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“Country music is known for its storytelling, and that storytelling starts with you, our songwriters,” CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said in welcoming guests to the 13th annual CMA Triple Play Awards, held Wednesday (March 1). “You all have the gift of taking the experience, the story, and connecting it to people in a compelling, beautiful way.”
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The CMA Triple Play Awards honor songwriters who have managed the feat of scoring three No. 1 country songs within the span of 12 months, based on the Billboard Country Airplay, Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Aircheck charts.
This year’s ceremony honored 16 CMA Triple Play recipients: Rhett Akins, Kurt Allison, Luke Combs, Jesse Frasure, Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley (x2), Charlie Handsome, HARDY, Ben Johnson, Tully Kennedy, Shane McAnally, Chase McGill, Thomas Rhett, ERNEST, Josh Thompson and Morgan Wallen.
First-time CMA Triple Play Award honorees were Allison, Handsome, Johnson and Kennedy. On the opposite end of the spectrum were three heavily decorated writers adding to their CMA Triple Play arsenal: Akins (taking home his eighth win), McAnally (11th) and Gorley (a two-time winner that evening, earning his 19th and 20th CMA Triple Play Awards). To date, the CMA has given out more than 300 CMA Triple Play Awards.
Composer and CMA Board member Jim Beavers brought heartfelt class — and plenty of jokes — to his role hosting the event.
In introducing honoree ERNEST to accept his CMA Triple Play award for songs including Sam Hunt’s “Breaking Up Was Easy in the ‘90s,” Beavers said, “You know what else was easy in the ‘90s? Making money on an album cut.”
Jamie Schramm/CMA
Later in the evening, Beavers humorously noted that there was one more CMA Triple Play Award winner who had been left off of the program list. “ChatGPT,” he deadpanned, as the audience laughed. “Is that too insider for you?”
Several artist/writers were in attendance to accept their accolades, including Thomas Rhett, who told the crowd, “I never thought I would be doing this, I really didn’t,” he said. “I want to thank the songwriters. I’m looking at the songs here. One was written on Zoom right when COVID happened, one was written on a writing trip in Montana and the other I think was my first No. 1 that I wrote in Nashville. Thank you to the writers that write with me, that leave their families to come on the bus and write way too many songs while we’re out there. I would not be able to do this without y’all.” He also thanked radio and Warner Chappell.
Galyon, the sole female honoree out of 16 CMA Triple Play Awards recipients, was honored for “Gone,” recorded by Dierks Bentley; “half of my hometown,” recorded by Kelsea Ballerini; and “Thought You Should Know,” recorded by Wallen.
“You know I’m going to say something. Gotta hold it down for the girls,” Galyon said, drawing cheers from the audience. She thanked her publishing team of Influence Media, as well as Warner Chappell Music Nashville’s Ben Vaughn, BJ Hill and Christina Wiltshire, noting that Wiltshire pitched “Gone” to Dierks Bentley.
“She plucked ‘Gone’ out of the millions of songs in the Chappell catalog and got what is the jackpot for all songwriters—a complete outside cut and a No. 1,” Galyon said, drawing fervent cheers from the industry crowd. “If you want to appreciate your publishers, try to become one,” said Galyon who leads her own publishing company, Songs & Daughters. “It really makes you appreciative for what you had all those years as a writer, so thank you,” she added, thanking her S&D team. “I’m moving into new spaces, new territories and it would not be sustainable for me to continue to write songs and keep my day job going if they weren’t holding it down at the office, which happens to be my kitchen table.”
Jamie Schramm/CMA
Morgan Wallen was honored for his songs “Wasted on You,” “Thought You Should Know” and “You Proof.”
“He earned all of these No. 1 songs in just one month, in May 2022,” Beavers noted.
“I’m just glad I’m allowed to be here this year,” Wallen first told the crowd, alluding to the fallout that happened in recent years following his use of a racial slur. “For real, I always thank God, my lord and savior Jesus Christ. I always have a positive outlook on everything, that’s because of Him. Thank you to my family, and to my songwriters and my best friends. Sometimes I come into the room and I got nothing, but when I get in there with them, there’s always something. This is not something I take lightly. It means a lot to me. I get to put food on my little boy’s plate and clothes on him, and good food at that. And I’m damn proud of that, so thank you everybody.”
Luke Combs and HARDY were not in attendance, but each sent in acceptance speech videos. Combs was awarded his fifth CMA Triple Play Award, while HARDY was awarded his third.
“Three years in a row, and I haven’t been able to make one [CMA Triple Play Awards ceremony] yet,” HARDY said. “I’m honored as always and I still can’t believe it. I wake up every day and can’t believe my whole life and how blessed I am. I’m very thankful. It inspires me to keep writing and plugging along so that maybe one day I will get another Triple Play and actually show up because I’ve wanted to go since before I was even a hit songwriter…I want to thank everybody involved, all the hit songwriters in the room that really gave me a shot when I was just starting out and helped write songs that really put thing on the map for me. Dennis and Jesse Matkosky at Relative Music, I truly feel like we are building something really cool as a publishing company and I’m happy to be a part of that.” He ended the video in true HARDY “Rednecker” fashion, by shotgunning a beer.
Akins accepted for songs including “Half of Me,” “Slow Down Summer” and “To Be Loved By You.”
“I don’t know how I won eight of these…this is a big deal. This is something that I don’t take this for granted. To have three [songs] come out and line up at just the right time, only God can do that, and I thank God every day for it, for moving chess pieces every day that I don’t know how to move…I want to thank CMA for putting this on, thank you for honoring songwriters.” He also nodded to the daily fortitude inherent in successful songwriters.
“That’s the glory of songwriting, man,” Akins added, before thanking all of his co-writers and the artists who record the songs and the radio promotions teams. “It’s in our blood so much that no matter how hard it is, we get up everyday and go, ‘I’m gonna knock that dang wall down today.’”
During the celebration, Jody Williams (founder of Jody Williams Songs) was honored as the recipient of the CMA Songwriter Advocate Award—an accolade given to an industry member who has been a tireless champion for the songwriting community. Over four decades, Williams has supported songwriters through his previous role as the head of creative at BMI, as well as years at both major publishers and his own companies.
A video tribute featured several of the artists and writers Williams has supported over the years, including several of his Jody Williams Songs clients including Vince Gill, Ashley McBryde and Natalie Hemby.
Eric Church, McBryde and Robert Earl Keen were surprise performers during the evening, each honoring Williams for his dedication to songwriters.
“I met Jody in my formative years, my songwriting years, which is what I came to town to do,” Church told the crowd, noting that he met his wife Katherine while she was working for Williams as a song plugger. “He had this really attractive song plugger who was a blonde that I took a liking to, and we’ve been married for 15 years. Jody’s son [Driver Williams] plays guitar for me and he’s been an integral part of the band. This was a no-brainer. I got to thinking about those feelings when I would show up at Jody Williams Music and you’d never know who was writing there. One day, Taylor would be there—that’s Taylor Swift–and every day was like, ‘Ok, I gotta write the best song in this place. If I win this building, I’m the best on Music Row.’”
McBryde performed her current release, “Light on in the Kitchen,” which she noted was the “first song I wrote for you, Jody.” Church offered a song he had written just that day, titled “My Nebraska,” while Keen performed “Feelin’ Good Again.”
Liz Rose, who will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, presented Willams with the award, tearing up as she said, “I wouldn’t be a songwriter without Jody Williams.”
In accepting the honor, Williams recognized a previous CMA songwriter advocate honoree, Bob DiPiero, and praised all of this year’s CMA Triple Play Award honorees.
“How awesome is it that you hit a lick like that in one year? I’m genuinely happy for all of you. This is really why we are here. We are here to celebrate you,” Williams said. “He also honored his wife and sons, recalling how surrounded by music the family has been from the beginning. “When they were little, I’d drive them to school and we’d play ‘Smash or Trash’ with new demoes or worktapes from the publishing company I was working at. So guess what? They learned the song business and became musicians and songwriters. The most important thing to us is that they also turned out to be really good men.”
Williams recalled how Del Bryant, the son of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant who went on to become the president/CEO of BMI until his retirement in 2014, showed him how the publishing community worked and told him he might be a good song plugger.
“From that moment on, I began waking up each day with a simple purpose–to help songwriters make a living writing songs,” Williams said. He recalled how Charlie Daniels gave him his first publishing job, and how Kix Brooks “let me practice being a publisher on him, and Kix is like a brother to me.” Donna Hilley gave him a joint-venture publishing company with Sony-Tree in 1999. “I was so grateful for Donna Hilley,” he said. “She believed in me more than I believed in myself…That path led me to Liz Rose. I learned to let Liz do what she does and don’t get in her way. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from Liz Rose in my career. She remains one of my very best friends.”
He also went on to thank those he has worked with at BMI, before thanking the staff and roster at Jody Williams Songs, and every songwriter in the room.
“I would not have a career at all if not for the songwriters in this community,” Williams concluded. “You are incredibly special to me and have blessed me beyond any expectations I have ever had.”
See the full list of CMA Triple Play honorees and their No. 1s below:
Rhett Akins“To Be Loved By You,” recorded by Parker McCollum“Slow Down Summer,” recorded by Thomas Rhett“Half Of Me,” recorded by Thomas Rhett featuring Riley Green
Kurt Allison“Blame It On You,” recorded by Jason Aldean“If I Didn’t Love You,” recorded by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood“Trouble With A Heartbreak,” recorded by Jason Aldean
Luke Combs“Cold As You,” recorded by Combs“Doin’ This,” recorded by Combs“The Kind Of Love We Make,” recorded by Combs
Jesse Frasure“Whiskey And Rain,” recorded by Michael Ray“One Mississippi,” recorded by Kane Brown“Slow Down Summer,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
Nicolle Galyon“Gone,” recorded by Dierks Bentley“half of my hometown,” recorded by Kelsea Ballerini“Thought You Should Know,” recorded by Morgan Wallen
Ashley Gorley“Sand In My Boots,” recorded by Morgan Wallen“Beers On Me,” recorded by Dierks Bentley featuring BRELAND and HARDY“You Proof,” recorded by Morgan Wallen“Slow Down Summer,” recorded by Thomas Rhett“Take My Name,” recorded by Parmalee“New Truck,” recorded by Dylan Scott
Charlie Handsome“I Love My Country,” recorded by Florida Georgia Line“More Than My Hometown,” recorded by Morgan Wallen“Wasted On You,” recorded by Morgan Wallen
Michael Hardy (HARDY)“Single Saturday Night,” recorded by Cole Swindell“Sand In My Boots,” recorded by Morgan Wallen“Beers On Me,” recorded by Dierks Bentley featuring BRELAND and HARDY
Ben Johnson“Take My Name,” recorded by Parmalee“Best Thing Since Backroads,” recorded by Jake Owen“New Truck,” recorded by Dylan Scott
Tully Kennedy“Blame It On You,” recorded by Jason Aldean“If I Didn’t Love You,” recorded by Jason Aldean“Trouble With A Heartbreak,” recorded by Jason Aldean
Shane McAnally“half of my hometown,” recorded by Kelsea Ballerini“23,” recorded by Sam Hunt“Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” recorded by Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce
Chase McGill“Waves,” recorded by Luke Bryan“Never Say Never,” recorded by Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson“Don’t Think Jesus,” recorded by Morgan Wallen
Thomas Rhett“Country Again,” recorded by Thomas Rhett“Slow Down Summer,” recorded by Thomas Rhett“She Had Me At Heads Carolina,” recorded by Cole Swindell
Ernest Keith Smith (ERNEST)“Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s,” recorded by Sam Hunt“One Mississippi,” recorded by Kane Brown“Wasted On You,” recorded by Morgan Wallen
Josh Thompson“Whiskey And Rain,” recorded by Michael Ray“Wasted On You,” recorded by Morgan Wallen“Half Of Me,” recorded by Thomas Rhett
Morgan Wallen“Wasted On You,” recorded by Wallen“Thought You Should Know,” recorded by Wallen“You Proof,” recorded by Wallen
Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and engineer Marty MARO has signed a co-publishing agreement with Brandon Silverstein Publishing and Patriot Publishing. MARO, born Marty Rod, has written and produced with talents like Selena Gomez, DJ Snake, John Legend, Anitta and Bastille, and his work has been featured in ads, gaming and films, including Meta, Madden 23, Space Jam and others.
MARO’s signing announcement arrives just after Brandon Silverstein Publishing also inked a publishing agreement with producer and songwriter Jasper Harris — best known for songs like “First Class” by Jack Harlow, “Family Ties” by Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar, and “I Like You” by Post Malone and Doja Cat.
Brandon Silverstein Publishing is the new monicker for S10 Publishing, a company which has signed a number of deals in conjunction with Avex USA, the American branch of Japanese music and entertainment company Avex Group. These partnered deals include Harris as well as “Peaches” writer HARV, Jamaican singer Shenseea, The Kid LAROI collaborator and Internet Money member Cxdy, “Build a Bitch” co-writer David Arkwright, “Stunnin’” producer Declan Hoy, and Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and Future writer/producer KOSA.
For MARO’s signing, the quickly building BSP has partnered with OneRepublic frontman and hitmaker Ryan Tedder’s company Patriot Publishing. Tedder says of the new signing, “Marty’s a beast with an insatiable work ethic. He is an extremely gifted producer and topliner, and I hope to have him part of the family for years to come.”
MARO adds, “I am extremely excited to be joining forces with Ryan and Brandon in this new chapter of my career! They are both two forces of nature in the business and their belief in my vision and musical ability, along with their experience and global reach feels like the perfect combination for me. Together we’ve already achieved some major accomplishments, and I believe the future of my career is in great hands.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to watch Marty work in the studio and I’ve seen how he’s able to help artists create their best work,” says Silverstein, founder and CEO of Brandon Silverstein Publishing. “I’m so thrilled to have him join the family.”
Hipgnosis Songs Management has purchased 100% interest in publishing copyrights to 217 songs in the catalog of TMS, the British songwriting and production trio.
This latest acquisition includes the trio’s publishing copyrights, producer royalty streams, and neighboring rights, including “Someone You Loved” and “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi and “Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself” by Jess Glynne.
Comprised of Tom “Froe” Barnes, Benjamin Kohn, and Peter “Merf” Kelleher, TMS has already sold the copyrights of 121 of their other songs to Hipgnosis in the past, including songs recorded by G-Eazy, Sigma and Emeli Sandé. The writers’ share of ownership and royalties of the previous 121 songs is also included in the latest acquisition.
“Someone You Loved” has achieved 7-times platinum status in the U.K. since its release in 2018 and is touted as the U.K.’s most played song of all time on Spotify. Worldwide, it ranks as the fourth most streamed with 2.6 billion and counting. “Someone You Loved” was written by Lewis Capaldi, Samuel Roman, and the TMS trio, meaning Hipgnosis now controls three out of five writers’ shares of publishing. TMS also produced the track.
Hipgnosis Songs Management, the entity managing the publicly traded company’s catalog, acquired these songs on behalf of Hipgnosis Songs Capital, an investment vehicle established by Hipgnosis and Blackstone. The world’s largest alternative asset manager, Blackstone pledged $1 billion to further investment in music IP with Hipgnosis and also took a majority stake.
TMS has also worked with Dua Lipa, John Legend, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, Lily Allen and Bebe Rexha, One Direction, Cher, Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Lily Allen, Labrinth, JLS, Years & Years, Oily Murs, Ella Henderson, Birdy, Jem & The Holograms, Sinead Harnett, Kwabs and Dot Rotten.
It is not clear which, if any, of these artists’ songs are included in this deal. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
TMS were represented by Paul Centellas at North Pole Management and Sonia Diwan at Sound Advice.
“Froe, Ben, Merf and their manager Paul Centellas have been an important part of the Hipgnosis family for many years now so it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to continue our relationship with this new acquisition including what will undoubtedly be a contender for song of the decade with Lewis Capaldi’s iconic ‘Someone You Loved,’” says Merck Mercuriadis, CEO and founder of Hipgnosis Song Management.
Barnes, Kohn and Kelleher (TMS) jointly add, We’re incredibly proud of this body of work and know Merck and the family at Hipgnosis will be excellent custodians of these copyrights in future. It’s incredible to see what they’ve built in just a few short years and we know they’ll continue to represent these songs with passion and commitment.”
“Nobody is doing more to elevate the standing and value of the songwriter than Merck and the team at Hipgnosis,” says Centellas, managing director, North Pole Management. “We’re very happy to entrust them with these incredible copyrights and look forward to working with them across various initiatives to ensure the songwriter is properly valued and remunerated in future. Without songwriters, there is no music business.”
Arriving just before New Years’ Eve, on Friday (Dec. 30), the Copyright Royalty Board judges issued their ruling on streaming royalty rates for songwriters for the period of January 2023 to December 2027, upholding a settlement proposed by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), Digital Media Association (DiMA), and Nashville Songwriters’ Association International (NSAI) in late August. This ruling sets the rates for Subpart C and D of the five year period known as Phonorecords IV (or “Phono IV” for short), and it represents a compromise between the music industry and the streaming services, creating certainty around the royalties owed to songwriters for U.S. mechanicals.
According to the settlement, which the NMPA touts as the “highest rates in the history of digital streaming,” the headline rate will increase from 15.1% of revenue in 2023 to 15.2% in 2024 and then up a half a percentage point in each of the remaining three years, peaking at 15.35% in 2027, the final year of the term.
For stand-alone portable subscription offerings — like Spotify — the total content cost (TCC) component of the rate formula will be set at 26.2% of what’s paid to labels for the entire term, or $1.10 per subscriber, whichever is lower. Previously, those numbers were 21% of revenue and 80 cents per subscriber.
This means that the resultant TCC pool is measured against the total service revenue. Whichever is larger is designated the “all-in” pool, including both performance and mechanical royalties. After this is established, performance royalties are subtracted out, leaving behind solely the mechanical royalties.
Finally, the resultant mechanicals are compared against a pool, calculated by multiplying a streaming service’s total subscribers by 60 cents per person. Whichever of these two totals is bigger becomes the final mechanical royalty pool paid out to publishers and songwriters. Previously, the multiplier for the last 10 years had been set at 50 cents per subscriber.
This final ruling, reached two days before its rates are set to take effect, is a striking contrast from the lengthy proceedings to set streaming rates for Phonorecords III (2018-2022). Though that five year period is nearly over, its rates are still not finalized. In 2018, the music industry initially won the increase of the headline rate from 11.4% to 15.1% over the five year period, but the following year, Spotify, Amazon, Google and Pandora appealed, hoping to secure a lesser rate. This resulted in a legal back-and-forth that continues today, and although it is nearing its completion, it has created uncertainty surrounding what songwriters are owed for their work.
In hopes of streamlining the process and avoiding lengthy proceedings, the three settling parties worked together to propose a settlement for approval or denial by the CRB. Though other participants and interested parties outside of those who took part in the settlement were given the opportunity to explain their point-of-view during the month-long “comment period,” which ran from Nov. 7 to Dec. 7, the board explained in its ruling that its role is to either adopt or decline the settlement’s terms as presented, not to “modify” or add “requested adjustments.”
The ruling makes note of concerns provided by the 20 total commenters who weighed in on the settlement during the period, including that to some independent songwriters “the proposed rates might seem inadequate” and that several commenters prefer “alternative methods for inserting inflation adjustments.” “However,” the board states in the ruling, “the settlement is what is before the judges for consideration, not alternative rates or proposals for alternative procedures.”
In a statement Friday, NMPA president and CEO, David Israelite, celebrated the news. “Starting January 1, songwriters will enjoy the highest rates in the world and the highest rates in the history of digital streaming,” he said. “Thanks to the many songwriter advocates who worked hard to make this happen. There are still many challenges ahead to ensure that songs receive their proper value, but the future is bright.”
DiMA president and CEO, Garrett Levin, added, “We appreciate the Copyright Royalty Board for recognizing the benefits of this landmark agreement and the certainty it provides for streaming services, publishers, and songwriters alike. Thanks to the agreement, we can kick off 2023 focused on fans and continuing to grow streaming for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Additional Reporting by Ed Christman