Sales Report: Blame It On Taylor And Sugarland

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Whooooa! Are you feeling dizzy from the slide this week? 

As a quick look at our graph shows, country YTD sales tumbled from 9.3% ahead last week to a more modest 5.6% now. Why?

It’s all Taylor Swift’s fault. And Sugarland.  🙂

If Taylor hadn’t sold over a million albums during the same week last year, and Sugarland almost 90k (debuted the week before) then country sales wouldn’t have had a such a high bar to be measured against today. (Although, last year we all cheered because Taylor’s incredible debut was such a country sales game changer.)

So here’s how it all came down. This week we had Top 10 debuts from Toby Keith (No. 1; 69k), Vince Gill (No. 4; 21k+) and the Casey Donahew Band (No. 10; 11k+; 64% digital).

Shifting > 15k units was Scotty McCreery (No. 2; 42k), Lady Antebellum (No. 3; 31k), Jason Aldean (No. 5; 18k), Lauren Alaina (No. 6; 16k+) and Luke Bryan (No. 7; 15k+). Total country album sales for the week were, according to Nielsen SoundScan, about 742k. Last year’s total sales for the week ended 10/31/10 were 1.72 million!!!

It’s not that hard to figure out what just happened. More complex is trying to calculate what will happen between now and the end of the year. To end the year flat, we must sell 11.8 million additional albums over the remaining nine weeks. That equates to an average of 1.311 million albums per week. Powerhouse releases yet to arrive include Miranda Lambert next week, a Rascal Flatts Live edition and a Taylor Swift live edition. Added sales momentum will be felt from CMA and ACA Awards exposure, plus the holiday lift, but it’s going to be pretty hard to match that 1.3 million per week number. So I’m saying it now, in print, I predict country will end up flat or lower for 2011.

Tracking
The brief tracks story shows country downloading 120 million tracks YTD and about 2.16 million this past week. Congratulations to Toby the Keith who vanquished all other tracks on the country list this week, matching his No. 1 album performance. His track “Red Solo Cup” downloaded about 61k copies. The next two closest tracks were Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You” (46k) and Luke Bryan’s “I Don’t Want This Night To End” (41k).

Check back next week, same channel, same station…

DISClaimer Single Reviews (11/2/11)

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Who ARE all you people?

The woods are crawling with indies this week. Some of them are downright scary. But others are delightful surprises.

Love and Theft, Mark Cooke and Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out all made a run for the Disc of the Day prize. But the good folks at Carnival have the winner. It’s Alabama native Adam Hood. I guarantee that you will fall in love with his record. He’s wicked good.

A Michigan fellow named John Maison is here with his debut single. He wins this week’s DisCovery Award.

MARK COOKE/Any Way The Wind Blows
Writer: Marty Dodson/Jennifer Hanson/Mark Nesler; Producer: J. Gary Smith & John Smith; Publisher: Nashvistaville/Nez/I Hope Momma’s Listenin/Black to Black/Ole/Sony-ATV, BMI; CVR (track)
—The track is superbly breezy, and he sings with earnest baritone authority. The song has a sing-along quality that sweeps you right up into the middle of it. In short, if this isn’t radio-ready, I’ve never heard it.

JOHN MAISON/Fast Enough
Writer: Kyle Jacobs/Joe Leathers/Kris Bergsnes; Producer: Ray Barnette; Publisher: Curb/Jacobsong/Fortune Favors the Bold/Song Garden, ASCAP/BMI; Big High Five
—The track is a rumbling, gripping, open-road rocker with a lot of “bottom” in the production. The song is cool, too. The mix almost overwhelms his vocal, so you have to listen extra hard to hear that he has the goods.

LOVE AND THEFT/Angel Eyes
Writer: Jeff Coplan/Eric Guderson/Eric Paslay; Producer: Josh Leo; Publisher: EMI April/Sunboy/Rockapop/Hate and Purchase/Cal IV, ASCAP; RCA
—She’s a flirty sinner on Saturday night, and a choir girl on Sunday morning in this merry bopper. The team’s Everly-style harmonies are totally excellent. Love and Theft was formerly a trio on Lyric Street’s Carolwood imprint. Now it is down to the duo of Stephen Barker Lyles and Eric Gunderson and moved to RCA.

JOHNNY SOLINGER/Livin’ Out A Country Song
Writer: Atkins/Stover/Maher; Producer: none listed; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/EMI April/Song of Country Wood/Red Stripe Plane, ASCAP; Red Dirt (www.reddirtmusiccompany.com)
—It’s another one of those songs that strings along redneck cliches. This time, the vocal bellowing is more irritating than usual.

CODY ROWE/Little White Lies
Writer: C. Rowe; Producer: Randy Miller & Eric Anonsen; Publisher: none listed, BMI; CR (www.codyrowe.com)
—He stays on pitch, barely. The track is so plodding it is like wading through molasses.

RUSSELL MOORE & IIIRD TYME OUT/If Your Heart Should Ever Roll This Way Again
Writer: Mark Irwin Abramson/Paul Austin Cunningham; Producer: Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out; Publisher: Ten Ten/Universal, ASCAP; Rural Rhythm (track) (www.iiirdtymeout.com)
—Formerly a 1989 single for Jo-El Sonnier, this ultra melodic song is now a lilting bluegrass single with a high-lonesome lead vocal, slippery fiddle work, mandolin and guitar ripples, cool vocal harmonies and a banjo that skips along throughout. Delightful. The CD is titled Prime Tyme. If you dig bluegrass, you can’t do much better.

KIMBERLY DUNN/I’d Rather
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Up & Out (track) (www.kimberlydunnmusic.com)
—No wonder there are no credits. She’s a vocal catastrophe.

ADAM HOOD/Flame And Gasoline
Writer: none listed; Producer: Matthew Miller & Oran Thornton; Publisher: none listed; Carnival (track) (www.adamhood.com)
—The Shape of Things is Hood’s just-released third album. This track showcases the pent-up energy in his delivery, the punchy production work and the excellent song craftsmanship that is evident throughout it. I have given this guy favorable marks in the past, and I remain a fan of his fiery style. If you haven’t lent him your ears before, do so now. Essential listening.

T.J. BROSCOFF/Wrong Side Of The Tracks
Writer: T.J. Broscoff; Producer: Bill Green; Publisher: Bill Green, BMI; BGM  (www.tjbroscoff.com)
—The meandering song could use some tightening up, but he delivers it with raspy conviction. Worth a listen.

ANDY VELO/Southern Thing
Writer: Andy Velo; Producer: none listed; Publisher: Suwanee Creek, BMI; Red Dirt (www.reddirtmusiccompany.com)
—Guess what? He’s a true-blue country boy on a dirt road in a truck, blasting Southern rock with beer and a babe. Wow. What a novel idea for a song!

Paisley Releases Book, Appears on “Nightline”

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Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Brad Paisley recently published his first major book titled Diary of a Player with Howard Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. Paisley co-wrote the book with David Wild, a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and an Emmy nominated television writer and producer. Released yesterday (11/1), the book is a salute to the guitar gods of country, blues, and rock & roll who have shaped Paisley’s life.

Last night (11/1) Paisley appeared on ABC’s Nightline to talk about the influences behind his new book. One of those influences, Paisley said, was his grandfather. “He said, ‘You can play this instrument and three or four hours later, not remember what you were upset about,'” Paisley explained. “And that’s all he wanted. He didn’t care if I was ever, you know, successful. He wanted me to be happy.”

Paisley will also appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, he will continue his television appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America at 7 a.m., CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight at 9 p.m. and On the Record with Greta on Fox News at 10 p.m.

Next week, Paisley will co-host The 45th Annual CMA Awards with Carrie Underwood. The CMA Awards will air live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 9 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC.


Songwriter Liz Anderson Passes

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Songwriter and singer Liz Anderson passed away Oct. 31 at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville. She was 81 and died of complications of heart and lung disease. As a co-founder of the Nashville Songwriters Association International alongside husband Casey, Liz made inroads for other female songwriters of her day.

She wrote Merle Haggard’s breakthrough hit “(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers,” which inspired the name of his band The Strangers. She also penned his first No. 1, “The Fugitive.” This two-time Grammy nominee also penned hits for Charley Pride, Brenda Lee, Tammy Wynette, Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Kitty Wells, Conway Twitty, Del Reeves, and her daughter, Grammy winner Lynn Anderson.

Chet Atkins signed Liz to RCA where she had string of hits produced by Felton Jarvis, who also produced label mate Elvis Presley. They included “Husband Hunting,” “Go Now, Pay Later,” and “The Game of Triangles” with Bobby Bare and Norma Jean. Liz and Lynn also had a Top 25 hit with “Mother May I” in 1968 and appeared on the Mother’s Day edition of the Lawrence Welk Show.

Liz is survived by her loving, co-writing husband of 65 years Casey, daughter Lynn, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be Fri., Nov. 4 from 5 – 7 PM at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home (660 Thompson Lane, Nashville, TN, 615-383-4754).

Funeral arrangements are set for 11:30 AM on Sat., Nov. 5 at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton.

Flowers are welcome, but her family asked that donations may be directed to the NSAI Legislative fund (1710 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN 37203), www.nashvillesongwriters.com or (615) 256-3354.

Willie Nelson Sings The Classics

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Here’s an idea that just makes sense: a country icon performing an album’s worth of iconic country songs.

Luckily the idea is now a reality thanks to Willie Nelson, whose Remember Me, Vol. 1 is due for release Nov. 21 and features the legend tackling country classics from the top Billboard hits of the last 70 years. Included in the collection are Nelson’s take on hits made famous by Ernest Tubb, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Porter Wagoner, Ray Price, and more. Full tracklist with original artist is included below.

Remember Me, Vol. 1 was recorded with Nelson’s friend and producer James Stroud, along with A-list session players Eddie Bayers, David Hungate, Brent Mason, Biff Watson, Mickey Raphael, Sonny Garrish, John Hobbs, Aubrey Haynie, Wes Hightower and Cindy Walker. A second volume is expected in 2012.

Remember Me, Vol. 1 Tracklist:
1. Remember Me (Ernest Tubb)
2. Sixteen Tons (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
3. Why Baby Why (George Jones)
4. Today I Started Loving You Again (Merle Haggard)
5. I’m Movin’ On (Hank Snow)
6. That Just About Does It (Vern Gosdin)
7. This Old House (Rosemary Clooney)
8. Sunday Morning Coming Down (Johnny Cash)
9. Smoke That Cigarette (Tex Williams)
10. Slowly (Webb Pierce)
11. A Satisfied Mind (Porter Wagoner)
12. Roly Poly (Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys)
13. Release Me (Ray Price)
14. Ramblin’ Fever (Merle Haggard)
*15. More And More (Webb Pierce) *iTunes exclusive

Tuesday Photos

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Museum Celebrates Southern Rock

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum recently (10/29) hosted Brothers & Sisters: The Rise of Southern Rock, a panel discussion with Bonnie Bramlett of Delaney & Bonnie, Charlie Daniels of the Charlie Daniels Band, Mike Hyland of Capricorn Records and Ed King of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The panel was offered in support of the Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy exhibition. The panel discussed combining blues, country, rock, and soul into a distinctly southern sound wholly different than the rock & roll created in other regions—a sound that influenced Hank Williams Jr. and much of country music since the 1980s. (L-R): Museum Writer/Editor Michael McCall, Daniels, Bramlett, Hyland and King.

Photo: Donn Jones

Savannah Music Group Records Hits

Savannah Music Group spent the day recently at Jim “Moose” Brown’s Moose Lodge Studio cutting a batch of future hits. (L-R): Daisy Dern, Bob Saporiti, Kevin “Swine” Grantt and Dave Gibson.

Photo: Denise Fussell, Fussell Graphics

Nashville Rock News: Kings of Leon, Hot Chelle Rae, The Black Keys

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Followills and family in new documentary Talihina Sky.

• The Kings of Leon documentary Talihina Sky is out on DVD, Blu Ray and iTunes today. The film traces the Followills’ past and present, through tour footage, home movies and more. It premiered on Showtime over the summer. See trailer below.

• Hot Chelle Rae has a new album hitting shelves Nov. 29. Whatever, the Nashville-based pop/rock band’s sophomore album is coming via RCA Records. Lead single “I Like It Like That,” includes a rap from New Boyz.

HCR is nominated for best new artist at the upcoming American Music Awards, and has lined-up appearances on Jay Leno, Today, Jimmy Fallon and Regis and Kelly. A headlining tour is on the schedule for early next year, as well as joining Taylor Swift on her Australian run in March.

HCR’s breakthrough song “Tonight, Tonight” has sold double platinum downloads.

• Nashville transplants The Black Keys have a new album coming out Dec. 6. El Camino is the duo’s first project recorded at frontman Dan Auerbach’s local Easy Eye Sound studio, and was co-produced by Danger Mouse. It is set to hit stores Dec. 6 on Nonesuch. Fans who pre-order the album now receive a free download of single “Lonely Boy.” Drummer Pat Carney is the other half of The Black Keys.

Tuesday Tips: Hunter Hayes, Jimmy Wayne and Thompson Entertainment

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Hunter Hayes has joined the Milk Rocks! campaign and will be featured on over 25 million milk containers in schools across the U.S. until Dec. 9. The Milk Rocks! Program promotes healthy lifestyles and nutrition with milk as the focus. They utilize milk carton side panels, lunchroom posters, and online initiatives to communicate their messages. Students can log on to www.milkrocks.com for a chance to win a “Day in the Studio” with Hunter. Hunter, is currently on his first headlining tour, “Most Wanted” Fall Tour 2011 and recently kicked-off the release of his self-titled Atlantic Records debut album.

>>Artist Jimmy Wayne will release Paper Angels on Nov. 1. The work of fiction is the artist’s first book and was written with author Travis Thrasher. “When my sister and I were kids, we were represented by two of those little paper angels hanging on the Salvation Army Christmas tree,” Jimmy said. “Our family was going through a really tough time, and had it not been for the Salvation Army and the people who selected our paper angels, we wouldn’t have had a Christmas. I have never forgotten that and to this day I am still grateful for the generous hearts who take care of these kids at Christmas.” Paper Angels is released on Howard Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

>>Nashville based Thompson Entertainment Group has moved to new offices located at 924 Deervale Drive Nashville, TN 37217. All email addresses and telephone numbers remain the same. Publicity Assistant Megan Burns can be reached at media@thompsonentertainmentgroup.com. President Chuck Thompson can be contacted at cthompson@thompsonentertainmentgroup.com

 

ACM Announces New Officers and Board

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The Academy of Country Music has announced its new officers and Board of Directors for the 2011-2012 term.

2011-2012 Academy of Country Music Board of Directors:
Chairman of the Board: Sarah Trahern, Great American Country
President: Butch Waugh
Vice-President: Ken Robold, Universal Music Group
Treasurer: Duane Clark, FBMM
Parliamentarian: Paul Moore, WME
Secretary: Tiffany Moon, Academy of Country Music

Six qualifying professional categories (listed below) are elected to the Board by the Academy’s membership. In addition to the elected, director-at-large positions have been selected by Trahern, Waugh, and Robold. Directors elected from each category are based on that category’s membership numbers. Each director serves staggered two-year terms, with half the board membership changing each year.

“The officers and the Board look forward to continued day-to-day involvement in the operations of the Academy,” said Trahern. “We’re delighted to have the commitment from so many industry leaders to help achieve the ongoing goals of the Academy and to sustain our ability to stay ahead of trends in country music.”

Elected Board Members

Affiliated
Tony Brown, TBE
Gary Haber, Haber Corporation

Artist/Entertainer/MBI
Craig Morgan
John Rich
Blake Shelton

Club/Casino/Venue Operator
Roger Gearhart, Graham Bros Entertainment

Manager
Robert Allen, 13 Management
Ken Levitan, Vector Management

Music Publisher
Pat Higdon, Universal Music Publishing

Record Company
Tom Baldrica, Average Joe’s Entertainment
Paul Barnabee, Sony Music Nashville
John Esposito, Warner Music Nashville
Jon Loba, BBR & Stoney Creek Records

Directors At Large

Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Records/The Valory Music Co.
Benson Curb, Curb Records
John Dennis, Dennis Entertainment
Marc Driskill, ASCAP
Pete Fisher, Grand Ole Opry
Jeff Garrison, CBS Radio
Brandon Gill, Morris Artists Management
T.K. Kimbrell, T.K.O. Artist Management
Jay Liepis, iTunes
Greg McCarn, Black River Entertainment
Doc McGhee, McGhee Entertainment
Kimberly Perry
Fran Romeo, Romeo Entertainment Group
Ray Sliva, Best Buy
Ben Vaughn, EMI Music Publishing
Ed Warm, Joe’s Bar

Australia Attracts Growing Number of Country Tours

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Lady Antebellum joined Australia native Keith Urban on tour Down Under in 2011.

During 2011 a swarm of country stars ventured out on Australian tours for the first time. Numerous factors are driving the trend explains Jeff Walker, President of The AristoMedia Group, who spearheads many international country music initiatives.

Australia’s rural landscape is home to a significant country fan base who relate to the genre’s subject matter—the same reason tour buses have been crossing the northern border to Canada for years. Yesterday Dierks Bentley announced runs through both countries in early 2012.

Similarly, both countries also have country music television networks helping fuel the frenzy. “The concert promoters can build up a pent-up demand in those territories by use of music videos,” explains Walker. “Plus, the growing impact of social networking and its ability to engage fans worldwide helps the artists feel more confident about going over there.”

Talk about pent up demand, earlier this year Alan Jackson’s first tour Down Under sold out six dates within minutes, turning into the biggest country outing to visit Australia in 20 years.

In 2012 Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are hitting the road together for the first time in five years, in a run that will be the couple’s first Australian tour. The March tour includes a two-night residency in Brisbane and headlining the CMC Rocks the Hunter festival.

Walker notes that two-night stands are commonplace in Australia because many of the venues are smaller than their American counterparts. Festivals are also attractive to artists who want to journey to Oz. “They can go down for the festival and also play another four or five venues,” he explains. “They have a good infrastructure there. A lot of artists have to scale down their shows from what we’d see here in America, but they still have great venues, and festivals.”

Joe Nichols headlined CMC Rocks the Hunter in March 2011, and returned in May for a multi-city tour.

A favorable exchange rate is also enticing artists. “Nowadays it is a lot easier for Australian promoters to come over here and make offers to artists, because the artists can earn as much as they do in the States,” says Walker. “Plus, sometimes they’ve saturated the markets here by touring the same cities over and over. In Australia, they can take three weeks, have a mini-vacation and work at the same time.” Sounds like a win-win.

Major merch sales are another big plus, thanks to the untapped market. Carrie Underwood made her first tour of Australia when she was promoting the international release of Play On: Deluxe Edition.

Among others who performed in Australia in 2011 are native Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, and Montgomery Gentry. Taylor Swift’s world tour stops there in March.

“You can build a career by going back and back and back,” sums Walker. “Because artists like Don Williams, Charley Pride, Tom T. Hall, Dolly Parton, and Kenny Rogers have fostered that fan base, they are able to book successful international tours every two or three years.”

Alan Jackson's first Australian run. (L-R): Storme Warren, GAC TV and Sirius/XM Radio Show Host; Rob Potts, CEO, Rob Potts Entertainment Edge; Jackson; Michael Chugg, Exec. Chairman, Chugg Entertainment; Matthew Lazarus-Hall, CEO, Chugg Entertainment. Photo: John Huber