Music News 8/4/11

12th Annual NSAI Song Contest
NSAI and CMT will partner again to present the 12th Annual NSAI Song Contest. The annual event starts Aug. 1 and runs through Oct. 31, 2011. Aspiring songwriters in any genre are encouraged to send their best songs to be judged by a panel of experts, and a new Lyric-Only category has been added this year. The Grand Prize includes a mentoring session with songwriter/musician/industry icon Charlie Daniels!

A grand prize winner will be named, plus a Lyric-Only winner and a CMT Listener’s Choice Winner. The entry fees are $35.00 (Current NSAI members) and $45.00 (Non-Members) per song submitted. Songwriters may submit as many songs as they would like, but the preceding fees apply to each song submitted. Entries will be accepted from August 1 until October 31, 2011. For details on submitting songs as well as the official prizes and rules & regulations go to www.nsai.cmt.com.

Mandisa Celebrates First No. 1
On Monday (8/1) ASCAP celebrated the writers and publishers of “Stronger,” Mandisa’s No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, with a reception in Franklin, Tenn. Written by Ben Glover, David Garcia and Chris Stevens, the song marks Glover’s eleventh trip to the top of the charts and Garcia’s first. Publishers Brentwood-Benson Publishing and EMI CMG Publishing were also honored. “Stronger” is Mandisa’s first trip to No. 1 and is the lead single from her third studio album on Sparrow/EMI CMG, What If We Were Real.

Pictured (L-R): EMI CMG Label Group's Peter York, EMI CMG's Bill Hearn, ASCAP's Tim DuBois, Ben Glover, EMI CMG Publishing's Matt Ewald and Eddie DeGarmo, Mandisa, Brentwood-Benson Publishing's Dale Mathews and John Andrade, David Garcia, ASCAP's Michael Martin, Brentwood-Benson's Stacey Willbur, EMI CMG Label Group's Brad O'Donnell, Brentwood-Benson's Eric Hurt, EMI CMG Label Group's Karrie Hardwick. Photo: Cami Steger

UMPG Inks Striking Matches
Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville recently signed Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis of Striking Matches (formerly Common Thread) to an Exclusive Songwriter & Publishing Agreement. The duo is managed by John Grady of Crush Management. Philadelphia native Zimmerman met Atlanta native Davis when a professor at Belmont University paired them to perform for a classroom full of guitar majors. Their wide-ranging influences include Jerry Reed, The Beatles, John Mayer and Patsy Cline.

Pictured (L-R): seated: Striking Matches’ Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmermann. Back row: Universal Music Publishing’s Kent Earls, Pat Higdon, Crush Management’s John Grady and Universal Music Publishing’s Cyndi Forman. Photo: Rory White

Brett Eldredge Visits CMA
Atlantic Records’ Brett Eldredge stopped by the CMA offices this week to perform several songs from his upcoming debut album including the Top 25 single “Raymond” as well as his recently released “It Aint’ Gotta Be Love.”

Pictured (L-R): Violator Nashville Manager, Brad Kennard; Warner Music Nashville VP of Publicity, Tree Paine; Violator Nashville GM, Rob Baker; CMA Sr. Manager of Membership & Balloting, Brandi Simms; Brett Eldredge; CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; CMA VP of Strategic Partnerships, Sheri Warnke; CMA Sr. Coordinator of Member and Industry Relations, Betsy Walker; Warner Music Nashville VP of Marketing, Kelli Cashiola; and BMI Director of Writer-Publisher Relations, Bradley Collins. Photo: Amanda Eckard / CMA