Zach Diaz

Seasoned music industry member Zach Diaz has joined Soundstripe as Head of Streaming.

In his new role, he will bring his extensive experience at Red Bull Records as well as Sony Music Entertainment’s RED Distribution and The Orchard to Soundstripe, overseeing all of the company’s activities with digital service providers, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more.

Prior to joining Soundstripe, Diaz held multiple positions in the independent distribution and label space, working with all major digital music services on the front lines of the industry’s transition to a subscription-based model. After an early career in artist management, Diaz entered the account management space in 2013, spending five years at Sony Music Entertainment’s RED Distribution and The Orchard overseeing DSP relationships for some of the industry’s most acclaimed independent labels. In 2018, Diaz spent two years at Red Bull Records as vice president of Global Digital Account Management and overseeing DSP relations and strategy. While at Red Bull, he worked closely with a wide array of artists including AWOLNATION, The Aces, Albert Hammond Jr., Beartooth, and Blxt.

“Zach is an incredible addition to the Soundstripe team,” says VP Music at Soundstripe Jay Harren. “His knowledge of the music streaming landscape and strong relationships within the industry promise to further accelerate Soundstripe’s audience growth on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other platforms. We’re delighted to welcome him aboard.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to join Soundstripe,” says Diaz. “Soundstripe’s deep catalog of high-quality music – including thousands of lofi, chill and mood tracks – is well positioned to significantly scale on music streaming services. I’m looking forward to working with all DSP’s to continue growing Soundstripe’s booming listenership.”

Jenny Tolman is giving fans a chance to be reintroduced to Jennyville, the outrageous fictional town at the heart of her debut project, when the deluxe version of her album, There Goes the Neighborhood, is released with three bonus tracks April 9.

The album is stacked with high-energy tunes interspersed with heartfelt ballads drawn from life experiences. Among the three new tunes is “Still Gonna Die,” an up-tempo cover of a song written by Shel Silverstein and initially performed by country supergroup Old Dogs (Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, Jerry Reed) in 1988. Tolman remembers hearing the song on Willie’s Roadhouse, a SiriusXM Radio channel, and started closing every show with it as a grateful nod to those who paved the way in the comedic music genre.

Another new track, “Who’ll Be Your Fool” features Opry legend Jeannie Seely in a wistful ballad written from the perspective of a woman contemplating who her lover’s next woman will be. Rounding out the trio of new songs is “Tabitha,” one of the first songs Tolman ever completed (at age 18 in 2014) that helped build her fan base on social media, though she had never recorded it other than as a live performance.

Tolman’s first hometown show in over a year will be in-person and live-streamed from The Local in Nashville on Wednesday, April 7 at 6 p.m. CT.

Jeannie Seely and Jenny Tolman share a laugh while recording. Photo: Randy Shaffer from Vibe Entertainment

Zach Crowell. Photo: Courtesy of Tape Room Music

Zach Crowell has signed a worldwide agreement with Round Hill Music, which includes the acquisition and administration of his back catalog, neighboring rights (via Sound Hill, Round Hill Music’s recently-launched neighboring rights division) and producer royalties. Tape Room Music will remain involved in Crowell’s publishing through a joint venture with Round Hill moving forward.

An award-winning songwriter and producer, Crowell has written 13 No.1’s and produced 12 No.1’s at country radio. His hit with Sam Hunt, “Body Like A Back Road,” set an all-time record of 34 weeks for the most time spent at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart by a solo male performer—Crowell co-wrote, produced and mixed the crossover smash. His additional writing and producing credits include Hunt’s triple Platinum debut, Montevallo, select tracks on Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller, “Cop Car” by Keith Urban, and “Strong” for the 2014 National Chevy Silverado advertising campaign. He’s received three CMA Triple Play awards, which recognize songwriters with three or more No. 1 songs in one year, and been nominated for several Grammy, CMA and ACM Awards.

Most recently, Crowell achieved three No. 1 songs with Hunt’s “Kinfolks” (co-writer and producer), “Hard to Forget” (producer) and Dustin Lynch’s “Ridin’ Roads” (co-writer and producer). He currently has two singles, Lynch’s “Momma’s House” (producer) and Hunt’s “Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s” (co-writer and producer).

“As a songwriter and producer, Zach is one of country music’s true contemporary icons,” says Josh Gruss, founder and CEO of Round Hill Music. “His originality and creative genius alongside his amazing track record of success speaks for itself and his star will only continue to shine brighter.”

“Zach was the first writer signed to Tape Room and we couldn’t be happier to continue our long successful relationship together with Round Hill moving forward,” shares Blain Rhodes, general manager of Tape Room Music.

“Round Hill has always been on the front edge of where the music business is headed and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the team,” says Crowell.

Country Rewind Records has released Tex Williams‘ Smokin’ Country Swing – The Lost Tracks as part of the labels Western Heritage Collection.

Williams was a western swing performer that helped to country music from its rural, acoustic origins to a more danceable, electrified form with a much wider popular appeal. His biggest hit was the novelty song, “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)”, which held the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts for sixteen weeks in 1947. Williams died in 1985.

The record was co-produced by Aaron Dethrage and Rex Allen Jr. with Thomas Gramuglia as executive producer. Bil VornDick provided additional recording for the project which was recorded at EastSide Manor and Mountainside Audio Lab recording studios in Nashville and is being distributed by Select-O-Hits in both national and international markets.

“This Tex Williams’ album is a rare and special treat for the fans of Western Swing Music, by one of the genre’s greatest artist” says Gramuglia. “These lost tracks have been updated to make the album more modern sounding by adding instruments and blending it into the original recordings. This was a work of love for the musicians and producers.”

Country Rewind Records has previously released projects of other country legends such as Conway Twitty, Johnny Russell, Mickey Gilley, Tex Ritter, Merle Travis, Billy Don Burns, Carl Smith, Waylon Jennings, Connie Smith, Jeannie C. Riley and more.

Smokin’ Country Swing – The Lost Tracks Track List:
1.   Alimony (Sollie Paul “Tex” Williams and Buddy Ebsen)
2.   Every Night (Edward Townsend, Roni Rae and Scott Johnson)
3.   Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette) (Sollie Paul “Tex” Williams and Merle Travis)
4.   Just A Bummin’ Around  (Peter Graves)
5.   Long John (Eddie Miller and Enos William “Skeets” McDonald)
6.  White Silver Sands (Charles G. “Red” Matthews)
7.   Let’s Go Rockabilly (John Gluck, Jr. and Diane Charlotte Lampert)
8.   Roll On Buddy (Nine Pound Hammer) (Merle Robert Travis)
9.   Roses and Revolvers (Joseph Francis “Sonny” Burke, Paul Francis Webster and Don Raye)
10.   Sidetracked (Don Larkin and Joe Simpson)
11.   You’re Cold, So Cold (James Clarence “Jimmy” Wakely and Sollie Paul “Tex” Williams)
12.   Talkin’ To The Blues (James “Jim” Ellsworth Lowe and Marvin Moore)
13.   Castle Of My Dreams (J. L. Bateman and Steve Chase)
14.   Worried Mind (Theron Eugene “Ted” Daffan and Jimmie H. Davis)
15.   When I Call The Roll (Ricky Riddle)

Chris Martignago, Rachel Wein

Prescription Songs’ Head of A&R Nashville, Katie Fagan, has announced that Chris Martignago has been hired on as a senior member of the A&R team. Meanwhile, Rachel Wein has also been promoted to A&R manager.

Martignago comes to Prescription Songs to help develop the company’s expanding roster. Prior to joining the company, he spent time at Atlantic Records where he helped sign talent under SVP of A&R Steve Robertson’s (Paramore, Shinedown) mentorship. He also helped develop the A&R research sector of the company as director of the department.

Martignago started out as a musician and songwriter before attending Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida where he graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in music business. In 2015, he relocated to Nashville, signing artists in town, collaborating with the creative community through projects, volunteering his time to local arts programs, and involved himself in managing R.LUM.R. Now joining the team at Prescription Songs, Martignago will continue his efforts in guiding creative visions throughout Nashville and the rest of the world.

Wein, in her new role as A&R Manager, will continue to support the many talents she was instrumental in signing, including Tim Gent, Bryant Taylor, carobae, James Droll and Megan Redmond, and will continue to grow the company’s roster. Wein joined Prescription Songs in 2017 as Fagan’s first hire in their Nashville office.

“We’re so excited for this next chapter at Prescription. Chris has been a longtime friend and colleague since I arrived in Nashville, so to have him now officially part of the team is really exciting. He has introduced us to unsigned writers over the years during his time at Atlantic, so I know he will thrive as a publisher and I’m excited to see him excel here,” says Fagan. “As for Rachel, I’ve watched her grow from my assistant to now being an A&R. She has been an integral part of our company’s growth over the past four years. I know her passion for songwriters and songs will continue for years to come and am honored to have her on our team.”