Billboard Reveals 2018 Country Power Players List

SMACK earns recognition in Billboard’s Country Music Issue

Whether he’s garnering competing Song of the Year nominations or scoring another No.1, SMACK’s CEO Shane McAnally is always striving for success. Last week, McAnally once again landed on Billboard’s 2018 Country Power Players List for his work in multiple facets of the music community. 

Billboard’s Country Power Players List highlights the professional players who have had the greatest influence on the industry during the past year. McAnally was one of 100 individuals recognized for helping drive a $1.3 billion business in 2017. 

While McAnally’s list of accomplishments is long, he says that the sweetest victory of the year was scoring a top 10 Country Airplay hit with Walker Hayes’ “You Broke Up With Me.” Hayes is not only published by McAnally’s music publishing powerhouse, SMACKSongs, he is also produced by McAnally and signed to Monument Records, where McAnally is co-president alongside Billboard’s “Executive of the Year” Jason Owen. 

Hayes is also managed by SMACK’s President, Michael McAnally Baum, who also happens to be Shane’s husband. The two were recently recognized by Billboard as a “power couple” in Nashville’s country music industry, for their joint success in SMACK. Even while weighing the highs and lows of working together in the industry, one thing is for certain: working with individuals with McAnally and Baum’s expertise, creativity and influence is a valuable asset for impacting the industry.