Source Honors Nashville Women

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SOURCE is movin’ on up, in every way. The organization’s eighth annual awards presentation honoring women in the Nashville music business featured a new venue, more attendees than ever, the announcement of its exhibit at the Nashville Airport, splendid food and an excellent roster of honorees. 

Beginning with the last, saluted this year were Celia Froehlig, Carol Phillips, Sherytha Scaife, Liz Thiels, Ruth White and Frances Preston. Co-host Jeannie Seely presented Phillips, drawing chuckles when she noted that the honoree had worked for Bob Beckham for 35 years at both Combine and Hori-Pro. Beckham took the stage to say that Phillips and 2006 SOURCE honoree Carolyn Sells, “were probably more responsible for any success Combine had than I ever was. I really love what SOURCE is doing for these ladies. If it wasn’t for these ladies, we wouldn’t have a music business.

“It was so much fun working in the music business,” said Phillips in accepting her crystal trophy. “This just means so much to me.”

Co-host Brenda Lee introduced herself to the capacity crowd at the elegantly decorated Noah Liff Opera Center (I just love finding new places to party). “I’m still short,” she said. “I still have big hair. I don’t mind dumb-blonde jokes, because I know I’m not dumb, and I’m certainly not blonde.” 

She told of Froelig’s journey from Hill & Range to Famous, Chappell, Screen Gems, EMI and Black River Music. “She still loves music and the people who make it,” Lee concluded.

“There are so many brilliant, fantastic women in our industry,” said Froelig. “I don’t know what I’ve ever given to the music industry. But what you’ve given me far exceeds it.”

Scaife was presented by Seely, who noted the honoree’s involvement in late husband Cecil Scaife’s Music Incorporated, Hall of Fame Studio, Tennessee Music Publishing and other businesses. Scaife was also the first director of the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

“I’m not much for speeches,” said Scaife, “but I want to thank everyone who helped me.” Her talented children Joe Sciafe and LaRawn Scaife led the cheering section from her table.

Lee described Thiels’s progress from Holder & Kennedy to co- founding The Exit/In to Sound Seventy and the Volunteer Jam to creating Network Ink as Nashville’s first full-service music p.r. firm to her current position at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. The last-named’s Kyle Young said, “I hate to think where we’d be without her. She is the consummate professional.

“I admire your organization,” Thiels told the crowd. “To be recognized by a group of accomplished businesswomen is a great honor to me.”

Seely presented Ruth White, who has worked in just about every capacity in the biz — publishing, radio, management, retail, record companies. She is even the published author of several music books.

“I started in this business in 1947, so I assume this is my last hurrah,” said White. “I worked in this business before there was a Music Row and before David Cobb named us Music City.” 

One of her books is her late steel guitarist husband Howard White’s memoir Every Highway Out of Nashville. “Howard said, ‘Enjoy this. It’ll never come around again.’ And it didn’t. But I wish I could do it all again.”

The legendary Frances Preston’s five-decade career in the music business was recalled by Lee. Preston had attended the cocktail reception, but is currently weakened by complications following hip surgery and had to leave the gala early. She was there to receive SOURCE’s Jo Walker-Meador Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I was thrilled to death to get this invitation to come and present this to Frances,” said Vince Gill. “You could be a kid getting their first songwriter award, or you could be Harlan Howard – and she treated you the same. I really love women. A woman knows how to nurture. A woman knows community. A man never ‘gets’ that. I value these relationships, these friends.”

Son David Preston accepted. “It really meant a lot for her to be honored by her peers, the women of Music Row,” he said. “There are so many women in this town to whom she is an inspiration.” Then he read the speech that Frances had prepared herself: “I told this group I would make it tonight come hell or high water. Well, we had high water in May, and this brace I’m wearing is hell. “There is a network of women helping our industry grow. Let’s hear it for the girls!”

That last phrase, in fact, was the title of the gala staged Thursday (8/26). The Opera Center was bedecked in red roses and silver metallic embellishments. Tables were draped in dramatic black and white. The Chef’s Market catering featured tender roast beef with rosemary sprigs, squash, carrots and baked potato carved into mushroom shapes. Ladyfinger desserts were surrounded by raspberry chocolate and berries and topped with raspberry whipped cream and mint leaves. Following dinner and a quite lively cocktail hour, Kay Smith opened the ceremony by recounting SOURCE’s history. 

The organization was founded in 1991 by Judy Harris, Pat Rolfe and Shelia Shipley-Biddy. It began giving honors out in 2003. On August 18, a new, museum-quality exhibit featuring 25 of SOURCE’’s 53 honorees to date opened in Concourse C of the Nashville Airport. The display will remain there until July 2011.

Music at that reception was provided by Carolyn Martin and her band. Previous honorees in the crowd at either the airport opening and/or the banquet included Patsy Bradley, Rose Drake, Polly Roper Edenton, Pat McCoy, Hope Powell, Jean Stromatt, Hazel Smith, Sandy Neese, Jo Walker-Meador, Cecile Light, Peggy Sherrill, Carolyn Sells, Corky Wilson, Mary Martin and Jan Ray Suk.

Charlie Monk provided the pre-award laughs at the gala. “The music business is so bad, Haiti is giving a benefit for us,” he quipped. He pointed out Anita Kerr Singers member Millie Kirkham in the audience as someone who helped create the Nashville Sound. She stood to receive the crowd’s ovation. Other luminaries working the room were Charlie McCoy, Robert Ellis Orrall, Don Schlitz, Michael Bolton (who had a show at the Wildhorse that night), Johnny MacRae, Lee Clayton, Mayor Karl Dean and Bob Morrison. Schmoozing fabulons included Blake Chancey, David Corlew, David & Karen Conrad, Bill Denny, Bill & Barbara Turner, Judi Turner, Cathy Gurley, Kathy Dozier, Nancy Shapiro, Susan Stewart, Debbie Carroll, Bebe Evans, Fletcher Foster, Walt Trott, Teena Camp, Margie Hunt, Paula Szeigis, Sarah Brosmer, Jill Napier and Katie Gillon. The setting was especially fitting for Kira Florita, who begins work at Nashville Opera next week. 

“We just wanted to start something for women to network and help each other,” said Judy Harris. “Thank you all so much for being here. Have a blessed evening.”

And with that, we called it a night.

615 Music Adds Danielle Wade

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Nashville’s 615 Music, one of the world’s leading providers of production music to the entertainment, broadcast, advertising, and corporate industries, and the recent winner of a national Emmy Award for “Outstanding Original Song” for NBC’s Today Show, has retained UK-based representative Danielle Wade. Ms. Wade will represent 615 Music’s extensive catalog throughout the United Kingdom. Randy Wachtler, CEO/Founder, 615 Music, made the announcement.

Ms. Wade will represent 20,000 tracks of cutting-edge production music across 10 of the company’s 23 catalogs. UK-based producers, directors, editors and content

Danielle Wade

owners who seek world-class music for film, television, commercials, video games or New Media projects may visit http://www.615music.co.uk/.

“I’m thrilled to have Danielle as part of the 615 Music team in the U.K.,” said Wachtler. “She’s an enthusiastic music lover who will be fun to work in conjunction with, as her efforts will further our library’s presence and exposure internationally. I’m excited to have our U.K. friends get the chance to have her expertise in finding the right music for their projects.”

“Teaming up with 615 Music is a huge step for me in an industry I have grown to love,” Wade says. “I can’t explain just how supportive the whole team has been, getting behind me on all the ideas I’ve got for building a really successful partnership. Watch.This.Space.”

Musicians Union Welcomes Recording Engineers

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[Note: This announcement has been updated and clarified]

The Nashville Chapter of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257, have reached an understanding that could dramatically benefit recording engineers in the Nashville community. Recording Engineers can now join the Nashville AFM and sign the Union cards as a musician on recording sessions. There is now a heading “Engineer” in AFM listings. The first of its kind in the US. Here is a breakdown so you can determine if this is the right option for you.

Some of the Benefits:
A. Retirement Benefits through the AFM-EP Pension Fund
B. Funeral Benefit/Union Discounts
C. Additional Payments for New Use and Re-Use
D. Protection and Legal Backup for Contracts 
E. Instrument and Group Health Insurance Plans

Member Obligations
Yearly Union Dues (currently $250/yr) and
Work Dues (currently 4% of scale wages)

Note: All Union dues are tax deductible!

How will this work? The Recording Engineer will need to join AFM 257. If you play an instrument(s), you can list that in the AFM 257 directory and website, but now for the first time there is an engineer category in these Union listings. As the recording engineer and Union member, you will be able to sign the Union card on recording sessions.

How you would get paid for the session: All sessions must have a signatory employer. The paperwork is simple and Local 257’s Director of Recording, Juanita Copeland ([email protected]) can help you with this. You will need to work out with the employer how you will get paid. You can invoice them as usual and mark “paid direct” on the time card, or be paid with the other musicians on the session from the contract that the Union creates to invoice the employer. You cannot declare more income “on the card” that you actually made that day. This is a Federal Tax Law violation.

In other words, you can still request your hourly or day rate, be paid that way, and still sign the card for the sessions you engineer. If so, you would write your name, SS #, check the number of sessions to create a wage amount that corresponds to your total payment, without going over that amount, and write “paid direct” under your name. This way you will be receive a 11.4% pension contribution on top of your wages. Or, you can sign the card and wait to get paid, just like the musicians on that session. You will still receive the pension contribution.

What you have to do to make this work for you?

  • Join AFM Local 257 as a member.
  • Always make sure that the employer is an AFM signatory.
  • Engineers will need to sign the time card enough each year to show “on the card” scale wages over $3,000.00/yr for a period of 5 consecutive years to become vested and be eligible to collect your AFM – EP Pension.
  • You can take your pension after reaching age 55 at a reduced rate pro-rated every year until you reach 65, when you will receive benefits at the full rate.

How are Union Dues calculated? Each time you sign the card, and you are paid by an signatory employer, the scale wages you made on the session as a Union member will be subject to Work dues, currently 3.5%, which you will pay to Local 257. So, if you made $400 on the card, your work dues would be $14. But remember, that you will have a Pension contribution of $45.76 over and above your scale wages. In other words, you are coming out ahead by $31.76 and building a Pension for the future.

BLOOD, SWEAT & FACEBOOK: The Publicist’s Expanding Radio Role

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With CD sales continuing to slide, label budgets and staffs shrinking and the bottleneck at radio getting ever tighter, the rules are changing and the roles rearranging for the recording artist’s “team members.” In an increasingly niche-oriented scenario, public relations has begun to loom larger in the overall picture.

Whether its establishing their artist’s “brand,” generating tour press or even helping to squeeze that all-important single onto radio playlists, Nashville’s publicists are doing it all these days.

A story in a recent issue of Advertising Age (cover date 8/23/10) sheds some light on the growing importance of public relations as part of an overall marketing strategy in the age of social

networking.

Mary Hilliard Harrington

“PR, up until now, wasn’t central to a corporation’s overall branding strategy,” John Suhler, co-founder and President of Veronis, Suhler, Stevenson, a firm that publishes annual reports on the state of the PR industry, told Ad Age. “There is now an opportunity for the PR profession and practitioners to use these [digital] tools and make PR a more important part of the communications arsenal.”

“As long as record label budgets continue to tighten, the publicist’s role will continue to increase,” says the Greenroom’s Mary Hilliard Harrington, whose PR clients include Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Jack Ingram and Marty Stuart. “Publicity is a very cost-effective way to help build an artist’s profile and increase their exposure through all forms of media, including radio.”

Craig Campbell

With clients including Gretchen Wilson and Randy Owen, Campbell Entertainment Group’s Craig Campbell also sees the publicist’s job description expanding, but he’s careful not to
cross over into the promoter’s territory. Instead, Campbell keeps abreast of his artist’s progress at radio and tries to reinforce that progress at every step.

“Many promotion people understand that publicists speak with radio regularly about everything except trying to get an add or a spin, and those relationships can help with a new artist,” Campbell says. “We spend a lot of time with radio people lining up interviews, working out details for shows or fulfilling promotions, and we develop great relationships with these folks.”

Martha Moore

Veteran independent publicist Martha Moore of So Much Moore Publicity (Mark Wayne Glasmire, The Grascals, Guy Penrod, The Roys) takes a similar tack when approaching radio about her artists. “Over the past two years, setting up radio interviews has become a more vital part of our overall PR campaign,” she says. “If there is a video for the current single, I make sure that radio knows about it and offer them a direct link for posting on their station website.”

For Essential Broadcast Media’s Ebie McFarland (Darius Rucker, Heidi Newfield, Little Big Town, Randy Houser), interfacing with country radio is nothing new, but in an increasingly competitive market, reaching out to radio has become essential.

Ebie McFarland

“The role of a publicist in our format has always encompassed a variety of facets not traditionally classified as public relations in the broad sense,” McFarland says. “I believe it is the publicists’ job to help radio teams develop and continue the artists’ story at radio.
I would say it has definitely become a significant factor in a publicist’s campaign.”

Another increasingly important development in the PR universe is the overnight rise of social networking as an artist development tool. While younger tech-savvy artists like Taylor Swift have made utilizing these digital tools part of their story, social media has quickly become ubiquitous across the industry, especially in PR. Industry analyst Harris Diamond, CEO of the Interpublic Group of Cos., tells Advertising Age that, “More and more it’s being taken for granted by marketers that social media and digital falls in the PR space.”

That’s certainly true among Nashville’s PR companies, where Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools have become a routine part of the overall strategy.

“Social networking is key to raising the artist’s profile,” says Harrington, “Almost every management company has a full time person devoted to social networking now. We work together to put information out through the networks that may not warrant a full press release. For example, I didn’t send out a release that Jack Ingram borrowed Conan’s guitar and broke the strings on it when he last performed on the Tonight Show, but I did have a tweet sent out about it. Radio stations and DJs are following artists on Twitter, and they love to include these little tidbits on air. It is a quick and easy way to get a story out and keep the artist in the news.”

“Social media is a must for any artist now,” Campbell adds. “But whether it’s the artist or someone representing the artist updating social media, the message needs to be consistent. If your team is selling you to the world as a badass, and there are pictures of your artist pruning his roses on his Facebook site, there might be a disconnect!”

For Campbell, all the Facebooks, Twitters and cool digital gadgets come down to establishing that spontaneous, authentic connection between the artist and fan and making the most of the resulting career momentum.

“A road manager or promo person on the road with an artist can easily send a photo, short video clip or news of something funny that happened an hour ago, and we can get that picked up that same day,” he says. “Radio stations are also looking for content for their websites that can drive traffic. Digital cameras and Flip video cameras are simple and inexpensive tools to capture things that happen on the road. Artists are getting more savvy about shooting their own content for their websites. We don’t necessarily need hard news – just lifestyle stuff that is endearing to fans.”
Even with all the 21st century bells and whistles, the meat and potatoes of the publicity game remain reassuringly in place.

“The most important thing a good publicist can do for a new artist is help brand them…create the story and help differentiate them from the other new artists being introduced to radio,” Harrington says. “That can be through developing the written materials that are sent out to radio, servicing gossip items and photos as they visit stations, and last but definitely not least, helping develop their interview and communication skills. Every new artist should go to the Marty Stuart school of sound bites!”

Weekly Chart Report (8/27/10)

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SPIN ZONE

Capitol Records artist Walker Hayes performed songs from his upcoming album, including first single “Pants,” for a small gathering Tuesday (8/24) at the label’s Nashville offices. Pictured (L-R): Hayes, MR Chart Dir. (and biker wannabe) Jon Freeman

The CountryBreakout Chart’s Top 4 songs aren’t budging, at least not this week. Lady Antebellum’s “Our Kind Of Love” has the advantage of a comfortable lead in spins and holds the No. 1 spot for a third consecutive week. Closing the gap behind the Capitol trio is Billy Currington’s “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer” at No. 2, Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys of Fall” at No. 3 and Darius Rucker’s “Come Back Song” at No. 4. Easton Corbin’s “Roll With It” is the sole new entry to the top 5, with a gain of 176 spins.

Recent charts have witnessed several new singles from country superstars making huge gains in spins and position. That trend seems to be leveling out slightly, and the spins now seem to be somewhat more evenly dispersed. Brad Paisley’s “Anything Like Me” is the biggest gain in spins at 376, followed by the latest from Zac Brown Band, Taylor Swift, and Dierks Bentley which all gained above 300. The group of singles that gained above 200 spins includes Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan and Sugarland.

Movement on the chart has been quick lately, and singles are predominantly young. In fact the oldest singles at present are Little Big Town’s “Little White Church” and James Otto’s “Groovy Little Summer Song,” both of which are at 26 weeks. With singles like Taylor Swift’s “Mine” and Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue” already inside the top 20 in under 5 weeks–with more new singles in their wake–working the chart this fall could yield some very interesting results.

Frozen Playlists: KBOE, KITX, KVVP, KYKX, WKBQ, WKWS, WOGT, WYVY




Upcoming Singles
August 30
Gwyneth Paltrow/Country Strong/RCA
Adam Brand/Ready For Love/Arista
Crossin Dixon/Lovin’ In The Country/Stoney Creek
Joanna Smith/Gettin’ Married/Columbia
Jason Sturgeon/Rollin’ On/Toolpusher/Nine North
Due West/The Bible and The Belt/Black River
Frank Ortega/My Old Man/Villa One/Quarterback
Ashley Gearing/What You Think About Us/Curb/New Revolution

September 7
Jaron and the Long Road To Love/That’s Beautiful To Me/Jaronwood/Big Machine/Universal Republic
Ken Domash/Ding Dang Darn It/Spinville/Thunder Mountain
Walker Hayes/Pants/Capitol

•  •  •  •  •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Carrie Underwood/Mama’s Song/Arista — 64
Jamey Johnson/Playing The Part/Mercury — 70
Thompson Square/Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not/Stoney Creek — 77
Blaine Larsen/Leavin’/Treehouse/Stroudavarious — 78

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Brad Paisley/Anything Like Me/Arista — 376
Zac Brown Band feat. Alan Jackson/As She’s Walking Away/Atlantic/Bigger Picture — 375
Taylor Swift/Mine/Big Machine — 349
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol — 335
Rascal Flatts/Why Wait/Big Machine — 291

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Melanie Denard / All I Ever Did Was Love You / StarPath — 248
Jaron & TLRTL/That’s Beautiful To Me/Jaronwood/Universal Republic/Big Machine — 244
Richie Fields/Wichita/Joint Journey — 243
Gretchen Wilson/I Got Your Country Right Here/Redneck/CO5 — 232
Badhorse/Mississippi Rain/Global Maximus — 225

Two Week Most Added*
Artist/song/label — New adds
Dierks Bentley/Draw Me A Map/Capitol — 22
James Otto/Soldiers & Jesus/Warner Bros. — 21
Carrie Underwood/Mama’s Song/19/Arista — 20
Zac Brown Band feat. Alan Jackson/As She’s Walking Away/Atlantic/Bigger Picture
Thompson Square/Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not/Stoney Creek — 13
Blaine Larsen/Leavin’/Treehouse/Stroudavarious — 13

(L-R) at KWNR/Las Vegas Greens and Guitars gold tournament: Troy Olsen; Frankie Ballard; Kristy Osmonson and Kelly Shepard from Bomshel; KWNR PD Cary Rolfe; Sarah Darling; and Blaine Larsen.

Bo Bice sang the national anthem at the Tennessee Titans home opener Monday night. (L-R): LCR president and artist consultant Mike Borchetta, Bice and consultant Joe Patrick.

Nashville Opera Names Kira Florita Sr. Dir.

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Kira Florita

Nashville Opera, the acclaimed performing arts organization, has named civic and business leader Kira Florita to the newly created position of Senior Director for Advancement. The company has strategically focused on collaborating with a wide range of organizations and businesses to extend the reach of the art form, and Ms. Florita’s experience will assist in these endeavors. In addition, all of the company’s fund raising activities will be overseen by Ms. Florita when she assumes her duties at Nashville Opera on Friday, August 27.

“Kira Florita will help establish new partnerships to allow even more people to experience and appreciate the true nature of opera,” says Carol Penterman, Executive Director and CEO of Nashville Opera. “She will be a valuable asset in furthering Nashville Opera’s goal to establish the company as a role model for innovative design, unique programming, and cultural enrichment throughout the region.”

Florita most recently served as the Executive Director of Leadership Music and is an alumnus of the Class of 2000. Prior to Leadership Music, Florita had been Director of Special Projects for the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, served as one of the founding executives for the launch of Lost Highway Records (Universal Music Group), and directed the marketing for the 8-million selling O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

Nashville Opera, Tennessee’s largest professional opera company, has presented three different world premiere operas since its inception in 1981. It’s extensive education and outreach touring program reaches over 30,000 students throughout Middle Tennessee. These projects are supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission.

Quarterback Records Partners With Ettinger Talent

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John Ettinger and Chris Allums

Quarterback Records and John Ettinger’s newly-established management/consulting firm, Ettinger Talent Associates have formed a joint venture which places Quarterback founder Chris Allums and Ettinger as co-principals of an enlarged Quarterback Records.

“This is a huge step for Quarterback,” said Allums. “John’s reputation in Nashville and throughout country radio is one of integrity and success. We are very excited to begin this new era, and we expect to take a lead position in the profession of country radio marketing.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to get going with Chris and his team,” said Ettinger.  “Together we plan to rewrite the understanding of what an independent label is and how it can partner with country radio and country artists.”

Allums founded Quarterback in 2003 and has been associated with records such as “Pray For You” with Jaron and The Long Road to Love,” and “Three Wooden Crosses” for Randy Travis.

Ettinger spent 14 years with Mercury Records, the last seven as VP of Promotion, where he oversaw artists Shania Twain, Toby Keith, Sugarland and Billy Currington. He helped launch Disney’s Carolwood Records in 2008, scoring a Top 10 single for Love And Theft, before segueing to sister label Lyric Street to head field promotion there in 2009.

Quarterback Records Staff
Chris Allums, President
615-300-5321 [email protected]

JR Hughes, National Promotion Director and
Midwest
931-728-0071 [email protected]

Bill Lubitz, West/Southwest Promotion Director
702-580-6886 [email protected]

John Ettinger, Principal
615-438-7667 [email protected]

Chuck Thagard, Northeast/Southeast Promotion
Director
770-753-8154 [email protected]

Swift Video Gets Global Cross-Channel, Debut

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Taylor Swift’s new video “Mine” will debut Fri. Aug. 27 and reach more than 160 countries around the world. CMT, MTV, VH1 and MTV International will team up to present the global premiere.

The first single from Swift’s upcoming album Speak Now, “Mine,” was rushed to radio after reportedly being leaked across the Internet. It debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs Chart and #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. All the MTV Music Group channels and websites will join in a cross-channel, cross-platform event featuring simultaneous online premieres and heavy on-air promotion, including a half-hour special to air across CMT, MTV and VH1.

CMT.com, MTV.com and VH1.com, along with MTV International sites, will present “Mine” in an exclusive online premiere roadblock beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. MTV will debut the video on-air during its primetime lineup Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while VH1 is set to air the video as part of its highly-rated weekly series VH1 TOP 20 Video Countdown on Sat., Aug. 28 at 9:00 a.m. ET/PT.

Prior to its online premiere, CMT and CMT.com will premiere the video first as part of an exclusive half-hour live special when CMT PREMIERES TAYLOR SWIFT “MINE” airs Friday, August 27 at 8:00-8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Swift will introduce the video for the very first time before a live audience in CMT Premieres Taylor Swift “Mine” as she returns to the towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, Maine where the video was filmed with co-star Toby Hemingway. The special includes a behind-the-scenes look as she gives CMT host Katie Cook a tour of the quaint towns, and offers personal insight into how this latest video came to life. “Mine” was co-directed by Swift and Roman White.

Watch below for a behind the scenes look at the making of the video…

Underwood, Paisley Return as CMA Hosts

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Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will reunite to host “Country Music’s Biggest Night(TM)” for a third time in 2010. The 44th Annual CMA Awards airs live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

“Carrie and Brad have done a tremendous job hosting and we are very happy to have them back again this year,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “They have developed a natural rhythm and have a great rapport with the audience – both in the house and our fans watching at home. They each have a great sense of humor and timing, which are two essential ingredients for hosting a live awards broadcast.”

“The CMAs are different from any other awards night,” said Paisley. “You’re looking at a roomful of people who love each other. And any new viewer will be pleasantly surprised at what they relate to on the Awards and what they like that they had no idea they would like. For that reason alone, this is the most important night of the year for country music.”

“It’s all about country music,” said Underwood. “We all live here. This is our community. The CMA Awards are in Nashville, the home of country music. It’s great to come here and celebrate that every year.”

The 44th Annual CMA Awards is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer. Paul Miller is the Director. David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Randy Houser Visits ACM Offices

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The Academy of Country Music welcomed Show Dog-Universal Music Recording Artist and ACM Professional Member Randy Houser to the office for a visit when he was in Los Angeles this week. Houser’s new album, They Call Me Cadillac, releases on September 21 and will feature forthcoming single, “A Man Like Me.” Houser appeared on the ACM Awards in 2010 and was nominated for his first ACM award for Video of the Year for “Boots On.”

(L-R): Tiffany Moon, ACM, SVP, Managing Director, Randy Houser, Michelle Goble, ACM, VP, Membership & Events) Photo: Michel Bourquard /Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music