STATE OF THE STATE: SONY MUSIC NASHVILLE
“Next level” seems an apt descriptor for Randy Goodman and Sony Music Nashville's year, and where better to start his catalog of achievements than with Luke Combs? The affable River House artist scored a super-smash with his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and then—in one of those dream-come-true moments that can make even a hardened industryite weep—joined her onstage to perform the song on the Grammys. “Fast Car,” which graces his hit Gettin’ Old set (1.2m+ ATD), has clocked about 900m global streams, was #1 at Country radio for a ridiculous 16 consecutive weeks and was also, notably, #1 at Hot AC and Top 10 at Pop.
Combs’ sold-out 2023 tour, meanwhile, was the biggest ever for a country artist, with 39 shows in 16 countries on three continents, and included the fastest sellouts yet for a country arena tour in the U.K. He’ll be rocking stadiums through much of 2024. Combs is simply a mainstream (and international) music star, regardless of genre; his “Beautiful Crazy” recently became his seventh diamond-certified track. He also collected a fleet of honors, including a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Perf, two CMA trophies and five ACM noms.
The redoubtable Kane Brown expanded his profile while performing to sellout crowds worldwide on his Drunk and Dreaming Tour. Brown co-hosted the CMT Awards, demonstrating his considerable range as an entertainer, performed on the ACMs and became the first male country artist to perform on the MTV VMAs. His Different Man (530k ATD) has produced no fewer than four #1 singles, including the monster “Thank God” f/Katelyn Brown, a streaming giant (422m+) that was also his ninth Country radio #1 and won Video of the Year at the CMTs. Kane’s latest single, “I Can Feel It,” is Top 10 at Country radio as of this writing.
Nate Smith, for his part, continues to stride toward greatness. The 2023 New Artist nominee at both the ACMs and the CMTs (and 2024 iHeart Country contender), having scored 1.2b+ career streams, occupied the #1 spot at Country radio for nine consecutive weeks with “World on Fire,” and also ruled for multiple weeks with “Whiskey on You.” Multiple TV looks sealed the deal. In the wake of tours with Thomas Rhett and Cole Swindell, he’ll hit the road with Morgan Wallen this summer and appear at assorted festivals, fairs and other gatherings this year. 
And then there’s the fabulous Megan Moroney. With 800m+ career streams, nearly half of those for double platinum smash and Country radio #1 “Tennessee Orange,” Moroney has quickly moved into the front rank, solidified by big TV appearances and a CMT Breakthrough Female Video win for “Orange.” Her debut set, Lucky, made multiple “best of ’23” lists, with Rolling Stone and NYT leading. Moroney’s latest single, “No Caller ID,” enjoyed the biggest bow for a solo country female artist since Taylor Swift. Her 2023 tour sold out in just five minutes.
Corey Kent has is approaching the 700m-career-streams benchmark; “Wild as Her” is platinum and topped the Country radio chart, while “Something’s Gonna Kill Me” is gold; new track “This Heart” is winning hearts and minds now. A CMT Breakthrough Male nominee and Listen Up Artist for 2023 (and CRS New Faces of Country Music 2024 honoree). He’s supporting Ashley McBryde in the EU and U.K. and Parker McCollum stateside, with additional headline dates, fests and fairs on tap for this year.
Expect new music in 2024 from Brown, Smith, Moroney, Kent and Kameron Marlowe. House Goodman is also psyched about new signings Dylan Marlowe and Graham Barham.
On the executive side, SMN is touting two key hires: Head of Media Meg Kehoe and VP, Digital Marketing Fred Rubenstein.
