[Updated] UMGN Media Dept. Transitions—Williams, Stuve Exit

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[Updated 2/24, 4:15PM]
Amber Williams has exited her post as UMG Nashville Sr. Director, Artist & Media Relations. She can be reached at [email protected] or 615-513-3222.
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UMG Nashville’s media team continues to transition following last year’s change in department leadership. Today’s news is the exit of Regina Stuve. The industry vet was promoted to her most recent post, Sr. Director, Artist & Media Relations, in July 2009.
Also exiting earlier this year was UMG Manager, Digital Media Kelly Russell who joined former department head Jason Owen at his new company.
The changes started in September when Owen left his post as UMGN Sr. VP of Artist Development and Marketing to launch his own Sandbox Entertainment, managing the career of Shania Twain. Award winning journalist and media maven Beverly Keel was hired to fill Owen’s vacancy as Sr. VP of Media & Artist Relations.
In recent months Sandbox has also been sharing in the publicity responsibilities for hitmaking UMG duo Sugarland.
Stuve can be reached at [email protected].

Arista Promo Team Aligns Under Tyson, Sigler; Hires Dokke

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(L-R): Lesly Tyson, John Sigler, Ryan Dokke


Arista Nashville is announcing a reworked promotion team in time for next week’s Country Radio Seminar.
The label has promoted Lesly Tyson to Vice President, Promotion, and John Sigler to National Director, Promotion.
Joining the department effective Mon., Feb. 28 is Ryan Dokke, who will serve as Manager, Regional Promotion. Based in the label’s Nashville headquarters, Dokke arrives at Arista Nashville with more than a decade of experience in country radio, most recently as Asst. Program Director, Music Director, and on-air personality for WKKT-FM in Charlotte, NC.
The promotions of Tyson and Sigler were revealed as part of a larger company-wide restructuring earlier this month. Sony Music Nashville Sr. VP, Promotion Skip Bishop announced the promotion of Tyson, who in turn named Sigler to her previous role.
Tyson first came to the Sony family in 2004. Sigler joined Arista Nashville in 2007.

Artist Roundup

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Briggs Appears As Nashville Cat • Josh Kelley Co-Writes Sitcom Theme Song • Jamey Johnson Gets Gold Record

David Briggs


>>Noted keyboard session player David Briggs will appear as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Musicians series on March 26. The program which starts at 1:30 p.m. is free to museum members and/or included with museum admission. It will also be streamed live on www.countrymusichalloffame.org. In 1969, Briggs and Norbert Putnam opened Quadrafonic Sound Studios in Nashville. which recorded sessions for artists including Jimmy Buffet, Linda Rondstadt and Neil Young before it was sold in 1976. A few years later, Briggs opened a new recording studio, House of David. In 1985, he joined with Will Jennings to form publishing company Willin’ David Music. The partnership published the Academy Award-winning song “Up Where We Belong.”  Briggs also found success recording commercials for a variety of clients including Budweiser, Chevrolet, Coke and Sears. He served as musical director for TV specials including several CMA awards telecasts, The 65th Anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, the CBS Hall of Fame Special and a Minnie Pearl tribute.

Josh Kelley


>>MCA singer/songwriter Josh Kelley has co-written the theme song for CBS sitcom Mike & Molly with Keb’ Mo’. “The Mike & Molly theme song came around sort of randomly,” Josh says. “In 2004, I called up Keb’ Mo’ and said, ‘I’d really love to write a song with you.’ I drove up to his house and we wrote ‘I See Love.’ He put it on his album. Probably six months ago, he called me and said, ‘There’s a TV show called Mike and Molly that wants to use the song because they came to my live show and heard it.’ It’s funny because now I’m a really big fan of the show and every time I watch it, I get to hear this cool song.” Kelley’s debut country album Georgia Clay is set for release March 22.
>>Universal Music Group Nashville presented Jamey Johnson with a plaque commemorating the gold certification of his ambitious 25-song double album during a gathering in Nashville (2/18). The Guitar Song is up for Album of the Year at the ACM Awards and recently received two Grammy nominations. UMGN Chairman Luke Lewis told the crowd, “I can’t be any prouder than to hand my friend Jamey Johnson a gold record.”

(L-R) Ken Levitan, Vector Management; Jamey Johnson; Luke Lewis, Chairman, UMG Nashville. Photo: Brian Kaplan

Awards Dates: BMI Christian, Leadership Music

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>>The BMI Christian Music Awards will be presented Monday, April 4 at the performing rights organization’s Music Row offices. The annual invitation-only event will salute the songwriters and publishers of the past year’s most performed Christian and gospel songs on U.S. Christian radio. Hosted by Jody Williams, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, along with Dir., Writer/Publisher Relations Beth Mason and Sr. Dir., Writer/Publisher Relations Thomas Cain, the ceremony will also recognize the BMI Christian Song, Songwriter and Publisher of the Year.

>>Leadership Music’s Dale Franklin Award will be presented to the Country Music Association on May 17, 2011 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. This event is invitation-only.

Rodney Atkins Teams With Tractor Co.

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Atkins in a new YouTube video promoting his Massey Ferguson tractor sponsorship.


Rodney Atkins, hot on the tails of his recent hit “Farmer’s Daughter,” has secured a partnership with Massey Ferguson tractors.
In 2011, Massey Ferguson will be the “official tractor” of Rodney Atkins. Throughout the year, the singer will be involved in activities ranging from national advertising to dealer tie-ins, social media campaigns, contests and national Farm Shows. One of his first projects under the partnership is this YouTube video.
Atkins recently released an exclusive album with Cracker Barrel that features four No. 1 hits including “Farmer’s Daughter” and a previously unavailable track. Throughout his career, Atkins has also had marketing partnerships with Chevy Silverado, and Kraft Velveeta Shells and Cheese.

Industry n' Artists Ink 2/24/11

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Rebekah Alperin


Kobalt Ups Alperin • Bellamy Brothers “Hold It Against…” Britney • SESAC Signs Mark Carson
>>Kobalt Music Group has upped Rebekah Alperin to Sr. VP of Communications and Marketing Worldwide. Alperin will report to company CEO/Founder Willard Ahdritz. Her duties will now include global PR/media relations, corporate marketing and branding strategy plus social marketing and online communications. For the last seven years, Alperin operated her own firm, Alperin Entertainment, and served as a PR/Marketing consultant to Kobalt, and many other corporate clients.
>>If I Offered To Settle Would You Cash My Check?: The Bellamy Brothers have released a statement through their attorney, Nashville-based Christopher E Schmidt Esq., regarding the Britney Spears hit single “Hold It Against Me.”

Bellamy Brothers


While ultimately the statement fails to detail any planned concrete legal action, it repeatedly raises the question of whether the new composition infringes on the song recorded by the duo and written by David Bellamy in 1979, “If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me.” Schmidt also notes, “The scale tips substantially in knowing that Dr. Luke not only co-produced Britney’s song with Max Martin, but that Dr. Luke also co-wrote the song with Max Martin and others. This isn’t the first time Max Martin and Dr. Luke have been accused of copyright infringement.” Actually apart from the above indirect accusation, Schmidt does not state in the letter that the new Spears effort is in fact a copyright infringement. He concludes his note saying that the two songs have been submitted, “to a renowned musicologist for evaluation and expert opinion.”
>>SESAC has signed Cauley Music Group songwriter Mark Carson for representation.

(L-R): Cauley Music Group’s Jennifer Hicks & Blake Mevis; Carson; SESAC’s Tim Fink & Shannan Hatch. Photo: Peyton Hoge

Fab Photos Wednesday

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Schmidt Named Sec./Treas. of CMA Board
Jessie Schmidt, President of Schmidt Relations, has been named Secretary Treasurer of the CMA Board of Directors. Schmidt gathers with other CMA Board leadership including Chairman Steve Buchanan, President Gary Overton, and President-Elect Pat Collins during last week’s Board meeting in Los Angeles.

Pictured (L-R): CMA Board Chairman and Gaylord Entertainment Senior Vice President of Media and Entertainment, Steve Buchanan; CMA Board President and Sony Music Nashville Chairman and CEO, Gary Overton; CMA Board Secretary Treasurer and President of Schmidt Relations, Jessie Schmidt; and CMA Board President-Elect and SESAC President and COO, Pat Collins.


Rutherford Talks Song Matters With Belmont Students
Earlier this month Belmont’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business launched the Song Matters seminar series with hit songwriter Rivers Rutherford. The seminar focused on professional songwriters writing with artists, and Rutherford shared his advice and experience with students.

Pictured (L-R): CEMB Faculty and Song Matters organizer, Dan Keen; Guest, Rivers Rutherford; CEMB Student Enrichment Coordinator, Hanna Easley; CEMB Songwriting Program Chair, James Elliott. Photo: Donnie Hedden


Paisley Revs Up Daytona
CMA Entertainer of the Year Brad Paisley revved up the crowd at the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show on Sunday (2/20). He performed “Water,” “Mud on the Tires,” and his current single, “This Is Country Music,” before heading to the pit where he got behind the wheel of the red Chevrolet Camaro SS official pace car as the honorary driver.

Artist Action: Rascal Flatts Get Bieber Fever

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Jay DeMarcus tweeted this photo from the set.


>>Some fans may find it surprising that Rascal Flatts made a music video with Justin Bieber this week, but the real news maker was that the shoot is where Bieber chose to cut his famous locks. They were taping the video for “That Should Be Me” from Bieber’s Never Say Never—The Remixes soundtrack.
>>Eric Church is offering a free download of his new single “Homeboy” through tomorrow (2/24) at www.ericchurch.com. The song is from his upcoming third album and won’t be available for purchase until March 8. Fans have to retweet the message about his ACM nomination to get the download. He penned “Homeboy” with Casey Beathard.
>>Gloriana is letting fans in on the recording process with a new web series called “Studio Insider” at www.gloriana.com. Fans who sign-up for the series will get a first-listen to the album’s lead single, “Wanna Take You Home,” which was co-written by Tom Gossin, the band’s producer and Emblem Music Group label owner Matt Serletic, and Wendell Mobley.

Tim McGraw searches for his roots.


>>Tim McGraw explored his family tree on a recent episode of NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? See more.
>>A deluxe edition of Keith Urban’s Get Closer is now available on iTunes. In addition to the CD’s eight original tracks, the deluxe version of the album features three new studio tracks and four live recordings from his “Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing” World Tour. The track “Georgia Woods,” written by Urban and Darrell Brown, is the iTunes’ free download of the week.
>>Blake Shelton is celebrating his third consecutive No. 1 single with “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking.” This hit marks Shelton’s eighth charttopper.
>>Jerrod Niemann’s song “How Can I Be So Thirsty” was featured on last night’s episode (2/22) of Glee.
>>Kellie Pickler visits The Ellen DeGeneres Show today (2/23) to chat about her wedding and share exclusive photos from the big day.
>>Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman will run June 23 through July 28 on Thursday nights. Among the performers will be Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, Dailey & Vincent and Doc Watson.
>>Toby Keith has formed “Pros 4 Vets” with NFL superstars Tommie Harris (Chicago Bears), Roy Williams (Cincinnati Bengals), and Mark Clayton (St. Louis Rams). The non-profit will bring together lawyers, doctors and other professionals to provide free services for military members.

Sales: Thank You Edition

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Jimmy Fallon’s late night show has a Friday feature where he thanks various people and explains why. So on behalf of MusicRow and record label stakeholders everywhere, we’d like to extend the tradition to this week’s column. So let me say…
“Thank You,” Valentines Day. “You bring so much heart to the SoundScan chart by reminding people to give gifts. After chocolate, flowers and jewelry, music is high on the list.
“Thank You,” Grammy Awards. For the last three years you have highlighted Nashville’s musical contributions resulting in nice ‘week after’ numbers. (PS: You didn’t deserve that ‘sore loser’ letter earlier this week.)
Yes, this week’s SoundScan report was heavily influenced by the Grammy telecast (2/13) and the holiday of hearts. Country album sales climbed 10% over the previous week, all-genre sales jumped 12%. But it can all be summed up in three words, “Need You Now.”
Lady Antebellum’s TV trophy romp resulted in the album and single of that name rising to No. 1 on the Current Country Albums (85k) and Country Digital Singles charts (105k) respectively. The album has now sold almost 3.3 million units and the single almost 4.8 million. Taylor Swift is the trio’s only competition for  totals this lofty on the country charts. Swift’s “Love Story,” leads Lady A slightly with over 4.9 million downloads and her Speak Now album trails by about 100k units.
Lost Highway’s Hayes Carll debuts in the No. 12 position on the country chart with sales over 10k of his album Kmag Yoyo. Chris Young’s “Tomorrow” crashes into the digital download chart in the No. 8 position downloading over 30k tracks. By way of comparison, Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” performed on the Grammy show debuted with over 508,000 downloads!
Some careful number crunching shows that YTD country digital album sales as a percentage of total country album sales now total 20.3% (33% all genre). Last year the number  for this period was 15.3%. In line with that number, digital country album sales are up 16.35% this year which shows that country consumers are continuing to catch up to all genre consumers which download more and purchase physical product less—but still have a way to go.
“Thank You SoundScan,” for helping us to track industry sales.

Two-Screen Viewing Enhances TV Experience

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How many nights a week do you sit in front of the TV with a mobile device in your hand or a notebook computer in your lap? Well, marketers are on to you—and they’ve named it “two-screen viewing.”
A new study by Deloitte’s media and entertainment group shows that three-quarters of television viewers are also either online, on the phone or texting.
“The initial fear was that Internet and mobile video and entertainment would slowly cannibalize traditional TV viewing,” says Nielsen Company media product leader Matt O’Grady. “But the steady trend of increased TV viewership alongside expanded simultaneous usage argues something quite different.”
Instead of detracting from program viewing, marketers say the two-screen experience can enhance it. They believe viewers feel more connected to the show when they are discussing it online, turning the shared viewing experience into an event. Engaging with other watchers of the program before, during and after the show via Facebook, Twitter and other sites creates a sense of camaraderie. This trend also encourages live viewing of an episode or awards show, instead of recording it on DVR.
“We know people are multitasking while they’re watching TV,” ABC-TV exec Albert Cheng told the New York Times. “The question is, how do we tap into that and create a whole different consumer experience? We don’t have all the answers, but we are definitely trying different things and seeing how people are reacting.”
ABC is the broadcast home to this Sunday’s (2/27) Academy Awards. The network is teaming with Oscar.com to live stream behind-the-scenes video of the big night. Through about 30 strategically placed cameras, viewers will get to see all the action on the red carpet, in the theater, backstage and at the post-awards Governors Ball. There is a free ad-supported version, or a $4.99 all-access pass. Also available is an Oscar Backstage Pass app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod for 99 cents.
In recent years, awards shows and other programs have been experimenting with ways to enhance viewing through social media. The CMA has hosted Twitter Viewing Parties and live streaming feeds for its awards. At fan-voted awards ceremonies, fans can often vote while the show is airing live.