Little Big Town. Photo: Blair Getz Mezibov

Superstar country music group Little Big Town will host the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The two-hour ceremony will air live on Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT across NBC and Peacock.

Inducted as Opry members in 2014, Little Big Town will also perform a medley of their greatest hits at the iconic venue.

“We are honored to host the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards, especially on one of our most beloved stages in the entire world,” says Little Big Town. “We look forward to welcoming so many of our talented peers to take the Opry stage for this magical night of music.”

“Little Big Town is a force in country music and a beloved staple on Music Row,” says Cassandra Tryon, Senior Vice President, Entertainment Live Events, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “As Opry members, they’ve delighted fans for years on the world-famous stage and we’re honored to have them host, perform and bring this inaugural ceremony to life for our NBC and Peacock audiences.”

Touted as “the only award show for the people and by the people,” the People’s Choice Country Awards will recognize the biggest and best country music has to offer chosen entirely by the fans across various categories. Several honorary awards will also be bestowed during the awards ceremony.

The two-hour telecast will lean into the rich connection between country music and the Opry through chart-topping musical performances, genre-bending collaborations, legendary tributes and surprise moments that regularly happen from the iconic venue.

The telecast is produced by Den of Thieves with Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski serving as executive producers, along with RAC Clark as executive producer and showrunner. The show will extend to social platforms with Backstage Live, bringing fans at home behind the scenes as well as interactively connecting country’s most popular stars with their biggest fans.

This project is an example of collaboration resulting from NBCUniversal’s equity investment in Opry Entertainment Group alongside Atairos, which was finalized last year.

Pictured (L-R, back row): BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen, The Valory Music Co.’s Ashley Sidoti, Big Machine Label Group’s Allison Jones, The Valory Music Co.’s Chris Palmer; (L-R, front row): The Valory Music Co.’s George Briner, Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta, Darryl Worley. Photo: Nick Rau

Darryl Worley has given his stirring song “Have You Forgotten?” a fresh modern-day perspective on its original themes in a new reimagined version titled “Have We Forgotten,” available now via The Valory Music Co.

It’s been two decades since “Have You Forgotten?” was released. The original was penned alongside Wynn Varble and created as a post-9/11 anthem ensuring people would never forget those lost. Its message quickly resonated with millions, topping Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in only its fifth week and reigning for seven weeks.

“One of the first times we played ‘Have You Forgotten?’ live back then was on the Grand Ole Opry. The incredible response we received from that performance is how it all started,” recalled Worley. “We recently decided to sit down and write a new lyric for the song that’s appropriate for this day and time with what’s happening in our country today. For the new version ‘Have We Forgotten,’ we wanted to be certain we said what we were truly feeling in our hearts and didn’t compromise what we believe in, which is exactly how it went down with the original. I’m very proud of the message of the song.”

Featuring all-new lyrics from Worley and Varble, alongside co-writer Noah Gordon, the trio now wonders during the chorus, Have we forgotten / Who we really are / All the storms we’ve had to weather / And how we ever got this far / Have we forgotten / How it used to be / When we could still sit down together and agree to disagree. Worley recently debuted “Have We Forgotten” on the same stage he did the original version 20 years ago—in the circle at the Grand Ole Opry.

The new release finds Worley reuniting with label execs Scott Borchetta, Allison Jones, George Briner and Jimmy Harnen, who were pivotal players at DreamWorks when the original version launched in 2003 and are now all at Big Machine Label Group.

“It is so great to be reunited with Darryl twenty years on from the impact of ‘Have You Forgotten?’ and remind everyone about its moment in history,” says Borchetta, Chairman & CEO of BMLG. “Now, he’s reimagined this classic with a timely and relevant read posing a question that all Americans are asking themselves – ‘how did we get here?’”

Borchetta continues, “America experienced this extraordinary moment with 9/11 that brought us all together and now, here we are twenty years later, and our political parties can’t agree on what day it is.  Hopefully, this will be a positive step forward in reminding us all that, as Americans, we’re at our best when we’re taking care of each other.”

Pictured (L-R): Ben Johnson, Jon Robert Hall, Warner Chappell’s Katy Wolaver and Chelsea Junker

Warner Chappell Music and TurnTable Music, founded by hitmaker Ben Johnson, have teamed up to sign singer-songwriter Jon Robert Hall to a global publishing deal.

Hall has experience in many spaces within the entertainment industry, from television, film and Broadway to pop and country songwriting as well as his own solo career as an artist.

Hall has worked with a diverse range of artists including Machine Gun Kelly, Kygo, Rosa Linn and more. He most recently provided songwriting support to Morgan Wallen and Hardy on their hit single, “In The Bible,” which debuted in the top 50 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart earlier this year. Other recent collaborators include Johnson, Morgan Evans, Jessie Murph, Alana Springsteen, John Byron, Geoff Warburton, Fraser Churchill, Andrew Cedar, Jake Scott, David Brook, Luke Niccoli and Kevin White.

His acting career consists of roles in the hit television series Glee and Millennials: The Musical as well as films Grease Live! and Sing. Hall also played Fiyero during the national tour of the Broadway sensation Wicked The Musical.

“Jon is a creative force who has worked with songwriters and artists of all levels and across genres. He’s had an illustrious career spanning multiple disciplines, and we’re incredibly excited to work with him alongside our partners at TurnTable Music,” says Katy Wolaver, Warner Chappell Senior Vice President, A&R.

Spencer Nohe, Warner Chappell Senior Director, A&R, adds, “We’re thrilled to welcome Jon to WCM. In both Nashville and Los Angeles, he’s already made an impact among some of the industry’s top acts. I’m grateful for Ben Johnson’s partnership on this deal and looking forward to everything we’re going to accomplish together.”

“I am so unbelievably pumped to be a part of the Warner Chappell family and partner with Ben Johnson at TurnTable Music,” says Hall. “The road has been long and wide to get here, and every win and loss has led to this pinnacle moment. Thanks for believing in me, let’s get to work!”

BMI has launched a new initiative to modernize and enhance the customer service experience for its songwriters, composers and publishers.

The new project will roll out in multiple phases and include the creation of a dedicated customer service team based in BMI’s Nashville office as well as the implementation of new processes and technologies to more effectively manage the high volume of royalty administration inquiries the company receives.

Alison Smith, BMI’s EVP, Chief Distribution & Publisher Relations Officer, will oversee the new initiative, working closely with Mike Steinberg, BMI’s EVP, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer.

“It has always been a priority to address the many administration and royalty questions we receive from our affiliates and offer the guidance and help that is so important to our creative community,” says Smith. “Given the millions of affiliates we serve and the trillions of transactions we now process each year, we’re very excited to take on this new initiative that will accommodate the ever-growing volume of affiliates who require our assistance on a daily basis. By using the latest customer service technologies and strategies, we will be in a much stronger position to respond in the fastest and most effective way possible to the evolving needs of our songwriters, composers and publishers.”

BMI worked with Material, a global strategy and customer experience transformation consultancy, to help define and build its new strategy. Material will serve as an advisor to BMI during the project’s start up period. Phase One of the project includes the hiring of a new customer service team, creating new streamlined and centralized processes, and implementing a new telephony platform. Later phases will include the establishment of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, the building of an affiliate self-service portal and deploying a chat function to better handle incoming calls and questions.

“This is a great solution to help us better manage the many calls that come into our Creative team about royalty systems and processes,” says Steinberg. “By streamlining this process, we can make sure that the inquiries we receive are sent to the right place and that our Creative team can continue to focus on providing creative support and guidance to our incredible roster of affiliates.”