Music News (2/5/14)

Steven Markland. Photo: Steve Lowry

Steven Markland has joined Downtown Music Publishing, where he has been appointed as Vice President of A&R and will establish the company’s first office in Nashville, according to Justin Kalifowitz, Founder/President of Downtown.

In his new role, Markland will sign and develop emerging and established songwriters, acquire catalogs and work closely with Downtown’s creative teams in New York and Los Angeles to create new opportunities for the Company’s writer roster.  He will report to Kalifowitz and Downtown’s Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Bergman.

Katie Armiger, Rich Robinson and Dave Berg are among the writers affiliated with Downtown Music Publishing.

Read more at MusicRow.com.

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MusicRow announces its third annual Rising Women on the Row celebration to be held Fri., March 21, 8:30 a.m. at the Omni Nashville. The premier event saluting up-and-coming women in the Nashville music industry is presented by City National Bank. Supporting sponsorships are also available.

Nominations are now being accepted for potential honorees whose careers have made a vital impact in the Nashville music industry and continue to rise. Nominations will be accepted from February 4 through 10 via MusicRow’s official form. Self-nominations and peer-nominations are welcome.

The 2014 Rising Women on the Row will be feted at a sit-down breakfast and awards ceremony on March 21 at the Omni Nashville. Tickets are now available for $45 each, or $450 of a table of ten.

Sponsor seating is available for the first time this year, offering two sponsorship options which include priority seating for two people, or a table of ten. For more information on Supporting Sponsorship Packages (table options or pairs of tickets), contact Sherod Robertson at srobertson@musicrow.com or (615) 499-5418.

Read more at MusicRow.com.

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Back row (L-R): Jimmy Robbins; Rhett Akins; Ben Hayslip; Dallas Davidson; Troy Tomlinson; CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern; Luke Laird; Natalie Hemby; Shane McAnally, who is also a member of the CMA Board; CMA Board member Rob Beckham. Front row (L-R): Chris DeStefano; Hunter Hayes; Troy Verges.

The CMA Triple Play Awards were handed out on Feb. 4 at the Fifth Annual CMA Songwriters Luncheon at Marathon Music Works. Fifteen of Nashville’s top tunesmiths received the award, which is presented to songwriters who pen three chart-topping hits in a 12-month period.

Attending the luncheon were honorees Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Chris DeStefano, Ashley Gorley, Hunter Hayes, Ben Hayslip, Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Jimmy Robbins, and Troy Verges. Also in attendance were hit tunesmiths from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, as well as songwriter members of CMA and representatives of some of the most successful publishers in Music City.

Songwriters Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins were awarded two Triple Play Awards during the ceremony as both had six songs make it to the top spot on the charts.

Absent from the ceremony were honorees Josh Kear and Hillary Lindsey.

In alphabetical order, the recipients of CMA’s Triple Play Award included:

• Rhett Akins: “Boys ‘Round Here,” “Point At You,” “Hey Girl”
• Rodney Clawson: “One of Those Nights,” “Sure Be Cool If You Did,” “Get Your Shine On,” “Crash My Party,” “Round Here,” “Southern Girl”
• Dallas Davidson: “The One That Got Away,” “Boys ‘Round Here,” “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight”
• Chris DeStefano: “Don’t Ya,” “Hey Girl,” “That’s My Kind of Night”
• Ashley Gorley: “Crash My Party,” “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight,” “Don’t Ya”
• Hunter Hayes: “Wanted,” “Somebody’s Heartbreak,” “I Want Crazy”
• Ben Hayslip: “The Only Way I Know,” “Anywhere With You,” “Point At You”
• Natalie Hemby: “Pontoon,” “Tornado,” “Downtown”
• Josh Kear: “Two Black Cadillacs,” “Highway Don’t Care,” “Redneck Crazy”
• Luke Laird: “Pontoon,” “One of Those Nights,” “Somebody’s Heartbreak”
• Hillary Lindsey: “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain),” “Two Black Cadillacs,” “See You Again”
• Shane McAnally: “Better Dig Two,” “Downtown,” “Mama’s Broken Heart”
• Jimmy Robbins: “Sure Be Cool If You Did,” “It Goes Like This,” “We Were Us”
• Chris Tompkins: “Drunk On You,” “Blown Away,” “One Of Those Nights,” “Sure Be Cool If You Did,” “Get Your Shine On,” “Round Here”
• Troy Verges: “Wanted,” “Beer Money,” “I Want Crazy”

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Pictured (Front row, L-R): Chip Petree (Petree Law), Alicia Pruitt (Director, A&R, WCM), Chris Stapleton, Ben Vaughn (EVP, A&R, WCM). (Back row, L-R): Steve Markland (VP, A&R, WCM), Matt Michiels (Production Manager, WCM), Blain Rhodes (Creative Coordinator, A&R, WCM), Phil May (VP & CM, WCM), Kris Wiatr (Wiatr & Associates)

Warner/Chappell Music (WCM), the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group, has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with top-charting songwriter and Mercury recording artist Chris Stapleton. Effective immediately, Warner/Chappell will publish Stapleton’s complete songwriting catalog as well as his future work.

The Kentucky-born son of a coal miner, Stapleton moved to Nashville in 2001. He has since scored four No. 1 country hits, including “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” by George Strait, “Come Back Song” by Darius Rucker,” “Your Man” by Josh Turner, and five-week chart-topper “Never Wanted Nothing More” by Kenny Chesney. Most recently, he co-wrote Luke Bryan’s “Drink A Beer.”

Stapleton has racked up over 170 tracks on albums by, Adele, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, and many others, while his songwriting partners have included the likes of Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, and Peter Frampton. He has won six ASCAP Awards and has contributed to the soundtracks of several feature films, including Cars 2 and Valentine’s Day.

He is currently putting the finishing touches on his solo country debut for Mercury Records.