NMPA Gold & Platinum Gala Honors Nashville's Biggest Hit Songwriters

Yesterday evening, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) hosted its annual Gold & Platinum Gala at City Winery Nashville. The NMPA Gold & Platinum Program honors the songwriters of RIAA-certified singles and over 65 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum honorees including Lee Brice, Hunter Hayes, Cam, Nicolle Galyon, Rhett Akins, and Liz Rose were awarded.

Songwriters Phillip LaRue, Billy Montana and Tofer Brown sang their Gold-certified single Night Shift recorded by Jon Pardi to kick off the evening, and Hunter Hayes and Troy Verges performed their five-time Multi-Platinum hit Wanted.

In addition to the plaques given to all certified songwriters, NMPA announced the top four honors of the evening. The 2019 Top Songwriter was Ashley Gorley, currently published by Round Hill, who earned a total of fourteen certifications for hits including Play It Again, Marry Me, and That Don't Sound Like You.

The 2019 Top Publisher was Warner Chappell Music Publishing, which earned 114 total certifications- 35 Multi-Platinum, 47 Platinum, 32 Gold. Warner Chappell Nashville President Ben Vaughn and his team accepted the award.

The 2019 Top Certified Song was awarded to Cruise, which was released in 2012 but certified eleven times Multi-Platinum this year. The songwriters for Cruise are Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Joey Moi, Jesse Rice and Chase Rice.

The 2019 Platinum Anthem Award, which goes to the top certified single released within the past year, went to Tequila, certified three times Multi-Platinum, which was written by Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds and Dan Smyers. Nicolle Galyon and Jordan Reynolds performed their hit for the audience to close the evening.

The honored writers and publishers represent the certified top performing hits of the past year and many of their songs will continue to climb to higher certifications in the years to come. Photos available upon request.

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