Cody Alan

17-year CMT Hot 20 Countdown host Cody Alan will host his final show at the end of December, amid changes at Paramount. This will mark the end of the show, which first premiered in 2013.

Three additional staff members have also exited Paramount Global, following the company’s merger with Skydance Media. Sr. Director, Communications Ali Marszalkowski; Manager, Communications Justin Permenter and Sr. Director, Marketing and Creative Production Mark Thomas are among the departures.

Marszalkowski joined Paramount in 2019 as Director, Communications, before being elevated to Sr. Director, Communications in 2022. During her time with the company, she worked on projects for CMT, MTV, VMAs, Paramount+, Showtime and CBS. Before Paramount, she held roles at Sunshine Sachs and Rodale Inc. Marszalkowski graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelors in Public Relations.

Permenter joined Paramont/Viacom in 2017, and has worked on across programming on Paramount, Paramount+, MTV, CMT, Comedy Central and VMAs, as well as helped lead RuPaul’s Drag Race. He is a Florida State University graduate with a Bachelors in Marketing, Hospitality and Communications.

Thomas joined Paramount in 2019 as Marketing and Creative Production. During his time at the company, he worked on the CMT Music Awards, CMT Artists of the Year, CMT Crossroads, Yellowstone, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and more. Prior to Paramount, he held roles at AVVAY and Calvin Klein. Thomas is an East Tennessee State University graduate with a Bachelors in Marketing/Marketing Management. He is also currently the Secretary for the Recording Academy Nashville Chapter Board, and is also a CMA Member Ambassador and Co-Chair for CMA Foundation’s Music Teachers of Excellence event.

Patrick Kells, Robert Kelley and Adam Davis

CTK Enterprises has added three new department leaders to its team, establishing new divisions for its client roster. Patrick Kells has joined as Head of Retail Merchandising, Robert Kelley has been appointed GM, Dolly Parton’s Life Of Many Colors Museum, and Adam Davis has been named Director, Content Development & Archiving.

“I am proud to welcome three well-respected leaders to our team,” shares Danny Nozell, Founder/CEO of CTK Enterprises. “As we look toward the future, CTK continues expanding its role as a leading player in all areas of music and entertainment. Today’s announcement is just the beginning of what will be a growth era for CTK.”

Kells brings 30 years of expierence to the organization. He has held previous roles at Carnival Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, The Walt Disney Company and Ralph Lauren. Throughout his previous roles, he has had experience in lifestyle marketing, category planning and procurement, strategic business planning, digital commerce business and retail strategy. Kells holds a Bachelors in Business Management from Saint Vincent College, as well as a MBA in Marketing from Florida Atlantic University. He can be reached here.

Kelley joins CTK Enterprises after most recently serving as the President and Owner of his own Robert Kelley Consulting, where he worked with global hospitality oriented companies. His other previous career stops include Special Olympics USA Games and various Walt Disney World Theme Parks. Throughout his career, Kelley has been recognized with the Spirit of Disney Award, Disney’s Conservation Leadership Award, and Partners in Excellence. He can be reached here.

Davis joins the company after previously serving as Content Producer at Sony Music Entertainment for seven years. Before that, Davis worked as a freelancer, where he worked on NBC’s The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice, Bravo’s Top Chef, Bravo’s Cyrus vs. Cyrus, CMT’s I Love Kellie Pickler, and more. At Sony, he worked across its roster of artists fulfilling storytelling, production and post-production needs. Davis is a graduate of Belmont University with a Bachelors in Finance. He can be reached here.

The Kentucky Headhunters have reissued Big Boss Man, a one-of-a-kind project originally recorded in partnership with Sony/ATV Music Publishing two decades ago.

Long considered a hidden gem within the band’s catalog, Big Boss Man returns as a newly remastered, fully restored project, released on the band’s own Practice House Records label. The origins of the project go back to 2005, when then Sony/ATV President Donna Hilley, compilation supervisor Jack Jackson and creative director of new music Tom Long, approached The Headhunters with an idea to take 12 classics from the Sony/ATV catalog and “Headhunterize” them, infusing each song with the group’s signature energy. The purpose behind the project was to breathe new life into iconic songs to offer producers refreshed, sync-ready versions of timeless hits.

“In 2005, I traveled to Sony to pick up CDs of the catalog and came home with two very large boxes of music,” recalls Headhunters guitarist Richard Young. “The whole process was so much fun, but as the rest of the band will tell you, we probably spent more time in the Practice House just listening to the catalog and entertaining ourselves than it took to actually record the album! Sony’s catalog is so vast, it was a challenge narrowing it down to twelve songs.”

When the album, christened Big Boss Man, was completed, a small independent label issued a limited run of records before dissolving shortly thereafter. For nearly 20 years, the original recordings remained available only digitally and under a different title until Kathy Scobey, current head of Sony/ATV Publishing, worked with Young to strike a new agreement allowing the Headhunters to remaster and re-release Big Boss Man on Practice House.

“We’ve always been about honoring where we come from while pushing things forward,” adds Young. “This record captures that better than ever. It’s loud, raw, honest, and pure Headhunters.”

Big Boss Man is in select record stores now, and to help celebrate the album’s release, The Headhunters will return to the Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 6, performing as the Spotlight Artist for the Opry’s Country Classics show.

The Recording Academy has revealed that over 3,800 music creators and industry professionals have joined its 2025 New Member Class.

In the new membership class, 50% are 39 and under, 58% are People of Color and 35% identify as women. This year also marked the first time invitations were extended to all Latin Recording Academy Voting Members. Full new members demographics can be found here.

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting week — not only are we welcoming this year’s incredible new class of Academy members, but we’re just days away from unveiling the 2026 GRAMMY Awards nominees,” says Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “This year’s class reflects the vibrancy of today’s diverse music landscape. The addition of many Latin Recording Academy voting members underscores that music has no borders and that our mission to serve music people, regardless of where they are from, is stronger than ever. I can’t wait for our members’ passion and hard work to shine through in this year’s nominations.”

Membership for the Recording Academy include Voting Membership for recording creators and Professional Membership for music business professionals. All members are able to participate in year-round events, including DREAM, WingTM, GRAMMY U and more. All members also vote for GRAMMY winners.

The 2026 GRAMMY nominees will be revealed beginning at 10 a.m. CST this Friday (Nov. 7) via livestream on the GRAMMY website and YouTube. Among those who will announce the 2026 nominees are Angélique Kidjo, Brandi Carlile, CeCe Winans, Chappell Roan, David Foster, Doechii, Dr. Chelsey Green, Gayle King, Jon Batiste, KAROL G, Little Big Town, Lizzo, Masaki Koike, Mumford & Sons, Nicole Scherzinger, Sabrina Carpenter and Sam Smith.