Music News (11/4/15)

CMA Awards Week Kicks-off With PRO Parties

Pictured: (L-R): BMI’s Mike O’Neill, BMI songwriter and Icon Mac Davis with his wife Lise Davis and BMI’s Jody Williams. Photo: John Shearer

BMI honored Mac Davis with its Icon Award, with tribute performances from Mac McAnally (“Texas in My Rear View Mirror”), Rascal Flatts (“Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me”), Luke Bryan (“A Little Less Conversation”), Little Big Town (“In the Ghetto”), and Allen Shamblin (“Where Songs Come From”). Rodney Clawson won his second BMI Country Songwriter of the Year award. BMI Publisher of the Year award to Sony/ATV. Additional awards were given.

Pictured (L-R): Justin Timberlake, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Allie Brooks, Dave Haywood, Trisha Yearwood, President Jimmy Carter and Mrs. Carter, ASCAP President Paul Williams, Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks.

ASCAP honored Trisha Yearwood with the Voice of Music Award. Justin Timberlake hosted the tribute, which included Lady Antebellum (“Walkaway Joe” feat. Jerry Douglas on Dobro), Allie Brooks (“She’s In Love with the Boy”), Reba McEntire (“The Song Remembers When”), and Paul Williams introduced President Jimmy Carter. Sam Hunt was named ASCAP’s Songwriter/Artist of the Year. Ashley Gorley won the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year prize for the second consecutive time. Warner/Chappell Music won ASCAP Publisher of the Year. Additional awards were given.

Pictured (L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink & Dennis Lord, Richard Leigh, Crystal Gayle, Reba McEntire and SESAC’s Shannan Hatch. Photo: Ed Rode

SESAC honored Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Richard Leigh was presented with the SESAC Songwriting Legacy Award with a performances from McEntire (“The Greatest Man I Never Knew”) Crystal Gayle (“I’ll Get Over You” and “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”). Cary Barlowe received Songwriter of the Year. Wyatt Durrette picked up the SESAC Song of the Year award for “Homegrown” (Zac Brown Band). The Publisher of the Year award went to Legends of Magic Mustang for the third year in a row. Additional awards were given.

Still Working/ BMG Nashville Sign Jon Randall

Pictured (L-R): Austen Adams, Dickinson Wright; Chuck Fleckenstein, GM and COO, Still Working Music; Chelsea Kent, Creative Director, Still Working Music; Jon Randall; Alex Orbison, President, Still Working Music; Tommy Lee James, CCO, Still Working Music; Daniel Lee, Sr. Creative Director, BMG.

Still Working Music and BMG Nashville have signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Jon Randall. Randall’s hit songs include Brad Paisley’s “Whiskey Lullaby,” Dierks Bentley’s “Am I The Only One,” Blake Shelton’s “Drink On It,” and other songs recorded by Gary Allan, Scotty McCreery, Little Big Town, Sheryl Crow, Guy Clark, and others. Randall has recorded solo albums for RCA, Epic, Asylum and other labels, and produced Bentley’s album Up On The Ridge. He has toured with Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris (with whom he earned a Grammy as a Nash Rambler).

Still Working Music also represents Tommy Lee James, Chase Bryant, Ryan Lafferty, Matt Nolen, Skip Black, Derrick Southerland, and Alana Springsteen.

Sony/ATV Signs Sammy Arriaga

Pictured (L-R): Josh Van Valkenburg, Ed Williams, Sammy Arriaga, Hannah Williams, Terry Wakefield, Tom Luteran

Cuban-American country artist Sammy Arriaga has inked a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Arriaga’s new single, “Cold In Miami,” recently made its debut on SiriusXM The Highway’s “On The Horizon,” and he made a visit to SiriusXM The Highway’s Music Row Happy Hour. “Cold In Miami” has been released to Spotify and iTunes.

Arriaga is working with LA-based manager Charles Chavez of Latium Entertainment.

Warner/Chappell, Liz Rose Music Sign Seth Ennis

Pictured back row (L-R): Alicia Pruitt,Warner/Chappell; Phil May, Warner/Chappell; Corey Crowder, producer; Ben Vaughn, Warner/Chappell; BJ Hill, Warner/Chappell; Alyson McAnally, Liz Rose Music; Travis Carter, Warner/Chappell; Natalie Paslay, Liz Rose Music; Matt Michiels, Warner/Chappell. Pictured front row (L-R): Scott Ponce, Liz Rose Music; Seth Ennis; Liz Rose, Liz Rose Music.

Warner/Chappell Music and Liz Rose Music have signed a co-publishing agreement with singer/songwriter Seth Ennis. The Valdosta, Ga., native began playing music at age 5, picking up piano, drums, guitar, and eventually singing. By age 13, he began writing songs. He has spent time touring as a multi-instrumentalist with various artists, including Rissi Palmer.

Dan Hodges Music Signs Byron Hill

Pictured (L-R): Michelle Attardi (Creative Director, DHM), Susan Hodges (VP of Administration, DHM), Dan Hodges (Owner/GM, DHM), Byron Hill​, and ASCAP’s Kele Currier, Ralph Murphy, Mike Sistad.​

Dan Hodges Music (DHM) has signed award-winning songwriter/producer Byron Hill to an exclusive worldwide co-publishing agreement.

Best known for penning hits such as “Fool Hearted Memory” by George Strait, “Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous” by Tracy Byrd and “Born Country” by Alabama, Hill has written titles released on 77 RIAA certified gold and platinum albums and singles, earned 10 ASCAP awards and is a four-time CCMA Producer of the Year.

His career spans four decades with Sony/ATV Music, Warner/Chappell Music and Universal Music Publishing and includes songs recorded by Ray Charles, Alabama, George Strait, Jason Aldean, Mark Chesnutt, Kenny Rogers, Don Williams, John Michael Montgomery, Anne Murray, Juice Newton, Joe Nichols, Randy Travis, Keith Whitley, Gary Allan, Rhonda Vincent, Johnny Lee, Reba McEntire, Sammy Kershaw, Mo Pitney and many others.

Spirit Music Signs Jay Brunswick

Pictured (front row, L-R): Daniel Hill (President, Spirit Music Nashville), Jay Brunswick, Noah McPike (Almon & McPike). Back Row (L-R): Carrie Gallo (Creative Dir., Spirit), Bradley Collins (BMI),Brian Bradford (Dir. Admin., Spirit), Billy Lynn (VP Creative, Spirit).

Spirit Music Nashville has signed songwriter/producer Jay Brunswick to an exclusive global publishing agreement, as announced today by Daniel Hill, President, Spirit Music Nashville.

Brunswick was born and raised in New Castle, Pa. At the age of 20 he began writing songs and playing bars and honky-tonks across the country. In 2004, relocated to Nashville. Since that time over 40 artists have tapped into his catalog, with Parmalee, Lindsay Ell, and Backroad Anthem already recording Brunswick co-writes in 2015. Recently, Spirit also acquired the StyleSonic catalog, bringing another four No. 1 country hits to its portfolio as well as over fifteen Top 20 country songs spanning the last decade. The company also recently signed hit songwriter Chris Wallin, whose credits include Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink,” and Tim Montana, who co-wrote “This Beard Came Here to Party” with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.

Carnival Signs Dustin Christensen

Pictured (L-R): Frank Liddell, Courtney Gregg, Dustin Christensen, Emily Schiraldi, Matthew Miller

Carnival Music has announced the signing of singer/songwriter/producer, Dustin Christensen to a worldwide publishing deal.

Born in Idaho and raised in Utah, Christensen was recently a member of the rock band Jerrytown and currently holds membership in the bluegrass project, The Lower Lights. He appeared on season nine of NBC’s The Voice, where he earned a “four chair turn” at his blind audition with a rendition of Tom Waits’ “Downtown Train.”

Splitting time between Nashville, Los Angeles, and Utah, Christensen has established himself as a sought-after producer, currently working on a new solo project to be released in early 2016, the follow-up to his previous effort, Highway Lines.