The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) revealed the top songwriters for Q1 2023. Country overwhelmingly dominates the chart, thanks to Luke Combs.
The list includes the top artist-songwriter and the top non-performing songwriter for the period. During the period of Q1 2023 (Jan/Feb/Mar) 1,736 Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum certifications were awarded. Luke Combs claims the top artist-songwriter credit with 26 certifications including the 9x Multi-Platinum “Beautiful Crazy,” the 8x Multi-Platinum “Hurricane,” and the 4x Multi-Platinum “Forever After All,” all published by Big Machine. Luke Combs is now published by UMPG.
The top non-performing songwriter for the period was Ray Fulcher, who scored 12 certifications for songs including “When It Rains It Pours,” “Does to Me,” and “Reasons,” which are published by Sony Music Publishing. Ray Fulcher is published by UMPG and River House/Sony Music Publishing.
“Man, kind of speechless to be honest,” Luke Combs says of the honor. “All of the credit goes to my fans. They buy and stream the songs and albums, so none of this happens without them. This is honestly an award that should have their names on it. Huge thank you to them and everyone else who made this happen.”
“Pretty unreal to be included in this group, much less to be at the top for any period of time,” adds Ray Fulcher. “Thanks to country music fans and supporters for listening to these songs and believing in the music. I’m going to keep writing songs from the heart, and hopefully, ya’ll keep listening. Thanks!”
“The first quarter of this year was a big moment for country music,” continues NMPA President & CEO David Israelite. “Fueled by the success of Luke and Ray, we saw the growth of country dominate the Gold & Platinum certifications. Huge congratulations to Luke Combs for consistently creating timeless music, and to Ray for working with him on such enduring, massive songs.”
Curious to see the full list of awarded songwriters? Check out the Q1 2023 NMPA Gold & Platinum songwriters here.