Warner Music Nashville's Avery Anna was presented with her first platinum plaque at the Grand Ole Opry Tuesday night (8/13).

Following a three-song set from the burgeoning singer-songwriter, RIAA SVP of Artist & Industry Relations Jackie Jones invited members of Anna’s label and management teams to the stage to celebrate her viral hit, “Narcissist,” which has earned nearly 200m streams worldwide. The track comes from her recently released debut album, Breakup Over Breakfast.

Pictured wondering where they can get some eggs over easy and a few Belgian waffles are (l-r) WMN Music of Radio Accounts James Marsh, WMN Co-Chair/Co-President Cris Lacy, Jones, 33 Creative Management's Tina Crawford, Anna, 33 Creative's David Fanning, WMN VP Publicity Mary Catherine Rebrovick, WMN VP A&R Rohan Kohli and WMN Director Artist Development Patrick Worstell.

Hitmaker Music Group and Distribution have struck a JV pact with Origins Records to develop and amplify African American country and Americana music.

The deal complements Hitmaker's recent partnerships with Shawn Cotton’s 99OVR, Hitkidd’s Campsouth Records and Blac Noize!. The company has landed YG Marley's gold track "Praise Jah in the Moonlight” in digital stores and streaming services in more than 100 territories and aided marketing efforts for hits by BRELAND ("My Truck") and others.

Singles by Tae Lewis ("Angels of First") and David Junior ("Pour 2"), due next month, are the first fruit of the deal.

"Thank you to Hitmaker and [Hitmaker founder/CEO] Tony Bucher for collaborating on this joint-venture partnership that will support and serve artists of multiple genres while allowing us to focus primarily on Black country and Americana music,” said Origins Records CEO Gina Miller, formerly SVP/GM, MNRK Music Group (formerly Entertainment One).

Bucher volunteered that the recent successes of BRELAND and Shaboozey "really sparked this organic partnership and our desire to enter Nashville from a unique perspective," continuing, "We look forward to working with our new partners at Origins Records.”

Hey! Don't forget HITS—so make that a... "Pour 3?"

ACM nominee Conner Smith has found new management in the form of Jake Kinney’s newly launched Pioneer Artists, an endeavor in partnership with Chris Kappy of Make Wake Artists.

Nashville native Smith, whose Victory Music project Smoky Mountains Sessions has been certified gold, is represented globally by Aaron Tannebaum and Alex Collignon at WME and Home Team Publishing/Warner Chappell.

The artist can currently be heard on the hit soundtrack of Twisters: The Movie with “Steal My Thunder" featuring Tucker Wetmore.

Smith’s touring schedule for the rest of the year is jam-packed, with dates starting 8/21 in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. He’ll spend most of the fall on the Storytellers tour, which features co-bills with Jonathan Hutcherson and Zach John King. Smith will also join Luke Bryan’s Farm Tour for six dates between 9/19 and 9/28.

"My favorite part of this industry is the people I get to share the pursuit of this dream with," said Smith, pictured center between Kappy and Kinney. "The shared alignment and excitement between Jake, Kappy and me is an inspiring and rare thing to find!”

R&B/hip-hop titan Timbaland is taking his talents to UMG Nashville as part of a new deal for his independent label, Mosley Music. The companies are said to be "actively exploring rising talent and new discoveries."

A recent Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Timbaland has previously blended rap and country sensibilities in his work with such artists as Bubba Sparxxx, For King + Country and Brad Paisley. He says of UMG Nashville, "I love their mission of taking chances on special artists to meet culture."

Adds UMGN Chair/CEO Cindy Mabe, "Over the past year, we have been working with Timbaland on the shared goal of developing great artists together as well as bridging the gaps in sound and culture in country music. I am so happy to finally announce our collaboration with Mosley Music."

Timbaland, Busta Rhymes and Ciara are currently on the road opening for Missy Elliott's first proper headlining tour, which rolls into Newark, New Jersey tonight (Aug. 9).

We're undecided how much freak we will be getting on, but clearly feeling supa dupa fly above are (front row) Mabe, Timbaland and UMGN's Charlene Bryant, (middle row) Mosley Music Group's Gary Marella, Bluestone Publishing's Eric Spence, UMGN's Mike Harris and (back row) UMGN's Lori Christian, Rob Femia and Chelsea Blythe.

Spotify has crowed 2024 as the Year of the Cowgirl. To celebrate, the DSP took over L.A.’s Desert 5 Spot on 8/7, bringing the country craze to life with a DJ set from Brandi Cyrus and special performances from Carly Pearce and Carter Faith.

The event coincides with the launch of a dedicated destination featuring a selection of country content. The hub includes playlists such as Hot Country and Line Dancing Country, podcasts like God's Country and audiobook recommendations.

With over 222,000 user-generated “cowgirl” playlists and a more than 100% increase in streams for Spotify’s “coastal cowgirl” and “neon cowgirl” playlists, the cowgirl aesthetic is riding high this year. The trend has even made its mark on Spotify’s Daylist, with “country love songs coastal cowgirl” emerging as the most popular Daylist title among U.S. listeners.

Dive into the Year of the Cowgirl hub here.

Photo credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images

BMG has tapped Jenn Dobbins as SVP, rights & royalties.

Based in the company’s U.S. copyright & royalties hub in Nashville, Dobbins will be responsible for copyright and recorded music administration. She reports directly to Eric Scott, EVP, rights administration and royalty services.

Prior to joining BMG, the Canada native—who spent the past 18 years working in royalty departments in Toronto and Nashville—led asset operations for online music royalties trading platform JKBX (Jukebox) and was Director of Royalties at Exactuals.

Dobbins began her career in copyright & licensing before moving into royalties at Sony Music Entertainment. In 2015, she joined BMLG before departing in 2021 as director of royalty accounting and income analysis.

“Jenn’s extensive expertise, deep knowledge, and proven experience in managing complex rights and royalties will not only streamline our operations but also set a new standard of excellence in how we support and empower artists and stakeholders in an ever-evolving landscape,” said Scott.

Photo Credit: Kevin Grace

Teen singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Haven Madison has signed with UTA for global booking representation. The deal follows the release of her Turn Off All the Lights label debut (19/BMG) and run as a Top 8 finalist on Season 21 of ABC's American Idol. During her time on the show, Katy Perry crowned Madison "the next big pop star."

More recently, she performed in Nashville at 107.5 The River’s “River on the Rooftop” series opening for Jessie Murph and Jelly Roll. Her Twitter (X) bio reads: "I write songs, sing a lot, love sushi, living for Jesus, American Idol top 8 finalist, cool but cry a lot."

We get it. We cry a lot, too.

Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Records presented country chanteuse Megan Moroney with two plaques celebrating the RIAA platinum certification for “I’m Not Pretty” from her newly gold-certified album, Lucky. Both plaques were presented at her Nissan Stadium show in Nashville on Saturday night (8/3).

Lucky was released in May 2023 and anchored by four singles: "I'm Not Pretty," Tennessee Orange," "Girl in the Mirror" and the title track. The album reached the Top 40 and Moroney's star power has been on the rise ever since. Ours, meanwhile, faded a long time ago. Pictured thanking the universe HITS was nowhere in her stratosphere is Moroney with her new hardware.