Music News (1/26/22)

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Sea Gayle Music Ups Brandon Gregg To Senior Director Of Operations, Artist Services

Brandon Gregg

Sea Gayle Music has promoted Brandon Gregg to Senior Director of Operations, Artist Services. In this new role, he’ll be working closely with CEO Chris DuBois, helping to oversee day-to-day operations and business affairs.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with tremendous talent and friends at Sea Gayle Music,” says Gregg. “I look forward to stepping into this new role and accomplishing great things with our writers and staff.”

A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, Gregg has been with Sea Gayle Music for 19 years. He first joined the company as a Catalog Manager and most recently served as Director, Artist Services. He previously spent time at EMI Music Publishing before leaving in 2003.

“Brandon has been instrumental in the daily functions and growth of Sea Gayle over the past 19 years. I am thrilled to promote him to a new role,” Dubois adds. “I would also like to thank former Executive Vice President/General Manager Marc Driskill for his hard work and leadership over the past nine years. Marc’s contributions on both the creative and business sides have played a crucial role in the growth and success of our company. As difficult as it is to lose someone like Marc, his departure has created exciting new opportunities within the company.”

Sea Gayle was founded in 1999 by DuBois, Brad Paisley and Frank Rogers. The company represents the song catalogs of Paisley, Chris Stapleton, Brandy Clark, Jerrod Niemann and Bobby Pinson, among many more.
 

CJ Solar Joins EMPIRE’s Growing Country Roster

Pictured (L-R): Eric Hurt, VP A&R, Publishing, EMPIRE and CJ Solar. Photo: Thomas Chi

Rising singer-songwriter CJ Solar has signed with EMPIRE. His first single on the label, “The Future’s Neon,” is set for release Feb. 11. Solar’s first full-length album of the same name will be available later this spring.

Written alongside fellow Louisiana natives Blake Griffith and Jim McCormick, Solar produced the track with Nick Gibbens. With a co-writing credit on all nine cuts on The Future’s Neon, Solar also collaborated with Devin Barker, Kenton Bryant, Bart Butler, Frankie Courtney, Corey Crowder, Jackson Dean, Bob DiPiero, Aaron Eshius, Jeff Garrison, Hardy, Jason Lehning, Lynn Hutton, Joey Hyde, Billy Montana, and Lydia Vaughan throughout the project.

The Baton Rouge native and Belmont University graduate recently signed an exclusive writing agreement with Edgehill Music Publishing. He has penned No. 1 singles for Morgan Wallen (“Up Down” featuring Florida Georgia Line) and Jameson Rodgers (“Some Girls”). He has won ASCAP Awards for both songs and also co-wrote Jason Aldean’s “I Don’t Drink Anymore,” Justin Moore’s “Between You & Me,” Jerrod Niemann’s “The Regulars” and Top 30 “Blue Bandana,” among others.

As an artist, Solar has released three EPs, yielding Top 15 hits such as “American Girls” and “Airplane,” and the Top 10 “Coming My Way.” He has garnered over five million overall streams, and received the MusicRow Independent Artist of the Year Award in 2019. Solar hit the road earlier this month on the “Nashville Hits The Roof” concert tour with upcoming stops in Orlando on Feb. 3, Delray Beach on Feb. 4 and Birmingham on Feb. 25.

“Every artist wants to find a label that’s passionate about their music and career, and I’ve definitely found that with everyone at EMPIRE,” adds Solar. “I’m as excited about this relationship as I’ve ever been and can’t wait to get this new music out to the world!”
 

Reservoir Acquires Travis Tritt Publishing, Recorded Music Catalogs

Travis Tritt

Reservoir Media, Inc. has acquired Travis Tritt‘s publishing and recorded music catalogs. The deal includes shares of Tritt’s entire body of work, excluding his most recent album, Set In Stone.

A 2x Grammy winner, Tritt has seven Platinum or multi-Platinum album certifications and more than 30 million in career album sales. He has earned five No. 1s and twenty Top 10 hits, including “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” and “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares).” Tritt has also won four CMA Awards, was named Top New Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

“Travis is a pillar of the ‘90s country movement, and his influence continues to impact the genre and its chart resurgence today,” says Reservoir Executive Vice President of Creative, John Ozier. “The Reservoir team is so happy to be supporting both his publishing and master recordings, and building on our foundation of Country catalog classics with more of the genre’s biggest songs.”

Tritt was represented by Jordan Keller and Sarah Smith from Keller Turner Andrews & Ghanem, PLLC.
 

Anthem Entertainment Acquires Country Catalog From Hit Songwriter Kelly Archer

Kelly Archer. Photo: Nora Canfield

Anthem Entertainment has acquired a catalog of country hits from songwriter Kelly Archer. Anthem and RED Creative Group have also signed Archer to an exclusive publishing deal going forward.

The catalog includes “After a Few” by Travis Denning, which reached No. 1 and set a new record for spending over 60-weeks on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart. The acquisition also includes Platinum-certified singles “Somebody Else Will” by Justin Moore and “Sleep Without You” by Brett Young.

“Kelly Archer is more than a hit songwriter,” says Helen Murphy, CEO of Anthem Entertainment. “In addition to multiple No. 1 songs and numerous awards, she has always been ahead of her time, is an amazing talent, and a wonderful individual. I am thrilled to have her catalog at Anthem Music Publishing, and I am grateful that together with Jeremy Stover and the team at Red Creative we will work with her to create beautiful songs.”

Stover, founder of RED Creative Group, adds, “Kelly Archer is not only a prolific and extremely hard-working songwriter, she is also a supreme talent and one of the best in this town. We are excited to continue working with Kelly as we feel confident that she has only scratched the surface of what she is capable of. We look forward to partnering with her in this next chapter of her career.”

“I’m thrilled to continue working with Jeremy, Taylor [Lamb] and team RED. Jeremy has put together an eclectic group of creatives who work hard and motivate me to keep growing as a writer. I’m equally excited to partner with Helen, Tim [Wipperman], Gilles [Godard], and team Anthem. They have a really great creative staff that I’ve admired over my years in the business but never had the chance to work with until now,” shares Archer.