Music News (10/30/13)

Travis Gordon

UMPG Nashville has promoted Travis Gordon to Creative Director, as announced by Kent Earls, Executive VP/General Manager, UMPG Nashville.

Gordon first joined the company as Creative Manager in June of 2012 and has garnered multiple covers for the songwriting staff at UMPG Nashville. He began his music career in 2006 with Ten Ten Music in Nashville, TN after graduating from Appalachian State University with a bachelor’s in Music Industry Studies. From there, Gordon moved to William Morris Endeavor (WME), where he worked as an assistant, agent trainee and departmental coordinator before joining UMPG Nashville.

Chelsea Kent

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Still Working Music has added Chelsea Kent as Creative Director for the publishing company, where she will be involved in all day-to-day creative activities.

The company represents songwriters Tommy Lee James, Terry McBride, Chase Bryant, Matt Nolen, Ryan Lafferty, and Derrick Southerland; and is a joint venture with BMG Chrysalis.

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Pictured (Front row, L-R): Counsel for Big Loud Shirt Derek Crownover, Business Manager Kella Stephenson, Big Loud Shirt Creative Director Matt Turner, Counsel for Big Loud Shirt Austen Adams. (Back row, L-R): Counsel for Rodney Clawson Jess Rosen, Rodney Clawson, Big Loud Shirt’s Owner Craig Wiseman and VP Seth England. Photo Credit: Amy Allmand Photography.

Rodney Clawson has re-upped his publishing deal with Big Loud Shirt, a company owned and operated by Grammy award-winning songwriter, Craig Wiseman. Since first signing with the independent publishing house in 2008, the newly named NSAI Songwriter of the Year has earned 11 No. 1 songs, five of which went No. 1 in 2013. Clawson co-wrote the current singles “Southern Girl” (Tim McGraw), “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” (The Band Perry), “Helluva Life” (Frankie Ballard) and “Callin’ Me When I’m Lonely” (Sheryl Crow).

The CMA Award winner has scored cuts on Jason Aldean’s Night Train, Luke Bryan’s Tailgates & Tanlines, Florida Georgia Line’s Here’s To The Good Times, Tim McGraw’s Two Lanes Of Freedom, Jake Owen’s Barefoot Blue Jean Night and Blake Shelton’s Based On A True Story, among others.

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Pictured (L-R): BBR Music Group President/Owner Benny Brown, Westin Davis, and Magic Mustang Music Sr. Creative Director Juli Newton-Griffith

Magic Mustang Music has re-signed writer Westin Davis to a publishing deal. Davis, a Fernandina, Fla. native, penned “Young Love,” the upcoming new single from Kip Moore’s sophomore record, as well as cuts for Thompson Square and Tracy Lawrence.

Magic Mustang Music is home to songwriters Jason Aldean, Thompson Square, Steve Bogard, Sherrie Austin, Lindsay Ell, David Fanning, Rob Hatch, Kristy Lee Cook, Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, John Edwards, Rich Redmond, Erik Habig, Justin Lantz, Jason Delkou and Justin Wilson.

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Pictured (L-R): Big Machine Music’s Tali Giles, Jonathan Singleton, BMM’s Mike Molinar and Alex Heddle.

Big Machine Music has signed singer-songwriter Jonathan Singleton to an exclusive publishing agreement. Singleton’s string of hit singles includes “Let It Rain” and “Red Light” (David Nail), “Why Don’t We Just Dance” (Josh Turner), “Don’t” (Billy Currington), and “Chasing Airplanes” (Gary Allan). He has also had album cuts on Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Blake Shelton and Little Big Town.

Singleton recently completed the solo record entitled The Getaway, which will be released independently this year. Previously, he founded the group Jonathan Singleton and The Grove.

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Lee Miller

Lee Miller, the writer behind such hits as “In Color,” “The Impossible” and “You’re Gonna Miss This,” has signed with Warner/Chappell Music for publishing.

The Kentucky native has won Song of the Year honors from the ACM, CMA, ASCAP, MusicRow, and the NSAI for his songs, and has had numerous nominations including Grammy nominations for both “You’re Gonna Miss This,” and “In Color.” He has penned No. 1 singles for Joe Nichols (“The Impossible”), Terri Clark (“I Just Wanna Be Mad”), and Brad Paisley (“The World” and “I’m Still A Guy”), and is currently on the charts with Tim McGraw’s “Southern Girl,” and Chris Stapleton’s “What Are You Listening To?.”