Giant Music has signed Detroit rapper Tay B. The label, headed by Sony Music veteran Shawn Holiday alongside Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, officially launched in June announcing the singing of Swavay. Tay B released “4EVA IN MY BAG” earlier this year via AFLN. In 2021, Tay and Lil Baby collaborated on the track and video for “Rich All My Life,” which has accumulated over 1.6 million views on YouTube.
Pictured (from left): Shawn Holiday, Tay B, Matt LaMotte and Irving Azoff
+ Following a celebration of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis ahead the production duo’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) announced a new initiative to award $5,000 annually to an emerging BIPOC songwriter or producer who want to break into the music industry.
The BMAC Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Music Makers Grant recipient will be selected by Jam and Lewis and will be entitled to studio time and mentorship by members of BMAC Board and Executive Leadership Council. Online applications close November 15.
The Nov. 4 event was attended by Erving “Magic” Johnson, Giveon, Kenya Barris, Jesse Collins, Sugar Ray Leonard, Stokley, Holly Robinson Peete, Chante Moore, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr, Yvette Nicole Brown and Sony Music Publishing chairman Jon “Big Jon” Platt, among others.
+ Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh is being honored in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio with a street in his name. The City of Columbus and the Columbus Music Commission have teamed for the ceremony, which will be held on Nov. 9 adjacent to the Nationwide Arena entrance, where Walsh will host his VetsAid 2022 concert on Nov. 13.
+ Sony Music Publishing Nashville has signed songwriter and country artist Madeline Merlo to a global publishing agreement. Merlo won NBC’s songwriting reality show “Songland” and her song “Champagne Night,” performed by Lady A, went on to spend three weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. country radio chart. She has worked extensively with producer Zach Crowell, who helmed her EP “Slide,” and also appears on Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.”
Pictured: (Back Row, from left) Chelsey Block, Molly Shehan, Josh Van Valkenburg, Tom Luteran, Cam Caldwell, Dale Bobo, Anna Weisband, Synnovea Halsel, Brad Belanger and Aubrey Rupe; (front row, from left) Rusty Gaston, Madeline Merlo, Kenley Flynn, Zach Crowell.