Pictured (L-R): Matthew Jafari (Keller Turner Andrews & Ghanem PLLC), Laura Alexander (SVP Creative, Young Guns Publishing), Jake Puliti, Will Hamrick (CEO, Young Guns Publishing), Laurie Gore (Creative/Admin Assistant) and Jason Turner (Keller Turner Andrews & Ghanem PLLC. Photo: Mary Craven

Singer-songwriter and producer Jake Puliti has inked a global exclusive publishing deal with Young Guns Publishing.

Puliti co-penned Bailey Zimmerman’s “Comin’ In Cold” from his multi-Platinum project Different Night Same Rodeo. He has worked with artists across country and pop as a producer and songwriter. Across his credits, Puliti’s work has amassed millions of views across TikTok and other social platforms.

Puliti was a contestant on American Idol in 2019, and plays bass in Graham Barham’s band.

“I’m so amped to be a part of Young Guns Publishing. This partnership represents years of dedication, growth, faith, and a true belief in the power of songwriting,” shares Puliti. “I’m so blessed for the opportunity to evolve alongside such an incredible team.”

“Jake has a sense of musicianship that stuns me, and I just know his faith is driving him to really want to grow as a human and songwriter,” adds Young Guns Publishing’s Head of Creative, Laura Alexander. “After a two hour initial meeting with him, I immediately knew his personality and work ethic were going to fit in with our family at Young Guns. We are so excited to have Jake join Young Guns Publishing!”

Caroline Fields

Caroline Fields has been hired to lead 2PM Sharp Publicity’s Nashville office, as first reported by Billboard. 

Prior to joining 2PM Sharp, Fields served as director of publicity at BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville, where she worked publicity campaigns for artists including Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, Parmalee, Alexandra Kay, K. Michelle and more. A University of Tennessee graduate, she also previously held publicity roles at Absolute Publicity and AristoMedia Group.

Executives Lindsay Galin and Jeff Raymond launched 2PM Sharp in 2024. The Nashville office is 2PM Sharp’s fourth location, with offices in London and more than 20 publicists in New York and Los Angeles as well. The PR agency works with a variety of actors, musicians, athletes, filmmakers and comedians, in addition to corporate work, and in crisis management and awards campaigns.

Reach Fields at cfields@2pmsharp.com.

KISS founder Gene Simmons testifies before the Balancing the Interests of Local Radio, Songwriters, and Performers in the Digital Age hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. Photo: Thomas Brenner

Yesterday (Dec. 9), Gene Simmons and SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe appeared before Congress in support of the American Music Fairness Act (S.326), which would require AM/FM radio stations to pay artists royalties when their songs are played on the air.

Simmons and Huppe spoke during the Balancing the Interests of Local Radio, Songwriters, and Performers in the Digital Age hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

“American artists have never been paid for radio airplay,” Simmons addressed Senators. “Not one cent … Meanwhile, radio made $14 billion this year. Billion with a B. They play our songs. People tune in to hear our songs. Advertisers pay big money to reach those listeners. And the artists who created the music that makes it all work? They get bupkis. I don’t know about you, but where I come from, that’s called robbery.

“The American Music Fairness Act is the answer to this injustice,” he continued. “It’s not complicated. It simply says that when radio makes money playing our music, the people who created that music should get a fair cut. That’s capitalism. That’s the American way. I’ve devoted my life to the pursuit of capitalism. I’m not ashamed to say that. The free market made KISS possible. It made America the greatest country on Earth. And it should work for artists today, too. In America, you get paid for your work.”

“Congress has stepped up time and again to modernize the law to ensure that artists are paid when their music is played on digital, satellite, and streaming services, but it has yet to fix this problem for FM radio,” shared Huppe. “We’re asking you to finally close this glaring loophole in our copyright law which has been giving one of the oldest music delivery platforms a free ride for far too long.”

“Even Russia and China pay,” Huppe continued. “We are in the company of the most notorious abusers of property rights in the world—joining North Korea, Iran, and Cuba. Because we don’t pay artists for radio in the U.S., other countries use that as an excuse avoid paying Americans. It’s gotten so bad that countries like France will actually collect American royalties yet give those royalties to French artists. Americans are losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars overseas every year – on top of what they’re losing here at home.”

Full testimony and video of the hearing are available here.

The American Music Fairness Act was first introduced in 2022 . In 2023, Senators Padilla and Blackburn officially introduced the bill. Since then, there have been multiple hearings and bill re-introductions.

Alabama’s Gulf Shores will not be hosting Hangout Festival in 2026, Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft revealed during last night’s (Dec. 8) city council meeting.

“The Hangout Music Festival will not occur in 2026,” he said. “We will not have an event in 2026. We are already approving the event in 2027. We delayed too long, or they did, in their application to be able to get the kind of acts that we required them to have to be successful in 2026. We will refuse to let them go back to the acts that we’ve had before. So they couldn’t do it and so they canceled the 2026 event.

“They’ve got time now to pursue the type of talent we want on our beaches, to invite the right audience that we want on our beaches, that we proved last time, the last event, that could happen,” he continued. “We’re determined if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen that way again.”

In a new statement released today (Dec. 9) by Craft, he states:

“The city’s initial 10-year franchise agreement for the Hangout Music Festival was scheduled to conclude following the 2025 event. The city elected to defer consideration of the requested extension until the festival’s outcomes could be evaluated, with input from our residents.

This year’s festival received overwhelming community support, and in late July, the City Council approved a two‐year extension. However, the compressed timeline created by this decision did not provide organizers sufficient runway to produce a successful festival in 2026. As a result, the producers have elected not to proceed with a 2026 event.

We’re thankful that festival leadership has taken our community’s comments about the event seriously and is committed to delivering a world-class festival. We appreciate that they are being thoughtful in creating a lineup that will be impactful to our local economy. All parties are focused on planning a strong and well‐executed music festival, and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2027.”

“The decision to not move forward with a festival for 2026 was tied to Hangout Festival and the permitting approval timeline for the site,” shared AEG. “We will share news about future events at the site at the appropriate time.”