Music News (4/8/20)

Reservoir Strikes Deal With Roger Murrah

Pictured (L-R): Greg Gallo, Reservoir VP, Creative; John Ozier, Reservoir EVP, Creative; Roger Murrah; Doug Colton, Colton Law Firm

Reservoir has inked a deal with Nashville Hall Of Fame songwriter and country music publishing veteran Roger Murrah. The deal includes rights to Murrah’s entire catalog of evergreen country music hits, as well as several thousand unexploited compositions, plus the acquisition of his wholly owned publishing companies, Murrah Music Corporation and Castle Street Music.

Over the course of his five-decade career, Murrah composed 14 No. 1 hits and country music standards including Alan Jackson’s “Don’t Rock The Jukebox,” Al Jarreau’s “We’re In This Love Together,” Conway Twitty and Blake Shelton’s “Goodbye Time,” Wynonna Judd’s “Only Love,” and Alabama’s “I’m In A Hurry,” “High Cotton,” and “Southern Star.” He was named BMI Country Songwriter of the Year in 1988 and the following year crowned BMI’s Country Songwriter of the Decade for the 1980s. Murrah was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. He has two ACM Song of the Year awards, two CMA Song of the Year nominations, and an ASCAP Song of the Year award under his belt.

In 1990, Murrah formed his own publishing company, Murrah Music Corporation, and signed writers including Luke Bryan, Phillip White, Mike Mobley, Jon Henderson, Rachel Proctor, Mark Alan Springer, Rachel Thibodeau, and more. Over the years, Murrah Music songwriters were behind 14 No. 1’s and hundreds of hit copyrights including Rascal Flatts’ “I’m Movin On,” Billy Currington’s “Good Directions,” Reba McEntire’s “He Gets That From Me,” Tracy Byrd’s “The Keeper Of The Stars,” Tanya Tucker’s “Two Sparrows In A Hurricane,” and Kenny Chesney’s “When I Close My Eyes,” among others. As a publisher, Murrah earned Billboard’s Independent Publisher of the Year award in 1992, and his dedication to music and songwriters didn’t stop there. He served five terms as Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation and two consecutive terms as President of the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
 

Ashley McBryde Gets Brutally Honest On New Album Never Will

With most of Nashville sheltered in place due to coronavirus, Ashley McBryde has been doing the same thing as many Americans: watching the hit Netflix show Tiger King.

“I think I lost IQ points from watching that,” she says with a laugh, calling from her home in Nashville.

McBryde had already completed several shows on her headlining One Night Standards Tour, which launched in January, when venues began closing due the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, forcing artists to come off the road and shelter in place in their homes. But McBryde has also been using the time at home to listen deeply to new music, such as the latest releases from her fellow singer-songwriters Brandy Clark and Kelsea Ballerini.

“If I were touring right now, I wouldn’t have had the time to listen to those albums the way a record should be listened to,” she says. “We forget sometimes because we are in a singles-minded world, that an album is put together in a certain order for a reason. There’s an art and a story that you discover if you can sit there in one sitting and listen to it front to back.”

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LBK Entertainment Signs Kev Kelly

Pictured (L-R): Mariah Topel, Kev Kelly, Carl Kornmeyer

LBK Entertainment has signed rising pop musician and songwriter Kev Kelly to an exclusive publishing and artist development deal. Kelly will release his debut five-song EP Saint KDK V on April 17.

LBK recently announced the signing of Marcus Hummon to their roster. The company was founded by Carl Kornmeyer, who has teamed with former Arista Nashville and Universal South label head Tim DuBois and Mariah Topel, who has taken on the role of Creative Director.

Topel says, “I knew I wanted to work with Kev after the first verse of the first song I heard. His sound and style of writing were fresh and unlike anything else I’d been hearing. I was immediately hooked. I knew he was the kind of writer and artist you can’t let pass you by. I’m thrilled to be working with him and honored to be a part of building his career.”

Kelly says, “It’s very rare to find a company that trusts you 100% to execute a creative vision and LBK has been a great partner to have while trying to expand the pop scene in Nashville.”
 

Johnny Reid To Relaunch Scruggs Sound Studios As Soultrain Sound Studios

Johnny Reid. Photo: Daniel Shippey

Recording artist and studio owner Johnny Reid kept his promise to the late songwriter/guitarist/producer Randy Scruggs with the launch of his latest venture.

This spring, Reid will reopen the historic Scruggs Sound Studios in Nashville’s Berry Hill area as Soultrain Sound Studios. Scruggs bought the property and began work on the studio in 1979. Among the albums made in Scruggs Sound Studio include Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1989 album Will The Circle Be Unbroken V2, which Scruggs produced and featured Bruce Hornsby, John Hiatt, Rosanne Cash, Johnny Cash, Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, John Denver, Emmylou Harris and more, as well as Keith Whitley—A Tribute Album.

Reid purchased the studio in 2018, prior to Scruggs’ passing and has renovated the studio’s interior, adding state of the art recording equipment, a “b” studio and vintage equipment to the 3,000-square-foot space.

Joining Reid in the new venture are mix engineer Justin Cortelyou and producer/engineer Tawgs Salter.

Cortelyou’s engineering credits include work with Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, U2, Andrea Bocelli, Taylor Swift, and others. For years Cortelyou worked alongside mix-master Mike Shipley at The Animal House in Los Angeles, and legendary music producer Bob Ezrin. Salter has worked with a vast array of artists ranging from Walk Off The Earth, Serena Ryder, Hunter Hayes, Lights and Scott Helman to Andrea Bocelli, Dear Rouge, Mother Mother and USS.