Rascal Flatts to Join Big Machine

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Big Machine President/CEO Scott Borchetta announced today (7/29) that Rascal Flatts would be the latest addition to the Big Machine family. A new album called Nothing Like This, produced by Dann Huff, is due out November 16. The first single “Why Wait,” written by Neil Thrasher, Tom Shapiro and Jimmy Yeary, is being released to radio today.

The trio’s most recent album, Unstoppable, was their last with Disney-owned Lyric Street Records. The Rascal Flatts catalog will remain with the Disney Music Group. There is no official word on the status of remaining Lyric Street staff.

“Rascal Flatts are the biggest band in country music and we’re honored and thrilled to have them join the Big Machine Records family,” said Big Machine Records founder/CEO Scott Borchetta. “While they are celebrating the first ten years together I selfishly can’t wait to start on their next ten years. They have made a fantastic new album and they are completely energized and ready to take on not only the US but also the rest of the world. Why wait?”

“We are extremely excited about our new partnership with Big Machine Records,” says Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus. “We believe that Scott Borchetta and all of the folks over there are a perfect fit for what Rascal Flatts is trying to accomplish over the next few years. The last 10 years have been amazing but we are even more excited out the next phase of our career; Scott understands us, he knows what we’re about and it’s always a wonderful thing to have someone who believes in you and your music that much in your corner.”

Hall of Fame Celebrates Elvis

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Loving You: Collecting Elvis Presley, a spotlight exhibit on one of the most beloved and influential cultural figures of the twentieth century, will be unveiled August 6 at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. The exhibit, which celebrates Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday, is located within the Museum’s permanent exhibition and will run through January 2011.

Incorporating documents and artifacts from the Museum’s collection, the exhibit examines Presley’s continuing global appeal and the enduring support of his fans more than thirty years after his passing. Items to be displayed include a Munsingwear bathrobe and a Lord Nelson wristwatch owned by the King himself. Also featured are collectible items bearing Presley’s likeness, including a bronze bust designed by Armand LaMontagne, a Christmas ornament, a bottle of “Always Elvis” white wine, a porcelain music box and more.

Spotlight exhibits are narratives that supplement themes or aspects of the Museum’s core exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music. These short-term, informal displays either provide a closer look at a particular person, group or aspect of country music, or spotlight recently donated items or special anniversaries. Rotated often, spotlight exhibits also offer a glimpse into the Museum’s unique collection, which includes recorded discs, historical photographs, films and videotapes; thousands of posters, books, songbooks, periodicals and sheet music; personal artifacts such as performers’ instruments, costumes and accessories; and more.

Wynonna Named Cecil Scaife Visionary

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Five-time Grammy winner Wynonna Judd will receive The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award for 2010. Governor Phil Bredesen and First Lady Andrea Conte will be on hand for an evening of music and heartfelt memories on Tuesday, August 24, as Nashville celebrates Wynonna for her countless contributions to the Nashville community and future generations who wish to pursue a career in the music industry.

The event will be held at Conservation Hall at the Tennessee Residence in Nashville.  The invitation-only gala begins at 6:30 PM.  The evening will be filled with music and tributes from friends and esteemed members of the community including a proclamation from U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. Invitations may be requested by emailing [email protected] accompanying a donation of $200.  All donations benefit the Cecil Scaife Music Business Scholarship Endowment for an educational scholarship to be awarded in Wynonna Judd’s name.

The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award was founded in the name of the Music Row pioneer and veteran, who was instrumental in the formation of the music business program that is now known as the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.

Passionate about the music industry and education, it was Scaife’s vision to form a college level program to produce successful musicians, artists and music business executives by giving students an opportunity to formally learn about the industry that was so fulfilling and exciting for him.

“Wynonna personifies the spirit of this award,” said LaRawn Scaife Rhea. “She has given so generously of her heart, talent and time to help the next generation realize a better life and better chance at success through her work with youth in our community and students pursuing a career in the music industry. It is a great honor to award The Cecil Scaife Visionary Award to Wynonna for the many special opportunities that she has made available to students through her special mentorship.”

Music industry leader, Mike Curb, was the inaugural recipient of The Cecil Scaife Visonary Award in 2008. Record producer and music industry leader, Tony Brown, received the award in 2009.

Baldrica Exits Sony Music Nashville

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Radio-Info’s Phyllis Stark is reporting that Tom Baldrica, Sony Music Nashville VP Marketing has exited the label.

Baldrica was elevated to VP Marketing in Sept. 2006 after joining the organization’s promotion department in 1993. His current role was to oversee artist development, media, creative services and strategic marketing for the label groups imprints which include Arista Nashville, BNA Records, RCA Records and Columbia Records.

DMX Wins Rate Court Lawsuit Against BMI

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DMX, Inc., a leading provider of commercial music services, has won a rate court proceeding against performing rights organization BMI. On Monday (7/26), a federal district judge in New York ordered BMI to provide DMX with an adjustable fee blanket license that allows DMX to license music directly from music publishers and writers.

The decision could portend a shift of many more music performances out of the hands of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC and into direct licensing deals with publishers and writers. The decision could potentially change the landscape of performing rights in the US. The majority of music users currently use a blanket license from from either BMI, ASCAP or SESAC. The adjustable fee blanket license gives copyright owners the ability to directly license their own content and is expected to put pressure on performing rights organizations to reduce their fees and increase transparency in the face of this new competition.

Attorney R. Bruce Rich, who represents DMX, describes the court’s decision as “a gratifying affirmation of the role of the rate court as a means of establishing meaningful alternative license structures to the blanket license. The Court’s implementation of a sensible crediting mechanism against blanket license payments otherwise owing where a user such as DMX has made significant investments in direct licensing should have broad application for other industries.”

“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision in the DMX case, which ignores the long history of Performance Right Organization (PRO) licensing agreements in the background music industry,” BMI said in a statement. “We are examining the decision in depth and evaluating the basis for an appeal.”

For more on this decision…from Digital Music News

Rod Riley Named President of Word Entertainment

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Rod Riley

Warner Music Nashville (WMN), the Nashville-based music operations of Warner Music Group Corp., today announced that Rod Riley has been named President and CEO of Word Entertainment, WMG’s Christian music division.  
In his new role, Riley will oversee Word’s entire operation, including A&R, sales and marketing, music publishing, distribution, church resources and artist services. Riley succeeds Mark Bright and will report directly to John Esposito, President and CEO of Warner Music Nashville. Bright, one of Nashville’s most acclaimed producers, will continue to work with WMN under the terms of his existing production deal with Warner Bros. Nashville.

In making the announcement, Esposito said: “Mark has done an outstanding job as the head of Word, and it is a testament to the great depth of talent we have at WMN that allows us to not only continue our relationship with him under the terms of his existing production deal but also to not miss a beat by appointing Rod as the head of Word Entertainment. And while we are delighted to give Rod this well-deserved promotion, we are thrilled that we can make this change while also allowing Warner Music Nashville to continue its very valuable relationship with Mark. We could not be more supportive of Mark’s decision to go back full time to being one of the best producers in country music, and I look forward to continuing to work with him through his production deal with Warner Bros. Nashville.”

“I am deeply honored to accept this role as we prepare to enter Word’s 60th year of making Christian music,” Riley said. “It’s been a great pleasure to work as part of the Word organization, especially since it has meant seeing this team bring about consistently incredible results, both in our established businesses, as well as in all of the new areas we have entered. We’re in the midst of the music industry’s most challenging transition period, so I’m even more thankful to Espo for trusting me with these new responsibilities. I’m confident that working together with this exceptional Word team we’ll see that Word’s best days are before us.”

“I believe that Rod Riley is the perfect choice to lead Word into the next decade,” said Mike Curb, Chairman of Word Entertainment. “He has the vision and the experience to meet this major challenge.”

Riley has served as Chief Operating Officer of Word Entertainment since 2008, and has been responsible for all the business operations of Word Label Group, Word Music Publishing, Word Distribution and Word Music. Since joining Word Entertainment in 2005 as Senior Vice President of Marketing, he has been instrumental in revitalizing the company’s staff and artist roster, as well as aggressively expanding Word’s artist services business, including launching or acquiring businesses in merchandising, e-commerce, artist booking, touring, brand management and sponsorship.

Prior to joining Word, Riley served as Senior Director of Sales at Provident Music, Sony Music’s Christian music label. In 1999, while still with Sony, Riley and his wife, Susan, launched Fervent Records, a record label and music publishing company that is home to such acclaimed artists as BarlowGirl, Francesca Battistelli, Group 1 Crew, Sidewalk Prophets, pureNRG and Big Daddy Weave. Originally distributed through Sony, Riley sold Fervent to Word Entertainment in 2005.

New Morning Team for WSM 95.5 The Wolf

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Over the last few months, Cumulus Radio’s 95.5 The Wolf (WSM-FM) in Nashville has been assembling a new team for its morning show, the Wake Up with the Wolf Show. Show host Rick Marino, who has been a fixture on the Nashville airwaves since 1994, was joined in May by another well-known market face, TV meteorologist and newsman Tim Ross.

As reported in last week’s MusicRow chart report, Beth Brightwell, a 10-year radio and morning show veteran of North Central Florida, has also joined the new morning crew. Completing the team at WSM is Ashley Mann, who offers a unique perspective, having stinted at KZLA (Los Angeles) and produced syndicated seasonal radio shows. Mann has also worked as a successful label songwriter and demo/commercial jingle singer. The team’s first official broadcast takes place tomorrow (7/29) from 5:30 to 10 a.m. on 95.5 The Wolf.

Cumulus Senior VP of Programming, Jan Jeffries comments, “A nation-wide search was conducted over several months for the perfect complement to round out the cast of WSM-FM’s The Wake Up With The Wolf Show. Rick, Beth, Tim and Ashley remind me of a modern-day version of the legendary TV series Cheers. Each personality on the show is distinctly different, making for an unpredictable and consistently entertaining morning show.  We are extremely enthusiastic to kick off mornings each day with this highly talented group.”

“The team offers something for everyone to like,” stated Russ Penuell, Program Director of 95.5 The Wolf (WSM-FM). “It’s a distinctive team that offers a variety of fresh perspective to get your morning going…like that first freshed-brewed cup of coffee.”

(l-r) Wake Up With the Wolf on-air team members Tim Ross, Ashley Mann, Beth Brightwell and Rick Marino

DISClaimer Single Reviews (7/28/10)

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There’s a lot to like this week.

Among the new super sounds are efforts by Mark Chesnutt, Train, Kenny Chesney and Matt Kennon. Newcomers Kathe Knight, Manning-Dickson and The Ketucky Linemen are also welcome additions to our audio environment.

Despite superior efforts by Misters Kennon and Chesnutt, Kenny Chesney handily wins the Disc of the Day award.

Our three newcomers also ran their races well. But the sibling trio The Kentucky Linemen cross the finish line as the DisCovery Award winners.

RICHIE ALBRIGHT/Makeup And Faded Blue Jeans
Writer: Merle Haggard; Producer: Bill Green; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree/Shade Tree, BMI; Electric Cactus (210-654-8773)
—You’re only asking for trouble when you set yourself up to be compared to Haggard. Needless to say, he comes up way short of the Master.

KENNY CHESNEY/The Boys Of Fall
Writer: Casey Beathard/Dave Turnbull; Producer: Buddy Cannon & Kenny Chesney; Publisher: none listed, BMI/ASCAP; BNA (CDX)
—Audio magic. It’s a wistful look back at playing high-school football that is rich with imagery, emotion and honesty. A brilliant piece of songwriting, an awesome production and a perfectly moving vocal performance. Country-music records simply do not come any finer than this.

THE KENTUCKY LINEMEN/Walk On
Writer: Ebert/Andy Wren/Brian Randle/Tim & Jeanette Culpepper/Buck & Kathy Jarrell; Producer: Ebert West; Publisher: Moo Town, ASCAP/BMI/SESAC; MooTown (CDX) (www.mootownentertainment.com)
—Hearty harmonies are the hallmark here. These men sing with immense gusto, and the hooky, mid-tempo song is a solid, rolling winner.

TRAIN/Hey Soul Sister
Writer: Pat Monahan/Espen Lind/Amund Bjorklund; Producer: Martin Terefe & Espionage; Publisher: none listed, BMI/ASCAP; Columbia (CDX)
—These San Francisco soft rockers are best known for the pop hits “Drops of Jupiter” (2002) and “Calling All Angels” (2003). This highly tuneful, acoustic bopper is quite enjoyable and is “country” enough for these ears. Come on in, boys. The water is fine.

MATT KENNON/You Can Still Wear White
Writer: Natt Kennon/Aaron Scherz; Producer: James Stroud, Julian King, Matt Kennon & Aaron Scherz; Publisher: Songs of Loud/Matt Kennon/Songs of Elevation/Big Loud Bucks, BMI; BamaJam (CDX)
—Matt Kennon’s “The Call” was one of best indie singles of the past few months. He proves it was no fluke with this driving, propulsive, pounding, power-packed anthem. I still love his soulful, raspy delivery. Make this man a star.

JOHNNY TILLOTSON/Not Enough
Writer: Johnny Tillotson/Nancy Tillotson/Cary Park; Producer: Johnny Tillotson & Nancy Tillotson; Publisher: none listed, BMI; Maydu (CDX) (www.johnnytillotson.com)
—Tillotson was a teen idol of the ‘50s and ‘60s with hits such as “Poetry in Motion,” “It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’,” “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On” and “Talk Back Trembling Lips.” His catchy, upbeat comeback single finds him still in fine voice. The lyric about thanking our troops is timely and winning.

MANNING – DICKSON/Drive
Writer: Jason Manning/Jason Dickson; Producer: Manning-Dickson; Publisher: none listed, BMI/ASCAP; Blue Boot (www.manningdickson.com)
—Breezy, melodic and well sung. Its only drawback is its somewhat compressed, murky sound.

KATHE KNIGHT/I Will
Writer: Michael P. Heeney/Liz Rose; Producer: John R. Craig; Publisher: Sony-ATV, BMI; TAM (track) (828-758-2349)
—Intimate sounding. Her soft, delicate delivery focusses your attention on the very well-written lyric of considering cheating by picking up a stranger in a bar. In addition to her fine performance and the song craftsmanship, the track also benefits by being produced with crystal clarity. Lend this your ears.

MARK CHESNUTT/Lovin’ Her Was Easier
Writer: none listed; Producer: Pete Anderson; Publisher: none listed; Saguaro Road (track)
—Mark’s new CD is titled Outlaw. It is a salute to the music of Waylon, Willie, Hank Jr. and the rest of the boys who shook things up on Music Row in the 1970s. This tune tips its hat to both The Glaser Brothers, who had a big hit with it in 1981, and to its maverick songwriter, Kris Kristofferson. The singer’s expressive, resonant baritone and the spacious production put the spotlight on Kris’s extraordinarily poetic lyric. Quite a song and quite a performance. An A-plus effort by all concerned.

DAISY MALLORY/Do You Think Of Me
Writer: Daisy Mallory/Ben Caver; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Daisy Mallory/Sony-ATV, ASCAP/SESAC; DM (602-538-7878)
—There already is a Taylor Swift. Find your own sound.

Capitol Ups Autumn House to VP, A&R

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Autumn House

Capitol Records Nashville has promoted Autumn House to Vice President, A&R. House will report directly to Mike Dungan, President/CEO, Capitol Records. She will continue to act as the A&R department’s liaison with producers, publishers, management and artists on behalf of Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashville.

“Capitol Records has never been hotter, and a good portion of that is as a result of Autumn’s creative instincts and talent in finding and nurturing only the best talent,” explains Dungan. “I am very proud and excited to recognize her efforts with this promotion to Vice President.”

House has been with Capitol Records Nashville since 2000. She was promoted to Sr. Director, A&R in 2006. Prior to joining Capitol Records Nashville, House was a Professional Manager at both Maverick Music and Starstruck Entertainment. While at Capitol Records Nashville, Autumn has been key in the signing of several artists including Dierks Bentley, Jennette McCurdy, Walker Hayes, Emily West and EMI Records Nashville flagship artist Troy Olsen. She continues to find breakthrough songs for the label’s roster which includes Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Walker Hayes, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, McCurdy, Olsen, Keith Urban and West.

A native Nashvillian, House graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Communications/Broadcasting. After college she returned to Nashville to intern at the management firm, Moress, Nanas Entertainment, working with Clint Black, Lorrie Morgan and Donna Summer. In 1995 she joined Starstruck Entertainment as an administrative assistant and was soon promoted to Professional Manager. In 1998 she took a position as Professional Manager at Maverick Music. Over the course of her career she has secured cuts for such artists as Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack, Lonestar, and Deana Carter.

Sizing Up Country Summer Sales

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This graph compares YTD country and all-genre sales with the previous year.

Our final 2010 July sales report is in and country album sales are down YTD 9.8% which compares somewhat favorably with all genre sales which have tumbled 12% YTD. These numbers are according to Nielsen SoundScan and include sales of physical and digital albums.

Being down about 10% is nothing to cheer about, but depending upon upcoming release schedules it might be possible to make up the YTD deficit of about 2.21 million albums.

August and September 2009 featured nine Top 10 debuts which sold a total of 534,182 debut week units. Upcoming releases for Aug. and Sept. 2010 are listed below and may still be a work in progress.

It is not a stretch of the imagination, especially with projects dropping from Zac Brown Band and Kenny Chesney, to assume that this year’s new release debut week sales will match or improve on the previous year. However, last year the sales tally also enjoyed robust weekly numbers generated by Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown and Hanna Montana that each scanned 20-40,000 units per week range. For the week ended 7/25/10 only Zac Brown (20k) and Lady A (25k) managed to break the 20k barrier. That week-after-week difference will also be felt in the YTD totals.

So is it likely that 2010 country YTD album sales totals will catch up with 2009 by the end of September? Simply stated, no, but bets are still open for the final quarter which will contain some high profile releases and could turn the tide…

2009 Aug. & Sept. Release Dates and First Wk. Sales
8/9/09 Sugarland 76,000 units
8/9/09 Gloriana 44,000
8/16/09 George Strait 155,000
8/16/09 Justin Moore 34,00
8/23/09 Reba 96,000
8/30/09 Now Country 33,000
9/9/09 Chris Young 36,000
9/9/09 Cross Canadian Ragweed 14,000
9/13/09 Brooks & Dunn 55,000

2010 Aug. & Sept. Release Dates
8/10/10 Blake Shelton
8/17/10 Trace Adkins
8/24/10 Little Big Town
9/14/10 Jamey Johnson
9/14/10 James Otto
9/21/10 Randy Houser
9/21/10 Zac Brown Band
9/21/10 SteelMagnolia
9/28/10 Kenny Chesney