The Nashville Chapter of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) has announced the winners of its fifth annual AIMP Nashville Awards.
This year’s AIMP Nashville Publisher of the Year award went to SMACKSongs, a co-publisher of the song “One Night Standards,” which was named AIMP Nashville Publisher’s Pick. Ashley McBryde, a co-writer of the track as well as its recording artist, was named AIMP Nashville Artist-Writer of the Year, while Hailey Whitters took home AIMP Nashville Rising Artist-Writer of the Year. The AIMP Nashville Songwriter of the Year award went to HARDY, while AIMP Nashville Rising Songwriter of the Year went to Allison Veltz Cruz. The AIMP Song of the Year was “The Bones,” co-written and recorded by Maren Morris, while National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) President and CEO David Israelite was honored as AIMP Nashville Song Champion of the Year.
Each year, a hallmark of the AIMP Nashville Awards event is its Nominee x Nominee performances, in which the year’s Rising Artist-Writer of the Year nominees perform the Song of the Year nominees. Since this year’s in-person ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this tradition was brought online, with each performance now available for viewing on the AIMP Nashville Chapter’s social media pages. This year’s performances include Hailey Whitters playing “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” Tenille Townes playing “Prayed for You,” Ryan Hurd playing “The Bones,” Kylie Morgan playing “One Man Band,” Matt Stell playing “Heartache Medication,” and Runaway June playing “10,000 Hours.”
“The AIMP Nashville Awards committee would like to congratulate all this year’s winners and nominees on their accomplishments in this unpredictable time,” said Ree Guyer, Vice President of the AIMP Nashville Chapter and Co-Chair of the AIMP Nashville Awards. “While we wish we were celebrating together at the Ryman, we are proud to honor these deserving independent publishers, writers, and artists who created the music that has been getting us through this difficult time.”
“Hearty congratulations go out to all our AIMP Nashville Awards honorees, from executives who have helped pave the way forward for independent music publishers, to artists and writers who have created some truly incredible music, to the publishers themselves who make sure they are paid fairly for their work,” said John Ozier, President of the AIMP Nashville Chapter. “Here’s hoping we’ll be able to see everyone in person next year!”
A complete list of winners and nominees can be found below.
AIMP Nashville Publisher of the Year
- Big Machine Music Publishing
- Kobalt Music
- Curb Word Entertainment
- Winner – SMACKSongs
- Peermusic
- Downtown Music
AIMP Nashville Rising Songwriter of the Year
- Winner – Allison Veltz Cruz
- Alysa Vanderheym
- Hunter Phelps
- Jameson Rodgers
- Jennifer Denmark
- Sam Sumser
AIMP Nashville Rising Artist-Writer of the Year
- Winner – Hailey Whitters
- Kylie Morgan
- Matt Stell
- Runaway June
- Ryan Hurd
- Tenille Townes
AIMP Nashville Songwriter of the Year
- Ashley Gorley
- Winner – HARDY
- Luke Combs
- Laura Veltz
- Hillary Lindsey
- Jordan Schmidt
AIMP Nashville Artist-Writer of the Year
- Winner – Ashley McBryde
- Brothers Osborne
- HARDY
- Luke Combs
- Morgan Wallen
- Old Dominion
AIMP Nashville Song Champion of the Year
- Alex Heddle
- Brad Peterson
- Winner – David Israelite
- Greg Gallo
- Lee Krabel
- Stephanie Cox
AIMP Nashville Publisher’s Pick
- “God And Country Music” (Barry Dean, Lori McKenna, Luke Laird) independently published by Creative Nation. Recorded by George Strait.
- Winner – “One Night Standards” (Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally) independently published by SMACKSongs, River House Artists, Canned Biscuit Songs. Recorded by Ashley McBryde.
- “Seeing Other People” (Emily Falvey, Jason Afable, Matt McGinn) independently published by SMACKSongs, McGinntellectual Property, Rarespark Media Group. Recorded by MacKenzie Porter.
- “Small Town Hypocrite” (Caylee Hammack, Jared Scott) independently published by Plaid Flag Music. Recorded by Caylee Hammack.
- “To Hell And Back” (Jessie Jo Dillon, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz) independently published by Big Machine Music, Big Yellow Dog, Revelry Music, Kobalt Music. Recorded by Maren Morris.
- “Wish For The World” (Aaron Eshuis, Joe Clemmons, Ryan Hurd) independently published by Big Machine Music, Mojo Music & Media. Recorded by Ryan Hurd.
AIMP Nashville Song of the Year
- “10,000 Hours” (Dan Smyers, Jason Boyd, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jordan Reynolds, Justin Bieber, Shay Mooney) independently published by Big Machine Music. Recorded by Dan & Shay and Justin Bieber.
- “Beer Never Broke My Heart” (Jonathan Singleton, Luke Combs, Randy Montana) independently published by Big Machine Music, 50 Egg Music. Recorded by Luke Combs.
- “Heartache Medication” (Barry Dean, Jon Pardi, Natalie Hemby) independently published by Creative Nation, Song Factory, Pulse Nation, MV2 Entertainment. Recorded by Jon Pardi.
- “One Man Band” (Brad Tursi, Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen) independently published by Wrensong Entertainment, Anthem Entertainment, Twelve6 Entertainment, SMACKSongs. Recorded by Old Dominion.
- “Prayed For You” (Allison Veltz Cruz, Ash Bowers, Matt Stell) independently published by Big Deal Music, Wide Open Music, Endurance Music Group. Recorded by Matt Stell.
- Winner – “The Bones” (Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz) independently published by Big Yellow Dog, Big Machine Music, JRM Publishing, Round Hill Music. Recorded by Maren Morris.
AIMP Nashville Awards winners will receive their awards by mail. Voting was open from July 20th through July 24th for all AIMP Professional members at the Nashville Chapter, as well as AIMP Premier Professional members. To become an AIMP member, visit www.aimp.org/register.
