Steve Markland
Downtown Music Publishing’s Steve Markland has been promoted to Senior Vice President, A&R in Nashville. Markland will continue to report to Downtown CEO, Justin Kalifowitz and COO, Andrew Bergman.
The company recently celebrated four years in Nashville, with more than 20 singles on the US and Canadian charts. Recent hits have included “Sleep Without You” (Brett Young), “She’s Got a Way with Words” (Blake Shelton), and the pop hit “All On You” (Nick Fradiani).
Most recently, Downtown announced a deal with John Prine, as well as the acquisition of catalogs from Major Bob Music, and the launch of new initiatives aimed at connecting Nashville songwriters with other writers around the world. Working closely with Downtown’s global music lisensing team, Downtown songwriters in Nashville have earned more than 50 sync placements with brands including iTunes, PetSmart, and DSW, as well as film, television and video games such as Amazon, Netflix, and more.
Recognizing the opportunity for Nashville-based songwriters on a global scale, collaboration has been a key to success for Markland. The Nashville team has instigated several cowrites and writing camps in New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, London, Paris and beyond. Most recently, Markland took Jillian Jacqueline, Who is Fancy and Kelly Archer to Europe for transatlantic writing sessions with pop artists and producers like Cheryl Cole, Flo Rida, and Naughty Boy, and two special Nashville-style writers rounds in Paris and in London at the C2C country-music festival. The shows were part of Downtown’s new Songwriters Without Borders initiative that is creating global collaborations between the company’s songwriters and other writers, artists, and producers across the world.
MusicRow spoke with Markland about his new promotion and what’s ahead for Downtown.
MusicRow: How will the promotion change your current duties, if at all?
Steve Markland: To be honest, there won’t be a lot of drastic changes. While our team in Nashville will continue to remain micro-focused on our writers from several perspectives, I will be able to focus on growing the office to higher levels. Our priority is to develop a well-rounded and diverse group of writers. From brand new, first-time writer deals such as Andy Albert, Jillian Jacqueline to veteran writers Marc Beeson, Kendell Marvel and Kelly Archer as well as writer-producers Tony Esterly and artists Who Is Fancy, Sara Haze and more. We also have been fortunate to sign deals with established artists like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell and most recently John Prine, where the focus is a little more on sync and outside artist placements, along with administration. Each of these artist-writer deals are tailored specifically toward their individual needs.
MR: Congratulations on the recent deal with John Prine. Are there specific ways you foresee promoting his catalog that haven’t been tapped into before?
Being on John’s team and being an advocate for his songs and his artistry is an immense opportunity and a very tall task. John’s work is important to our community here as well as the world. It will be my mission to push every boundary. I’m proud to be waving his banner in an official capacity.
One angle we will immediately work on is mining opportunities in Nashville (country genre and beyond), which should be a fresh perspective for John’s catalogue. Another is sync, which is a major priority. We are working closely with Downtown’s global sync licensing team, to find the best opportunities for his incredible songbook.
MR: How often will Downtown hold the Songwriters Without Borders co-writing events?
We’ve been operating with a globally collaborative approach since day one — our team has instigated several co-writes and writing camps in New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, London, Paris and beyond — a recent opportunity to take three of our Nashville writers ( Jillian Jacqueline, Who is Fancy and Kelly Archer) to Europe, inspired us to take this mantra to a new level. Through Songwriters Without Borders we are actively creating global collaborations between the our songwriters and other writers, artists, and producers across the world. During our trip to Europe last month, we put on two writer round events for the community in Paris and in London at the C2C country-music festival and also strategically set up co-writing session with artists and producers that are based in those markets. It has now become a very big part of our global initiative and we are planning to have events connecting writers from around the world several times a year.
MR: How did the idea for Songwriters Without Borders come about?
Justin Kalifowitz has a very big vision for Downtown and its songwriters. Providing opportunities for writers on a global level and actually connecting those writers with a strong focus is what Downtown is all about. During one of our Nashville-style “Writer Rounds” we did last year the Bluebird Cafe with Jillian Jacqueline, Marc Beeson and Andy Albert at our Downtown Global Music Summit in Nashville, we had the idea to take this concept to a global scale. The Writer Round style allows writers to share their versions of their songs along with the stories that inspired the songs including the raw emotions that come out in the process. Sharing a stage on this level can lend itself to an immediate songwriter attraction. When we played in Paris, we invited two French writers to play with us — and they were so good! It was their first time playing a Writer Round. They caught on quick and it blew everyone’s minds in Paris. I know sharing the stage and songs that night inspired many co-writes!
MR: What goes into the curation process of pairing certain Nashville writers with pop/rock writers who might be a good fit for them?
Knowing your writers and their creative reach is important. Having good timing with when to change things up is important as well. We always try to pair writers for the right reasons such as complimentary styles, or sometimes they may be outside the box ideas, but usually always finding a commonality between them. Change can be very inspiring to writers and creators. However too much change can easily be a distraction. Every writer is different and that is what dictates when to shift the focus.
During our recent trip in London and Paris, Fancy was in writing sessions with Naughty Boy, Cheryl (Cole), Jon Green, Saltwives, JOATOUCH, Tommy Djibz, while Kelly Archer worked at a writing camp with writers Peter Wallevik, Corey Sanders, Daniel Davidsen and Tebey Ottoh. Todd Clark, who recently moved from Toronto to Nashville, teamed with another one of our UK writers Sacha Skarbek and pop artist Noah Kahan for several songs on Noah’s new release. Recently, we’ve also paired Marc Beeson with Sacha Skarbek. We’ve also paired Casey Smith, one of our writers from Ryan Tedder’s Patriot Games Publishing, with our writer-artist Jillian Jacqueline, and Sara Haze with LA-based pop songwriter-artist Skylar Gray.
Drake White To Release ‘Pieces’ EP In May
/by Jessica NicholsonDrake White will release his new EP, Pieces, the followup to his debut album, Spark, digitally via BMLG Records on May 4.
Produced by songwriter busbee, White co-penned two tracks featured alongside three additional outside cuts.
“I love writing that’s very simple, but it’s like, ‘Oh, I know exactly what you’re talking about,’ explained White. “I’m infatuated with words and trying to arrange them in a way that would make my heroes proud.”
TRACKLIST:
1. “Girl in Pieces” (busbee, Brad Tursi, Troy Verges)
2. “Grandpa’s Farm” (Brent Cobb, Adam Hood, Jason Saenz)
3. “Happy Place” (Drake White, busbee, Josh Osborne)
4. “Nothing Good Happens After Midnight” (Dan Isbell, Heather Lynn Morgan, Lindsay Rimes)
5. “The Best is Yet to Come” (Drake White, busbee, Josh Kear)
NSAI Honors Top Country, Christian Songwriters With Massive No. 1 Party
/by Jessica NicholsonBack row (L-R): Earle Simmons (SunTrust), Dusty Miller (SunTrust), Ashleigh Overly (SunTrust), Jaron Boyer, Ray Fulcher, Adam Hambrick, Brock Berryhill, Tom Douglas, Steve Bogard (NSAI President), David Hodges, Ben Hayslip, Josh Miller, Matt Dragstrem, Tim Timmons, AJ Pruis, Bart Millard. Front row (L-R): Lindsay Gum (NSAI Director of Events and Pro Membership), Kelly Archer, Emily Shackelton, Jordan Schmidt, Tebey Ottoh, Bart Herbison (NSAI Executive Director), Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley, Ben Glover, Matt McGinn, Matthew West. [Click photo to enlarge]
At the brunch event, sponsored by SunTrust Bank and held at The Listening Room Cafe, the songwriters were presented plaques for topping the Billboard Country or Christian, Airplay, Digital, and Hot Charts and/or Mediabase Country Airplay Chart.
No. 1 songs and songwriters honored include:
“All The Pretty Girls” – Josh Osborne, Nicolle Galyon, Tommy Lee James (recorded by Kenny Chesney)
“Ask Me How I Know” – Mitch Rossell (recorded by Garth Brooks)
“Body Like A Back Road” – Josh Osborne, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Zach Crowell (recorded by Sam Hunt)
“Broken Things” – AJ Pruis, Jason Houser, Matthew West (recorded by Matthew West)
“Dear Hate” – David Hodges, Maren Morris, Tom Douglas (recorded by Maren Morris feat. Vince Gill)
“Do I Make You Wanna” – Ashley Gorley, Jerry Flowers, Matt Jenkins, Zach Crowell (recorded by Billy Currington)
“Drinkin’ Problem” – Cameron Duddy, Jess Carson, Josh Osborne, Mark Wystrach, Shane McAnally (recorded by Midland)
“Even If” – Bart Millard, Ben Glover, Crystal Lewis, David Garcia, Tim Timmons (recorded by MercyMe)
“Every Little Thing” – busbee, Carly Pearce, Emily Shackelton (recorded by Carly Pearce)
“Fix A Drink” – Ashley Gorley, Chris DuBois, Chris Janson (recorded by Chris Janson)
“Flatliner” – Cole Swindell, Jaron Boyer, Matt Bronleewe (recorded by Cole Swindell)
“Found You” – Brock Berryhill, Jared Mullins, Kane Brown, Taylor Phillips (recorded by Kane Brown)
“Greatest Love Story” – Brandon Lancaster (recorded by LANCO)
“He Saw Jesus” – Brett James, Kathie Lee Gifford (recorded by Kathie Lee Gifford)
“Heartache On The Dance Floor” – Bart Butler, Brice Long, Jon Pardi (recorded by Jon Pardi)
“I’ll Name The Dogs” – Ben Hayslip, Josh Thompson, Matt Dragstrem (recorded by Blake Shelton)
“Light It Up” – Brad Tursi, Luke Bryan (recorded by Luke Bryan)
“More Girls Like You” – David Garcia, Josh Miller, Kip Moore, Steven Lee Olsen (recorded by Kip Moore)
“No Such Thing As A Broken Heart” – Brad Tursi, Jesse Frasure, Matt Ramsey, Trevor Rosen (recorded by Old Dominion)
“Small Town Boy” – Ben Hayslip, Kyle Fishman, Rhett Akins (recorded by Dustin Lynch)
“Somebody Else Will” – Adam Hambrick, Kelly Archer, Tebey Ottoh (recorded by Justin Moore)
“Unforgettable” – Ashley Gorley, Jesse Frasure, Shane McAnally, Thomas Rhett (recorded by Thomas Rhett)
“What Ifs” – Jordan Schmidt, Kane Brown, Matt McGinn (recorded by Kate Brown feat. Lauren Alaina)
“When It Rains It Pours” – Jordan Walker, Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher (recorded by Luke Combs)
Jason Lehning Renews Publishing Deal With Spirit/Fluid
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): Frank Rogers (President/Founder, Fluid Music Revolution), Jason Lehning, AJ Burton (VP, Fluid Music Revolution), Billy Lynn (VP, Creative, Spirit Music Nashville), Brian Bradford (Sr. Director of Administration, Spirit Music Nashville), Daniel Hill (President, Spirit Music Nashville), Freeman Wizer, Sr. Director of Creative, Spirit Music Nashville, and Michelle Davey (Administration Coordinator/Office Manager, Spirit Music Nashville).
Spirit/Fluid, the Nashville-based joint venture between Spirit Music Group and Frank Rogers’ Fluid Music Revolution, has renewed its publishing deal with Jason Lehning.
“Fluid Music Revolution and Spirit Music Nashville are honored to continue our relationship with Jason Lehning. Jason has been great to work with – he’s an important part of the Spirit/Fluid family and we are excited about the music he is making,” said Rogers.
“I’m really excited to continue working with Frank, AJ and all the fantastic people at Fluid & Spirit,” said Lehning. “They’ve been a great home for me the last couple of years and I’m looking forward to more!”
Jason Lehning was born and raised in Nashville in a musical family. The son of producer Kyle Lehning (producer for Randy Travis, Jason was exposed to the recording process at an early age. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Lehning returned to Nashville to begin work as an engineer. Lehning’s earliest work as an assistant engineer in several Nashville studios allowed him access on down-time to invite artists to record. His early demos with artist David Mead resulted in a record deal for the singer and Lehning’s first major label job as a producer. Since then, Lehning has been active as a producer, musician, composer, mixer and engineer, contributing to over 350 albums. The diverse range of artists with whom he has worked includes George Jones, Erasure, Mat Kearney, Guster, Bill Frisell, and Alison Krauss. Lehning has won two Grammy awards as an engineer and was nominated for the Best Engineer Grammy in 2008.
Recent cuts by Lehning include “Let’s Do Something Stupid” recorded by Thompson Square off of their upcoming album Masterpiece; “Run” recorded by The Buckleys which hit No. 1 in Australia; “Nag Champa” recorded by Republican Hair; and “Birthday Suit” from Charlie Worsham’s second album, Beginning of Things.
Country Radio Seminar Announces New Agenda Committee Members For 2018-2019
/by Lorie HollabaughThe Country Radio Broadcasters will celebrate the organization’s milestone 50th Anniversary Country Radio Seminar on Feb 13-15 2019, and the organization has announced the members of this milestone year’s agenda committee.
Members of the 2018-2019 CRS Agenda Committee and they are Andrew Bland (Entercom/KKWF, Seattle, WA), Raffaella Braun(Warner Music Nashville), Andi Brooks (Midwest Family Broadcasting/WWQM, Madison, WI), M. Fletcher Brown (Big River Broadcasting/WXFL, Muscle Shoals, AL), Andrew Curran(DMR/Interactive), Andy Elliott (Pearl Records), Tim Gerst (Thinkswell), Jess Jennings (Saga Communications/WCKN, Charleston, SC), Michelle Kammerer (Big Machine Label Group), Billy McKim (Texas A&M University), Brent Michaels (Buck Owens Productions/KUZZ, Bakersfield, CA),Eric Michaels (Midwest Communications/WTHI, Terre Haute, IN), Terry Phillips (Entercom/WYCD, Detroit, MI), Lou Ramirez (Warner Music Nashville), Toby Tucker (Neuhoff Media/WDZQ, Decatur, IL), JoJo Turnbeaugh (iHeartMedia/Denver Region), and Sue Wilson (Rubber City Radio/WQMX, Akron, OH).
As previously announced, Judy Lakin, Director of Sales at Cox Media Group (Houston) will serve as the 2018-2019 Country Radio Seminar agenda chair with vice chair Jay Cruze, Director of Country Programming at iHeartMedia (Kentucky & Indiana) and co-vice chair Monta Vaden, Assistant Editor at All Access.
“This year’s Agenda Committee is the most diverse and talented group of individuals that we have assembled during my tenure with the CRS Agenda Committee,” said CRS Agenda Chair, Judy Lakin. “We are committed to creating a dynamic, informative and inventive agenda for the 50th Anniversary of CRS and I’m honored to lead the team responsible for building it.”
Keith Urban Duets With Wife Nicole Kidman At Spotify Fans First Event In Nashville
/by LB CantrellKeith Urban (L) and wife Nicole Kidman (R) perform onstage for a Spotify Fans First event on April 23, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Spotify
Written by: LB Rogers
Over 150 lucky Keith Urban fans and Spotify listeners had the chance to preview Urban’s tenth studio album, Graffiti U on Monday, April 23 at a Spotify Fans First event at Houston Station in Nashville.
Attendees received a first-listen of the record on a custom jukebox and were able to screen print their own t-shirts. In the spirit of Graffiti U, a guitar emporium and art mural exhibition of street art was commissioned from Nashville muralists, which framed songs from the record. Tracks like “Steal My Thunder,” “Horses,” My Wave,” and “Coming Home” were selected by artists including Nathan Brown, Ty Christian, Brian Wooden, Eric “Mobe” Bass, and Aaron Martin.
As one of estimated two events Spotify is now throwing weekly across all genres, the streaming service noted how unique the invite-only events are for fans to intimately connect with artists. With streaming data, Spotify is able to locate the biggest fans in a particular region.
Urban’s made an appearance for a short, intimate performance and a Q & A, thanking Spotify and fans for coming out. With just an electric guitar, the Grammy winner played three of the 13 tracks on the record, including “Parallel Line,” which he enticed his wife, actress Nicole Kidman to come sing.
Additional performances included the previously-released “Female” and “Coming Home,” a title he previewed at the Academy of Country Music Awards earlier this month. With intimate lyrics on album tracks like “Gemini,” She’s a maniac in the bed/but a brainiac in her head, the Capitol Records Nashville superstar detailed how the meaning for a specific title, “Coming Home,” came after the opening lick.
“When I heard that Merle Haggard lick, it made me think of home,” said Urban. “A lot of the times for me the music draws the story versus the other way around. Where [“Coming Home”] gets personal is, a lot of us who now live in Nashville aren’t from here, but your dreams are here or you fall in love here…We love being here, but miss being able to touch base with home and the people who know the real you. That feeling has always stayed with me.”
Keith Urban performs onstage for a Spotify Fans First event at Houston Station on April 23, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Spotify
Urban also described how the album’s title came about.
“This record felt like a free, artistic record,” he said. “In the studio [it] was literally like painting a canvas—I’d come in with nothing, start playing music. The whole thing was like a wall that I was painting on. The word ‘Graffiti’ came to me because that’s what it felt like. And the U was the audience/listener. The U is an inclusive experience, and my last name is U.”
Urban took requests to close out the performance, playing his hit single from Ripcord, “Wasted Time.” Fans took group photos in front of the artistic murals.
Earlier today (April 24), Urban released a trailer for the album (below). Graffiti U will be released this Friday, April 27.
Fans make their own t-shirts during the Spotify Fans First event with Keith Urban at Houston Station on April 23, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Spotify
Signage seen during Spotify Fans First event with Keith Urban at Houston Station on April 23, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images for Spotify
Shania Twain To Host CCMA Awards
/by Jessica NicholsonShania Twain, a 24-time Canadian Country Music Award winner, has been confirmed to host the 2018 CCMA Awards at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton on Sunday, Sept. 9. The awards will be broadcast live nationwide at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on CBC.
Twain will also accept the Generation Award. As only the second artist to receive the honor, Twain will be celebrated for her impact on the country music industry, as well as her ability to create awareness of country music globally.
“I’m so excited to host the CCMA Awards this year. It’s such a pivotal moment in country music as the industry evolves we’re seeing a new generation of deeply talented artists emerge and I look forward to being a part of the celebration of them and also celebrating some of the trailblazers before them,” explained Twain. “I’m deeply honoured to be receiving the Generation Award this year, if I inspire anyone to embrace their creative liberty and write what they really think and feel without limitation, then that is all I can hope for. Music can bridge gaps and bring people together and we should all work together to ensure that everyone has the freedom to sing and express their truth.”
Tickets for the 2018 CCMA Awards go on sale this Friday, April 27 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets are available starting at $45.20 plus fees in-person through the FirstOntario Centre Box office and online at ticketmaster.ca.
IFPI Releases Global Music Report
/by Jessica NicholsonStreaming remains the main driver of recovering revenues and, for the first time, has become the single largest revenue source with 176 million users of paid streaming services contributing to year-on-year streaming growth of 41.1 percent. Streaming now accounts for 38.4 percent of total recorded music revenue and its growth has more than offset a 5.4 percent decline in physical revenue and a 20.5 percent decline in download revenue. Total digital income last year accounted for more than half of all revenue (54 percent) for the first time.
2017 marks the industry’s third consecutive year of growth, following 15 years of significant revenue decline. Despite the recent uplift, revenues for 2017 are still only 68.4 percent of the market’s peak in 1999.
Frances Moore, chief executive, IFPI, commented, “It’s been another incredibly exciting year for music. The work and investment from record companies is enabling brilliant, diverse artists to break through to fans around the world, soundtracking their lives and bringing them increasingly rich and immersive ways to enjoy the music they love. The industry is on a positive path of recovery but it’s very clear that the race is far from won. Record companies are continuing in their efforts to put the industry back onto a stable path and, to that end, we are continuing our campaign to fix the value gap. This is not just essential for music to thrive in today’s global market, but to create the right – fair – environment for it to do so in the future.”
Key figures for 2017:
· Global revenue growth: +8.1%
· Digital share of global revenues: 54%
· Digital revenue growth: +19.1%
· Growth in streaming revenues: +41.1%
· Physical revenues: -5.4%
· Download revenue: -20.5%
Read the full ‘State of the Industry” report at ifpi.org
Matthew West, MercyMe, Trace Adkins Set To Perform On K-LOVE Fan Awards
/by Lorie HollabaughCory Asbury featuring Francesca Battistelli, Jordan Feliz, Mandisa, Matthew West, MercyMe featuring Trace Adkins, Newsboys United and TobyMac are the initial performers announced for the upcoming 2018 K-LOVE Fan Awards set for Sunday, May 27. Mandisa and West will co-host the awards at the Grand Ole Opry House and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Mike Weaver and Sadie Robertson have been announced as presenters for the evening.
Casting Crowns, Jordan Feliz, Riley Clemmons and Tauren Wells will launch the 2018 weekend with the Official Kickoff Concert on Friday, May, 25. Adding to the one-of-a-kind opportunities listeners can experience, Bethel Music and Brian Johnson will lead a worship service and co-host Mandisa will guide fans through “Mandisercise,” a fun-infused Zumba workout.
TBN will broadcast the 2018 K-LOVE Fan Awards on Thurs., May 31 at 8 p.m. ET. To purchase tickets for the 2018 K-LOVE Fan Awards Weekend, click here.
Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy & Worob LLP Reopens Nashville Office
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (clockwise, from upper left): Craig Averill, J. Reid Hunter, Patrick Sabitini, Jeff Koenig
Entertainment law firm Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy & Worob has appointed Craig Averill as a name partner and will change its name to Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Worob & Averill LLP. The firm is also reestablishing a Nashville office, with three attorneys initially, to be co-headed by Sabatini and partner J. Reid Hunter.
Averill, based in New York, represents entertainment marketing companies such as Cornerstone, Red Bull Media House, and others. Producer and artist clients for Averill range from John Hill – producer and co-writer for such hits as “Feel it Still” by Portugal the Man – LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix and Interpol to RL Grime, Hudson Mohawke and Baauer, and most recently Joji and Niki, both ascendant stars newly signed to the Asian hip-hop label 88Rising.
The firm has also promoted attorneys Patrick Sabatini and Jeffrey Koenig to partners.
Sabatini, based in Nashville, focuses his practice on the representation of recording artists and performers, songwriters, entrepreneurs and innovators in the music space, branding agencies, independent music publishers, record labels and executives in the entertainment industry. His expertise includes recording and music publishing matters, strategic partnerships, merchandise and touring agreements, private aircraft agreements, branding agreements and copyright issues.
Koenig, based in New York, represents Grammy-nominated recording artists, up-and-coming musicians and bands, Fortune 500 companies, independent record labels, industry executives, publishers, managers, songwriters, DJ’s, producers, vinyl record companies, and music PR and branding companies. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Jeffrey worked for five years as an in-house attorney for Universal Motown Republic Group.
“Over the years, our firm has observed the incredible growth of the music business in all genres in Nashville and it’s been our goal to return to ‘Music City’ so that we might interface more regularly with our existing clients there, as well as expand our client base,” said SRHMWA Partner, J. Reid Hunter. We are elated to once again have an office in Nashville. We already represent a significant number of the industry’s Nashville-based booking agents, artists, and music companies. Our new Nashville office will enable us to better serve those existing clients and to work more closely with the growing number of artists, writers, producers, executives and music and branding companies based in Nashville while drawing upon the exceptional pool of legal and business talent graduating from the local universities.”
SRHMWA’s current Nashville-based clients include Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studios, Jamey Johnson, River House Artists (home to CMA-nominated Luke Combs), Jason Isbell, White’s Mercantile (owned by musician Holly Williams), Curb Records (intellectual property matters), Word Records (intellectual property matters), the Kinkead Entertainment Agency and Judah & the Lion. The firm also represents a significant number of Nashville-based agents, having recently negotiated Nashville power agent Scott Clayton’s recent move to William Morris Endeavor. In addition, the firm represents the estates of Country Music Hall of Fame Artists Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis, Don Williams and Dottie West, as well as several legacy country artists such as John Anderson.
Downtown Music Publishing Promotes Steve Markland To Sr. VP, A&R In Nashville
/by Jessica NicholsonSteve Markland
Downtown Music Publishing’s Steve Markland has been promoted to Senior Vice President, A&R in Nashville. Markland will continue to report to Downtown CEO, Justin Kalifowitz and COO, Andrew Bergman.
The company recently celebrated four years in Nashville, with more than 20 singles on the US and Canadian charts. Recent hits have included “Sleep Without You” (Brett Young), “She’s Got a Way with Words” (Blake Shelton), and the pop hit “All On You” (Nick Fradiani).
Most recently, Downtown announced a deal with John Prine, as well as the acquisition of catalogs from Major Bob Music, and the launch of new initiatives aimed at connecting Nashville songwriters with other writers around the world. Working closely with Downtown’s global music lisensing team, Downtown songwriters in Nashville have earned more than 50 sync placements with brands including iTunes, PetSmart, and DSW, as well as film, television and video games such as Amazon, Netflix, and more.
Recognizing the opportunity for Nashville-based songwriters on a global scale, collaboration has been a key to success for Markland. The Nashville team has instigated several cowrites and writing camps in New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, London, Paris and beyond. Most recently, Markland took Jillian Jacqueline, Who is Fancy and Kelly Archer to Europe for transatlantic writing sessions with pop artists and producers like Cheryl Cole, Flo Rida, and Naughty Boy, and two special Nashville-style writers rounds in Paris and in London at the C2C country-music festival. The shows were part of Downtown’s new Songwriters Without Borders initiative that is creating global collaborations between the company’s songwriters and other writers, artists, and producers across the world.
MusicRow spoke with Markland about his new promotion and what’s ahead for Downtown.
MusicRow: How will the promotion change your current duties, if at all?
Steve Markland: To be honest, there won’t be a lot of drastic changes. While our team in Nashville will continue to remain micro-focused on our writers from several perspectives, I will be able to focus on growing the office to higher levels. Our priority is to develop a well-rounded and diverse group of writers. From brand new, first-time writer deals such as Andy Albert, Jillian Jacqueline to veteran writers Marc Beeson, Kendell Marvel and Kelly Archer as well as writer-producers Tony Esterly and artists Who Is Fancy, Sara Haze and more. We also have been fortunate to sign deals with established artists like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell and most recently John Prine, where the focus is a little more on sync and outside artist placements, along with administration. Each of these artist-writer deals are tailored specifically toward their individual needs.
MR: Congratulations on the recent deal with John Prine. Are there specific ways you foresee promoting his catalog that haven’t been tapped into before?
Being on John’s team and being an advocate for his songs and his artistry is an immense opportunity and a very tall task. John’s work is important to our community here as well as the world. It will be my mission to push every boundary. I’m proud to be waving his banner in an official capacity.
One angle we will immediately work on is mining opportunities in Nashville (country genre and beyond), which should be a fresh perspective for John’s catalogue. Another is sync, which is a major priority. We are working closely with Downtown’s global sync licensing team, to find the best opportunities for his incredible songbook.
MR: How often will Downtown hold the Songwriters Without Borders co-writing events?
We’ve been operating with a globally collaborative approach since day one — our team has instigated several co-writes and writing camps in New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, London, Paris and beyond — a recent opportunity to take three of our Nashville writers ( Jillian Jacqueline, Who is Fancy and Kelly Archer) to Europe, inspired us to take this mantra to a new level. Through Songwriters Without Borders we are actively creating global collaborations between the our songwriters and other writers, artists, and producers across the world. During our trip to Europe last month, we put on two writer round events for the community in Paris and in London at the C2C country-music festival and also strategically set up co-writing session with artists and producers that are based in those markets. It has now become a very big part of our global initiative and we are planning to have events connecting writers from around the world several times a year.
MR: How did the idea for Songwriters Without Borders come about?
Justin Kalifowitz has a very big vision for Downtown and its songwriters. Providing opportunities for writers on a global level and actually connecting those writers with a strong focus is what Downtown is all about. During one of our Nashville-style “Writer Rounds” we did last year the Bluebird Cafe with Jillian Jacqueline, Marc Beeson and Andy Albert at our Downtown Global Music Summit in Nashville, we had the idea to take this concept to a global scale. The Writer Round style allows writers to share their versions of their songs along with the stories that inspired the songs including the raw emotions that come out in the process. Sharing a stage on this level can lend itself to an immediate songwriter attraction. When we played in Paris, we invited two French writers to play with us — and they were so good! It was their first time playing a Writer Round. They caught on quick and it blew everyone’s minds in Paris. I know sharing the stage and songs that night inspired many co-writes!
MR: What goes into the curation process of pairing certain Nashville writers with pop/rock writers who might be a good fit for them?
Knowing your writers and their creative reach is important. Having good timing with when to change things up is important as well. We always try to pair writers for the right reasons such as complimentary styles, or sometimes they may be outside the box ideas, but usually always finding a commonality between them. Change can be very inspiring to writers and creators. However too much change can easily be a distraction. Every writer is different and that is what dictates when to shift the focus.
During our recent trip in London and Paris, Fancy was in writing sessions with Naughty Boy, Cheryl (Cole), Jon Green, Saltwives, JOATOUCH, Tommy Djibz, while Kelly Archer worked at a writing camp with writers Peter Wallevik, Corey Sanders, Daniel Davidsen and Tebey Ottoh. Todd Clark, who recently moved from Toronto to Nashville, teamed with another one of our UK writers Sacha Skarbek and pop artist Noah Kahan for several songs on Noah’s new release. Recently, we’ve also paired Marc Beeson with Sacha Skarbek. We’ve also paired Casey Smith, one of our writers from Ryan Tedder’s Patriot Games Publishing, with our writer-artist Jillian Jacqueline, and Sara Haze with LA-based pop songwriter-artist Skylar Gray.