Bart Herbison To Be Honored By L.A. AIMP Chapter
Bart Herbison
The Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers will honor Bart Herbison, Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, as the recipient of its Individual Award in Support of Songwriters & Publishers.
The awards will be presented during the AIMP LA Chapter Holiday Awards & Annual Meeting of Members, which will be held online Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. PT. Primary Wave Music will also receive the 2020 Indie Publisher of the Year Award during the ceremony.
“While COVID-19 has hugely impacted the world, Primary Wave Music and Bart Herbison have both worked hard to keep moving the independent music publishing industry forward, and we are proud to recognize them with our 2020 AIMP LA Awards,” said Teri Nelson Carpenter, National Chair and Los Angeles Chapter President of the AIMP. “Whether fighting hard to secure placements and proper payment for their songwriters or ensuring The MLC serves the interests of independent publishers when it launches in January, we are heartened by their efforts in this difficult time.”
As Executive Director of the NSAI, Herbison leads the world’s largest nonprofit songwriters trade organization and advocacy group dedicated to the songwriting profession. In addition to overseeing the NSAI’s 100-plus chapters throughout the U.S. and the world, which count over 5,000 aspiring and professional songwriters in all genres of music as members, Herbison is a member of the Board of Directors at The MLC, where he works to ensure successful implementation of the Music Modernization Act. His efforts have established the NSAI as a major force in the national legislative arena, having played a key role in the passage of the MMA in 2018.
“This award means a lot to me because of the respect I have for AIMP. We’ve effectively joined together on the Music Modernization Act and a number of initiatives — fighting for fair compensation for songwriters and music publishers. It is presently my honor as a board member of the Mechanical Licensing Collective to work alongside AIMP and its members, who have a huge stake in implementation of The MLC. While Nashville is proudly in our name, NSAI, like AIMP, impacts the rights of all publishers, songwriters, and rights-holders, no matter where they live,” said Herbison.
Dolly Parton’s $1 Million Donation To Vanderbilt Helps Fund Leading COVID-19 Vaccine
In April, Dolly Parton donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. That donation has partially funded research that has helped biotechnology company Moderna develop one of the current leading COVID-19 vaccines, which has proven to be 94.5% effective.
The New England Journal of Medicine listed the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund from Vanderbilt as among the supporters of the vaccine. Moderna has stated it could potentially produce 1 billion doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021 and is applying for Emergency Use Authorization with the US Food and Drug Administration.
“My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Parton said of the donation back in April via Twitter. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”
The donation is just one of many of Parton’s philanthropical efforts. She launched the Imagination Library in 1995; the program has since gifted more than 135 million books to children and is currently gifting books to 1.5 million children around the world each month. In 2017, Parton donated $3 million to those affected by wildfires in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, also raised funds via the Smoky Mountains Rise telethon, and provided $1,000 each month to Sevier County families whose primary residences were destroyed by the fires.
Amy Cranford Elevated To Sr. VP, Administration At Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Amy Cranford. Photo: Ed Rode Photography
Amy Cranford has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Administration at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Based in Nashville, Cranford reports to Dale Esworthy, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Administration.
In her new position, Cranford is responsible for overseeing Sony/ATV’s administration initiatives to better support its songwriters, including the client portal SCORE and its app, and she will continue leading the company’s audit team. In addition, she will serve as the business liaison for the global publishing system TEMPO and work to create and implement strategies to further advance its capabilities.
Since joining Sony/ATV in 1994, Cranford has spearheaded numerous efforts which have strengthened the company’s administration services, including the “Cash Out” feature, which enables songwriters to request some or all of their current royalty balance to be paid immediately. Under her watch, Sony/ATV also introduced real-time processing for all its foreign earnings. As a result, foreign earnings will now be reported and paid in the same period in which they are collected.
“Amy’s ability to generate ideas, build consensus and implement new initiatives makes her a key leader and trusted colleague,” said Esworthy. “We are grateful for her selfless dedication and many contributions.”
“I am proud to be a part of Sony/ATV, where our mission is to deliver best-in-class services to our songwriters,” said Cranford. “I look forward to working with Jon, Dale and the entire leadership team in this new role, and I’m excited to further expand our administrative efforts and build upon our success.”
Home Team, Warner Chappell Music Sign Parker Welling
Parker Welling. Photo: Spencer Combs
Warner Chappell Music Nashville and Thomas Rhett’s Home Team Publishing have signed a global publishing deal with songwriter Parker Welling. The Nashville native worked with Russell Dickerson on his 2017 album Yours, co-writing nine songs, including the title track, “Blue Tacoma,” and “Every Little Thing,” with all three reaching No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart and “Yours” earning an ACM nod for Song of the Year in 2019.
Most recently, Welling co-wrote Dickerson’s latest single, “Love You Like I Used To,” which is in its second week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Canada Country charts.
“As a songwriter, being in the room with Parker is an incredible experience,” said Home Team Publishing co-founder Thomas Rhett. “She knows how to channel the creative energy and write lyric and melody that really connect with the listener. We love that Parker is part of the Home Team family and know we will have many hits together both as a co-writer and a publisher.”
Ben Vaughn, President & CEO, Warner Chappell Music Nashville said, “Anyone who knows Parker knows she’s a creative light that brightens every room she enters. It’s been special to see her get the recognition she deserves and cement her place as one of Nashville’s leading up-and-coming songwriters. We’re thrilled to have her on team Warner Chappell and are looking forward to the future together.”
In 2019, Welling landed another No. 1 on Billboard’s Canada Country chart with Mackenzie Porter’s “These Days.” The songwriter has also worked with some of the biggest names in today’s country music scene including Thomas Rhett for “What’s Your Country Song,” the first single on Rhett’s newest project.
Welling was nominated for the Canadian Country Music Association’s 2020 Songwriter of the Year and has landed a nod for MusicRow’s Female Songwriter of the Year for the past two years, as well as a nomination for MusicRow‘s Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year in 2018.