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Many of Nashville’s top songwriters and music publishers were feted Monday evening (April 1) during the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP)’s Nashville Country Awards, held at the Ryman Auditorium. The Spotify-sponsored event, which was hosted by Storme Warren, drew a throng of songwriters and industry execs from Nashville’s independent country songwriter and publisher community.
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Jordan Davis, who is independently published by Anthem Entertainment, was named artist-writer of the year, while his song “Next Thing You Know,” which he co-wrote with Josh Osborne, Chase McGill and Greylan James, was named song of the year; the song was independently published by Anthem Entertainment.
“This is amazing,” Davis told the crowd in taking the stage to accept his artist-writer of the year honor, adding, “I moved [to Nashville] in 2012 and dreamed of getting in the room to write songs with some of the people that are sitting right here in these front rows and never in a million years would have dreamed that I would have found the community and the family that I have here in Nashville. I’m blessed to get to say I do this for a living.”
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Big Loud Publishing took home publisher of the year honors, while Morgan Wallen, who is independently published by Big Loud Publishing, was named songwriter of the year. Wallen’s “98 Braves,” written by Travis Wood, John Byron and Josh Miller was named publisher pick of the year; the song was independently published by Creative Nation Music, Big Loud Publishing, and Concord Music Publishing.
Wallen’s “Last Night,” written by Wallen, John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome and JKash, was named AIMP most streamed country song of the year; the song was independently published by Big Loud Publishing and Prescription Songs.
The rising songwriter of the year award went to Rocky Block (who is independently published by Big Loud Publishing), who has co-written songs including Cody Johnson’s “Whiskey Bent,” and Wallen’s “Man Made a Bar” and “Cowgirls.”
“I’ve been to so many of these and dreamt of this,” Block said. “I’ve been independently published my whole career,” Block said, thanking Bob DiPiero for being an early champion and also thanking Big Loud. “I’m thankful to work with everyone of you in this room.”
Meanwhile, Mae Estes, who is independently published by Plaid Flag Music and Kobalt Music Publishing, was named rising artist-writer of the year. Estes is known for songs including “Hell You Raised” and “Roses.”
“I worked three jobs at a time in this town for almost six years and finally got a publishing deal to write songs in Music City and y’all changed my whole life,” Estes told the audience shortly before hit yet another milestone that same evening, performing for the first time on the Ryman Auditorium stage.
“The awards are always a magical night with Artist nominees performing Song of the Year-nominated songs,” says Ree Guyer, owner of Wrensong Entertainment, in a statement. “It is always fun seeing our indie publishers come together to celebrate one another in a laid-back, intimate setting.”
As is tradition for the AIMP Nashville Awards, past and present rising artist-writer of the year and artist-writer of the year nominees were on hand to perform. Each song of the year and publisher picks category nominated songs were performed by someone other than the original artist or writer. This year’s performers included Davis, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, Estes, George Birge, Dylan Marlowe and HARDY.
Big Machine Music’s vice president of publishing Tim Hunze was named the 2024 AIMP song champion award honoree, recognizing his contributions to the independent publishing and songwriting community. Hunze offered up advice he received from songwriter Tom Shapiro, saying, “‘If you take care of the creatives and the writers, you’ll always have a job.’ That is the best part of what I get to do, working with the creatives.” He also nodded to earning the song champion award, saying, “Being a song champion is just being passionate and finding something you love. I’ve been doing the same thing since I was a kid; I found a band I liked and I told all my friends and all my buddies.”
Nashville’s Big Loud Records has inked a multi-year distribution deal with Mercury/Republic for all releases, effective immediately.
Previously, only releases from Morgan Wallen, Lily Rose and Dylan Gossett had gone through the partnership, while the rest of the Big Loud roster was distributed through Stem and Amped.
In a memo to the staff obtained by Billboard, Big Loud founders/partners Seth England, Craig Wiseman and Joey Moi stressed that the move is not an acquisition and that the full staff will remain intact: “This partnership allows for Big Loud Records to remain fiercely independent while leveraging their global distribution and resources, as needed, to best serve our world-class roster. Artists and our staff will see increased creative opportunities, robust international support, new multimedia partnerships, additional multi-format promotion muscle and merchandising resources, among many other benefits. And to clarify: Big Loud Records has not been acquired in any way. Our full staff will remain intact and will continue to lead with the artists we represent.”
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The move comes as Mercury/Republic parent Universal Music Group is undergoing a massive restructuring, with the East Coast labels realigning under a new structure called Republic Corps under chairman/CEO Monte Lipman. Mercury will continue to be led by president Tyler Arnold and general manager Ben Adelson.
The announcement arrives as Wallen’s One Day at a Time spends its 19th non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, breaking the previous record of 18 weeks held by Garth Brooks more than 30 years ago.
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The memo is in its entirety below.
Good afternoon everyone,
We’re writing to share an important update regarding our distribution for Big Loud Records and our affiliate labels.
After many incredible years with Stem and Amped we have decided to enter into a new multi-year distribution deal with Mercury Records/Republic, amplifying our existing partnership with Monte & Avery Lipman as well as Tyler Arnold and the greater Mercury Records/Republic team.
We are immensely grateful for the tireless efforts of Milana, Kristin, Bobby, Alison, and the entire team at both Stem and Amped who have supported our releases for the better half of a decade. Both teams have been an integral part of our growth story and remain a highly recommended distribution and artist resources solution for self-determined artists and companies. We remain proud investors of Stem to this day.
The Big Loud partners and executive leadership team are immeasurably proud of what this roster and staff have accomplished over the past eight years. Our songs, albums, artists, and company have seen the top slots of nearly every chart in our format. Best of all, we’ve earned those accolades with integrity. We’re reaching new heights with broadened creative ventures and international outposts leading our growth into new genres and markets. With this next chapter, we are thrilled to elevate with a like-minded, best-in-class team that’s effectively been the #1 all-genre record label in the business for the last decade. Rest assured, Mercury Records/Republic both mirrors and supports our renegade spirit.
This partnership allows for Big Loud Records to remain fiercely independent while leveraging their global distribution and resources, as needed, to best serve our world-class roster. Artists and our staff will see increased creative opportunities, robust international support, new multimedia partnerships, additional multi-format promotion muscle and merchandising resources, among many other benefits. And to clarify: Big Loud Records has not been acquired in any way. Our full staff will remain intact and will continue to lead with the artists we represent.
Our hope is that this announcement makes you as excited as the partners and the executive leadership team feel because we achieved this together. From the smallest artists to the biggest, it takes the entire village – we are confident Big Loud will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Please feel free to reach out to your department head, Patch, Austen, or Seth if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Seth, Craig, and Joey
Nashville-based Big Loud, home to artists including Morgan Wallen and HARDY, has revealed a joint venture with Nashville-based indie modern rock label Severance Records.
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Former Elektra Entertainment co-president Mike Easterlin, along with former Atlantic Records GM/senior vp of A&R Steve “Stevo” Robertson, serve as co-presidents of Severance Records. The new label launches with flagship signing Dexter and The Moonrocks, who are booked by WME’s Mike Krug, and managed by Lion’s Claw Entertainment’s Chris Schoemann, and Joe Greenwald (Marketing & Promotion).
“Stevo and I could not be more excited to be joining the Big Loud family,” Easterlin said in a statement. “(Big Loud Partners) Seth (England), Joey (Moi), Craig (Wiseman), and (Big Loud Rock / Big Loud Management Partner + President) Greg (Thompson) have been so supportive from the first time we met about building this partnership together. Watching the company that Big Loud has become in the country space only drives Stevo and I to want to make Severance Records the same kind of force in the alternative space. Our goal is to be rooted in Nashville, but global in vision.”
Prior to his work as co-president of Elektra, Easterlin had worked as president and GM at two of the company’s labels – Fueled By Ramen and Roadrunner Records. His career also includes roles at Virgin Records and Island Def Jam. Along the way, he’s worked with artists including Smashing Pumpkins, Lenny Kravitz, Nickelback, Panic! At The Disco, Paramore and Bailey Zimmerman.
During his 25-year tenure at Atlantic Records, Robertson signed Shinedown, Paramore, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Knox and A Day to Remember, and helped develop artists including GAYLE, Collective Soul, Seven Mary Three, Matchbox 20 and more.
“I’m a fan of so much of the music Mike and Stevo have discovered and promoted throughout their careers,” Big Loud Partner / Producer / President of A&R Joey Moi said in a statement. “Working with them on building and establishing some incredible new rock and alternative acts is something we’re all really looking forward to.”
“Mike and Stevo have championed some of the most exciting, culture-driving music of the last two decades, so when the opportunity to work with them in this capacity came up, it was an instant ‘yes,’” Big Loud partner and CEO Seth England said in a statement. “We’re grateful to partner with them and build a legacy together with Severance.”
“When Mike (Easterlin) and I laid the groundwork for Severance Records, we were driven by a genuine love for rock music and an instinct to follow its evolving path,” Robertson said in a statement. “In an industry that seemed to have momentarily turned away from rock, we felt a strong undercurrent – a shift back towards the authentic sounds of guitars and raw attitude. Dexter and The Moonrocks struck a chord with us immediately. While being influenced by greats like Nirvana and Kings Of Leon, they’re a bridge to the future of rock, blending influences from rock legends and contemporaries like Rainbow Kitten Surprise and Colter Wall. Their sound is the DNA of Severance Records – rediscovering and redefining rock with a fresh perspective, especially with a nod to Southern roots.
“We’re shaping a unique culture. Our focus is alternative – alt-rock, alt-pop, alt-country, and indie rock. We’re drawn to authentic, unconventional sounds. Dexter and The Moonrocks are at the forefront of that. As our first signing, they represent the distinct sound of Severance Records.”
Dylan Gossett has turned “Coal” into a diamond this year.
The 24-year-old Texan earned a streaming hit with the self-written song, which reached the top 5 on Spotify’s all-genre Viral 50 chart and has amassed 3.5 million on-demand official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. “Coal” currently stands at No. 35 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Initially self-released, “Coal” is now the cornerstone of Gossett’s new EP, No Better Time (released Oct. 27), while the singer is newly signed to Big Loud Texas/Mercury Records in collaboration with Range Media Partners. Big Loud Texas was recently launched as a venture between Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall and Big Loud Records.
“Tyler [Arnold] and Jake [Levensohn] from Mercury flew down to Texas to meet with me, and we instantly clicked,” says Gossett of his signing. “After meeting with Jon, Miranda and Seth [England] from Big Loud, it was a dream scenario to be able to combine forces and do this all together as a team.”
Gossett wrote “Coal” nearly two years ago and, at the time, had no plans to make music professionally. His biggest goal was playing for family gatherings at his grandfather’s lake house.
“Whenever holidays like Thanksgiving or Easter come around, my brother, parents, cousins, we all sit around a campfire and pass guitars around,” Gossett says. “Mainly, me, my brother and my cousin would play songs we wrote, but everyone would sing.”
Earlier this year, Gossett began posting songs on TikTok, including covers of The Lumineers’ “Ophelia” and Flatland Cavalry’s “A Life Where We Work Out.” In June, he released the original song “To Be Free,” which earned 519,000 on-demand official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. But “Coal,” released in July, proved to be his breakthrough, bolstering his Spotify count to more than 4 million monthly listeners.
“‘Coal’ is just a meaningful song I wrote about a tougher time,” Gossett says. “I felt like I was in a bit of a rut with my career and had some family things going on. Writing that song helped me to mentally just get through it and I think that’s why it’s so relatable to people as well — everybody goes through these types of things every day. When I saw the response to the video I put online of ‘Coal,’ I told my wife, Julia, ‘I have to record this song right now.’ I had a mic that Julia got me for Christmas and a little audio box, and recorded ‘Coal’ on my laptop, just sitting in my bedroom.”
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The song anchors No Better Time, a homespun project that Gossett fully wrote, recorded, produced and mixed on his laptop in the bedroom of the couple’s home just outside of Austin. The project debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums Chart.
“I played all the instruments, except for [the] fiddle parts. I had a good friend come in and play those — I can’t play fiddle,” he says with a laugh. “The cover art is a photo my friend Billy took of me recording. It fully encompasses a homemade project. It’s inspiring that you can have a really cool sounding record, literally just from your bedroom with a hundred bucks of equipment.”
Every song on No Better Time is threaded through with Gossett’s poetic lyrics. “What does it take to feel alive?/ Do you need the lows to love the highs?” he asks on “Flip a Coin.” He muses that “Sweat on your skin is better than regret on your heart” in the encouraging “No Better Time” and paints a story of a gunslinger’s last moments in “Lone Ole Cowboy” with the lyric, “I hear the bullets fly as I make my final stand/ I’m a man with a gun shaking in my hand.”
He describes “Lone Ole Cowboy” as reminiscent of “Colter Wall kind of stuff. I always joke that I’m not a cowboy, but I like writing songs about them. And the song is all in major chords, so it’s one of the happier murder ballads out there,” he adds with a chuckle, noting that he and his brother had to get resourceful to get the steel guitar sound on the song. “We didn’t have a steel guitar, so my brother put his guitar on his lap and played it with like an Xbox controller or a remote.”
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Gossett’s first musical influences were formed around the fifth grade, when he was inspired by such Ed Sheeran songs as “The A Team” and “Give Me Love.”
“I could just picture the song in my head when he sang it,” Gossett recalls. “I got a guitar for my birthday and just started learning to play. When I heard his ‘+’ album, it just sounded so different from what I was hearing on the radio every day. That just changed my whole world of music.”
Gossett studied at Texas A&M University and, in 2021, he began interning in event operations and logistics for Formula 1 Circuit of the Americas racetrack in Austin. He stationed his parents’ RV just outside the track for three months while he sometimes worked 20-hour shifts. He was offered a job a few months later.
“When F1 comes to town, it’s the craziest couple of weeks of your life if you are a worker there. But it helped me in knowing how to deal with high-intensity situations. The adversity you are used to in the event world, it helps when you are on the road and you just have to adapt to changing situations.”
Gossett was working at the racetrack when calls from labels began pouring in after the success of “Coal.”
“It was hectic for a while—it felt like all the labels were calling,” he recalls. “I told my boss, ‘I need to take PTO for a week and figure things out.’” He officially quit his job at the racetrack in September to focus on music.
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“They asked me to sing the national anthem there a few weeks ago. I was up in the tower singing and I could literally see where my RV used to be,” he adds of his Oct. 22 performance at the F1 Finale in Austin.
Gossett has been steadily piling up concert appearances touring Wyatt Flores and Brent Cobb with more shows to come this year with Luke Grimes and Kolby Cooper. He’s slated to make his first festival appearance at SXSW next year, and will open shows for Midland.
Following No Better Time’s stripped-down style, Gossett predicts a full-band album release in 2024.
“No Better Time shows who I am right now as a songwriter and artist. It’s all just homemade and that’s so important to me. I have a lot of songs I want to build out in a bigger way, but I can’t bring the full drum kit into my bedroom,” he says with a laugh. “This project is more stripped back and I don’t think I’ll ever lose that sound, but I definitely want more songs with a bigger bang to them.”
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Grammy winners Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall have partnered with Big Loud Records to launch their own imprint, Big Loud Texas. Lambert and Randall will be directly instrumental in signing and developing artists on the roster. Meanwhile, Randall will serve as president of A&R for the imprint, while also contributing as a producer.
“As a teenager chasing my dreams in the honky-tonks of Texas, Nashville seemed so far away,” Lambert said in a statement. “Every time I’m back home I get to hear the incredible talent our state produces, and I feel a responsibility to help get more of those Texas voices heard. I’m really excited to team up with my buddy Jon Randall and Big Loud to do just that. Get ready, y’all – we’re bringing even more Texas to town!”
“When I was a kid playing in bands and kicking around Texas, I knew that making music was all I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Randall added. “Since then, I’ve gotten to play with so many of my heroes produce legends and friends and travel all over the world… but all those roads lead right back home. I feel very blessed to share this full circle moment with one of my best pals, Miranda Lambert, and help some other dreamers chase their song around the world.”
Longtime friends and creative allies, Lambert and Randall collaborated on 2021’s Grammy-nominated The Marfa Tapes, alongside fellow Texas singer-songwriter Jack Ingram. Randall also served as a producer alongside Lambert and Luke Dick on her 2022 album, Palomino. A Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winner, Randall has spent three-plus decades in the music business seemingly doing it all as a solo artist, guitarist, songwriter and critically acclaimed producer. In addition to his longstanding relationship with Lambert, he has written with and for artists including Guy Clark, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire and many others, plus produced projects for Dierks Bentley, Parker McCollum, Dwight Yoakam, Jack Ingram, Pat Green and more.
“I’ve admired what Miranda and Jon have done – both as musicians and as champions of young talent – for many years, so it’s an honor to join forces in this way,” Big Loud CEO/partner Seth England said in a statement. “One of the most important things to us at Big Loud is to align with cultural camaraderie. Texas exudes that spirit and no one knows that better than Miranda and Jon.”
Big Loud Records is also home to Morgan Wallen, who has had a stellar year, dominating the Billboard Hot 100 with “Last Night” and the Billboard 200 with One Thing at a Time. The label’s roster also includes Lauren Alaina, HARDY, ERNEST, Hailey Whitters, MacKenzie Porter, Larry Fleet, Charles Wesley Godwin, Stephen Wilson Jr., Dallas Smith, Maggie Rose, Griffen Palmer, Shawn Austin, Lily Rose, Jake Worthington, Ashley Cooke, Lauren Watkins and Zandi Holup.
Big Loud Records was honored as the No. 1 Billboard Hot Country Songs label in 2021 and 2022. Big Loud’s executive team has earned recognition as part of the Billboard 40 Under 40: svp / GM Patch Culbertson (’22), svp of radio promotion Stacy Blythe (’21) and CEO / partner Seth England (’14). Additionally, members of the Big Loud brass — partners England, Moi and Craig Wiseman, as well as Adams, Blythe and SVP of Marketing Candice Watkins — have been honored as Billboard Indie Power Players and Billboard Country Power Players. England was named the inaugural peer-voted Country Power Players’ Choice Award recipient, an industry-wide nod honoring the executive that voters believe made the most impact across the country music business over the past year.
Head versus heart; science versus art.
In the digital era where data abounds, old-fashioned music skills and modern spread sheet analysis can coexist, but deciding when to employ them is part of the art.
That was a key takeaway from an Oct. 18 panel discussion featuring two Big Loud executives, senior vp/GM Patch Culbertson and senior vp of A&R Sara Knabe, presented by the Association of Independent Music Publishers at SESAC Nashville.
In the Big Loud model, gut-level assessments dominate in signing artists and writers, while number-crunching drives the decisions when the label takes singles to radio. But with digital consumption providing the bulk of record-company revenue, getting onto the nation’s airwaves isn’t even a consideration unless the numbers justify it.
“Radio’s honestly the last thing we talk about with any artist that’s interested in partnering with Big Loud,” explained Culbertson. “It is the last thing we talk about in terms of your marketing strategy and campaign. What I want to equip all our radio team with is the power of the audience telling those stations that [something] is a hit, not that the radio person has to convince them.”
He added, “Especially for developing artists, you’re talking about the 55- to 60-week debut-single campaign. If you don’t have the hit in your hand, why are you going to go and do three or five months of radio setup and launch with that, and it’s going to be crickets when you are performing those records in front of those fans?”
The label’s roster houses 27 artists, he said, and only three of them were “research signings”: “Everybody else was a story of just either an incredible voice, incredible songs, just flooring us either performing on a stage somewhere or in our own offices, or just star quality they give off when they walk into the room.”
The approach has worked. Since its 2015 launch, Big Loud has signed and developed the genre’s most-consumed current artist, Morgan Wallen, plus HARDY, ERNEST and Hailey Whitters, a Country Music Association Award nominee for best new artist. It has also developed gold singles for Larry Fleet and Lily Rose — signs of strong market penetration, even if the songs didn’t become top 10 titles at radio.
Big Loud’s volume approach to recording may play a part as well. Since core fans demand a constant supply of new music, the label encourages artists to cut songs when they’re ready, even if no album or EP is planned. It’s part of the development process — “Even studio experience is part of their growth,” Knabe said — and more music increases the possibility that something breaks through with strong numbers.
In the Big Loud model, that’s when the head takes over from the heart.
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Singer-songwriter Maggie Rose, known for her blend of rock, soul and Americana/folk stylings, has signed with Big Loud Records.
The deal is the latest under the label’s aim to sign talent in an array of genres, including Americana, pop, folk, alt-country, and more. Big Loud Records vp of A&R Nate Yetton is leading those efforts, with Rose being among Yetton’s first new signings, following the label’s signing of Charles Wesley Godwin earlier this year.
Rose, who is managed by Starstruck Entertainment, is set to join a nationwide tour with St. Paul & The Broken Bones and promises new music soon. Rose has been a Nashville mainstay, having played the Grand Ole Opry nearly 100 times, and was recently elected as governor of the Recording Academy’s Nashville chapter. Her multi-genre talents have led her to performance slots on festivals including Newport Folk Fest, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits and more.
Rose said in a statement, “Big Loud dove in headfirst and defied my preconceived notions of what I’d come to expect from a big label; they didn’t want me to change the music I was working on or ‘chase’ the trends. They understood the vision and believed in me from the outset. I’m so excited for this new chapter.”
Yetton added, “Maggie is a world-class vocalist, performer, and songwriter. Earlier this year I was privileged enough to hear her new, unreleased album, and after one listen through, I knew that we had to find a way to partner with her and release this body of work via Big Loud Records. I truly believe it is her best, most undeniably authentic, compelling and complete work to date. This is the kind of art that transcends genre and will be playing at dinner parties and on stages across the globe for decades to come.”
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Joey Moi, partner/producer/president of A&R, Big Loud said in a statement, “When I heard some of Maggie’s upcoming new music, I just loved the sound of it. The songs are something entirely their own; her voice speaks for itself. Happy that Big Loud is putting this music out and helping Maggie tell her story.”
Narvel Blackstock, manager, Starstruck Entertainment said, “Starstruck has been fortunate to work with Maggie for the last several years. It’s been incredible to watch Maggie as she has defined her career as a vocalist, songwriter and undeniable artist. We look forward to the future with Big Loud and looking forward to the future with Maggie.”
For 2023, Billboard has introduced the Country Power Players’ Choice Award, a peer-voted accolade chosen by Billboard Pro members to honor the executive they believe has made the most impact across the country music business over the past year. Across three rounds of voting, Billboard Pro members have chosen Seth England, partner and CEO of […]
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