Last week, Amazon Music held a reception at the National Museum of African American Music to launch Amazon’s Delivering the Future event, which highlighted the company’s investments in Tennessee and its focus on innovation.

During the event, Amazon Music General Manager Ryan Redington discussed key priorities for the music division, emphasizing Amazon’s dedication to customer-centric innovation. He also explained how the company leverages its global platform to support artists.

Redington introduced Maestro, Amazon Music’s new AI-powered playlist generator, currently in beta for select U.S. users. Maestro enables users to create playlists by inputting different elements like moods, emojis, activities or sounds. For example, users can request something like “Myspace era hip-hop,” and Maestro will curate a corresponding playlist.

“From a prompt, we use a large language model to help interpret what the customer’s actually asking. Then we use the model to help us figure out what type of response we need to give, and then we have to marry that with our music catalog to actually create a sequence of songs,” Regington shared with MusicRow after the event. “It’s incredibly complicated on the back end, but for the customer, it happens in seconds and feels like magic.”

Additionally, Redington touched on the growth of Amazon Music’s live streaming, particularly through programs like Amazon Music Live. He highlighted their partnership with Thursday Night Football, where artists perform right after the game, allowing them to reach large audiences.

“Live streaming specifically during COVID was really born out of a necessity,” Redington says. “We got great customer feedback and artists really liked it, and we realized it could actually be a [bigger part of our] business. We have Prime Video all around the world and Amazon Music products in 50 countries, so [we started developing it.]

“We live stream festivals all over the world now. With Amazon Music Live, we also do City Sessions where we tap artists’ visions, build sets to match that vision and deliver an experience that is a really high bar for customers and artists.”

The third season of Amazon Music Live after Thursday Night Football begins tomorrow (Oct. 17) with a performance by Jelly Roll in Los Angeles, streamed on Prime Video and Twitch. Following that, performances from Big Sean (Oct. 24), Halsey (Oct. 31) and J Balvin (Nov. 7) are lined up.

“Live streaming gives artists the ability to market themselves through Thursday Night Football, one of the most watched shows in any week during the football season,” Redington shares. “We have artists on there doing interviews, talking about their new music, and then rolling the audience base into a live stream. It’s a great way to drive that intersection of sports and music.”

As part of Country Music Month, Amazon puts together an expansive slate of content tied to another of the streaming service’s flagship playlist, Bonfire. Throughout the month, Amazon Music has released new livestreams, Amazon Music Originals and videos from the artists who define the playlist. Additionally, Amazon Breakthrough Artist Nate Smith performed for a group of fans in Los Angeles as part of City Sessions for Country Music Month, and the platform released a video of Kacey Musgraves’ recent Climate Pledge Arena concert.

On Oct. 25, Amazon Music will release the latest episode of Songline—the new docu-performance series that provides fans an intimate look into an artist’s songwriting process and the stories behind the music—with Leon Bridges as part of Country Music Month.

“We like to think every month is Country Music Month, but it is a really great way to talk about country music and how important it is to our customers,” shares Emily Cohen Belote, Lead Music Curator at Amazon Music.

“We really rally around that month to show the best in class that Amazon Music has to offer,” adds Michelle Tigard Kammerer, Head of Country Music for Amazon Music. “We take what’s happening in culture and cross-collaborate that with what’s happening in country music on our service, and really highlight that throughout the month.”

Finally, Redington discussed Amazon Music’s Breakthrough program, designed to provide emerging artists with significant support through custom content, global marketing campaigns, and enhanced visibility across Amazon Music playlists and platforms.

To close the event, he invited 2022 Breakthrough Artist Breland to perform. Breland blew the roof off the building with some of his biggest hits, like “Praise The Lord” and “Cross Country,” and a selection of new material from his new EP, Project 2024, out on Friday (Oct. 18).

Dylan Marlowe will hit the road on his “Mid-Twenties Crisis Tour” next year.

Kicking off at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City on Jan. 23, the run will include a total of 12 dates, each in a different state. The tour announcement follows the release of Marlowe’s debut album, Mid-Twenties Crisis. Comprised of 15 tracks co-written by the Sony Music Nashville artist that draw from his personal experiences, the project aims to depict the roller coaster of life in one’s 20s.

“I’m so pumped to be hitting the road in January for this tour,” Marlowe shares. “When I was writing for the Mid-Twenties Crisis album, one of my biggest priorities was writing songs that would be great to play live so it’s pretty surreal to have this tour coming up. Can’t wait to see y’all out there!”

Presale tickets are available now, with general sales starting this Friday (Oct. 18). For more information, click here.

Nashville executives, artists, creators and culinary icons enjoyed a night of elegant food and fun at the fifth annual ‘St. Jude Presents: Curated,’ on Oct. 9, raising over $1.8 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the process.

Held at the home of co-chairs Elizabeth and Bryan Frist for the second year and hosted alongside co-chairs Cassie and Charles Kelley, the evening included a dinner, live auction and performances by Lady A, Ernest and Hardy. The night’s overall message was joie de vivre, a trait seen in the lives of the brave St. Jude patients and highlighted by St. Jude patient Thompson and his mom, who shared their story.

The five-course, French-inspired menu was curated and prepared by chefs Tiffani Ortiz and Andy Doubrava of The Catbird Seat. Guests enjoyed French-themed tastings and treats, and during the live auction, which raised over $850,000, bid on one-of-a-kind packages such as a private Sunday Supper for 20 at The Catbird Seat, a vacation to Cassie and Charles Kelley’s Harbour Island home, a private bourbon dinner (including five barrels of bourbon from Jeff Hopmayer) and more.

Donations from this event will help ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago.

Girlilla Marketing Founder and CEO Jennie Smythe has signed an exclusive publishing deal with Forefront Books imprint Resolve Editions. She will release a memoir in 2025, distributed by Simon & Schuster.

“I have learned so many things from so many smart people—some of whom are no longer with us—and I want to honor them by passing on what they taught me,” shares Smythe. “I continue to be mentored by strong and clever people who are generous with their time. I am surrounded by co-workers who renew my inspiration and who, I believe, are more talented than me (which is great!). I have loyal clients who have stuck by me. I’ve seen trends in my business that we keep unnecessarily repeating.

“I see frequent mistakes employees make in their formative workplace years,” she continues. “I’ve made epic bad decisions as both an employee and a boss. But, where there was pain and struggle, there’s always been growth and opportunity for me. Where there’s been despair, faith has kicked its ass. Because of my losses, I’ve appreciated my wins more. I hope I can save you some hassle. I hope that I can make you think, laugh and see your own story in mine… because we are all connected, online and offline.”

Smythe has built her career as a forward-thinking entrepreneur. Her digital marketing agency, Girlilla Marketing, was founded in 2008. The female-led company leads the digital marketing campaigns for a diverse roster of world-famous entertainers and brands including Dead & Company, Willie Nelson, Darius Rucker, Blondie, Brooke Shields, Iliza Shlesinger, Terry Crews, Kristin Chenoweth, Vince Gill and many others.

With a lifelong love of music behind her, Smythe’s creative approach has earned her a multitude awards and recognition. She is a multi-year winner of the Nashville Business Journal’s Women in Music City Awards, a MusicRow Magazine Rising Women on the Row honoree and was recognized on the Nashville Post In Charge 2023: Music list.

In the upcoming memoir, Smythe will reflect on her two decades plus of experience in the entertainment industry and digital marketing space. She will also discuss the challenges of becoming an entrepreneur, fighting breast cancer and more.

“From the moment I met Jennie and read her manuscript, I knew it was a perfect match,” says Becky Nesbitt, Publisher, Resolve Editions. “Her journey to the top of the industry is a testament to her grit, determination, and resilience through both wins and losses.  Her story will undoubtedly inspire readers everywhere. Having worked with a diverse range of clients, Jennie has proven herself to be a force for good in the industry, and we could not be more pleased to share her incredible story with the world next year.”

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Marcus Hummon will release his new single, “I Never Saw A Moor,” this Friday (Oct. 18). The tune is included on his forthcoming EP, Songs For Emily, out Nov. 15 via 3686 RECORDS.

Inspired by the famous work of Emily Dickinson, Songs For Emily marks a departure from Hummon’s country and pop stylings, and an entrance into the world of American poetry and composition.

On “I Never Saw A Moor,” he reflects, “It’s the first Emily Dickinson poem I memorized, and I loved the sense of divinity in nature and intuitive spiritual thought, which were key elements of the Transcendentalist movement. I did take some liberties with the composition, not setting the lines exactly as written, but creating a song based on her poem.”

The EP, which features Mary Chapin Carpenter on “I Dwell in Possibility,” aims to pay homage to Dickinson’s writing, blending her unique style with Hummon’s individual sound. Additionally, the Grammy winner has extended his musical talents to theater, recently premiering his folk-opera, No Man’s Land, at Belmont University’s Massey Hall.

“With this record, I’d love to shine a light on Emily Dickinson, her genius and her great gift to us all,” he shares. “I’ve sought to push myself as a musician and recording artist with this project. I’ve ‘set’ some poetry before in the theater world, but this is a deeper dive into the work of a uniquely ‘American’ poet.”