Date With a Publisher

I am proud to announce the selections for the 2nd Annual Date With A Publisher in Las Vegas. This was an extraordinary year for the contest, with hundreds of impressive song submissions. It made a fun job very difficult, but we finally settled on the following artists:

• Jim Bennett, “Last Quarter Friend” – Jim is a great balladeer whose songs make you anxious to hear the next line. His songs have been runner-up and finalist in the VH1 Song of the Year contest and he can write in many genres as well.

• Claire Ulanoff, “Ready To Meet Me” – Claire writes songs with meaning, and it’s clear that a lot of thought goes into the lyric.

• Liz Miller, “When Did Hell Freeze Over” – Liz is one of the best songwriters around. Not only is she prolific, her hooks stick in your head for days.

• Tina Dod, “It’s A God Thing” – Tina is an awarding winning songwriter. This song also placed in the Top 5 of the CMT/NSAI songwriting competition.

• The final artist has been selected but has not confirmed. Check back soon to find out who will fill the final spot.

Songs from all of these artists can be found in my ACM Date playlist.

This year, we were also very lucky to work with a group of impressive and capable publishers:

• Missy Roberts – Creative Director, Stage 3 Music

• Lana Israel – CEO of The Major Line, a New York based company that develops innovative music-related products and platforms that she co-founded with music industry veteran Bob Doyle.

• Rex Benson – owner of three publishing companies and represents the #1 Smash Hit Single, “Buy Me a Rose” by Kenny Rogers.

• Mike Molinar – co-founded Elevation Music Publishing with music publishing veteran Martha Irwin, and serves as the company’s Creative Principal/GM.

• BJ Hill – Director of A&R at Warner/Chappell