Jimmie Allen. Photo: John Shearer
In 2018, Jimmie Allen made history with his warm, polished debut single “Best Shot,” as the first Black artist to launch their career with a No. 1 at country radio.
The song spent multiple weeks atop of the Country Airplay chart, and was later certified Platinum by the RIAA. He followed the smash hit with another chart-topper, “Make Me Want To.”
Allen, a co-writer on both of his No. 1 hits, knows something of how working together can craft something bigger and brighter than any one contributor could do on their own. Allen took inspiration from the collaborative spirit of writers’ rooms for his new EP, Bettie James, which released Friday (July 10) via Stoney Creek Records/BBR Music Group.
“I love when different artists do music together,” he tells MusicRow. “A lot of people collaborate on writing a song, and bring in two or three people to write it. Just like with writing, it’s even better when there is more than one person singing it.”
The eclectic Bettie James welcomes artists ranging from Country Music Hall of Fame members Charley Pride and The Oak Ridge Boys, to pop/R&B star Nelly, country artists Mickey Guyton, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Rita Wilson, to CCM star Tauren Wells. Lead single “This Is Us” features Noah Cyrus and has earned more than 30 million streams.
The EP’s title is a tribute to two relatives who helped inspire Allen’s love for country music—his late grandmother Bettie Snead and his late father James Allen.
“Growing up, my dad loved country music and my mom loved Christian music, and I loved R&B and rock and hip-hop. I remember being a kid and saying, ‘I want to do something with Charley Pride and I want to do something with Darius Rucker.’ My dad introduced me to Charley Pride’s music, and we loved Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw so I wanted to do a song with them. My grandmother loved the Oak Ridge Boys, and of course, ‘Elvira.’”
Allen welcomes each one of those artists on this new project. The album’s centerpiece is the sober gut-punch of “Why Things Happen,” a multi-generational collaboration that finds Allen trading vocal lines with Darius Rucker, 54, and country music’s first Black superstar, Charley Pride, 86.
“It means that I’ve done something right,” Allen says of having Pride and Rucker on the song. “It’s a stamp of approval on my music that I was looking for. Two guys that really helped pave the way for my career and helped me to move limitations that sometimes people might want to place on me because of the way I look. Those two guys showed that there are no limits. So to be able to do a song with the first Black country star and the guy who is the Black lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands of all time, and for them to agree to do a song with me, means they respect me and my music and that’s the biggest compliment I can get.”
Some of the album’s finest moments focus on finding the positive in challenging times—and though Allen says he wrote most of the four songs that bear his writing credit prior to the pandemic, these songs seems tailor-made for these times.
“Made For These,” featuring vocals from Tim McGraw, is one of the project’s most uplifting.
“I was just thinking about my musical journey, the hard times,” Allen says. “I’m not where I want to be yet career-wise, but looking back about five years ago, you start to realize that the struggles and the life lessons you learn prepare you for the success you want to achieve.”
I hope these hard times make me better and not just older, he sings on the piano-based “When This Is Over,” a clear-eyed, hopeful take on the current pandemic penned by Zach Kale, Jon Nite and Laura Veltz. He welcomes Tauren Wells and Rita Wilson on the track, which ends with stirring harmonies by the Oak Ridge Boys.
“[Oak Ridge Boys member] William Lee Golden’s son Craig is my tour bus driver,” Allen says. “So that was my in. I was like, ‘Talk to your dad.’” he says, laughing. “I just reached out to guys that I happened to have relationships with that just happen to be legends. It still trips me out that I’m friends with these guys.”
In marrying together songs and vocalists, Allen and manager/co-producer Ash Bowers sought to find just the right arrangement to bring out the best in each vocalist—perhaps nowhere more so than on “When This Is Over.”
“For me, I was looking at it as not a Jimmie Allen song, where it’s just about me and my voice. I was listening for what arrangement of vocals will help tell the story the best as far as tone, intensity, what is sung. I wanted to highlight the different voices and make sure that moments were there for every artist. For me that song was like a ‘We Are The World’ type thing.”
He also gives credit to BBR Music Group EVP Jon Loba for green lighting the project.
“The label loved the idea and I got to make a lot of creative decisions for my record. For sure, Loba was like, ‘Jimmie, I always want your musical vision to come through.’ They always want to support artists and their creativity.”
While some artists still in the early sunrise of their careers, with a handful of hits to their credit, would be focused solely on extending their chart successes, it’s clear that Allen’s goals for his music are loftier than mere chart hits and No. 1 parties—he’s striving for music that testifies to his full spectrum of creative abilities.
“When I write songs, I put out music that is special to me. It’s self-therapy. I don’t write a song and say, ‘I just want a song that’s going to be successful on radio and make a bunch of money.’ That’s not my motivation. My motivation is to write a song I love, that means something to me, and hopefully someone else likes it. That’s how I approach everything I do creatively.”
2020 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Male Songwriter of the Year
/by Sarah SkatesFollowing the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 32nd annual MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Male Songwriter of the Year category. Male Songwriter of the Year nominees are based on data from MusicRow’s Top Songwriter Chart. Eligible projects were active between April 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020
The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank
Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.
Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 17 at 5 p.m..
To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow member here.
Ross Copperman, Sony ATV/Endurance Music Group, BMI
“Catch,” recorded by Brett Young
“Get Along,” recorded by Kenny Chesney
“Lady,” recorded by Brett Young
“Living,” recorded by Dierks Bentley
“Love Ain’t,” recorded by Eli Young Band
“Nobody But You,” recorded by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani
“The Other Girl,” recorded by Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey
“Tip Of My Tongue,” recorded by Kenny Chesney
“What She Wants Tonight,” recorded by Luke Bryan
“World For Two,” recorded by King Calaway
Ashley Gorley, Round Hill Music, ASCAP
“Catch,” recorded by Brett Young
“Drop Everything,” recorded by Carlton Anderson
“Eyes On You,” recorded by Chase Rice
“Good Vibes,” recorded by Chris Janson
“Hard To Forget,” recorded by Sam Hunt
“Hole In The Bottle,” recorded by Kelsea Ballerini
“I Don’t Know About You,” recorded by Chris Lane
“Living,” recorded by Dierks Bentley
“Love Ain’t,” recorded by Eli Young Band
“Notice,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
“One Big Country Song,” recorded by LOCASH
“One Of Them Girls,” recorded by Lee Brice
“Over Drinking,” recorded by Little Big Town
“Remember You Young,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
“Ridin’ Roads,” recorded by Dustin Lynch
“Rumor,” recorded by Lee Brice
“Single Saturday Night,” recorded by Cole Swindell
Jon Nite, Sony/ATV, ASCAP
“Friends Don’t,” recorded by Maddie & Tae
“I Hope,” recorded by Gabby Barrett
“Knockin’ Boots,” recorded by Luke Bryan
“Lady,” recorded by Brett Young
“Living,” recorded by Dierks Bentley
“Lost In The Middle Of Nowhere,” recorded by Kane Brown and Becky G
“What She Wants Tonight,” recorded by Luke Bryan
Josh Osborne, Sony ATV/SMACK Songs, ASCAP
“Breaking Up Was Easy In The ’90s,” recorded by Sam Hunt
“Cheatin’ Songs,” recorded by Midland
“Hard To Forget,” recorded by Sam Hunt
“Kinfolks,” recorded by Sam Hunt
“Mr. Lonely,” recorded by Midland
“Never Be Sorry,” recorded by Old Dominion
“Nobody But You,” recorded by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani
“One Man Band,” recorded by Old Dominion
“Really Shouldn’t Drink Around You,” recorded by Teddy Robb
“Sinning With You,” recorded by Sam Hunt
“World For Two,” recorded by King Calaway
“Young Once,” recorded by Sam Hunt
Jordan M. Schmidt, Tree Vibez Music/Sony ATV, ASCAP
“Anything She Says,” recorded by Mitchell Tenpenny and Seaforth
“Blessings,” recorded by Florida Georgia Line
“Caught Up In The Country,” recorded by Rodney Atkins
“God’s Country,” recorded by Blake Shelton
“Like A Rodeo,” recorded by Kane Brown
“Rednecker,” recorded by HARDY
“This Is Us,” recorded by Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus
“We Back,” recorded by Jason Aldean
“Worldwide Beautiful,” recorded by Kane Brown
Jonathan Singleton, Big Machine Music/Spirit Music Nashville, ASCAP
“Beer Never Broke My Heart,” recorded by Luke Combs
“Die From A Broken Heart,” recorded by Maddie & Tae
“I Hope You’re Happy Now,” recorded by Carly Pearce and Lee Brice
“In Between,” recorded by Scotty McCreery
“Moon Over Mexico,” recorded by Luke Combs
“What You See Is What You Get,” recorded by Luke Combs
Chris Fabiani Joins Warner Music Nashville
/by Lorie HollabaughChris Fabiani
Chris Fabiani has joined Warner Music Nashville as Regional Manager of the Radio & Streaming Department. Fabiani steps into the role beginning today (July 13) and will report directly to Warner Music Nashville Radio & Streaming National Director Shari Roth.
Fabiani, who is based in Nashville, served as Director of Promotion and Artist Engagement at Universal Music Group for the past two years. He spent more than a decade with UMG, including six years as Director of Midwest Promotion at EMI.
“I’ve known and admired Chris for years,” Roth said. “He’s an absolute pro who loves our format and knows how to deliver airplay because he’s trusted and respected by our radio partners. I’m so thrilled to be finally working with him!”
“I am thrilled to be joining Kristen, Tom, Shari and the entire Warner/WEA team,” Fabiani said. “I look forward to working with their roster of talented artists and staff. I am excited to reconnect with many of my radio friends in the Midwest as well as some new faces.”
Reba McEntire, Vince Gill To Perform On Grand Ole Opry
/by Jessica NicholsonGill was inducted as a member of the Opry on Aug. 10, 1991 while McEntire became an Opry member on Jan. 17, 1987.
The two Oklahoma natives have collaborated for years. In 1988, Gill sang background vocals on McEntire’s self-titled studio project. In 1990, they recorded “Oklahoma Swing,” the second single from Gill’s breakthrough project When I Call Your Name. In 1993, the duo earned a chart-topper with the dramatic ballad “The Heart Won’t Lie.”
Gill says of McEntire, “She is arguably one of the greatest singers that will ever draw a breath.”
“The Grand Ole Opry has always been very special to me and my family,” said McEntire. “It’s part of my history, my heritage and my future, and I’m so excited to get to share the stage with Vince again. Just like Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Brother Oswald, Porter Wagoner and Loretta Lynn, Vince is an Opry legend. I’m proud to be an Opry member and I’ll always be proud to stand on the stage with Vince. Things may be a little different right now, but one thing stays the same – the Opry continues to bring great country music into the homes of the American people.”
Though Opry shows with a live Opry House audience are paused, the show will be broadcast live on Circle and Gray TV stations, DISH Studio Channel 102, Sling TV and other TV affiliates.
Bill Anderson Breathes New Life Into Hits On Latest Album
/by Lorie HollabaughBill Anderson is set to release his 73rd album, The Hits Re-Imagined, on July 24. The new project includes 10 of the most iconic songs the Country Music Hall of Famer has written and recorded, as well as songs he’s written that have become hits for George Strait, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney and more.
In addition to the re-imagined hits, the album also includes instrumental versions of each track. Co-produced by Anderson with Thomm Jutz, the album includes some of Anderson’s earliest hits like “City Lights” and “Po’ Folks,” as well as his more contemporary cuts such as “Whiskey Lullaby.”
The Hits Re-Imagined Track List:
1. Bright Lights and Country Music
2. Whiskey Lullaby
3. Po’ Folks
4. I’ll Wait for You
5. City Lights
6. Still
7. Give It Away
8. The Tips of My Fingers
9. A Lot of Things Different
10. Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn)
11. Bright Lights and Country Music (Instrumental)
12. Whiskey Lullaby (Instrumental)
13. Po’ Folks (Instrumental)
14. I’ll Wait for You (Instrumental)
15. City Lights (Instrumental)
16. Still (Instrumental)
17. Give It Away (Instrumental)
18. The Tips of My Fingers (Instrumental)
19. A Lot of Things Different (Instrumental)
20. Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn) (Instrumental)
2020 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year
/by Sarah SkatesFollowing the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 32nd annual MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year category.
The Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year is voted by MusicRow’s subscribed members to honor a Nashville songwriter and recording artist who for the first time wrote or co-wrote a Top 10 song for the first time during the eligibility period of April 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.
The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.
Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.
Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 17 at 5 p.m..
To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow member here.
Blanco Brown burst onto the music scene with the viral sensation “The Git Up,” ultimately earning four billion views across social platforms and holding the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 12 weeks. He wrote and produced the track, melding a style of southern music and rap he calls “TrailerTrap.” Brown is currently featured on Diplo’s new single “Do Si Do.” Brown’s career as a songwriter and producer includes work with Fergie, Childish Gambino, Chris Brown and Kane Brown.
Gabby Barrett shattered records as a co-writer of her debut single “I Hope.” The scorned lover anthem is a Platinum-certified country No. 1 with a video that tallied over 50 million views on YouTube alone. As the song surged in popularity, it powered up the Top 40 charts and a new crossover version was released featuring pop star Charlie Puth.
Ingrid Andress teamed with Sam Ellis and Derrick Southerland to write the No. 1 song “More Hearts Than Mine.” Their collaboration has the rare distinction of being a debut single that is also nominated for Song of the Year. Andress’ breakthrough as a recording artist follows a burgeoning songwriting career, where she collaborated with a spectrum of stylists such as Bebe Rexha, Charli XCX, Sam Hunt, and Alicia Keys.
Jameson Rodgers is the only nominee in this category with two qualifying hits, and whose songs were recorded by other artists: “I Don’t Know About You,” (Chris Lane) and “Talk You Out Of It” (Florida Georgia Line). While making significant headway as a songwriter, Rodgers also made strides as a recording artist and earned a nomination for Discovery Artist of the Year. Among his upcoming cuts is “Born Here Live Here Die Here,” the title track to Luke Bryan’s next album.
Matt Stell is the only artist in 2019 whose debut single topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart. He co-wrote the Platinum-certified song “Prayed For You” with Breakthrough Songwriter nominees Ash Bowers and Allison Veltz-Cruz. Additionally, Stell and Bowers co-produced the track. Stell follows that success with his currently climbing single, “Everywhere But On.”
Travis Denning scored his first No. 1 as co-writer of his own driving single “After A Few,” which has notched more than 130 million streams globally and is from his debut EP Beer’s Better Cold. Now he is following that success with songwriting credits on Michael Ray’s single “Her World Or Mine.” Denning has been building a strong reputation as a writer in recent years, securing cuts by Jason Aldean, Justin Moore, and Chase Rice.
‘CMA Best of Fest’ Airs Tonight On ABC
/by Jessica NicholsonCountry music fans can take a look back at 16 years of performances from CMA Fest tonight (July 13), as Luke Bryan hosts CMA Best of Fest, a three-hour show airing at 7 p.m. CT tonight on ABC.
The show will feature performances including Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins performing “Hillbilly Bone” (CMA Fest 2010), Carrie Underwood performing “Last Name” (CMA Fest 2010), Luke Combs performing “When It Rains It Pours,” Jason Aldean performing “She’s Country” (CMA Fest 2015), Maren Morris performing “GIRL” (CMA Fest 2019), Keith Urban performing “Wasted Time” (CMA Fest 2017), Eric Church and Lizzy Hale performing “That’s Damn Rock & Roll” (CMA Fest 2014), Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus performing “Old Town Road” (CMA Fest 2019), and more.
Other artists on the show will include Sam Hunt, Kane Brown, Brooks & Dunn, Dierks Bentley, Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert and more, with special appearances from Bobby Bones, Jim Gaffigan, Kirk Herbstreit, Peyton Mannning, Lionel Richie, Rob Riggle, Gwen Stefani, Michael Strahan and Rita Wilson.
Bryan will also offer a new performance alongside Darius Rucker.
CMA Fest is the longest-running country music festival, which has been held in Nashville annually since 1972. The fest was postponed this year due to concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19, but will return to downtown Nashville June 10-13, 2021.
SiriusXM To Acquire Stitcher
/by Lorie HollabaughWith the acquisition, SiriusXM’s combined properties will contain the largest addressable audience in the U.S. across all categories of digital audio including music, sports, talk, and podcasts. The transaction will also further extend SiriusXM’s reach in the digital audio ad marketplace. The SiriusXM and Pandora owned-and-operated digital platforms, combined with the company’s exclusive ad sales arrangement with SoundCloud for the U.S., and the Stitcher and Midroll networks that are subject to the agreement, will reach over 150 million listeners.
Stitcher creates original podcasts, operates multiple content networks that each target a specific genre and audience, and provides podcast ad agency services for leading shows. Through its Midroll Media ad network, Stitcher acts as a sales and marketing representative to connect advertisers and podcasts based on the desired target audience. Stitcher also owns and operates an app listening platform where consumers can stream the latest podcasts and entertainment shows on-demand and free of charge.
“The addition of Stitcher is an important next step as we continue to develop and strengthen our offering in the fast-growing podcasting market,” said Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer of SiriusXM. “With Stitcher, we will expand our digital audio advertising presence and look to generate new ways for creators to find and connect with their audiences. Stitcher has a talented team with deep experience in the podcast space, and we look forward to working with them to better meet the needs of creators, advertisers, and listeners.”
Jimmie Allen Follows His Childhood Dreams On All-Star Collaborative EP [Interview]
/by Jessica NicholsonJimmie Allen. Photo: John Shearer
In 2018, Jimmie Allen made history with his warm, polished debut single “Best Shot,” as the first Black artist to launch their career with a No. 1 at country radio.
The song spent multiple weeks atop of the Country Airplay chart, and was later certified Platinum by the RIAA. He followed the smash hit with another chart-topper, “Make Me Want To.”
Allen, a co-writer on both of his No. 1 hits, knows something of how working together can craft something bigger and brighter than any one contributor could do on their own. Allen took inspiration from the collaborative spirit of writers’ rooms for his new EP, Bettie James, which released Friday (July 10) via Stoney Creek Records/BBR Music Group.
“I love when different artists do music together,” he tells MusicRow. “A lot of people collaborate on writing a song, and bring in two or three people to write it. Just like with writing, it’s even better when there is more than one person singing it.”
The eclectic Bettie James welcomes artists ranging from Country Music Hall of Fame members Charley Pride and The Oak Ridge Boys, to pop/R&B star Nelly, country artists Mickey Guyton, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Rita Wilson, to CCM star Tauren Wells. Lead single “This Is Us” features Noah Cyrus and has earned more than 30 million streams.
The EP’s title is a tribute to two relatives who helped inspire Allen’s love for country music—his late grandmother Bettie Snead and his late father James Allen.
“Growing up, my dad loved country music and my mom loved Christian music, and I loved R&B and rock and hip-hop. I remember being a kid and saying, ‘I want to do something with Charley Pride and I want to do something with Darius Rucker.’ My dad introduced me to Charley Pride’s music, and we loved Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw so I wanted to do a song with them. My grandmother loved the Oak Ridge Boys, and of course, ‘Elvira.’”
Allen welcomes each one of those artists on this new project. The album’s centerpiece is the sober gut-punch of “Why Things Happen,” a multi-generational collaboration that finds Allen trading vocal lines with Darius Rucker, 54, and country music’s first Black superstar, Charley Pride, 86.
“It means that I’ve done something right,” Allen says of having Pride and Rucker on the song. “It’s a stamp of approval on my music that I was looking for. Two guys that really helped pave the way for my career and helped me to move limitations that sometimes people might want to place on me because of the way I look. Those two guys showed that there are no limits. So to be able to do a song with the first Black country star and the guy who is the Black lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands of all time, and for them to agree to do a song with me, means they respect me and my music and that’s the biggest compliment I can get.”
Some of the album’s finest moments focus on finding the positive in challenging times—and though Allen says he wrote most of the four songs that bear his writing credit prior to the pandemic, these songs seems tailor-made for these times.
“Made For These,” featuring vocals from Tim McGraw, is one of the project’s most uplifting.
“I was just thinking about my musical journey, the hard times,” Allen says. “I’m not where I want to be yet career-wise, but looking back about five years ago, you start to realize that the struggles and the life lessons you learn prepare you for the success you want to achieve.”
I hope these hard times make me better and not just older, he sings on the piano-based “When This Is Over,” a clear-eyed, hopeful take on the current pandemic penned by Zach Kale, Jon Nite and Laura Veltz. He welcomes Tauren Wells and Rita Wilson on the track, which ends with stirring harmonies by the Oak Ridge Boys.
“[Oak Ridge Boys member] William Lee Golden’s son Craig is my tour bus driver,” Allen says. “So that was my in. I was like, ‘Talk to your dad.’” he says, laughing. “I just reached out to guys that I happened to have relationships with that just happen to be legends. It still trips me out that I’m friends with these guys.”
In marrying together songs and vocalists, Allen and manager/co-producer Ash Bowers sought to find just the right arrangement to bring out the best in each vocalist—perhaps nowhere more so than on “When This Is Over.”
“For me, I was looking at it as not a Jimmie Allen song, where it’s just about me and my voice. I was listening for what arrangement of vocals will help tell the story the best as far as tone, intensity, what is sung. I wanted to highlight the different voices and make sure that moments were there for every artist. For me that song was like a ‘We Are The World’ type thing.”
He also gives credit to BBR Music Group EVP Jon Loba for green lighting the project.
“The label loved the idea and I got to make a lot of creative decisions for my record. For sure, Loba was like, ‘Jimmie, I always want your musical vision to come through.’ They always want to support artists and their creativity.”
While some artists still in the early sunrise of their careers, with a handful of hits to their credit, would be focused solely on extending their chart successes, it’s clear that Allen’s goals for his music are loftier than mere chart hits and No. 1 parties—he’s striving for music that testifies to his full spectrum of creative abilities.
“When I write songs, I put out music that is special to me. It’s self-therapy. I don’t write a song and say, ‘I just want a song that’s going to be successful on radio and make a bunch of money.’ That’s not my motivation. My motivation is to write a song I love, that means something to me, and hopefully someone else likes it. That’s how I approach everything I do creatively.”
Nick Di Fruscia To Join RMusic
/by Lorie HollabaughNick Di Fruscia will soon exit his role as VP/Awards & Membership of the Academy of Country Music on July 16 and has taken a position as the Development Executive for RMusic, a company that has created an iOS app that enables music creators to collaborate.
Di Fruscia previously spent nine years with the Grammy Awards as Director of Awards and two years as Director of Music Licensing at MySpace. With this move to RMusic, he will continue to pursue his love for music creation by transitioning to the creative and content side of the business.
“My time at the Academy has been tremendous and I look forward to seeing its future unfold,” said Di Fruscia. “I’ve had an exceptional breadth of experience over my two decade career in music and that will serve me well in my next professional chapter.”
“Nick is one of the most brilliant and well-liked people in the music industry and we can’t imagine a better person to help us further develop this concept of bringing songwriters and producers closer together through technology,” said Peter Stengaard, founder of RMusic. “His experience as both a top notch creative and an awesome executive business leader makes him an obvious choice for RMusic.”
RMusic has created an iOS app that enables a music creator to record melody ideas, write lyrics immediately over an instrumental track or beat, and with one click, share takes and lyrics back to a collaborator. RMusic lets creators share ideas back and forth and keeps track of songs previously worked on.
Mechanical Licensing Collective Launches Tools For Self-Administered Songwriters, Publishers
/by Jessica NicholsonThe Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) has announced two initiatives developed to help self-administered songwriters, composers, lyricists, administrators and music publishers organize and prepare their musical works data. By participating in The MLC’s Data Quality Initiative (DQI) or using the Music Data Organization Form, The MLC’s stakeholders can “Play Their Part” in helping The MLC fulfill its important mission of paying royalties accurately and expediently for their benefit.
The MLC created the Data Quality Initiative (DQI) to provide a streamlined way for music publishers, administrators and foreign collective management organizations (CMOs) to compare large schedules of their musical works’ data against The MLC’s data.
Through the DQI, The MLC will provide participants with reports that highlight the discrepancies between the two sets of data so that they can more easily address those discrepancies and improve the quality of The MLC’s data.
The MLC has begun working directly with a number of music publishers and administrators to on-board them into the initiative.
The MLC is also working with software vendors to help them enhance their platforms to enable users of their systems to participate in the initiative. The MLC looks forward to working with other music publishers, administrators, CMOs and software system vendors interested in participating in The MLC’s Data Quality Initiative.
“One of the biggest and most time-consuming challenges for music publishers, administrators and CMOs is checking the accuracy of their musical works’ data,” said Richard Thompson, CIO of The MLC. “We launched the Data Quality Initiative to help those parties increase the efficiency and effectiveness of this process. Participants in the initiative will be able to see where their musical works data does not match The MLC’s data, so that they can then take the necessary corrective action.”
The MLC created the Music Data Organization Form to help self-administered songwriters, composers and lyricists begin to organize their musical works’ data ahead of The MLC’s roll-out of The MLC Portal.
“The Music Data Organization Form is designed as a worksheet to help guide self-administered writers through the process of collecting the data they’ll need to register with The MLC,” said Kris Ahrend, CEO of The MLC. “The form essentially outlines the information self-administered writers will need to compile in order to register their musical works in The MLC Portal.”
The MLC intends to begin rolling out the first version of its user portal later this quarter. This version will enable users to set-up their accounts and then search, view and edit The MLC’s data for existing musical works and register new musical works.