Concord has acquired Round Hill’s UK-listed music fund, Round Hill Music Royalty Fund (RHM).

The deal includes over 150,000 songs and 51 catalogs, including works by The Beatles, Alice In Chains, The Offspring as well as hits recorded by Elvis Presley, Meatloaf, James Brown and Billie Holiday. It also includes a stake in the Carlin Catalog, which houses hits made famous by artists including Presley, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and George Harrison.

The news follows Concord’s expansion into Australasia as well as its acquisition of Mojo Music & Media. On Oct. 18, with the RHM Board endorsing the acquisition, the deal was overwhelmingly approved with 99 percent of votes cast in favor.

“The entire team at Concord is thrilled to be able to represent these iconic catalogs. It is now our obligation to expose these songs and recordings to an even larger audience than their existing extraordinary fan bases. Furthering the cultural impact that these works have is certainly a responsibility we take seriously,” shares Bob Valentine, CEO of Concord.

He adds, “Since our inception, Concord has demonstrated a clear track record of preserving the legacy of our artists while leveraging new and innovative opportunities to create new fans. I can’t wait to see what our global creative teams of sync, licensing, marketing, copyright and royalty experts come up with next.”

Pip Wynans Joins PLA Media As Sr. Social Media/Marketing Consultant

Pip Wynans

Pip Wynans has been named Senior Social Media and Marketing Consultant at PLA Media. Wynans’ background includes expertise in User Generated Content (UGC) creation, digital marketing, branding and influencer marketing. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor in International Relations, with an emphasis in Korean Language and Culture, as well as a Masters in Global Entertainment and Music Business from Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. She is also trilingual, proficient in English, Spanish and Korean.

“I am learning so much from Pip daily seeing our ever-changing digital, marketing world through her eyes! With verve, she brings a fresh, curious approach to our campaigns and is already making a positive difference. Our clients absolutely love her,” says PLA Media founder and CEO, Pamela L. Lewis.

Jenny Tolman Partners With Operation Stand Down TN

Pictured (L-R): Jenny Tolman, Penny Anderson (Chief Development and External Affairs Officer for OSDTN), Karen Fitzhugh (Manager, Community & Special Events for OSDTN)

Jenny Tolman is partnering with Operation Stand Down Tennessee to raise awareness and funds for their Operation Connect program, which supports efforts in outreach and suicide prevention for veteran men and women in 20 counties across the Tennessee region. In conjunction with the partnership, she will be releasing her new single dedicated to those who served for Veterans Day, “Timbuktu,” on Friday, Nov. 10.

Founded in 1993, Operation Stand Down Tennessee’s mission is the engage, equip and empower military veterans and their families through crisis, career and connection services. With offices in Nashville, Clarksville and Columbia, they serve veterans who may have significant needs like homelessness or financial crisis, to those recently transitioning from military service who need career assistance to veterans who need a connection to their community.

Country Music Hall Of Fame’s RJ Smith Wins Award For Chuck Berry Book

RJ Smith

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum writer-editor RJ Smith was recently named a 2023 award winner for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. Smith’s 2022 book Chuck Berry: An American Life (Hachette Books), was honored as a Best History winner for research in recorded rock or popular music.

Each year, the ARSC Awards are given to authors of books, articles or recording liner notes to recognize those publishing the very best work today in recorded sound research. In addition to his biography on Berry, Smith has written books about James Brown, photographer Robert Frank and Black Los Angeles in the 1940s. Prior to joining the staff of the museum, he was an editor at Los Angeles magazine and the Village Voice, and has written for GQ, Rolling Stone, the New York Times and LA Weekly.

Pictured (L-R, top row): Lewis Brisbois’ Austin Wells, Lewis Brisbois’ Matt Cottingham, TNA’s Haley Teske; What’s Good Projects’ Ryan Kroon; (L-R, bottom row): Warner Chappell’s Bethany Mako; Warner Chappell’s Ben Vaughn; Palmer Anthony; TNA’s Ryan Beuschel; TNA’s Austin Neal. Photo: Kelly Littlefield

The Neal Agency has expanded into publishing, signing Palmer Anthony to a co-publishing venture with Warner Chappell Music.

Austin Neal launched the agency nearly two years ago and has developed the company into one of Nashville’s leading boutique talent agencies, with a rapidly growing team of 17 employees and 21 clients.

“I view the ultimate goal for the company truly as a place to develop artists. If we really believe in somebody from the beginning, being able to help them grow in-house, and having every opportunity to help create and build their careers from the ground up is an important aspect of that,” shares Neal.

Spearheaded by TNA’s Head of Business Development, Ryan Beuschel, the idea to expand the company into publishing was spurred by Anthony himself, after signing with TNA for booking. “Palmer was a great example of being the first person that we did this with because he was signing to the agency, shopping around, and looking into publishing deals, and he was the one that mentioned it’d be really amazing if we could have worked together,” reflects Beuschel.

With a background in publishing spanning 20 years, Beuschel’s prior experience at Warner Chappell Music as Vice President of A&R / Strategy made the co-publishing venture a natural fit after introducing Anthony to Warner Chappell Music Nashville President & CEO, Ben Vaughn.

“I met Palmer because of Austin and Ryan, so it’s been really cool to watch this partnership come together and to see Palmer build his network throughout town,” shares Vaughn. “Palmer writes some really great songs by himself, but he also was very interested in what he could learn from those that are ahead of him, and we’re excited to open the door for new opportunities to get him in front of experienced writers and watch his career grow.”

Anthony shares in that excitement, stating, “I started in music about five or six years ago, and I was playing shows and was writing stuff just by myself. And I kind of hit a point where I really wanted to grow and learn and I’ve always entered this country music scene as a fan first. I’m a fan of the writers, a fan of these organizations, and so it’s really easy to transition for me to want to co-write more and want to be a part of the scene. I’m still a student, and I’ll probably always be a student. But for me it’s just fun to learn.”

A Texas native, Anthony grew up in the small Northern California town of Willits and played baseball at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before realizing his passion for songwriting surpassed even his love of the game. After graduation, he moved back to Fort Worth where he became immersed in the Texas music scene. While honing his entertainment skills, Anthony opened for Riley Green, Randall King, Chase Rice and more.

Pictured (L-R): Matthew Morgan, Jeffrey Hasson, Scott Clayton, Tanya Trotter, Michael Trotter, Jr., Buster Phillips, Brian Hill, Lolo McClusky. Photo: Courtesy of UTA

UTA has signed The War And Treaty for worldwide representation in all areas.

Founded in 2014 by the husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, The War And Treaty has emerged as one of the most exciting new acts in music. Known for their exceptional sonic blend, The War And Treaty released their major label debut album, Lover’s Game, on Mercury Nashville earlier this year.

Highly respected by their peers, the duo has gone on to appear as collaborators including the latest “Hey Driver” with Zach Bryan. The pair received their first nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year at next week’s CMA Awards, and will also be performing during the telecast.

“I am incredibly excited about our new partnership with UTA and to reunite with our long-term agent and friend, Buster Phillips,” says Tanya. “Buster and everyone at UTA are committed to helping us achieve our goals of not only growing The War And Treaty touring, but continuing our expansion into film, TV, and theater.”

“The UTA team has embraced us like family,” adds Michael. “Buster would kick doors down for us—both figuratively and even physically if he had to! UTA feels right for us, and we couldn’t be more excited for the future with them on our side.”

Having recently earned the Americana Music Association’s Duo/Group of the Year for the second straight year, The War And Treaty has dominated stages across the globe including North America, Europe and Australia, while headlining their own shows and opening for a diverse group of living legends such as Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, John Legend, Lauren Daigle, Van Morrison and more.

“I was immediately drawn to The War And Treaty for their commanding vocals and stunning harmonies,” says Phillips. “We’re thrilled to welcome them to the UTA family and excited to continue creating amazing moments together.”