River House Artists & Sony Music Publishing Sign Neil Medley
Pictured (L-R): Kayla Adkins, Zebb Luster, Neil Medley, Lynn Oliver-Cline, Rusty Gaston. (Not Pictured: Scott Safford)
River House Artists, in partnership with Sony Music Publishing, has signed country songwriter Neil Medley to a worldwide publishing agreement.
Medley has written popular songs including “Tailgate Blues” by Luke Bryan; “Wasn’t That Drunk” by the Josh Abbott Band featuring Carly Pearce; “Damn Good Friends” by Tyler Farr and Jason Aldean; and “Glad to be Here” by Hailey Whitters featuring Brent Cobb. Throughout his career, Medley has celebrated cuts with prominent acts such as Cody Johnson, Tiera, King Calaway, Kid Rock, Brent Cobb, Whiskey Myers, and many others.
Medley achieved his first No. 1 song with Jake Owen’s “Made For You,” and earned success with Lindsay Ell’s single “I Don’t Love You,” which was the No. 1 most added song on country radio the week of its release and reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Canada Country airplay chart. Medley was also nominated for MusicRow‘s Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year this year.
“Our family at River House couldn’t be more excited to have Neil join the team. His happy personality is infectious, and his love for songwriting has helped him to maintain success throughout his career. We are thankful he has trusted us to help him continue to grow as a writer and we look forward to landing many more hits together,” says Zebb Luster, vice president/general manager of River House Artists.
Medley adds, “River House Artists is one of the most respected publishing and artist development companies in Nashville. Their track record, combined with Sony’s horsepower and industry-wide reach, is an ideal situation for any writer. I am so excited to be a part of such a special roster and I’m confident we are going to do some great things together.”
Jordan Dozzi Inks With Big Loud For First Publishing Deal
Jordan Dozzi
Australian songwriter Jordan Dozzi has signed his first publishing deal with Big Loud.
Raised with his parents and three sisters as musicians, Dozzi originally moved to Nashville two years ago on a Division 1 soccer scholarship from Belmont University. The former music business student ended his soccer career in April 2020 after tearing his ACL.
Dedicating himself to songwriting full-time, the 23-year-old produces genre-blending tracks, including a recent cut with Nelly on “5 Drinks Ago” from his country-inspired album Heartland.
“Immediately after meeting with Jordan it was evident how passionate and dedicated he was about songwriting. We were impressed with how he was booking his own writing sessions and turning around demos while maintaining his schedule as a full-time D1 student-athlete,” comments Big Loud Publishing’s Senior Director, A&R, Michael Giangreco. “To be as musically talented as he is and working that hard, we knew we had to work with him. Welcome to the Big Loud Publishing family, Jordan!”
“Big Loud Publishing is a family that I’m absolutely stoked to be a part of. Joining a company in town with so many talented writers is inspiring and makes you just want to be better. That and the emphasis on a lyric that Nashville has,” shares Dozzi. “I’m just feeling very thankful for this new team and the support of my family for helping me get here. Really excited to get to work!”
NMPA, Roblox Reach Publishing Agreement
The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and digital experience platform, Roblox, have reached an agreement that settles any previous claims against Roblox. This agreement also sets the foundation for future partnerships with global publishers for new creative and commercial opportunities on its platform.
The new agreement offers an industry-wide opt-in for all eligible NMPA publishers and opens a negotiation period for members to engage in new licensing deals with the Roblox global platform. It also expands Roblox’s existing relationships with major publishers to the entire global publishing industry to unlock new ways for music to be more meaningfully integrated into the global Roblox community and to find new ways for songwriters to monetize their songs and catalogues.
For songwriters, publishers, artists, and record labels, Roblox provides a creative way to engage and attract fans as well as drive new revenue streams through virtual launch parties and concerts, music in games, persistent music worlds, and virtual merchandise.
NMPA President & CEO David Israelite comments, “We are extremely pleased to have found a way forward with Roblox as it continues to offer a unique platform for musicians and songwriters in the metaverse. Roblox understands that music has the potential to play a more integral role on its platform. I appreciate Roblox’s willingness to work with us in pursuit of advancing the interests of publishers and songwriters and look forward to seeing how they expand virtual experiences through music.”
Roblox Vice President, Global Head of Music Jon Vlassopulos adds, “We are delighted to have come to terms with select NMPA members, building on our existing relationships with major publishers. We are pleased that the publishing industry sees the potential of Roblox to be a significant creative and commercial opportunity for its members. Music is a natural way for people to express themselves, be entertained, and connect with likeminded people. We strive to offer experiences that bring millions of fans together with the songwriters and artists they love. Roblox currently enables labels and publishers to reach millions of fans at once in hyper social, immersive environments such as launch parties and virtual concerts. Moving forward, we are committed to partnering with the music industry, as a whole, to create an exciting new social era of the music business which engages fans and artists in an unprecedented way in the metaverse.”
ASCAP Expands Royalty Premium Payment Plans
ASCAP is expanding its TV Premium payment plan to include eligibility for top streamed shows on services, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max.
The TV Premium Plan is being renamed and expanded to a platform agnostic Audio-Visual Premium plan. The expanded eligibility requirements for premium payments ensure that ASCAP composers, songwriters and publishers are also eligible for premium bonus payments for the top streamed shows and movies on these services.
In a further expansion of its premium payment program, ASCAP is also adding the Univision and UniMás networks to its existing broadcast TV premiums, recognizing the growing market for Spanish-language programming in the U.S.
“AV OTT services are rapidly scaling their businesses by providing subscribers with high-value offerings at price points that are disruptive to traditional TV economics,” says ASCAP Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Matthews. “ASCAP is expanding its premium plan structure to ensure that our composers have the ability to earn a viable living from top-streamed shows. This protects the economic value of their music in AV OTT programming by creating incentives to retain their future backend public performance royalties in their own deal making with production companies and streaming services.
“The board approved this change because ASCAP is committed to evolving its distribution rules to keep pace with the way music is consumed and licensed in the marketplace,” adds ASCAP Chairman of the Board of Directors Paul Williams. “ASCAP’s Audio-Visual Premium payments recognize the significant value that the music in top programs brings to ASCAP’s repertory. The Board’s action here ensures the highest good for all concerned and the future health of the ASCAP membership.”
ASCAP’s expanded Audio-Visual Premiums will take effect with the December 2021/January 2022 Publisher and Writer distributions.