Songwriter Lindsay Rimes welcomed to The 1,000,000,000 List for Kane Brown's 'Heaven'

It's the first country song honoured with APRA AMCOS' streaming award

Lindsay Rimes

Nashville, TN, November 4, 2021...Nashville-based songwriter and producer Lindsay Rimes has been honored by Australasian music rights management organization APRA AMCOS with a place on The 1,000,000,000 List, for co-writing Kane Brown's 2017 smash hit "Heaven."

This is the first country song, and the 35th song overall, to be recognized for surpassing more than one billion streams across all major streaming services.

Rimes, who is published by Sony Music Publishing, was presented with his award by Mark Moffatt, APRA AMCOS' Nashville Member Relations Representative.

The sweet and soulful "Heaven" was the third single from Brown's self-titled, breakthrough debut album. At a songwriting retreat hosted by Sony with Brown, Rimes connected with co-writers Shy Carter and Mark McGinn to pen the song, which was produced by Dan Huff.

"Heaven" would go on to top the Billboard Country Airplay chart; reach #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, which blends airplay, streaming and sales data; peak at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Billboard Canada Country chart. It is certified six-times platinum in the US and triple platinum in Canada. "Heaven" propelled the album to the top 5 on the Billboard 200 and was named "Favorite Country Song" at the 2018 American Music Awards.

"I’m thrilled to have a billion streams for "Heaven"! Thanks to everyone who listened to the song and APRA AMCOS for their continued support of Aussie writers abroad," said Rimes.

Originally from Sydney, Rimes focused his energies on songwriting and producing after an injury curtailed his rugby career. He co-wrote the McClymont's "Piece of Me," which was named "Country Work of the Year" at the 2013 APRA Music Awards. Rimes relocated to Nashville and co-penned Dylan Scott's country hit "Hooked" with Morgan Evans and Seth Ennis at an APRA AMCOS SongHubs and quickly became an in-demand collaborator.

Rimes' credits include Busby Marou's 2016 APRA Music Award-winner "Days of Gold," the title track from Kylie Minogue's "Golden", Troye Sivan's "Fun"; releases by country artists Lo Cash, Luke Bryan, Tyler Rich, and more. He was honored with an Overseas Recognition Award at the 2019 APRA Music Awards.

"We've been cheering Lindsay on over the years and couldn't be prouder of all that he has achieved both at home and in Nashville. His hard work and dedication are inspiring to so many songwriters here in Australia. He’s a hugely respected writer in the US, and an all-around great guy! We congratulate Lindsay on his Billions Award achievement and are thrilled to have 'Heaven' as our first country song on The 1,000,000,000 List,” said APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Dean Ormston.

"Lindsay Rimes proved, once again, that he is a HITMAKER on any continent! "Heaven" was a massive song for Kane Brown and Country Music, and we are proud to represent Lindsay in all of his successes!” said Josh Van Valkenburg, Sony Music Publishing, Executive Vice President, Nashville A&R.

About The 1,000,000,000 List
Rimes joins an esteemed list of recipients: Nat Dunn (for MARSHMELLO’S "Friends"), Dean Lewis and Jon Hume (for "Be Alright"), Kevin Parker (for "The Less I Know The Better") Flume (for "Never Be Like You"), Jake Mason, Ivan Khatchoyan, and Lance Ferguson (for Cookin’ On 3 Burners "This Girl"), Starley and P-Money (for "Call On Me"), Troye Sivan and Alex Hope (for "Youth"), Tones And I (for "Dance Monkey"), 5 Seconds of Summer (for "Youngblood"), Georgi Kay, Ivan Gough, Aden Forte and Josh Soon (for "In My Mind"), Vance Joy (for "Riptide"), Gotye (for "Somebody That I Used to Know"), VASSY (for "Bad"), Khaled Rohaim, Te Whiti Warbrick, Lewis Audino, and Nick Hughes (for Rihanna's "Needed Me"), Leroy Clampitt and James Wong (for "Company"), Harry Michael and Tyron Hapi for Masked Wolf's "Astronaut in the Ocean," INXS' Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence (for Dua Lipa's ("Break My Heart"), and more including Sia, Joel Little, and Sarah Aarons for multiple works. See the full list.

The 1,000,000,000 List takes into account streaming numbers from all major services including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, YouTube Music, Vevo, Amazon, and more. It is the first award of its kind to recognize a songwriter’s achievement.

ABOUT APRA AMCOS
APRA AMCOS is a key business partner to Australasian music creators. We represent 111,000 members who are songwriters, composers, and music publishers. We license organizations to play, perform, copy or record our members’ music, and we distribute the royalties to our members.

As a world-leading organization invested in the future of music, APRA AMCOS enables music creators and customers to maximize the value music brings to business and life. We achieve this through a simple and effective licensing framework and providing holistic industry support – from education, to live music, export, creators’ rights advocacy, and recognition through our high-profile awards and events program. apraamcos.com.au