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While the Radio Music Licensing Committee awaits an appeals court decision in its so-far unsuccessful attempt to combine rate court proceedings with ASCAP and BMI under a single judge, the trade group has filed federal petitions to begin the processes separately in the Southern District of New York.
Usually, such rate proceedings petitions are initiated after negotiations between the performance rights organizations and the RMLC prove fruitless. Under these petitions, the PROs will each make the case for what rate it thinks their songwriters and publishers are entitled to receive when their songs are played on the radio. This time out, for the period of 2022-2026, the RMLC is seeking to maintain the same rates it had under the prior agreement which covered 2017-2021.
In July 2022, the RMLC tried to get ASCAP and BMI combined into a single rate proceeding, thus showing its hand that it felt rate negotiations had failed. For decades, each PRO had its own separate rate proceeding, but about seven or eight years ago, the RMLC began a new rate court strategy of trying to assign market share to the four U.S. PROs — ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and Global Music Rights — in attempt to keep the rates in parity with market share, irrespective of each PRO’s song catalog. In filing its petition to consolidate the rate proceedings to the Southern District of New York, which oversees both rate proceedings and the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, the RMLC said the act was justified by the Music Modernization Act of 2018 that changed how the the Southern District assigns the rate court proceeding.
The step to combine the rate proceedings into one was seen by some music industry executives as a further attempt to pursue that rate strategy. Having a single judge, instead of bifurcated rate court proceedings, could benefit the RMLC because it would likely pit BMI and ASCAP against each other, vying for a higher rate than the other with both PROs arguing over market share.
But in May this year, Southern District Court Judge Stanton ruled against the RMLC’s consolidation petition so the radio trade group subsequently appealed that decision. The Second District Appeals Court has yet to issue a ruling on the RMLC motion, but in the meantime, the RMLC is getting the ball rolling with the rate court by filing amended petitions on BMI on Aug. 10 and on ASCAP on Tuesday.
Despite filing petitions for the two rate court proceedings, the RMLC petition for the ASCAP rate court proceeding says that if the Second Circuit Appeals Court ultimately agrees with the RMLC position to combine the two rate court proceedings into one, “it reserves all rights at the appropriate time” to pursue a unitary action against ASCAP and BMI.
The ASCAP rate proceeding covers the current five-year term which began on Jan. 1, 2022. In the prior term (2017-2021), RMLC said it paid a combined 3.51% of net revenue as a royalty pool for the two PROs, with ASCAP getting 1.73% of that based on market share claims it made at the time — which the RMLC now says was “a representation that turned out to be false.” Meanwhile, BMI received 1.78% of radio stations’ net revenue.
Nevertheless, in May 2022, according to the petition, the RMLC asked ASCAP and BMI if they would be willing to roll forward the combined 3.51% of net revenue royalty pool, provided that ASCAP and BMI would agree on a mechanism for assessing each of their market shares.
Although the rate level would be the same, the RMLC implies it is actually an increase because the combined ASCAP and BMI share of total performances on RMLC stations likely has diminished since when the prior agreements began, the RMLC argues in its petition.
Meanwhile, it looks like BMI is requesting a rate increase from 1.78% to 2.95%, according to what the RMLC states in the BMI petition; while the RMLC ASCAP petition doesn’t disclose the rate ASCAP is seeking.
The RMLC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The RMLC would rather continue to waste time and money on expensive litigation than simply paying songwriters a fair royalty for the use of their music,” ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said in a statement. “It’s not that complicated. Simply treat music creators who support your successful and profitable businesses with dignity and respect and everyone wins.”
While the PROs and the RMLC wait for the rate court proceedings to make a determination, all parties have agreed to an interim rate that allows radio to continue to play music without copyright infringement.
BMI is exploring potential sale possibilities, a year after its transition into a for-profit entity, according to an internal memo from CEO Mike O’Neill that was obtained by Billboard. In the note to staff, O’Neill said, “Delivering for our affiliates is always our top priority, and we have a responsibility to engage in discussions with outside parties if they can help further that mission. That is exactly what we are doing right now, and no final decisions have been made.”
The discussions come a year after BMI had engaged Goldman Sachs to explore strategic opportunities in 2022, with one of the options at the time being a potential sale; that process ultimately did not lead to a deal. Reuters first reported that talks had reopened over a potential sale now. A spokesperson for BMI declined to comment.
In the memo, O’Neill wrote that after ending the strategic opportunities process last year, BMI chose to invest in the company “to grow the value of our affiliates’ music,” and that the change to the for-profit model, in addition to that investment, “has only intensified that outside interest.”
“It’s an exciting time for BMI and we’re in a strong position,” O’Neill wrote. “And the most important thing for us to do is keep focus and continue the great work that makes BMI the best PRO in the business. The future is filled with potential and there is no better team to tackle the numerous opportunities that lie ahead for our company and our affiliates.”
BMI, founded in 1939, represents more than 20 million works by more than 1 million songwriters, composers and publishers, including artists like Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar. In its most recent annual report, for the year ended June 30, 2022, the performance rights organization tallied revenues of $1.573 billion and distributed $1.471 billion to songwriters, its highest mark ever.
Read O’Neill’s full note below.
Hi Team,
A few press articles have come out today speculating that BMI is considering a sale. I am reaching out now because I want you to hear the background directly from me.
Not surprisingly, interest in BMI has continued since we announced a year ago that we were no longer considering a sale of our company. You may recall this was one of the options on the table when we were evaluating strategic opportunities to best position BMI for the future. Since then, the success of our business model change and our commitment to investing in BMI to grow the value of our affiliates’ music has only intensified that outside interest.
Delivering for our affiliates is always our top priority, and we have a responsibility to engage in discussions with outside parties if they can help further that mission. That is exactly what we are doing right now, and no final decisions have been made. By its very nature, speculation can often contain mischaracterizations and inaccurate information. Please don’t be distracted by this and know that I will update you directly on any new developments.
It’s an exciting time for BMI and we’re in a strong position. And the most important thing for us to do is keep focus and continue the great work that makes BMI the best PRO in the business. The future is filled with potential and there is no better team to tackle the numerous opportunities that lie ahead for our company and our affiliates.
Thank you, as always, for all you do.
MON
Reps. Ted W. Lieu (D-CA) and Ben Cline (R-VA) have joined together to re-launch and co-chair the bipartisan Congressional Songwriters Caucus to focus on advancing policies that support independent songwriters and strengthen copyright protections.
The new caucus has support from the Recording Academy, Nashville Songwriters Association International, BMI, ASCAP and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), according to a press release. No specific names of independent songwriters were included in the release, and a representative for Lieu has not responded to Billboard’s requests for more information.
The caucus was originally formed in 2003 by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) when she served as a House representative for Tennessee. According to her website, part of her focus at the time was cracking down on China’s intellectual property theft and how that affected songwriters and other creatives.
The interests of musicians is also represented in Congress with the Recording Arts and Sciences Congressional Caucus, which was established in 2005 and continues today, helmed by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and new Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
Hailing from Southern California, Rep. Lieu says he understands first hand how “talented songwriters… contribute to so much of our culture and society. I’m thrilled to join Congressman Cline in co-chairing the new bipartisan Congressional Songwriter’s Caucus, which will work to support America’s brilliant songwriters by ensuring they can protect their work and make a living doing what they love. Music contributes so much to our way of life, and we must ensure those creating it are compensated fairly. I’m grateful to the numerous songwriter advocacy organizations who’ve partnered with us on the creation of this caucus and look forward to working together to support our artists.”
“Making art, specifically music, is a powerful way to leave a mark on the world,” says Rep. Cline. “It’s a part of our everyday lives, from what we listen to on our commutes in the morning, to the music we select for our most important life events, such as birthdays, weddings, and funerals. But today’s modern music landscape can make it more difficult for certain artists, especially independent songwriters, to make a living. That is why I’m proud to co-chair the Congressional Songwriters Caucus, which will play an important role in promoting the songwriting community by working to ensure the creative rights of songwriters are protected.”
“It All Begins With A Song,” says Bart Herbison, executive director of NSAI. “the entire music ecosystem. Since the Songwriters Caucus was initially launched 20 years ago, technology has completely changed the way music is delivered. American songwriters still face challenges in the digital era and we are very grateful to Congressmen Cline and Lieu for their bipartisan support.”
“On behalf of our over one million affiliates, I’d like to thank Representatives Cline and Lieu for co-chairing the Congressional Songwriters Caucus. Both have always been champions for creators, and we are in excellent hands with them leading the charge for songwriters and composers on the Hill. We stand ready to work with them to ensure creators are supported by strong copyright law and that they are fairly compensated for their work,” adds Mike O’Neill, president and CEO of BMI.
“Songwriters are the foundation of America’s vibrant music industry, and we appreciate Representatives Cline and Lieu recognizing the importance of ensuring we have champions in Congress. As technology transforms the music landscape, ASCAP looks forward to engaging with members of the Congressional Songwriters’ Caucus to protect the rights of American music creators and defend the value of their hard work and creativity,” says Paul Williams, president of ASCAP.
“We applaud Representatives Cline and Lieu for leading the Congressional Songwriters Caucus and we are excited about today’s launch. NMPA is the leading advocate for music publishers and their songwriter partners and we greatly look forward to working with the Caucus to advance policy interests that will protect creators and ensure that songwriters thrive,” says NMPA president and CEO David Israelite.
“The Recording Academy is proud to support the re-launch of the Congressional Songwriters Caucus which helps connect songwriters and composers with lawmakers to ensure that their unique interests are heard and understood. We are grateful to the new Caucus Co-Chairs, Representatives Ben Cline and Ted Lieu, for their support and leadership and we look forward to working with stakeholders across the songwriter community to advance the Caucus forward,” says Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
BMI’s recent rate court victory substantially increasing songwriters and publishers’ royalties for live events will be appealed, according to a notice filed by the North American Concert Promoters Association on Wednesday (June 21).
In May, Southern District of New York Judge Louis Stanton awarded the performance rights organization a 138% increase in rate to 0.5% of the event’s “revenue” with an expanded definition of the term to include tickets sold directly onto the secondary market, servicing fees received by the promoters and revenues from box suites and VIP packages. That 0.5% was up from what BMI said was a blended rate of 0.21%, based on 0.3% interim rate for venues that held less than 10,000 seats; and the interim 0.15% for venues that held more than 10,000 during the period of 2018-2022.
At that time, Stanton also set rates for the retroactive period of 2013-2017, with the previously used, less expansive “revenue” definition that only reflected earnings directly from the face value of primary market ticket sales. Those rates ranged from .08% of revenue for venues of up to 2,500 seats to 0.15% for venues with 10,000 or more seats.
On Tuesday, however, lawyers for the concert trade group filed a notice with the Southern District of intent to appeal that decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, according to the filing submitted by Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the law firm representing the concert promoters. The notice to appeal could mean that the group will appeal; or it could be a procedural move that keeps open the option to appeal. The concert trade group had 30 days to file the appeal notice from the last day in court— a few weeks back on a BMI motion regarding interest on whatever fees might be owed from the 2018-2022 term covered by the newly set rates for that period.
In a statement BMI said the concert industry has long fought against rate increases for songwriters.
“Given Live Nation, AEG and [the North American Concert Promoters Association’s] bizarre position throughout trial that concertgoers attend concerts for the experience of the staging, videos and light shows, as opposed to the actual songs and music being performed, their appeal was not a surprise to BMI,” BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill said in a statement. “For decades, the live concert industry has fought to keep rates suppressed. And even now, when they are making more money than ever, in more ways than ever, they are determined to deny songwriters and composers the fair value of their work, despite the fact that without their contributions, a concert wouldn’t even be possible. BMI will continue to fight on behalf of our affiliates, the creators of the music that is the very backbone of the live concert industry, to prevent that outcome.”
The concert promoters did not. respond to a request for comment at time of publishing. In May, an AEG spokesperson said “AEG Presents and NACPA were defending performing artists, who bear the costs of BMI fees, in this litigation.” Concert promoters have long billed the performing artist for performance rights organizations’ royalty fees.
Broadcast radio’s trade group is doubling down on its effort to combine federal rate court proceedings that will determine how most of the country’s songwriters get paid for airplay.
After a judge on May 26 denied the Radio Music Licensing Committee’s petition to combine rate court proceedings with leading performance rights organizations BMI and ASCAP under a single judge last week, according to a statement from BMI, the RMLC filed an appeal on Wednesday (May 31) at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
According to BMI’s interpretation of Southern District of New York Judge Louis Stanton‘s ruling denying the petition, neither the BMI Consent Decree nor the Music Modernization Act of 2018 justified the RMLC’s joint rate petition. Judge Stanton ordered the RMLC’s rate petition against ASCAP to be assigned to another judge and tried separately.
Just Stanton’s ruling instructs the court clerk to “sever all portions of the RMLC petition which seek the setting by a rate court of an ASCAP reasonable license fee under the ASCAP consent decree and assign them by the standard electronic method of selection of a judge of this court.”
The RMLC’s petition to combine the ASCAP and BMI under one judge who would simultaneously set rates for both performance rights organizations in once proceeding was based on what publishing sources have told Billboard is a wrong interpretation of the Music Modernization Act, which included a provision to moving rate hearings to a rotating roster of Southern District judges.
Having a single judge, instead of bifurcated rate court proceedings, could benefit the RMLC because it would likely pit BMI and ASCAP against each other, vying for a higher rate than the other and arguing over market share. In the past, Judge Stanton has overseen BMI rate trials and Judge Denise Cote has overseen ASCAP rate trials. Music publishing executives say that the MMA intended to keep the two-pronged approach for the PRO rate setting, but with rotating judges, not just the two who have overseen the proceedings up to now.
“We are extremely pleased that the RMLC’s latest attempt to deny fair compensation to songwriters was dismissed, and that its end run around the clear language of the BMI consent decree and the MMA was properly rejected by the Court,” BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill said in a statement. “This would have cleared the way for BMI to secure the appropriate value of our affiliates’ music without the distractions the RMLC was trying to create. Unfortunately, the RMLC is once again opting for litigation over negotiation, and we will continue to do what is needed to protect the essential contributions our affiliates make to the radio industry.”
“It is unfortunate that the RMLC refuses to negotiate to pay songwriters fairly,” added ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews in her own statement. “ASCAP is focused on obtaining fair market rates from radio for our more than 900,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP will vigorously defend the value of our members’ music and fight the RMLC’s harmful attempt to weaponize its cartel market power to pay songwriters less.”
The RLMC did not respond to a request for comment at time of publishing.
Khalid is set to receive the BMI Champion Award at the 71st annual BMI Pop Awards. The private event, hosted by BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill and vice president worldwide creative Barbara Cane, will be held on Tuesday, May 9, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“Khalid exemplifies the true spirit of a champion as one who believes, one who does and one who generously gives back,” Cane said in a statement. “In addition to recognizing him for his many creative accomplishments, we’re honoring Khalid for his dedication to charitable causes, community, education, and his commitment to supporting the next generation of songwriters and music makers.”
Khalid has received 20 BMI Awards, including being named 2019 BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year. His smash “Talk” from his sophomore album Free Spirit was named 2019 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Song of the Year.
In addition, he has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and has won six Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards and an MTV Video Music Award.
Previous BMI Champion Award recipients include Keith Urban, Mark Ronson, Residente, Sebastian Krys and Lee Thomas Miller.
BMI’s Pop Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Publisher of the Year and BMI’s top 50 most-performed pop songs in the U.S. of the previous year will also be celebrated at the event.
Khalid, alongside his mother, created The Great Khalid Foundation in 2020 to bridge education, innovation and music. The foundation offers music education programs, scholarship awards, community partnerships and gift giveaways to support and nurture children.
BMI enjoyed a double win Tuesday (March 28) in a federal rate court decision that will increase the royalties the performance rights organizations’ songwriters earn at live events.
The federally adjudicated decision in BMI’s rate case against Live Nation, AEG and the North American Concert Promoters Association (NACPA) awarded a 138% increase in rate to 0.5% of the event’s revenue. It also expands that revenue base to include the full price of concert hall VIP packages and box suites, tickets sold directly to the secondary market and servicing fees received by the promoters.
Previously, the revenue definition only reflected earnings directly from the face value of primary market ticket sales.
The rate and expanded revenue base applies to the period of mid-2018 through Dec. 31, 2022.
On the flipside, Southern District of New York Judge Louis Stanton, who handed down the rate court decision, rejected BMI’s attempt to ditch the historical 10% discount fee that the trade group and its promoters get for helping to administer the license on behalf of BMI. As well, BMI’s effort to expand the revenue base to also include sponsorship and advertising revenue was also rejected.
“This is a massive victory for BMI and the songwriters, composers and publishers we represent,” BMI president Mike O’Neill said in a statement. “It will have a significant and long-term positive impact on the royalties they receive for the live concert category. We are gratified the Court agreed with BMI’s position that the music created by songwriters and composers is the backbone of the live concert industry and should be valued accordingly. Today’s decision also underscores BMI’s continued mission to fight on behalf of our affiliates, no matter how long it takes, to ensure they receive fair value for their creative work.”
“We advocated on behalf of artists to keep their costs down, and managed to hold the increase to less than 1/3 of BMI’s proposed increase,” said a Live Nation spokesperson in a statement. “This will cost the performers we work with approximately $15 million a year spread out over thousands of artists, and cost increases for Live Nation directly are not material.”
Prior to this decision, BMI and the live concert industry have been operating under a license negotiated in 1998 that was renewed twice through June 30, 2013. That agreement called for promoters to pay a performance licensing rate of 0.3% of revenue for concert venues with under 10,000 seats, and 0.15% of revenue for venues with over 10,000 seats. That rate, and the revenue definition that only covered primary market ticket sales, also served as the interim rate until this decision came down today.
AEG did not respond to immediate requests for comment. The NACPA could not be reached for comment.
LiveCo, a new concert promotion company that combines BASE Entertainment, Premier Productions, Icon Concerts, Rush Concerts and Peachtree Entertainment, launched with a team that includes Brian Becker and Mark Maluso (BASE Entertainment), Michael Pugh and Shane Quick (Premier Productions), Paul Meloche (Icon Concerts), Jacob Reiser (Rush Concerts) and Bradley Jordan (Peachtree Entertainment). “Designed to help expand the live entertainment industry,” according to a press release, LiveCo represents talent and productions including Jimmy O. Yang, Criss Angel, Cocomelon Live, Cody Johnson, Jo Koy, Dude Perfect, Zach Bryan, MercyMe, Elevation Worship and Gabriel Iglesias.
BMI announced several key promotions within its creative team. Rafael Martinez and John Ellwood were appointed to the newly created roles of vp of strategy and business affairs, creative and assistant vp of strategy and business affairs, creative, respectively. Reema Iqbal was named executive director of creative, film, TV & visual media. LuAnn Davidson was promoted to executive director of creative administration. Nina Carter was promoted to senior director of creative, partnerships & events. Jon Miller was named director of creative, Europe. Lastly, Katie Kilgallen and Reginald Stewart were both promoted to director of creative. Ellwood can be reached at jellwood@bmi.com, Iqbal can be reached at riqbal@bmi.com, Carter can be reached at ncarter@bmi.comm, Miller can be reached at jmiller@bmi.com and Kilgallen can be reached at kkilgallen@bmi.com.
Todd Moscowitz‘s Santa Anna label appointed Dave Anderson as GM and Carlos “Los” Orgando as vp of promotion. Anderson, who previously served in vp of commerce roles at Geffen and Warner Records, will oversee Santa Anna’s marketing, promotion and digital teams. Orgando, who will assist the label in developing and executing its promotion strategy across several formats, previously held the vp of promotion role at both Geffen and Warner Records. Elsewhere, Derek Lee added the title of CFO of Santa Anna to his existing title of senior vp & CFO at Moscowitz’s Alamo Records.
William “Andy” Anderson was promoted to chief revenue officer at American Urban Radio Networks (AURN); he was previously president of sales. In the role, Anderson will help maximize revenue opportunities, product acquisitions and original content creations for the company. Anderson previously served as director of urban/Canadian advertising at Billboard. (via Radio Facts)
Markus Holzherr was appointed to the newly created role of chief business officer at Warner Music Central Europe. In his new role, Holzherr will oversee the finance, new business, research & analytics and legal departments. He comes from DFB GmbH & Co. KG, where he served as managing director of finance and controlling.
Rob Gross was hired as senior vp of label services at The Syndicate. In the newly-created role, Gross will provide full-scale project management for album releases and sales for all aspects of the company’s services in radio, marketing and PR. Most recently a partner at Shark Attack, he brings clients Warner/Rhino Records and Dine Alone Records to The Syndicate. Gross can be reached at gross@thesyn.com.
Fresh N Sassy Productions CEO/founder Janishia Jones launched ENCORE Music Tech Solutions, a music tech consultancy that signed EMPIRE Publishing as its first client. Under that deal, ENCORE will work with EMPIRE Publishing to scale and improve the publisher’s performance across royalty payment, reporting, synch and other complex systems. ENCORE has already “helped create crucial systems” for EMPIRE Publishing including solutions to better manage agreements, financial accounts and copyrights, according to a press release. Jones can be reached at Info@encoremusic.tech.
Liberty Wilson was promoted to vp of international marketing at Warner Music UK, advancing from her previous role of international marketing director. She’ll continue reporting to the label’s senior vp of international marketing, Victor Aroldoss.
Human Re Sources hired Junko Takeda as vp. Based in Los Angeles, Takeda will oversee day-to-day label relations of Human Re Sources’ Los Angeles and Atlanta operations and continue building the company’s roster of artist clients with support from The Orchard. Takeda most recently served as head of A&R operations at Warner Chappell Music.
The National Independent Venue Foundation (NIVF) appointed Carl Atiya Swanson as executive director. In the role, Swanson will play a key role in “expanding and solidifying NIVF’s programmatic vision,” according to a press release, collaborating with the executive leadership of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and NIVF “to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live performance venues, festivals and promoters throughout the U.S.” He will work to strengthen the independent venue sector via economic development initiatives and workforce development programs while managing critical services including emergency relief funding. Swanson was previously associate director at Springboard for the Arts.
Jacee Badeaux and Halle Bartlett were promoted to senior creative director of A&R and coordinator of A&R, respectively, at Big Yellow Dog Music. In his new role, Badeaux will continue to curate activity for the company’s writers, artists and producers; he was previously creative director. Bartlett, who was previously creative assistant, will be responsible for calendar management, writer coordination, song pitching and social media for Big Yellow Dog songwriters. Badeaux can be reached at Jacee@bigyellowdogmusic.com and Bartlett can be reached at halle@bigyellowdogmusic.com.
Stephanie McGuire was appointed senior A&R international at CTM Publishing. She will continue to guide CTM’s composers, authors and producers while also focusing on fostering more international collaborations and createingmore overseas opportunities for the company’s roster. McGuire can be reached at Stephanie.mcguire@ctm.nl.
John Page joined Oak View Group (OVG) as senior vp of Acrisure Arena, the Coachella Valley Firebirds and OVG360 Facilities. In the role, he will oversee the management and oversight of all three entities. Based in Palm Springs, Page reports to Coachella Valley Firebirds president Tod Leiweke, OVG business development president Francesca Bodie and OVG360 president Chris Granger. Prior to joining OVG, he served as president of Spectra, which OVG acquired in November 2021.
Nashville’s Society of Leaders in Development (SOLID) announced the newly elected members to its 2023 board of directors: President Erin Pettit (Wiles + Taylor), vp Rio Van Risseghem (The Orchard), secretary Jenna Smith (SESAC) and treasurer Ryan Cunningham (ONErpm). Additionally, Grayson Flatness (Sounds Good) was named alumni president of the SOLID Alumni Board.
Hyperreal — the tech company that develops “digital twins” for artists and other creators, allowing them to control their digital identities in the metaverse and beyond — named Scot Barbour chief technology officer and Tim Coleman vp of digital humans. Meanwhile, the company’s chief innovation officer, Sergi Sagas, joined the Hyperreal board of directors. Barbour, who was previously head of production and digital DNA acquisition, will drive the company’s technology roadmap and partnerships and supervise physical and virtual production for Hyperreal. Coleman, who joined Hyperreal in 2020, will head up the effort to build the company’s “highly-detailed, performance ready, photoreal digital avatars known as ‘HyperModels,’” according to a press release.
Tracy McKnight is joining BMI as vp of creative, film, TV & visual media. In the role, McKnight will lead the day-to-day functions of the department while identifying and signing new affiliates to BMI and cultivating relationships with the company’s roster of film, TV and visual media composers. Additionally, she will help develop programs and events that support career development while providing opportunities to highlight the work of BMI’s composers. She is based out of BMI’s Los Angeles office and will report to BMI executive vp of creative & licensing Mike Steinberg; she assumes the role on Jan. 23. McKnight most recently oversaw the film score acquisition department at Wise Publishing.
Riccardo Loda was promoted to head of A&R at Warner Chappell Music (WCM) Italy; he was previously A&R manager. Based in Milan, he’ll report to WCM president of Southern Europe Santiago Menéndez-Pidal.
Anton Powers joined Sony Music Entertainment’s Ministry of Sound Records as head of A&R. Powers joins the label following three years at Warner Records. He reports to Columbia Records UK president Dipesh Parmar.
Sam Jackson was named controller at BBC Radio 3, succeeding Alan Davey, who will step down from the position in March after eight years. In the role, Jackson will drive creative and managerial responsibility for running Radio 3 while delivering on the annual classical music festival BBC Proms. He was most recently executive vp of global classics & jazz at Universal Music Group. Jackson begins his new role in April, reporting to BBC director of music Lorna Clarke.
Tracklib hired Michael Cassidy as chief product and technology officer and tapped Andreas Liffgarden (Soundtrack Your Brand) to serve as an advisor on the company’s board. Cassidy formerly served as chief innovation officer at FUGA and was a consultant on strategy and technology for Downtown Music Holdings.
Adrian Karvinen was appointed vp of music business & partnerships at Web3 entertainment company Hume, which creates virtual artists. Karvinen will be tasked with building partnerships with brands and artists for the company’s so-called “metastars.” He was most recently director of North America and head of crypto-integration and catalog acquisitions for AI music company Snafu Records.
Nicholas Brema was promoted to business manager at Leftbrain. He can be reached at nbrema@useleftbrain.com.
Lily Collins was named account manager at Milestone Publicity in Nashville; she was formerly associate publicist. She can be reached at LCollins@MilestonePublicity.com.
Tenasie Courtright joined Jody Williams Songs as creative coordinator. Based in Nashville, she previously worked as a brand ambassador for Simple Logistics Solutions. She can be reached at tenasie@jodywilliamssongs.co.
The BMI Country Music Awards were held Tuesday evening (Nov. 8) at BMI’s Nashville headquarters, and a cavalcade of music artists and industry members attended the ceremony to venerate the year’s 50 most-performed songs, as well as the songwriters and music publishers behind them.
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Over 900 guests attended the shindig, including artist-writers Ashley McBryde, Kelsea Ballerini, Priscilla Block, Kane Brown, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Michael Hardy (who records under the name HARDY), Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.
Leading the ceremony was BMI president/CEO Michael O’Neill, who welcomed the crowd, saying, “We are thrilled to honor all of you who are delivering the best in country music.” Also feting this year’s winning songs, writers and publishers were BMI vp, creative, Nashville Clay Bradley, as well as AVP, creative Mason Hunter, AVP, creative Leslie Roberts and executive director, creative Shannon Sanders.
Bradley noted that among this year’s honorees were 72 first-time BMI award-winning songwriters.
The evening launched with Shy Carter performing “Beer With My Friends” alongside David Lee Murphy.
Sony Music Publishing was named BMI music publisher of the year, having published 25 of the 50 most-performed songs of the year, including Ballerini’s “Half of My Hometown,” the King/Lambert collaboration “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” Brown’s “One Mississippi,” Lambert’s “If I Was a Cowboy” and Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in my Boots.”
The 2022 BMI country song of the year honor went to Luke Combs’ “Forever After All,” written by Combs, Drew Parker and Rob Williford and published by 50 Egg Music, Big Music Machine, Oak Tree Swing Publishing, Rowdy Rob Music, Straight Dimes Music, and Sony/ATV Tree.
Hardy was named BMI country songwriter of the year, following his ACM songwriter of the year win earlier this year.
Roberts gifted him with a custom guitar with BMI songwriter of the year as he took the stage to thank those who have been instrumental in his career. As a songwriter, Hardy has written not only his own hits including “One Beer,” and “Give Heaven Some Hell,” but was a contributing writer to Dierks Bentley’s “Beers on Me” (which also features him as a vocalist), Morgan Wallen’s “More Than My Hometown” and “Sand in My Boots,” Blake Shelton’s “Come Back as a Country Boy” and Cole Swindell’s “Single Saturday Night.”
Hardy thanked his parents and sister for their influence in his life and career, as well as champions including Casey Beathard and Ashley Gorley.
“When I heard that I had won, which was very recently, my first thought was, ‘I’m so glad that I’m with BMI, because it’s the only way I would ever beat Ashley Gorley in anything,’” he quipped. He went on to thank Relative Music Group’s Dennis and Jesse Matkosky.
“Dennis was the first and only person to sign me to a publishing deal back in 2014,” Hardy said. “Since then, we have started a real publishing company called Relative Music and we are damn proud of that s***.”
Hardy thanked his sister Madison for leading him to sign with BMI, and thanked Roberts for being a strong champion for him.
“She took a chance on me…she let me go into her office and play her literally the five or six songs I had to my name,” he said, recalling that one of the songs he played her was “Scars.” “At the end of that meeting, I remember Leslie saying something along the lines of, ‘Yeah, these are okay, but there’s this one song called ‘Scars’ that is pretty good and I think you’re onto something.’ That one comment Leslie made meant the entire world to me. Just like everyone in this room, I moved from a small town to Nashville…hearing that from Leslie gave me all the confidence to believe that I could actually make it in this town.”
Toby Keith was presented with the BMI Icon award, commemorating his work as a songwriter, including crucial contributions to his own catalog of hits, including “American Soldier,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” and “How Do You Like Me Now?!”. Previous recipients of the honor include Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton. Keith was previously named BMI country songwriter of the year three times, and won the BMI country song of the year honor for “As Good As I Once Was.”
O’Neill said of Keith, “His creative accomplishments are second to none but at his heart he is a songwriter. That’s who we are celebrating tonight—the writer behind the hits.”
Bradley added, “You are a songwriter’s songwriter.”
Keith’s fellow Oklahoma native Underwood performed Keith’s No. 1 Country Airplay debut hit, 1993’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” which Keith wrote by himself.
“It was artists like you that taught kids like me that greatness is possible,” Underwood said.
Eric Church offered a slowed down, uniquely “Chief” version of Keith’s 2003 Billboard Country Airplay chart leader “I Love This Bar.” Church also shared his first memory of seeing Keith at the Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar in downtown Nashville, an incident which involved Keith taking a bullying barfly by the collar and dragging him down a line of barstools, before depositing him at the end of the bar just as Church walks in.
“I thought, ‘I like this motherf***er.’ So that was my first Toby Keith memory, and I cherish that,” Church said. “For me, he’s always been a guy who did it his own way.”
Video tributes poured in throughout the evenings from Willie Nelson, Scotty Emerick, and Keith’s longtime manager TK Kimbrell. Later in the evening, Keith’s dedication to military members was lauded, and as footage of Keith’s post-9/11 Billboard Country Airplay hit “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)” played on the screen, several in the music industry crowd began singing along, ultimately giving Keith a standing ovation. Emerick and Dean Dillon performed Keith’s “A Little Too Late.”
Keith took the stage and offered heartfelt thanks to his parents and family, as well as to Kimbrell and producer Harold Shedd (known for his work with Alabama, K.T. Oslin, Lorrie Morgan and more), who produced Keith’s earliest albums. Shedd was in attendance, spending his 91st birthday to help celebrate Keith. Keith also namechecked producer James Stroud, who co-produced albums including Keith’s Dream Walkin’, How Do You Like Me Now?! and Shock’n Y’all.
Keith also recalled being a Nashville newcomer singer-songwriter from Oklahoma with a collection of songs and a dream.
“When I got to Nashville, was they said, ‘You got to get affiliated.’ I said, ‘What the f***’s affiliated?’” On the advice of producer Shedd, he walked into the BMI Nashville office “in 1990 or 1991” and quickly met Bradley.
“You know how you got that intern that you always dump your s*** on? They dumped me on Clay,” Keith said. “Since 1990 or 1991, I’ve been affiliated with the greatest organization in the music business, and that’s BMI. They’ve been so great to me as a songwriter because I knew that even if I didn’t make it as an artist, that maybe somebody would cut my songs. I always felt that the songwriting was the most important part of this whole industry.”
Keith also thanked his agent Curt Motley, Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell, and his frequent collaborators Emerick, Dillon, Bobby Pinson and others who have collaborated with him on the road though the years.
“TK [Kimbrell] ’bout gave his career up as a manager to have to manage me, because I was hard to handle…everywhere we went, whatever label we were on, we were in a fistfight. I wanted to play my songs and dress out of my closet and it didn’t work that way then…back then they wanted to groom you and I was ungroomable. Bless TK’s heart, he said ‘I’m with ya, dawg.’”
In closing, Keith made it clear that of all the accolades he’s received in his career, it’s the ones that honor the craft of songwriting that mean the most to him.
“All I ever cared about was Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and BMI Icon,” he said.
