Troy Tomlinson

President/CEO, Sony/ATV Nashville

Highlight Reel

—Recent signings include Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Laird, Charlie Worsham and The Sisterhood.

—Creative hirings include Dane Schmidt, Katie Kerkhover and Stephen Denninger.

—Awards: Sony/ATV Nashville celebrated an unprecedented 16th consecutive year as BMI’s Country Publisher of the Year.

How are the considerations surrounding Nashville pub deals changing, if at all, given the current economics of the biz?
I think there’s been a shift in how songwriters are evaluating the sale of their publishing assets. Once private equity money began flowing down the streets of Music Row and corporations got caught up in the flood, the initial reaction by some advisors to songwriters was to simply go with the top bid and trust that things would work out. More recently, I feel like there is a greater emphasis being placed on who the right creative partner is, even if that isn’t always the top bidder. Of course, in order to secure the rights of successful songwriters, everyone still has to be competitive financially. But I think now we are beginning to see a renewed interest in the value of a great creative partner and team.