SMP Nashville, in partnership with Verse 2 Music, has inked two-time RIAA Gold country artist/songwriter Dylan Schneider to a global pub deal. 

The BBR Music Group/Wheelhouse Records up-and-comer made waves with his single “Ain’t Missin’ You,” which is climbing country radio after topping TikTok’s viral country music playlist and amassing 121m+ views, 121k+ videos creations and 30m+ streams—contributing to his 300m+ global streams. He also earned his stripes as a Top 5 songwriter on Dustin Lynch’s “Momma’s House.”

Now, Schneider is on tour with Scotty McCreery, after wrapping dates with Kane Brown and Tyler Hubbard, and he’s set to join Nate Smith’s 2024 tour that will kick off in January. Previously, he’s hit the road with Morgan Wallen, Dan + Shay, LANCO, Mitchell Tenpenny, Niko Moon and more.

“It’s an honor to have Dylan in the family. He’s such a talented artist and songwriter,” said Brown.

“I’ve respected Kane for so long, so I’m thrilled to join the Verse 2/SMP family. Writing songs for myself and other artists is so rewarding, I can’t believe I get to call this work,” added Schneider.

“Dylan is not only an incredible artist but an equally talented songwriter,” said Verse 2 Music partner Kent Earls. “We are excited to partner with him and his team to create some musical history.”

“Dylan Schneider is a proven hitmaker who is poised for even more, and he will be a great addition to the Verse 2 family. I’m also very excited about what Kane and Kent are building at Verse 2 – with three #1 singles in their first three years of business, I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish next,” shared SMP Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston. 

Seen above not missing us, even in the slightest, are (l-r) Neon Coast’s Joey Russ; Earls; Schneider; Brown; Neon Coast’s Martha Earls; and Gaston.

Photo Credit: Alex Alvga

Award-winning singer-songwriter Shy Carter has teamed up with breakout country artist Frank Ray for their collaboration, “Jesus at the Taco Truck.”

Released via Warner Nashville, the anthemic track—penned alongside Ben Burgess and Nathan Chapman—was first teased on TikTok last month and garnered more than 2m views. 

Arriving with a music video, the track's vivid storyline is inspired by the hardships of Ray’s brother-in-law and detail the life of an undocumented immigrant working at a taco truck.

“This song is about loving your neighbor and giving that love freely, without judgement. We never know what someone is going through. Just like Jesus, we want to meet people where they are. And I met Jesus at a taco truck,” said Carter.

“I'm grateful that Shy and the boys invited me to be a part of this song. It's such an important message and it helps elevate the people of my culture. We're in the business of telling stories and giving a voice to those looking for representation,” added Carter. 

Peep the vid for “Jesus at the Taco Truck” below.

BJ Hill, who has been with Warner Chappell for more than decades, has been promoted to senior vice president, A&R. He is based in Nashville.

Hill has worked with Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady A, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay, Wendell Mobley, Matthew Ramsey, the720, Zack Dyer, and Sophia Scott.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with BJ for over a decade, and he’s always been an unwavering supporter, resource, and friend to our songwriters and the whole Warner Chappell team,” Warner Chappell Music Nashville President and CEO Ben Vaughn said. “He has some of the best ears in the business, he’s a master of puns, and he can mix a drink with the best of them.”

Hill started with Warner Chappell in 2002 as an associate catalog manager on the team, moving to the A&R department in 2005.

Newly installed Big Loud Texas honchos Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall are wasting no time making moves after launching their imprint with Seth England's Big Loud last week. Today (11/17), they’ve announced their first signing in fast-rising Texas musician Dylan Gossett, who will join the imprint in collaboration with Mercury Records and Range Media Partners. Seen above just before discovering that a ten-gallon hat does not, in fact, hold ten gallons of bourbon are (l-r) RMP Nashville managing partner Shawn McSpadden, Homebase Management's Sam Katz, Big Loud partner-producer and President of A&R Joey Moi, Big Loud CEO/partner England, Randall, Lambert, Gossett, Mercury President Tyler Arnold, Republic EVP and Mercury head of marketing Alex Coslov, RMP Director of A&R Federico Morris and managing partner Matt Graham and Mercury Manager, A&R Jake Levensohn.

Gossett’s latest single, “Coal,” has crept north of 42m plays on Spotify, where it went Top 5 on the Global chart. It anchors his latest EP, No Better Time, which was self-released in late October. Even in a genre filled with memorable lines, the song's refrain—'They say pressure makes diamonds / How the hell am I still coal?'—cuts deep.

Fresh off the road with Wyatt Flores and Brent Cobb (and having performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the F1 U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas), Gossett will wind down the year with dates alongside Kolby Cooper and Luke Grimes. A run of shows with Midland is also set for April.

“When I first heard Dylan’s song ‘Coal,’ I played it a few times because I wanted to catch all the ways he was sharing his life with us,” says Lambert. “To write and deliver something that is complex yet elegant lyrically and to also make it vulnerable is an art. After Jon and I spent time with Dylan, we both agreed he is an artist Big Loud Texas was created to champion and support.”

Mercury prez Arnold hailed Gossett as 'an incredible artist and songwriter, and it’s been a really memorable process getting to know him over the last few months. We truly believe he’s going to be a game-changing artist for this generation.”

England added his praise for 'a songwriter’s songwriter and incredible vocal talent who’s got something compelling to say through his music,' adding that he was 'thrilled to have him as the flagship artist launching our newest venture, Big Loud Texas, and honored to be part of telling his story.”

For RMP's Graham, Gossett is 'a unique artist who clearly draws his inspiration from his Texas country roots, but showed a clear desire to cross genres and have global appeal.'

Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to go scare up 27 more executive quotes.

Music City invaded Miami last weekend for the city's first major country festival. Thomas Rhett, Sam Hunt, Lee Brice, Elle King, Chris Young, Randy Houser and Lainey Wilson were among the headliners for Loud & Live's inaugural Country Bay Fest. We can't confirm if L&L CEO Nelson Albareda—pictured above with CMA Entertainer of the Year Wilson—wore cowboy boots with shorts all weekend.

Among the thousands that were in attendance at Miami Marine Stadium throughout the weekend, 40% were Latino, underscoring the diverse and growing base of those embracing country music. 

Country Bay Fest is slated to return to Miami next year for its second edition on 11/9-10, 2024. 

Photo: Manny Hernandez

Getting their steps in rather than using the elevator at underscore works are, from left, Wesko, Charly Salvatore, Aaron Bay-Schuck, Isaac Green and Dipper.

Warner Records and Nashville-based manager Charly Salvatore of underscore works have created a joint venture label, underscore works recordings. Dipper and Wesko are the first signings.

“Together with Charly, we’ve already seen incredible success with Warren Zeiders—a newcomer to the scene who has quickly made a big impact,” Warner Records’ co-Chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and co-Chairman & COO Tom Corson said. “The underscore team shares the same dedication we have when it comes to artist development and building meaningful and lasting careers, making it a no brainer to expand our partnership so we can support even more special artists. Dipper and Wesko are two genuinely talented, hard-working musicians with bright futures ahead, and we look forward to collaborating with underscore to bring even more great music to fans around the world.'

Salvatore, whose management clients include Priscilla Block and Dalton Dover, heaped praise on Bay-Schuck and Corson, saying 'They've been incredible partners with Warren, and there's no one else I'd want to be running alongside as we take this exciting next step in the underscore works journey.”

A native of College Station, Texas, Dipper got his start posting covers and original songs on TikTok. He recently released his debut EP, Evergreen, featuring his first single, “She’s Got Wings.” He recently signed a global publishing deal with Bailey Zimmerman, The Core Entertainment and Warner Chappell Music.

Hailing from Kenansville, N.C., Wesko has spent the last four years playing gigs with his band and writing songs while working as a a foreman for an erosion control company and studying at the University of Mount Olive.

Sony Music Pubishing is on a hot streak this week, winning top honors across Nashville’s ASCAP, SESAC and BMI awards earlier this week, as well as the 57th Annual CMA Awards on 11/8.

The pubco earned Publisher of the Year at both ASCAP’s Country Music Awards and SESAC’s Nashville Music Awards, marking the first time since 2016 that the company won both awards in the same year.

“Congratulations to all Sony Music Publishing’s songwriter honorees – we are grateful to support you and your incredible songs. I also want to thank our amazing team for continuing to go above and beyond for SMP’s songwriters,” said SMP Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston.

Additionally, Ashley Gorley was named ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year for the tenth time and won Song of the Year for his contributions on Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof.” Charlie Handsome also earned recognition at BMI’s Country Awards for his work on “You Proof,” taking home Song of the Year.

At SESAC’s Nashville Music Awards, Jon Nite won Songwriter of the Year for Tyler Hubbard’s “Dancin’ in the Country,” and Song of the Year went to Josh Hoge for his contributions on Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God.”

Meanwhile, Lainey Wilson had a big night at the CMAs with wins in five categories, setting a new one-year record for a female artist. She also won Musical event of the Year and Music Video of the Year alongside HARDY.

Following the 57th CMA Awards, BMLG’s Chairman/CEO Scott Borchetta and team celebrated Country Music’s biggest night during its annual after party.

The festivities boasted a star-studded guest list, including Carley Pearce—who performed “We Don’t Fight Anymore” during the ceremony alongside Chris Stapleton—as well as Brian Kelley and Lady A, who presented Single of the Year and New Artist of the Year, respectively.

Pictured above are (l-r) back row—LECADE, Chase McDaniel, Brett Young, Jackson Dean, Midland’s Jess Carson, Chris Janson, Kelley, Mae Estes, Riley Green, Midland’s Mark Wystrach; front row—Tiera Kennedy, Pearce, BMLG’s Borchetta and Sandi Spika Borchetta and Mackenzie Carpenter.

(l-r) McDaniel, Big Machine Records’ Clay Hunnicutt, Borchetta, Pearce, Big Machine Records’ Kris Lamb, Carson, Wystrach, Kelley, BMLG’s Allison Jones and Sandbox Entertainment’s Todd Ramey

(l-r) back row—Borchetta, BMLG Records’ Ryan Dokke, Jones, Greylan James; front row—Lady A and BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen.

Photo credit: Brett Carlsen and Jason Davis/Getty Images for BMLG

Lainey Wilson emerged as the evening's big winner at the Country Music Association Awards that took place Wednesday (11/8) at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. 

The Broken Bow chanteuse walked away with five trophies—for Entertainer of the Year, Album, Musical Event, Music Video and, as in 2022, Female Vocalist. Jelly Roll, meanwhile, was crowned New Artist, and Chris Stapleton picked up the Male Vocalist honor for an astonishing seventh time (breaking his own 2022 record).

Tracy Chapman, whose 'Fast Car' was introduced by Luke Combs to a grateful new generation, won Song of the Year for her 1988 breakthrough. She is the first Black songwriter to win in this category.

Other winners included Combs, HARDY, Old Dominion, Brothers Osbourne and Jenee Fleenor. 

When accepting his award, Jelly Roll shouted out Zach Bryan, who was also nominated in the New Artist category, along with Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney and Hailey Whitters. 'Zach Bryan, I think you are one of the hottest things on earth, not just country music,' he said, continuing, 'There is something poetic about a 39-year-old man winning New Artist of the Year... What’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you. Let’s party, Nashville!”

WINNERS OF THE 2023 COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION AWARDS

Entertainer of the Year
Lainey Wilson

Single of the Year
'Fast Car,' Luke Combs; producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; mix engineer: Chip Matthews

Album of the Year
Bell Bottom Country, Lainey Wilson; producer: Jay Joyce; mix engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce

Song of the Year
Luke Combs, “Fast Car”; songwriter: Tracy Chapman

Female Vocalist of the Year
Lainey Wilson

Male Vocalist of the Year
Chris Stapleton

Vocal Group of the Year
Old Dominion

Vocal Duo of the Year
Brothers Osborne

New Artist of the Year
Jelly Roll

Musical Event of the Year
“wait in the truck,” HARDY f/Lainey Wilson; producers: HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells

Music Video of the Year
“wait in the truck,” HARDY f/Lainey Wilson; director: Justin Clough

Musician of the year
Jenee Fleenor (fiddle)