MusicRow Magazine’s eighth annual Rising Women on the Row event will be held Tuesday, March 26, at Omni Hotel Nashville.

This year’s honorees include Sandi Spika Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group, Sr. VP Creative), Janine Ebach (Curb|Word Music Publishing, VP), Kelly Janson (Kelly Janson Management, Manager), Meredith Jones (Creative Artists Agency, Agent), Lenore Kinder (Paradigm Talent Agency, Agent), and Jennifer Turnbow (NSAI, Sr. Director of Operations).

Leading up to the event, MusicRow is spotlighting each honoree with a brief Q&A.

As Sr. Director of Operations at Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the world’s largest not-for-profit songwriters trade organization, Jennifer Turnbow oversees day-to-day operations and finances for the 50-year-old organization and its 2008 acquired entity, The Bluebird Cafe. Turnbow serves as co-director of NSAI’s annual fundraiser, Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival, which has become the largest songwriter-only festival in the U.S. over the past decade. At NSAI, she plays an integral role in advocacy for American songwriters, including on Capitol Hill for the passage of the Music Modernization Act. Since its victory, Turnbow has overseen the selection of songwriters for the board of the Mechanical Licensing Collective and Dispute Resolution and Unclaimed Funds Committees. Additionally, Turnbow staffed the Copyright Royalty Board trial for NSAI, which won songwriters the largest pay raise in digital mechanical royalty history. Her service extends to Nashville women’s organization SOURCE, where she is serving as Secretary of the Board of Directors. She is also a 2016 graduate of Leadership Music. Following her graduation from Vanderbilt University in 2005, she launched her career at NSAI as the organization’s Finance Director.

MusicRow: What is the biggest lesson on leadership you have learned in your career?
The only way to lead is by setting the example. I will never ask any of my staff members to do anything I wouldn’t gladly do alongside them and often I will, even when unnecessary, because I want them to know how much I value their work and their time.

MR: Who has been one of your biggest mentors, and what have they taught you?
Bart Herbison, NSAI’s Executive Director, is obviously my biggest mentor. Bart took a chance on me when I was 21, straight out of college and couldn’t tell you how to navigate to Music Row from my sorority house at Vanderbilt University. He has taught me so much, it’s hard to narrow it down from matters of broad scope like songwriter advocacy policy and politics and how to run a trade association, to more practical lessons like to trust my gut.

MR: Describe a time that you took a big risk in your career, and how did it pay off?
Funnily enough, probably the biggest risk in my career happened before I was even employed. When I was interviewed for the Finance Director position at NSAI, my very first real job, I was asked if I was familiar with Quickbooks, to which I answered “yes” even though I had never worked in Quickbooks in my life. It wasn’t exactly a lie…I was “familiar” that there was a product called Quickbooks, but had Bart known at the time that I had never worked in Quickbooks, I don’t think I would have been hired. I ended up being offered the job on a Friday, went to the bookstore and bought Quickbooks for Dummies that afternoon, and taught myself enough by Monday morning to not get caught in my “little white lie.”

Since I’ve been at NSAI, my biggest risk was probably advocating for producing NSAI’s 50^th Anniversary show at the Ryman Auditorium in 2017, which was a huge financial risk and I had no experience producing a show of that size. We pulled it off and it led to now doing our annual awards show at the Ryman, which has really allowed us to honor songwriters in a grander way – and I’ve learned to produce a live show of that size! I’m realizing that apparently self-teaching is my preferred form of risk management!

MR: As Nashville continues to grow and evolve, what changes in the music industry excite you the most?
My work on the Music Modernization Act makes its implementation and the formation of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) the most exciting change for me right now. I was sitting in the room engaged in the conversation when the structure for the MLC was envisioned. Getting to witness it develop into a physical entity that will completely change the way we license digital mechanicals is pretty amazing.

MR: Favorite Nashville place to hold a business meeting/lunch?
Midtown Café and Tavern have never let me down and they are walking distance from my office.

(City National Bank, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, and Loeb & Loeb are again the Presenting Sponsors for the 2019 Rising Women on the Row.)

Rising songwriter-artist Chris Housman has received the inaugural Todd Givens Memorial Scholarship from the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Originally from Hanston, Kansas (population: 200), Housman taught himself to play the fiddle at age seven. Singing followed, which led to the formation of a traveling family Bluegrass/Gospel band, opening for major country acts, and fronting a punk rock band. Since attending Belmont University, he has been actively writing songs and performing (upright bass and vocals) around the country while touring colleges.

“Chris is already making a name for himself in the industry,” said NSAI membership representative Erin Kidd. “With instinctive writing intuition and a voice that can melt hearts, he’s one of our most signable artist/writers. From our first meeting, his talent, passion, and likability has been obvious and undeniable.”

Todd Givens was the head of NSAI’s tech department and unexpectedly passed away on Feb. 27, 2018.  Givens was involved with the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies, and the Eric Hamilton Band for many years. Band members and front men Mike Farris of the Wheelies and Eric Hamilton have agreed to help mentor Housman and future scholarship recipients.

Midland, Old Dominion, Cole Swindell, Ingrid Andress, Deana Carter, Adam Craig, Jessie James Decker, Lindsay Ell, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Locash, Hillary Scott, Tenille Townes and Storme Warren have all been added to the lineup of events at the ACM’s upcoming 7th Annual Party for a Cause, taking place April 5 -7 in Vegas.

The Academy-hosted marquee events slated for this year’s Party for a Cause leading up to and immediately following the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards include ACM Stories, Songs & Stars, ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off, ACM Decades and the ACM Awards Official After Party presented by Security Benefit. Each event will feature performances by country’s biggest names and hottest new talent, and portions of all event proceeds will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music which works to lift lives through the power of music.

Friday, April 5, 2019
8 p.m.: ACM Stories, Songs & Stars
Talent: Hosted by Hillary Scott and Storme Warren; performances by Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally, Lori McKenna, Chase McGill, and Josh Osborne, plus special guest appearances by Brantley Gilbert, Midland, Old Dominion and more.

Saturday, April 6, 2019
10 a.m.: ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off
Talent: Hosted by Darius Rucker and Scotty McCreery; performances by Ingrid Andress, Adam Craig, Morgan Evans, Chris Lane and Scotty McCreery

7 p.m.: ACM Decades
Concert celebrating the hits of today and yesterday with your favorite country hit-makers and rising country stars
Talent: Performances by Lauren Alaina, Carlton Anderson, Rodney Atkins, Deana Carter, Easton Corbin, Jordan Davis, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Tracy Lawrence, Maddie & Tae, Jamie O’Neal, Carly Pearce, Michael Ray, Cole Swindell, Mitchell Tenpenny and Tenille Townes

Sunday, April 7, 2019
8 p.m.: ACM Awards Official After Party presented by Security Benefit
Talent: Hosted by Shawn Parr and Big Kenny, plus performances by Jimmie Allen, Big Kenny, Jessie James Decker, Lindsay Ell, Brantley Gilbert, Adam Hambrick, Caylee Hammack, Walker Hayes, LOCASH, AJ McLean, Cassadee Pope, Runaway June, Dylan Scott and Brett Young

MusicRow Magazine’s eighth annual Rising Women on the Row event will be held Tuesday, March 26, at Omni Hotel Nashville.

This year’s honorees include Sandi Spika Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group, Sr. VP Creative), Janine Ebach (Curb|Word Music Publishing, VP), Kelly Janson (Kelly Janson Management, Manager), Meredith Jones (Creative Artists Agency, Agent), Lenore Kinder (Paradigm Talent Agency, Agent), and Jennifer Turnbow (NSAI, Sr. Director of Operations).

Leading up to the event, MusicRow is spotlighting each honoree with a brief Q&A.

Meredith Jones guides the careers of artists including Maren Morris, Little Big Town, Whiskey Myers, Chase Rice and Tenille Townes. Jones helped strategically navigate Morris’ recently-announced 2019 international GIRL: The World Tour, which sold out in minutes across nearly every market. Overseeing college and university bookings on behalf of the entire music department, Jones and her team book more than 600 dates a year across all genres. She works with radio host Bobby Bones to create opportunities which include sold-out stand-up tours, two No. 1 New York Times best-selling books and television shows such as Dancing With the Stars and American Idol. Jones was named to CAA’s Global Fellows, a leadership development program for agents, and serves as a mentor to the next generation of agents as a Trainee Program Advisor. In 2018, she helped ideate CAA’s THE HUBB, an internship and career-ready college student summit. She is a founding member of both FORWARD, an employee program that provides professional development for women within the company, and the agency’s female-led EVOLVE committee, dedicated to providing the most respectful and safe work environment. She also serves on the Development Committee with PENCIL Foundation and is in the current Leadership Music class.

MusicRow: What is the biggest lesson on leadership you have learned in your career?
To lead is to serve. I walk into the office every day thrilled to be surrounded by a tremendous group of colleagues helping our clients to succeed. CAA’s culture is one of collaboration. I am dedicated to mentoring the next generation of this industry. If you pour time and energy into helping to grow one person, I believe it will grow the overall business as a whole.

MR: Who has been one of your biggest mentors, and what have they taught you?
I’ve learned a lot from John Huie, Rod Essig, Marc Dennis, Darin Murphy, and Brian Manning who have led our office in my tenure at CAA. They’ve taught me how to think about my clients long term, not just deal by deal. One of my biggest mentors is in our Los Angeles office, Michelle Kydd Lee (CAA’s Chief Innovation Officer). She has always pushed me outside my comfort zone to be more creative, think bigger, blur the lines, and to give back to the community that supports me.

MR: Describe a time that you took a big risk in your career, and how did it pay off?
I’m lucky enough to work in a place where it’s safe and encouraged to take risks. It was hard for me to choose one story. Here are a few examples:

When I was an Agent Trainee, Chase Rice tapped me on the shoulder at the annual CAA BBQ and we began a conversation about live music. He sent me some incredible songs the next morning. Not technically being in a place to sign anyone, I still felt strong enough to bring him up in a meeting. After playing the demos, the room exploded. I signed him over the course of the following weeks.

On the first record cycle with Maren Morris, we believed that although she was on a country label with country radio support, her music was genre-free. I made it a mission that year to get her on as many multi-genre festivals as we could to make a statement to the industry. We confirmed her on Bonnaroo, ACL, and Bumbershoot that year.

MR: As Nashville continues to grow and evolve, what changes in the music industry excite you the most?

I am grateful that the live music business is thriving and continues to grow year-over-year. I think that we have more tools than ever to make the best strategic deals using analytics from digital media sources.

MR: Favorite Nashville place to hold a business meeting/lunch?

Merchants- cobb salad, no blue cheese.

(City National Bank, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, and Loeb & Loeb are again the Presenting Sponsors for the 2019 Rising Women on the Row.)

Triple Tigers artist Scotty McCreery scored a repeat chart-topper, and Gold-certified hit, with “This Is It,” the second single from his album Seasons Change. “This Is It” spent two weeks in the No. 1 slot on country radio, and follows the Platinum-certified “Five More Minutes,” which topped the country radio charts in February 2018.

McCreery joined “This Is It” co-writers Frank Rogers and Aaron Eshuis on Wednesday (March 20) at an industry celebration hosted by ASCAP and BMI. The song marks the first No. 1 for Eshuis, and the first No. 1 for Derek Wells as a producer (and his 50th No. 1 as a musician). Wells is working on a project in Canada and was not in attendance at the event, so Rogers called him from the stage and put him on speakerphone, as the industry crowd shouted congratulations for his first No. 1 as a producer.

“If you had told me a couple years ago we’d be here, I’d have told you, you were crazy. It has been an incredible feeling and an incredible ride,” shared McCreery, who also thanked his wife Gabi, who served as the inspiration for the hit song. “It is easy to write love songs about you baby…appreciate you marrying me and saying yes, otherwise this song might not have made it on the radio,” the singer/songwriter quipped. “‘This is not it’ is not a great title.”

“This is It” was written a few weeks prior to Scotty’s marriage proposal to Gabi, and the video for the track featured footage from their wedding.

Others taking part in the No. 1 party included ASCAP’s Evyn Mustoe, BMI’s Mary Ann Keen, CRB President and Townsquare Media Sr. VP Kurt Johnson, Triple Tigers’ Norbert Nix, Kevin Herring and George Couri, SMACKSongs’ Lee Krabel, Fluid Music Revolution’s A.J. Burton, CMA’s Brandi Simms, and more.