Industry Ink: The Turks, CMHoF, NMPA, Centricity Music

Turks Publishing Group Donates Turkeys

Pictured (L-R): Pat Higdon, Billy Lynn, Clay Myers, Lynn Gann & Jeff Carlton. Not pictured: Chris Oglesby, Mark Brown, Mike Sebastian, Pat Finch, Sam Ramage, and Tim Hunze.

Music Row publisher group The Turks provided Turkeys for Nashville Rescue Mission holiday meals last week (Nov. 20) after a news story reported they were still in need of 1,000 Thanksgiving turkeys.

CMHoF Seeks Donations in #GivingTuesday

Liz Rose pictured during a recent Words & Music session with Moesha, a seventh grader from the Bronx, and classmates. Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

On Dec. 1, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (CMHoF) will seek donations as part of the global #GivingTuesday, an annual day of giving the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Donations are aimed at helping Fund for Youth Education, offering hundreds of music education programs throughout the year for students, locally and across the globe, including Words & Music and activities in the Taylor Swift Education Center.

Gifts of $25 and above help to provide the following opportunities:

$25: Strings for education program guitars
$50: Hands-on activities for fifty students who visit the museum
$125: Words & Music program via videoconference technology
$250: Bus transportation for seventy students
$500: Banjo or mandolin for educational programs
$1,000: Student art installation in the Taylor Swift Education Center
$2,500: Lesson guides for three hundred teachers

NMPA Honors Top Songwriters at California Event

Pictured (L-R): Justin Tranter, Lisa Loeb, and Ilsey Juber. Photo: Brian Kramer.

The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) held a songwriter showcase last week at West Hollywood’s The Sayers Club with songwriter Justin Tranter (Kelly Clarkson “Nostalgic,”, Justin Bieber “Sorry,” Selena Gomez “Good for You”), Lisa Loeb (“Stay (I Missed You),””) and Ilsey Juber (Mariah Carey “Infinity,” Pitbull “Fireball”).

NMPA Multi Platinum Awards were presented to Tranter for “Centuries” (Fall Out Boy) and “Good for You.” Loeb received an NMPA Gold Songwriting Award for her 1994 mega-hit.

Centricity Music Adds JJ Weeks Band

Pictured (L-R): Jon Poole, David Hart, JJ Weeks Band; Scott Brickell, Brickhouse Entertainment; Cody Preston, JJ Weeks Band; John Mays, Centricity Music; JJ Weeks; Jon Sell, Steve Ford, Chad Segura, Ben Stauffer, Centricity Music

Centricity Music has announced the signing of Christian group, JJ Weeks Band to its artist roster. The group’s seventh album is being produced by Jonathan Smith (Tim Timmons, Mia Fieldes) and will release early April 2016, with the first single going for adds at radio in February. The Macon, Georgia-based band is comprised of lead singer/songwriter JJ Weeks, bassist David Hart, drummer Jon Poole and guitarist Cody Preston.

The group’s 2013 produced the No. 9 song “Let Them See You,” on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart and remained on Billboard’s National Audience Chart for 29 weeks. The seasoned musicians have built a loyal following of fans for 12 years, touring over 120 dates a year.