Music News (9/9/20)

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville Signs Jay Brunswick

Jay Brunswick.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville has added songwriter/producer Jay Brunswick to its publishing roster.

The Pittsburgh native penned Brantley Gilbert’s new single “Hard Days,” which debuted at No. 37 on Billboard’s Hot Country Chart, and Reba McEntire’s latest single “Freedom.”

Sony/ATV Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston stated, “Jay Brunswick is an incredibly talented songwriter that continues to raise the bar for country music, and his career is just beginning to take off. Our entire team is thrilled to welcome Jay to the Sony/ATV family and to deliver the best opportunities for his songs.”

Brunswick said, “Sony/ATV has been nothing short of family to me over the last few years. Tom Luteran and I have been working to make this happen for some time now and the timing could not have been better. I have always wanted to write for both Sony/ATV and Rusty Gaston and now I have the chance to write for both under the same umbrella. I look forward to working with Tom and the rest of the powerhouse team at Sony/ATV and excited to see what the future holds for us all.”

Throughout his songwriting career, Brunswick has written top charting singles by prominent artists including “Beer Me” by Chris Janson, “Heartbreaker” and “American Nights” by Parmalee, “Everybody Lives” by Granger Smith, and “Always Been Me” and “You Ain’t Seen Country Yet” by Josh Thompson. He has also earned five Top 10 Canadian Chart hits such as Matt Lang’s “Water Down The Whiskey,” Jason Blaine’s “Born To Love,” and “What We Weren’t Looking For” by David James.

Recently, Brunswick has been working on several upcoming projects and is set to have songs recorded and released by Heath Sanders, Parmalee, and Jordan Rowe. He is also co-producing new music with rising country artists Patrick Murphy and Chancie Neal.
 

Southerland Signs With Reservoir

Southerland

Matt Chase and Chris Rogers of the country duo Southerland have signed a worldwide publishing deal with Reservoir.

The deal includes rights to the duo’s entire catalog, including their new single/major label debut “Thing Is,” out now via River House Artists/Sony Music Nashville, plus future works.

Nashville-based Chase and Rogers originally met in 2016, after being paired through friends for a writing session, and spent the next few years playing college towns and dive bars before officially forming as Southerland in 2019. They have shared stages with Luke Combs, Lauren Alaina, Eli Young Band, Brantley Gilbert, Montgomery Gentry, Darius Rucker, Morgan Wallen, and more.

Now signed with River House Artists/Sony Music Nashville, Southerland are releasing their debut single “Thing Is,” which was co-written by Chase, Rogers and their frequent collaborator Greg Bates, and was produced by Trent Willmon. The duo is currently in the studio and plan to release more music later this year.

“Southerland is a breath of fresh air for country music,” said Reservoir EVP of Creative, John Ozier. “Honest, lyrical integrity coupled with their country roots and harmonies remind me of ‘90s country—when country music was really gold. I think country fans from all generations are going to love them. There is a little Brooks & Dunn, a little Luke Combs, and a lot of hits in their future and we’re proud to be their publisher.”

“We are so happy to join this amazing company! Not only because they are visionaries in their field, but they are true ‘song people’ who allow us to create the music that we want and guide us to not only better ourselves as songwriters, but as storytellers,” said Southerland. “We are so excited for the future with Reservoir on our team!”
 

Spirit Music Group Acquires Tim McGraw Master Recordings

Tim McGraw

Spirit Music Group has acquired a number of Tim McGraw’s master recordings. The acquisition deal encompasses masters for three of McGraw’s albums: Two Lanes of Freedom (2013), Sundown Heaven Town (2014) and Damn Country Music (2015), all released via Big Machine Records and featuring some of McGraw’s top hits, including the No. 1, Grammy-winning “Highway Don’t Care” and his chart-topping “Humble and Kind,” which were also certified 3x multi-Platinum last week, moving McGraw’s total career RIAA certifications to 75 million. The deal with Spirit also includes the Platinum-certified “Shotgun Rider” and “Truck Yeah.”

“There are few artists in any genre of music who have had the level of success and impact that Tim McGraw has—we’re delighted to welcome Tim McGraw to the Spirit family and to represent his recording interests in some of country music’s most beloved songs,” said Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group. “The entire Spirit team is honored to become an active partner in developing and protecting Tim’s incredible legacy of music.”

“Tim is one of the most prolific artists in country music and it is a unique opportunity to be able to acquire such a remarkable body of work in a competitive music rights market. We thank Tim for entrusting Lyric Capital Group and Spirit Music Group with his songs and are committed to doing our part to further build on the success of these master recordings,” said Ross Cameron, Partner, Lyric Capital Group.

“Tim McGraw is a timeless artist who makes timeless music. His recordings have helped shape the sound of country music,” said Frank Rogers, CEO, Spirit Music Nashville. “Spirit Music Group could not be more excited to partner with Tim to represent these amazing records that have become important threads in the fabric of country music history.”

“Jon, Ross, Frank and Spirit’s team have shown great dedication to protecting Tim’s body of work, and that laid the foundation for this deal. They understand the special place that Tim has in music and it’s great to be in business with them,” said Scott Siman, management, EM.Co Entertainment Management Company. “Tim and I are looking forward to working with them to find ways to continue to share the music with the fans.”

Though partnerships encompassing master recordings are rare for a music publisher, this is not the first time that Spirit has done such deals. The company also represents both the master and publishing for a portion of the catalog for T.Rex via Marc Bolan and recently announced it acquired the masters and publishing for the majority of the catalog of Ingrid Michaelson.
 

Major Bob Music Signs Ben Williams

Pictured (L-R): Major Bob’s Chandler Thurston, Ben Williams, Major Bob’s Tina Crawford.

Major Bob Music has signed songwriter Ben Williams to a publishing agreement. Williams graduated from Belmont University in May and is excited for this next step in his career. Williams’ passion for songwriting comes from his love of lyrics.

“Country music is different. The lyrics, stories, clarity, truth, and ultimate feeling the music gives you inspires me to write every single day,” says Williams.

Williams also recently penned a pop/EDM single with artist Caroline Romano which was remixed by R3HAB, released in May, and is nearing 2 million streams.

Major Bob VP Tina Crawford says, “Ben’s passion for songwriting is paired with a hard work ethic and we are thrilled to start this journey with him.”