Music News (2/11/15)

Voting is open through Feb. 28 for the 15th annual NSAI Song Contest presented by CMT. Ten finalists are competing for the top prize, which will be announced in March 2015. The Grand Prize Winner will win a mentoring session with Charlie Worsham, 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-day trip to Nashville and more. Songs from the Top 10 finalists can be viewed at nsai.cmt.com.

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On Thursday (Feb. 5), the U.S. Copyright office drew to a close an extensive music licensing review with the release of the 245-page study Copyright and the Music Marketplace: A Report of the Register of Copyrights. Read MusicRow‘s full report including responses by ASCAP and the NMPA.

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Round Hill Music has entered into a joint venture with Eric Krasno’s Feel Music Group. The joint venture will include a record label, Feel Music Records / Round Hill Records (dist. by Sony/Red), as well as a publishing company. The two parties will merge resources in order to provide artist development, marketing, PR, promotion, synch licensing, and publishing administration.

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DMP President Jon D’Agostino, and DMP writers Adam Searan and Jason Eustice, welcome Michael August to the songwriting team.

Demolition Music Publishing has signed Michael August, a New Jersey native who has made Nashville his home for the past two years.

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Kneeling: NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison, NSAI Board President Lee Thomas Miller. Seated: Luke Laird, Troy Verges, Michael Carter, Cole Taylor, Rob Hatch, Ben Glover, Bart Millard, Mark Irwin, David Garcia, Andrew Dorff, Brett James. Standing: Wade Kirby, Barry Dean, Rhett Akins, Phil O’Donnell, Marc Beeson, Matt Dragstrem, Zach Crowell, Bernie Herms, Dallas Davidson

NSAI presented No. 1 plaques to several songwriters whose compositions reached the top of the charts between August and November 2014. The No. 1 party was held Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 at Music Mill, NSAI’s Music Row headquarters.

Additionally the Stephen Foster award was presented to Liz and Casey Anderson, two of NSAI’s founding members. Casey accepted for both himself and his late wife. Lynn Anderson, entertainer and daughter of the recipients, performed a medley of her parents’ songs, including “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers” and “I’m A Lonesome Fugitive.” For a list of those recognized, read the full story at MusicRow.com.

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Pictured (L-R): Paul Duncan, Scott B. Bomar

“Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters,” a new podcast highlighting in-depth conversations with successful songwriters, launched in January and hosted by Paul Duncan and Scott B. Bomar.

The inaugural episode featured Jim Peterik, who has written or co-written 35 singles that landed on Billboard’s pop chart, including “Hold on Loosely” and “Eye of the Tiger.”

Other songwriters highlighted include current Grammy nominee Brandy Clark, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Dallas Frazier, and Spooner Oldham, the keyboardist behind songs including “When A Man Loves A Woman” and “Mustang Sally,” and a writer on “Cry Like A Baby” and “I’m Your Puppet.” Upcoming podcasts will feature Bill Anderson, Bobby Braddock, Buzz Cason, Jeff Cohen, Jeff Silbar, and more.

Streaming episodes can be heard at www.songcraftshow.com. The free podcast can also be accessed through the iTunes store. New episodes are released every three weeks.

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