ross of SistaStrings and Megan Moroney; (L-R, front row): Michael Trotter Jr. of The War And Treaty, Hailey Whitters, Billy Strings, Jessie Jo Dillon, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated the unveiling of its “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit last night (Feb. 27).

Jessie Jo Dillon, Dean Dillon and Susie Dillon at the “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit opening. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The annual exhibit takes a broad look at country music over the past year to explore musical developments, artist achievements and notable events, as determined by the museum’s curators and editorial staff.

Open now until February 2025 in the museum’s ACM Gallery, this year’s installment features a selection of artists, musicians, songwriters and initiatives that significantly influenced the genre in 2023. Those selected include Oliver Anthony, Kelsea Ballerini, Sam Bush, Tyler Childers, Luke Combs, S.G. Goodman, Nat Myers, Nickel Creek, Joy Oladokun, Jelly Roll, Allison Russell, the Broadway musical Shucked, SistaStrings, Billy Strings, Taylor Swift, Molly Tuttle, Morgan Wallen, Kelsey Waldon, The War And Treaty, Lucinda Williams and Lainey Wilson.

The “Unbroken Circle” portion of the exhibit spotlights the musical connections of creators, such as their influences or those who share their musical perspectives. Featured pairings consist of Jessie Jo Dillon and Cindy Walker, C.J. Lewandowski and Bobby Osborne, Megan Moroney and Kacey Musgraves as well as Hailey Whitters and Martina McBride.

Additionally, “American Currents: State of the Music” includes a video compilation of important country music moments from the past year, and recaps the chart-topping country albums, singles and highest-grossing tours of 2023.

In support of the opening, the museum is hosting a Songwriter Session with Waldon this Saturday (March 2) and a Musician Spotlight with Lewandowski this Sunday (March 3).

For more information, click here.

Sam Bush and Vince Gill at the “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit opening. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally at the “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit opening. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Nat Myers, S.G. Goodman and Kelsey Waldon at the “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit opening. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Monique Ross and Chauntee Ross of SistaStrings at the “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit opening. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Martina McBride and Hailey Whitters at the “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit opening. Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Amanda Roach, Jess Loper and Sally Allgeier

Red Street Records has added two new staffers, Jess Loper and Amanda Roach, and promoted Sally Allgeier.

Loper will assume the role of Vice President of A&R and Publishing for Red Street Christian. She was formerly VP of Brand Management for TobyMac’s Gotee Records and Publishing (Emack Music). After the tragic loss of former department head Don Koch, Loper joins the staff to fill the shoes of a Christian music legend.

Roach, a Long Island native and University of Central Florida grad, joins Red Street Records as Manager of Country A&R and Publishing. Roach formerly served as a Catalog Manager and A&R Coordinator at Warner Chappell Music, and now will report to Red Street’s Kelly King, Sr. Director of A&R and Publishing.

As Red Street Country’s Director of Field Promotion since 2022, Holy Cross College graduate Allgeier rises to National Director of Country Promotion. Reporting to the department’s SVP of Country Promotion Andy Elliot, Allgeier will lead the national radio strategy for the country roster.

“I couldn’t be more excited for the growth here at Red Street Records! Jess and Amanda will be fantastic additions to an already stellar team, and I’m eager to watch our very own Sally Allgeier excel in her new role. This is only the beginning for Red Street,” says Red Street Records CEO Jay DeMarcus.

“I couldn’t be more proud to elevate such a hard working, resilient team member like Sally,” says Red Street Records Owner and Chairman Dan Crockett. “She has grown tremendously in the two short years she’s been with Red Street and alongside industry powerhouse Jess Loper and rising star Amanda Roach, will be such an integral part of our continued success.”

Pictured (L-R): Kelly Sutton (Opry Announcer), Jamey Johnson, Isaac Gibson/49 Winchester, Josh Ross, Madeline Edwards, Lainey Wilson, Ella Langley, Anne Wilson and Chase Matthew. Photo: Chris Hollo

The Grand Ole Opry has revealed their next class of artists for their Opry NextStage program, presented by Tecovas. The class of 2024 includes 49 Winchester, Anne Wilson, Charles Wesley Godwin, Chase Matthew, Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Josh Ross, Madeline Edwards and Wyatt Flores.

Opry NexStage alumni Lainey Wilson and Grand Ole Opry member Jamey Johnson announced the class of 2024 at a press conference from the Grand Ole Opry house.

“I’m so honored to be announcing the Opry NextStage program class of 2024,” says Wilson “As someone who was a part of the NextStage class in 2021, this is a full circle moment for me. I am such a huge fan of all of these artists, and I can’t wait to see where their musical journeys take them this year!”

Johnson offered some advice to the artists to stay true to themselves and stay on their own path. He said, “Listen to the spirit that led you to this point tonight and don’t ever stray from it.”

Throughout the year, the nine acts will receive dedicated support from Opry Entertainment Group and Tecovas. This will include featured original content, performances and promotion across platforms.

“At Tecovas, we believe music is an essential way to tap into the true spirit of the West,” said Gillian Kennedy, CMO at Tecovas. “We are honored to help connect rising talent with new fans and be the first boot sponsor and official presenter of Opry NextStage. There is no better venue for this mission than the legendary Grand Ole Opry and we can’t wait to watch these artists showcase their craft to the world.”

After launching in 2019, the Opry NextStage program has introduced rising talent to the country music fan base. Previous members include Riley Green, Parker McCollum, Tenille Townes, Wilson, Priscilla Block, Breland, Callista Clark, Travis Denning, Tegan Marie, Niko Moon, Restless Road, Jameson Rodgers, Elvie Shane, Nate Smith, Morgan Wade, Hailey Whitters and Yola.

ASCAP delivered a record-breaking $1.737 billion in revenue in the 2023 calendar year with $1.592 billion available for royalty distributions to its members—the highest revenue and royalty distributions reported by any U.S. performing rights organization (PRO), and an increase of $204 million or 14.7 percent over the prior year.

The revenues represent an increase of $215 million or 14.1 percent over 2022. ASCAP increased the value and monetization of its members’ music with domestic revenue from U.S.-licensed performances surpassing $1.327 billion, which is an increase of $149 million or 12.6 percent over the prior year. In 2023, audio streaming revenue rose 21 percent, general licensing revenue rose 23 percent, radio revenue rose 10 percent and audio-visual revenue rose three percent. Total foreign revenues for performances outside the U.S. were $410 million, up $66 million or 19.3 percent over the prior year.

Since the launch of ASCAP’s strategic growth plan in 2015, its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for Total Revenue through 2023 has increased to seven percent, and the CAGR for Total Distributions over the same time period rose to eight percent.

Total funds available for domestic distributions of ASCAP U.S.-licensed and administered performances were $1.217 billion, an increase of $169 million or 16.1 percent, based solely on U.S. performances of works by ASCAP-licensed songwriter, composer and publisher members. Of that total, $53 million was distributed through Songwize, ASCAP’s royalty administration service provided to members who directly license their works, up 16.8 percent over 2022.

ASCAP represents and aggregates over 19 million copyrights which includes music from Beyoncé, Billy Joel, Cardi B, Dua Lipa, Garth Brooks, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Lil Baby, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mariah Carey, Olivia Rodrigo, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Usher and more.

ASCAP is the only PRO operating on a not-for-profit basis, and does not charge a commission or take a profit and instead, pursuant to its governance and operating principles, must deduct all expenses subject to a reasonable reserve and then distribute all remaining dollars as royalty distributions to its members.

ASCAP has no debt, no shareholders, no private owners and no private equity investors, meaning its music creator and publisher members are the sole beneficiaries of ASCAP’s financial success. A democratically elected Board of Directors composed of music publishers and music creators sets the royalty distribution rules and cost allocations based on follow-the-dollar principles. It is the only U.S. PRO that makes those distribution rules publicly available on its website providing transparency to its membership.

“We are delivering industry-leading technical innovation, legislative advocacy and revenue growth that solely benefits our members, not outside investors or shareholders,” says ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. “As we like to say, private equity never wrote an iconic love song which is why we fight purely for songwriters, composers and publishers, not for those who use creators and their works of art for their own profits or to secure their own debt. ASCAP differs from others because our mission and purpose is clear and unique.”

“ASCAP’s mission and not-for-profit business model are more important now than ever before, as artificial intelligence (AI) transforms the music landscape, and the need for legislative advocacy to protect creators in D.C. has never been more important,” says ASCAP Chairman of the Board & President Paul Williams. “ASCAP will always be a champion for the humans who create music and demand transparency and fair payment from those who exploit our work. ASCAP makes it possible for our songwriter and composer members to write the next song, to earn a living and to support their families. No one else in the industry has the backs of songwriters like ASCAP.”

Additionally, the PRO marked its 110th year on Feb. 13, and announced several new ASCAP family members, including songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff, pop star PinkPantheress, Jared Leto and Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars and South African singer-songwriter Tyla.

Pictured (L-R): RIAA’s Mitch Glazier, Recording Academy’s Todd Dupler, Natalie Grant, Recording Academy’s Alicia Warwick and RIAA’s Jackie Jones during ELVIS Act Advocacy Day at the Cordell Hull State Office Building. Photos: Jason Davis/Getty Images for the Recording Academy

The Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act will move forward to the final stage of State General Assembly Consideration and Governor’s Signature in Tennessee after unanimously passing the Senate and House Commerce Committees today (Feb. 27).

The ELVIS Act was introduced by Governor Bill Lee along with State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-27) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-44) last month. The major legislation updates Tennessee’s Protection of Personal Rights law, making it the first state in the nation to preserve individual voice, image and likeness against irresponsible and unethical artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of deepfakes and audio cloning, and seeks to protect the future of Tennessee creators from the harmful misuse of technology on some online platforms, including computer-generated recordings that resemble artists’ voices or deepfake videos.

The ELVIS Act advanced following personal testimonies from Christian artist-songwriters Natalie Grant and Matt Maher as well as songwriter and Evanescence founding member David Hodges. Additionally, several Human Artistry Campaign members such as Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the Recording Academy, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and SAG-AFTRA mobilized their teams and orchestrated a day of advocacy at the Tennessee State Capitol, where music creators engaged in discussions with legislators, urging them to support the passage of the ELVIS Act. Participants included Tennessee artists and songwriters, mostly based in Nashville and Memphis.

“Every day, there are new stories about deepfakes and AI-cloned voices and images that manipulates someone’s likeness without their consent. This is not just a problem that effects celebrities, this is a human problem that affects us all. As a mother of three daughters, I am terrified by how this technology has been used to exploit teenagers,” said Grant. “It’s fitting that this bill is named the ELVIS Act, because Elvis performed so many different types of songs–from love songs to the blues, from pop songs to gospel music–but he infused them with his distinct voice, likeness, and personal qualities to create something new. Every individual should have the right to control their unique God-given qualities.”

Hodges said, “In a three-minute tapestry of words and music, my gift, and my job, is to get you to laugh or cry and to remember your most cherished times in life through my songs. The ELVIS Act is the first-of-its kind legislation that will put important guardrails around artificial intelligence for music creators. The Volunteer State is where many forms of the world’s music were either born or popularized. Music is intertwined with our history, culture and economy so when technology spits out something based on ingested works created by people, something that is unauthorized, something an artist never even sang, that is wrong. Period.” He added, “As a professional songwriter, syllables matter. A single note can change a song. For artists their delivery is part of their brand. They carefully choose the songs they record and release. By adding the word ‘voice,’ the ELVIS Act modernizes current law and makes it crystal clear that unauthorized AI-generated fake recordings are subject to legal action in Tennessee.”

All of this comes as the federal bipartisan No AI Fraud federal gains traction on the heels of congressional testimonies from country artist Lainey Wilson and Recording Academy President & CEO Harvey Mason Jr. as well as nearly 300 actors, artists, musicians and songwriters co-signing these protections.