PUBLISHING
Stephanie Cox
GM/SENIOR VP OF CREATIVE FOR NASHVILLE, KOBALT MUSIC
Over the past year, Kobalt songwriters landed the Grammy Award for country song of the year (Ben Stennis, who co-wrote Cody Johnson’s “’Til You Can’t”), the CMA Award for song of the year (Josh Jenkins, who co-wrote Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan’s “Buy Dirt”) and “multiple No. 1s and chart-topping singles,” says Cox, a longtime publisher who over the years has worked with George Strait, Tim McGraw and Miranda Lambert. The company ushered in 2023 with its songwriters’ names on eight tracks from Morgan Wallen’s smash album
One Thing at a Time. “Already this year,” Cox says, “we have celebrated multiple No. 1s and over 150 releases.”
Shane McAnally
FOUNDER/CEO, SMACKSONGS; CO-PRESIDENT, MONUMENT RECORDS
Broadway is buzzing about Shucked, and it has McAnally to thank for it. He wrote the music and lyrics for the breezy cornpone musical comedy with longtime collaborator Brandy Clark, and both received
Tony Award nominations for best original score (music and/or lyrics). “Shucked is the culmination of so many years of hard work, and to sit in the audience every night and watch this show come to life has been the greatest joy. I am so proud to represent Nashville on Broadway and bring country music and storytelling to a new audience,” McAnally says. Plus, Monument artist Walker Hayes will have two headlining arena tours under his belt by summer’s end, and Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde’s “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” (cowritten and produced by McAnally) won the Grammy for best country duo/group performance.
Mike Molinar
GM, BIG MACHINE MUSIC
Under the leadership of Molinar, Big Machine Music has had one of its most impressive years. Of its accomplishments in the last 12 months, Molinar says he may be proudest of Laura Veltz’s Grammy nomination for the inaugural songwriter of the year award, nonclassical — the only country writer in the category. “She has been with Big Machine Music from the very beginning,” he says. He’s “similarly excited” to have added multigenre hit-maker Geoff Warburton to the Big Machine roster, which also includes Ryan Hurd, Jessie Jo Dillon and Brett Young.
Chris Oglesby
VP OF CREATIVE, BMG PUBLISHING
Jelly Roll’s meteoric rise over the past 18 months has been a wild ride for Oglesby. The “Son of a Sinner” singer-songwriter “shares his story in every word of his music ... setting a new standard for excellence,” says Oglesby, who points to his work with Carly Pearce as another highlight. Pearce’s numerous awards, including a Grammy for best country duo/group performance with Ashley McBride for “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” and racking up 100 Grand Ole Opry performances in April “do not define her,” Oglesby says. “They are merely a reflection of who she is and her commitment to country music.”
Frank Rogers
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER/CEO, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP/SPIRIT MUSIC NASHVILLE
After taking over Spirit’s global roster last September and continuing to oversee Spirit Nashville’s operation, veteran songwriter-producer-publisher Rogers says that “70% of our Nashville roster has had a top 20 single in the last 18 months.” Spirit’s Jonathan Singleton landed a co-write on Luke Combs’ Country Airplay No. 1 “Cold As You” in November 2021, while his rostermate Monty Criswell co-wrote Parker McCollum’s No. 2 Country Airplay hit “Handle on You” after seeing a whiskey billboard on the highway en route to his daughter’s Kentucky college.
IT IS “GRATIFYING” TO SEE “WRITERS THAT WE SUPPORTED IN THEIR EARLY DAYS, LIKE LAINEY WILSON AND JORDAN DAVIS, GET THE ATTENTION THEY DESERVE.”
—MIKE SISTAD, ASCAP
Troy Tomlinson
CHAIRMAN/CEO, UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP NASHVILLE
It has been a busy year at UMPG Nashville, with the fruits of its labors especially apparent for its writers at the CMA Awards last November when Luke Combs won entertainer of the year and Jacob David cowrote song of the year “Buy Dirt.” In March, the CMA honored Chase McGill with a Triple Play Award for penning three No. 1s in a 12-month period. Taylor Swift also shattered a record by holding the Hot 100’s entire top 10 for a week and was named songwriter-artist of the decade at the Nashville Songwriter Awards. Tomlinson is “especially proud of how the UMPG Nashville team developed and secured major record deals for three of our rising writer-artists: Tanner Adell [Columbia], Matt Schuster [Warner/Elektra] and Greylan James [Big Machine Label Group].”
Ben Vaughn
PRESIDENT/CEO, WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC, NASHVILLE
ASCAP’s reigning country music publisher of the year, Warner Chappell Music has had a lot to celebrate in the past 12 months: Chris Stapleton set a new record at the CMA Awards by winning male vocalist of the year for the sixth time, and “Buy Dirt,” co-written by WCMN writer Matt Jenkins, received the song of the year award. Bailey Zimmerman scored two Country Airplay No. 1s, including the six-week chart-topper “Rock and a Hard Place.” Other accomplishments included Liz Rose’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame set for June 15 and her nomination for song of the year at the Grammys for Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10-Minute Version) (The Short Film).” It was, says Vaughn, “a stellar year of accomplishments that our team has rallied behind.”
Mike Whelan
SENIOR VP/GM, ROUND HILL MUSIC
Songwriters for the 13-year-old publishing company scored 10 No. 1 hits on country radio over the last 18 months, including Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof” (written by Ashley Gorley), Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney’s “Half of My Hometown” (Jimmy Robbins) and Chris Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave” (Gorley). The company, which has offices in Nashville, Los Angeles, London and New York, also landed the Association of Independent Music Publishers’ publisher of the year award in April. “I’m honored to get to work with some of the most talented songwriters in music today,” Whelan says.