At the Spotify House CMA Fest installation at Nashville's Ole Red, the Spot team gathered for this illustrious photo op with day one performers Sam Hunt and Kelsea Ballerini, the latter of whom was a surprise guest announced just hours before her set. Seen below actively ignoring our calls are (l-) Spotify’s Mary Catherine Kinney, Dustee Jenkins, Hunt, Ballerini, Jeremy Erlich and Rachel Whitney.
Nashville-based alt-pop band Nightly has inked a deal with ONErpm not long after announcing its sophomore album, Wear Your Heart Out, due 8/25. The forthcoming project serves as the follow-up to the trio's 2020 debut, night, love you, and includes the previously released singles “hate my favorite band,” ‘‘radiohead,” “dry eyes" and the title track.
“It’s always special when you get to work with an artist you’ve been a fan of for years,” ONErpm A&R Alex Ziabko said. “The band is already a force in the alternative/pop community and I’m confident their new album is going to cement them as one of the greats.”
The band's manager, Nikki Boon of Neon Coast, added, "Being able to expand Nightly’s team with the incredible people at ONErpm is a partnership that we are truly excited about. ONErpm’s forward thinking, artist-first and creative-first mentality is in line with our philosophies as a management company and we really believe we now have a team with all hands-on deck.
"Because of the quality of Nightly’s new music and their headline touring alongside our new partner ONErpm, we believe that Nightly is poised to have their biggest year yet and grow their fanbase on an even larger international level.”
Nightly plans to hit the road this fall for the Wear Your Heart Out Tour, which kicks off 10/5 in Austin and wraps at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville on 11/16. Find the full schedule here.
Pictured in the photo hoping nobody from HITS can make it to any of the shows are Nightly and Boon with ONErpm staff Erin Dunleavy, George D’Errico, Casey Childers, Jenna LoMonaco, Julia McLeod, Brooke Christopher, Sabrina Da Silvia, Eric Schissel and Ziabko.
UMG Nashville has tapped Ami Brown as its vp of international marketing.
She joins UMG Nashville following several years with UMG’s global marketing team where she served as Senior Director of Partner and Label Relations.
In her new role, Brown will spearhead international strategy, creative connection and outreach for artists across the label group consisting of Capitol Nashville, EMI Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville.
“Ami has been an integral part of our international team for several years and we are thrilled to now have her expertise across our entire roster,” said UMGN evp of marketing, Lori Christian.
“I am very grateful to Cindy [Mabe] and Lori for giving me the opportunity to further connect our incredible artists and foster our initiatives to fans around the world. I’m excited to be a part of the future of UMGN and have always believed that great music knows no borders,” shared Brown.
Having begun her UMG career as a college rep, the Minneapolis native has held several roles over the past 15+ years with the company. She also previously held positions at PlayStation in brand partnerships and strategic alliances.
Brown looks forward to avoiding our emails whenever possible.
Photo Credit: Chris Hollo
Shane McAnally’s manager Robert Carlton is taking over as president of McAnally’s SMACK and becoming an equity partner alongside Robin Palmer and McAnally.
Coming up on 10 years with SMACK, Carlton oversees all facets of the company, including the publishing, digital, and management branches. SMACKSongs, the publishing leg, includes McAnally and Josh Jenkins as well as more than 20 staff writers. SMACKManagement’s roster includes Walker Hayes; SMACKTok, the digital leg, offers influencer marketing services and focuses on connecting artists with fans through social media platforms.
“From intern to the presidency, Robert Carlton’s steady hand, work ethic, and innate instincts have earned him the top office at SMACK,” outgoing President Michael McAnally Baum said. “As a visionary who grew up with the company, he has shown how his passion and dedication will lead the team at SMACK into their next chapter of success.”
Cindy Mabe's UMG Nashville has landed hip-hop A&R hitter Chelsea Blythe as EVP of A&R. Blythe will pivot to Music City following stints at Def Jam, Columbia and Interscope.
“I’m so excited to bring Chelsea to UMG Nashville as EVP A&R,” said UMGN Chair/CEO Mabe. “Her bold leadership, dynamic spirit, and passion for the music and artists will align perfectly with the culture we are building. Her love for country music brought her to Nashville and her dynamic presence and impeccable instincts will help lead our artist development strategy and innovate the future of country music.”
Blythe started her career as an A&R intern at Interscope, rising to department coordinator where she worked on projects for Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Rae Sremmurd and Mike WiLL Made-It. She moved to Columbia in 2016, where she rose to VP of A&R and inked Symba as her first artist. Blythe also played a role in signing Baby Keem to the label and developed breakthrough stars Polo G and The Kid LAROI.
In 2021 Blythe reunited with Tunji Balogun—who hired her as an intern at IGA—at Def Jam. As SVP of A&R, Blythe led A&R efforts on Armani White, 26AR and Anella Herim among others.
“I’m very excited to begin this chapter of my career with UMGN,” says Blythe. “I have immense respect and passion for country music, and I am honored that Cindy has recognized my enthusiasm with this opportunity. I am inspired by her unwavering leadership and look forward to implementing my experience in this role while building with the country community.”
The Academy of Country Music hosted singer-songwriter Kimberly Perry (RECORDS Nashville/Columbia) at the Red Barrel Lounge on Wednesday (5/24). Located inside the Academy’s new Music City headquarters, the Red Barrel Lounge is named after the home of the unofficial first ACM Awards banquet in 1963.
During Perry's time there, she spoke with ACM staff about her journey from The Band Perry to becoming a solo act. She also previewed “If I Die Young Pt. 2” and “Burn The House Down,” two songs from her upcoming EP, BLOOM.
The ACM has numerous artists lined up to visit, meet staff, perform songs and record original content in the Academy’s Lisa Lee Content Studio in the ensuing weeks and months. At no point were we invited. Seen in the photo secretly mocking us are (l-r) Artist & Industry Relations and Board & Governance Director Maddy Stessman, Perry and ACM CEO Damon Whiteside.
ONErpm Nashville has inked Jay Allen to its in-house label and will also handle distribution for Allen’s new music, including his next single, “Jello Shot.” Co-written with his longtime producer, Micah Wilshire, and songwriter Cory Batten, the single arrives on 6/16 with an accompanying video arriving 6/30.
“Jay Allen is one of the most driven, focused and versatile talents we’ve signed,” ONErpm Managing Director Tim Wipperman said. “He has that rare capability to believably sing a tender ballad about his mom, then switch to a rockin’, bootie-shaking dance song and kick butt. We’re stoked to have him.”
Allen added, “After years of fighting against Alzheimer’s, I feel like it’s finally time to start having fun, and I believe it’s what my mother would want as well. It’s awesome how God works and connects you with the right people at the right time. Emmanuel Zunz and Tim Wipperman are like big brothers to me, along with the rest of the talented and hard-working team.”
A former contestant on NBC’s The Voice, the Iowa native continues to use his talents for good. In 2019, he was presented with the Alzheimer’s Association’s Caregiving Award. His song, “Blank Stares,” was inspired by his mother who suffered from the disease for many years. A video of him performing the song with his mother onstage went viral, with over 500m views on Facebook. In the wake of her death, Allen remains an advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association. The song has gone on to raise over $100m to help fight the disease.
Allen is performing 6/11 during CMA Music Fest week in Nashville. He’ll hit the Hard Rock stage at 6pm local time. We’ll be hitting the bong.
Pictured overjoyed nobody from HITS showed up are (top row l-r): Allen's attorney Tim Loudermilk, Wipperman and Allen's manager Stacy Stavola and (bottom row l-r) ONErpm's Ryan Cunningham, Allen and ONErpm's Kylie Dembek.
HYBE’s Big Machine Label Group has linked up with Hard 8 Working Group to launch a brand new label, Hard Working Record Company. BMLG boss Scott Borchetta, H8WG co-founders Dirk Hemsath and Rich Egan and partners David Conway and Mike Bachta joined forces on the Nashville-based imprint, developed on the heels of successful BMLG-Hard 8 collaborations on Brantley Gilbert and Kidd G. Seen experimenting with hand gestures intended to ward us off are (back, l-r) BMLG’s Mike Rittberg, HWRC’s LJ Stoll, BMLG’s Andrew Kautz and (front, l-r) Hemsath, Borchetta and Egan.
While BMLG has reached into rock, hip-hop and R&B with its John Varvatos and Blac Noize! Label partnerships, Hard 8 has had big pop success with singer-songwriter Tate McRae. HWRC will operate under the BMLG umbrella and, per Borchetta, will bring “quality and visionary A&R in all genres.” Added the Big Machine boss, “Rich, Dirk and the Hard Working team live for artist discovery and development and they’re bringing in heat from the onset.”
