Music News (11/6/19)

Kos Weaver Exits BMG Nashville

Kos Weaver

BMG Nashville Executive VP Kos Weaver has exited the company as part of a reorganization, MusicRow has confirmed. Also exiting are three BMG support staffers; the move does not affect staff at BBR Music Group, or BMG’s royalties/copyright teams located in Nashville.

Weaver joined BMG in 2013, overseeing Nashville operations for BMG Publishing and Records, with a roster that has included Alabama, Brett Beavers, busbee, Clare Dunn, Danny Gokey, Hilary Lindsey, Buddy Miller, JD Souther and Jon Paul White.

Weaver’s career has also included VP roles at Disney Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music.
 

Top Songwriters Come Together For Second Annual Andrew Dorff Memorial Benefit Concert

Photo credit: Bev Moser

This year’s second annual Andrew Marshall Dorff Memorial Benefit Concert raised $25,000 for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and featured performances by many of the late songwriter’s friends and co-writers.

Held at Nashville’s City Winery, the show was emceed by Sirius XM’s Storme Warren and opera singer Daniel O’Callaghan opened the evening with an acoustic rendition of “Danny Boy.” The evening included acoustic performances of Dorff’s songs by Josh Osborne (“My Eyes”), Josh Osborne and Barry Dean (“The Man Upstairs”), Lori McKenna (“Fat Kid”), Lori McKenna and Barry Dean (“That’s How You Know”), Jeffrey Steele (“What Hurts The Most”), Rachel Wammack (“Shipwrecked”), Angela Kaset (“Alone Time”), Frank Ray (“Just For A Minute”), Marcus and Levi Hummon (“Make It Love”), Mark Irwin (“Neon Light”), and Sam Bailey (“Bleed Red”). Chris Janson and Devin Dawson shared heartwarming videos about Andrew and Hunter Hayes closed the evening out with two songs he wrote with Dorff, an unreleased song and No. 1 hit “Somebody’s Heartbreak.”

Click here to see more photos on musicrow.com.
 

Dave Barnes Inks New Publishing Deal

Pictured (L-R): Jessi Vaughn (WCM), Dave Barnes, Ben Vaughn (WCM)

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Dave Barnes, known for penning songs including “God Gave Me You,” which became a Grammy and CMA-nominated hit for Blake Shelton, has a signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group.

Barnes also co-wrote the No. 1 hit “Craving You,” recorded by Thomas Rhett and featuring Maren Morris, as well as Bethany Dillon’s “All I Need,” a Top 5 hit on the Christian songs chart. He also has several tracks on Lady Antebellum’s upcoming album Ocean. Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire are also among the artists who have recorded Barnes’ songs.

As a recording artist, Barnes has issued eight studio albums, three EPs and two Christmas projects. His recorded version of “God Gave Me You” hit the Top 15 on the Christian songs chart in 2010; the next year, Shelton released his own version of the track to country radio. Barnes will hit the road soon for his A Very Merry Christmas Tour, which launches Dec. 8 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
 

Michaela Clarke Signs With Green Hills Music Group

(L-R): Sheree Spoltore (Global Songwriters Connection), Woody Bomar (Green Hills Music Group), Michaela Clarke, Louis Spoltore (Live On Stage). Photo by Haley Crow

Canadian singer-songwriter Michaela Clarke has signed a publishing deal with Green Hills Music Group.

Clarke has performed for The Canadian Country Music Awards and served as celebrity panelist on the 2019 CCMA Roundtable. Her music has been performed on TV and in films, and she is a multi-award nominee in the Alberta Country Music Awards. Clarke has shared the stage with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Julian Austin and others. She is currently writing for her upcoming project.

Green Hills Music Group was founded in 2007 and is home to songs recorded by Luke Bryan, George Strait, Rascal Flatts, Jake Owen, Hunter Hayes, Hillary Scott and The Scott Family, Jimmy Wayne, and more.