Pictured, Top row (L-R): Chris Kappy and Jarrod Holley (Make Wake Artists), Zebb Luster and Lynn Oliver-Cline (River House Artists). Middle row (L-R): Chris King (King Business & Financial Management), Chip Petree (Ritholz Levy Fields LLP), Drew Parker, Zach Farnum (117 Publicity). Bottom row (L-R): Sam Forbert (CAA), Matt Cottingham (Ritholz Levy Fields)

Drew Parker has renewed his publishing deal with River House Artists. Parker’s writing credits include Luke Combs’ “1, 2 Many,” “Lonely One,” and “Nothing Like You,” as well as Jake Owen’s recent No. 1 hit “Homemade.” Parker is also repped by Make Wake Artists, CAA, 117 Publicity, King Business Management and Riholz Levy Fields, LLP.

Once tours are able to resume, Parker will open for Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get tour in 2021. In the meantime, he has been writing new music and and will release the fan-favorite track “While You’re Gone” on Aug. 14.

“Writing and creating country music is the best job in the world,” Parker says. “When you get to do it with folks that are like family it makes it that much better. It’s probably very clichè to say this but, for me, writing at River House is like writing at home. From Zebb giving me my first couch to sleep on in town five years ago, to Lynn hearing me play a writers round three years ago and believing in me, the River House team has always supported my dreams. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for my River House family.”

“Drew is an incredible songwriter and even better person. I feel so lucky to have met him early on and find such success so quickly. We are just getting started, cheers to many more years together!” says Lynn Oliver-Cline, Founder of River House Artists.

BRELAND. Photo: Jimmy Fontaine

Bad Realm/Atlantic Records artist BRELAND is celebrating a Gold-certified single, with his viral country-trap hit “My Truck.” The track was released earlier this year and the music video has earned 27 million views. “My Truck” is featured on BRELAND’s self-titled EP, which released in May, and also includes a remix of “My Truck” featuring Sam Hunt. BRELAND co-wrote every track on the EP, including “In The Woulds” which features guest vocals from Lauren Alaina and Chase Rice.

Breland shared on Instagram, “WOW. My debut single. I know I usually hit y’all with the long captions but all I can say this time is thank you so much ❤️ ? The first of many.”

From Elvis In Nashville, a new four-CD digital collection due out Nov. 20, will chronicle Elvis Presley‘s 1970 marathon sessions with the “Nashville Cats.” Recorded live in RCA’s Studio B in Nashville over the course of five days in June 1970 (with an additional session on Sept. 22), Elvis’ performances from those sessions formed the core of three of his most successful studio albums from the 1970s: Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old) and Love Letters from Elvis.

On From Elvis In Nashville, Presley’s studio tracks from the 1970 marathon sessions are presented newly-mixed by acclaimed engineer Matt Ross-Spring (John Prine, Jason Isbell) without the added overdubs or orchestration appearing on earlier releases. The project will be available in a boxed set including two bonus discs of rare and/or unreleased outtakes from the 1970 sessions (also available digitally).

The sessions are widely recognized as among Elvis’ best because of the undeniable chemistry between Elvis and his studio band comprised of multi-instrumentalist Charlie McCoy, bassist Norbert Putnam, and pianist David Briggs. Known as the “Nashville Cats,” this finely-honed studio ensemble connected the worlds of pop, rock and country. For the June sessions, Elvis brought in his longtime on-stage guitarist James Burton; Eddie Hinton (who, like Putnam and Briggs, was part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) played lead guitar on Elvis’ Sept. 22 session, and Elvis plays acoustic guitar throughout the June sessions.

Graceland will be offering an exclusive double LP edition of From Elvis In Nashville, pressed on aqua/tangerine 12″ vinyl. A country classic from the album, Elvis’ rendition of “I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water,” is available now digitally.

President Donald Trump issued executives orders on Thursday (Aug. 6) to ban social media apps TikTok and WeChat from operating in the United States if they are not sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies within 45 days.

The order regarding TikTok prohibits “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd.,” the Chinese company that owns the social media platform, after 45 days. The orders do not state that a definite amount of funds from the TikTok sale are required to be sent to the US Treasury Department.

The order alleges that TikTok’s platform “automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users,” which “threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.”

After issuing the order regarding TikTok, a similar order for the Tencent-owned chat app WeChat soon followed, with Trump stating, “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China) continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. To protect our Nation, I took action to address the threat posed by one mobile application, TikTok. Further action is needed to address a similar threat posed by another mobile application, WeChat.”

TikTok is a community full of creativity and passion, a home that brings joy to families and meaningful careers to creators. And we are building this platform for the long term. TikTok will be here for many years to come.

We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process. For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the US government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.

We made clear our intentions to work with the appropriate officials to devise a solution to benefit our users, creators, partners, employees, and the broader community in the United States. There has been, and continues to be, no due process or adherence to the law. The text of the decision makes it plain that there has been a reliance on unnamed “reports” with no citations, fears that the app “may be” used for misinformation campaigns with no substantiation of such fears, and concerns about the collection of data that is industry standard for thousands of mobile apps around the world. We have made clear that TikTok has never shared user data with the Chinese government, nor censored content at its request. In fact, we make our moderation guidelines and algorithm source code available in our Transparency Center, which is a level of accountability no peer company has committed to. We even expressed our willingness to pursue a full sale of the US business to an American company.

This Executive Order risks undermining global businesses’ trust in the United States’ commitment to the rule of law, which has served as a magnet for investment and spurred decades of American economic growth. And it sets a dangerous precedent for the concept of free expression and open markets. We will pursue all remedies available to us in order to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and our users are treated fairly – if not by the Administration, then by the US courts.

We want the 100 million Americans who love our platform because it is your home for expression, entertainment, and connection to know: TikTok has never, and will never, waver in our commitment to you. We prioritize your safety, security, and the trust of our community – always. As TikTok users, creators, partners, and family, you have the right to express your opinions to your elected representatives, including the White House. You have the right to be heard.