Sam Hunt has announced his sophomore project SOUTHSIDE will be out April 3 on MCA Nashville. The album will feature his current Top 5-and-climbing hit “Kinfolks,” the introspective ballad “Sinning With You,” and more, and is the first full album of new music from Hunt since the release of his Grammy-nominated, triple-Platinum-selling debut, Montevallo.

Released in 2014, Montevallo produced four No. 1 singles and five Platinum and Multi-Platinum-selling hits including “Leave the Night On,” “House Party,” “Take Your Time,” “Break Up In A Small Town” and “Make You Miss Me.” Hunt’s smash hit “Body Like A Back Road” shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and remained there for an unprecedented 34 consecutive weeks, shattering the record for most weeks atop the nearly 59-year-old chart. “Body Like A Back Road” was also the No. 3 most-downloaded all-genre song of 2017. Since Montevallo’s release, Hunt has accumulated over 6.85 billion global streams and has earned 22 million RIAA certified units.

In addition to the April 3 new album release, Hunt will hit the road on The Southside Summer Tour 2020 with special guests Kip Moore, Travis Denning, ERNEST and a DJ set by Brandi Cyrus. The tour kicks off May 28 in Charlotte and visits over 40 markets including Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Birmingham, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego and more. Citi is the official presale credit card for tour, and Citi cardmembers can purchase presale tickets through Citi Entertainment from Feb. 11-13.

Joey McCarthy has joined Fourward Music as A&R/Creative Manager. McCarthy, who has years of experience in music and brand marketing, will be working out of the management company’s Los Angeles office.

“Joey is an incredibly talented, hungry and honorable executive who has seamlessly fit in the company culture immediately,” said Fourward Music founder and CEO Will Ward.

“Joey brings a lot of knowledge and excitement to the Fourward Music Team,” adds Fourward President Shannan Hatch. “He has connections in multi-genres and is well respected. We are creating a unique team on the business side as well as the creative space and feel Joey is the perfect addition to help create an even more diverse roster.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with someone as accomplished as Will,” said McCarthy. “Fourward has done an incredible job at signing emerging talent, which makes this a really exciting time to join the team. I look forward to contributing to the growth of Fourward music under Will and Shannan’s leadership.”

McCarthy also brings with him two up-and-coming DJs to join the Fourward roster. Seventeen-year-old DJ/producer TOMOS and London-based DJ/producer Aaron Hibell. TOMOS recently released his debut single with Red Music, which featured Jake Miller and quickly earned its way onto Radio Disney, where it stayed for 12 consecutive weeks. Hibell has had official remixes for Diplo, Sia, Lennon Stella, 3LAU and others and started producing at age 18. He is currently working on his debut EP.

 

Flood, Bumstead, McCready and McCarthy Inc. has promoted four staffers to senior account assistants, including Brian Huff, Iva Lowe, Zoey Miller and Schuyler Winans.

“We take pride in our team of bright and well-rounded employees,” said Julie Boos, owner and business manager at FBMM. “Brian, Iva, Zoey and Schuyler dive in every day eager to serve our clients with excellence. They’ve all gone above and beyond, and are incredibly deserving of this promotion.”

Huff joined FBMM in May 2018, having previously worked as an accounting intern at Great Minds in Washington, D.C. He also has experience in marketing and development through internships with Story District, Strathmore and Live Nation. He graduated from American University, where he received two bachelor’s degrees, one in music and the other in business and entertainment, with concentrations in arts management and music performance.

Lowe joined FBMM in June 2017. Before joining FBMM, she interned for Farris, Self and Moore, and also worked in the records office at the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith. She holds two bachelor’s degrees – one from Middle Tennessee State University in recording industries with a focus on music business, and another from the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith with a major in vocal music performance and a minor in sociology.

Miller came to FBMM in February 2018 with a background in the entertainment industry. Prior to FBMM, she worked as an independent contractor at Country Music Television for the CMT Awards, CMT Crossroads and CMT Artists of the Year event. She also worked for LEO Events and Premier Global, where she was responsible for different administrative duties such as tracking company purchases and updating accounts payable, accounts receivable and personnel records.

Winans came to FBMM in June 2018 with nearly two years of finance and data experience. Prior to joining the FBMM team, he worked as a financial adviser at AXA Equitable, where he helped clients plan for retirement, create investment plans and select life insurance coverage. He also worked as a data analyst at IPREO, a Nashville software company, where he compiled financial data.

According to new research commissioned by the Country Music Association, the percentage of country music listeners who tune in daily has increased slightly over the past six months, from 25% in May 2019, to 27% by the end of 2019.

“The fact that Country Music is garnering more daily listeners means we are connecting more frequently with our audience,” says Karen Stump, CMA Senior Director, Market Research. “We’re converting casual listeners to more engaged listeners.”

The research also shows that the upward shift in daily listening is more pronounced among country music listeners aged 18-34, and those 50-64. Satellite radio emerged as the platform with the most growth in daily usage among country listeners, while the levels of daily country music listening remained steady on other platforms.

The average country music listener also spends approximately 50% of their music listening time tuning in to the country genre, with non-country genres taking up an equal amount of listening time, though these shares vary by demographic, platform and geography.

The research is based on a sample of more than 12,000 music listeners over the age of 18. The data was collected monthly beginning in 2019.

These stats are released via the CMA’s newly-launched product Trend Watch, which offers a monthly look into the behaviors of country music consumers. The tool is exclusive to active CMA members.