Music News (9/4/13)

Freeman Wizer

Sea Gayle Music has added Freeman Wizer as VP, Creative, according to the company’s Executive VP/GM Marc Driskill. Previously, Wizer worked with the creative team at Universal Music Publishing Group in Nashville for nine years.

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the Sea Gayle team and for this new opportunity,” says Wizer. “I am certain we have a very exciting and productive future ahead of us at Sea Gayle.”

Nashville-based music publishing company Sea Gayle Music was established in 1999.

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BMG and indie music company Primary Wave Music have entered into a joint venture that will focus on signing artists with a proven track record in the industry and releasing new album projects on them. Through the venture BMG will also purchase significant publishing interests currently owned by Primary Wave, including songs like Earth Wind & Fire’s “September,” Hall & Oates’ “Kiss On My List”, John Lennon’s “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet It Is,” and the two will sign and develop new writers and administer publishing catalogues.

Primary Wave’s in-house marketing team will act as the marketing arm for the artists signed to BMG/Primary Wave Artist Services and the venture will add radio promotion capabilities to Primary Wave’s creative team. Primary Wave’s marketing team will continue to be involved in marketing those catalog songs BMG is acquiring, and the deal will add even more heft to Primary Wave’s current departments, including their talent management division, digital marketing team BrightShop, brand marketing company Brand Synergy Group, and Primary Wave TV, the TV/Film production & development team. All artists signed to management or publishing with the new endeavor will also be able to tap into the various in-house resources. Currently, Primary Wave manages artists CeeLo Green, Eric Benet, Natalie Imbruglia, Ginuwine, Trevor Jackson, Goodie Mob  and many other bands, writers, and producers.

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Warner/Chappell Music has signed a worldwide co-publishing agreement with singer/songwriter Jason Matthews. Matthews has penned songs for artists such as Luke Bryan, Billy Currington, Chris Young, Jake Owen, and Blake Shelton. In 2006, he earned a No. 1 song with Currington’s “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right.” He was also named MusicRow magazine’s Breakthrough Writer of the Year in 2006.

Pictured (Front row): Jason Matthews. Pictured (Back row): Steve Markland (W/C), Blain Rhodes (W/C), Ben Vaughn (W/C), Phil May (W/C).

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This fall, Belmont University will take part in Creative Connection, allowing four juniors a unique internship program designed to connect students with industry companies and help them establish familiarity and relationships in different facets of the industry. Those facets include publishing, administration, artist management and business management. The students will work with Creative Nation, Words and Music, Crush Management and The Kella Stephensen Company, respectively.

Students Markus Hwang, Jen Duke, Eric LaFontsee and Elle Hussey have been selected to participate in the program, and will intern with each company for three weeks, before rotating to the next. Each semester will feature a brief training camp at Creative Nation to launch the program and will sum up the semester with a group meeting at Creative Nation.

Pictured: First row: Marc Rucker (Crush Management), Kelsey Granda (Creative Nation), Eric LaFontsee.
Second row: Markus Hwang, Jen Duke, Jill Curry (Kella Stephenson Company), Beth Laird (Creative Nation), Elle Hussey. Back row: Andrew Cohen (Crush Management), Brandi Surface (Words and Music), Tricia Proctor (Words and Music) and Julie Stuckey (Creative Nation).

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SESAC is set to honor the top songwriters and publishers in the Country and Americana genres at the 2013 SESAC Nashville Music Awards. The awards ceremony is set for Sunday, Nov. 3 at the newly expanded Country Music Hall of Fame.

The SESAC Nashville Music Awards, an invitation-only, red carpet gala event, will honor the most popular songs of 2013 with awards being presented to the Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Publisher of the Year. The event will also showcase performances by many honored songwriters and performers.