Walter Thomas & Alexandria Dollar. Photo: Austin Lord

Capitol Christian Music Group (CCMG) has elevated Walter Thomas to Vice President of Artist Development and added Alexandria “Dria” Dollar as Senior Director of A&R for Motown Gospel and TAMLA Records.

Thomas most recently served as CCMG’s Director of Artist Development. Reporting to Co-Presidents Brad O’Donnell and Hudson Plachy, his expanded responsibilities will include overseeing the growth and care of the company’s artist roster and development initiatives as well as facilitating its marketing initiatives. Prior to CCMG, Thomas served as CEO of Agency 22 Music & Entertainment, where he managed Doe, JJ Hairston, Jonathan McReynolds, Maverick City Music, Smokie Norful and more.

“Walter Thomas is a great music executive and we are confident he’ll excel in this new role,” says O’Donnell. “He has great instincts and strong relationships across the entire industry. I know he’ll serve our artists and partners well in this expanded capacity.”

“I am deeply honored to step into the role of Vice President of Artist Development for Motown Gospel and TAMLA. These iconic labels have a legacy of inspiring and uplifting music, and I am committed to continuing this tradition by developing the next generation of extraordinary artists,” shares Thomas. “I am equally thrilled to welcome Alexandria Dollar as our new Senior Director of A&R. Alexandria’s innovative approach and keen ear for talent are unmatched, and I am confident that together we will elevate our artists to new heights. This is an exciting time for us, and I look forward to all that we will accomplish at Motown Gospel and TAMLA.”

Dollar brings a wealth of industry experience to her new position from her time as Director of A&R at Reach Records in Atlanta, where she collaborated with Lecrae, For King & Country, Kirk Franklin, Chloe x Halle, PJ Morton, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Disney Channel, among others. The two-time Grammy winner has also been recognized with Stellar Gospel Music and GMA Dove Awards. As Senior Director of A&R, she will work closely with Thomas and spearhead efforts to discover, develop and sign new acts.

The Recording Academy has extended membership invitations to more than 3,900 music professionals spanning across diverse backgrounds, genres and disciplines, underscoring the Academy’s commitment to inclusivity and representation within the music industry.

This year’s 2024 class of invitees is 45% women, 57% people of color and 47% under the age of 40. With this year’s new member invitees, the Recording Academy is on track to achieve its goal of adding 2,500 women voting members by 2025 this year, one year ahead of schedule.

Invitations must be formally accepted by July 31 for recipients to become Recording Academy members and participate in the Online Entry Process for the upcoming Grammy awards. Through OEP, members can submit recordings, music videos and other eligible content for Grammy consideration. Individuals invited as voting members who accept their invitations are eligible to vote for the Grammy Awards, with the first voting ballot opening on Oct. 4 and closing on Oct. 15. The 67th Grammys will take place on Feb. 2, 2025, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

“There’s no better way to kick off Grammy season than by inviting thousands of diverse and talented music creators and professionals to join our Recording Academy family,” says Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “Our members are the heart of the Academy, driving our mission to make lasting, positive impacts on the music community and shape music history. We are hopeful that all 3,900+ invitees join us in serving, celebrating and championing the voices of music creators year-round.”

Pictured (L–R): L3/Rafter 3’s Peter Hartung, Warner Chappell’s Benji Amaefule, Austin Michael, Warner Chappell’s Ben Vaughn, L3/Rafter 3’s Cody Villalobos and Joey Gonzalez

Austin Michael has signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music and Rafter 3 Music, the new publishing arm of L3 Entertainment.

Growing up on a ranch in Van Alstyne, Texas, Michael learned at an early age to rope, ride, hunt and fish. Rodeo life seemed to be in the stars for the Texas native, but at 15, he wound up on Luke Bryan’s shoulders roping Katy Perry on American Idol. It became one of the most viral videos of the competition series’ 2019 season, and the feedback on his vocal ability was the turning point for Michael as he started pursuing a career as an artist.

He has spent the last five years polishing his songwriting and guitar skills, driving to Nashville, sleeping in his car and knocking on every door for an opportunity. With relentless perseverance, Michael aims to further launch his career, continue to release new music and grow partnerships.

“I couldn’t be more excited to work with Austin and his team at this exciting time in his career,” says Benji Amaefule, Manager, A&R, Warner Chappell Music Nashville. “His talent level is off the charts, and he is already writing songs that will be the soundtrack to fans around the country.”

“We’re very excited to have Austin join the Warner Chappell team of fantastic writers and administrators,” shares Peter Hartung, President, L3 Entertainment/Rafter 3 Music. “It’s a great songwriting home for Austin as he embarks on what promises to be a great career in country music!”

Photo: Courtesy of Big Machine Records

Midland will release their new album, Barely Blue, on Sept. 20 via Big Machine Records. The trio dropped the project’s opening track, “Lucky Sometimes,” along with its accompanying video yesterday (June 26).

Produced by Dave Cobb at Georgia Mae Studios in Savannah, the eight-song exploration of loneliness and resilience in the face of heartache aims to examine the generosity of spirit required to love, lose and move on.

“We knew we wanted to go somewhere else,” says bassist/vocalist Cameron Duddy. “We are all big believers in a certain time and place, a sense of classic country that comes from roadhouses and bad coffee, miles and miles and miles on the road–and the idea that, even though we’re all happy, love and life falls apart, but that doesn’t mean you have to, too. When we were writing these songs, it was a trip into all the things in country music we love. You don’t hear much of this kind of unfiltered, hard stuff that comes with the great guitar sounds, the deep harmonies and shuffles you can tuck into. But that’s the essence of what Midland is–and Dave Cobb brought a new altitude to our sound.”

Lead singer/guitarist Mark Wystrach adds, “Dave Cobb had been a producer we wanted to work with since we first heard Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. Dave’s eclectic musical background and the way he approaches recording as an experience and not a task made him the perfect match for us. On Barely Blue, we feel like Dave helped us find the sound we’ve been searching for for a long time.”

Additionally, the group will kick off “The Get Lucky Tour” on Sept. 19, with dates in Cincinnati, Atlanta, El Paso, Las Vegas and more as well as a show at ACL Live in their hometown of Austin on Dec. 20.

Pictured (L-R, back row): Rod Riley, Rusty Gaston, Lindsay Will, Noah Dewey, Kelly Janson, Bryce Sherlow, Emilia James, Jimmy Harnen and Clay Bradley; (L-R, front row): Caroline Hodson, Scott Borchetta, Brad Clawson, Chris Janson, Mitch Oglesby, Ashley Gorley, Julian Raymond and Ron Cox. Photo: Aubrey Wise

BMI gathered industry members earlier this week to celebrate Chris Janson’s No. 1 hit “All I Need Is You,” which marked his fifth career chart-topper as a songwriter and an artist.

The heat of the day began to subside as industry members, family and friends made their way into the BMI lobby on Tuesday (June 25) afternoon. Gathered on stage were the song’s co-writers Ashley Gorley, Brad Clawson, Mitch Oglesby and Janson.

BMI’s Clay Bradley was emcee for the party. He congratulated the songwriters and thanked the crowd for taking the time out of their busy schedules to show up and celebrate the monumental achievement. On hand to celebrate her songwriters, Gorley and Oglesby, was ASCAP’s Emilia James.

She began by noting that, while it was his third No. 1, it was Oglesby’s first No. 1 party. “Mitch is the embodiment of hard work, determination and never giving up. He grew up on a farm in Georgia before moving here as a school teacher. He also worked at Nissan for a couple years, drove a school bus and did whatever it took to make ends meet while keeping his head down and honing his craft. In 2017, he signed his publishing deal and three years later, he had his first No. 1—another Chris Jason hit ‘Done.’ I am so excited that we finally get to celebrate!”

On deck to tout their songwriters were Anthem Entertainment’s Noah Dewey, Round Hill Music’s Lindsay Will and Tape Room Music’s Caroline Hodson. Hodson stepped to the mic to congratulate the teams that helped the song top the charts and Tape Room songwriters Gorley and Clawson.

“Simply put, you’re the kind of guy that everyone wants to be around,” Hodson said to Clawson. “You are ready to write every single day. You are smart, inclusive and ambitious, but, most importantly, you are humble and appreciative of everyone around you. Congratulations to you and everyone else here on stage.”

Warner Chappell’s Bryce Sherlow was up next followed by Sony’s Rusty Gaston to tout Gorley.

“I hear a lot of songwriters say that they admire the success that Ashley Gorley has had, but I want to point out that Ashley exemplifies the philosophy, ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get.’ Ashley was in New York recently, and he got a phone call from an artist saying that he wanted to write that night. So, Ashley got on a plane back to Nashville and wrote until 3 a.m. before getting on another plane and flying back to New York to continue his meetings. It is a work ethic like that that leads to Ashley’s level of success.”

Several more stepped to the stage to speak including Studio Bank’s Ron Cox, Big Machine Records’ Scott Borchetta, Nashville Harbor Record’s Jimmy Harnen and producer Julian Raymond.

Finally, it was time to hear from the songwriters. Oglesby spoke first, ushering Chris’ wife and manager Kelly Janson to the stage to stand next to him. “This lady right here got me on this stage. She went home and told Chris Janson that he had to go write with Mitch. He said, ‘Who is Mitch? How many cuts does he have?’ She said ‘none’ and he said he wasn’t going to write with me. Fast forward to the next day, he walked in and we immediately hit it off,” he laughed.

Next was Clawson, “I want to say thank you to everyone that had a hand in this song. I want to thank my family, Big Machine, Tape Room, Warner and everyone else. I really appreciate you guys.”

Gorley took the mic next to echo Oglesby and thank his team. “First of all, I want to thank God for getting the privilege to create and get to know these guys. I also want to thank Kelly for inspiring this song, and all of Chris’ songs. Thank you to all of the publishing teams and promo teams that made this song happen.”

Lastly, Janson took the opportunity to individually recognize everyone on his crew that helped his song go No. 1. He invited his promo team, management, band members and more to the stage and presented them each with gifts to show his appreciation.

“It’s so easy when you are a successful songwriter or artist to be put on a pedestal, or to have so many ‘yes’ people around you that you think you are more important than you really are,” he explained. “The truth is, it happens from the ground up, and we are just a catalyst to get there. Without the team, you don’t have anything. I have been in the music business long enough to know that the more you love your team, the more they will love you back and I am so grateful for my team.”