Music News (9/18/19)

Michael Martin Launches Endurance Music Group, Adds Scooter Carusoe, Clint Lagerberg To Roster

Pictured (L-R): Josh Saxe, Michael Martin, Mark Ahlberg. Photo: Ed Rode

Michael Martin has been tapped to lead the full-service publishing house Endurance Music Group. Martin will serve as President for the new Nashville-based venture, with Mark Ahlberg as Sr. VP and Josh Saxe as Sr. Creative Director.

The company debuts with a roster including Scooter Carusoe (Chris Janson’s “Drunk Girl,” Darius Rucker’s “For The First Time”), Clint Lagerberg (Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” Rascal Flatts’ “Here Comes Goodbye”), and emerging artist-writers Jake Rose and Ryan Plappert.

Endurance Music Group also represents the catalogs of songwriters including Kevin Kadish (Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Morgan Wallen’s “Whiskey Glasses”), BMI Songwriter of the Year Ross Copperman (Kenny Chesney’s “Tip Of My Tongue,” Brett Eldredge’s “Love Someone”), Hillary Lindsey (Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color”), Extreme Writers Group (George Strait’s “I Saw God Today,” Heartland’s “I Loved Her First”) and Matt Jenkins (Florida Georgia Line’s “Confession,” Keith Urban’s “Cop Car”).

Martin was previously Vice President at ASCAP, where he led the performance rights organization to major market share growth in country music and managed the company’s relationships with many high-profile songwriters. His career has also included stops at Fame Music, Moraine Music Group and Extreme Writers Group, which he co-founded. Extreme helped launch the career of two-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Rodney Clawson and held a catalog that included Strait’s “I Saw God Today,” as well as Rascal Flatts’ “Here Comes Goodbye” and Jason Aldean’s “Why.”

Ahlberg has handled administration for Big Loud Shirt, Sea Gayle Music, Big Tractor Music, Extreme Writers Group, Wide Open Music Group, Parallel Music Publishing and Centricity Music Publishing. As part of the launch, Ahlberg brings his company, Amplified Administration, under the Endurance umbrella. Amplified will continue to provide publisher and label administration services to outside clients, while also representing portions of the Endurance catalog.

Saxe joins from Round Hill Music, where he focused on back catalog exploitation and oversaw the signing of Jimmy Robbins, as well as the expansion of his co-venture, JRM Publishing. He also managed the company’s joint venture relationships with Ashley Gorley’s Tape Room Music and Big Loud Publishing. Saxe previously worked at BMG and held the co-chair position on the Leadership Council of Young Entertainment Professionals.

The company is backed by New York-based Raven Capital Management, a private equity fund manager that has contributed an existing music catalog and has committed to fund future acquisitions. Raven co-founder Jeremy Tucker will serve as Endurance’s chairman. The firm has more than $1 billion under management; other media assets in Raven’s investment portfolio include Open Road Films (acquired in 2018), Exclusive Media (acquired in 2015) and Crossroads Live, Inc. (owner of David Ian Productions, Limited, acquired in 2019).

Anthem Entertainment Acquires Half Of Ree Guyer’s Wrensong Entertainment Catalog

Ree Guyer

Music and entertainment content and service company Anthem Entertainment has acquired 50% of Ree Guyer’s Wrensong Entertainment catalog and entered into a co-venture with Wrensong Publishing Corp. Wrensong continues to be run by Guyer.

The Wrensong catalog includes over 20 No. 1 country hits, including Old Dominion’s “Make It Sweet,” “No Such Thing As a Broken Heart” and “Hotel Key,” as well as chart-topping hits by Dierks Bentley, The Band Perry, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, and Jason Aldean. The catalog also includes “Dive Bar”—performed by Blake Shelton and Garth Brooks—peaking at No. 16 on Billboard’s US Country Airplay chart.

Wrensong Entertainment is an Independent Music Publishing/Artist Development company with offices in Nashville, TN and Minneapolis, MN. It was founded in 1983 by father-daughter team, Ree and Reyn Guyer. It has been instrumental to the careers of several significant country artists, including Old Dominion, the Pistol Annies, Ashley Monroe, and Jon Randall.

Guyer and the Wrensong team have focused on developing a catalog that includes “Where’ve You Been,” “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye” and “Whiskey Lullaby,” all Grammy or CMA-nominated Songs of the Year. Other hits in the Wrensong catalog include “Better Dig Two” (The Band Perry), “Hell on Heels” (Pistol Annies), “Wild One” (Faith Hill), “Gonna Take A Lot of River” (Oak Ridge Boys), “Heart Like Mine” (Miranda Lambert), “Drink On It” (Blake Shelton), “Am I the Only One” (Dierks Bentley), “The Truth” (Jason Aldean), “Sangria” (Blake Shelton), “Say You Do” (Dierks Bentley), “Break Up With Him” (Old Dominion), “Ask Me How I Know” (Garth Brooks), and many more. Wrensong is also home to album cuts by many other major label acts from Ray Charles to Heart and Reba to Kenny Chesney—selling over 130 million albums.

Anthem Entertainment is comprised of a music publishing division, recorded music label, production music division, and a leading film and television audio-visual secondary rights (AVSR) management company. Anthem Entertainment operates offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Nashville, and Toronto with a team of approximately 200 dedicated industry professionals.

Jake Owen Inks New Publishing Deal

Pictured (L-R): Phil May (WCM), Will Overton (WCM), Jess Rosen (Greenberg Traurig), Jake Owen, Christina Wiltshire (WCM), Ben Vaughn (WCM)

Jake Owen has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Nashville. Owen has earned seven No. 1 songs at country radio, including “Beachin’,” “American Country Love Song,” and most recently, “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” off his latest album, Greetings From… Jake, which marked his first album for Big Loud.

The project followed Owen’s American Love album, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and No. 4 on Billboard’s 200 all-genre albums chart, while his 2011 album Barefoot Blue Jean Night produced four consecutive No. 1 songs including the 2x platinum title-track “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” and the platinum-certified hits “Beachin’,” “Anywhere With You,” “Alone With You,” and “The One That Got Away.”

Owen recently made his acting debut in the feature film The Friend, which was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival. Owen is repped by WME for booking and managed by Good Company Entertainment.

Twelve6 Entertainment And Downtown Music Publishing Ink Joint Venture, Sign Alex Hall

(L-R): Tom Becci (Red Light Management), Autumn House-Tallant (Red Light Management), Matt Turner (Downtown Music Publishing), Katie Roth (Downtown Music Publishing), Garrett Stephenson (Downtown Music Publishing), Austen Adams (Dickinson Wright) Next Row: Steve Markland (Downtown Music Publishing), Natalie Osborne (Downtown Music Publishing), Alex Hall, Travis Myatt (Twelve6 Entertainment), Nicolette McCann (Twelve6 Entertainment)

Twelve6 Entertainment has entered into a multi-faceted partnership with Downtown Music Publishing that includes an admin deal and a new joint venture. Through the agreement, Downtown will provide its bespoke creative and administration services globally to Nashville-based Twelve6’s roster of writers and artists, including Old Dominion’s Trevor Rosen and Jerry Flowers.

Additionally, a new joint venture between the two companies will focus on identifying and signing talent. Monument Records recording artist/writer Alex Hall is the first signing under this new partnership. Hailing from Gainesville, Georgia, Hall just released his debut track, “Half Past You,” and is currently in the studio recording his full debut project, produced by Shane McAnally, Pete Good, and AJ Babcock.