Drew Bland

Drew Bland has exited from his position as VP of Promotion at Monument Records, MusicRow has confirmed.

With over 15 years of experience working at radio stations across the country, Bland came to Monument from a post as Program Director of radio stations KKWF in Seattle and before that WWKA in Orlando. At Monument, he managed a team of four and handled the radio promotion of artists including Caitlyn Smith, Walker Hayes, Teddy Robb, Brandon Ratcliff, Alex Hall, and Tigirlily.

Bland was named to MusicRow‘s 2021 N.B.T. Industry Directory, which highlights Nashville music business professionals who are on a trajectory of excellence to successfully lead the Nashville music industry into the future.

Monument said in a statement that news about a new VP of Promotion will be made next week. “We wish Drew well in his future endeavors,” the statement reads.

Holly Zabka & Blaine Barcus

Provident Entertainment has announced two new promotions within its ranks for Holly Zabka and Blaine Barcus.

Zabka was elevated to Sr. Vice President for Essential Music Publishing (EMP) in 2020, and now adds the title of Head of Creative for Provident Label Group (PLG) to her role. Zabka reports to Terry Hemmings, President/CEO of Provident Entertainment. Formerly VP of A&R, Barcus has been promoted to Sr. Vice President, A&R for PLG, joining the Provident leadership team led by Hemmings and reporting to Zabka.

Zabka was the first executive hired to run Essential Music Publishing as Sr. Director in 2018, and in 2013 she was promoted to VP. Over the last 13 years, Zabka and her team have over 17,000 copyrights and more than 70 No. 1 songs, including “You Say” recorded by Lauren Daigle, Zach Williams’ “There Was Jesus,” For King & Country‘s “Together,” Tauren Wells‘ “Famous For,” among many others. Through Zabka’s leadership, Provident’s Publishing division has received four GMA Dove Awards for Song of the Year, was named 2019 and 2020 BMI Publisher of the Year, and is a four-time SESAC Publisher of the Year.

Under Zabka’s direction, EMP has been responsible for signing and partnering with songwriters such as Jason Ingram, Ethan Hulse, Mia Fieldes, and Jonathan Smith, to name a few. They have also signed and represented Provident Label Group artist/songwriters Williams, Wells, Matt Maher, CAIN, and more. Also under her leadership, EMP developed the Essential Worship imprint and church marketing platform, representing hundreds of worship songs for the church including “Graves Into Gardens,” “Goodness of God,” “Great Are You Lord,” “Reckless Love,” “Tremble,” “Glorious Day,” as well as worship/church platforms Elevation Worship, Vertical Worship, Red Rocks Worship, and others.

“Holly joined me in starting our publishing company from the ground floor. She brought knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to the role, as well as the special understanding and care required to work with talented writers throughout a long and successful career,” Hemmings shares. “This role will allow Holly to oversee all of our creative endeavors including publishing and recording as well as new content development. She is deserving of this role in so many ways and I consider her a strong and trusted ally in our company and beyond.”

With 25 years of experience in the music industry, Barcus joined Provident Entertainment as Vice President of A&R in 2005. Previously working as an artist manager, tour manager, and musician, during Barcus’ tenure at Provident he’s signed and/or worked directly with artists such as Willliams, Maher, CAIN, Third Day, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman, and many others. Under his direction, his artist roster has released three Platinum-certified albums, five Gold-certified albums, two Platinum singles, and seven Gold singles. Additionally, his roster has earned five Grammy Awards, 16 Grammy nominations, and numerous GMA Dove Awards.

Over the course of his A&R career, Barcus has signed seven artists who were GMA Dove Award New Artist of the Year nominees, with two winning the award. His roster has also been successful on the radio charts, releasing 25 No. 1 radio hits, with an additional 20 songs making it into the Top 5.

“Blaine has contributed so much to our roster with his ability to develop strong relationships with artists on his roster as well as source songs that can take them to the next level,” Hemmings comments. “In overseeing A&R, this role will allow Blaine to contribute his skills to our entire roster as well as develop new A&R talent as we work to grow the department in the coming months. I’m excited for Blaine and I look forward to what’s ahead as he moves into this new position.”

Pictured (L-R, top row): Cason Cooley, Luke Dick, Shani Gandhi, Martin Johnson; (L-R, bottom row): Brandon Paddock, Jon Randall, Danen Reed Rector, F. Reid Shippen.

Triple 8 Management has expanded their services into the producer space as they add to their growing client roster.

Triple 8 has taken a leading role in this developing trend, with a robust roster of producers including Cason Cooley (Needtobreathe, American Authors, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors); Grammy nominated songwriter and producer Luke Dick (Miranda Lambert, Kip Moore, Jackson Dean); multi-Grammy nominated mixer, engineer, and producer Shani Gandhi (Sierra Hull, The Mountain Goats, Sarah Jarosz); as well as multi-talented artist, producer, and songwriter Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls and The Night Game (Elle King, Chase Rice, Lady A) who co-wrote and produced King and Lambert’s current hit, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”

Triple 8 also added producer and songwriter Brandon Paddock (Chase Rice, Lady A, The Night Game); Grammy, ACM, and CMA Award-winning producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jon Randall (Dierks Bentley, Parker McCollum, Dwight Yoakam) who most recently collaborated with Lambert and Jack Ingram on The Marfa Tapes; producer and songwriter Danen Reed Rector (Charlotte Sands, Kyd The Band, Quinn Lewis); and multi-Grammy award winning mixer, engineer, and producer and two-time ACM Audio Engineer of the Year F. Reid Shippen (Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Ingrid Michaelson).

“It all started with Alena Moran,” notes Triple 8 Owner George Couri. “I heard from her and multiple Grammy-winning producer and mixer Reid Shippen about wanting to all work together, even though we didn’t manage producers at the time. It has gone exceedingly well to serve him, and so, with Alena and others on the team now, we look forward to continuing to grow this area of our business.”

Alan Jackson. Photo: Katie Kauss

Last Saturday (June 26), Alan Jackson returned to his hometown of Newnan, Ga. to headline a day-long concert event to raise money for residents whose lives were upended by an EF-4 tornado earlier this year.

The event raised an estimated $2,000,000 for tornado relief, and Jackson’s headlining set was preceded by Chris Young, Caylee Hammack, and Adam and Brian Wright. Jered Ames from Jackson’s downtown Nashville honky-tonk, AJ’s Good Time Bar, and local artists Corbette Jackson and Will Finley entertained early in the afternoon as concertgoers filled the Coweta County Fairgrounds while college football Hall of Famer David Pollack emceed.

Chris Young, Alan Jackson, and Caylee Hammack. Photo: Katie Kauss

“It’s good to be back down here in my hometown of Newnan, Georgia,” Jackson told the crowd of over 20,000. “I’m from Newnan and my wife, Denise, is from Newnan. We were both born and raised here and all of our childhood and young adult memories come from this area. When we saw what that tornado did coming through here a few months ago, it broke my heart. It broke Denise’s heart. We had relatives affected by it and friends. The high school that we went to got hit. I was hoping we’d be able to do something to try to help down here and it’s just been amazing how this community came together to make this happen.”

Jackson’s headlining performance was livestreamed exclusively on Facebook and reached nearly 1,000,000 fans worldwide, allowing them to contribute to the fundraising efforts. Donations can still be made via Facebook, by phone (text “Give” to 844-737-4859), via Venmo (@CowetaFoundation), or the Foundation’s website.

Pictured (L-R): Emily Wright (UTA, Music Brand Partnerships), Brent Weinstein (UTA, Chief Innovation Officer), Jefferey Hasson (UTA, Agent), Alana Springsteen, Haley Fairman (UTA, Agent), Josh Garrett (UTA, Agent), Basak Kizilisik (Eighteen Company, Management). Photo: David Bradley

Pandora’s 2021 Country Artist to Watch, Alana Springsteen, has signed with UTA for worldwide representation.

In just over a year, Springsteen has independently surpassed over 30 million on-demand steams and amassed 670 playlist adds. The 20-year-old Virginia Beach native signed her first publishing deal at just 14, and has continued to grow her catalog since.

Springsteen notched co-writer and co-producer credits on her latest release, “California,” and is also active when it comes to charitable initiatives, recently being named the Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s newest Celebrity Ambassador.

“The UTA team blew me away with their passion, excitement, and plan for me and my music,” says Springsteen. “They understood me and my vision from day one, and UTA definitely felt like home. They’re brilliant at what they do, and I’m so grateful they’re now a part of the fam. Thank you to Jeffrey [Hasson], Brent [Weinstein], David [Zedeck], and the entire team. I can’t wait for everything to come!”

“We’re beyond excited to represent such an amazing artist, songwriter, and performer as Alana Springsteen,” shares Hasson and Zedeck. “From our first meeting, we were impressed by her drive, purpose, and raw talent. Alana’s unique ability to capture emotions in the songs that she writes, and her commanding presence onstage, is a very rare gift. She’s a superstar in the making and we can’t wait to help share her talent with the world.”

Springsteen is signed to Eighteen Company in partnership with SB Projects for management, and publishing with Warehouse West Entertainment. She is set to release more new music later this year.