Spotify Launches New Songwriters Hub

/by

Spotify has launched a new Songwriters Hub to help fans, collaborators, and industry partners discover and connect with the creators behind their favorite songs.

The hub contains an extensive collection of Written By playlists, songwriting-focused podcasts, popular songwriter playlists, and a rotating slate of highlights (Featured Songwriter, Featured Releases, shelves dedicated to specific holidays or cultural moments, and more).

The company is also rolling out a new, additional slate of Songwriter Pages, honoring the extensive and versatile catalogs of behind-the-scenes creators Ashley Gorley, Gregg Wattenberg, Ant Clemons, Noonie Bao, Sia, Bebe Rexha, and Irving Berlin.  Since the Songwriter Pages launched in February, songs with clickable songwriting credits have accumulated more than 127 billion streams on Spotify.

“With the launch of the Songwriters Hub, we’re continuing to evolve how music is discovered, appreciated, and enjoyed by the world,” said Jules Parker, Head of Songwriter and Publishing Relations, Spotify. “Supporting publishers and songwriters goes hand in hand with artist discovery. People know who an artist is. They don’t know who the writers are, necessarily. If we can help make those connections, we help people discover new music and open up potential career opportunities for the songwriter. It all ties back to our mission of helping creators live off their work.”

To access the Songwriters Hub, search ‘Songwriters’ on Spotify, or use this direct link.

Carrie Underwood’s ‘My Gift’ Continues Reign Atop Charts

/by

Carrie Underwood’s first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, continues its reign in the sales and streaming worlds this holiday season, following its No. 1 debut across multiple global charts. Released Sept. 25, My Gift debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country, Christian and Holiday charts, marking Underwood’s eighth straight album to debut at No. 1 on the publication’s country albums chart, where it remains for the third non-consecutive week.

My Gift currently sits at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 and stays at No. 1 on the Christian chart after 11 weeks.

Additionally, Underwood has released a special behind-the-scenes look from the set of the music video for “Hallelujah,” her duet with John Legend. See the official music video here. The original song was written by Legend and Toby Gad (“All of Me”). The video was directed by Randee St. Nicholas, who has shot multiple videos with Underwood throughout her career. 

Legend appears as a guest on Underwood’s new music special My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood, which is streaming now on HBO Max. They will also perform “Hallelujah” on NBC’s Global Citizen’s Prize on Dec. 19.

Underwood is set for Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday, Dec. 17, followed by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday, Dec. 18.

Gabby Barrett Breaks ‘Billboard’ Hot Country Songs Record

/by

Gabby Barrett. Photo credit: Robby Klein

Gabby Barrett’s 3-times Platinum debut “I Hope,” has made history and is now the longest-leading No. 1 by an unaccompanied female artist in the history of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with a 20-week reign. This chart is comprised of metrics from radio airplay, sales data and streaming data.

“Wow, I’m blown away,” shares the Warner Music Nashville artist. “This year has been absolutely crazy for all of us, so to have this kind of year career-wise feels surreal. I’m so grateful for every step that my team, my fans and most importantly my family have taken to bring us here. Thank you to all of you, and to Country radio, for making this possible!”

Putting the cherry on top of her breakout 2020, Barrett was listed as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Music. “I Hope” was the most-streamed country song of the year, with the Hot AC chart-topping version featuring Charlie Puth named to Rolling Stone’s 10 Best Country Collaborations of 2020 and Best Pop Collaborations of 2020. Barrett’s Top 25-and-rising single “The Good Ones” just surpassed 100 million on-demand streams and has been officially certified Gold by the RIAA.

Bruce Kalmick’s WHY&HOW Staffs Up

/by

Bruce Kalmick

Artist manager Bruce Kalmick on Wednesday (Dec. 16) shared more details about his recently launched company, WHY&HOW, which represents artists including BRELAND, Chase Rice, KALEO, and many others (full roster below).

Kalmick was previously a partner at Triple 8 Management, with several artists moving from Triple 8 to WHY&HOW.

Based in Austin, Texas with representatives across several major cities, WHY&HOW is a full-service artist management company with diversified ventures across music, entertainment, digital, branding and spirits, representing clients both domestically and globally. 

Joining Kalmick on the WHY&HOW team are three artist managers who previously worked with him and are being elevated to Vice President roles: Rachel Cave (Belle Mt., ZZ Ward), Eddie Kloesel (Chase Rice, Bones Owens, Whiskey Myers) and Kelly Kresen (KALEO, Nox Holloway, FERBY).

Additional staff members include Artist Manager Pete Olson (Tyler Braden, Seaforth), Day to Day Manager Matt Stubbs (Kelleigh Bannen), Creative Director Evan Kaufmann, Senior Marketing Director Lesley DiPietro, Marketing Directors Avery Bashaw and Chelsea Cankar, Executive Assistant Chloe Strickland and Management Assistants Eric Radford, Wane Lindsey and Olivia Dahlstrom.

Olson, Stubbs, Kaufmann and Bashaw previously worked with Kalmick, while DiPietro, Cankar, Strickland, Radford, Lindsey and Dahlstrom join the team as new hires.

Wednesday’s announcement says the organization plans to diversify with focuses ranging from publishing to educational and philanthropic endeavors. “We believe the foundation of success in any business starts with paying it forward,” notes Kalmick. “Our first initiative is to give back; both in charitable donations with W&H IMPACT, and also through our W&H EDU initiative further aiding educators by being a resource and encouraging a diverse group of future industry leaders attending universities around the world.”

WHY&HOW Artist Roster: Belle Mt., Bones Owens, BRELAND, Chase Rice, Deezie Brown, FERBY, KALEO, Kelleigh Bannen, Nox Holloway, Seaforth, SRPN (Samantha Ronson & Pete Nappi), Taylor McCall, Tyler Braden, Whiskey Myers, ZZ Ward

(L-R): Rachel Cave, Eddie Kloesel, Kelly Kresen

Contact WHY&HOW Staff Members (ex. firstname@whyandhow.com):
Bruce Kalmick – bruce@whyandhow.com
Rachel Cave – rachel@whyandhow.com
Eddie Kloesel – eddie@whyandhow.com
Kelly Kresen – kelly@whyandhow.com
Pete Olson – pete@whyandhow.com
Matt Stubbs – matt@whyandhow.com
Evan Kaufmann – evan@whyandhow.com
Lesley DiPietro – lesley@whyandhow.com
Avery Bashaw – avery@whyandhow.com
Chelsea Cankar – chelsea@whyandhow.com
Chloe Strickland – chloe@whyandhow.com
Eric Radford – eric@whyandhow.com
Wane Lindsey – wane@whyandhow.com
Olivia Dahlstrom – olivia@whyandhow.com

For more information, visit www.whyandhow.com and follow on Instagram and Facebook @whyandhowmgmt.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective Plans Database Webinar, Toolkit For Educators

/by

The Mechanical Licensing Collective is presenting a webinar about the organization’s Bulk Database Feed at 11 a.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 17, hosted by Richard Thompson (CIO) and Raphael Amselli (Technical Consultant).

The webinar will provide an overview of the format, timing and pricing of the data feed, which will be a comprehensive and invaluable resource for DSPs, music publishers, CMOs, record labels, metadata companies and others throughout the industry. Individuals interested in participating in this free webinar can register for it here. 

The MLC has also released its new Educator Toolkit, created to help college educators teach students, particularly those studying music and music business, about the changes to the administration of digital audio mechanical rights in the U.S. that will begin taking effect in January 2021 as a result of the landmark Music Modernization Act. Beginning next month, mechanical royalties from streaming in the U.S. will be processed and paid out by The MLC at no cost to songwriters or music publishers.

The Toolkit offers instructors a range of materials they can incorporate into their existing syllabi or use to create new course modules, including a comprehensive introductory video, a white-label customizable PowerPoint presentation, suggested classroom activities and exam questions, and a list of informational videos, articles, and other resources on copyright and the history of mechanical licensing.

Instructors and educational institutions can find out more about The MLC’s Educator Toolkit here.

‘Opry Live’ Notches No. 1 on Year-End Livestreamers Chart

/by

Circle Network’s one-hour “Opry Live” program earned the No. 1 spot on Pollstar’s Top 100 Livestreamers Chart (year-end) across all genres, with 30,327,437 views, nearly 15 million views higher than the second runner-up.

Additionally, 28 “Opry Live” shows are in the Top 100 Livestreams Chart, with two landing in the Top 10. Country icons and Grand Ole Opry members Vince Gill and Reba McEntire’s July performance came in at No. 9 with more than 2.6 million views, directly followed by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s September performance at No. 10 with more than 2.2 million views.

As of today, “Opry Live” has reached over 50 million views from 50 countries around the world.

“Opry Live” broadcasts twice more in 2020, including this Saturday, Dec. 19 at 9:00 pm EST when Circle will air a Christmas Special hosted by Amy Grant and featuring performances by an all-star lineup including Lauren Alaina, Lady A and Kelsea Ballerini. 

Dolly Parton And Edge Beauty Team For New Fragrance Partnership

/by

Dolly Parton is launching her own line of fragrances through a new deal with beauty industry supergroup Edge Beauty, Inc. The company and the superstar have inked a long-term license agreement for the creation, development and distribution of the fragrances with the first collection set to launch in spring 2021.

“Fragrance has always played a major role in my life—I wear my own combination of scents every day,” said Parton. “I am so excited to share this dream with my fans. Developing my own brand and scent with Edge Beauty has been an amazing experience, and I am looking forward to becoming a big part of the fragrance community.”

“We are thrilled to share a new facet of Dolly’s personality with her millions of fans and admirers. She strikes a universal chord that resonates globally in the hearts of people across all age groups and many cultures,” said Steve Mormoris, CEO of Edge Beauty, Inc. “The Dolly Parton franchise will be a powerhouse pillar for Edge Beauty and we are delighted to build Dolly’s brand.”

Ringing In The Holidays Warner Style

/by

Christmas parties are going virtual for 2020, including these two jolly online festivities hosted by Warner Chappell Music Nashville and Warner Music Nashville.

Warner Chappell Christmas Costume party, click to enlarge.

The Warner Chappell Music Nashville team (above) got creative this year and hosted a virtual Christmas Costume party via Microsoft Teams. While everyone brought their A-game with Christmas sweaters, reindeer ears, and Santa hats, the clear winner was Bethany Mako (A&R/Admin Assistant) who (temporarily) dyed her hair green and turned it into a Christmas tree—with lights, ornaments, and a star on top.

Warner Music Nashville (below) hosted a Radio & Streaming Virtual Holiday Happy Hour on Monday evening (Dec. 14), raising a toast to the holidays in matching shirts.

Warner Music Nashville’s virtual gathering, click to enlarge.

‘And The Writer Is…’ Podcast Launches New Live Demo Review Series For Songwriters

/by

Music podcast “And The Writer Is…” is launching a live demo critique web series, “And The Demo Is…,” to feature up-and-coming songwriters and offer them support. The live series will debut on the “And The Writer Is…” official YouTube channel tomorrow (Dec. 17) at 11 a.m. PT. Songwriters are encouraged to upload their demos here for a chance to be featured on the new show.

“We initially planned on releasing ‘And The Demo Is…’ through Twitch,” said ATWI creator and host Ross Golan. “It came to light however that Twitch refuses to pay songwriters for the use of their songs. They’re simply stealing music and we will never partner with platforms that actively act in bad faith to hurt our community. So, we’re proudly switching to YouTube, who has been successfully reaching out to the music industry to build a bridge between their platform and us.”

The podcast, which just celebrated its 100th episode, has aired for six seasons and can be heard on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, YouTube, and other popular podcast platforms. Highlights from this season include interviews with Peter Frampton, Benny Blanco, Nija Charles, Linda Perry, Lance Bass, Meghan Trainor, Daniel Lanois, and many others.

Subscription Boxes Help Artists Stay Connected With Fans

/by

With concert touring on hold, Brantley Gilbert and Lauren Alaina are among the artists staying connected with fans through quarterly subscription boxes.

“Lauren Alaina’s surPRIZE Box” features hand-picked, custom products highlighting her passion for fitness, cooking, songwriting and her love of puns. She partnered with BLCK Label, LLC for design and delivery of the boxes which start at $49.99 at LaurenAlainaOfficial.com.

The “Brantley Gilbert’s Selects” box offiers hand-picked and custom-made items such as a Machine Era Brass Pen or a fire-proof blanket. He partnered with BattlBox to launch an at-home experience for the BG Nation. Subscriptions start at $59.99 at BrantleyGilbert.com

This week Gilbert announced plans to close out 2020 with a bang with an exclusive livestream from his home in Georgia on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. CT. Emmy-award winning production company 7 Cinematics will be producing the livestream which will air on nugs.net. Tickets are priced at $14.99 and available at 2nu.gs/Brantley.

Lauren Alaina, Photo Credit: Katie Kauss