Pictured (L-R): Blain Rhodes, Kelly Bolton and Caroline Hodson
Tape Room Music, the award-winning publishing and artist development company founded by hitmaker Ashley Gorley, has promoted Blain Rhodes to President, Kelly Bolton to Senior Vice President, A&R and Caroline Hodson to Manager, A&R.
Tape Room’s current roster of writers include Beau Bailey, Casey Brown, Brad Clawson, Zach Crowell, Ben Johnson, Wyatt McCubbin, Hunter Phelps, Taylor Phillips, Jordan Rowe, Savana Santos, Andy Sheridan and Will Weatherly. With plans to grow in 2023, the company has amassed three Grammy nominations, won 15 ASCAP Country Awards and three CMA Song of the Year Nominations.
In 2022, Tape Room celebrated eight weeks of topping the radio charts, with two year-end No. 1 songs. Johnson’s “Take My Name” topped the year-end Billboard Country Airplay chart, while Phelps and Weatherly’s “Thinking ‘Bout You” led the Mediabase Year-End Country Airplay chart. Additionally, Tape Room published the 2022 CMA Song of the Year “Buy Dirt,” Crowell and Phelps were recipients of the CMA Triple Play Awards in 2022 and Johnson was named a Triple Play recipient this year. Phelps and Gorley are also currently up for the Songwriter of the Year title at this year’s ACM Awards.
“I’m so proud of our staff and the growth of Tape Room over the last five years,” shares Gorley. “We have celebrated some great achievements, but we are just getting started and I’m excited to keep crushing it!”
Rhodes joined Tape Room Music in 2017, rising through the ranks to his new role of President. Prior to joining Tape Room, he previously served as Director of A&R at UMG Nashville. While at UMG, Rhodes played a crucial part in the signings of artists Tyminski and Travis Denning. He also worked on projects by Luke Bryan, Easton Corbin and more. Prior to UMG, Rhodes spent four years as Manager of A&R at Warner Chappell Nashville, where he placed songs with Bryan, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Jon Pardi, Blake Shelton and Billy Currington, among others. Rhodes began his career working on the road with Bryan after graduating from Georgia Southern University.
Bolton came to Tape Room in 2018, formerly serving as VP of Creative. She has since overseen song-plugging, new talent acquisition and writer calendar management as well as the creation and maintenance of writer contracts in addition to all marketing and social media efforts for the company. Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, Bolton developed an ear and a specific passion for songwriters in high school and graduated with a B.A. in music from Centre College. Her previous career stops include time at TKO Artist Management, Black River Entertainment and Big Deal Music (now Hipgnosis Songs).
Hodson joined the team in early 2021 and most recently served as Creative Coordinator, overseeing the catalog and assisting with calendar management as well as coordinating co-writes, writer communication and marketing efforts. She developed her passion for publishing and admiration for songwriting through various A&R and publishing internships around Nashville, her final being at Tape Room. Hodson also served as the Director of Education for Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) Nashville for three years. She graduated from Belmont University in 2020.