Josh Kear Joins Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville
Josh Kear.
Josh Kear has signed a global publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville.
Kear has earned four Grammys for his works, and is the only songwriter to win the Country Song of the Year Grammy honor three times. He has also earned several RIAA multi-Platinum certifications, as well as ACM, ASCAP, and CMA honors.
He has penned hits for Carrie Underwood (“Before He Cheats,” “Two Black Cadillacs,” “Blown Away”), Florida Georgia Line (“God, Your Mama, and Me”), Dierks Bentley (“Drunk On A Plane,” “Woman, Amen”), Lady A (the RIAA certified 9x multi-Platinum “Need You Now”), Tim McGraw (“Highway Don’t Care,” featuring Taylor Swift and Keith Urban), and Lee Brice (“Drinking Class”). His music has been featured in television shows including The Bachelorette, Glee, The Glee Project, and The Voice, as well as films such as Zero Dark Thirty and Country Strong.
Kear also recently joined NSAI’s Board of Directors. He has made regular trips to Washington D.C. to help advocate for his fellow songwriters, and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2018, as part of an initiative to pass the Music Modernization Act, which was signed into law in October 2018.
Boz Scaggs Inks With Concord Music Publishing
Boz Scaggs. Photo: Chris Phelps
Legendary singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs has signed a publishing deal with Concord Music Publishing. The new deal, effective immediately, covers Scaggs’ full catalog from 1968 to the present, as well as future works.
The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist is renowned for his unique blend of soul, rock, and blues and has been releasing chart-topping music for over five decades, including “Lido Shuffle,” “It’s Over,” “What Can I Say” and the Grammy-winning “Lowdown”from his 1976 album Silk Degrees. The 5x platinum Silk Degrees reached the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 and remained on the album charts for 115 weeks. The album also featured “We’re All Alone” which became a worldwide Top 10 hit for Rita Coolidge in 1977. In February 2020, “Lowdown” was sampled by English electronic duo Disclosure on their single, “Expressing What Matters.”
Silk Degrees was preceded by a string of R&B-fused albums such as Moments and Slow Dancer. It was followed by platinum albums Down Two Then Left and Middle Man, the latter of which produced the hit singles “Breakdown Dead Ahead,” “Jo Jo” and “Look What You’ve Done to Me.” Other notable albums from the catalog include Some Change, the Grammy-nominated Come On Home, and Dig. Scaggs’ most recent album, Out of the Blues, released in 2018 on Concord Records, reached No.1 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Songs & Daughters Launches Publishing Division, Signs Tiera
Pictured (L-R, back row): Big Loud Publishing’s Samantha Jervey (Sr. Creative Director); Warner Chappell Music Nashville’s Ben Vaughn (President & CEO). (L-R, back row): Songs & Daughters’ Nicolle Galyon (President & CEO); Tiera; Big Loud Publishing’s Kimberly Gleason (Director Of Operations), Michael Giangreco (Creative Director). Photo: Julia Cox
Songs & Daughters, which hit songwriter Nicolle Galyon launched in 2019 in partnership with Big Loud Records, has expanded into music publishing.
The company partnered with Big Loud Records and Warner Chappell Nashville on signing singer-songwriter Tiera as Songs & Daughters’ first songwriter to the publishing division.
“Been waiting since March to announce that @songsxdaughters is now a publishing company too. Proud to {{finally}} welcome our first songWRITER daughter signed to the fam. For the last year @tieramusic has been giving everyone at @bigloud @warnerchappellmusic all the feels, and we are proud to partner with them on every bop and banger this girl is writing,” Songs & Daughters shared via Instagram.
In a series of Instagram posts announcing her signing, Tiera wrote, “Nicolle Galyon. When I moved to Nashville 3 years ago I made a list of all the people I wanted to write with in this town and you were at the very top of that list. I guess I was selling myself short because not only do I get to write with you but I also get to be the very first writer signed to your publishing company! Excited to share this song journey with you.”
Tiera is part of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2020., as well as the platform’s 2020 Listen Up campaign. Alabama native Tiera began playing guitar at age 13. She competed and won her episode on USA Network’s Real Country, after being invited to join the show by Shania Twain.
Karl Michael Signs With Riser House Records
Top Row (L-R): Brandon Perdue (A&R, Riser House), Dallas Wilson (Songwriter)
Front Row (L-R): Karl Michael (Artist), Jennifer Johnson (President, Riser House). Photo: Riser House Records
Karl Michael has signed a label deal with Riser House Records.
The British singer/songwriter has penned songs that have garnered more than 100 million total streams on Spotify, including hits like “Can We Dance,” which he wrote with Bruno Mars for The Vamps, “Beautiful Me” for Dappy, and more. Michael is releasing his single “Beautiful Creature,” on Friday, July 10, the first of new music made in collaboration with producers Jon Levine (Dua Lipa, The Struts, Alessia Cara) and Scott Spock (Rihanna, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne).
Karl undoubtedly has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard,” said Jennifer Johnson, President of Riser House Records. “Uniquely compelling, Karl is a true artist and creator in every sense. We are delighted at the opportunity to partner with him and bring his new music to the world.”
“Before I met the Riser House team, I genuinely didn’t think I’d be able to get my music out,” says Michael. “But now with such a passionate and strong label behind me, I’m excited for the world to hear my music.”
American Songwriter Launches 35th Anniversary Song Contest
Pictured (L-R): Grace Potter, BJ Hill, Matt Nathanson, Eric Hurt.
Music publication American Songwriter has launched its 35th Anniversary Song Contest, to seek out the most promising compositions from aspiring songwriters from around the world.
The first-place winner will earn $10,000, a two-page spread in the January/February 2021 issue of American Songwriter, a Martin GPC-X2E Rosewood Guitar, a lifetime American Songwriter membership, and a career consultation with a reputable music publisher and record label.
Among the artists and music executives taking part in this year’s event are Grace Potter, Warner Chappell Music VP, A&R BJ Hill, Mickey Guyton, Walker Hayes, Matt Nathanson, Empire’s VP, A&R Eric Hurt, New West Records President John Allen, Rounder Records President John Strohm, and more.
The cost to enter is $25 per song submission, and the deadline for submissions is Oct. 31, 2020 at 11:59:59 CT. To enter the contest, visit americansongwriter.com.