NSAI Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Songwriters Round at Music Biz 2017 Featuring Rhett Akins and Rivers Rutherford

March 23, 2017 – The Music Business Association (Music Biz) has teamed with the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) to host the NSAI Songwriters in the Round live performance event on May 18 at 2:30 p.m. CT as part of the Music Biz 2017 convention at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in Nashville. The event, which will celebrate the NSAI’s 50th anniversary, will feature Country singer/songwriters Rhett Akins and Rivers Rutherford, who have written 34 chart-topping songs between them, as they play some of their biggest hits and explain the stories behind them.

“We are thrilled to honor the NSAI after 50 incredible years by shining a spotlight on Rhett and Rivers, two of their finest songwriters,” said James Donio, President of Music Biz. “Their performances are sure to inspire and entertain all of our Music Biz 2017 attendees, especially the songwriters who aspire to achieve the same level of success these two have earned with the NSAI’s help.”

“Rhett Akins and Rivers Rutherford could not be better songwriter representatives for the NSAI at Music Biz 2017,” said Bart Herbison, Executive Director of the NSAI. “We value our partnership with the Music Business Association, so we are bringing our very best to this songwriters’ round. After all, we want to show off a little bit during NSAI’s 50th Anniversary year!”

Akins got his start as a solo artist in 1995, releasing his debut album, A Thousand Memories, and notching his first #1 song with “That Ain’t My Truck.” He followed with Somebody New the next year, scoring his second chart-topper with “Don’t Get Me Started.” From there, Akins launched a massively successful songwriting career, with 26 #1 singles to his name from a variety of top-tier artists. These hits include Josh Turner’s “All Over Me,” Joe Nichols’”Gimme That Girl,” Brooks & Dunn’s “Put a Girl in It,” Rodney Atkins’ “Take a Back Road,” Luke Bryan’s “I Don’t Want This Night to End” and “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” Chris Young’s “I Can Take It from There,” Justin Moore’s “Point at You,” Billy Currington’s “Hey Girl,” Dustin Lynch’s “Mindreader,” Frankie Ballard’s “Young and Crazy,” and Locash’s “ I Know Somebody,” their first #1. Akins is also responsible for Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight,” “Boys ‘Round Here,” and “Honey Bee,” the latter of which spent a total of four weeks at #1. His Jason Aldean cuts include a three week #1 in “When She Says Baby” as well as “Just Gettin’ Started” and “Tonight Looks Good on You.” He had another three week #1 with his son Thomas Rhett’s “It Goes Like This” and also wrote “Get Me Some of That” and 2017’s “Star of the Show,” his first chart-topping co-write with his son and Akins’ 26th overall #1 hit. He has been recognized with six CMA Triple Play awards and two BMI Songwriter of the Year awards. He was also named the #4 Billboard Country Songwriter in 2010.

Rutherford scored his first cut with Country supergroup The Highwaymen, which consisted of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. From there, he scored eight #1 hits, won both of the coveted ASCAP Country Song and Songwriter of the Year awards, and received multiple Grammy, CMA, and ACM Award nominations. His chart-toppers include the Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton duet “When I Get Where I’m Going,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award, and Brooks & Dunn’s “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You,” a six-week #1 that was named both Billboard and ASCAP Song of the Year in 2002. He also worked on #1 hits for Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Atkins, and Trace Adkins and wrote successful cuts for Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Faith Hill, and Gary Allan.

Music Biz 2017, which will return to Nashville from May 15-18, is the music industry’s premier event, giving the commerce and content sectors a place to meet with trading partners, network with new companies, and learn about new trends and products impacting the music business. This year’s event will feature keynotes from Atlantic Records Group Chairman and COO Julie Greenwald, Spotify’s Global Head of Creator Services Troy Carter, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Music Agents Jeff Krones and Hunter Williams, Cracker Barrel’s VP of Marketing Don Hoffman, Universal Music Group’s Exec. VP of Content Strategy and Operations Barak Moffitt, and more to be announced. A special line-up of Digital Service Workshops from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Soundcloud, Spotify, and YouTube/Google Play will mark an unprecedented first for the music industry as Music Biz will bring these companies together in one place for one day packed with information about how to leverage the tools and products that these companies offer to maximize value for artists, labels, managers, creators, and the industry at large.

The eclectic Music Biz 2017 program will also cover topics including Touring, Live Streaming, Vinyl, Messaging, International, D2F, Crowdfunding, Tweens & Tech, e-Commerce, Playlisting, A&R, Social Media, Licensing, Publishing, Hi-Res, VR, Management, and Professional Development. Returning favorite sessions will include the Metadata Summit, Brand & Strategic Partnership Summit, and Entertainment & Technology Law Conference, as well as an encore for Music’s Leading Ladies Speak Out and various special interest programs and breakout sessions. Music Biz will celebrate executive and artist achievements with Music Biz awards being bestowed to UMG Nashville’s Mike Dungan, Music Millennium’s Terry Currier, Adele, Paula Abdul, Lukas Graham, Maren Morris, and others to be announced. Registration is now open at www.musicbiz2017.com, and for a full list of currently confirmed programming, visit https://musicbiz2017.sched.org.

About the Music Business Association

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) is a membership organization that advances and promotes music commerce — a community committed to the full spectrum of monetization models in the industry. It provides common ground by offering thought leadership, resources and unparalleled networking opportunities, all geared to the specific needs of its membership. Music Biz brings a unique perspective and valuable insight into the trends and changes that innovation brings. Today, we put our collective experience to work across all delivery models: physical, digital, mobile, and more. Music Biz and its members are committed to building the future of music commerce — together.

Music Biz Media Contact

Laurie Jakobsen, Jaybird Communications — laurie@jaybirdcom.com, 646.484.6764