AIMP Nashville Announces Nominees For 6th Annual Awards
The Nashville Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) has announced the nominees for its sixth annual AIMP Nashville Awards.
The awards will be held on April 27 at 4 p.m. CT at The Listening Room Café in Nashville. Only nominees and sponsors will be invited to attend in person, with masks and social distancing required. The event will also be livestreamed and made available to AIMP members.
Twenty three independent music publishers and 19 songwriters each received multiple nominations this year. Big Machine Label Group was the most-nominated independent publisher with 10 nods, followed by Round Hill Music with five, Concord Music Publishing with four, and Curb | Word Music Publishing, peermusic, Relative Music Group, SMACKSongs, Spirit Music, and Tape Room Music with three each. Ashley Gorley, HARDY, and Jonathan Singleton were the top songwriters with three nominations each.
This year’s categories include Rising Songwriter of the Year, Rising Artist-Writer of the Year, Artist-Writer of the Year, Song Champion of the Year, Publisher’s Pick, Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Publisher of the Year.
“In the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, independent songwriters and publishers have pushed through and created truly fantastic art to get us to the other side of an unprecedented time,” says Vice President of the AIMP Nashville Chapter and Co-Chair of the AIMP Nashville Awards, Ree Guyer. “While we were forced to cancel last year’s event, we are happy to honor this year’s winners in a safe, socially distanced ceremony, and hope we’ll be able to celebrate with the full Nashville independent publishing community in 2022!”
“Given our currently trying times, it’s even more important to remember and honor the good from the past year,” says AIMP National Chair and President of the AIMP Nashville Chapter, John Ozier. “The independent music publishing community never stops, and this year showed its ingenuity as songwriters found new ways to connect and create music that both captured the moment and provided solace to listeners. We look forward to recognizing their achievements.”
Voting for all AIMP Nashville Chapter members will begin on March 24 and will end on March 30 at 5 p.m. CT. Those who would like to vote must visit www.aimp.org/register by March 23 at 5 p.m. CT to either ensure their membership is in good standing or sign up to become an AIMP Nashville Chapter member.
The full list of nominees by category can be found below.
RISING SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:
– Alex Kline (Ziggys Z Music)
– Benjy Davis (Big Machine Music)
– Jake Mitchell (Reservoir Media / Patrick Joseph Music)
– Matt Alderman (Curb | Word Music Publishing)
– Neil Medley (Mojo Music & Media / Son of a Carl Music)
– Nicolette Hayford (River House / SMACKSongs)
– Steph Jones (Disney Music Publishing / Hipgnosis Song Group)
RISING ARTIST-WRITER OF THE YEAR:
– Avenue Beat (Tape Room Music)
– Jameson Rodgers (Combustion Music)
– Ruston Kelly (Concord Music Publishing)
– Ryan Hurd (Big Machine Music)
– Tenille Arts (Oven Music)
– Tenille Townes (Big Yellow Dog)
ARTIST-WRITER OF THE YEAR:
– Ashley McBryde (Jody Williams Songs)
– Brothers Osborne (King Pen Music)
– Carly Pearce (Altadena)
– Eric Church (Little Louder Music)
– Jon Pardi (Song Factory Music)
SONG CHAMPION OF THE YEAR:
– Allison Jones (Big Machine Label Group)
– Ciara Shortridge (Curb | Word Music Publishing)
– Jake Gear (Hang Your Hat Music)
– Laurel Kittleson-Cobb (Curb | Word Entertainment)
– Trina Smith-Dort (Me Gusta Music)
– Ward Guenther (Whiskey Jam)
PUBLISHER’S PICK:
– “Beautiful Noise” written by Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Hailey Whitters, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Linda Perry, Ruby Amanfu
Independently published by Atlas Music Publishing, Big Machine Music, Carnival Music, Concord Music Publishing, Creative Nation, Deep Dark Robot Music, Happy People Music, Like Butta Baby Music, Maps and Records Music, peermusic
Recorded by Brandi Carlile & Alicia Keys
– “Better Than We Found It” written by Jessie Jo Dillon, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz, Maren Morris
Independently published by Big Ass Pile of Dimes Music, Big Machine Music, Heroes and Halos Music, Millicent Hill Music, JRM3, Muse Magic, Round Hill Music
Recorded by Maren Morris
– “Chasing After You” written by Brinley Addington, Jerry Flowers
Independently published by Adding Tone Music, Combustion Music, Downtown Music Group, Mojo Music & Media, Tape Room Music
Recorded by Maren Morris & Ryan Hurd
– “Give Heaven Some Hell” written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Hunter Phelps, Michael Hardy
Independently published by Big Blue Nation Music, Caleb’s College Fund, Relative Music Group. Round Hill Music, Tape Room Music
Recorded by HARDY
– “Janice at the Hotel Bar” written by Hailey Whitters, Lori McKenna
Independently published by Carnival Music, Creative Nation, Concord Music Publishing, Maps and Records Music, Pulse Music Group
Recorded by Hailey Whitters
– “Things a Man Oughta Know” written by Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson
Independently published by Big Machine Music, Spirit Music
Recorded by Lainey Wilson
SONG OF THE YEAR:
– “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” written by Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson
Independently published by Big Machine Music, MV2 Music, peermusic, Whiskey Tub Music
Recorded by Jon Pardi
– “Bluebird” written by Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby
Independently published by Emileon Songs, Little Louder Songs
Recorded by Miranda Lambert
– “Die From a Broken Heart” written by Deric Rutan, Jonathan Singleton, Madison Marlow, Taylor Dye
Independently published by Big Machine Music, Jehovah Nissi Music, Seven Red Birds Publishing, Spirit Music
Recorded by Maddie & Tae
– “I Hope You’re Happy Now” written by Carly Pearce, Jonathan Singleton, Luke Combs, Randy Montana
Independently published by 50 Egg Music, Altadena, Big Machine Music, Jett Music, Spirit Music, Straight Dimes Publishing
Recorded by Carly Pearce & Lee Brice
– “One of Them Girls” written by Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, Dallas Davidson, Lee Brice
Independently published by 8Minute Publishing, Artist Publishing Group, Big Blue Nation Music, Caleb’s College Fund, Play It Again Music Group, Natalia’s Music Money, Round Hill Music
Recorded by Lee Brice
– “One Night Standards” written by Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally
Independently published by Canned Biscuit Songs, River House, SMACKSongs, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments
Recorded by Ashley McBryde
– “Some Girls” written by CJ Solar, Jake Mitchell, Michael Hardy
Independently published by Harding Road Music, Sea Gayle Music, Relative Music Group, West Pass Music
Recorded by Jameson Rodgers
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:
– Michael Hardy (Relative Music Group)
– Ashley Gorley (Round Hill Music)
– Shane McAnally (Tempo Investments)
– Josh Thompson (MV2 Entertainment)
– Ernest K Smith (Big Loud Music)
– Hillary Lindsey (Concord Music Publishing)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR:
– Big Machine Music
– Downtown Music Publishing
– Kobalt Music
– peermusic
– Round Hill Music
– SMACKSongs
TwentySeven Music Publishing Signs Jennifer Smestad
Jennifer Smestad. Photo: Ryan Noble
TwentySeven Music Publishing, led by music executive Barry Weiss and songwriter-producer Jenna Andrews, have signed Jennifer Smestad to a worldwide publishing deal, in partnership with Sony Music Publishing.
Smestad’s RECORDS Nashville/Sony Music Nashville debut single, “Half The Man,” written with Josh Metheny and Erik Halbeg, released in 2020 and has gone on to garner more than 18 million streams and 100k consumption units.
The Arizona native moved to Nashville in 2016 to pursue her musical dreams as a singer-songwriter, after her faith and family helped her overcome Tourette’s Syndrome, OCD and social anxiety diagnoses. She has garnered a wealth of performing experiences, from time with the Miss America pageant to performing at churches, ballparks, and various music venues. Smestad is managed by Hill Entertainment Group and is gearing up to release new music in the coming weeks, as recently teased to her more than 228,000 TikTok followers.
ASCAP Unveils GPS Project Class Of 2021
The songwriters participating in ASCAP’s 10th Annual GPS (Guidance from Publishers for Songwriters) Project have been announced. This year’s class includes Brooke Alexx, Shawn Chambliss, Bree Doster, Daniel Ethridge, Joe Hanson, Brooke Hatala, Emily Kroll, Autumn Marie, Nicole Miller, Kaylin Roberson, Anna Rose and Elysse Yulo.
Curated by ASCAP Creative Director Evyn Mustoe Johnston, the 12 writers in this year’s class will be paired with publishers who will listen and critique their songs and host virtual follow-up meetings over the next several months to help develop their craft. By the end of the program, each songwriter will have met with representatives from at least five different publishers. The program has helped numerous songwriters earn publishing agreements as a result of their participation, and well-known ASCAP GPS alumni include Hannah Dasher, Jacob Davis, Ben Goldsmith, Caylee Hammack, Ryan Hurd, Lainey Wilson and more.
Participating 2021 publishers include Carnival Music’s Courtney Gregg, Concord Music Publishing’s Brad Kennard, Creative Nation’s Emily Furman, Endurance Music Group’s Courtney Kruckeberg, Hang Your Hat Music’s Jake Gear, King Pen Music’s Kelly King, Kobalt Music’s Mark Abramowitz, Milk and Honey’s Shelby Yoder, MV2 Entertainment’s Nicole Sherrill, Red Door Music Group’s Abbey Adams, Sea Gayle Music’s Kim Wiggins and Spirit Music Nashville’s Kara Jackson.