BMI, Taylor Guitars & Shure’s ‘My #1 Moment’ Returns For Second Season

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BMI, Taylor Guitars, and Shure have unveiled a second season of the weekly collaborative social media video series, “My #1 Moment,” which highlights BMI songwriters and the songs that took them to the top of the charts.

Season two includes performances from writers Nick Van Eede, Nate Mercereau, Ernest K. Smith, David Hodges, Ruby Amanfu and Sam Ashworth, Brad Arnold, Mitchy Collins, Sergio Vallín, David Lee, and Ilsey Juber.

The second installation includes a variety of genres, including pop, rock, latin, country, and more, and will offer viewers a unique opportunity to hear hits and their back stories from the songwriters who brought them to life. Each episode is recorded using a Shure MV88+ Video Kit and performed on the writer’s commemorative Taylor 210e Deluxe guitar.

Season one of “My #1 Moment” highlighted an all-star lineup of country hits and included performances from BMI country songwriters HARDY, Russell Dickerson, Devin Dawson, Randy Montana, Scotty McCreery, Riley Green, Ben Burgess, Ash Bowers, and Robert Williford.

New episodes will debut at 10 a.m. CST each Wednesday beginning today (4/21) available to watch on Taylor Guitar’s Instagram.

On The Cover: Bobby Bones Graces MusicRow Magazine’s 2021 InCharge Issue

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Esteemed radio and television personality Bobby Bones graces the cover of MusicRow Magazine’s 2021 InCharge issue.

This annual guide highlights some of the most influential music industry executives in the Nashville entertainment community. This year’s edition includes 382 profiles which are accompanied by contact information, career biographies, and detailed board and organizational membership affiliations.

The guide also includes a company appendix, record label staff appendix, and a professional categories appendix which lists executives by their areas of expertise, including label, talent agency, management, music publishing, legal, finance, performing rights organizations and more.

As host of the No. 1 country morning show, The Bobby Bones Show, Bones recently garnered his second CMA Award for National Broadcast Personality of the Year and fourth ACM Award for National On-Air Personality of the Year. He is the host of his own podcast, BobbyCast, which has been downloaded nearly 20 million times. Bones is the official in-house mentor on ABC’s American Idol and is set to star and serve as executive producer in a new travel TV show titled Breaking Bobby Bones, coming to National Geographic on May 31. Additionally, Bones won season 27 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and serves as host and executive producer of Opry, a weekly TV program airing highlights from the Grand Ole Opry stage on Circle Network. He is a two-time New York Times No. 1 best-selling author and has recently become the youngest-ever inductee into the prestigious National Radio Hall of Fame.

“The last 12 months have seen the COVID-19 pandemic harshly impact the lives and livelihoods of our Nashville music industry while completely stifling the live entertainment segment,” says MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson. “There has perhaps been no other time in our history when our industry’s leadership and talent have been more important in helping us navigate back to the success achieved prior to this deadly disease. The challenges have been enormous, but the talent in this issue is undeniable and provides assurance that our industry will continue to rise back up, and soar to even greater heights.”

In this issue of InCharge, MusicRow Magazine also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the publication by creating a beautifully woven timeline of MusicRow’s history. From the publications’ creation in April of 1981 as a one-page directory to the multi-format media presence that it holds in 2021, the timeline highlights MusicRow‘s milestone moments throughout its 40 years.

Single copies of MusicRow’s 2021 InCharge issue are available for purchase at musicrow.com for $110, and are included with yearly MusicRow subscribed memberships. Please note that issues of MusicRow Magazine’s InCharge issue can only be purchased online as the MusicRow building is currently closed to the public due to COVID-19.

Wasserman Music Acquires Paradigm’s Live Music Roster

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Wasserman Music has launched following the completion of the acquisition of Paradigm Talent Agency’s North American live music representation business. The announcement was made by Casey Wasserman, chairman and CEO of Wasserman.

Wasserman Music and its marquee roster of artists joins the Wasserman team. The intersection of sports, entertainment, lifestyle marketing, culture, and music comprises the foundation of Wasserman’s business and has fueled its success for close to 20 years. Some of the artists on Wasserman Music’s roster include Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Dave Matthews Band, Janelle Monáe, Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Phish, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Sturgill Simpson, Black Pumas, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Kaytranada, Normani, Run the Jewels, Tash Sultana, Diplo, DJ Snake, Flume, Jack Harlow, ODESZA, and Skrillex.

Structurally, Wasserman Music will be operated as a unit of the larger Wasserman organization and will be led by Casey Wasserman, his existing executive management team, and a seasoned group of executive agents. Marty Diamond, Jonathan Levine, Jackie Nalpant, Sam Hunt, Corrie Martin, Lee Anderson, and Matt Rodriguez will focus on executive oversight of the business on a day-to-day basis. Tom Windish, Joe Rosenberg, and Lori Feldman will round out the team to provide business development, operational, and marketing support, as well as expertise and connectivity in operating and integrating all branded entertainment. The business will open with a strong balance sheet, more than 130 employees, and plans to expand assertively as the live entertainment business rebounds in 2021 and 2022.

Casey Wasserman. Photo: Rainer Hosch

“I have worked side-by-side with this remarkable group of people to build a blueprint for success and I am continually impressed with their tenacity and care for both their clients and the business. But most important is our shared commitment to cultivating a culture of forward progress so this new business appropriately reflects the artists and fans we serve,” says Wasserman. “This is a dynamic opportunity to create new collaborations between the family of brands and talent that Wasserman currently represents in a meaningful and impactful way, and I am excited to get started.”

Wasserman Music has made a commitment to build a more inclusive business and as a starting point, has forged a partnership with the national advocacy organization Color Of Change. The agency is one of the inaugural industry leaders who signed onto the organization’s #ChangeMusic Roadmap, an initiative that challenges leaders in music to move the industry beyond conversation and intention and towards actionable racial justice. Additionally, Wasserman Music will have broad access to the tools, solutions, and social change strategies advocated by Wasserman’s Inclusion Council and its women-focused unit, The Collective, as they work to embody a more inclusive business.

Gilda’s Club Sets Third Annual Songwriter’s Night

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Pictured (clockwise): Dave Brainard, Jenny Tolman, Leslie Satcher, Tony Arata

Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee is hosting its 3rd Annual Songwriters Night on Sunday, May 2 at The Reserve at Fat Bottom Brewery to champion the Gilda’s Club cause. Participating writers include Tony Arata, Leslie Satcher, Jenny Tolman, and Dave Brainard.

Cancer patients throughout Middle Tennessee and worldwide have experienced the strain, uncertainty and isolation brought on by the global pandemic like few others. Because of COVID-19, these individuals have needed—and will continue to need—additional emotional and social support, making the work being done at Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee more essential than ever.

“The adults, teens, children and families we serve don’t have the luxury of putting cancer on hold. Cancer doesn’t quit—even in the face of COVID,” says Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee President and CEO, Harriet Schiftan, MSW, MAJCS. “In fact, in the first four months of the pandemic, we received a typical year’s worth of requests for resources and support—more than 1,500. Over the course of 2020, we served close to 8,500 individuals, both in-person and virtually. Gilda’s Club is increasingly a lifeline for your friends, families and neighbors being impacted by cancer.”

“We are thrilled to have the support of these four talented and generous songwriters, all of whom answered our call for support with a quick and resounding ‘yes.’ We are also excited to be able to offer two ways for guests to experience this event: virtually via Zoom or in-person at the beautiful, indoor-outdoor space at Fat Bottom Brewing, which we chose specifically because it allows us to create a COVID-smart event,” Schiftan says.

Sponsors of Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee’s 3rd Annual Songwriters event include Tennessee Oncology, American Paper and Twine, Studio 8 Design, Denise Alper, and Helen and Steve Lane.

Tickets are available here.

Andrew Jannakos Signs With Spirit Music Nashville

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Pictured (L-R, back row): Kara Jackson, Spirit Music Nashville; Matt Cottingham, Ritholz Levy Fields LLP; Frank Rogers, SMN; Mike Fiorentino, SMN; Derek Wells, SMN; Andrew Cohen, Cohencidence Projects; Anthony Stone, Cohencidence Projects; (front row): Andrew Jannakos

Andrew Jannakos has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Spirit Music Nashville.

The Sony Music Nashville artist first made waves with the release of his breakout single “Gone Too Soon” in September. Upon its release, he debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artist Chart, and the track debuted at No. 12 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart and within the Hot 100. “Gone Too Soon” is currently impacting country radio nationwide and has amassed over 50 million on-demand streams to date.

The song was originally teased in July 2020 on Jannakos’ TikTok, when his girlfriend (now wife) posted a clip of him singing to the track while cooking dinner, and by the following morning, the post had racked up 250k likes. In four months time, he amassed 40 million TikTok views and 6 million likes with nearly 1 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Many of Jannakos’ followers know him from his run on season 16 of NBC’s The Voice.

“We are beyond excited to welcome Andrew to the Spirit Music family,” says Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Music Nashville, Frank Rogers. “We were fans from the very first note. He is a world class singer, songwriter and cook….according to him (I’m still waiting for that dinner invite, AJ). We are thrilled to partner with Andrew, his management team and Sony Music to bring his music to the world!”

“AJ has felt like family from the start… and we are thrilled to now make that official!” says Sr. Director A&R, Spirit Music Nashville, Derek Wells. “His voice as an artist and a writer speaks for itself and he’s just such a great human being. He is so representative of what we believe in signing here at Spirit Music Nashville and we’re excited to partner with him and his team for this ride. Fired up about this guy!” 

“You know, it’s pretty amazing that my job is to make music now,” says Jannakos. “I never thought I would have got this opportunity before, but here we are. And I can’t ever express my gratitude and thankfulness for my family over at Spirit Music Group—they have believed in me since the moment they heard my music and to me that’s everything. They have pushed me already to be the best songwriter I can be, and continue to every day. I’m so excited to be a part of the Spirit family and I can’t wait for y’all to hear the music we write!”

Hard 8 // Working Group Celebrates Tate McRae’s Top 40 Chart-Topper

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Nashville-based management firm Hard 8//Working Group is celebrating its 2nd anniversary of signing Tate McRae with a No. 1 single at Top 40 radio.

A year after the rising star released the hit single “You Broke Me First,” the song has reached the No. 1 spot. This breaks the record for the longest climb to No. 1 by a female solo artist at 28 weeks. The track has also surpassed over 1 billion streams worldwide, and has been on the Hot 100 (peaking at No. 17; currently No. 21) longer than any other song released by a female in 2020 with 33 weeks.

Dirk Hemsath, Co-Founder and CEO recalls, “By the middle of April we were on board managing Tate with the team including myself, David Conway (a partner) and Matt Feldman. By that point she had only released one song via RCA called “Kids are Alright” and we laid out a plan for new recordings, videos and photo shoots. We decided to release songs along with videos on a steady schedule, one every 6-8 weeks and debuted with “Tear Myself Apart,” then “All My Friends are Fake” and then “Stupid.” “Stupid” became the first song to go to the next level. This was all in the first six months of us working together and her turning 16.”

When the video shoot for “You Broke Me First” was cancelled, Tate shot the video for the song with a phone taped to a car that drove while she followed it, and the subsequent video has garnered 100 million views. The track has continued to grow, racking up a billion streams, becoming a Top 5 hit in UK, Australia, Germany and many more, and achieving Platinum and multi-Platinum status in over a dozen countries.

Hard 8//Working Group was formed by Hemsath and Rich Egan as a full service music management company based in Nashville, and represent artists, producers, and songwriters including Tate, All Time Low, Daughtry, Hobo Johnson, and Jawbreaker, among others.

NMAAM To Honor Musical Pioneers With 2021 Rhapsody & Rhythm Awards

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The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) has announced that they will be presenting Rhapsody & Rhythm Awards to musical pioneers Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers during the museum’s seventh annual Celebration of Legends Benefit Concert on Thursday, June 17.

“NMAAM showcases Black music excellence every day, but this year’s Black Music Month will be a special one as we celebrate the museum’s opening with phenomenal music icons and Black music fans across the world,” says NMAAM President and CEO Henry Beecher Hicks III. “We can’t wait to open our doors and share in the joy of Juneteenth weekend with our supporters, fans and a few musical legends, as well.”

As part of the Nashville-based museum’s fundraising efforts, the benefit concert will kick off a weekend-long Black Music Month celebration hosted by NMAAM and Amazon. Additionally, this year’s benefit concert will include a mix of in-person and virtual experiences to celebrate the recipients with limited in-person seating.

“One of Amazon’s core values is to think big. We know that we can only do that when we all work together to recognize, elevate and celebrate all voices,” says Courtney Ross, Amazon Nashville’s senior manager of External Affairs. “We are excited to be NMAAM’s partner and the presenting sponsor for this year’s Black Music Month celebration. The work the museum is doing is essential to helping our wider community expand the way it thinks, and it’s an honor to be a part of it all.”

Since 2014, NMAAM has celebrated music legends with the Rhapsody & Rhythm Award as part of their annual Celebration of Legends Benefit Concert. Past honorees include Black music icons CeCe Winans, Nile Rodgers, Gloria Gaynor, George Clinton, Jody Watley, Keb’ Mo’ and many more.

A schedule of events, performers, and more information on this year’s Black Music Month festivities will be shared in the coming weeks.

Read the biographies of the 2021 honorees below:

Quincy Jones has encompassed the roles of composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, TV producer, record company executive, television station owner, magazine founder, multimedia entrepreneur and humanitarian. Among the multitude of awards that he has received for his contributions are an Emmy Award, seven Academy Award nominations and 28 Grammy Awards.

Lionel Richie has a discography of albums and singles that are second to none. He has more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, six Grammy Awards, and the distinctions of Music Cares Person of the Year in 2016 and Kennedy Center Honoree in 2017. In 2018, Richie put his handprints and footprints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, one of the oldest awards in Hollywood. The Tuskegee, Alabama, native is a true musical icon.

Once pronounced by Bob Dylan as America’s “greatest living poet,” acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson has a career spanning over four decades of hits. He has received numerous awards including the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Honorary Doctorate (Howard University), Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts Award from President George W. Bush. He has also been inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.

The Fisk Jubilee Singers are vocal artists and students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, who sing and travel worldwide. The ensemble was selected as a recipient of the 2008 National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honor for artists and patrons of the arts. The award was presented by President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, during a ceremony at the White House. Additional awards received by the Fisk Jubilee Singers include a Dove Award, the Recording Academy Honors, Synergy Award and 2021 Grammy Award. The ensemble has been inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

On The Row: Raleigh Keegan Uses Rich Musicianship To Tell Unconventional Story

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Raleigh Keegan. Photo: David McClister

Raleigh Keegan was born in the Columbus State Penitentiary while his birth mother was serving for drug charges. She gave him up for adoption, so Keegan was able to grow up in a loving household.

“She made the incredibly brave decision to give me up for adoption. I was adopted a couple of days after I was born and grew up about 15 minutes north of the river in Cincinnati. I have amazing parents. They got me and my brother involved in everything,” Keegan said in a recent virtual visit with MusicRow.

His passion for music was encouraged as a child, and he now plays five instruments—but piano is his weapon of choice.

“When I was in kindergarten I would [play] my kindergarten teacher’s piano. He told my parents that I was playing things that a kindergartener shouldn’t know how to play. So my parents, being the parents they are, found a free piano in Michigan. So we drove seven and a half hours to Michigan and brought an upright piano back in a minivan,” Keegan said. “It was out of tune when we first got it and it could never be tuned, so I learned how to play on an out-of-tune piano and it’s really funny because on all my records, there are out of tune pianos because I like the sound of them.”

Keegan also excelled in jazz trombone in his high school band, but quit in college to play football. “I decided to play football so the girls would like me,” he quipped.

After college Keegan became a personal trainer. While in that job, he heard his first impactful taste of country music, which altered the course of his life.

“I listened to a Zac Brown Band record, they did it for me,” Keegan said. “I grew up on James Taylor, Billy Joel, and the Eagles; people like that. Country music wasn’t in my life until I heard Zac Brown Band. They got me obsessed with country music. On my lunch breaks, I would write songs.”

Keegan kept writing and started releasing his songs to a growing social media following. “I really caught the bug then, I was smitten. I had to do this thing, to the point where my wife and I, we sold our house to pay for my first record in Nashville. That was a crazy experience because I had to figure out how to pay our bills with only music.”

Keegan started booking gigs for himself until he and his wife could move to Nashville. He eventually met Grammy award-winning producer Ryan Gore (Old Dominion, Jon Pardi), and has since released “Way Back,” “Another Good Day,” and “Long Line of Lovers,” which have contributed to the 7 million streams across his catalog.

Keegan’s “Long Line of Lovers” is inspired by stories about his ancestry, which he learned from his biological mother when he reconnected with her.

“She told me the story about why she was in prison. She told me about her family and that it runs in the family a little bit because her dad was a bank robber,” Keegan said. “He was part of America’s top 10 most wanted people. So I understood for the first time why I so loved to break the rules, not like robbing banks, but in general. I’m a risk taker or rule breaker.

“Part of my story is I don’t completely fall in line with them, because of my wife. She’s just a big part of my story and how I didn’t end up another person on a long line of lovers who love the wrong thing.”

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Freddy Powers’ Life And Music Celebrated With New Memoir

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The life and music of late country songwriter, producer and musician Freddy Powers, who is credited for bringing Dixieland Jazz into the Nashville mainstream, will be honored with a new memoir out May 15. An accompanying digital soundtrack and two new live albums will also be available April 23.

The Spree of 83: The Life And Times Of Freddy Powers was co-written with by Freddy with his wife, Catherine Powers, and biographer Jake Brown. The memoir recounts first-hand the story behind Powers’ decades-long career in the music business, including his battle with Parkinson’s disease in the years leading to his death in 2016.

The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame inductee has been to the top of the charts as both a producer (Willie Nelson’s Grammy-winning Over the Rainbow LP) and songwriter, penning many No. 1 hits with Merle Haggard, who adds commentary to the book.

“Freddy’s strongest suit, I always thought, was his rhythm guitar playing. He was a great rhythm guitar player, and he wrote some great songs with and for Merle,” says country music icon Willie Nelson of Powers.

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Joining Nelson and Haggard, who both contribute extensive exclusive commentary, are players and peers from all six decades of Powers’ star-studded career, including Sonny Throckmorton, Paul Buskirk, Floyd Tillman, Tanya Tucker, Big & Rich, Larry Gatlin, producer Frank Liddell, Mary Sarah, and more.

In addition to the book, fans can stream a dynamic collection of new music available on all digital platforms featuring musical duets and collaborations with many of the aforementioned music stars.

For upcoming special announcements on free bonus content including never-before-seen music, live performances, and fan giveaways visit www.TheSpreeof83Book.com.

BMLG And CreatiVets Announce Partnership To Help Veterans

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Big Machine Label Group and CreatiVets have announced a special campaign that involves new music releases on the 20th of every month to pay tribute to the 20 veterans that commit suicide every day.

Intending to shed light on that troubling statistic—shared in a study by the Department of Veterans Affairs—all partners are aligning to drive attention to the issue, while magnifying real-life stories told through music intended to help combat veterans.

CreatiVets empowers wounded veterans to heal through the arts and music. Through songwriting sessions, they are providing veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and brain injuries the opportunity to use art, music, and creative writing to share their experiences and enabling them with tools they can use the rest of their lives. Each song is written to tell the veteran’s personal story and to provide a new strategy to help cope with anxiety and depression. Many veterans continue to write songs on their own, which only furthers the healing process.

“We’ve seen time and time again the healing power of music not only help our program participants, but also those American heroes who have access to listen to these songs,” says CreatiVets Co-Founder & Executive Director Richard Casper. “Our mission with this music series is perhaps counterintuitive to the music industry’s normal strategies. We aim to reach the right audience, not necessarily the largest audience, and I love the fact that our friends at Big Machine are okay with that fact. I know first-hand how isolating it can feel, sitting at home, not feeling like anyone can understand what you’ve gone through. With [Amazon’s] Alexa now in homes across this country, if we can save one life in this process by making these musical stories readily available, our efforts will be worth it.”

This month’s release, “They Call Me Doc” featuring Vince Gill, Aaron Lewis and Dan Tyminksi follows the release of “Rise Above” featuring Craig Campbell, “Until It Feels Like Home” featuring Blackjack Billy, and “Workin’ In The Dirt” featuring Chris Ferrara. Future tracks to be released in the upcoming months will feature noteworthy country names including Justin Moore, Craig Morgan, Heath Sanders and more.

The money raised from the streams of these songs goes directly towards helping veterans.