Artist & Industry News

Alan Jackson – the recipient of 21 prior ACM Awards in his storied career – became part of Academy of Country Music history last night, as he became the first person to be honored with a new award that will carry his name moving forward. Jackson is the inaugural recipient of the Academy’s new Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award. Presented...

Yesterday, the winners of the Songwriter of the Year category were revealed in two special moments ahead of tonight’s 60th Academy of Country Music Awards, which airs live at 7pm CST / 8pm EST live from Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, TX. For the second year in a row, Jessie Jo Dillon earned the award in an on-stage...

Morgan Wallen returns to London following his record breaking 2024 Hyde Park headlining set for an intimate show at the Roundhouse. The one-night-only show will take place at Camden’s Roundhouse on Wednesday 28th May, celebrating the release of his latest album I’m The Problem. The only way for fans to gain access to the exclusive ticket sale is to pre-order I’m The...

Nashville-based management, artist development, and production company Whale Tale Music has won its first-ever ACM Award for Visual Media of the Year for Ella Langley feat. Riley Green’s “you look like you love me” official music video. Whale Tale’s Wales Toney and John Park co-directed the award-winning clip with Langley, which totals over 37M+ views on YouTube alone. This was...

Following the success of his second No.1, Blake Shelton’s "Texas,” songwriter Lalo Guzman is officially extending his global publishing deal with SMACKSongs. The AIMP Rising Songwriter of the Year nominee first joined the SMACK family in 2020, and wasted no time in leaving his mark, landing his first No. 1 at country radio with "Cowboy Songs,” recorded by George Birge....

The 29th annual Key West Songwriters Festival presented by BMI was held from April 30-May and featured over 250 BMI multi-genre songwriters, where they performed their favorite hits. The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association and Rams Head Presents provided multi-day offerings of free and ticketed shows across 50 venues featuring veteran songwriters to the next big hitmakers. BMI songwriters arrived...

Big Loud Texas has announced the addition of its publishing arm, Big Loud Texas Publishing, with inaugural signee Timothy Allen and the hire of Lizzy Rector as Publishing Director. Based in Austin, the newly formed publishing division will work hand-in-hand with Big Loud Texas’ co-founders Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall. “I grew up listening to incredible storytellers like Guy Clark and Emmylou Harris,” shares Lambert. “Hearing their music made me...

WME announces today that Alexis Rosenberg has been appointed to the newly created role of Sr. Director, External Relations in the agency’s Nashville office. In this position, Rosenberg will work closely with the agency’s Corporate Communications and Marketing teams and serve as a key ambassador between the Nashville office and the broader Nashville business community, the music industry, sports ventures...

Tyler Nance released his second EP, I'm Not Him, this past Friday, May 2. The five-track project features his latest three singles, along with two intimate, raw tracks. Prior to ever pressing play, listeners can identify Nance's unwavering commitment to originality and transparency by setting eyes on the EP's cover art, which features a mugshot of the Missouri native. The title...

The Country Music Association brought together some of the biggest names in songwriting on Tuesday, April 29, during the 2025 CMA Triple Play Awards taking place at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University. Celebrating the storytellers behind Country Music’s biggest hits, the event honored 16 exceptional songwriters who have penned three No. 1 songs within a...

Maddie & Tae released their fourth studio album Love & Light via Mercury Nashville today. The album release came after the duo played an electrifying first-ever headlining show at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium to a packed crowd last night. At the show, Maddie & Tae were surprised with plaques celebrating the success of two of their songs; “Die From A...

Multi-instrumental singer-songwriter and GRAMMY / ACM nominated Chandler Walters released his first song, “Worth The Trouble,” yesterday. The new song is featured on DeVille Records' inaugural project Cadillac Sessions, out May 7 – and follows ERNEST's collaboration “Gettin' Gone (feat. Snoop Dogg),” Rhys Rutherford's “Southern Belle” and Cody Lohden's “Tail Light, Porch Light, Miller Lite.” “Making music alongside my brothers ERN,...

WME has signed singer-songwriter Ian Harrison for global representation. He will be supported across multiple departments. A Columbus, Ohio native, Harrison first captured national attention as a standout contestant on Season 22 of NBC's The Voice. He has continued to build his career with a sound rooted in authentic country and folk influences. “I'm incredibly excited to take this next step...

Tape Room Music is celebrating a company-wide standout afternoon at the 2025 Country Music Association Triple Play Awards, where five of its writers were honored with six awards at the April 29 ceremony, which recognizes the songwriters behind some of the genre’s most notable No. 1 hits. Tape Room Music founder and most decorated recipient Ashley Gorley received his 25th...

When it comes to boundaryless country music, Ink is the moment. Doubling down on her noteworthy creative accomplishments, GRAMMY®-nominated artist Ink today announces her signing with Big Loud Records and Electric Feel Records, with management by SALXCO. “Signing with Big Loud and Electric Feel Records feels like the beginning of a new chapter, one where I can truly embrace my sound...

Kacey Musgraves has signed to Nashville-based Lost Highway Records. The 8x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter is the first artist signed by the relaunched label – and she was the final artist signed to Lost Highway in 2011. In 2012, Lost Highway was absorbed by Mercury Nashville while she was working on her debut studio album, Same Trailer, Different Park. “Lost Highway was always...

Warner Chappell Music (WCM) Nashville and Morgan Wallen’s publishing company, Wilder Music, have signed a global publishing deal with singer-songwriter Jared Mullins. Known for his dynamic songwriting, he has co-written several No. 1 hits, including “Thank God” by Kane Brown featuring Katelyn Brown, which topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, as well as Jake Owen’s “Homemade,” which topped both Billboard’s Country Airplay and...

BMI launched into the seventh season of its signature series, Rooftop On The Row,presented by George Dickel Whisky, last night with buzzing newcomers Thomas Edwards, Colt Graves and THEBROSFRESH. The invitation-only event offered more than three hours of music as hundreds of industry guests took in the Music City skyline from BMI's Nashville office. Attendees were offered complimentary cocktails, food...

Acclaimed music executive and award-winning artist advocate Leslie Fram has officially announced her much-anticipated business venture, FEMco (Fram Entertainment & Music) - a bold new consulting collective offering Fram’s highly sought-after expertise in the areas of Artist Development, Talent Booking & Production, and B2B Connection to Nashville’s entertainment community. With over three decades of accumulated experience spanning rock radio, pop...

Breakout singer-songwriter Evan Bartels has signed with WME for global representation across all areas. Bartels recently signed with famed Lost Highway Records and will release To Make You Cry, his debut EP for the iconic label on May 23. Raised in the tiny town of Tobias, Nebraska, Bartels delivers a masterclass in storytelling on To Make You Cry, crafting a sweeping, cinematic...

Steve Earle was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry last night by Opry member and longtime friend Vince Gill. The Academy Award winner and Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member has been called one of the most influential singer/songwriters of the past 30 years. His songs have been covered by artists including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Waylon...

Leon Majcen, a quickly rising artist-songwriter whose “lyricism continues to prove he is wise beyond his years” (Whiskey Riff), dropped his third studio album, Better Days on April 25. Prioritizing authenticity and originality, Majcen consistently delivers easily recognizable music that sticks with you long after its last note. The eight-track project opens with the reimagined version of his beloved track “Blue Sky,"...

Big Loud Texas country traditionalist Jake Worthington has released “It Ain't The Whiskey,” which amassed over 25 million pre-release listens across viral clips teasing the track. “I tend to write songs from the research department,” shares Worthington. “First year I was married me and my wife found ourselves in the back of a cop car. That's what this one's about.” Written...

Award-winning, multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter Jordan Davis announced his next album, Learn The Hard Way, will be released on August 15 via MCA Nashville. Alongside the album announcement, Jordan released the title track “Learn The Hard Way” today. Learn The Hard Way comes on the heels of Jordan’s recent tour announcement for the Ain’t Enough Road Tour set to kick off fall...