SESAC Announces Date For 2025 Nashville Music Awards
The SESAC Nashville Music Awards will take place on Sunday, Nov. 16, kicking off CMA Awards week in Nashville. The invitation-only event will celebrate performers in the country and Americana genres, including Song of the Year, Publisher of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
“We’re thrilled to once again have the opportunity to honor our songwriters and publishers here in Nashville,” says Shannan Hatch, SVP, Head of Nashville Creative. “We love celebrating the music they make and the lives they touch with their craft.”
Previous award winners include Lee Brice, Megan Moroney, Zac Brown, Dillon Carmichael, Blanco Brown, Sierra Ferrell, Chris LaCorte, Jon Nite, Hillary Scott and more.
The 59th annual CMA Awards will return to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
BMI Introduces Songwriter Series ‘BMI Presents At The Listening Room’
Pictured (L-R, back row): BMI’s MaryAnnKeen, Sony Music Publishing’s Tom Luteran, BMI’s Jackson Kiger, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, BMI’s Lilly Brown, Sony Music Publishing’s Aubrey Landon and Sony Music Publishing’s Taylor Ratkovich; (L-R, front row): Patrick Murphy, Lindsay Rimes, Averie Bielski, Ryan Larkins, Sony Music Publishing’s Synnovea Halsel; Photo: Savannah Spencer
BMI hosted the first installment of “BMI Presents at The Listening Room” on Wednesday (Aug. 27), a new showcase created to spotlight BMI songwriters signed to publishers.
The inaugural round, hosted by BMI’s Leslie Roberts, featured a lineup from Sony Music Publishing that included Averie Bielski, Ryan Larkins, Patrick Murphy and Lindsay Rimes.
To kick off the event, Murphy performed songs including “Lonely Left,” Dylan Scott’s “Back Forty,” “Slow Song Fast Car,” and his Tim McGraw hit “Standing Room Only.” Larkins followed with “Bones,” “Here for A Reason,” McGraw’s “Hold On To It,” and 2024 NSAI Song of the Year, Cody Johnson’s “The Painter.”
Bielski’s set included “Gettin’ Old,” recorded by Scotty McCreery and Callista Clark, as well as “Easy Whiskey.” She also joined Murphy on “Made for Movin’ On.” Rimes closed out the round with Charles Kelley’s “Can’t Lose You,” Kane Brown’s “Heaven,” Nate Smith’s “Whiskey On You,” and 10-week chart-topper “World On Fire.”
The series will continue on Oct. 14 with a round featuring songwriters signed to Big Machine Music.
Sony Music Publishing Nashville Signs Aniston Pate
Pictured (L-R): Rusty Gaston, Emily Carignan, Aniston Pate and Tom Luteran. Photo: Savannah Spencer
Sony Music Publishing Nashville has signed rising singer-songwriter Aniston Pate to a global publishing agreement.
Hailing from Texas, Pate is a recent Belmont University grad, where she ended her college experience with a win at the university’s iconic Country Showcase. She has recently earned success with releases including “Honky Tonk Without a Woman,” and is working on a new project alongside acclaimed producers Rob Williford and Aaron Raitiere.
Pate shares, “I want to say thank you to everyone in the Sony team for believing in my songs. Thank you to Emily Carignan for sticking by my side. Thank you to my friends that make even the hardest of times fun. Thank you to Mom and Ian for helping me believe I could do this. And thank you to the Lord for every time He heard me pray.”
Sony Music Publishing Nashville Vice President, Creative A&R Tom Luteran adds, “Aniston is a true unicorn as an artist. When Emily Carignan first played me her music I was intrigued, and when I met her, I was hooked – we both can’t wait for the rest of the world to hear this budding superstar.”
AIMP Nashville To Host ‘State of the Music Publishing Industry’
David Israelite
The Nashville Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) is set to host “State of the Music Publishing Industry: An Update from David Israelite,” taking place Sept. 23 at 11:00 a.m. at The Listening Room Café in Nashville.
Israelite is the President and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA). Since taking the helm of the NMPA in 2005, he has overseen groundbreaking victories on behalf of publishers and songwriters, including the largest Copyright Royalty Board rate increase in history, landmark royalty agreements with streaming platforms, and the passage of the Music Modernization Act, which created the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC). Named multiple times to Billboard’s Power 100, Israelite also serves on the boards of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Special Olympics DC, and previously served on the board of the Country Music Association (CMA). In addition, he is President of the NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation, which supports emerging songwriters through scholarships and direct services.
“David’s leadership has been pivotal in shaping the legal and business framework that underpins our entire industry,” says AIMP Nashville President, John Ozier. “We’re thrilled to host him in Nashville for what promises to be an invaluable session for publishers, songwriters and industry professionals navigating today’s rapidly changing landscape.”
Registration information is available here.