NASHVILLE SPECIAL 2024: PUBLISHERS ROUNDTABLE
Streaming has seen ridiculous numbers for big hits. Indeed, numbers unthinkable a decade ago. With that kind of success and a changing marketplace, these are intriguing times—thrilling and concerning. To that end, HITS convened a roundtable of some of Nashville’s very best and brightest music publishers to look at great songs, emerging voices and the issues that concern them most.
Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston, Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville Chairman and CEO Troy Tomlinson, SMACKsongs founder Shane McAnally, River House Artists’ founder-owner Lynn Oliver-Cline, Big Machine Music President Mike Molinar and Warner Chappell Nashville President and CEO Ben Vaughn come together to discuss the songs they love, the challenges ahead and what fires them up going forward.
What’s the song you’re most proud of publishing?
Troy Tomlinson: One of my favorite songs was CMA Song of the Year nominee, “Next Thing You Know.” It was co-written by Chase (McGill), Greylan James, Josh Osborne and Jordan Davis, who recorded it. I still haven’t stopped listening to it. Pure craftsmanship—real heart and life melted together.
Lynn Oliver-Cline: “Not the 1975” by Knox. From a Nashville-based, independent company, it found early success at Pop radio. With this song, we’ve been able to break out of the country mold, be seen and respected as an up-and-coming multi-genre publishing company. Knox has proven even a Nashville-based artist-writer of the pop alternative community can break boundary lines.
Shane McAnally: “Buy Dirt.” I remember when Josh Jenkins played it for me. He’d been with us seven years, and it was his first big cut. That and “Fancy Like” happened for us at the same time, but this was one of those rare songs that was incredibly well-written and was a big commercial hit. That’s a very rare thing.
Mike Molinar: I am so proud of “The Painter,” co-written by Benjy Davis and recorded by Cody Johnson. My team and I are huge believers in the “outside” song pitch—and pride ourselves on never giving up on great songs. “The Painter” was written five years ago and was an “outside” pitch from BMM VP Tim Hunze to Cris Lacy, co-head of Warner Nashville. The results across live, streaming and radio all reflect the bullseye connection of the song and this dynamic, emerging superstar to his audience.
Rusty Gaston: Nate Smith with his latest # 1 hit “World on Fire,” co-written by Ashley Gorley and Lindsay Rimes. It’s now spent 10 weeks at #1, tying the record.
Ben Vaughn: Josh Phillips has been grinding and writing, but all along the way he also kept writing by himself as well. His 100 percent song “Dirt Cheap” was recorded by Cody Johnson, which was a stellar album cut. People heard it and started sharing it, commenting about his writing, saying things like “Song of The Year.” The streams kept going up and up and up. “Dirt Cheap” will now be Cody’s next single, which shows the value of always recording the best song.
And the songwriter?
MM: The breakout of Jessie Jo Dillon is undeniable. Not just that she’s writing hit singles including Old Dominion’s “Memory Lane,” Tyler Hubbard’s “Back Then Right Now,” Jelly Roll’s “Halfway to Hell,” Megan Moroney’s “No Caller ID” and “Girl in the Mirror,” each of these songs has so much of her perspective in them. She is winning authentically and with so much creative integrity. It’s why she was this year’s only female nominee for Grammy Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical. We are just seeing the beginning of what is going to be a big run for her.
TT: Chase McGill’s work ethic and activity are always strong, but he took it to a new level this past year with the most cuts and hits he’s ever had. Over the last year, Keith Urban, Cody Johnson, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Dustin Lynch, Tyler Hubbard and so many more have found something that rang true in Chase’s songs.
RG: I am proud of every single one of our songwriters, they’ve had an incredible year of music. Lainey Wilson and her Grammy-winning album, featuring co-writers Dallas Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Emily Weisband, Nicolette Hayford, Trent Tomlinson, Josh Kear and Adam Doleac.
BV: Josh Phillips, who reminds me not just why we do this, but why we don’t give up. He’s the power of writing on your own, and what that can mean.
SM: Pete Good has been writing for us for four years. He’s stayed the course, he doesn’t follow trends, just writes good, honest songs. He has his first Top 20 with a song we wrote with Carly Pearce called “We Don’t Fight Anymore.” He reminds me so much of me—he treats his songs like kids. He’s so musical, too. I’m proud to have watched him come into his own.
LOC: Dean Dillon. Dean’s catalog speaks for itself. We’ve been given the privilege to work with someone who absolutely does not need us but wants to work with our team at River House. Even after his successful career, he’s still inspired daily to write the best song he can that day.
Who to watch for?
RG: Megan Moroney. Her upcoming music is some of the most exciting that I’ve ever heard.
SM: Emily Falvey. She started out as our intern, and somebody on staff heard her. She’s writing all the time, in so many rooms. She looks like a librarian, but she has this gift where it feels like her heart has been demolished, though I don’t think it has. Just this deep empathy and sense of how things feel. Artists love her.
TT: I’m not stepping into that bear trap. I can’t risk leaving some out.
LOC: Lukas Scott. Not only is he a talented producer who takes time to research and learn about the artist he’s writing with, he enjoys contributing lyrically. A multi-instrumentalist, he’s great at investing in young talent from a production standpoint. It’s almost certain there will be a reoccurring co-write with whomever he’s working with that day.
MM: Matt Roy is as naturally gifted as any songwriter I have been blessed to work with. Some of his best works are solo written. I believe he will be in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame one day. He already has a #1 under his belt with Chris Janson’s “Truck Yeah,” and has cuts by Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, Chris Young, Hailey Whitters and Jake Owen. But his best work hasn’t yet been heard.
BV: Heath Warren broke through with this little song called “Rock and a Hard Place.” But it’s his work ethic, talent and just being a guy everyone loves to see coming that makes me believe he’ll continue to write songs all the people at the concert know, love and can’t stop singing.
Biggest challenge ahead?
BV: The value attributed to the song in streaming. In what world is the contribution of the words and music only worth 15%? Take out the lyrics and the melody—and you’re left with…?
MM: I’m most immediately concerned about the transparency and efficiency questions with our friends at the performing rights societies as they enter a new age. That is probably heavier on my heart, because these entities and the people who run them have traditionally been our friends and partners. Good friendships don’t come from one side dictating terms and being opaque about royalty commissions and licensing terms. I am hopeful that ongoing communication between the songwriter community, publishers and the societies can get this to a better place.
LOC: Our biggest challenge as a publisher is the growth of social media and the trend of teasing of songs on those platforms before they’re released. It makes it difficult to track song usage and makes it unclear if a song is going to be released or not. If that song isn’t going to be released on the artist that’s teasing it, it makes it challenging to pitch to other artists, and it makes it easier for an outsider to recycle song melodies, ideas, etc.
TT: We’ve always been a “big tent,” but never have we enjoyed the variety of writers and artists we are seeing now. The challenge, of course, is making the right signing decisions.
RG: Our industry is changing every day. We need to work together to make sure songwriters are always protected and paid fairly.
SM: It’s two things: How insular all these camps have gotten, the writing to formula. How many songs on the chart are a result of worrying about the hooks and demos, getting that right. I wish the writers were spending their time writing from their hearts.
And as a publisher, unless you’re also a label, the streaming situation is choking people out. You used to be able to get by on mechanicals. Even when there’s a great track out-streaming the actual single, the artists aren’t able to survive on that, but the songwriters and publishers are dying because there’s no money.
Song you wish you’d published?
LOC: “Dirt Cheap” by Cody Johnson. It’s just so raw and real—and perfect for the artist. It feels like such a special moment for all involved, and a true testament for when an idea comes together.
TT: “wait in the truck.” The song is perfect, and HARDY bringing in Lainey Wilson was brilliant; it brings the whole thing to life. I love well-written songs where the bad guy dies in a dramatic manner, so this one hit the sweet spot for all of that.
SM: I love that Josh Osborne wrote “Next Thing You Know,” a Jordan Davis song. It is a perfect song. I love it so much. And I love it because my best friend wrote it, and he used to write for SMACK, and it makes me wish we still published him.
BV: “the mockingbird & THE CROW.” It’s a very literal musical explosion that takes the listener across the bridge of county to rock and shows how we’re all part of the same music world. Plus, I love how it shows a glimpse behind the curtain of how Nashville songwriters can write every type of music. That entire HARDY record is groundbreaking.
MM: “Fast Car.” Every publisher wants to publish evergreen copyrights that can be commercially successful decades after a song’s initial peak. But for a song that is also socially relevant to leap decades and genres would be even more rewarding. As I have been a prior publisher of Luke Combs, I knew that his reverence for the message of the song and Tracy Chapman were well-centered within him. It showed up beautifully during their recent Grammy performance.
