Yahoo Lifestyle Music Industry Moves: Alison Smith Announces Retirement from BMI; Save The Music Goes Independent
BMI‘s Alison Smith, executive vice president, chief distribution and publisher relations officer, has announced her move to retire from the company at the end of March.
Smith leaves the company after nearly 40 years at the job. In a company memo, she writes, “This has by far been the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my career. I love BMI, I love my BMI family, and in some ways can’t imagine not being here. That said, after many months of contemplating what my future may hold, I concluded that it is time to spend more time with my family and friends while I am still relatively young and can enjoy life away from BMI.”
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In his own memo to the company about Smith, BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill said, “I have known Alison since I began working at BMI 30 years ago, and she has been a colleague, partner, advisor and friend to me every day that I have been here. Alison is part of the fabric of BMI, and she has helped us become the company we are today. She has touched so many lives in an indelible way, not just internally at BMI but also within the larger music community. She will be missed.”
O’Neill also shared that Smith has agreed to serve as a strategic advisor to BMI for the next two years.
In addition, O’Neill announced that Shouvik Das, senior VP of distribution, publisher relations and administration services, will assume oversight of that department, reporting directly to him.
+ Save The Music, formerly VH1 Save the Music, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports music education in over 285 school districts nationwide, announced that it will begin a new chapter as a fully independent nonprofit separate from Paramount Global.
An independent Save The Music will remain dedicated to its vision of every student in every school making music — by providing schools with instruments and technology, training and supporting teachers, and funding and convening community-based music organizations.
As part of this transition, Save The Music has launched a $10 million endowment fund, with nearly $4 million already raised. The new endowment will ensure the cultural institutions sustainability and long-term support for music education, empowering future generations of students with access to the transformative power of making music.
While the formal partnership with Paramount is ending, the relationship will remain, as the company has pledged an initial six-figure donation to the endowment. This milestone marks the completion of a process that began in 2019 when the organization rebranded, removing the VH1 name.
+ BMI will honor Peso Pluma with the BMI Champion Award at the 2025 BMI Latin Awards on March 6. The award celebrates his “meteoric rise to international stardom and the massive influence he’s had on bringing música mexicana to the mainstream,” per a Wednesday announcement.
In addition, he paved the way for other performing songwriters like Tito Double P, who will receive the BMI impact award for his contributions to Peso Pluma’s success and forging his own path in Latin music. The private event will take place at the Fontainebleau Coastal Convention Center in Miami Beach and will be hosted by BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill and BMI Vice President, Creative, Latin, Jesus Gonzalez.
“Peso Pluma’s extraordinary success has not only reshaped the landscape of Música Mexicana but also propelled it onto the global stage,” said Gonzalez. “His innovative sound and undeniable influence have opened new doors for Latin music, and we are excited to celebrate his success alongside Tito Double P, whose dedication and talent have played a key role in Peso Pluma’s journey, while also marking the beginning of his own impressive career. We also look forward to honoring our BMI Familia of exceptional songwriters, producers and publishers behind the most-performed Latin songs of the past year during the ceremony.”
Throughout the evening, BMI will also recognize the songwriters and publishers of the past year’s most-performed Latin songs in the United States. The BMI Regional Mexican song, songwriter, and publisher of the year and the BMI contemporary Latin song, songwriter and publisher of the year will be named during the ceremony.
+ Concord has acquired a portion of songwriter, musician, and producer Johnny McDaid’s song catalog. Known widely as a member of the band Snow Patrol, where he plays piano, guitar, and backing vocals, McDaid has also written for artists including Ed Sheeran, Pink, Lewis Capaldi, Keith Urban, Shawn Mendes, Zara Larsson, Alicia Keys, Jung Kook, Rag ’n’ Bone Man, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Smith, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw, amongst others.
Megahits from the catalog include “Photograph,” “Shivers,” and “Bad Habits,” from Ed Sheeran and BTS’s “Permission to Dance,” to name a few. As a part of this worldwide publishing agreement, Concord will also represent McDaid’s future works.
McDaid said, “These songs that I am honored to have been a part of creating, are some of the most important things in the world to me. I am very glad that they have found a home at Concord Music Publishing, and I am excited to work with the team there, now and in the future.”
Tuesday, Jan. 28
UTA has signed Mexican singer-songwriter Jasiel Nuñez, one of the several rising artists signed to George Prajin and Peso Pluma’s Double P Records.
A long-time friend and collaborator of Peso Pluma, Nuñez was one of the first artists signed to Double P Records in 2023. He contributed to Peso Pluma’s Grammy-winning “Génesis” album, performing and songwriting on the tracks “Lagunas” and “Rosa Pastel.”
“I’m excited and thankful to become part of the United Talent Agency family” said Nuñez. “This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, and I’m ready to push música mexicana to new heights. Thank you to everyone who’s been supportive on this journey, and I’m looking forward to an incredible year ahead with this amazing team.”
+ Brigitte Alanis and Harold Papineau have been promoted to partner at King, Holmes, Paterno and Soriano, LLP, one of the country’s top music-law firms. With this promotion, Alanis, becomes the youngest woman to be promoted partner at the firm.
Alanis stated, “I am so honored to step into this role as a partner at KHPS and to continue to advocate for our clients and help them build and maintain successful and rewarding careers. I am excited about the future of our firm and for the continued privilege of representing such a diverse group of artists and creators.”
Added Laurie Soriano, partner at King, Holmes, Paterno and Soriano, LLP: “Brigitte is a smart, hardworking, strategic lawyer who is passionate about music and about musical talent and does outstanding work for her own and the firm’s clients. We could see early in her time with the firm that she is a superstar, and that’s been borne out since, making it an easy choice for us to promote her to partner.”
+ Roc Nation has partnered with South Korean fintech company Musicow, a music equity service provider (MESP) that enables music rights owners to buy, sell, and trade shares in music royalty revenue with public investors.
In addition to enabling distribution of Musicow’s assets through Roc Nation, this partnership will allow Roc Nation’s roster to securely fractionalize royalty revenue from their songs and sell shares, enabling fans to earn alongside them.
“The music industry is evolving into a shared ecosystem where fans and creators can earn together,” remarked Roc Nation vice chairman Jay Brown. “Our mission is not only to support and empower artists by providing the tools and services they need to build a better music ecosystem but also to give everyone access to the financial opportunities the music industry offers.”
Woo Rhee, CEO of Musicow U.S. commented, “Partnering with Roc Nation is an incredible opportunity to drive innovation and redefine the future of our industry. I’m confident that together, we have the vision, expertise, and enthusiasm to create transformative progress and unlock limitless potential.”
+ Firebird has inked a new deal with Yungblud. Working together with the English artist’s management team at Special Projects Music, Firebird will give Yungblud access to data and analytics, and consumer brand management tools.
“As artists continue to expand beyond recorded music into other endeavors, we’ve created an ecosystem to empower all their creative passions along every stage of their career that both deepens fan engagement and drives significant collective revenue growth,” said Nathan Hubbard, co-founder and CEO of Firebird.
“Yungblud is a model example of the modern artist-entrepreneur who has thoughtfully and intentionally grown his fan communities across multiple sectors. This partnership infrastructure will allow Yungblud and other like-minded artists of the future to be their best creative and business selves as they unify their projects in service of one holistic brand that maintains the core fanbase connection.”
“From day one, Yungblud has always been about the deep connection with people,” Yungblud explains. “Before I even had a fanbase I wanted to find people who believed in a mutual idea. As things beautifully got bigger, I never deviated from that the fundamental concept. Everything I do will always be about an authentic communication with myself and others: to keep building a global community through love, a shared vision and by always putting the art and the message before the business. The Firebird team totally understand that and they have supported me in creating a tailor-made model specific to me as an artist.”
+ Prescription Songs has signed Drazzi, a Dominican-born producer and songwriter. Drazzi was signed to the company via a joint partnership between producer-songwriter Alex “AC” Castillo Vásquez and Prescription Songs A&R Siara Behar.
“From the beginning, we shared the vision of me joining Prescription, and today, being part of it feels like a dream come true,” Drazzi shared. “I’m incredibly excited to officially be part of the Prescription Songs family and deeply grateful to AC and Prescription for making this possible. This is just the beginning.”
Behar added, “I am thrilled to welcome Drazzi to our Prescription Songs family! His dedication to his craft and versatility as a songwriter, producer, vocalist are truly inspiring. As a partnership with our veteran producer AC, I’m excited to see the work we’ll create together. Here’s to an amazing partnership and the future ahead!”
+ Concord has promoted Jonathan Eby to executive VP of information systems and technology. As executive VP, Eby will oversee Concord’s global technology, including infrastructure, development, and strategy across all the company’s business areas.
Before joining Concord, Eby spent over 15 years at the classical music distributor and label Naxos, where, in his role as COO, he managed technology and distribution operations (including both physical and digital), as well as serving on the board of directors.
“As we continue to grow and expand worldwide, it is critically important that we have the right systems in place to support that growth,” said Concord’s chief operating officer Vic Zaraya. “Jonathan has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to identify and understand our business needs and effectively develop and deploy technology in support of those needs. This ability, combined with his extensive experience in the music industry, makes him distinctively qualified for this role.”
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