Breaking: Jody Williams To Exit BMI

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Jody Williams, BMI’s Vice President of Creative in Nashville since 2006, announced today that he will leave the company at the end of this year. Williams will continue to serve as a consultant for BMI throughout 2020 and plans to also return to the world of music publishing, forming a new company. BMI will announce a successor to Williams at a later date.

Mike O’Neill, BMI’s President & CEO, stated, “When Jody and I first discussed this possibility over a year ago, I understood his desire to return to his other love of music publishing, but I also knew that BMI would miss his passion, creativity and unwavering support for songwriters and publishers. Jody has worked for BMI three different times in his career and his impact on BMI has been profound.  I am grateful for his support and friendship and know he will have tremendous success.”

Williams added, “The greatest honor of my career has been representing BMI’s Nashville family of songwriters and publishers.  I have always strived to carry forward the incredible example of BMI’s former CEOs Frances Preston and Del Bryant, who taught so many of us how to care for songwriters.  That inspiration, coupled with the support of Mike O’Neill and the BMI team, allowed us to thrive over the past decade.  I am forever grateful.”

Williams’ accomplishments throughout his tenure at BMI have been many.  He has been an important mentor to countless songwriters throughout his career including Liz Rose, Kix Brooks, Natalie Hemby, Josh Turner, Maren Morris, and Robert Earl Keen, among others.  Most recently, he was instrumental in growing BMI’s market share among country music songwriters, helped establish the creation of the company’s new creative office in Austin, TX, and oversaw the creation of BMI’s Nashville-based Partnerships and Events department.

Williams first began working at BMI in the late 1970s in the company’s mailroom.  He then began his journey in music publishing, becoming one of Nashville’s leading publishing figures, holding creative positions for several major publishing firms.  He returned to BMI in 1987 and rose to the position of Assistant Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations. Later, Williams was lured into the publishing world again, this time as President of the Nashville division of MCA Music Publishing, which flourished under his leadership.  He ultimately founded his own publishing company, Jody Williams Music, which was sold to olé Media Management, now Anthem Entertainment, when he returned to BMI once again.

Williams is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Country Music Association (CMA), and serves as a Trustee on the Board of Officers and Trustees of The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

A Nashville native, Williams resides in Nashville with his wife Karen, who he met in 1977 when they both worked at BMI.

Jon Langston’s ‘Now You Know’ EP Coming In October

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Jon Langston will release his six-song EP, Now You Know, on Oct. 25.

Langston performed his first sold-out headlining show at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works last week, which served as the official launch for his The Bird Dog Tour, named after his fan-voted fan club name. He is currently wrapping up a string of shows as part of Luke Bryan’s Sunset Repeat Tour.

Last year, Langston was announced as the first signing to Luke Bryan and UMG Nashville’s 32 Bridge Entertainment label.

Langston’s previous single “When It Comes To Loving You” reached No. 1 on the all-genre iTunes Chart, while his catalog has earned more than 400 million streams to date.

Now You Know EP Track List:
1. “Now You Know” (Jon Langston, Brad Clawson, Brock Berryhill)
2. “Dance Tonight” (Langston, Jody Stevens)
3. “When It Comes To Loving You” (Langston, Dan Isbell)
4. “Dial One Up” (Langston, Jody Stevens, Brett Tyler, Cole Taylor)
5. “Sunday Morning Heart” (Langston, Jonathan Singleton, Dan Isbell, Reid Isbell)
6. “Cigarettes & Me” (Langston, Dan Isbell, Monty Criswell)

Mark Your Calendar—September 2019

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Industry Events

September 4
TJ Martell Foundation Let’s Talk Event

September 8
2019 CCMA Awards at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB

September 11-15
AMERICANAFEST 2019

September 11
Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville

September 15-18
Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary airs on PBS from 7:00-9:00 p.m. CT

September 16
ASCAP Christian Music Awards 2019

September 17
2nd Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards at the Ryman Auditorium

September 20-21
iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena and the Las Vegas Festival Grounds

September 20-22
Music City Food+Wine Festival

September 21
Music Expo conference hosted by SAE Institute

September 21-22
Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tennessee

September 24-28
IBMA’s World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, North Carolina

September 26
IBMA Awards Show at 7:30 p.m. ET in Raleigh, North Carolina

 

Single Add Dates

September 1
The Shannon Woods Band/Trainwreck/Hilliard Entertainment, LLC

September 3
Eric Church/Monsters/EMI Records Nashville
Jessie G/Whatever This Is/Redneck Records
Jake Gill/These Boots/Probability Records

September 9
Luke Combs/Even Though I’m Leaving/River House Artists/Columbia Nashville

September 12
Aaron Watson/Country Radio/BIG Label Records

September 13
Stephan Hogan/Good As Us
Jillian Cardarelli/I Never Do This/Jillian Cardarelli Music

September 16
Noah Schnacky/I’ll Be The One/Big Machine Records
Shane Owens/Hard Luck Girl/Amerimonte Records
Drew Hale Band/Wicked Game/Oath Management

September 16
Chris Young/Drowning/RCA Records

September 30
CJ Solar/Coming My Way/Sea Gayle Records

 

Album Releases

September 6
The Highwomen/The Highwomen/Low Country Sound-Elektra Records

September 13
Brett Young/The Acoustic Sessions [EP]/BMLG Records
The Lumineers/III/Dualtone
Various/Country Music – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) [2CD, 2LP and digital configurations]/Legacy
George Strait/Strait Out of the Box: Part 1 [Walmart re-issue]/MCA Records Nashville
Hailey Whitters/The Days

September 20
Brittany Howard/Jaime/ATO Records
Zac Brown Band/The Owl/BMG
Riley Green/Different ‘Round Here/BMLG Records
Colt Ford/We The People Volume 1/Average Joes Entertainment

September 27
Jon Pardi/Heartache Medication/Capitol Records Nashville

Hailey Whitters To Release Six-Song Collection ‘The Days’

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Hailey Whitters will release The Days, the first half of her upcoming full-length album The Dream, on Sept. 13. The six-song collection will include three previously-released tracks, including “The Days” and “Ten Year Town,” and three new songs. Her full-length album The Dream is set for 2020.

Earlier this year, Whitters signed a co-management deal with BRND MGMT’s Matt Graham and Make Wake Artists’ Chris Kappy. She also began releasing singles from The Days including “Ten Year Town” ( co-written by Brandy Clark), “Red Wine & Blue,” and the title track.

“We get so consumed with the next achievement and accomplishment that sometimes you forget that you’re living right now. And that’s what I want listeners to take away from this album and its two parts.” Whitters says. “Be happy where you are in the present moment — because your dreams have to be worth it.”

Starting tomorrow, Whitters will hit the road supporting Maren Morris on her GIRL: The World Tour which will make stops in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and more.

The Days Tracklist:
1) Ten Year Town
2) The Days
3) Red Wine & Blue
4) Dream Girl
5) Loose Strings
6) Heartland

Creative Nation Inks Publishing, Artist Development Deal With Jonathan Hutcherson

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Pictured (L-R, front row): Jeff Skaggs (Publishing), Jonathan Hutcherson, Shaina Botwin (Publishing); (L-R, back row): Luke Laird, Rachel Burleson (Management), Beth Laird, Kelsey Granda (Publishing), Christina Wighton (Publishing), Brandon Gill (Management) Photo Credit: Katie Kauss

Creative Nation has inked a publishing and artist development deal with artist/songwriter Jonathan Hutcherson, adding him to their roster.

Hutcherson, a 20-year-old Kentucky native, auditioned for Season 10 of NBC’s The Voice in 2016 and was part of Pharrell Williams’ team. He later moved to Nashville to pursue music full time.

“I was introduced to Jonathan by Neal Carpenter after our annual Preston Taylor Ministries benefit last year. After only one phone conversation and hearing a few songs, I was impressed and knew he had what it takes. Shaina, along with the entire CN team, jumped on board quickly as well as our songwriters that wrote with him. His work ethic, talent and passion at 20 years old is inspiring and we are grateful to have him on the CN team,” Creative Nation’s Beth Laird says.

“To know Jonathan is to love him. From the first time we met, I was blown away by his talent, work ethic and positive attitude. I am so excited to be on his team and can’t wait to get to work!” Creative Nation’s Shaina Botwin says.

“I cannot say how excited I am to be joining the Creative Nation team. It’s been a dream of mine to be able to get a publishing deal one day, and I never thought my first deal would come from a company I look up to and admire so much. Super grateful for this opportunity and the future with them,” Hutcherson says.

Creative Nation was launched in 2011 by Luke and Beth Laird. Luke is a Grammy-winning producer and ACM and BMI Songwriter of the Year, with 23 No. 1 singles to his credit. Music executive Beth previously worked at BMG Music Publishing, Windswept Music Publishing, and BMI, before launching Creative Nation. The company has had 15 No. 1 songs and more than 50 radio singles. Creative Nation’s roster includes Alec Bailey, Barry Dean, Bear Rinehart, Casey Brown, Hutcherson, Kassi Ashton, Lori McKenna, Luke Laird, Steve Moakler, Travis Wood and Tyler Johnson.

Garth Brooks Tour Headed To Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium

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Garth Brooks just announced he is bringing his Stadium Tour to Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium. The in-the-round show is set for Saturday, Nov. 16, and will be the first concert held at Neyland Stadium in 16 years.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. CT, and there is an eight ticket limit per purchase. Tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or on the Garth Brooks line at Ticketmaster, 1-877-654-2784, or through the Ticketmaster app via phone. There will be no ticket sales at the venue box office or Ticketmaster outlets on September 13th.

Garth recently went vinyl with a new package titled, LEGACY. During the first pre-sale, 20,000 packages sold in under 18 hours, marking 420,000 vinyl records sold.

Pandora Listeners Can Share Music, Podcasts On Instagram Stories

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Pandora is now allowing users across all tiers of service to share their favorite songs, albums, podcasts, playlists and Pandora stations with friends via Instagram Stories.

While listening to the Pandora app, a user can tap “Share,” followed by “Instagram Stories,” and a Cover Art card for that song or podcast will generate on Instagram Stories. The friend or follower can tap “Play on Pandora” to get direct access to the content, as well as Pandora’s full music and podcast library.

Friends who don’t have a Pandora Premium account can access the shared content plus a session of free, unlimited, on-demand music and podcasts after viewing a short ad.

EMPIRE Launches Nashville Division With Eric Hurt

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Eric Hurt. Photo: David Braud

Indie label, distributor and publisher EMPIRE has launched a Nashville division, with Eric Hurt as VP, A&R.

In his new role, Hurt will sign and develop new talent in Nashville, working closely with EMPIRE’s global team, and report directly to CEO/Founder Ghazi Shami at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Hurt will continue to build buzzing country star Willie Jones. Prior to joining EMPIRE, Hurt (former Sr. Director, Creative for Black River Entertainment) was instrumental in signing Jones to Black River Publishing.

Shami said, “EMPIRE is built on culture and authenticity. As we expand into country music, we believe Eric fits our company ethos and is an integral part of Nashville’s vibrant music industry. We look forward to empowering country music singers and songwriters for years to come.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the team at EMPIRE,” said Hurt. “Ghazi’s forward-thinking approach to launching and supporting artists will be a great addition to the Nashville market. As we continue building Willie Jones’ career we’ll also grow and develop our roster in country with a diverse group of talent.”

Founded in 2010 by Shami, the company has been instrumental in launching the careers of artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, DRAM and Anderson. Paak. In 2019, the independent EMPIRE continues to make a major impact, with smash hits and new music from Snoop Dogg, Iggy Azalea, Robin Thicke, Young Dolph, The Free Nationals and more.

David Garcia, Laura Veltz Move Into Top Ten On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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David Garcia moves up seven slots to No. 9 this week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, with co-writes “Hell Right” (Blake Shelton feat. Trace Adkins) and “Southbound” (Carrie Underwood) charting. Laura Veltz advances to round out the Top 10, with tunes “The Bones” (Maren Morris), “To A T” (Ryan Hurd) and “What If I Never Get Over You” (Lady Antebellum) propelling her.

Ashley Gorley remains at No. 1 for his fifth consecutive week, and HARDY and Hillary Lindsey maintain position at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

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.

David Wood Named Aloompa CEO

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David Wood has joined Nashville-based live event management software company Aloompa as CEO.

Wood holds a bachelor of arts from New York University as well as a masters of business administration from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. His career has focused on growth companies as a strategy consultant for Deloitte and as CFO and CEO of companies in various industries over a 30-year career. Wood joins Aloompa after working as CFO of Nashville startup AltoIRA since 2017.  Wood is an investor member in Nue Cura Partners, the Nashville-based healthcare angel group. He is also a volunteer advisor at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. 

 “David coming on board will be making an impact on our organization immediately by adding more firepower to the executive team to fuel growth,” said Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Drew Burchfield.  “He brings a wealth of experience in managing growth as we expand our footprint with new offerings for reservations, data analytics and a fully-automated, scalable platform.  As we complete our transition to a company that creates licensable technology to organizers for events, we see exceptional opportunities beyond our traditional markets.” 

“I am excited to join the Aloompa team full-time” said Wood, who has been a consultant to the company. “This company has a great foundation for transforming the live event experience.  I am looking forward to helping Aloompa continue its rapid growth as one of the best and most innovative tech companies in all of live entertainment.” 

Ten-year-old Aloompa helps event producers and businesses communicate, transact and build lasting relationships with their patrons by powering fan engagement, real time commerce, and loyalty. The company created the first mobile app to replace the paper guide for Bonnaroo in 2009 and serves over 300 live events of all kinds each year. Aloompa has been utilized for events including AmericanaFest, IEBA, Tin Pan South, X Games, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, Telluride Film Festival and BET Entertainment Experience.

In addition to Burchfield, Wood rounds out an executive team that includes live event technology industry veteran JD May as COO and Tyson Cadenhead as CTO.