Clear Channel Rallies For Flood Relief

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Clear Channel Nashville is holding a daylong radiothon today (5/4) to benefit local flood relief efforts. All five stations in the cluster (WSIX, WRVW, WLAC, WNRQ, WUBT) will be simulcasting, with on-air talent from each outlet sharing hosting duties until midnight. Proceeds will go to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Tennessee Disaster Response Fund.

The hosts are encouraging donations and keeping listeners up-to-date with the latest news and interviews. This morning Gerry House spoke to Gov. Phil Bredesen and Chief of Police Ronal Serpas during his 7-9 AM time slot.

Artists Engage Fans With Contests, Websites, and More

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Keith Urban

Fan engagement is key to artist success these days. Here are some of the latest ways musicians are exciting consumers and getting them involved.

To mark next week’s release of his latest single “I’m In,” Keith Urban is asking fans to submit their favorite “I’m In” story at his website for the chance to win music, concert tickets or an autographed guitar. “I’m In” stories can include making a commitment to a significant other, dedicating oneself to a charity, or any number of interpretations.

Kenny Chesney’s online station No Shoes Radio has teamed with Hooters to launch a national sweepstakes for a trip to his July 2 show at the Joint at the Vegas Hard Rock. There is also a text-to-win component where fans text “Kenny” to 36832 to register. Fans can pick up a free 4-song Chesney compilation, produced exclusively for Hooters/No Shoes Radio, at select locations.

Randy Houser

Randy Houser is offering fans a free ringtone when they vote for him for USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year at the upcoming CMT Awards. His hit “Boots On” is in the running at CMT.com. As a thank-you, fans can opt to receive a free ringtone of Houser laughing, taken from his popular “LOL” viral video.

Wynonna Judd has launched a new online community at wynonna.com built by Nashville-based social commerce network Moontoast.com. Moontoast combines traditional social networking with commerce tools. Now Wy’s fans can communicate with each other, connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, access exclusive content and enjoy broader access to her merchandise and music.

David Bradley is challenging fans to creatively utilize the title of his new single “Soak It Up,” along with radio call letters, DJ names, or other outlet ID’s in a video. The footage will possibly be included in the song’s music video. Bradley is a staff songwriter with Wrensong Publishing in Nashville.

The Harters are blogging from the road to give fans an inside look at life on tour. The band (siblings Michael, Leslie and Scott) is currently on a rigorous nationwide radio tour in support of their debut single “Jenny” and fans can be there every step of the way by visiting their website (www.theharters.tv) and checking out their weekly blogs featuring stories, photos and video.

Videos: Roy Orbison Tribute; Joe Nichols’ Message

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The Roy Orbison Birthday Benefit Concert was held April 23 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville to celebrate what would have been the late performer’s 74th birthday. Proceeds from the event benefited Musicians On Call.

See more from the Roy Orbison tribute here.

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Joe Nichols with Big D and Bubba

Joe Nichols recently spent three weeks at No. 1 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart, thanks to his latest single “Gimmie That Girl.” Click here to see his special thank-you video message to country radio and fans. Or check out some clips from his visit with Big D and Bubba.

Swift On Time 100 List, New Face of Cover Girl

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Swift's Cover Girl photo shoot

Taylor Swift is cementing her celebrity status with news this week that she is the latest face of Cover Girl cosmetics. The brand with worldwide recognition has a long history of using only A-list females for its advertisements. Swift will be representing a new luxury product line, and joins other current Cover Girl superstars Queen Latifah, Ellen DeGeneres, Rihanna, and Drew Barrymore. The 20-year-old just finished the photo shoot for her first advertisements which are scheduled to debut in January 2011.

Swift has also been chosen as one of the TIME 100, the news magazine’s list of the people who most affect the world. Swift’s profile piece was written by Stevie Nicks, with whom Swift collaborated on this year’s GRAMMY Awards. She is on the list alongside a range of icons, celebrities and personalities including Oprah Winfrey, Barak Obama, Simon Cowell, Lady Gaga and Sandra Bullock.

Taylor Swift photo essay by Christopher Morris / VII for "TIME"

SESAC Promotes Tim Fink

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SESAC has promoted Tim Fink to Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations. The 20-year veteran of the performing rights organization previously served as Associate Vice-President, Writer/Publisher Relations.

Since joining SESAC in 1990, Fink has held positions on the licensing and affiliations sides of the company. Appointed the head of the Nashville Writer/Publisher Relations team in 2002 as Associate Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Fink works with songwriters and publishers across a wide range of genres.

“Tim Fink has proven himself to be a talented and dedicated executive, a consummate professional,” said Trevor Gale, Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations. “Tim possesses great instincts and a keen insight when identifying and nurturing talent which has played an integral part in SESAC’s remarkable growth. SESAC is delighted to announce this much deserved promotion and we all look forward to continuing on with providing unprecedented service and support to our songwriter and publishing affiliates.”

Pop Artist Owsley Passes

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The Nashville pop-music artist billed as Owsley died Friday, April 30.

Owsley’s 1999 self-titled debut solo album on Giant Records was nominated for a Grammy Award in the engineering field. His second, self-released, CD was titled The Hard Way.

Earlier, he was in the Nashville pop-rock band The Semantics. Owsley was also noted as a guitarist for Shania Twain and Amy Grant.

His full name was Will Owsley, and he was originally from Anniston, Alabama.

According to The Tennessean, Owsley died of an apparent suicide. He is survived by his wife and two children.

ASCAP Financial Report Shows Continued Growth

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ascap we create music1ASCAP’s just released 2009 financial results show year over year growth for the performing rights organization. In 2009 ASCAP collected over $995 million, an almost $50 million increase from the $946.7 million collected in 2008. This is the second consecutive year of growth for the organization which saw an almost 10% bump from 2007-08.

Royalty payments to ASCAP’s 380,000-plus members in 2009 totaled more than $863 million. Distributions to members in 2008 totaled $818.9 million, which at that time was an increase of $77.7 million or 10.5% over 2007.

ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento delivered the latest results during the General Annual Meeting at the organization’s “I Create Music” EXPO, held April 22-24 in Los Angeles. [See video here.] Now in its fifth year, the conference saw a 25% increase in registration revenue over the prior year, with over 2800 participants during the three days. Among the Nashvillians featured during sessions were Don Schlitz and Phil Vassar, alongside superstars from other the pop/rock world such as Quincy Jones, Justin Timberlake, and John Mayer.

Also at the event, ASCAP unveiled an iPhone/mobile device app as a companion to its online Member Access system. The online portal offers access to membership, catalog, performance and royalty information.

Touching on the year ahead, LoFrumento said, “Our challenge is to obtain fair rates for the increasingly valuable public performance right over Internet and wireless devices. Because we are an organization of and for songwriters, composers and publishers, ASCAP is taking the leadership role in advocating for copyright and the livelihood it makes possible for music creators.”

Better Weather In Key West

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Pictured backstage are (l-r): BMI’s Mark Mason and Jody Williams, Tom Douglas, Raul Malo, Robert Earl Keen, Jamey Johnson, Kim Carnes, Bob DiPiero, and BMI’s Clay Bradley. Photo by Brian Tipton

Many members of Nashville’s music community were in Key West, FL last week and through the weekend for the 15th annual Better Angels Music Key West Songwriters Festival.

Among the intimate shows was the Thurs., April 29 performance at the historic San Carlos Institute Theater. Hosted by BMI’s Jody Williams, the sold-out event featured three back-to-back sets from stacked lineups swapping stories and songs: Rebecca Lynn Howard and Kim Carnes; Tom Douglas and Bob DiPiero; and Jamey Johnson, Robert Earl Keen, and Raul Malo.

Flooding Forces Bentley To Cancel Dates

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Dierks Bentley canceled May 2 and May 3 tour dates for his new Up On The Ridge tour in Knoxville (5/2) and Charlottesville, VA. Purchased tickets will be refunded.

“For the safety of my band, crew and their families back here in Nashville, we are parking the buses and not going to try and attempt the trip east to Knoxville and Charlottesville,” explained Dierks Bentley.  “As much as we’d love to be playing music tonight, it feels like the right thing to do. I hope to reschedule both dates soon.” For more tour date info visit http://www.dierks.com.