Music News (5/5/21)

UMPG Nashville Appoints Roxy King As Director, A&R

Roxy King. Photo: Lily Nelson

Universal Music Publishing Nashville has appointed Roxy King to Director of A&R, effective immediately. She reports to Chairman and CEO of the division, Troy Tomlinson.

King boasts a strong track record in publishing A&R. Prior to joining UMPG Nashville, she served as A&R Manager at Concord Music Publishing and worked with songwriters including Tofer Brown, Donovan Woods, Ian Fitchuk and Hillary Lindsey, among others. Previously, King worked on Songtrust’s global music rights management team in New York City. King is a graduate of NYU’s Music Business program.

Tomlinson says, “I am so excited to have Roxy join our team. She brings a fresh perspective, attitude and energy that will complement our A&R staff. Her love for songwriters and her passion to help them reach their goals make her the perfect fit for us.”

“Nashville songwriters have been an influence on my life for as long as I can remember. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and learn from Troy Tomlinson, the creative team, and the entire roster of incredible songwriters at UMPG,” says King.
 

Big Loud Inks Publishing Deal With John Byron

John Byron. Photo: Chris Hornbuckle.

Rising songwriter John Byron has inked his first publishing deal with Big Loud.

Stacking co-writer credits on Sean Stemaly’s recent release, “Hello, You Up,” and Morgan Wallen’s “865” off his record-breaking Dangerous: The Double Album, Byron’s songwriting is centered around clever phrasing and melodies.

“From the moment John started sharing his songs and writing with our writers, working together felt like a perfect fit,” shares Michael Giangreco, senior director of A&R. “John’s attitude and work ethic speak volumes. We couldn’t be more proud that he chose Big Loud to be his publishing home.”

His latest cut, “Summer Job Money,” delivered by multi-Platinum country artist Chris Lane last Friday (April 30), marks Byron’s third consecutive release from a Big Loud Records artist.

“I feel immensely blessed to be a part of one of the most influential companies in the entire industry – Big Loud was the one place I wanted to sign with,” admits Byron. “It honestly still feels like a miracle every time I get to walk into the building; every single night, I thank God for making it part of His plan for me. It’s the same for being a co-writer on these songs. I love and respect these guys who I’m lucky enough to say have become my friends.”
 

The Recording Academy Votes To Eliminate Nominations Review Committees

The Recording Academy announced today (April 30) significant changes to its awards process, including the elimination of nominations review committees in general and genre fields.

Nominations in all of the Grammy Award general and genre fields will now be determined by a majority, peer-to-peer vote of voting members of the Recording Academy. Previously, many of the categories within these fields utilized 15-30 highly skilled music peers who represented and voted within their genre communities for the final selection of nominees. The Academy confirmed that more than 90 percent of its members will have gone through the re-qualification process by the end of this year, ensuring that the voting body is actively engaged in music creation.

Additionally, the Academy announced a reduction in the number of categories in which voters may vote. In an effort to ensure music creators are voting in the categories in which they are most knowledgeable and qualified, the number of specific genre field categories in which Grammy Award voters may vote has been reduced from 15 to 10. Those 10 categories must be within no more than three fields. All voters are permitted to vote in the four General Field categories (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist).

The Academy also announced that six existing craft fields will be consolidated into two fields: Presentation Field and Production Field. In either newly consolidated field, voters would have the ability to choose how many categories they feel qualified to vote in, respecting category vote limits, without being excessively limited by the three-field restriction.

Finally, two new categories have been added, bringing the total number of Grammy Award categories to 86. Those categories are Best Global Music Performance (Global Music Field) and Best Música Urbana Album (Latin Music Field).

These changes go into effect immediately for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards taking place Jan. 31, 2022. The eligibility period for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards is Sept. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021.

“It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our Awards process,” says Harvey Mason jr., chair & interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy. “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community. While change and progress are key drivers of our actions, one thing will always remain — the Grammy Award is the only peer-driven and peer-voted recognition in music. We are honored to work alongside the music community year-round to further refine and protect the integrity of the Awards process.”
 

AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund Makes Record-Breaking Distribution Of $70 Million

The AFM SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund has made a record-breaking distribution of over $70 million this year, for a total of over half a billion dollars distributed since its inception.

The nonprofit was created to collect and distribute royalties to non-featured performers on sound recordings for songs played on satellite radio, non-interactive streaming and other digital formats domestically and internationally. As digital platforms have grown, the Fund has continued to expand, and has collected and distributed millions of dollars in royalties on behalf of non-featured performers. Last year, $60 million was distributed through the Fund.

“Given the enormous impact the pandemic has had on musicians’, both instrumentalists and vocalists, ability to earn a living, we are thrilled to be able to assist non-featured performers by collecting and distributing royalty income they might not know they’re entitled to receive,” says Sidney Kibodeaux White, COO of The Fund. Unlike other rights collectives, there is no membership or registration requirement in order to qualify—as long as a performer qualifies as non-featured on a sound recording, that musician is considered a ‘participant’ for collection purposes.

“Every year, we’ve been able to collect more revenue on behalf of our participants,” White continues. “This year, The Fund set another record with more than $70 million in distributed royalties. We want to encourage everyone who has participated in a supporting musical role on a sound recording, motion picture, television program, or in the symphonic performance realm to visit our website and see if they have money waiting to be claimed.”