Nashville Screenwriters Conference Ready to Roll
The eleventh annual Nashville Screenwriters Conference is coming to the Union Station Hotel May 29-31. On Saturday, May 30 at 12:00 PM, the Conference will present the Music in the Movies luncheon. Held at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theatre, the luncheon will feature advice from top music supervisors for songwriters, composers, artists and publishers hoping to tap into the world of song placement in television and film. The panel will be hosted by 821 Entertainment Group President, Anastasia Brown (Billy: The Early Years, August Rush and Taken) and will feature opportunities for individuals to submit music for placement in upcoming projects.
“Film and television are joining radio in successfully launching and building music careers,” says Brown. “Nashville has such an abundance of talent and this panel will further educate us all on how to get the music heard.”
Joining Brown will be Music Supervisors Julia Michels (Marley and Me, Sex and the City: The Movie and The Devil Wears Prada), Julianne Jordan (Hotel for Dogs, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Fools Gold), Dana Sano (Two Lovers, Dan in Real Life and Shoot ‘Em Up) and Darren Higman (Shark Tale, Two Weeks Notice and State of the Union), as well as NBC Vice President of Music Creative Services, Alicen Catron Schneider (Heroes, Trauma and Caprica) and music journalist Phil Gallo.
The open-to-the-public conference, which Script magazine calls “one of the best screenwriters conferences in America,” will bring Hollywood’s top writers, producers, directors, managers, agents and other studio executives to Nashville to provide aspiring screenwriters and individuals interested in worlds of film and TV the opportunity to network, learn and explore the inner-workings of Hollywood. All panels will be available a la carte for purchasing individual tickets. You can find more information and a complete schedule of panels here.
Veteran Nashville artist manager Stuart Dill has been named President of Sanctuary Artist Management Nashville. Sanctuary manages artists in the fields of pop, rock, country and Christian, and Dill, a 25-year veteran of Nashville’s country music scene, will be pivotal in expanding the Sanctuary roster. Sanctuary CEO Carl Stubner and Dill have been closely associated in the industry for several years through various artist dealings and have maintained strong ties. Sanctuary Artist Management represents a wide range of artists including Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Lonestar, Velvet Revolver, Tommy Lee, Tonic, Trent Tomlinson and Brooke White (American Idol).
As the House Judiciary prepares to vote this week on the Performance Rights Act, longtime Nashville music executive Dale Bobo, who spent many years at Warner Chappell Music Publishing, has weighed in with an editorial for Hits magazine supporting the idea that terrestrial radio pay to artists, musicians, and master rights holders a performance royalty similar to that which is paid by terrestrial radio to songwriters and publishers. Bobo’s essay makes a clear and strong case and is an informative read for anyone interested in this hotly contested issue. Bobo also reveals that he once worked as a radio disc jockey. Who knew? You can read Bobo’s editorial 
Country Weekly has announced the lineup for the 2009 Country Weekly Fashion Show and Concert, benefiting Musicians On Call. The show will be held on Wednesday June 10 at the Wildhorse Saloon and will be sponsored by Durango, Lifetime Networks and Chevy. Clothing and boots from Durango, Flavour boutique and Wrangler will be featured on the runway. Chuck Wicks, Jessica Harp and GAC’s Suzanne Alexander will co-host this years event and the talented lineup will include Keith Anderson, Chris Young, John Michael Montgomery, Mark Wills, Adam Gregory, Trent Willmon, Emily West, Aaron Tippin & Thea Tippin, Sarah Buxton, Trent Tomlinson, Jennifer Hanson, Richard Sterban of the Oak Ridge Boys, Bo Bice, Katie Armiger, Joey + Rory, Whitney Duncan, The Roys, Crystal Shawanda, Megan Mullins, Justin Moore, Dean Brody, Mica Roberts, Carter’s Chord, Bomshel, Jypsi, LoCash Cowboys, Krista Marie, Love & Theft, Brad Cotter and Eric Durrance.
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, in partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, has created a Music Business Council made up of artists and industry executives who will spearhead various economic development efforts that capitalize on Nashville’s identity as Music City. The priorities Dean has established for the Council include increasing live music venues in the city, increasing music business relocations, improving Nashville’s public school music education program, expanding the CMA Music Festival and developing a new multi-genre music festival. The Music Business Council will serve as an ongoing industry support organization to accomplish these and other goals.
Online music distributor TuneCore (www.tunecore.com) has teamed up with online sheet music company Musicnotes (www.musicnotes.com) to provide yet another way for musicians to make money from their music. Starting in May, any TuneCore artist selling over 25,000 songs within 90 days can have at least one of their songs professionally scored, translated to sheet music and made available for sale via paid download at Musicnotes.com, earning money from each sale. The seeds of this innovative partnership were planted at this year’s Leadership Music Digital Summit where TuneCore CEO Jeff Price first encountered 
the first time in the history of the music and publishing industry, a unique opportunity for artists based on sales numbers, not an editorial filter. “The music industry began in many ways with the selling of sheet music,” said Price. “The irony of the intertwining of digital downloads with sheet music is not lost on both companies.”
NAMM Returns to Music City
Adkins, Aldean And Bentley To CMT Awards
Carrie Underwood made her second trip to Africa earlier this month, visiting orphanages and health centers near Luanda, Angola where she participated in the area’s cause to help fight malaria. Underwood’s visit was part of American Idol’s “Idol Gives Back” charitable endeavors. A special video package will air on American Idol tonight (5/12), to help show viewers how their donations have helped with various relief programs.
The Country Music Association and ABC Television Network have announced that The 43rd Annual CMA Awards will air Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 CT live from Nashville’s Sommet Center on ABC. Last year’s CMA Awards ranked behind only the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards during the 2008-2009 season for awards shows among total viewers. ABC won Wednesday night in both total viewers (15.9 million) and adults 18-49 (5.0/13). Nearly 35 million viewers watched all or part of the ceremony. The 2008 CMA Awards came in No. 7 for the week in the 18-49 demo and No. 9 for the week in total viewers, according to Nielsen.
CMT is partnering with Dish Network to bring country stars to Dish Network subscribers it was announced today (5/11) by Ira Bahr, Chief Marketing Officer for DISH Network and Mary Beth Cunin, Senior Vice President of Programming Strategy for CMT. Under the deal, six episodes of the CMT series Invitation Only will have exclusive premiere windows on Dish Network’s new CMT-branded franchise, CMT Front Row Only on DISH Network. The one-hour, monthly series kicks off on Dish Network on Tuesday, June 2 with Darius Rucker. 
Upcoming episodes will feature Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley and Sugarland, with more to be announced. Invitation Only features country stars performing before a small studio audience in Nashville, taking questions from fans and delivering candid answers. Previous episodes on CMT have featured Keith Urban and Alan Jackson. The Dish Network/CMT partnership also includes content from CMT Crossroads and the upcoming 2009 CMT Music Awards.