Morgan Wallen stays the preferred nation artist in modern music, because the Tennessee unhealthy boy lands 4 songs on this 12 months’s Hitmakers countdown. Main the way in which is “I Had Some Assist,” his chart-topping collaboration with Submit Malone, adopted by three songs from 2023’s seven-times platinum “One Factor at a Time” album: “Final Night time” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” in addition to “Cowgirls,” that includes co-writer Ernest.
The widespread thread is the tight-knit crew of collaborators who work on them. Joey Moi dealt with manufacturing on all three songs on this 12 months’s Hitmakers listing, whereas famend songwriters Charlie Good-looking, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and John Byron present up repeatedly.
“There’s a actually sturdy group of songwriters which have been utilizing the Massive Loud studios as their hub and base,” Massive Loud CEO Seth England says. A part of the camp’s secret is their willingness to gamble on gifted newcomers corresponding to Ernest, a rising nation star in his personal proper, and songwriter Rocky Block. They joined Moi, Good-looking and Gorley to craft “Cowgirls,” which exploded on nation radio greater than a 12 months after “One Factor at a Time” dropped.
By the point an artist will get round to releasing the eighth single from an album, it’s often one thing of an afterthought. That was not the case, nevertheless, for “Cowgirls,” which proved to be an early fan favourite — a incontrovertible fact that wasn’t misplaced on Massive Loud. Wallen’s crew suspected it had the potential to be a giant tune after they heard the demo. “It was riddled with hooky components, and the refrain was a one-listen hit,” Massive Loud’s Patch Culbertson remembers.
Nonetheless, the tune wasn’t promoted to radio till it had been out for a 12 months. “It wasn’t the frontrunner in topline consumption,” Culbertson says, “however the engagement below the hood was off the charts.” Because the weeks and months glided by, it noticed airplay and social pickup. When it was time for launch, the label had a multi-pronged advertising and marketing technique in place. “We made positive our streaming companions have been conscious of the reactivity and aligned with our plan,” Culbertson provides.
That concerned sharing the endurance of “Cowgirls” with administration, which resulted in it being added to Wallen’s stay setlist. “Morgan and Ernest have been performing the tune each evening, and the power was electrical,” Massive Loud’s Stacy Blythe says. “As our nation radio companions have been watching this occur earlier than them, it bolstered a confidence within the tune as a radio precedence.”
Cowgirls
Songwriters: Rocky Block, Ernest, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Good-looking, Yung Lan, James Maddocks
Producers: Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett
Final Night time
Songwriters: John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Good-looking, Jacob Kasher Hindlin
Producers: Jacob Durrett, Joey Moi
Thinkin’ Bout Me
Songwriters: John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Good-looking, Taylor Phillips
Producers: Charlie Good-looking, Joey Moi Label Massive Loud/Mercury/Republic
Hitmakers:
•Rocky Block, songwriter
•Stacy Blythe, EVP of radio promotion, Massive Loud
•John Byron, songwriter
•Patch Culbertson, EVP and GM, Massive Loud
•Mike Giangreco, VP of A&R, Massive Loud Publishing
•Ashley Gorley, songwriter
•Charlie Good-looking, songwriter-producer
•Joey Moi, producer
•Austin Neal, CEO, The Neal Company/ Sticks Mgmt.
•Taylor Phillips, songwriter
•Lucas Romeo, EVP of pop radio, Republic Corps Collective
•Candice Watkins, SVP of selling, Massive Loud
Publishers: Cowgirls: Empire Publishing, Common Music Publishing Group, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music / Final Night time: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Massive Loud Mountain, Sony Cross Keys Publishing, Grasp Of My Area Music, Poppy’s Picks, Rap Kingpin Music, Prescription Songs, Sony Songs LLC / Thinkin Bout Me: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Massive Loud Mountain, Sony Cross Keys Publishing, Michael Scott Paper Firm Publishing Firm, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Hits From the Tape Room, TDP Publishing, Sony Songs LLC
