Music News (10/26/16)

Cary Barlowe Inks Deal With Rhythm House/Roc Nation

Pictured (L-R): BJ Hill, Rhythm House & Warner/Chappell Music; Jesse Frasure, Rhythm House; Cary Barlowe; Jay Brown, Roc Nation; Lydia Yerrick, Roc Nation.

Cary Barlowe has become the first signing to Rhythm House/Roc Nation Publishing. The new venture is a partnership with Warner Chappell Music, and Barlowe joins longtime collaborator/publisher Jesse Frasure at the new company.

Barlowe recently celebrated his fourth No. 1 at country radio with Billy Currington’s “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To.”  He’s also topped the charts with Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum and Dustin Lynch and has had cuts in other genres as well.

Black River Publishing Signs Nick Wayne

Pictured (L-R): Katie Barolak, Kelly Bolton, Dave Pacula, Nick Wayne, attorney Kelly Donley,
attorney Lauren Kilgore and Black River CEO Gordon Kerr. Photo: Courtesy of Black River Entertainment

Black River Entertainment CEO Gordon Kerr has announced the signing of Nick Wayne to the Black River Publishing roster.

A Nashville native, this is the first publishing deal for Nick Wayne. He joins the Black River Publishing team comprised of Catalog Manager Katie Barolak, Creative Director Kelly Bolton, Sr. Creative Director Dave Pacula, and Celia Froehlig.

Round Hill Music Signs Suzie McNeil, Dallas Davidson

Clockwise from top left: Kari Smith, Hear Candy Music; Mark Brown, Round Hill Music; Marti Frederiksen; Suzie McNeil

Suzie McNeil has signed an exclusive songwriting agreement with Round Hill Music. McNeil is a founding member of The Loving Mary Band, which released their debut studio album Little Bit Of Love and finished a 30-city North American tour also supporting Steven Tyler on his solo tour.

A Toronto, Canada native, McNeil has toured as a back-up vocalist for P!nk, Gavin Rossdale, INXS and more. She also has co-written and released four albums in Canada, all of which have had multiple singles reaching the Top 20 on the Canadian pop charts. Her 2008 single “Super Girl” peaked at No. 3 and was the most played song by a Canadian artist several weeks in a row.

Additionally Round Hill Music has added Dallas Davidson to its roster of songwriters, and has acquired a portion of Davidson’s catalog, which includes more than 23 No. 1 Billboard Airplay songs, including hits “That’s My Kind Of Night,” “Rain Is A Good Thing,” “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” “Boys Round Here,” “All About Tonight,” and many others.

Davidson is the 2013 and 2012 ACM Songwriter of the Year; the 2011 and 2012 BMI Country Awards’ Songwriter of the Year; 2012 NSAI Songwriter of the Year; and is currently the chairman of the Georgia Music Foundation. He is also a recipient of five CMA Triple Play Awards, one in 2010, two in 2011, one in 2013 and one in 2014. Davidson has also earned six of MusicRow‘s No. 1 Challenge Coins, since its inception in 2014.

Downtown Music Publishing Purchases Interest In Wayne Kirkpatrick Catalog

Wayne Kirkpatrick

Downtown Music Publishing has acquired an interest in songwriter, producer, playwright, and musician Wayne Kirkpatrick‘s catalog. Highlights in the catalog include “Every Heartbeat,” and “Good For Me” (recorded by Amy Grant), “Place In This World” (Michael W. Smith), “Wrapped Up In You” (Garth Brooks) and “Change the World” (Eric Clapton).

Kirkpatrick’s songs have been recorded by notable names such as Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Babyface, Amy Grant, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Tim McGraw, Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Ashton, Michael W. Smith, Jill Phillips, Michael Crawford, Peter Frampton, Casting Crowns and T-Pain. He has also been a writer and producer for Little Big Town, yielding four top 10 singles – “Boondocks,” “Bring it on Home,” “A Little More You” and “Little White Church.”

Since opening in Nashville in 2014, Downtown has signed agreements with songwriter/artists including Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Old Crow Medicine Show, and John Moreland and acquired the catalogs of Charlie Black, Ray Whitley and VLS Music, which includes Lady Antebellum songs written by Hillary Scott. Active songwriters including Andy Albert, Marc Beeson and Kelly Archer have written recent country hits for Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, and Cassadee Pope.