Music News (4/19/23)

Leslie DiPiero Named President Of Jonas Group Publishing

Leslie DiPiero. Photo: Gene Reed

After joining the Nashville creative community in 2020, full service entertainment company Jonas Group Entertainment (JGE) has announced the appointment of Music Row veteran Leslie DiPiero as President of Jonas Group Publishing.

In her new role, DiPiero will sign and develop songwriters and producers, while nurturing the current writers and catalog. Reporting to JGE CEO Phil Guerini, DiPiero and the team plan to expand their overall Nashville footprint with catalog acquisitions, recordings and sync opportunities.

Current JGP songwriters include Franklin Jonas, who recently released his debut single, “Cocaine,” and Terri Jo Box whose recent cuts include “Hillbilly Hippie” (Lainey Wilson) and “God Bless The Boy” (Cody Johnson).

“Working with Phil Guerini and Kevin Jonas Sr. is an honor and privilege for me,” says DiPiero. “These two individuals have a longstanding friendship based on honesty and integrity. What brought us together is a shared passion and inspired direction towards helping creators reach their goals and dreams.”

DiPiero will launch this new chapter of her career on May 31, while simultaneously exiting her position at Tree Vibez Music, where she led the building of a powerhouse publishing company. In her six years as General Manager, Tree Vibez Music produced more than 500 cuts, 50 singles, of which 23 reached No. 1.

Warner Chappell Music & Twelve 6 Entertainment Sign Emma Klein

Pictured (L-R, front row): Katy Wolaver, Emma Klein, Travis Myatt; (L-R, back row): Ben Vaughn, Willow Belenski, Alaina Maggart, Chelsea Junker, Bryce Sherlow

Warner Chappell Music and Twelve 6 Entertainment have signed a global publishing deal with singer-songwriter Emma Klein.

Klein appeared on season two of American Idol, and released her debut single “Call It What It Is” in 2019. The track received a prominent feature on The Bobby Bones Show and now has over two million streams on Spotify alone. That same year she had the opportunity to open for Bobby Bones on his tour throughout the U.S.

She has since become known for her viral TikTok hits, “Mood Swing” and “Still Gonna Love Ya,” which have led to her opening for artists such as Dermot Kennedy.

Of the signing, Katy Wolaver, Sr. VP of A&R at Warner Chappell Music, shares, “Emma has an incredible ability to craft a song with lyrics that are universally relatable with beautiful melodies. She also has a warmth in her voice that pulls you in as soon as you hear the first note and we couldn’t be more proud to be working with her and the Twelve 6 team at this point in her career.”

Travis Myatt, General Manager, Twelve 6 Entertainment, adds, “I’ve had the opportunity to watch Emma Klein grow as an artist and a songwriter over the past couple of years, but what has never changed is Emma’s ability to dig deep and offer a unique perspective through her songs on topics we can all relate to. I am beyond thrilled to partner with Katy and the Warner Chappell team to take Emma to the next level.”

Hang Your Hat Music Adds To Team

Emily Baldridge

Hang Your Hat Music, a creative joint venture with Concord Music Publishing founded by Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Hillary Lindsey, announced the hiring of Emily Baldridge as Creative Manager.

In this new role, Baldrige will report to Hang Your Hat’s Executive Vice President, Jake Gear, and will be responsible for assisting with writer relations, daily operations and liaising across Concord’s Publishing creative team in Nashville including Senior Director, A&R, Courtney Allen.

Baldridge, a Tulane University graduate, joins Hang Your Hat from her previous role as Creative Coordinator at Peermusic. Prior to Peermusic she spent time at Live Nation, as a research associate at BMI and as a creative intern at Sony Music Publishing.

Hang Your Hat’s roster includes songwriters Chris La Corte, Meg McRee, Ben Chapman and Cary Barlowe, who have celebrated recent cuts with Morgan Wallen, Cole Swindell, Tyler Hubbard, Keith Urban, Chris Young and more.