Kenny Chesney Signs with Universal Music Publishing Group

Jody Williams had formed a new publishing company, Jody Williams Songs, as a joint venture with Warner Chappell Music Nashville.Last September, the highly regarded executive announced he was leaving the performing rights organization at year’s end after a 14-year run to return to music publishing; he previously ran MCA Music Publishing Nashville and his own publishing company, Jody Williams Music, as well as two previous stints at BMI in Nashville.Among the songwriters signed to JWS are CMA new

A black reporter in Pennsylvania was reportedly removed from covering George Floyd protests over a joke she posted on Twitter about fans of country music star Kenny Chesney. The tweet suggested that the reporter showed “bias,” her employer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reportedly determined.

Had things gone as planned, 80,000 country fans would converge on downtown Nashville June 4-7 for 300 or more performances and the opportunity for autographs and selfies with country's stars during CMA Fest.Thanks to COVID-19, Nissan Stadium will sit quiet, the streets are likely to have minimal foot traffic, and the Country Music Association will mark the occasion with a June 4 online panel for organization members, CMA Fest Through the Years, about the festival's history."I'm going to moderate

Johnny Cash's granddaughter was taunted for wearing a protective face mask while taking an innocent trip to the grocery store. The late singer's daughter Rosanne Cash tweeted about the ordeal on Tuesday.

DEALS

Rosanne Cash is horrified by how strangers are treating her daughter.

Not even music royals are safe from mask harassment in Tennessee.

It’s an exciting day in the local music industry today as record giant Universal Music South Africa announces that they have developed a local division of the world-famous Def Jam Recordings imprint – and it’s set to be a game-changer for African music.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's southern region of Chechnya, is suspected of having contracted the new coronavirus and is receiving treatment in a Moscow hospital, three Russian new agencies reported.

Morgan Wallen's ''Chasin' You'' ascends 2-1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart (dated May 23). In the week ending May 17, the track increased by 4 percent to 40.1 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.The song is Wallen's third Country Airplay leader, all earned in succession.

Country music superstar Kenny Chesney has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), the publishing giant announced today (May 19). Over his nearly 30-year career, Chesney has sold more than 30 million

The family of a transgender woman with HIV who died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2018 has filed a federal lawsuit against five private companies that were responsible for her care.

Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Sheryl Crow, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kelsea Ballerini and many more country artists will appear on CMT’s virtual benefit concert May 20 for Feed the Front Line Live.

Brad Paisley, Kelsea Ballerini, Grace Potter, Jon Pardi, Brett Young, Rita Wilson and Billy Ray Cyrus are among those on board to help out Feed the Front Line May 20.

Kenny Chesney re-enters the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated May 16) at No. 1 to become the top musical act in the U.S.

Kenny Chesney's Here and Now enters both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums at No. 1 this week.

Kenny Chesney nets his 17th No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, as Here and Now blasts in atop the March 16-dated list.With the launch, Chesney ties Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson for the second-most leaders in the chart's 56-year history, after George Strait's record 27.Concurrently, Here and Now debuts at No.

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has named Joe Fang -- a longtime media executive with a focus on global markets -- its first-ever managing director, China.Based in UMPG China's new Beijing headquarters, Fang reports to Andrew Jenkins, UMPG president, Australia and Asia Pacific Region.

By Chris Willman

By Variety Staff