Music News (02/28/24)

Dylan Scott Featured On The Cover Of MusicRow’s 2024 Country Radio & Streaming Issue

MusicRow, Nashville’s leading music industry publication, virtually revealed the winners for the 2024 CountryBreakout Awards today (Feb. 27). The 22nd annual CountryBreakout Award winners were announced on all MusicRow online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Ahead of Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2024, winners were determined by spin performance on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart in 2023.

The 2024 winners included Male Artist of the Year Morgan Wallen (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic Records), Female Artist of the Year Lainey Wilson (Broken Bow Records/BMG Nashville), Group/Duo of the Year Dan + Shay (Warner Music Nashville), Breakout Artist of the Year Megan Moroney (Columbia Records/Sony Music Nashville), Independent Artist of the Year BoomTown Saints (8 Track Entertainment) and Label Group of the Year UMG Nashville. KRWQ’s Bryce Burtner took home the Reporter of the Year title, while Ashley Gorley was named Songwriter of the Year for the fifth time.

MusicRow Magazine’s 2024 Country Radio & Streaming Issue was also released today, with Curb Records’ Dylan Scott on the cover.

Single copies of MusicRow‘s 2024 Country Radio & Streaming Issue are available for purchase at musicrow.com for $25, and are included with yearly MusicRow subscriptions.

ASCAP Delivers Record-Breaking $1.737 Billion In Revenues

ASCAP delivered a record-breaking $1.737 billion in revenue in the 2023 calendar year with $1.592 billion available for royalty distributions to its members—the highest revenue and royalty distributions reported by any U.S. performing rights organization (PRO), and an increase of $204 million or 14.7 percent over the prior year.

The revenues represent an increase of $215 million or 14.1 percent over 2022. ASCAP increased the value and monetization of its members’ music with domestic revenue from U.S.-licensed performances surpassing $1.327 billion, which is an increase of $149 million or 12.6 percent over the prior year. In 2023, audio streaming revenue rose 21 percent, general licensing revenue rose 23 percent, radio revenue rose 10 percent and audio-visual revenue rose three percent. Total foreign revenues for performances outside the U.S. were $410 million, up $66 million or 19.3 percent over the prior year.

Since the launch of ASCAP’s strategic growth plan in 2015, its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for Total Revenue through 2023 has increased to seven percent, and the CAGR for Total Distributions over the same time period rose to eight percent.

Total funds available for domestic distributions of ASCAP U.S.-licensed and administered performances were $1.217 billion, an increase of $169 million or 16.1 percent, based solely on U.S. performances of works by ASCAP-licensed songwriter, composer and publisher members. Of that total, $53 million was distributed through Songwize, ASCAP’s royalty administration service provided to members who directly license their works, up 16.8 percent over 2022.

Ryan Beaver Signs With Spirit Music Nashville/2 Mix Music

Pictured (L-R, back row): AJ Burton (Vice President, Spirit Music Nashville/Fluid Music Revolution), Mike Fiorentino (Director of A&R/Production, Spirit Music Nashville), Ryan Beaver and Andy Hodges (Creative Coordinator, Spirit Music Nashville); (L-R, front row): Kara Jackson (Senior Creative Director, Spirit Music Nashville), Derek Wells (Vice President, A&R/Production, Spirit Music Nashville/2 Mix Music), Frank Rogers (Chief Creative Officer, Spirit Music Group/Chief Executive Officer, Spirit Music Nashville) and Kennedy Murphy (Creative Coordinator, Spirit Music Nashville). Photo: Courtesy of Spirit Music Group

Singer-songwriter Ryan Beaver has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Spirit Music Nashville/2 Mix Music.

Beaver is also celebrating his first No. 1 as a songwriter with Warren Zeiders‘ “Pretty Little Poison.” He co-wrote the track alongside Zeiders and Jared Keim.

The Texas native has been writing and performing since he was 17. As an artist, Beaver has released three albums including 2016’s Rx, on which he co-wrote 10 of the 12 tracks, and has toured with The Cadillac Three, Ashley Monroe, Lee Ann Womack, Dwight Yoakam and more. He was nominated for Rising Independent Artist-Writer of the Year in 2017 at the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Nashville Country Awards, and took home Rising Songwriter of the Year in 2023.

Beaver also co-wrote Dustin Lynch‘s “Party Mode,” which was the second single on Lynch’s fifth studio album Blue In the Sky, and hit No. 17 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. His other credits include songs recorded by Blake Shelton, Ryan Hurd, Hardy, Larry Fleet, Parker McCollum, Josh Abbott and Luke Bryan, among others.