Industry Pics: Maren Morris, Kane Brown, ASCAP, BMI, The Recording Academy

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Maren Morris Celebrates Platinum In The Big Easy

(L-R): Sony Music Nashville’s COO/EVP Ken Robold and Chairman/CEO Randy Goodman, Maren Morris, and SMN SVP Sales/Streaming Caryl Atwood. Photo credit: Catherine Powell

Maren Morris was surprised with an RIAA Platinum certification plaque for her No. 1 hit “Girl” backstage following her performance at Miranda Lambert’s Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars tour stop at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans last Friday (Oct. 4). The Platinum hit was the lead single from Maren Morris’ sophomore album GIRL. Morris is the most-nominated artist for the 2019 CMA Awards airing on ABC on Nov. 13.

 

Plaque Attack For Kane Brown

(L-R): Sony Music Nashville’s Sr. Director Marketing Jennifer Way, VP Creative Services Tracy Fleaner and EVP A&R Jim Catino; Kane Brown; Sony Music Nashville’s COO/EVP Ken Robold and SVP Sales/Streaming Caryl Atwood; EFG Management’s Martha Earls and Brown’s producer Dann Huff  Photo credit: Alex Alvga

Kane Brown was surprised late last week with four RIAA certification plaques while cutting vocals at Sound Stage studio on Music Row. In March, Brown’s sophomore album Experiment and its lead single “Lose It” were certified Gold and Platinum, respectively. Last week, “Good As You” was certified Platinum and Kane Brown’s current single “Homesick” was certified Gold.

 

ASCAP Brings Bluebird Vibe To Napa For Notes For Education

(L-R): Josh Mirenda, ASCAP’s Holly Chester, Hannah Dasher, Notes For Education’s Debi Leal, Jonathan Singleton, ASCAP’s Alison Toczylowski Webber, Deric Ruttan. Photo: Ed Rode

Napa Valley and Nashville-based non-profit organization Notes For Education presented The Bluebird Cafe at Gargiulo Vineyards, a benefit for music education programs in local schools featuring an ASCAP hit songwriters round on Oct. 3. The event was hosted on the grounds of Gargiulo Vineyards. Sponsored by ASCAP, the event was set against a backdrop of the vineyard’s rolling hills at sunset, and the songwriters round featured ASCAP hitmakers Josh Mirenda, Deric Ruttan, Jonathan Singleton, and emerging Sony Music Nashville songwriter-artist Hannah Dasher.

 

BMI Brings A Taste Of Music City To Alabama

ARHA’s JB Hampton, BMI singer-songwriter Paul McDonald, ARHA’s Shea Perkins, Visit Mobile President & CEO David Clark, BMI singer-songwriter Tyler Reeve and BMI’s Jessica Frost pose together after the show in Mobile, Alabama.

BMI and the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association partnered together to bring Nashville songwriters to two BMI customer and ARHA member venues on the Alabama Coast last week. BMI singer-songwriters Tyler Reeve and Paul McDonald, both Alabama natives, performed to enthusiastic crowds at Alchemy in Mobile, Alabama, on Oct. 2, and GT’s On The Bay in Orange Beach, Alabama on Oct. 3.

 

Jim Cooper Celebrates District Advocate Day On The Row

(L-R): Musician Philip Towns, Musician Anderson East, musician, songwriter and record producer Shane McAnally, musician Caitlyn Smith, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), musician and member of Lady Antebellum Dave Haywood and President and CEO of The Recording Academy Deborah Dugan attend the District Advocate Meeting w/ Rep. Jim Cooper on October 02, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/WireImage for The Recording Academy )

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter hosted a District Advocate Day event, featuring Recording Academy president, Deborah Dugan, U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood, and members of Nashville’s local music community, to celebrate Nashville’s role in music creation and highlight industry concerns. The event at RCA Studio A included performances by Shane McAnally, Caitlyn Smith, and Anderson East.

 

Dan+Shay Add Second Nashville Show To 2020 Tour

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Dan+Shay. Photo: Catherine Powell

Dan+Shay have added three additional tour dates to next year’s Dan+Shay The (Arena) Tour.

The tour will launch March 6 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and now includes a second show on March 7. They have also added new dates in Columbus, Ohio (March 8) and a stop on Oct. 8 at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, following an already-announced Sept. 25 date at Madison Square Garden.

The trek follows their sold-out Dan+Shay The Tour earlier this year. The Grammy-winning duo, known for smash hits including “Tequila” and “Speechless,”  recently concluded a stint on Florida Georgia Line’s Can’t Say I Ain’t Country Tour and will join Shawn Mendes later this month for a tour in Australia.

American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets for the new Dan+Shay The (Arena) Tour dates before the general public beginning today, Oct. 8 at 12 p.m. ET through Thursday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. local. Tickets for the tour, presented by AEG Presents, go on sale to the general public starting Friday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. local time. For complete presale details and ticket information, visit danandshay.com.

Music Health Alliance Adds To Board of Directors

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Pictured (clockwise from top left): Joseph Conner, EJ Gaines, Adrien Good, Ben Vaughn, Liz Rose, Mike Molinar.

Nashville-based non-profit Music Health Alliance has added to its Board of Directors. The 19-member board helps to develop strategic plans for MHA to further its mission to protect, direct and connect members of the music community with healthcare and financial solutions.

Newly-added board members include Essential Broadcast Media’s Joseph Conner, Capitol CMG/Motown Gospel’s EJ Gaines, FBMM’s Adrien Good, Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar, Liz Rose Music’s Liz Rose, and Warner Chappell Music’s Ben Vaughn.

Led by founder/CEO Tatum Allsep and COO/Certified Senior Advisor Shelia Shipley Biddy, MHA is entirely funded through grants and individual and corporate donations. The organization has served more than 10,000 members of the creative community in more than 39 states, and spared 541 families from bankruptcy due to a medical crisis. MHA has saved more than $47 million in healthcare costs including insurance premium savings, medical bill reductions and discounted medications.

Music Health Alliance’s free services range from access to doctors and hospitals, medicine, health insurance and finding financial assistance during times of illness. Its services are free to any person who has worked in the music industry for two or more years, or who has credited contributions to four commercially released recordings or videos. Spouses, partners, and children of qualifying individuals may also receive access to the non-profit’s services from birth to end of life.

Music Health Alliance Board of Directors:
President – Kris Wiatr, Wiatr & Associates, LLC
Vice President – Jay Williams, WME
Treasurer – Earle Simmons, SunTrust Bank
Secretary – Dr. Michael Allsep, Air Command and Staff College
Founder/CEO – Tatum Allsep, Music Health Alliance
Joseph Conner, Essential Broadcast Media
Rodney Crowell, Producer/Songwriter/Recording Artist
Christie Hauck, Christie Retail Group/Goozy
Linda Edell Howard, Adams and Reese LLP
Cindy Hunt, Monarch Publicity
EJ Gaines, Capitol CMG/Motown Gospel
Adrien Good, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy
John Lytle, Lytle Management
Mike Molinar, Big Machine Music
Tina Parol, The Disney Company
Liz Rose, Liz Rose Music
Jennie Smythe, Girlilla Marketing
Rebecca Warner Strang, Harry Norman Realtors/Philanthropist
Ben Vaughn, Warner Chappell Music

Little Louder Music Signs Jackson Dean

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Pictured (L-R): Little Louder’s Jefferson Brown, Jackson Dean, Little Louder’s Arturo Buenahora

Singer/songwriter Jackson Dean has signed a publishing deal with Nashville independent publishing house, Little Louder Music.

The Maryland native has opened on tour slots for Brothers Osborne, Jake Owen, Kane Brown, Dylan Scott and more. He will go into the studio this fall to record new music for an upcoming release.

Little Louder Music was founded in 2013 and is the songwriting home for Casey Beathard, Tucker Beathard, Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde, Jonathon Sherwood and Boy Named Banjo members William Reames and Barton Davies. Little Louder recently had its second No. 1 of 2019 with Eric Church’s “Some of It,” following Dierks Bentley’s chart topper “Burning Man.” Additionally, Keith Urban’s new single “We Were,” Eric Church’s “Monsters” and Justin Moore’s “Why We Drink” are currently climbing the country radio charts.

PR Roundup: Marushka Media, Elicity, Morris PR, Alison Auerbach PR

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Marushka Media Expands

Jackie Marushka has expanded her Nashville-based public relations agency, Marushka Media, with a new office in Santa Fe. In addition to news of her new office, she has signed her first New Mexico-based client: Rio Grande Studios, a state-of-the-art recording studio housed in a two-century-old adobe building in Albuquerque.  Rio Grande Studios boasts an impressive client list including Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Music, Netflix and Lionsgate. Individual clients include comedian Chris D’Elia, Switchfoot, Underoath, producer/vocalist Aaron Gillespie, and recent winner of The Voice Chevel Shepard.

 

Nashville Music Media Rebrands Into Elicity

(L-R:) Brittany Finley, Avery King, Elise Anderson and Heather Hourigan
Photo credit: Chrissy Yoder

Boutique publicity firm Nashville Music Media has rebranded as Elicity Public Relations. The company was founded in 2011 by Owner/Publicist Elise Anderson and has recently added Brittany Finley as Senior Publicity Manager and Heather Hourigan as Publicity and Brand Partnerships Manager joining Avery King, who was recently promoted to Director of Publicity.

Bluegrass/Americana Artists Darin & Brooke Aldridge Ink Joint PR Deal

Morris Public Relations and Alison Auerbach Public Relations have jointly signed bluegrass/Americana artists Darin & Brooke Aldridge for publicity and artist development. Darin & Brooke Aldridge are signed to Rounder Records and managed by Brian Smith/Leadership Artists.

Morris Public Relations is owned by Erin Morris Huttlinger and AAPR is owned by Alison Auerbach. The two publicists have worked joint projects for nearly 25 years. Their combined rosters include Vince Gill, The Time Jumpers, Nefesh Mountain, Teea Goans, Sean Della Croce, Stephanie Urbina-Jones, Pete Huttlinger Music, Joe Robinson and others.

Weekly Register: Whiskey Myers Debuts Atop Country Albums Chart

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Whiskey Myers, which released their self-titled album via their own Wiggy Thump Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers, has debuted atop the country albums chart and the Americana/Folk chart, with 42K in total consumption (39K of which were in album sales), according to Nielsen Soundscan. The Texas band’s album cut “Gasoline” is at No. 38 on the Active Rock radio chart, and over the past year, they have performed at Stagecoach, opened a stadium show for The Rolling Stones, and earned sync opportunities on shows Yellowstone and What/If.

Capitol Records Nashville’s Jon Pardi debuts at No. 2 with Heartache Medication, with 34K (23K album only/12 million song streams). Sturgill Simpson‘s Sound & Fury debuts at No. 3 with 32K (26K album-only and 6.6 million song streams). Luke Combs‘ This One’s  For You is at No. 4 with 19.5K (2K album only/22.6 million song streams). Dan + Shay‘s self-titled effort is at No. 5 with 13K in total consumption (620 album only/16 million song streams).

Blanco Brown continues to top the on-demand country streaming songs rankings, with “The Git Up” earning 15 million streams this week, and earning more than 330 million streams to date. At No. 2 is Morgan Wallen‘s “Whiskey Glasses” with 7.577 million song streams. Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy” is close behind at No. 3 with 7.576 million streams. Wallen is at No. 4 as a featured guest on Diplo‘s “Heartless” which earned 7.2 million streams this week. Combs rounds out the Top 5 with “Beer Never Broke My Heart” with 7 million streams.

Ross Copperman Moves Into No. 2 Spot On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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With co-writer credits on “Living” (Dierks Bentley), “Tip Of My Tongue” (Kenny Chesney) and “Catch” (Brett Young), Ross Copperman moves up three slots this week to the No. 2 position on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart. Ashley Gorley stays at No. 1, a position he has been occupying for the tenth consecutive week.

The Top Five is rounded out by Jon Nite at No. 3, Blanco Brown at No. 4 and Hillary Lindsey at No. 5.

Laura Veltz moves into the No. 6 position, and Luke Combs drops down to No. 7.

The MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, published every week, uses algorithms based upon song activity garnered from airplay, digital downloaded track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the first songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

Matt Stell’s “Prayed For You” Hits No. 1

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Photo Credit Matthew Berinato

Matt Stell has landed his first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart with his debut single, “Prayed for You,” marking the only debut single from an artist to hit the top spot on the Country Airplay chart in 2019. The most recent debut single to hit No. 1 was Jimmie Allen’s “Best Shot,” which reached the pinnacle on Nov. 24, 2018.

Penned by Stell, Ash Bowers, and Allison Veltz, the song has amassed 99 million streams and was certified Gold by the RIAA last month. He discussed the genesis of the tune earlier this year with MusicRow.

“It’s hard to believe that ‘Prayed for You’ is Billboard’s No. 1 country song in the U.S. this week,” exclaimed Stell. “I won’t be able to ever thank my fellow writers, Ash Bowers and Allison Veltz, and my RECORDS/Arista Nashville/Wide Open/GCE team enough.”

“Prayed For You” along with “Home In A Hometown,” a collaboration with Jimmie Allen, can be found on Stell’s EP, Everywhere But On.

UMPG Signs Brad Tursi

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Pictured (L-R): UMPG’s Ron Stuve, Troy Tomlinson, Cyndi Forman, Brad Tursi, Travis Gordon, Missy Roberts, Terry Wakefield

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has signed songwriter/artist Brad Tursi to a global co-publishing deal for his future works. In addition, UMPG has acquired Tursi’s catalog of hit songs.

Tursi is a member of Old Dominion, and has written nine Country Airplay No. 1 songs, including six of Old Dominion’s seven chart-topping hits such as “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart,” “Written in the Sand,” “Make It Sweet,” and more. Tursi has also co-written multiple chart-toppers for other artists, including Luke Bryan’s “Light It Up” and Kenny Chesney’s “Save It for a Rainy Day.”

Troy Tomlinson, Chairman and CEO of UMPG Nashville, said, “Signing Brad provides that unique opportunity to work with a hit songwriter who not only writes hits for Old Dominion but also for other superstar artists. That, coupled with securing the rights to his entire back catalog, means lots of opportunities for us. We are grateful for his trust in our team.”

Said Tursi, “I’m so excited to work with a bunch of great folks that I’ve considered family for years. I am humbled and grateful to be part of the team.”

Travis Gordon, Senior A&R Director, UMPG Nashville said, “All the greats have a signature. Some have an unending well of deep lyric sensibility, some were given the gift of melody, while others have a unique sonic identity. With Brad, you get all of the above. He’s a songwriter’s songwriter and we’re so proud to officially welcome him home as part of the Universal family.”

Old Dominion’s songs have earned more than one billion streams. The band is currently headlining arenas and amphitheaters across the globe on their “Make It Sweet” tour. Their forthcoming, self-titled studio album is set for release on Oct. 25, 2019.

Symphonic Distribution Teams With Bubba Sparxxx, Alexander King For New Label [Exclusive]

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Photo: Elliott Kiegelis

Bubba Sparxxx, Alexander King and independent music distribution company Symphonic Distribution have partnered for a new Nashville-based indie label, 25/8 Entertainment. The label also has an office in Milwaukee.

King and Bubba Sparxxx each have their roots in southern rap, and are teaming to release new music on the label, under the title HellalujaH.

King says, “Our Vision for 25/8, HellalujaH, and all the creatives we represent is that our #1XTRADay1XTRAHour work ethic will propel and sustain us. Having a distribution partner like Symphonic who echoes our energy and ideals was the only thing we were missing for take-off.”

Randall Foster, Symphonic’s VP of Business Development and Nashville GM, says “I am so pleased to be working with King, Bubba Sparxxx, and their business partner Steve Rowe on the launch of their label, 25/8 Entertainment. They are true trailblazers in their genre and to see the fruits of their labor come into existence with 25/8 and to be a part of that story is a real honor. Expect big things from these two in the future!”

Symphonic Distribution was founded by former music producer Jorge Brea in 2006. The company is based in Tampa, Florida, with offices in Brooklyn, New York; Denver, Colorado; and Bogota, Columbia, and provides labels, managers and artists with digital music and video distribution, as well as playlist pitching, release promotion and other label services. Among the artists and labels that have utilized Symphonic Distribution are Daddy Yankee, deadmau5, Puerto Rican Latin trap singer Ozuna, and more.

The duo’s first release will be out Friday, Oct. 11.