Get Out For A Good Cause This Week

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mhThe Miller Harris Foundation Benefit Concert is tonight, Wed., June 24 at the Bluebird Cafe. Two shows featuring some of Nashville’s favorite songwriters will benefit the organization which helps children with asthma. The 6 PM in-the-round welcomes Kim Williams, Amanda Williams, Roxie Dean, and Brice Long; followed by the 9 PM show with Keith Stegall, Jim McBride, Wynn Varble and David Lee. For reservations go to www.bluebirdcafe.com or call (615) 383-1461.

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The 3rd Annual Alex LeVasseur Memorial Skate & Music Festival will be Sun., June 28 from 2-9 PM. The free, family-friendly event will be at Jim Warren Park in Franklin. There will be skate demos, live music, local food vendors, airbrush tattoos, game booths, silent auction items and giveaways, and much more. Performers this year include Jeffrey Steele, LoCash Cowboys, Ricky Young & Red White Blue, and Pearl Heart. Money raised will go to the Alex LeVasseur Fund and the Memorial Scholarship Program, which works in conjunction with Sixth Avenue skate park in Nashville to help overlooked and underprivileged youth by creating programs to keep them motivated in school and life through skating. LeVasseur is the late son of Steele, and the event was founded in his memory.
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A benefit for the NSAI legislative fund will be held tomorrow night, Thurs., June 25, at the Bluebird Cafe. The 9 PM set features hitmakers Karen Staley (“Let’s Go To Vegas,” Faith Hill; “The Keeper Of The Stars,” Tracy Byrd); Danny Mark Wells (“These Days,” Rascal Flatts; “Check Yes Or No,” George Strait), and friends. For reservations go to www.bluebirdcafe.com or call (615) 383-1461.

Restructuring Of Gaylord Entertainment’s Top Execs.

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Gaylord Entertainment Company announced today (6/24) several key changes to its leadership team, effective immediately. As part of its continuing efforts to streamline the organization, Gaylord announced that John Caparella, currently Chief Operating Officer, will leave the company. David Kloeppel, currently Chief Financial Officer and President, will take on an expanded role and will now oversee all Gaylord’s operations in addition to sales, marketing, development, and information technology. Mark Fioravanti, currently Treasurer, is being promoted to Chief Financial Officer.

“During his tenure as chief operating officer, John played an important role working with our management team in building our unique culture and developing our Gaylord Hotels brand into a world class destination for convention and leisure guests,” said Colin V. Reed, Gaylord Entertainment chairman and chief executive officer. “We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Reed continued, “John’s departure has given us an opportunity to move forward with our ongoing effort to streamline our management structure while taking advantage of the strength of our existing executives. In his eight years at Gaylord, Dave has played an instrumental role in defining the strategic vision for the Company and has built a deep understanding of our group-centric business model. In a short period of time during a very difficult economic environment, Dave led the charge in several areas of our business that helped the Company maintain its strong margins and preserve revenue. Under Dave’s guidance, we were able to take quick action on our cost-cutting initiatives, and shift the focus of our sales team to fill the occupancy gaps vacated by cancellations, which delivered impressive margins last quarter. I am confident Dave will continue to make significant contributions to the business as he now takes on the expanded role of managing the Company’s operations.”

“I have great confidence in Mark, who has played a pivotal role in shaping the financial profile of the Company and has diligently managed our balance sheet and capital expenditures. Of note, Mark was able to lead the charge on extending the maturities of our credit facilities, a significant undertaking in the current tough lending environment.”

Country Stars In Starring Roles

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julianne_houghJulianne Hough is lined up to co-star in next year’s remake of Footloose says the Hollywood Reporter. She will act alongside Chace Crawford, of Gossip Girl fame, who will play the Kevin Bacon role from the 1984 original. Though some reports say Hough has scheduling conflicts, filming will take place in March 2010 with Paramount Pictures set to turn the production around in time for a June 2010 release. Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) is producing and directing the feature. Hough will play “Ariel Moore,” which originally was cast with actress Lori Singer. At age 11 while living in London, Hough worked as an extra in a Harry Potter film.

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Tim McGraw has a significant role in an upcoming film starring Sandra Bullock. The movie is based on the bestselling novel by Michael Lewis called The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game, which chronicles the life of Ole Miss football player Michael Oher who comes from a hardscrabble background but is helped by an affluent family. McGraw, who will play “Sean Tuohy” in the Nov. 20 release, has been on location in Atlanta recently. He is always searching for new roles he told Women’s Wear Daily. “It’s like finding songs,” he said of the script reading. “You have to have a strong feeling for the role, and of course it has to match up with the time available. But acting makes you better at everything else creative you’re doing. It’s another outlet.” In the article, McGraw also noted that he, Faith and family will be moving into a new home in the Nashville area this fall.

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Willie Nelson has appeared in several movies and was recently honored by the 2009 Maui Film Festival, held June 17-21 in Kahului. The Maverick Award celebrates Nelson’s willingness to speak his mind, stand up for his convictions, and fight to protect the freedom of artistic and political expression. His new album American Classic, a collection of standards, will be released Aug. 25.

Latocki Enters Web Solutions Partnership, Wins AIGA Awards

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The LTC Team

The LTC Team

Latocki Team Creative (LTC) and Creative State, an award-winning provider of Web sites and custom Web applications, are partnering to provide custom Web solutions for Nashville corporations and the entertainment industry. “Creative State is a company we believe in,” says Luellyn Latocki, LTC owner and creative director. “We’re looking forward to working with them to provide our clients with cutting-edge Web sites and top-notch Web services that are imperative to the success of an artist’s career. It’s a perfect partnership between independent companies committed to finding and providing custom, branded, creative solutions for our clients.”

Also from Latocki Team Creative, the company won six awards at AIGA Nashville’s first Case Awards Show, held June 20 at the Cannery Ballroom.

The honors included:
Best of Products and Packaging for Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll 4-disc set (Sony Legacy)
Best of Media Packaging: Entertainment for Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll
Merit Awards: Sales Kits/Press Kits for Coondog Corporate Events, Print Self-Promotion for LTC’s mini-portfolio, Identity System/Stationery Package for LTC’s stationery, and Brand Identity Design for Sweet Talk Publicity.

Skyline Signs B&D Hitmaker Don Cook

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Pictured (L-R): Chip Voorhis, Paul Worley, Liz Morin, Wally Wilson. Seated: Don Cook. Photo: Katie Voorhis

Don Cook, writer and producer of numerous hits by Brooks & Dunn, has signed with Skyline Music Publishing. Among his credits are the B&D songs “Only In America,” “It’s Getting Better All The Time,” “Brand New Man,” “My Next Broken Heart,” “That Ain’t No Way To Go,” “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and “She Used To Be Mine.” Since 1991 he has co-produced thirteen No. 1 hits by Brooks & Dunn, and served as producer on successful albums for The Mavericks, Olivia Newton-John, Shenandoah, Lonestar, Tracy Lawrence, Joe Diffie, and more.

He also wrote “Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying” and “Born To Love You” by Mark Collie, “What I Meant To Say” and “On A Good Night” by Wade Hayes, “Now I Know” by Lari White and “Small Town Girl” by Steve Wariner. In addition, Cook has had cuts by Conway Twitty, George Strait, Keith Whitley, Vince Gill, Alabama, Waylon Jennings and a host of others.

In 1994, Cook was named Senior Vice President at Sony/ATV Tree, and four years later was upped to Chief Creative Officer. He retired from the business side of publishing in 2004 to focus on his family and songwriting.

Twitter Users Purchase More

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npd-logoA recent NPD Group study suggests that Twitter users purchased 77% more digital music downloads than non-tweeting Web users.

“NPD’s latest music-acquisition study shows that there are segments of consumers who are more actively integrating Twitter as a key tool for communicating and networking,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. “Based on their music-purchasing history, active Twitter users are simply worth more to record labels and music retailers than those who are not using Twitter.”

Twitter awareness increased during the first quarter 2009 to 52% among U.S. Internet-users from 22% in fourth quarter 2008. NPD’s consumer tracking shows that 33% of Twitter users reported purchasing a CD in the prior three months and 34% purchased a digital download. Twitter users actually purchased 77% more digital downloads than those not using the 140 character per tweet social network. Twitter users were also twice as likely than average Web users to visit MySpace Music and Pandora.

“Twitter has the potential to help foster the discovery of new music, and improve targeted marketing of music to groups of highly-involved and technologically savvy consumers, but it has to be done right,” Crupnick said. “There must be a careful balance struck between entertainment and direct conversation on one hand, and marketing on the other. Used properly Twitter has the power to entertain—and to motivate music fans to purchase more new albums, downloads, merchandise, and concert tickets.”
http://www.npd.com

GAC Forms Partnership To Release New Music

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lane-turnerGreat American Country (GAC) has entered a partnership with Original Signal Recordings to release Lane Turner’s new album, a self-titled EP made available to digital outlets on June 9. Under terms of the joint venture, GAC will promote Turner’s music and music videos on its television and radio programs, while Original Signal will spearhead the marketing and distribution efforts.

Turner’s traditional heritage and blue-collar roots made him a fan favorite as runner-up on 2008’s The Next GAC Star.  The storytelling and simplicity-of-life found in classic country songs always resonated with Lane, who counts Conway Twitty and Waylon Jennings as influences.

iTunes will distribute 50,000 free download cards featuring Turner’s lead single “Where’s a Sunset” at two country music festival events this summer. He will also be on the road, including a recent performance at CMA Music Fest, and a July 4th show at the Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, GA.

Nashville in Napa

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napa1Producer Frank Rogers is spearheading a new charity called NOTES that will fund programs that bring music, art and literacy to school age children. He co-founded the initiative with Debi Cali of Baldacci Family Vineyards in Napa Valley, CA.

Tickets for the first fundraiser, Nashville in Napa, go on sale today. The event will take place Sat., Aug. 1 at the caves at the Baldacci Family Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of the Napa Valley. Only 200 tickets are available for the intimate evening which will feature songwriters and winemakers highlighting the similarities between their trades.

Several Music City songsmiths, including Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall will perform, and guests will enjoy food and wine by Napa chefs and winemakers who will discuss the process behind their creations.

Ticket prices and more information at www.NashvilleInNapa.com.

Administrators Mark 10 Years, Black River Hires, Miley Ticket Sales

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Hit songwriter and former NSAI President Bob Regan spoke at the 10 Year Anniversary Meeting of the Music Row Administrators Group on June 18. He is seated front and center, sharing a chair with the group’s co-founder Shirley Hutchins. The organization meets monthly and has a guest speaker to provide current information regarding music rights and copyright administration issues.

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Black River Music Group has added Dan Elliott to its staff as Digital Media Specialist. He joined the label as an intern when it first opened its doors. Since then, he went on to intern at CBS News Productions in New York. “Dan was a part of BRMG from the very beginning,” states Rick Baumgartner, BRMG VP/GM. “He was instrumental in the discovery and signing of Sarah Darling, so when it came time to continue building our team, hiring Dan was a no brainer. He will be a tremendous asset to our Digital Media Division.” Elliott will report directly to John Gusty and Shay Boone.

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Tickets to see Miley Cyrus aren’t moving as quickly as they did on her previous sold-out tour, reports CelebrityAccess. The once hard-to-come-by tickets are still available through Ticketmaster and other affiliated vendors for every stop on her upcoming run, though they just went on sale last week. 
When she toured as character Hannah Montana in 2007, tickets to virtually every show sold out almost instantly. However, they were snapped up by secondary vendors and resold to upset fans (mostly parents of teens) at very inflated prices.

While reportedly trying to combat this problem for the new tour which starts in September, Cyrus and her handlers may have hurt her ticket sales. They are using a  paperless ticketing system which according to the article, “requires that ticket purchasers present the credit card used to purchase the tickets at the venue at the time of the show in order to gain admission, making it virtually impossible to give the tickets as a gift, or for a fan without a credit card to attend.”

CMT Awards Are Channel’s Most-Watched Show of Year

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Capitol Nashville’s Emily West and American Idol judge Randy Jackson at the CMT Music Awards.

Capitol Nashville’s Emily West and American Idol judge Randy Jackson at the CMT Music Awards.

More than 9.6 million viewers cumulative* tuned in for the premiere and encore telecasts of the 2009 CMT Music Awards on Tuesday, June 16 on CMT. This makes it the network’s most-watched telecast of the year, and ranks it third in the history of the awards. Increased fan interaction online led CMT.com to a record 7.5 million votes for this year’s Awards, up 45% from last year’s 5 million. The entire show can be viewed at CMT.com.

Fans also flocked to CMT.com after the show, where the site hit an all-time high with over 1 million single-day streams on Wednesday, June 17. Taylor Swift and T-Pain’s “Thug Story” became the most-streamed video for the day and now holds the record for best video premiere ever on CMT.com. Sugarland’s “Love Shack” featuring the B-52s is the No. 2 streaming performance from the show, with Kellie Pickler’s “Best Days Of Your Life” ranking No. 3.

Immediately following the live awards show telecast, CMT’s new series The Singing Bee became the channel’s highest-rated series debut of all time. Also on CMT is the new season of Can You Duet, which premiered Sat., June 20 with judges Naomi Judd, Big Kenny, and Big Machine Records President and CEO Scott Borchetta.

*Nielsen Media Research (cume P 2+ / 1 minute qualifier); includes live 2009 CMT Music Awards telecast which aired at 8 p.m. ET, along with the retelecast at 11:30 p.m ET.

Bryan Adams will share the stage with country rocker, Jason Aldean, when the pair team up for CMT CROSSROADS. CMT CROSSROADS: BRYAN ADAMS AND JASON ALDEAN taped before an invitation only audience at the Factory (Frankin, Tenn.) in May and premieres Friday, June 26 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT. Margaret Comeaux-Executive Producer, CMT; Brian Philips-President, CMT; Bryan Adams; Jason Aldean; John Hamlin-Senior VP, Production and Development, CMT; Bill Flanagan-EVP Editorial Director, MTVN; and Tom Forrest, Executive Producer, Taillight TV. Photo: John Russell

Bryan Adams will share the stage with country rocker, Jason Aldean, when the pair team up for CMT CROSSROADS. CMT CROSSROADS: BRYAN ADAMS AND JASON ALDEAN taped before an invitation only audience at the Factory (Frankin, Tenn.) in May and premieres Friday, June 26 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT. Margaret Comeaux-Executive Producer, CMT; Brian Philips-President, CMT; Bryan Adams; Jason Aldean; John Hamlin-Senior VP, Production and Development, CMT; Bill Flanagan-EVP Editorial Director, MTVN; and Tom Forrest, Executive Producer, Taillight TV. Photo: John Russell