Music News (9/3/14)

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and Country Music Television (CMT) have announced the 15th Annual NSAI Song Contest Presented by CMT. The contest is open to all genres and submissions will be accepted from Sept. 1, 2014 until Oct. 31, 2014.

The top ten songs will be voted on by the fans during February 2015 to turn out a Grand Prize CMT Listeners’ Choice Award Winner. The winner will receive a mentoring session with Warner Music Nashville recording artist Charlie Worsham (who was the 2006 NSAI Song Contest Winner), a one-year single song contract with Little Louder Music Publishing, live performances at the 2015 Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival and The Bluebird Cafe, a three (3) day trip to Nashville, Tenn., and more.

Submit entries via mail to NSAI (a printable entry form can be found at nsai.cmt.com) or online at sonicbids.com/NSAICMTSongContest. Entry fees are $35 per song for current NSAI members and $45 per song for non-NSAI members. There is no limit to the number of songs that songwriters can submit.

In addition to the CMT Listeners’ Choice Award Winner, one lyric-only winner will be selected along with 10 runners-up and 10 honorable mentions. All entrants will receive a personalized scoring sheet.

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Magic Mustang and Warner/Chappell Music have jointly signed Brooke Eden to their respective publishing rosters. This marks the first co-signing venture between the two publishing companies. Florida native Eden has opened for several artists over the past four years, including Alan Jackson, Sugarland, Florida Georgia Line, Sara Evans, Dustin Lynch, and more. She co-wrote her current single, “American Dreamin’,” with Sherrie Austin and Will Rambeaux.

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Pictured (L-R): Marc Driskill, Mike Owens, Luke Wooten, Jordan Brooker, Jake Gear, Chris DuBois and Freeman Wizer

Sea Gayle Music and Station West have partnered to sign songwriter-artist Jordan Brooker. Indiana native Brooker began working with producer Station West’s Luke Wooten after Wooten viewed a performance of Brooker covering a Dierks Bentley song.

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Pat Higdon

Pat Alger, Chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NSHoF), has announced that music publisher Pat Higdon will be presented with the Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award during the upcoming NSHoF Dinner and Induction Ceremony.

The 44th honors, to be presented on Oct. 5, 2014, are named for Preston who influenced and nurtured the careers of thousands of songwriters, performers and publishers in all genres of music during her five-decade career at BMI. Previous recipients of the award are music publisher Bob Beckham (2008), music publisher Bill Hall (2009), Preston (2010), music publisher David Conrad (2011), music publisher Donna Hilley (2012) and Bluebird Café founder Amy Kurland (2013).

The evening will additionally feature tributes and performances of 2014 inductees John Anderson, Tom Douglas, Gretchen Peters and Paul Craft. The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) will also present its annual awards for the year’s Best Song, Songwriter and Songwriter/Artist, as well as the Top 10 “Songs I Wish I Had Written,” as determined by the professional songwriters division.

Held at the Music City Center, tickets are $250 each by contacting Mark Ford by email or 615-460-6556.

Pictured (L-R): Paul Sikes, Debbie Zavitson

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Singer/songwriter/producer Paul Sikes has signed an exclusive publishing deal with Debbie Zavitson of Debbie Z Entertainment.

His songwriting credits include cuts by Emerson Drive, Billy Dean, Josh Gracin and others.

The Nashville native’s new CD Out of the Mud is available on iTunes.

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