Josh Osborne Named ASCAP Country Music Songwriter Of The Year As 59th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards Kick Off Three-day Social Media Event, November 8 - 10

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The writers and publishers of country music's most-performed songs of the past year will be honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) beginning today. The 59^th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards once again celebrate the genre's best and brightest creatives in a special virtual format across all social media platforms. Using the hashtag #ASCAPAWARDS, exclusive winner photos, videos, acceptance speeches and a surprise or two will be posted to @ASCAP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, giving fans, friends and industry peers a front row seat to the special event. Dedicated posts for each winning song will be rolled out on @ASCAP social media each day through November 10.

Celebrated hitmaker Josh Osborne is named ASCAP Country Music Songwriter of the Year for the first time for eight chart-topping songs, including "7 Summers," "Beers and Sunshine," "Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90's," "Happy Anywhere," "Hard to Forget," "How They Remember You," "Next Girl" and "Nobody But You." The honor brings Osborne's total number of ASCAP Awards to 35, including Song of the Year wins in 2015, 2018 and 2020. George Strait, one of Osborne's biggest influences, shared news of the win with Osborne in an exclusive video to be featured on @ASCAP social media.

Ashley Gorley's chart-topping "One of Them Girls" (recorded by Lee Brice) receives ASCAP Country Music Song of the Year honors. ASCAP social media will share Gorley's award acceptance for the certified platinum single, which hit #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, along with kudos from Brice and several of the song's publishers. 

Sony Music Publishing wins Publisher of the Year for the first time since 2012. Their winning songs included "Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90's" (Sam Hunt), "Hole in the Bottle" (Kelsea Ballerini), "Lady" (Brett Young) and "Things a Man Oughta Know" (Lainey Wilson). SMP CEO Nashville, Rusty Gaston, will appear on @ASCAP social media thanking their songwriters and staff.

ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams, Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Matthews and EVP, Chief Creative Officer John Titta kicked off the online festivities with a joint welcome video message along with congratulations from ASCAP Vice President, Membership Nashville Mike Sistad and the ASCAP Nashville team.

The social media event will also include a celebration of the life of Connie Bradley, former head of ASCAP Nashville. A beloved music industry trailblazer who passed away earlier this year, Bradley served more than three decades at ASCAP, rising to Senior Vice President and head of their Nashville office at a time when women filled very few top leadership positions in the music industry. The video tribute features remembrances from country stars Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant and more.

The ASCAP Country Music Awards will also feature special performances of three other top award-winning songs. Chris August will deliver his Keith Urban single "God Whispered Your Name;"" to the beginning of the sentence so it reads: "Chris August will deliver his Keith Urban single "God Whispered Your Name;" Madeline Merlo will perform her Songland hit for Lady A, "Champagne Night;" and rising country star Lainey Wilson will share an exclusive performance of her recent #1 hit "Things a Man Oughta Know."

A complete list of winners can be found on www.ascap.com/countryawards21.

About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers, and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants, and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 850,000 members representing more than 16 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.

SOURCE ASCAP

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