The Adams & Reese legal firm will host “10 Years After Blurred Lines: It’s All Blurrier Than Ever – Music, Copyrights, AI & Everything in Between,” a complimentary, live, in-person CLE program on Oct. 1 at The Virgin Hotel in Nashville.

Featured speakers for the event include Richard Busch, Counsel at Adams & Reese and a renowned IP litigator who won the landmark Blurred Lines case against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke, and Judith Finell, Musicologist and Founder of Judith Finell Music Services Inc., who served as the musicologist in the “Blurred Lines” case.

The panel Q&A will be moderated by Lynn Morrow, Partner at Adams & Reese and Entertainment & New Media Team Leader, with Paul Ketchel, President and Co-Founder of Music IP Holdings, Inc., joining the panel. Morrow represents clients in the music and entertainment industries, counseling them on intellectual property protection and deal negotiations.

The event will explore the evolving intersection of music, copyright law, and artificial intelligence a decade after the landmark “Blurred Lines” verdict. The program is designed for attorneys who practice in or have an interest in the entertainment industry, as well as professionals working in music, talent management, and related creative fields who want to better understand how AI is transforming copyright law. It will offer practical insights and discussion from leading voices in musicology, entertainment litigation, copyright law, and new media.

The program will begin with Finell’s presentation on protecting musical creativity in the new frontier, including the musicologist’s role, degrees of similarity in music copyright, expert-witness analysis from the Blurred Lines case, the combination-of-elements doctrine, and the vulnerability of music to AI replication. Busch will then address AI- generated music and art, U.S. Copyright Office rules on human authorship, AI training and fair use, AI voice impersonations and right-of-publicity claims, Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, and copyright termination rights under Section 203.

A question-and-answer session will follow the program with Busch, Morrow, and Finell, and the event will conclude with happy hour and networking. Those interested in registering can find info here.

More performers have been added to NSAI’s Nashville Songwriter Awards, taking place Sept. 22 at the Ryman Auditorium.

Newly revealed artists and songwriters set to take the stage include Rodney Crowell, Riley Green, Vincent Mason, Ricky Skaggs, Andrea Zonn, Smith Ahnquist, Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, John Byron, Johnny Clawson, Luke Dick, Jordan Schmidt, Joybeth Taylor and Dallas Wilson.

They join previously announced performers Steve Earle, Ashley McBryde, Chris Stapleton, Dan Alley, Ryan Beaver, Jacob Davis, Ray Fulcher, Ben Johnson, Chris LaCorte, Chase McGill, Neil Medley, Josh Miller, Blake Pendergrass, Hunter Phelps, Bobby Pinson, Jeremy Stover, Lydia Vaughan and Jordan Walker.

Recipients of the Legendary Song award, NSAI’s 2026 Song of the Year award, and the coveted ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ awards will be revealed throughout the evening. Previously announced award recipients Vince Gill (Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award), Paul Williams (NSAI President’s Keystone Award), Blake Pendergrass (Songwriter of the Year) and Green (Songwriter-Artist of the Year) will also be honored.

Tickets for the Nashville Songwriter Awards are available here.

Bailey Zimmerman will headline the inaugural show of Middle Tennessee State University Athletics new “Live In The Boro” concert series at Murphy Center on Nov. 5 during the university’s homecoming week.

The one-night event from MTSU Athletics and NVRDUL Events will also feature hip-hop heavyweight Waka Flocka Flame, rising country act Miller Holler, and DJ/producer Dee Jay Silver.

Nashville-based NVRDUL Events, an independent concert-promotion and live entertainment company, aims to take over Murphy Center and Floyd Stadium for multiple concerts and special events throughout the academic year with the goal of establishing the campus as a major new live-entertainment destination for fans throughout Middle Tennessee and beyond. A longtime centerpiece of the MTSU campus, Murphy Center hosted numerous landmark concerts, special events concerts and sporting events during its 53-year history. The university will begin major renovations to the facility in 2027.

“We are pleased to take this next step in our goal of making Murphy Center and Floyd Stadium entertainment destinations that will benefit not only MTSU, but Murfreesboro and Rutherford County,” says President Sidney A. McPhee. “Our planned renovations to Murphy Center and Floyd Stadium, made possible through state and private funding, will make these venues even more attractive for such events.”

“Live in the Boro is an exciting opportunity to bring premier live entertainment to our campus while creating a new source of support for MTSU Athletics,” says MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro. “We’re proud to partner with NVRDUL Events to launch this series and thrilled to kick things off with one of country music’s biggest stars in Bailey Zimmerman during Homecoming Weekend. “Live in the Boro will generate new commercial activity around our athletic venues and provide vibrancy to our campus, Murfreesboro, and Middle Tennessee.”

“When MTSU approached us about creating something unique that could both entertain and support Blue Raider Athletics, we knew it was a special opportunity,” says Carri Hyde, founder and CEO of NVRDUL Events. “Launching Live in the Boro with an artist of Bailey Zimmerman’s stature is an incredible way to begin what we believe will become a signature event series for Middle Tennessee.”

Pictured (L-R, back row): Cam Caldwell (SMP), Matt Cottingham (Hunter Cottingham PLLC), Scott Hendricks (TAYCAN), Rusty Gaston (SMP) and Synnovea Halsel (SMP). (L-R, front row): Blake Duncan (TAYCAN), Joybeth Taylor, Kent Earls (Verse 2) and Kane Brown (Verse 2). Photo: Savannah Spencer

Joybeth Taylor has extended her worldwide publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing Nashville and Verse 2 Music. TAYCAN Entertainment has also been added as a creative partner.

Taylor has penned multiple No. 1 hits, including Ella Langley’s record-breaking “Choosin’ Texas,” which won 2026 ACM Song of the Year. The song spent 21 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the longest-running No. 1 for a non-holiday song and the longest-leading hit by a solo female country artist in the chart’s history. It also topped the UK Singles Chart, spent three weeks at No. 1 on Mediabase’s Country Airplay chart and earned its 39th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

A frequent collaborator of Langley’s, Taylor also has cuts with Morgan Wallen, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, Vincent Mason, Warren Zeiders, Gavin Adcock, Hudson Westbrook, Chase Matthew, Corey Kent, Josh Ross, Koe Wetzel, Kameron Marlowe, Zach John King and more.

Her latest radio hit, “I Can’t Love You Anymore” by Langley and Wallen, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Taylor’s recent releases also include Westbrook’s “Made You Look,” Matthew’s “Autopilot” and Kent’s “Empty Words,” which recently reached the top 40 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

“To extend with Sony/Verse 2 and add TAYCAN on is a dream come true,” says Taylor. “I couldn’t have a better team championing me and my songs! Excited for everything to come!”

“When I met Joybeth in early 2021, three things blew me away… her brilliant songwriting ability, her unbelievably hard-working nature and the fact she wasn’t signed to a publisher,” shares Kent Earls, Partner, Verse 2 Music. “The first two traits told me she was destined to make musical history, the third told me I needed to be the one to work with her. Verse 2 Music is proud to continue as Joybeth’s publisher and champion alongside Sony Music Publishing and TAYCAN Entertainment. She’s already made history, we’re all excited to see what we can accomplish next.”

“Having Joybeth join our TAYCAN roster is like having Michael Jordan join your basketball team…Blake [Duncan] and I couldn’t be more excited about partnering with Sony and Verse 2,” adds Scott Hendricks, Partner, TAYCAN Entertainment.

“The only thing that outpaces Joybeth’s big dreams and talent is her unstoppable work ethic, and it has been inspiring to see her career soar to even greater heights,” says Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston. “I couldn’t be happier for Joybeth and Verse 2 for all their successes, and with TAYCAN joining the partnership, we’re confident the best is yet to come.”

Taylor has earned MusicRow Award nominations for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year (2025) and Female Songwriter of the Year in both 2025 and 2026. She currently ranks No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Songwriters chart and No. 7 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 Songwriters chart.