Nashville music industry publication MusicRow Magazine has released its 2021 Artist Roster print issue, featuring ASCAP songwriters and Arista Nashville band Old Dominion on the cover.
This year’s edition features exclusive editorials including a chat with industry stalwarts Clint Higham and Ebie McFarland who continue to serve as cutting edge leaders in our industry. Higham and McFarland discuss lessons learned from the pandemic, “cancel culture,” TikTok and NFTs, and more.
This issue also highlights the National Museum of African American Music which is now part of our Nashville landscape serving as the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. “Education is a big part of who we are and what we do,” says NMAAM’s President & CEO H. Beecher Hicks III of the institution. “We think that educating young people, educating the community to understand how significant African American music and African American culture is in middle Tennessee not only will draw more tourists, but also better train our community and our population to take the jobs that are coming our way as our community grows.”
Spotify’s Head of Editorial for Nashville, Rachel Whitney, discusses the art and administration behind curating some of country music’s biggest playlists. Spotify maintains over 100 different country playlists and aims to have something for everyone. “We cover a ton of ground in terms of trying to meet people where they are and creating the soundtrack to whatever they might be doing or whatever they might be looking for,” Whitney says.
Elsewhere in Artist Roster, Sound Healthcare & Financial CEO/Founder R.J. Stillwell talks about the last 15 years of his healthcare advocacy and insurance organization that helps artists, songwriters, musicians, and other creative types navigate the healthcare and insurance systems. Finally, with music always traveling in tandem with technology, this issue covers the basics of non-fungible tokens, commonly referred to as NFTs.
Additionally, Artist Roster contains five company directories complete with client rosters: Label, Management, Talent Agents, Publicity, and Artist Services (Business Management/Financial/Insurance, Digital Music, Legal, Marketing, Radio Promotion, and Organizations). This edition also offers a summarizing Artist Grid, which has become an indispensable tool connecting artists to their team members in each category.
Single copies of MusicRow’s 2021 Artist Roster print issue are available for purchase for $45, and are included with yearly MusicRow subscribed memberships.
Kat & Alex Sign With WME [Exclusive]
/by Lydia FarthingKat & Alex. Photo: Matthew Berinato
WME has signed Sony Music Nashville country-Latin duo Kat & Alex.
The American Idol alumni exploded onto the scene with their debut single “How Many Times” and its accompanying Spanish Version which has quickly earned 10 million streams and broken onto Spotify’s Hot Country and New Boots playlists, as well as popular Latin playlists. Kat & Alex recently released their latest single, the Jordan Reynolds and Robyn Collins-penned “Heartbreak Tour,” as well as a a version of the song that features a Spanish chorus, in homage to their Latin heritage.
Having amassed nearly 20 million streams independently and receiving acclaim from Billboard, CMT, and more, the duo signed to The AMG in 2020 for management and inked a publishing deal with Warner Chappell between sessions with producer Brad Hill.
As they continue writing music, Kat & Alex have generated millions of views on social media through a series of Spanish covers of English songs from the likes of Luke Combs, Dan + Shay and Jason Isbell.
Elevation Studios Plans 26-Acre Campus In Nashville
/by Lydia FarthingRenderings of Elevation Studios
To serve the growing demand for large-scale rehearsal spaces and production facilities, Elevation Studios is planning a campus of sound stages, offices, conference rooms, fabrication workshops, rehearsal studios, and creative spaces right outside the heart of Music City in Fairview, Tennessee.
Eric Elwell, the architect and driving force behind Elevation Studios, says “Artists are earning the majority of their revenue from concert touring. The cadence of these tours has broken away from album release cycles, as many musicians and creators put out new material constantly. Meanwhile, the design, complexity, and expense have dramatically increased.”
He continues, “You need time if you’re going to push the envelope of creativity. If your artist will be flying in a harness 100 feet in the air you need a place to work this out with safety protocols for the artist, their team, and, equally important, their fans… Elevation will be that testing ground. Creative visionaries pushing the boundaries of art and science need a creative sandbox.”
Elevation’s plan is to meet the burgeoning demand for a full-scale, private, geographically optimized production space. With multiple large-scale sound stages and a green campus, Elevation’s proximity to Nashville and its legions of skilled music professionals aims to support the rebirth of live events and the evolution of livestreaming.
“In my 20+ year history of touring with Beyoncé as well as other top entertainment clients, the execution of pre-tour rehearsals was one of the largest challenges we faced due to the limited availability of large-scale facilities,” says Alan K. Floyd, veteran tour manager. “Elevation Studios will provide the scale and needed support, all in a private retreat-like setting. This is a long-overdue solution to the creative needs of hundreds of touring artists.”
Dylan Guthro Inks Publishing Deal With RED Creative Group, Anthem Entertainment
/by Lydia FarthingDylan Guthro. Photo: Emma-Lee
Dylan Guthro has signed a worldwide publishing deal with RED Creative Group and Anthem Entertainment.
Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Guthro has established himself as a force in the Nashville songwriter community. A member of the Warner Music trio Port Cities, the songwriter, producer, and vocalist co-wrote and produced Noah Schnacky’s most recent single “Don’t You Wanna Know” featuring Jimmie Allen. He has also secured cuts and production credits with BANNERS, Donovan Woods, and many others.
“Dylan’s writing and production immediately captured my attention. He brings a fresh and unique perspective to the writing room and has an incredible work ethic. We are excited to have him on board and can’t wait to hear what he’s going to cook up next,” shares President/Owner, RED Creative Group Jeremy Stover.
“I feel so lucky to have met so many amazing people over this past year. It’s hard to believe it all happened over zoom… it’s truly been a blessing and a hell of a lot of fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone at RED, Anthem, and everyone else that’s been willing to roll the dice on me. I can’t wait to get down there and see what the future holds,” Guthro says.
Garth Brooks Adds Nashville Date To His Record Breaking Stadium Tour
/by Lydia FarthingThe Garth Brooks Stadium Tour is coming to Nashville on Saturday, July 31 at Nissan Stadium.
In March of 2019, Brooks launched The Stadium Tour, which has since broken stadium attendance records at every stop so far. Pollstar announced at the end of last year that The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour was the best selling country music tour of 2019.
The Nashville stop, which marks Brooks first performance at Nissan Stadium, is the latest addition to his Stadium Tour. The show will feature in-the-round seating and is promising to be one of the most special stops on the tour.
“This is where you come to party,” Brooks says. “I can’t imagine what you’d have to do to have a beer in Nashville on the Stadium Tour. Well, you’d have to put the Stadium Tour and Nashville together, wouldn’t ya? That would be crazy!” he said.
Tickets for The Garth Brooks Stadium Tour in Nashville go on sale Friday, June 26 at 10:00 am CST on Ticketmaster. Tickets will cost $94.95 and are all inclusive.
Muzology Wins Second U.S. Department Of Education Grant
/by Lorie HollabaughThis recently earned DOE grant is the fourth major R&D grant the company has received after also receiving two grants from The National Science Foundation. The funding has enabled Muzology to develop technical innovations that optimize music-based methods of learning.
Additionally, Muzology recently won “SETDA Tank,” a Shark Tank style competition between five education technology companies selected to be members of The State Educational Technology Directors Association’s ninth annual cohort of Emerging Private Sector Partners. The other four members of the 2021/2022 SETDA Emerging Partners startup cohort were Future Genius, Killer Snails, Paper and Mote.
Muzology has also been named a CODiE Finalist for Best Emerging Instructional Technology Solution for 2021, and named to GSV’s Global Elite 200.
In This Issue: MusicRow’s Artist Roster Features Clint Higham & Ebie McFarland, Rachel Whitney, More
/by LB CantrellNashville music industry publication MusicRow Magazine has released its 2021 Artist Roster print issue, featuring ASCAP songwriters and Arista Nashville band Old Dominion on the cover.
This year’s edition features exclusive editorials including a chat with industry stalwarts Clint Higham and Ebie McFarland who continue to serve as cutting edge leaders in our industry. Higham and McFarland discuss lessons learned from the pandemic, “cancel culture,” TikTok and NFTs, and more.
This issue also highlights the National Museum of African American Music which is now part of our Nashville landscape serving as the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. “Education is a big part of who we are and what we do,” says NMAAM’s President & CEO H. Beecher Hicks III of the institution. “We think that educating young people, educating the community to understand how significant African American music and African American culture is in middle Tennessee not only will draw more tourists, but also better train our community and our population to take the jobs that are coming our way as our community grows.”
Spotify’s Head of Editorial for Nashville, Rachel Whitney, discusses the art and administration behind curating some of country music’s biggest playlists. Spotify maintains over 100 different country playlists and aims to have something for everyone. “We cover a ton of ground in terms of trying to meet people where they are and creating the soundtrack to whatever they might be doing or whatever they might be looking for,” Whitney says.
Elsewhere in Artist Roster, Sound Healthcare & Financial CEO/Founder R.J. Stillwell talks about the last 15 years of his healthcare advocacy and insurance organization that helps artists, songwriters, musicians, and other creative types navigate the healthcare and insurance systems. Finally, with music always traveling in tandem with technology, this issue covers the basics of non-fungible tokens, commonly referred to as NFTs.
Additionally, Artist Roster contains five company directories complete with client rosters: Label, Management, Talent Agents, Publicity, and Artist Services (Business Management/Financial/Insurance, Digital Music, Legal, Marketing, Radio Promotion, and Organizations). This edition also offers a summarizing Artist Grid, which has become an indispensable tool connecting artists to their team members in each category.
Single copies of MusicRow’s 2021 Artist Roster print issue are available for purchase for $45, and are included with yearly MusicRow subscribed memberships.
The AMG Adds Amanda Good, Kailyn Finnegan In Marketing And Touring
/by Lorie HollabaughAmanda Good and Kailyn Finnegan. Photo: Rachel Deeb
The AMG has announced industry veterans Amanda Good and Kailyn Finnegan as Head of Marketing and Senior Manager of Touring and Live Events, respectively.
“When we started the AMG two years ago, we knew we wanted to create a multi-faceted company where our artists would be surrounded with the best team in the industry. Amanda and Kailyn are undoubtedly the best and brightest in their fields, and we couldn’t be more proud to add them to our team,” shares President and CEO of The AMG Rob Beckham.
In this new role, Good will oversee the strategy and execution of marketing campaigns for all artists on The AMG’s roster. She will also supervise the company’s Digital Marketing and Creative teams. Good has over 15 years of industry experience, and most recently served as Senior Director of Marketing and Artist Development at Universal Music Group Nashville. While there she where she successfully managed over 35 album releases from artists including George Strait, Josh Turner, Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan Darius Rucker, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Caylee Hammack and Hootie & the Blowfish.
In her new position, Finnegan will be working closely with artists’ teams to create comprehensive action plans that best allocate budgets, resources, and timeframes for live events. Additionally, she will manage touring strategy and execution or all clients on The AMG’s roster. Finnegan has nearly two decades of touring experience including most recently with Live Nation, where she worked on some of the industry’s biggest tours, including Bryan, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and others.
“We have no doubt that our new team members’ unique experience and insight will help elevate all of the artists on our roster, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds,” says COO Kristy Reeves.
Good and Finnegan can be reached at amanda@theamg.com and kfinnegan@theamg.com, respectively.
On The Cover: MusicRow’s Artist Roster Issue Features Old Dominion
/by LB CantrellReigning CMA and ACM Group of the Year Old Dominion graces the cover of MusicRow Magazine’s 2021 Artist Roster issue, out now.
Old Dominion has emerged as one of the hottest bands out of Nashville, fusing clever lyrics and an infectious sound. The ASCAP songwriters’ lyrical wit and hook-heavy songwriting has certainly proved a winning method. Since breaking onto the music scene in 2014, the band has notched eight No. 1 singles at country radio, surpassed one billion on-demand streams, earned several Platinum and Gold single certifications, and headlined arenas and amphitheaters around the globe.
Comprised of lead singer Matthew Ramsey, lead guitarist Brad Tursi, multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rosen, bassist Geoff Sprung and drummer Whit Sellers, the Arista Nashville act has earned numerous awards together. Most recently, Old Dominion earned their fourth consecutive Group of the Year win at the 56th Annual ACM Awards. At the 2020 CMT Awards, the band took home their first win for Group Video of The Year. The group also notched two nominations for the 2020 CMAs including Vocal Group and Album of the Year for their self-titled 2019 studio album, nominations for Top Country Duo/Group and Top Country Song for the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, as well as a Favorite Duo/Group – Country nod for the 2020 American Music Awards. In 2020, the band received their first two Grammy nominations for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Country Song, for their hit single “Some People Do” which is featured on their third studio album.
Over the course of their career, the band has also been notably named ACM New Group of the Year, ACCA Breakthrough Group of the Year, AIMP Songwriter Artist of the Year, MusicRow Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and in 2016, front man Ramsey was ASCAP’s Artist of the Year. The band has also received nominations for CMT Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, and iHeart Radio Awards.
In May of 2021, Old Dominion debuted their newest single “I Was On a Boat That Day.” Of the new track, Ramsey said, “When you listen to ‘I Was On a Boat That Day’ you are hearing us in the full joy of making music together. From the moment I counted the band off we were smiling from beginning to end. The tequila was flowing, the laughter was loud, and we knew in that moment we were creating something that would bring people as much joy as it was bringing us.”
Single copies of MusicRow’s 2021 Artist Roster print issue are available for purchase at musicrow.com for $45, and are included with yearly MusicRow subscriptions.
Tyler Rich To Kick Off Two Thousand Miles Tour In September
/by Lorie HollabaughTyler Rich. Photo: Zack Napier
Tyler Rich is planning a West Coast run this fall with the Two Thousand Miles Tour, featuring special guest Shy Carter. The tour kicks off at Club Rodeo in San Jose, California on Sept. 28, with stops in San Diego, L.A., Portland, Spokane, and more through Oct. 17.
“Postponed. Rebooked. Cancelled. Rebooked. Fourth times a charm?” jokesRich. “Being able to finally do my first headline tour, almost two years later, is an overwhelming feeling for so many reasons. Not only just performing again for a live crowd, but I’ll get to play songs for the first time from my debut album and my new single ‘Better Than You’re Used To.'”
The tour supports Rich’s debut album of the same name, Two Thousand Miles, out now via The Valory Music Co. Over the last year off the road, he has created and connected virtually, recording the aptly-titled “Feels Like Home” from a makeshift home studio and hosting a weekly themed Instagram Live series. After teasing the demo on TikTok, Rich began working on plans to release “Better Than You’re Used To” and has since amassed over 19 million streams, with a career 282.9 million global streams to date.
Tickets and VIP packages in select markets go on sale Monday, June 21 at TylerRich.com.
Vince Gill Signs Publishing/Writer Management Agreement With Jody Williams Songs
/by LB CantrellVince Gill. Photo: John Shearer
22-time Grammy Award winner Vince Gill has signed a publishing/writer management agreement with independent music publisher Jody Williams Songs. This agreement marks the first time the songwriter has engaged creatively with any publishing entity, as Gill has been self-published since the beginning of his career.
JWS founder Jody Williams says, “I’ve known and appreciated Vince since the mid ’80s when he first started having solo success as an artist. His self-recorded body of work has always been anchored by his exceptional skill as a songwriter. Those songs, along with that unmistakable voice and skill as a musician, have earned him a place of honor among the entire songwriting community… not to mention the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Now, we look forward to helping forge new writing relationships and facilitating the next chapter of his song catalog.”
“I look forward to my partnership with Jody and Nina Jenkins and their passion for songs,” adds Gill. “Having never done this before, I am grateful for their willingness to champion what’s next for me creatively, and for an even closer friendship that’s already pushing forty years.”
JWS Creative Director Nina Jenkins and Founder Jody Williams. Photo: Jon-Paul Bruno
In addition to Gill, JWS represents talents such as four-time Grammy nominee Ashley McBryde, Driver Williams, Nathan Chapman, Jeremy Spillman, Greg Bates, Jason Nix and Peytan Porter. Through JWS’s partnership with Warner Chappell Music Nashville, Williams develops writers and writer-artists, secures covers, sources legacy catalogs and represents select WCM writer catalogs.