Music News (2/18/26)

HYBE AMERICA Nashville Launches Blue Highway Records, Taps Jake Basden As CEO

Jake Basden. Photo: Allister Ann

HYBE AMERICA’s Nashville-based country, Americana and roots rock division will rebrand as Blue Highway Records, previously BMLG, effective immediately. Industry veteran Jake Basden has been appointed as Blue Highway Records’ Chief Executive Officer.

Blue Highway Records is home to Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Midland, Justin Moore, Carly Pearce, Preston Cooper, Jackson Dean and Mae Estes, as well as distribution for Riley Green, Shaylen, The Band Perry and Greylan James under Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment. The Valory Music Co. will be folded into Blue Highway Records. The publishing company Big Machine Music will remain under HYBE AMERICA.

Basden joins the company with deep relationships across music, film, television and live entertainment. He most recently served as President of Sandbox Management, where he oversaw all aspects of the talent division’s representation and business development. This new appointment marks a return to the company for Basden, who previously served as Senior Vice President of Communications for Big Machine Label Group.

This announcement follows the news that BMLG founder Scott Borchetta was exiting HYBE, and reacquiring the Big Machine Records brand.

Mary Kutter Inks With BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville

Pictured (L-R, front row): Peter Strickland, JoJamie Hahr, Mary Kutter, Jon Loba and Adrian Michaels. (L-R, back row): Steven Fuller, Charlie Pennachio, Jacob Summers, and Marc Oswald. Photo: Kevin Grace

Mary Kutter has inked with BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.

The Kentucky native has earned charting cuts by Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith, and Zach John King. She has amassed over one million followers across platforms.

In celebration of the announcement, Kutter has released her newest track, “Bed of Roses.” Kutter wrote the song alongside John Frank and Tom Pino, and it was produced by Kurt Allison and Tully Kennedy.

“‘Bed of Roses’ lives in the kind of storytelling country I grew up loving,” says Kutter. “I love songs that make you lean in, raise an eyebrow, and maybe laugh at the wrong moment. This song has teeth. It’s playful with its dark humor, and it doesn’t ask permission. Those are the songs that made me fall in love with this genre in the first place.”

Kutter is slated to play a run of festival shows later this year.

Sony Music Publishing & Kane Brown’s Verse 2 Music Sign Jonny Capeci

Pictured (back row): Rusty Gaston, (CEO Sony Music Publishing Nashville); (middle row, L-R): Kent Earls (Partner Verse 2 Music), Nikki Boon (Manager, Neon Coast); (front row, L-R): Kane Brown and Jonny Capeci. Photo: Riley Mays

Sony Music Publishing Nashville, in partnership with Kane Brown and industry veteran Kent Earls’ Verse 2 Music, have signed singer-songwriter Jonny Capeci to a global publishing agreement.

Lead singer of the Nashville-based alternative-pop band Nightly, Capeci’s vocals and introspective, experience-driven lyrics have defined Nightly’s unique sound, with the band amassing over 400 million streams worldwide and performing with artists like Brown, NF, The Midnight, Andy Grammer and Imagine Dragons.

As a songwriter, Capeci has worked alongside artists including Kane Brown, 24kGoldn, G Herbo, Carin León, Jake Miller, Ayokay and Valley. His recent songwriting credits include “Body Talk” by Kane and Katelyn Brown, which broke into Mediabase’s US Hot AC Radio charts, and Carin León’s “The One (Pero No Como Yo),” which was featured on the Grammy award-winning album Boca Chueca, Vol. 1.

His work has also landed prominent sync placements including Brown’s “Country Classic” from the Grammy-nominated Twisters soundtrack, as well as “My City” by 24kGoldn and Brown featuring G Herbo, which appeared on the Fast X soundtrack.

“I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Verse 2, Sony family. Kane, Kent, Rusty and the rest of the team are the best of the best and I’m grateful for their support in my music,” Capeci says.