Jonas Group Publishing has appointed Leslie DiPiero as president.
She’ll report directly to JGE CEO, Phil Guerini, under whose guidance JGP will also expand its overall Nashville footprint with catalog acquisitions, recordings and sync opportunities.
In her new role, DiPiero will sign and develop songwriters and producers, while nurturing the current catalog and writers, including Franklin Jonas—who dropped recently dropped his debut single “Cocaine”—and Terri Jo Box, who has penned tracks for Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde and more.
DiPiero will join JGP on 5/31 from Tree Vibez Music, where she spent six years as a GM. She will continue to work with Tyler Hubbard, whose songs are currently administered by Warner Chappell Music.
“Leslie has earned the respect of this community which is built on years of unflinching integrity and passion for songwriters and artists,” said Guerini. “Her relationships, creative and business acumen is unparalleled, and we are thrilled to have her lead Jonas Group Publishing.”
“Working with Phil Guerini and Kevin Jonas Sr. is an honor and privilege for me. These two individuals have a longstanding friendship based on honesty and integrity,” said DiPiero, who also serves as Governor for The Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter.
Photo Credit: Gene Reed
Luke Combs’ single “Love You Anyway” was shipped to country radio this week after being chosen by his fans in what’s being described as “an unprecedented move.” Combs explained in a statement, “I’ve always put a lot of stock in what my fans think. After all, they’re the ones who make it all happen and have gotten me to where I am today. This leads me to try and find opportunities to let them have their say in decisions I’m making. I wasn’t sure if letting the fans have a public say in choosing someone’s next single on Country Radio had ever been done before, but I wanted to let my fans do that for me, especially considering the choices of ‘5 Leaf Clover’ and ‘Love You Anyway.’
“They had been very passionate about ‘5 Leaf Clover’ from the beginning, then greatly supported ‘Love You Anyway’ once it came out, so I truly wanted them to tell me which one they preferred and that’s what they did by choosing ‘Love You Anyway.’ Pretty cool stuff.”
With the two options, Combs earned the #1 and #2 most-added songs at country radio this week (“Love You Anyway” and “5 Leaf Clover” respectively), setting a modern-era record on the MediaBase, Country Aircheck and R&R charts. The move coincides with Combs’ new version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which was simultaneously shipped to Top 40 and Hot AC stations, the first time Combs has had a single outside the country genre.
Combs recently earned his 15th consecutive #1 single with “Going, Going, Gone”—the longest consecutive #1 streak for an artist since their debut along with nine new RIAA platinum certifications. Anyway, we’re now cross-eyed reading about all of Combs’ accomplishments. You can find us crying into our pillows.
On the heels of earning her first ACM nom for New Female Artist of the Year, Pigasus/Songs & Daughters/Big Loud’s Hailey Whitters appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show to perform her latest single, “Plain Jane.”
Having recently wrapped her Raised headlining tour in support of her new album, the Range-managed star will hit the road this year with Shania Twain, Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley. She’s also slated to perform at festival such as Pilgrimage Music Festival, Country Thunder, Two Step Inn Festival, Winstock Festival, Country Jam and more.
Peep her tour dates here and watch her perform “Plain Jane” below.
Luke Combs broke the two-day and single-day concert attendance records at Nissan Stadium over the weekend at 95k fans packed the Nashville football stadium.
The 4/14 show was announced only one week prior to the event. “This only further confirms what we have always known: Luke is a monumental talent whose voice and music continues to find a larger and larger audience,” said Gary Gersh, president of Global Touring and Talent at AEG.
The Nashville shows were the third stop on the 40-show tour that will hit 16 countries, the largest tour ever for a country artist. Up next is a sold-out show at Detroit’s Ford Field followed by sold-out shows at Chicago’s Soldier Field, Charlotte, N.C.’s Bank of America Stadium and Foxborough, Mass.’s Gillette Stadium.
Combs said of the Nashville shows: “Music City, man. When I moved here, I just wanted an opportunity to be around music in any capacity, so I never could have dreamed of a weekend like this, especially with a last-minute notice of the Friday show to the fans but they showed up … just like they always do. Nashville, thank you. I’m glad to call this home.”
The tour coincides with the growing popularity of Combs’ version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which is not an ode to the vehicles used by failed Tennessee Titans quarterbacks on their way out of town.
Photo credit: David Bergman
Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) has upped Lori Christian and Rob Femia to its executive team. Christian has been promoted to EVP of Marketing, while Femia has been named EVP of Business & Legal Affairs for all labels under the UMGN umbrella, including Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, Mercury Nashville and MCA Nashville.
Christian has overseen the launches of projects from Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban and Luke Bryan, among others. She's also played a key role in the development of Brothers Osborne, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis and Sam Hunt. She'll now helm UMG Nashville’s artist development, brands & sponsorship, creative services, international marketing and media marketing departments for the label group’s artist roster.
“Lori’s understanding of storytelling and weaving our artists narratives into framing their stories has been a critical element of UMGN’s success,” UMGN Chair & CEO Cindy Mabe said. “Artist development is such a defining feature that separates our artists, especially in a world where everyone is looking for immediate gratification. Having Lori in this leadership role to help drive the key tenants of artist development across all of UMGN is going to change our artist growth strategy. I am so excited to see how Lori leads and guides a new era in artist marketing across UMGN.”
As for Femia, a Rutgers Law School graduate, he has more than 15 years of experience practicing entertainment law at companies such as Sony BMG and Virgin Records/Capitol/EMI. He joined UMG Nashville in 2013 as head of business & legal affairs and was promoted to SVP in 2018.
“It’s an honor to expand Rob’s leadership abilities beyond his vast business and legal knowledge,” Mabe added. “Rob has had a front seat in dealmaking for a while but as we expand the new goals of UMGN, Rob is helping to write and build the next era of country music business. With the industry changing so rapidly, Rob is an essential partner to our future as Universal Music Group Nashville and his alignment and guidance of our staff and artists is critical to our success."
As for our future, it looks as dim as ever. Nevertheless, we're wishing Lori a very, very happy birthday!
Final round voting for the 58th ACM Awards is now open.
HARDY and Lainey Wilson received a truckload of nominations this year; Hardy leads the pack with seven while Wilson is right behind him with six.
The two artists are a single unit in three categories for their song “wait in the truck,” which is up for Song of the Year, Music Event of the Year, and Visual Media of the Year.
Securing five noms each are the most-awarded artist in ACM history, Miranda Lambert, plus Luke Combs, Kane Brown and Cole Swindell. Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton received four apiece.
With three each are Kane Brown, who receives his first ever nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, Katelyn Brown, Cody Johnson and Cole Swindell, who is up for Single of the Year, Visual Media of the Year, and Music Event of the Year for the first time.
Brown, Combs, Lambert, Stapleton and Wallen, along with Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood, are competing for the coveted Entertainer of the Year trophy, which has been expanded to seven nominees this year.
The T.J. Martell Foundation’s Nashville Best Cellars event brought guests out to drink wine for a good cause on 4/10 at Loews Vanderbilt hotel.
This year’s attendees included Chairman of the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Board of Trustees, John Esposito, the evening’s presenting sponsor John Sanzo, President of Secure Air Charter, plus Country music stars like Reba McEntire, Rex Linn, Martina McBride, Cole Swindell, Michael Ray, Ingrid Andress, Old Dominion’s Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi, Roan Ash, Big Kenny, Danielle Bradbery, Chris Bandi, Elle King, Jared Gudstadt, Kat & Alex and more.
Seen wondering if anyone has a corkscrew are (l-r) McEntire and Esposito.
Photo Credit: Alan Poizner
The National Museum of African American Music, in partnership with the RIAA, is hosting a new exhibit to celebrate the 40th anniversary of legendary R&B group, New Edition. The free event takes place on 4/16 at 2pm and is open to the public.
Currently on their 30-city Legacy Tour, which runs through April 30th, the group is also set to perform at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on 4/16 along with Keith Sweat, Tank and GUY.
