Category: Music Industry News

Mechanical Licensing Collective gets go-ahead from U.S. Copyright

MLC will oversee collection of digital royalties for songwriters

By Preshias Harris

U.S.-based songwriters have a new champion in their corner. In July, the U.S. Copyright Office chose the industry-consensus Mechanical Licensing Collective, or MLC, to be the new agency to oversee licensing of digital mechanical royalties for American songwriters.

“The cost of collecting our royalties is, for the first time, paid for by the streaming companies instead of being deducted from our songwriter earnings.” – Steve Bogard, President, NSAI

As digital distribution of music grows and CD sales decline, songwriters have found it increasingly difficult to track royalties that are rightfully theirs.  The Music Modernization Act (MMA) became law in October 2018 and set in motion the process to appoint an entity to oversee licensing of digital royalties.

Prior to the adoption of the Music Modernization Act, streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music themselves were responsible for identifying copyright owners and paying royalties.  However, in many instances, streaming companies were using songs without proper licenses.  In such cases, music publishers and songwriters had to resort to costly lawsuits or simply give up the fight. Now, the MLC will be charged with identifying songwriters and copyright owners and paying them royalties when their songs are played on a music streaming service.

Strong approval from songwriters

Continue reading “Mechanical Licensing Collective gets go-ahead from U.S. Copyright”

Jordan Davis’ No. 1 party was a family affair

“Take It From Me” co-written with brother Jacob Davis and Jason Gantt

By Preshias Harris

It was a family affair – sort of – for Jordan Davis as he celebrated his second Number One song.  The family tie-in?  He co-wrote the song, “Take It From Me,” with his brother Jacob Davis along with Jason Gantt. It was a “number one” in more ways than one: this was the first No. 1 as writers for both Jacob and Jason.

L to R: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Jason Gantt at the No. 1 party. Photo credit: Preshias Harris

Jordan, Jacob and Jason met with media to talk about the song before the official presentations hosted by the performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI. The party took place at the venue Ruby in Nashville on Tuesday, July 30.

Exactly one year to the day

I asked Jordan if he realized it was exactly one year ago – July 30, 2018 – that we had all gotten together to celebrate his previous No. 1.

“Oh my gosh, you’re right!” he said. “Hey, have you been talking to my mama? She reminded me yesterday that it was exactly four years to the day that Jacob and me played the Bluebird Café for the first time!”

Jordan made a point of thanking the songwriters in Nashville who accepted him even “when I wasn’t writing good songs like this.”  He said those writers continued to stick with him instead of kicking him out and replacing him with another writer.

Second No. 1 from Home State

Continue reading “Jordan Davis’ No. 1 party was a family affair”

Morgan Wallen raises a toast with “Whiskey Glasses”

Happy heartbreak song written by Ben Burgess and Kevin Kadish honored at No. 1 party

 By Preshias Harris

Some songs just hit you right away, and that’s how it was for Morgan Wallen when he heard the demo for “Whiskey Glasses.”

“I heard it and we were like, Hell yeah!” said Morgan during the media meeting prior to the presentations.  He and the song’s two writers, Ben Burgess and Kevin Kadish were at the Sutler in Nashville on Monday, July 29 to celebrate the chart-topping success of “Whiskey Glasses.”  The song is the third single from Morgan’s debut album, If I Know Me, produced by Joey Moi. The celebration was hosted by ASCAP and BMI.

(L to R): Kevin Kadish, Morgan Wallen, Ben Burgess. Photo: Steve Lowry

Morgan received national attention when he competed on season 6 of The Voice in 2014 where he joined Team Usher and was later ‘stolen’ by Team Adam Levine.  Although Morgan was ultimately eliminated in the Playoffs, his performance led to a record deal with Big Loud Records and the album If I Know Me.

Morgan knocked Blake Shelton from No. 1 spot

Continue reading “Morgan Wallen raises a toast with “Whiskey Glasses””

Summer NAMM 19 rocked Nashville

An in-depth immersion in the music industry

By Preshias Harris

L to R: Jess Farmer, Heidi Newfield, Mikayla Lane. Jess and Mikayla were excited to know that she has a new album fixing to drop in just a few short weeks. Photo: Preshias Harris

Summer NAMM 2019 is now one for the history books, but once again, it was a three-day ‘Musical Mecca’ for anyone whose life revolves around the world of music.

I was there for all three days at Nashville’s Music City Center. Although I have attended Summer NAMM many times (and occasionally the even larger ‘winter’ NAMM in Anaheim, California) it was a joy to experience the excitement through the eyes and ears of the emerging singers and songwriters who accompanied me to this year’s event.

The Make Music Experience

NAMM is a trade-only business show catering to domestic and international dealers and distributors.  However, for the second year running, Saturday was designated the ‘Make Music Experience,’ an all-day, all-access event for music enthusiasts to demo the latest music and pro audio gear from top manufacturers.

Once again, the Make Music Experience was a ‘Who’s Who’ of Nashville’s musical talent with well-known recording artists and musicians mingling with the non-pro visitors who were able to get a taste of what the music industry is all about.

Lee Roy Parnell at the Gibson booth. Photo: Catrina Engelby

Continue reading “Summer NAMM 19 rocked Nashville”

Michael Ray celebrates at Grand Ole Opry

His third No. 1: “One That Got Away”

By Preshias Harris

It was party time backstage at the Grand Ole Opry as Warner Music Nashville recording artist Michael Ray celebrated his Number One song, “One That Got Way.” The party, co-hosted by ASCAP and BMI, honored the song’s writers Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen Jesse Frasure and Josh Osborne. “One That Got Away” is Michael’s third No. 1.

L to R: Josh Osborne, Michael Ray, Jesse Frasure, WMN’s Adrian Michaels and Cris Lacy. Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry

Osborne and Frasure joined in the celebration, but Ramsey and Rosen (both members of Old Dominion) were unavailable as they were on tour.

“Treated me like a brother”

“It ain’t a party without a cake!” Photo: Shannon McCombs

My BFF and fellow Kentuckian, Shannon McCombs, was at the event, reporting on behalf of her weekly syndicated CDX Country News feature.  Shannon asked Michael about the artists he looks up to, like Mark Wills and Travis Tritt and what its like to have them as outspoken fans of his.

“Mark Wills, Travis, Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence, Dailey and Vincent… I could go on and on about the artists that have treated me like a brother from day one,” replied Michael.  “These are the guys that are the reason I started playing guitar.  I was learning their songs when they would come on the radio, with my acoustic guitar. I would listen to them with my dad and now I’m able to introduce them to my dad. It’s like this beautiful circle.”

About the writers…

Continue reading “Michael Ray celebrates at Grand Ole Opry”

Eli Young Band celebrates “Love Ain’t” at No. 1 party

4th Number One for multi-platinum band

by Preshias Harris

It was celebration time on Monday, July 15, for the Eli Young Band and three of America’s hottest songwriters.  They were joined by record label executives, music publishers and other music industry bigwigs at the Sutler in Nashville. The reason? A Number One party for Eli Young Band’s fourth career chart-topper, “Love Ain’t.”

L to R; Jon Jones, James Young, Mike Eli, Chris Thompson, Ashley Gorley. Photo credit: Preshias Harris

The guys in the Eli Young Band are some of Nashville’s most respected musicians with a career together stretching back more than twenty years.  “Love Ain’t” is their first No. 1 song in six years.

“How do you keep your band cool for twenty years?  Well, you never veer from your artistic vision or the integrity of every note that you play.” – Scott Borchetta, CEO, Big Machine Label Group

“Love Ain’t” was written by three songwriting superstars: Shane McAnally, Ashley Gorley and Ross Copperman.  It was the 42nd No. 1 for Gorley and the 19th No. 1 for Copperman, a two-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year.  With numerous No. 1 credits, McAnally is also one of the on-screen talent producers for the NBC-TV reality series ‘Songland.’

How “Love Ain’t” got to Eli Young

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Garage Tapes: Exile releases long-lost demo treasures

30-track double album launched ‘underground’

by Preshias Harris

Not many bands can claim a history going back fifty-five years with five original members from the 1980s still touring today.  One of those rare bands is Exile who have scored chart hits in both the pop and country genres.

On Saturday, July 13, I spent the afternoon underground with Exile. The band was celebrating the release of their new album, The Garage Tapes, in The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee.  It was sweltering hot and humid outside but refreshingly cool inside the Caverns as Exile took the stage to answer questions during the sound check prior to the show.

Exile perming at The Caverns for the release of ‘The Garage Tapes.’Photo: Bev Moser, B! Noticed P.R.

The Garage Tapes is a 30-track double album consisting of tracks that have remained largely unheard since they were recorded between 1979 and 1982.  In answer to my question, Exile’s J.P. Pennington said the tracks were originally just demos (demonstration recordings) of songs that were recorded at LEMCO Studios in Lexington, KY.

“Cecil Jones, the owner of LEMCO was a big fan of ours,” said J.P.  “So that’s how it sort of came about. In exchange for us working as session musicians, he’d give us studio time.  We’d go in there almost every night for weeks, months.” Continue reading “Garage Tapes: Exile releases long-lost demo treasures”

Musicians Hall of Fame announces 2019 inductees

Alabama, Steve Wariner, Don Everly and more to be honored

Joe Bonamassa at the Musicians Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Mike Harris

Some famous names – and some not-so-well-known names—were announced this afternoon, Tuesday, July 16, at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum.  A group of musicians, media and fans gathered to hear guitar wizard Joe Bonamassa announce the 2019 inductees to the Musicians Hall of Fame. The inductees will be honored with a concert on October 22, 2019 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Noting that he had recently moved to Nashville, Bonamassa wryly said, “I guess I’m part of the problem, not the solution.”  He then announced the 2019 inductees.

This year’s inductees at the October ceremony will be:

  • Felix Cavaliere – keyboardist with the (Young) Rascals
  • Steve Wariner – guitarist and singer-songwriter
  • The Surfaris – for the song “Wipe Out”
  • Don Everly – of the Everly Brothers, who will receive the Iconic Riff Award
  • ALABAMA – the band will receive the first ever Life Time Achievement Award
  •  The Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section – who started it all at Fame Studios
  • The Nashville A-Team – the iconic session musicians
  • The Muscle Shoals Horn Section
  • Owen Bradley – this year’s Musicians Hall of Fame Producer
  • Billy Sherrill – recipient of this year’s Engineer Award
  • Bob Taylor – Taylor Guitars founder will receive the Industry Icon Award

(Scroll down for more details on all of the 2019 Musicians Hall of Fame honorees)

Pre-sale tickets will be available August 2, 2019 for Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum members (to become a member click here ). Tickets will be on sale to the public on August 5, 2019 through the Schermerhorn Symphony Center box office.

More Information on the inductees: Continue reading “Musicians Hall of Fame announces 2019 inductees”

Songwriters: urge Congress to support Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act

CASE Act will help you fight infringement of your copyrights – affordably

by Preshias Harris

As a songwriter, imagine this nightmare situation:  You are watching TV and a commercial comes on with a music track that sounds familiar. Very familiar.  Hey, wait a minute! They’re using part of your song!  But do you really have the resources to hire a legal team and the time to fight a lengthy and costly battle against a multinational corporation in federal court?  That’s just one scenario where you, as a creator, might feel helpless in protecting your copyrights and holding on to your intellectual property.

Copyright Alliance is urging the creative community (including songwriters and independent music publishers) to support pending legislation that would create a copyright small claims court for creators. In many cases, individuals and small businesses have reason to believe their intellectual property copyrights have been violated but feel powerless to act because of the high cost of legal action associated with a claim in federal court.  The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) of 2019 has been introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2426) and the Senate (S. 1273).

Create affordable Creators’ Small Claims Court

Continue reading “Songwriters: urge Congress to support Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act”

July ‘Inside Track on Music Row’

Column posted and ready to read now

My monthly column, ‘Inside Track on Music Row’ is now posted at Nashville Music Guide’s website.  It is the longest continually-running monthly country music column in the USA.

As always, my thanks to Amanda and the NMG staff for making ‘Inside Track’ the best looking (and most read) country music feature on the Web!

Among this month’s 30+ music news items in the column…

  •  Exile to celebrate new double album with fans & industry, July 13
  • Brett Young’s Acoustic Sessions EP set for September release
  • Blake Shelton joins Garth Brooks in ‘Fun’ Dive Bar duet
  • NAMM Music Industry Day set for July 20
  • Scroll down for brief summaries and links
ALBUM NEWS

A little over forty years have passed and over 8 million records have been sold, including three Gold records and eleven number one hit songs since Exile began making music in a small garage in Lexington, Kentucky making demos of their songs. Exile will now share their most current CD project, Exile – The Garage Tapes.  The 30 song, two CD compilation is set for release in the upcoming weeks.  Industry and fans are invited to celebrate at a VIP CD release event to take place in the cave at The Caverns in Pelham, TN on July 13. … Read the full story here. Continue reading “July ‘Inside Track on Music Row’”