For the past eight years, SMACKSongs has ranked in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Publishing Corporations year-end chart. Led by GRAMMY Award-winning songwriters Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, the country-focused independent publishing house has collectively amassed over 50 No. 1 songs since its formation in 2012.

Reigning Publisher of the Year, SMACK has received recognition from the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Nashville Awards the past three years while SESAC named SMACK Publisher of the Year in 2018 and 2020. SMACK ended 2020 with six No. 1 songs including Sam Hunt’s “Kinfolks” and “Hard To Forget,” Kane Brown’s “Homesick” and Blake Shelton’s “Nobody But You” and “Happy Anywhere,” both featuring Gwen Stefani. McAnally credits the company’s success to hiring the right people and trusting each person to do their job.

“When these year-end lists come out, it really puts what we’re building into perspective and makes me feel so proud to see our independent company right in between all the huge publishing companies’ names,” McAnally tells me.