Episode Summary

Episode 08 wasn't a songwriting clinic. It was a commercial audit.

Tim Hunze — VP of Big Machine Music Publishing, independent music publisher in Nashville for 33 years, a man who doesn't listen to songs so much as he audits their commercial DNA — and Keith Follesé — Grammy-nominated songwriting legend, multi-time ASCAP and Billboard Songwriter of the Year, the architect behind Tim McGraw's "Something Like That" and Faith Hill's "The Way You Love Me," with over 200 cuts for major recording artists — sat the panel and asked the only question that matters in publishing: can this song print money?

Tim set the tone early. When Hollis asked what the VP of Big Machine Publishing is actually looking for, Tim refused to define a sound. Nashville is completely diverse. The market is wide open. Defining a specific sound only limits the potential for a massive hit. His only rule: don't chase the current trend — pitch the undeniable song. Keith backed it up with the simplest advice of the season: write every day. Good, bad, or indifferent. If you're not writing, someone else is, and you're already falling behind.

The artists brought range. Logan Brown stepped up unrecorded, told a room full of industry assassins his only goal was to play music for people who want to listen, and Hollis called it the most grounded, lethal truth of the night — pure intention as the ultimate disruptor. Then Hollis connected him on the spot with John Luzzi from the EP02 panel. The network working exactly as designed. Paul Mifsud — Cowboy Killer — made history as the first rap artist to ever perform on the HOOKED stage and took the room hostage so completely that Hollis looked dead at Tim Hunze and declared he needs a publishing deal. Cage King conquered the panel so hard Hollis told all of Nashville to take note.