Samantha Thornton. Photo: Nicola Harger

G Major Management has elevated Samantha Thornton, a ten-year veteran of the company, to Director of Marketing and Digital Partnerships.

In her new role, Thornton will handle marketing and digital relationships with partners including Amazon, Apple, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube for all G Major clients, including Thomas Rhett.

“Samantha is an integral asset to our management team. I have had the honor of working with her over the past ten years—since her graduation from Belmont University,” shares G Major founder, Virginia Bunetta. “Throughout her time with G Major, she has worked on nearly every aspect of an artist’s career from new artist development to touring to album releases. Her new role expands her growth as our industry continues to evolve.”

Thornton is a CMA and ACM member who volunteers her time working as an advocate for Kids on Stage Foundation to bring performing arts to kids in public education across Middle Tennessee. The cause is a personal one for her as she benefited from the program herself growing up in Columbia, Tennessee.

Congratulate Thornton at [email protected].

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) recently welcomed its 2022 Board of Directors, including newly elected member Jamie Moore, who began his two-year term.

Jamie Moore. Photo: Chris Hornbuckle

Moore is a four-time Grammy nominated songwriter and producer from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. A multi-instrumentalist, he came to Nashville and quickly began rising to the top of Nashville’s songwriting community. He has a catalog of multi-genre hits and songs recorded by artists such as Carrie Underwood, Toby Mac, Chris Lane, Bren Joy, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw and Morgan Wallen. In 2016, he experienced his first No. 1 with Florida Georgia Line’s “May We All,” and in 2020 had his second No. 1 with Wallen’s “Chasin’ You.”

Current board members who were re-elected to an additional two-year term include Steve Bogard, Jeff Cohen, Chris DeStefano, J.T. Harding, Byron Hill, Josh Kear, Jon Nite, Liz Rose, Jenn Schott and Emily Shackelton. Roger Brown and Lee Thomas Miller were re-elected to one-year terms as Legislative Co-Chairs, Rhett Akins and Caitlyn Smith were re-elected to one-year terms to the Artist Writer board positions, and Brett James was re-elected to a one-year term to the Industry Liaison position.

They are joined by existing board members Kelly Archer, Sarah Buxton, Corey Crowder, Jessie Jo Dillon, Tim Nichols, Josh Osborne, Rivers Rutherford, Anthony Smith, Sharon Vaughn, Laura Veltz and Troy Verges, who all have one year remaining on their term.

“We want to thank these 27 incredible songwriters for their time and commitment to NSAI’s mission,” says Bogard, NSAI Board President. “There are many challenges still ahead in order for American songwriters to achieve fair compensation in the era of the digital delivery of music. This group has offered their time and talents to move this work forward.”

Chris Fabiani

Warner Music Nashville has elevated Chris Fabiani to National Director, Radio. He fills the vacancy left by Anna Cage, who rose to VP Radio earlier this year. Fabiani previously served as Regional Manager for the south on team WEA.

Fabiani served as Director of Promotion and Artist Engagement at Universal Music Group until 2020. He spent more than a decade with UMG, including six years as Director of Midwest Promotion at EMI.

“Fabs has always approached record promotion with a holistic marketing perspective, which is something that is becoming increasingly more valuable in today’s radio landscape,” Cage notes. “We can’t wait for him to get started in this new role!”

Ray Mariner, currently covering the west, will transition into Fabiani’s former role. Additional radio department hires will be announced in the coming weeks.

Elle King and Miranda Lambert‘s Grammy-nominated single “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” has reached No. 1 on both Billboard’s Country Airplay and the Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts.

The Platinum-certified track topping the charts marks the first time a female duet has reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ “Does He Love You” in 1993. It also makes King and Lambert the second female duet to top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart since its creation in 1990.

“’Drunk’ is number 1! Elle is one of my favorite artists and one of my favorite people to be around. I am proud to call her my friend and I’m so glad she asked me to do song this song with her,” Lambert shares. “The fact that a duet by two women hasn’t been a No. 1 in country music since 1993 is crazy to me. So that we got here today means even more because it’s bigger than us. Thanks Reba and Linda for paving the way. Elle King, I love you and your spirit. Thanks to everyone who played, streamed and sang along with us on ‘Drunk.’ Now let’s get drunk and not wanna go home!”

“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” which has over 275 million streams worldwide, was named a finalist for Top Rock Song at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. The track also hit No. 1 on both Billboard’s Rock Digital Sales Chart and Country Digital Sales Chart upon its release in February of 2021.

Jake Scott. Photo: Courtesy of Warner Chappell Music

Jake Scott has signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.

Scott has penned hits for dozens of artists and has racked up over 500 million global streams in addition to averaging over three million monthly listeners on Spotify alone with his own songs, such as “Like No One Does,” “Tuesdays,” and “Favorite T-Shirt.” His most recent single, “Texas Girl,” a love song for his wife Rachel, marks his first major label release with Elektra Records.

Katy Wolaver, Senior Vice President, A&R, WCM notes: “As a songwriter, Jake has the perfect creative blend of heartfelt penmanship and relentless work ethic, which are key to being successful in this industry. He has created a strong catalog in a short amount of time, and we couldn’t be more pleased to be in business with him as his career is primed to take off.”

A Fayetteville, Arkansas native who is based in Los Angeles, Scott has written for Jason Mraz, Aloe Blacc, Morgan Wallen, Ben Rector and Carrie Underwood. As an artist, he dropped one song per month from the beginning of 2018 until the end of 2020, and sold out his very first headline tour. Scott opened up Lany’s 2021 fall tour and just kicked off 2022 with a 21-date headlining trek across North America.

“As I’ve followed Jake’s career, I’ve been blown away by the special connection he’s made with his fans through vulnerable lyrics and ability to relay the human experience through his music,” Spencer Nohe, Senior Director, A&R, WCM Nashville shares. “We’re looking forward to amplifying his voice and helping him elevate to the next level of his promising career.”

“The moment I wrote my first song I knew it was all I ever wanted to do,” Scott adds. “I still wake up most days and can’t believe music is my job. It’s a dream come true to say the least. And as anyone in this business will tell you–Warner Chappell is the best of the best. They’re the songwriting family I’ve always wanted to be part of, and that day is finally here. Another dream come true. I’m honored and excited to partner with Warner Chappell and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”