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Clarence Spalding Bonus Q&A: On Launching Brooks & Dunn, Management Philosophy

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MusicRow featured Maverick manager Clarence Spalding in its latest Artist Roster print magazine, an industry directory detailing the team members behind Nashville artists.

In this bonus web Q&A Spalding discusses his 40-year career in the music business, currently managing Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Brooks and Dunn, Terri Clark, Darius Rucker, Rachel Wammack, and more. For more from Spalding’s interview, pick up a print copy of MusicRow’s Artist Roster issue, or subscribe here.

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On Launching Brooks & Dunn:
Bob Titley signed Brooks & Dunn in 1991. I had been working for Stan Moress. We managed Eddie Rabbitt, K.T. Oslin, Lorrie Morgan, Don Williams, Clint Black, Ronnie Milsap and more. Kix and Ronnie were the third act on the Reba tour, and I got a call that Bob was looking for someone. We partnered for 10 years until Bob decided he didn’t want to be in the business. So I formed Spalding Entertainment with [my first artists] Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Terri Clark. Marne McLyman has been the longest-standing employee. She’s been here 13 years, since she graduated Belmont. She currently handles Reba and Brooks & Dunn.

On Incorporating Big Loud In To The Maverick Fold:
I think Chief and Seth [England] are the type of managers that will benefit most from Maverick. They’re young, aggressive and have acts that love playing in the pop world. If you’re interested in that, there’s no better place to be than with the managers who have the biggest pop acts in the world.

On His Management Philosophy:
I try to keep my door open because different staff members will come in and lay on the couch with their computers, and ask questions—feeding off each other. A Jason Aldean question can educate you on a lot of subjects because he’s playing at such a high level.

I always stress, every morning you get to wake up and play in a major league ballpark. We should be grateful, but with that comes a responsibility to bust your ass every day…to pay attention, listen and focus—all the things it takes to be a great manager. Then it takes luck. You need a kiss every now and then to break through.

On Ex-employee And Now CEO/Chairman, Sony Records Nashville Randy Goodman:
Randy is a forward, critical thinker. He was great when he was here. I’m not sure he enjoyed management as much as we enjoyed having him here. You see him now…He’s cut out to be a great label person, and I’m damn sure ecstatic he’s running Sony and they’re on top of their game.

On A Together In Vegas Extension:
[Caesars] talking to us about a [2019 extension. Reba, Kix and Ronnie] love doing it. I would have bet a lot of money that we would have done it for one term and they would say, ‘We’ve had enough of Vegas….’ They don’t even leave! They go for two weeks—fly on Wednesday and come home on Sunday—taking advantage of being on the west coast. They eat, golf, run, Ronnie’s always taking the bus out to shoot photos. All of them invite family, friends. It’s like a family reunion back stage. They’ve approached it from the right way, which kind of surprised me.

On His Vacation In Africa With Reba, Mike Dungan, Joe Galante And Shane Tarleton In June 2018:
Africa wasn’t on my bucket list, but Reba had been twice. She was the only one who had—so she put it together. She called my wife and I think Ann had it in her head it was going to be in tents. Reba said, ‘We’re gonna be in lodges!” There were nine total. It was Mike Dungan and his wife Jane, Shane Tarleton, Joe Galante and his wife Fran and then Reba’s boyfriend Skeeter. They said it was during [CMA] music fest, and I said, ‘I’ll do that.’ I called Dungan and used that as a selling point. That’s when you find out if you’re really needed.

But Africa was phenomenal. I’d go back.

Bonus Q&A: Nashville A&R Execs Discuss Artist Development, Signing Female Artists

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MusicRow welcomed several of Nashville’s top A&R executives to discuss the intense competition to sign new artists, the role of artist development, signing female talent, and more.

BBR Music Group’s Sara Knabe, Big Machine Label Group’s Allison Jones, Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy, and UMG Nashville’s Stephanie Wright visited the MusicRow office for a discussion on the biggest opportunities and challenges labels face in the A&R arena.

For more from this A&R Roundtable, pick up a print copy of MusicRow’s Artist Roster issue, or subscribe here.

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MusicRow: Nashville has such a tight-knit A&R community, and yet there is so much competition to sign new artists. If an artist doesn’t fit with your label for some reason, do you make a call to other potential labels?

Cris Lacy: The way it’s done now, if a manager calls one of us, they call all of us. An email introduction turns into, “This artist has heat.” All of a sudden we are all jumping around to try to sign them. It’s so rapid now.

Stephanie Wright: Early on Brett [Eldredge] came in and played for us and I was so in love with him and I couldn’t get everybody else as fired up…

Lacy: We were at a show, and Stephanie had been about Sam Hunt for forever, before anyone and that was one of those emails that came through. I remember being at a show and saying to Stephanie, ‘I don’t know why he doesn’t just sign with you guys. You offered him a great deal, but we have to get in this because it is awesome. And obviously he did sign with UMG and rightfully so. She put in the time and effort and was there from the beginning.

Allison Jones: We look at these artists and we always want to sign them, but our worlds are always going to intersect. With Cole [Swindell], he’s been a co-writer for some of our artists and he’s been on tour with our artists. I believe in music karma.

Sara Knabe: [Recent Warner Music Nashville signee] Cody Johnson is another one, and ultimately we both have the same passion level for it, but she’s [motions to Lacy] known him longer.

Lacy: I had been after Cody Johnson for eight years…

Knabe: I had been after him for about nine months. They had this relationship and even when Cody would talk with us about it, I would be like, “Cris is amazing and would be amazing for you.” That’s the part where you are competitive. I wanted that deal. I wanted it bad. But, I am really excited for him. You guys have that relationship and I understood it. But was I bummed? Absolutely.

MR: It is well known that female country artists have trouble getting radio airplay. Does that make you hesitant to sign female talent?

[All]: No. Not at all.

Wright: Being the hopeful A&R people that we are, we want to sign that girl who will break through. There’s a plethora of talent in the female space, too.

Jones: When I look back in my elementary school days, I literally wanted to be Crystal Gayle, and then one of the Mandrell Sisters, and then of course, Dolly and Reba and Trisha and Lee Ann Womack. Some of my favorites of any genre have been our iconic country women. Good Lord, I hope Carly Pearce joins those ranks, and everyone in our [BMLG] building feels the same way. It’s just about great music. I hope everyone at this table can find the next Reba or Trisha, because music needs it.

Wright: These new artists coming in are all supporting one another, too. They show up at one another’s shows when they have a day off. They are not afraid to talk about how great another artist is. I think there was a time period when females felt there was a scarcity—“If I’ve got this attention, it don’t want to share it.” But now, I feel they all support one another.

MR: Females make up the majority of top A&R executives at the main country labels. Does being a female executive affect how you approach A&R?

Jones: I have nothing but respect for my male counterparts, but I feel that women as a whole do well at this job because we’ve allowed ourselves to become immersed in their personal lives. We all live and breathe these artists. Tali [Canterbury] and Laurel [Kittleson] talk to their artists every day. I feel like not only do we do A&R, we live the lives of our artists, whether it’s getting married or having children or breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. I’m best at my job when I know what is going on in their lives and their families, to know what they want to say and what they don’t want to say with their music. I think women have an innate ability to be more perceptive.

Lacy: Women are nurturing and that’s a natural fit for A&R.

Knabe: All three of these women have been mentors and friends even when I was a publisher. I have a huge list of women in the industry that had my back and taught me how to handle career issues. At Broken Bow, the majority of the staff are women. Looking at my career, I’ve been surrounded by people who support me, including Jon Loba and Kos Weaver.

Jones: Scott [Borchetta] always wants the most qualified person for the job, and we have quite a few female executives at Big Machine.

MR: Talk about the development work that labels do versus what publishers do.

Lacy: I think there is commentary out there that “Labels don’t do development.” The problem is when we do development, publishers are like, “Well, that’s been over here for a few years and nothing has happened with it,” and they move on instead of saying, “The label is doing development and this could be a two-, three-, or four-year process.”

The hard part is all the new artists are watching all the other artists on social media. So whether or not they are making smart decisions, and whether or not all this music is ready—and that only plays out in the years to come—they are watching all this and it makes them anxious because every artist wants to come out [with music] the moment they are signed.

MR: With such intense competition to sign one artist, does that hasten or delay the overall signing process?

Lacy: My joke on Cody [Johnson], and I said this to Cody and [his manager Howie Edelman] was, “Just get married.” I don’t care who you marry at this point but please get married because at this point I’m chasing you so hard I feel like…

Knabe: It’s almost like a relationship or going to prom, where you are like, “Please love me. I know there is another really good looking girl over there, but please pick me.”

Lacy: At some point, prom just needs to happen so everyone can move on.

MR: Any final thoughts?

Jones: I am really excited and positive abut this crop of new artists—and we’ve all worked together on them in some capacity. You guys [motions to Knabe and Lacy] pitched me great songs when you worked in publishing and we couldn’t do what we do without great publishers, so the two of you helped my career.

Knabe: And every time I got a cut, that helped my career…

Lacy: It’s all symbiotic.

Jones: We are competitors and we all want to win, but I am really protective and really proud of our community, because it doesn’t exist in other genres.

Bobby Karl Works The Room: MusicRow Magazine’s Cover Reveal Party

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Pictured (L-R): MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson, Carly Pearce, and ASCAP’s Mike Sistad. Photo: Ed Rode Photography

BOBBY KARL WORKS THE ROOM

Chapter 599

Here are some things you remember as you climb to country stardom.

The first time somebody asks you for your autograph; the first time you hear yourself on the radio; your first big concert appearance; signing your first recording contract; making your first video; doing your first media interview; winning your first award.

How about this? The first time you are on the cover of a big magazine.

We celebrated that last one with Carly Pearce on Monday afternoon (Aug. 13) at ASCAP. That is the day that the “Artist Roster” edition of MusicRow was published. And guess who is smiling on its cover?

Pictured (L-R): MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson and Carly Pearce. Photo: Ed Rode Photography

“This is the first time that MusicRow has done this event,” said the mag’s owner/publisher Sherod Robertson. He and Carly unveiled a blow-up of the cover on ASCAP’s stage in the lobby.

“I’ve been reading this magazine for years,” Carly responded. “So this is kind of a full-circle moment.

“What a year-and-a-half I’ve had,” she continued. “I’m really grateful to all of you. I will never, ever, ever take it for granted.”

It has been a long climb for the young singer-songwriter. Carly formed her first band at age 11 in 2001, became a full-time entertainer at Dollywood at age 16, moved to Nashville at age 19 and served nearly six years in a fruitless Sony label development deal.

Party attendee J.R. Schumann helped to change her life. He put “Every Little Thing” on Sirius/XM radio. Attendee Allison Jones took note and urged attendee Scott Borchetta to sign Carly to Big Machine. Attendee Jeff Gregg put her on the road via CAA. Manager Rob Baker – also an attendee – managed her progress. You’ll find all of them in the Artist Roster issue.

Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Michael Martin and Beth Brinker, Carly Pearce, and ASCAP’s Mike Sistad. Photo: Ed Rode Photography

Pictured (L-R): Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta, Carly Pearce, and Longshot Management’s Rob Baker and Aaron Kinssies. Photo: Ed Rode Photography

Hosting ASCAP’s Michael Martin and Mike Sistad were with her all along the journey. Sistad presented Carly with a framed souvenir of the cover image.

“I want to thank you so much for being here — we’re so proud to have Carly in the ASCAP family,” said Mike. “I’ve known her for nine years.”

“Mike Sistad and ASCAP were among the first to support me,” Carly confirmed.

As we all know, the aching ballad “Every Little Thing” blasted its way to No. 1. Now, Carly’s saucy “Hide the Wine” is poised to repeat the feat.

Everyone must have been primed for a party, because the event was really crowded. The thunderous schmoozing in the echo-y lobby came courtesy of Chuck Flood, Chuck Thompson, Charlie Monk, Sarah Skates, Martha Moore, Sherrill Blackman, Steve O’Brien, Suzanne Lee, Dale Bobo, Dan Keen, Melanie Howard, Mike Craft, Becca Walls, Pat Higdon, Kos Weaver, Julie Boos, Andrew Kintz, Lisa Konicki and Cindy Owen, among many others.

Beaming above it all was Carly Pearce, who is notable for her positive attitude, no matter the length or difficulty of the climb. She also has a can-do work ethic that is awesome.

“This is an artist who will do whatever it takes to assure her place in this world,” Sherod observed. “She has been named a MusicRow Next Big Thing artist. Women are so important to this industry, and MusicRow is a big supporter of women.”

Read more about Pearce’s career here.

Pictured (L-R): MusicRow Publisher/Owner Sherod Robertson, Robert Oermann, Carly Pearce, and MusicRow‘s Haley Crow, Alex Kobrick, Eric Parker, and Jessica Nicholson. Photo: Ed Rode Photography

Brian O’Connell, Dierks Bentley Talk Seven Peaks Festival, Rise In Artist-Branded Festivals

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Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley has always been a risk taker, and an artist eager to display the various facets of his music. In 2010, after lobbing nearly a dozen singles into the Top 5 on country radio (both traditional-leaning and more pop-inspired fare), he did the unexpected, releasing the acoustic-based, string-laden sounds of Up On The Ridge. In 2016, he released Black, a contemporary conceptual project that spawned the hits “Black,” “Somewhere On A Beach,” and “Different For Girls,” among others. Earlier this year, he released The Mountain, a project conceived in Colorado, which explores some of country music’s rougher rock edges.

Over Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 2), Bentley will showcase his latest creative endeavor, welcoming nearly 30 artists back to Colorado for his own The Seven Peaks Festival.

“Starting my own festival is a dream come true,” Bentley tells MusicRow. “After playing as many festivals as I have over the years, it makes you think about what you’d do if you could put your own stamp on one.”

Miranda Lambert headlines the Saturday show, while Bentley closes out the festival with a headlining performance on Sunday. Bentley will also welcome his “Burning Man” collaborators Brothers Osborne, and “Different For Girls” duet partner Elle King. Meanwhile, newcomers including Boy Named Banjo, Abby Anderson, Rapidgrass and Travis Denning will commandeer the Whiskey Row side stage.

However, you never know where Bentley will show up over the course of the three days.

“I think we are going to have to lock him up to keep him off the stage,” Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell says. “He wants to play with every act that is on the bill, which is unique to say the least. Friday night, kind of a celebration of country music on Friday, it will be damn near impossible…I’m afraid for some of the artists…”

“With Seven Peaks, I was part of planning from day one and am looking forward to spending time with fans in all capacities: on stage, off stage, in the campsites and trying out the activities we’ve been working so hard to plan.” Bentley says.

For O’Connell, the Seven Peaks Festival has been years in the making. He had long been scouting for a Colorado location that would serve as the site for a new festival.

“We had decided on a different site at one point, and literally the night before we were going to go live, I just had a bad feeling about it and I pulled the whole thing down,” O’Connell recalls. “I felt like I was forcing it. So the idea of doing a country festival in Colorado is clearly not a new thing.”

O’Connell followed his intuition, waiting for the right opportunity. That opportunity came in the form of superstar Dierks Bentley and his manager Mary Hilliard Harrington, who suggested collaborating on the Colorado festival.

“That’s one of the cool things about our business is that we all do business together but we are also buddies. So we just broke down the fourth wall and let’s do this together.”

For Bentley, the festival in some ways feels like an extension of the album-making process.

“The more personal you can make it, the more of a universal appeal it has a possibility to be. I am taking everything I love musically, and surrounding it with everything I love about festivals, the things I’ve been making note of for years and hopefully creating one of the best fan experiences of any festival anywhere.”

Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell and Dierks Bentley

The festival will be held in Buena Vista, Colorado, which is located at the foot of the Continental Divide, surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks.

“Buena Vista is a cool town. I made a joke, ‘It’s kind of the essence of Colorado without skiing.’ It’s a real chill town with really great people in it. It’s a great place to really get away from the clutter and noise.”

The area is home to world-class rafting, as well as numerous other outdoor activities from mountain biking to hiking.

I’ve never seen any artist do an outdoor camping experience like this,” O’Connell says. “Someone asked me the other day, what are you going to do with the festival to make it different? I said, ‘Look up.’ There are seven 14,000-foot mountain peaks around you. There is nothing I can do to beat that.”

Though Bentley and company will headline the festival, O’Connell admits they have some stiff competition.

“When the sun sets and the sky turns purple, it’s amazing. We’ve talked about pausing the show just to watch the sunset. It’s that dramatic.”

Of course, taking on the role of financial partner in a festival comes with financial risk for artists, but O’Connell says that won’t deter more artist-branded festivals from launching. “It wouldn’t surprise me if everyone had one sooner or later, if they have that drive,” he says, also noting current festivals such as Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa.

“Artists want to create, and they want something they own that is unique to them, that has their own touch on it, to draw their hard-core fans. Not everything in their world at this point is about money. The idea that they can have creative control is gold to most artists.”

Kenny Chesney Offers Hits, Hope And Unity During Nashville Show

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Kenny Chesney on the afternoon of Aug. 11, prior to his show at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Photo: Kenny Chesney/Instagram

“Music and songs are the most powerful thing we have,” country music superstar Kenny Chesney told the record-breaking crowd of 55,182 fans (besting One Direction’s 2014 Nissan Stadium record of 54,249) that packed Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Saturday (Aug. 11), the setting for the 16th stop on his Trip Around The Sun Tour. “This is beautiful.”

This Hillbilly Rockstar was in full control of his stadium-sized legion of fans as he offered a 20+ song set, filled with hits from a career that has spanned more than two decades.

“I haven’t played this stadium in six years and I apologize for it,” Chesney told the crowd.

All was clearly forgiven, as the audience stood at attention throughout a set that ranged from 1998’s “How Forever Feels” to his latest chart-topper “Get Along.”

Throughout the energetic two-hour performance, Chesney worked every part of the massive stage, dancing, grinning, running and generally staying as close as possible to his No Shoes Nation. He led the audience in hit after hit, including “Livin’ In Fast Forward,” “Beer In Mexico,” “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems,” and more.

Though temperatures in Nashville hovered in the 80s well into the evening, Chesney never left the stage. Before he reached the second half of the set, Chesney’s signature tank and jeans were clearly soaked with sweat, both from the heat and from a concert that is essentially a rigorous two-hour cardio workout for the superstar.

Two large video screens followed his every move, in addition to a video screen that flashed scenes from various music videos. During “Young,” the screens showcased photos from Chesney’s own childhood, including his early performances and sports games.

The moody “Somewhere With You” offered the first slow burn of the concert, strategically placed nearly 10 songs into the show. The placement of the show’s scarce quiet moments heightened the pure emotional connection between fans and superstar. Midway through “Anything But Mine,” Chesney allowed the audience to take over the chorus, while he ended the song with only his warm baritone left convey the song’s nostalgia.

Chesney showcased members of his ace band throughout the evening, highlighted by his collaboration of “Setting The World On Fire’ with bassist and vocalist Harmoni Kelley. With her powerful, edgy voice, she more than held her own center stage, while Chesney offered his vocals from the catwalk, shaking hands with fans.

He also welcomed the evening’s openers, Thomas Rhett, Old Dominion, and Brandon Lay back to the stage at various points. Thomas Rhett collaborated on “When The Sun Goes Down,” while Lay sang on “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” During “Save It For A Rainy Day,” Chesney traded lines with Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi and Matt Ramsey, who co-wrote the 2015 Chesney hit with the late Andrew Dorff.

David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney.

As he has done for several shows on his Trip Around The Sun Tour, Chesney welcomed David Lee Murphy to perform two of his signature ‘90s hits, “Dust On The Bottle” and “Party Crowd.” The two also offered their recent chart-topping collaboration, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” Chesney and Murphy were in Nashville earlier this week to celebrate the No. 1 single with industry members, but Saturday evening they shared the song’s uplifting message, and their longstanding friendship, with the fans.

Saturday night’s stadium show reached a pinnacle with the duet, which served as a swirling anthem of hope.

“Let us help you forget whatever it is, and just live in this music, this moment.” Tennessee native Chesney urged the crowd, with the sincerity of a southern preacher, using music to spread his musical message of love, hope, sunshine, and good times.

Weekly Chart Report (8/10/18)

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Click here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Report.

David Lee Murphy, Kenny Chesney Celebrate Spirit-Lifting, Chart-Topping Hit

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David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney

Nashville’s ACME Feed & Seed on Lower Broadway was infused with tropical vibes on Wednesday (Aug. 8), as members of the industry gathered to celebrate David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney‘s No. 1 success.

“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” recorded by Murphy and Chesney, was penned by Murphy, Jimmy Yeary and Chris Stevens. The single is the first release from Murphy’s Reviver Records album No Zip Code.

Following his string of hits in the ’90s (including “Dust On The Bottle” and “Party Crowd”), Murphy has penned numerous country hits for others, with songs recorded by Chesney, Jason Aldean, Dan+Shay, Midland, and Thomas Rhett. This collaboration with Chesney marks Murphy’s first return to No. 1 on the country charts as an artist in more than two decades.

“First, I wanna thank Chris and Jimmy. We knew the day we wrote it, this was a hit even if nobody played it,” said Murphy. He gave credit to the Reviver Records staff for their hard work and perseverance. “They were tough as can be, and we had a long haul. They’ve worked really hard on this record. We knew it was going to be a fight, but every regional got in there and gave it their all. We said you can run, but you can’t outrun us.”

Pictured (L-R): Jimmy Yeary, David Lee Murphy, Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney, Chris Stevens. Photo: Allister Ann

Among those celebrating were “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” co-producer Buddy Cannon, Joe Galante, ASCAP’s Michael Martin, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, THiS Music’s Rusty Gaston, Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, Reviver Records’ Gator Michaels and David Ross, MusicRow Magazine’s Sherod Robertson, as well as the Country Music Association’s Sarah Trahern and Brandi Simms. Capitol CMG Publishing is also a publisher on the song, but could not be in attendance.

Chris Stevens has earned several Grammys and BMI Christian Awards for his work on Contemporary Christian songs including TobyMac’s “Steal My Show,” but “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” marks his very first country No. 1 song.

Yeary commented, “I love being a songwriter. I love to feel, so you can feel it…. If you feel, we connect. If we connect, we form a bond. If we form a bond, you’ll listen to me. And that gives us the opportunity to say things like ‘everything’s gonna be alright.’”

Pictured (Back row, L-R): Doug Casmus, Reviver’s Bob Reeves, Will Robinson, David Ross; David Lee Murphy; Buddy Cannon, Reviver’s Gator Michaels; Kenny Chesney; Reviver’s Hayley Cowoski, Clay Henderson, Ben Bieri; songwriters Chris Stevens, Jimmy Yeary. (Front row, L-R): Reviver’s Rick Hughes, Suzanne Durham, Dave Collins and Paul Williams. Photo: Allister Ann

Replicas of Chesney’s signature old blue chair were placed strategically around the room. The walls were decorated with backdrop-sized photos of Chesney and Murphy, which chronicled their years as both friends and songwriters. The room was filled with good spirits–both from the glow of celebrations, and from the signature Blue Chair Bay Rum cocktail created just for the event – an Everything’s Gonna Be Alright Mojito, which contained high proof white rum, mint, lime and a bit of sugar.

“This all started three, four years ago, because David Lee would send me all these songs–demos that sounded like records–and he was singing so great,” Chesney told the crowd. “I remember thinking, ‘I’d love to hear that on the radio.’ It seemed to me that there were a lotta people who aren’t being sung to, and David Lee could be one of those people who could do that.”

Chesney, who co-produced Murphy’s album, was a champion for Murphy and for the song, and said he feels that same passion in return each time he joins in singing the song for fans on his Trip Around The Sun tour.

“To stand up there in front of 50,000 people every Saturday night, and see a song truly move people, to really feel it is something. This song made me believe in that all over again, because to experience that is really, really beautiful.” Chesney said.

The celebration is another high-mark this week for Chesney, whose own album Songs For The Saints, currently reigns atop the country albums chart. Chesney will bring his Trip Around The Sun Tour to Nashville this weekend.

Nashville Songwriters HOF To Welcome K.T. Oslin, Ronnie Dunn, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Byron Hill, Joe Melson

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Photo (L-R): Inductees Wayne Kirkpatrick, Byron Hill and Joe Melson; NaSHOF Executive Director Mark Ford; Inductees K. T. Oslin and Ronnie Dunn.

The latest inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame were announced during an event this morning (Aug. 7) in Nashville.

K.T. Oslin, Ronnie Dunn, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Byron Hill, and Joe Melson will be inducted during the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame gala slated for October 28 at Nashville’s Music City Center, according to an announcement from Pat Alger, chair of the organization’s board of directors.

These five writers and artists will join the current 208 members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Oslin signed to Elektra in 1981, which yielded two modestly-successful singles. By 1987, she had moved to Nashville and signed with RCA Nashville. Her self-penned song, “’80s Ladies” would earn the CMA Song of the Year in 1988. The same album also launched the singles “Do Ya” and “I’ll Always Come Back.” Her second album produced the singles “Money,” “Hey Bobby” “This Woman,” “Didn’t Expect It To go Down This Way,” and “Hold Me,” which earned a Grammy for Best Country Song in 1988. She was named SESAC’s Songwriter of the Year in 1988, 1989, and 1991. In 2014, she was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Hill moved to Nashville in 1978 and was signed with ATV Music group, where he wrote the songs “Pickin’ Up Strangers” (Johnny Lee) and penned George Strait’s first No. 1 “Fool Hearted Memory.” He left ATV in 1984, but continued writing hit songs, including “Born Country” (Alabama), “Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous” (Tracy Byrd), “Nothing On But The Radio” (Gary Allan) and more. To date, his songs have generated more than 700 recordings, he’s earned 91 RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum Awards, 10 ASCAP Awards, and more.

Kirkpatrick spent his early songwriting career penning hits including Michael W. Smith’s “Place In This World,” and Amy Grant’s “Takes A Little Time,” and “Every Heartbeat.” In 1996, Wayne’s “Change The World,” co-written and recorded by Eric Clapton, earned a Grammy for Song of the Year. In 1999, he played, sang, and co-wrote 8 of the 10 tracks on Garth Brooks’ Chris Gaines project. In 2001, Kirkpatrick began collaborating with Little Big Town, resulting in songs such as “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home,” and “Little White Church.”

Melson’s early writing career was launched in the mid-1950s, when he met a then-unknown Roy Orbison. In 1960, their co-written “Only The Lonely” launched Orbison into stardom; the single would be entered into the Grammy hall of fame in 1999. In 1961, they co-wrote the smash hit “Crying,” with Orbison’s recording being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2002, Melson was also inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Dunn recorded with Kix Brooks as part of Brooks & Dunn from 1991-2011. Together, they earned the CMA Vocal Duo of the Year 14 times. Dunn is the sole writer on hits including “Neon Moon,” “Hard Workin’ Man,” “She Used To Be Mine,” “She’s Not The Cheatin’ Kind,” and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” which earned the ACM’s Song of the Year honor in 1992. Dunn was BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Year in 1996 and 1998. Dunn was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2003.

EXCLUSIVE: MusicRow Talks To SESAC On MMA Compromise And Moving Forward

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Pictured (L-R): SESAC Chairman and CEO John Josephson and SESAC Exec. VP, Operations, Corporate Development and CFO, Kelli Turner.

As previously reported on Thursday, Aug. 2, The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), the Songwriters of North America (SONA), and SESAC announced unconditional support for the Music Modernization Act (MMA). All parties endorsed a provision to the proposed legislation to amend the Mechanical Licensing Collective’s (MLC) administration of voluntary licenses outside the scope of the Section 115 compulsory license in order to ensure private vendors can continue to participate in the open market.

This amended provision in the agreement states the MLC will administer songwriter royalties on blanket mechanical licenses. For any direct mechanical licenses, those negotiated between a publisher or self-published songwriter and streaming services, the streaming service will select the administrator of those copyrights. These admin functions can be provided by the MLC, as well as other vendors such as the Harry Fox Agency, owned by SESAC’s parent company, Blackstone. This provision allows competition and free market to continue as part of the agreement. For other non-mechanical royalties such as synchronization and lyrics, the MLC will not administer those licenses.

Performance royalties will continue to be administered and licensed by the Performing Rights Organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, GMR and SESAC.

MusicRow spoke to SESAC’s Chairman and CEO John Josephson and the organization’s Executive VP Kelli Turner on Friday, Aug. 3, to discuss this compromise to the MMA and how the industry is now ready to move forward in full support of the proposed legislation to benefit songwriters.

MusicRow: How did the compromise come about? What can you say about the discussions that took place to resolve the disagreements so quickly?

Josephson: The most important thing to keep in mind is this was really a process led by the senators and their staff. They had encouraged us, over the course of the past two weeks, to compromise. We had originally presented what we characterized as a middle-of-the-road proposal at a meeting that took place in Washington two weeks ago. That proposal obviously was not received positively. Over the course of the ensuing two weeks, there were communications between the two sides. A proposal was put forth by the other side, that we discussed and agreed would be a compromise we could advocate to the senators that they should consider when drafting the actual legislation.

MR: How does that compromise benefit companies like Harry Fox?

It limits the areas of commercial activity that the Collective can operate and guarantees that significant portions of the administration market for these rights will remain subject to competition in the free market. It preserves or guarantees the preservation of a very significant portion of the markets within which these companies operate. And in so doing, makes it possible for them to continue to operate as they have historically, with the one exception being the segment of the market that will be under the domain of the Collective.

MR: SESAC’s position has always been to act in a way that benefits the songwriter. How does this proposed legislation benefit them?

First of all, the compromise that we reached preserves the structure and governance that I think the songwriter groups felt very strongly about. In the first instance, they’re getting all of the governance provisions that they’d originally fought very hard for. It was never our intention to try and diminish those. But to the extent that they had concerns about any of the administration activity taking place outside of the Collective in an area where they didn’t have direct oversight, that won’t be the case under this resolution. A second portion of the answer is a little bit more esoteric. Philosophically, we’re very committed to the view that free markets and competition drive the best outcomes for writers. This is a segment of the market that is somewhat removed from writers directly but our view in the long run is that when you have people competing to provide these administration services, you get the highest quality service, delivered at the lowest possible price. When that happens, there’s more money in the ecosystem in total and to the extent that there’s more money in the ecosystem, ultimately everyone benefits, including writers.

MR: What will be the role going forward with SESAC on this legislation? There are still a few hurdles to get through for it to pass in the Senate and then back to the House.

SESAC is enthusiastically and vigorously supporting the MMA. All of the resources that we have available at our company are driving towards that. I would add that Blackstone has been active on the Hill working with senators, who encouraged the compromise, to help gain approval of the act in the Senate. Blackstone remains available, to the extent that any of the industry trade associations would like their support, not just in the Senate, but for the rest of the process that’s involved in getting this bill enacted into law.

MR: SESAC received a lot of backlash from the industry in proposing changes to the MMA. You released a statement saying there was “a lot of misinformation and misrepresentation regarding SESAC.” What was the biggest misconception?

I think there were two fundamental misconceptions. The most important one was that we were trying to derail the MMA. We’ve consistently expressed our concern regarding the form of the legislation that came out of the House, but we’ve always supported broadly the objectives of the MMA. Some people were asserting that this was a poison proposal, the objective of which was to derail to the act or the bill and that’s one hundred percent not the case.

I think there was also a lot of confusion about the substance of the compromise proposal we made. A lot of people thought it was the same thing as the Cruz amendment, which it wasn’t. It’s something entirely different that was specifically designed on our part to try and meet the needs, as we understood them, or the preferences of all the other groups, starting with the writers, the publishers, as well as the digital companies. Obviously, they ended up objecting to it, but it was intended as a compromise that would still advance competition as suggested by Senator Cruz’s amendment. I think those were the two biggest misconceptions.

MR: The unanimous position among all parties is that everybody wins when we get this legislation passed. So after such a heated exchange, what do we, as industry members, need to know moving forward?

I would say two things. First of all, I think reconciliation starts with good will. I think that NSAI certainly demonstrated that in the press and the interviews that they’ve done since the announcement. We reciprocate that. I’m very confident, if not certain, that NSAI’s top priority is their membership. Our top priority is our affiliates. It’s certainly in our collective best interests that we put this behind us and move forward together. Secondarily, we all have the interest of songwriters at heart, and I think we need to put this behind us in order to best serve their interests. I feel very confident that NSAI feels that way and we certainly do as well.

Weekly Chart Report (8/3/18)

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