About Courtney Gregg
General Manager – Carnival Music
Courtney Gregg currently serves as VP/GM for Carnival Music. She oversees the company’s operations and has been instrumental in artist projects forEli Young Band, Hailey Whitters, Brent Cobb, Aubrie Sellers, Roman Candle, Jedd Hughes, Adam Hood, Rob Baird among others.
Throughout her tenure at Carnival, she has worked with the aforementioned artists, along with guiding the songwriting efforts of Scooter Carusoe, Natalie Hemby, Mark Irwin, Bruce Robison, Gretchen Peters, Troy Jones, Don Schlitz, to name a few. During this time, the company has experienced 16 number one songs, among countless other singles. During this span, six unique songwriters celebrated their first number one single while writing at Carnival.
Gregg has handled A&R duties for producer Frank Liddell on projects by Miranda Lambert, Lee Ann Womack, David Nail, Kellie Pickler and others. She directs the sync efforts of Carnival, landing songs in multiple films and television shows.
She previously spent time at Zomba Music, Billboard Magazine, and ASCAP.
Gregg co-produced the annual Americana Music Awards show at the Ryman Auditorium from 2010-2012, and the Nashville AIMP awards (also at the Ryman Auditorium) in 2016-2018.
She is President-Elect of the Americana Music Association board of directors, a voting member of the Recording Academy,the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, and AIMP. She is also an alumnus of Young Leaders Council of Middle Tennessee and Grammy Next.
She serves as an adjunct professor in the Music Business department at Belmont University, instructing Music Publishing; and holds a BBA from Belmont University and a MS in Mass Communications from Middle Tennessee State University.
Sign Up For This Event
$30 per song GSC member
NEW Listen Only Option Available for Members for Only $20 (Note: Listen Only sales close at 9:30am the day before the event.)
About the Publisher Online Pitch Event
Have you ever thought: “Wow I think I have a really good song. If only I could get a legitimate publisher to listen?”
Through GSC’s affordable Publisher Online Pitch service you can have your song or songs heard by a reputable publisher from wherever in the world you live and without the expensive cost of travel.
One of the most important elements of this service is that you will be connecting with a publisher, creating a relationship with this publisher and learning the pitching process professional songwriters utilize every day.
Here are the details!
- This is a member-only event.
- Members can take advantage of the “Listen Only” option for only $20 before pitching a song.
- This event is limited to 30 song pitches.
- Once you purchase the POP event you will receive a confirmation that will contain your step by step instructions for logging into the webcast.
- If you purchase a song pitch, you will need to email your song (in mp3 format only) along with your photo/bio (On same page in Microsoft Word format only) and lyric (Microsoft Word format only) to [email protected] by 48 hours before the event. (Please list your name and where you are from on the top of your lyric. GSC wants the publisher to connect with you.)
- Guitar vocals and keyboard vocals are acceptable. You do not have to have a full demo for this event.
- The publisher will only listen to the first verse and the chorus of your song.
- The publisher may or may not comment on your song. This event is not intended as a publisher evaluation service; although in most cases, the publisher will offer constructive advice.
- This is a real publisher pitch opportunity. The publisher will either PASS on your song OR he may choose to keep your song for further consideration.
- You are encouraged to stay involved in the webinar while all songs are listened to and here is why:
- Out of respect for the other participants.
- Should the publisher choose to comment on a song, you will learn from what he has to say.
- If a publisher takes a song, you will want to connect with that songwriter and possibly co-write with that writer.
At GSC we always want you to know the real journey of a song from the pen to the publisher. With that in mind we want you to be aware of these facts.
1. Paying to Pitch a Song: GSC wants you to know that professional songwriters do not pay to have their songs heard by a publisher. Professional songwriters have worked years at developing their songwriting craft and earning the respect of the publishing community which earns them the opportunity to have their songs heard.
2. The Demo: GSC wants you to know…If you had a publishing deal and was a staff writer for the featured publisher, this publisher would hear your songs every day in their most simple form of a guitar vocal or keyboard vocal. If you were pitching your songs to a producer, artist, manager etc then you will need fully produced and well produced demo’s for these types of pitches.
3. The Listening Process: GSC wants you to know…Often, when a publisher is listening for songs for a project or artist, they can usually tell if it is a song they would be interested in for that project in less than 30 seconds. Through the POP event the publisher will be listening through the first verse and chorus in its entirety. However, in the future should you pitch a song to a publisher in their office and they turn your song off after only the first half of the first verse, we want you to know that is a normal part of the process.
4. Pitch Ready Songs: The reality is that some of your songs may not be ready for pitching to a publisher. However, there is much to be learned through the pitching process.
5. The Follow Up: If the publisher should take your song for consideration, we will be excited with you and it does happen! Below is the GSC recommended follow up process. Correct follow up is essential for success.
a. If your song is taken by the publisher you will be provided with the publishers contact email address for follow up.
b. If you do not hear from the publisher within 5 to 7 business days of them taking your song. We recommend you email the publisher, thank them for participating in the GSC POP program, thank them for their interest in your song and list the TITLE of the song as a reminder and ask if they should need anything further.
c. If you do not hear from the publisher within three weeks, make a phone call to the publisher office. You will most likely be leaving a message. If so, just leave your name, contact number and that you are following up on your song and list the title.
d. If the publisher does not return your call, do not call again. Simply send a physical thank you card, thanking them for their interest, recognizing that they are a busy industry professional and that you hope to have the opportunity to play them more songs in the future.
At GSC we know it would be disappointing to have your song taken by a publisher and then not hear from them. Unfortunately, this process is part of the song pitching process. Thoughtful and professional follow up is essential to success and is appreciated by busy, overworked publishers. They won’t forget your professionalism. Sometimes you may not hear from the publisher who took your song for months and then out of the blue, when they are ready and working on the project, you get the call. Many times I have kept a member’s song for over a year and then gave them a call for the just right opportunity. Songs will often be pitched over and over again for years before they land on just the right project.
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