Music News (5/31/17)

Songwriters Join CMA Foundation In Washington For Music Education Advocacy

Country Music Association Foundation and the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) in the on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo / Rod Lamkey Jr./CMA)

Jim Beavers, Drake White, Heather Morgan, and LOCASH joined CMA Foundation representatives in Washington Wednesday (May 24) and took their songs to the Hill to help advocate for music education initiatives. The four performed for elected officials during the annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Fly-In.

After a full day of meetings, the four also participated in the CMA Songwriters Series at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for special attendees including Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05), NAMM leadership, and representatives from the Washington Post, ESPN, PBS, and others. The Kennedy Center’s Turnaround Arts Program is a 2017 CMA Foundation grant recipient.

Kelsea Ballerini Moves Publishing To Sony/ATV

Pictured (L-R): Duane Clark (Flood, Bumstead, McCready, & McCarthy, Inc.), Mike Milom (Milom Horsnell Crow Rose Kelley PLC), Fletcher Foster (Iconic Entertainment), Kelsea Ballerini, Troy Tomlinson (Sony/ATV) and Josh Van Valkenburg (Sony/ATV)

Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed a new publishing deal with singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini. Ballerini, who remains signed as an artist to Black River Entertainment, had previously been with Black River Publishing since 2013.

Ballerini is the only country female to begin her career with three No. 1 singles, including “Love Me Like You Mean It,” “Dibs,” and “Peter Pan.” Her current single “Yeah Boy” is a Top 5 hit, and is the fourth and final single from her debut album The First Time.

On May 26, Ballerini will begin Lady Antebellum’s You Look Good World Tour as the featured supporting artist alongside Brett Young. Meanwhile, she has four nominations for the upcoming 2017 CMT Music Awards. The show airs live from Nashville June 7 at 8 p.m. ET. She will also team with Thomas Rhett to co-host the CMA Music Fest 2017 special, which will air this summer on ABC.

Jamie Floyd Joins Writer’s Den Music Group Roster

(L-R): Sarah Feldman (Creative Director, Writer’s Den Music Group) Bobby Rymer (Partner/GM, Writer’s Den Music Group) Jamie Floyd, Lydia Schultz (Manager, Creative Services SESAC)

Jamie Floyd has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Writer’s Den Music Group.

Floyd recently co-wrote the soundtrack to the Burt Reynolds film Dog Years. She is also a member of the duo Stranger Friends with John Martin, and the two are working on their debut album.

Floyd spoke to MusicRow earlier this year about her work in the recent documentary The Last Songwriter, which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in April. The documentary chronicles Floyd’s struggle to balance her creative pursuits as a Grammy-nominated songwriter with the necessity to make a living. At the time, Floyd said her (then unofficially announced) new deal made for a happy update to her story.

 

BMI Hosts Stage At 2017 Hangout Music Festival

Bassh performs on the BMI stage at Hangout Music Festival. Photo: Erika Goldring.

BMI once again hosted a stage at the 2017 Hangout Music Festival held May 19-21 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The lineup for BMI’s fifth annual stage featured performances by alternative duo Bassh, the pop/electronic group A R I Z O N A, power pop singer Fletcher, Nashville-based band The New Respects, and more.