Music News 1/31/13

Major music rights stakeholders from around the world are working to build the first, single, comprehensive and authoritative representation of the global ownership and control of musical works.

On track to debut in 2015, the Global Repertoire Database (GRD) will offer improved music licensing processes for creators, publishers, collecting societies, and others, which is expected to save money currently lost to duplication in data processing.

Overseeing the project is the GRD Working Group, made up of representatives from 14 organizations including APRA, GEMA, PRS for Music, SACEM, STIM, CISAC, Sony/ATV/EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, ICMP, ECSA, Google, iTunes and Omnifone.

Supporting the project with funding, knowledge and access to their databases are ASCAP, BMI, APRA (Australia), BUMA (Netherlands), GEMA (Germany), PRS for Music (UK), STIM (Sweden), SACEM (France), SOCAN (Canada), SABAM (Belgium), SGAE (Spain), SIAE (Italy) and UBC (Brazil).

Read more at MusicRow.

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AIMP‘s social media panel, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 20 at ASCAP, has sold out.  The panel features Ariel Hyatt (Cyber PR), Wayne Leloy (Warner Music), Marcus Whitney (Moontoast) and John Barker (Clearbox Rights, LLC). They have also added moderator David M. Ross, who founded MusicRow magazine and recently released the book Secrets of the List. Ross received the Canadian Country Music Association’s Leonard T. Rambeau Award for International Achievement in 2003 and the CMA President’s Award in 1998. He also hosted the first CMA Awards Internet simulcast in 1997.

Pictured (L-R): Pat Higdon (Patrick Joseph Music), Jake Mitchell (seated) and Matt Pincus (Songs Music Publishing)

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Patrick Joseph Music has signed 21-year-old songwriter Jake Mitchell. Mitchell has had cuts for Austin Webb, including Webb’s first single, “It’s All Good.”

Adam Wright

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Singer-songwriter Adam Wright has signed with Frank Liddell‘s Carnival Music.

Wright currently has a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song for Alan Jackson‘s “So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore.”

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Pictured are (l-r): BMI’s David Preston, Tom Shapiro, and BMI’s Clay Bradley. Photo by Drew Maynard

BMI recently presented Tom Shapiro with Million-Air Awards for five of his songs at its Music Row office. One of Nashville’s most successful songwriters, Shapiro received Million-Air Awards for “She Never Lets it Go to Her Heart,” recorded by Tim McGraw (2 million performances); “That Ain’t My Truck,” recorded by Rhett Akins (3 million performances); “Wink,” recorded by Neal McCoy (4 million performances); “Nothin’ New Under the Moon,” recorded by LeAnn Rimes (1 million performances); and “When Boy Meets Girl,” recorded by Terri Clark (2 million performances). Shapiro is a four-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year and has penned 23 No. 1 hits.

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Pictured (L-R) Back: CMA Board President, Ed Hardy; Neil Thrasher; Rodney Clawson; Ben Hayslip; CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; Josh Kear; CMA Board Chairman, Troy Tomlinson; and Brantley Gilbert. Front: Eric Paslay; Dierks Bentley; Shane McAnally; and Chris Young. Photo credit: Donn Jones/CMA

CMA Triple Play Awards, honoring songwriters who pen three chart-topping hits in a 12-month period, were presented Jan. 29 at the CMA Songwriters Luncheon. Twelve songwriters achieved the feat: Dierks Bentley, Rodney Clawson, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Ben Hayslip, Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Shane McAnally, Eric Paslay, Neil Thrasher and Chris Young.

Presiding over the event at Marathon Music Works was CMA Board Chairman Troy Tomlinson, President and CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville. During the luncheon, he presented a $250,000 donation from the CMA Foundation to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation to help construct the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at the new Music City Center and “Songwriters Square,” an exterior plaza and walkway leading into the state-of-the-art Center, which will be engraved with the names of Songwriters Hall of Fame members and the titles of their most beloved compositions.

In alphabetical order, the recipients of CMA’s Triple Play Award:
Dierks Bentley: “Am I The Only One,” “Home,” “5-1-5-0”
Rodney Clawson: “Drink On It,” “Drunk On You,” “Take A Little Ride”
Eric Church: “Drink In My Hand,” “Springsteen,” “Creepin’”
Brantley Gilbert: “Dirt Road Anthem,” “Country Must Be Country Wide” “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”
Ben Hayslip: “Honey Bee,” “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
Dave Haywood: “Just A Kiss,” “We Owned The Night,” “Dancin’ Away With My Heart”
Josh Kear: “Dancin’ Away With My Heart,” “Drunk On You,” “Blown Away”
Charles Kelley: “Just A Kiss,” “We Owned The Night.” “Dancin’ Away With My Heart”
Shane McAnally: “Alone With You,” “Come Over,” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”
Eric Paslay: “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” “Angel Eyes”
Neil Thrasher: “Tattoos On This Town,” “Banjo,” “Fly Over States”
Chris Young: “Voices,” “Tomorrow,” “You”