All-Star Performers For Leadership Music Gala

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Martina McBride, Ronnie Milsap, and Little Big Town will perform at the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award gala dinner honoring the Country Music Association. McBride will also host the Tuesday, May 17 event at the Renaissance Hotel downtown, and noted Nashville musician Steve Gibson will lead the house band.
The CMA will be recognized that night for exemplary leadership in country music. The organization promotes the genre through the annual CMA Awards, CMA Music Festival, and CMA Songwriter Series across the country. It focuses on the community by funding music in public schools, and last year gave a substantial donation to flood relief efforts. The CMA also encourages continuing education in the music industry through its online educational series and championing of Leadership Music.
In coming weeks more performers will be added to the gala’s musical salute being produced by Robert Deaton. Honorary Chairs for the 2011 event are Phran and Joe Galante, and June and Bill Denny.
Individual patron tickets start at $200 each for LM alumni. Tables of 10 are also available. Proceeds from the evening benefit Leadership Music, an educational 501(c)(3) organization.
Reservations to attend the invitation-only fundraiser must be made by May 1. For more information, contact the Leadership Music office at LM@leadershipmusic.org or (615) 770-7090.
The Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award, named for the first executive director of Leadership Music, was created in 2004 “to recognize music industry leaders who exemplify the highest quality of leadership and leading by example.” The CMA joins previous honorees Tony Brown (2004), Gerry House (2005), Emmylou Harris (2006), Frances W. Preston (2007), The Bradley Family:  Owen, Harold, Jerry, Connie and Patsy (2008), Jim Foglesong, Allen Reynolds and Garth Brooks (2009), and Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson (2010).

Radio Veteran Coyote McCloud Dies

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Coyote McCloud 1943-2011


Music City radio icon Coyote McCloud died Wednesday afternoon, April 6 at age 68.
A veteran of the Nashville airwaves for more than 30 years, McCloud’s slogan when he broadcast pop oldies was, “He played them when they were new.”
He served on-air stints at WMAK, WYHY, WZPZ and WRQQ. He was also the first off-camera voice of CMT. One of his best-known jobs was as the leader of “The Zoo Crew” on Y107. As such, he was profiled on the CBS-TV show 48 Hours in an episode about radio’s so-called “shock jocks.”
He was also notable as the host of “Coyote and Cathy in the Morning” on WMAK-FM and WRQQ. That show ended in 2006.
Coyote McCloud died of cirrhosis of the liver at home on his houseboat on Percy Priest Lake. Ex-wife Susan Thomas, a former Tennessean newspaper reporter, was by his side with his dog Sawyer Black. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

McCloud wrote the 1984 hit song "Where's The Beef?," a play on the Wendy's slogan

Lady A and Swift Fight Over Most Downloaded; Wynette Added To Registry

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>>Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” is now the most downloaded country song of all time, beating out Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” by a little over 9,000 downloads. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the Lady track which has been battling with Swift for the title just edged out the Big Machine artist this week. In reality the two highly successful tracks are extremely close in sales and the bragging rights of being No. 1 are likely to seesaw over coming weeks as both tracks prepare to break the 5 million download mark. Swift took Entertainer of the Year honors at last week’s ACM Awards and Lady A walked to the podium to accept Album and Vocal Group trophies. Lady A will be in Australia April 8 to join Keith Urban’s Get Closer 2011 World tour.
>>Tammy Wynette’s 1968 hit “Stand By Your Man” has been selected to become part of the National Recording Registry, a collection of recorded sounds, music documentaries and radio broadcasts that captures the cultural history of America and the technical advancements in audio recording. Songs judged to be culturally, historically or aesthetically significant are selected by the librarian with advice from the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB). Nominations for next year are being accepted here.
 

Sony Hires Strategic Partnership Exec Kevin Kay

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Kevin Kay


Sony Music Nashville Senior Vice President, Promotion, Skip Bishop today (4/6) officially welcomes Kevin Kay to the promotion department as National Director of Strategic Partnerships. In his new role, Kay will focus on promotion opportunities, bringing together artists, radio, and major brands.
Based in Nashville and reporting to Bishop, Kay was most recently based in Detroit, MI, where he was founder and president of The Entertainment Sponsorship Group, a full-service marketing and strategic partnership company.
With the announcement, Bishop said, “Kevin is an innovative pioneer with an impressive résumé from both music promotion and brand development. He has been a leader in bringing artists into partnership opportunities with major brands for years. In a rapidly shifting marketplace, Kevin represents new ideas and energy for Sony promotion strategies!”
Kay’s background includes extensive experience in marketing and promotion within the music industry, with prior tenures at Virgin Records, DreamWorks Records, Mercury Records, V2 Records, and Island Records in Detroit, as well as PLG / Island Records and Polydor Records in Houston.
Kay may be reached at (615) 301-4449 or via e-mail at kevin.kay@sonymusic.com.

Live Nation Bids On Warner Music Group

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Live Nation is among the bidders for Warner Music Group the Wall Street Journal reports. The concert promoter is mainly interested in Warner’s recorded music division, not its publishing arm.
Live Nation has been growing vigorously in recent years, purchasing Front Line artist management as well as Ticketmaster.
The Warner sell-out saga has been going on for over a month. BMG, Sony and several investment groups are said to be among the other bidders participating in the auction, which is now in its second round and expected to bring more than $2 billion.
Don’t forget that EMI Music Group is also on the market, after being seized by Citigroup.
More about the factors influencing the sale from the WSJ here.

Memorial Scheduled For Mel McDaniel

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A public memorial service for Grand Ole Opry star Mel McDaniel will be held Wed., April 13 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Grand Ole Opry House.
McDaniel lost his battle with lung cancer on March 31 at his home in Hendersonville, Tenn. The 68-year-old had been a member of the Opry since 1986. His last Opry appearance was during an all-cast sing at the Sept. 28, 2010 re-opening of the Opry House. McDaniel is survived by one daughter and one grandson.
In lieu of flowers, McDaniel’s family requests memorial donations be made to the Opry Trust Fund at this address: Opry Trust Fund, 2804 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN  37214.

Artist Action Wednesday (4/6)

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Onstage at the Kick The Crap Outta Cancer Benefit for Jayne Rogovin at Cabana. (L-R): Steve Cropper, Jonell Mosser, Jayne Rogovin, Harry Stinson and Beth Hooker. Photo: Alan Mayor


>>>Lee Ann Womack will perform April 12 at Radio City Music Hall at Good Housekeeping’s Shine On event to salute the contributions of women. Also set to appear are Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Eve. The night, hosted by Rebecca Romijn, will benefit Washington, DC’s National Women’s History Museum. Womack is currently in the final weeks of the George Strait/Reba McEntire supertour.
>>>Montgomery Gentry will headline the nighttime concert at Bridgestone Arena following the April 30 Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon.
>>>Jason Michael Carroll’s upcoming album will be released exclusively at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The title track and lead single “Numbers” is being worked at radio by Quarterback Records and GrassRoots Promotion.
>>>Ty Stone is setting sail tomorrow (4/7) on Kid Rock’s 2011 “Chillin’ the Most” Cruise. Fresh off the road with Kid Rock and Jamey Johnson, Stone was discovered by Kid Rock who helped him sign with Atlantic.
>>>The late Keith Whitley, Patty Loveless, Steve Wariner, and John Michael Montgomery will be inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum tomorrow night (4/7) in Lexington. Presenters confirmed for the ceremony include Crystal Gayle, John Conlee, Eddie Montgomery, Norro Wilson, Tom T. Hall and Dixie Hall.
>>>The country version of Lady Gaga’s hit “Born This Way” has been released to iTunes, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
>>>More than 30 celebrities including artists, athletes, and media personalities will participate in the Waddell & Reed Charity Golf Tournament Benefiting Christmas 4 Kids tomorrow (4/7). Among those on the schedule are Andy Griggs, Cortland Finnegan, Jake Owen, Storme Warren, Jeff Bates, Bryan White, Brad Hopkins, Brad Lebo, Randy Fuller, Neil Orne, Joe Dubin, Terry Bulger, and The Roys. The tournament will be at the Hermitage Golf Course.

Grammy Categories Restructured For 2012

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Fewer trophies will be handed out at next year’s Grammy Awards, just one of several changes announced today (4/5) by The Recording Academy. Going forward there will be 78 Grammy award categories, down from 109 at the 2011 ceremony.
Country Field Changes—As in the other Mainstream Fields (Pop, Rock, R&B, Rap, Country), the male and female performance category has been consolidated, and collaborations now go to the duo/group category. Country Instrumental was eliminated both due to the exceedingly low number of entries and the move of Bluegrass Album to the American Roots field (which bars bluegrass tracks from being entered here).

American Roots Music Field—The traditional and contemporary blues categories and the traditional and contemporary folk categories each were consolidated into one per genre. Regional Roots Music is a new category including Regional Mexican Music, Hawaiian, Cajun/Zydeco, Native American, and Polka music.
Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Field—Four fields have been renamed, including the Gospel Field to Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music. As to category restructuring within this field, it was determined that album and songwriting categories are of highest importance; Gospel and CCM each now have one category for each. For The Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance category, it was determined that this was an area in which the two branches of the field could participate together.
No changes have been made to the all-genre General Field which includes Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist.
Entry Changes—A minimum of 40 distinct artist entries will be required in each Category (up from 25). If a Category receives between 25 – 39 entries, only three recordings would receive nominations that year. Should there be fewer than 25 entries in a Category, that Category would immediately go on hiatus for the current year — no award given — and entries would be screened into the next most logical Category. If a Category receives fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years, the Category would be discontinued, and submissions would be entered in the next most appropriate Category.
Voting Rule Change—Previously, voting members were allowed to vote in up to nine genre Fields plus the General Field on the first ballot and eight genre Fields plus the General Field on the second ballot, including every category within each chosen Field. Now, on each ballot, voters may vote in up to 20 Categories in the genre Fields plus the four Categories of the General Field — which includes Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best New Artist.
For more information, including FAQ, Helpline, Explanation for Category Restructuring and Category Mapper visit Grammy.org.

 

Craig Campbell Releases Debut Album

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Craig Campbell’s self-titled debut album was released yesterday (4/5) and he is burning up the road playing shows and making promotional appearances. “Family Man,” the lead single from the project, has reached the Top 15 on the country radio charts.
Keith Stegall produced the 11-track album, which includes nine songs co-written by Campbell. It is being released through Bigger Picture Group.
The Georgia native was in Las Vegas for the ACM Awards and is spending the rest of the week headlining concert appearances on the west coast. He will also appear on Sirius XM, CMT Insider, and GAC. Beginning in May, he can be found on the road with Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour.
A deluxe version of the album is available at iTunes and features two bonus tracks plus the “Family Man” music video and a digital booklet. Campbell is getting good reviews in outlets including People, who gave it three stars.

Alan Jackson Extends Deal With EMI Publishing

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Alan Jackson and EMI Music Publishing have extended their relationship with a new global deal. The country superstar first signed with the publisher more than ten years ago. The new co-publishing agreement covers Jackson’s classic catalog of songs including “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning),” “Remember When,” “Good Time,” “Small Town Southern Man” and “Drive.”
The announcement of Jackson’s deal extension with EMI Music Publishing follows his new recording deal with EMI in Nashville. Jackson’s upcoming studio album will be released as a joint venture between ACR (Alan’s Country Records) and Capitol’s EMI Records Nashville label.
“I write hurtin’ songs, cheatin’ songs, drinkin’ songs, lovin’ songs…and to me, those things are just a part of life and part of country music,” says the multiple award winning artist and writer. “The folks at EMI have been there with me for a good while, and I’m glad we’re going to keep on working together.”
Jackson has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide and topped the country singles charts 35 times.
EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon commented: “We’re very happy to have extended our longtime relationship with Alan at EMI Music Publishing, especially as it comes so soon after he signed a new partnership with EMI Records Nashville. Alan is an incredible talent as both a songwriter and a recording artist, and we’re privileged that he is a part of the EMI family.”
EMI Music Publishing Nashville Executive Vice President & General Manager Ben Vaughn said: “Alan Jackson is simply a modern day poet, and folks from Australia to Albuquerque and all points in between connect to the songs that he writes. It’s an honor to have represented him for so long, and we’re all looking forward to building on the huge success he has had to date.”
In Nashville, EMI Music Publishing is also home to Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, Chris Young, Kelley Lovelace, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott and more.