Live Nation Uncorks BigChampagne Data

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BigChampagne, the data farm that has been a pioneer in developing metrics to gauge online music use involving peer-to-peer traffic, has been acquired by Live Nation Entertaiment, the company which owns Ticketmaster. Founded in 2001, BigChampagne has also become well known for its influential Ultimate Chart that ranks artists and songs according to a wide variety of online media exposure.

Michael Rapino, Live Nation Chief Executive told the New York Times, “We love the basics of what they’ve created, and love the idea of taking an incredible amount of fan data off-and-online and merging that into a relevant database of what artists are most popular and relevant to today’s consumer.”

Eric Garland, founder of BigChampagne, said: “BigChampagne now collects and analyzes more information about entertainment and online audiences than anyone in our sector’s history. From my first conversation with Live Nation, it was clear to me that this is the right place to dramatically evolve and extend what we’ve built. We’re connecting fans with things they’ll love that are happening nearby or soon, or both. Most importantly, Live Nation has assembled an extraordinary team and we are honored to be invited to join them.”

Included in the deal, BigChampagne founder Eric Garland will be named General Manager of livenation.com and co-founder Joe Fleischer will be Sr. VP of content and product strategy. All of BigChampagne’s 26 employees will now work for Live Nation. Terms of the deal have not been released.

MusicRow has enjoyed an informal alliance with BigChampagne for many years. The publication interviewed Eric Garland last year and has been running Internet charts/country format powered by BigChampagne for many years.

Rapino, in a prepared statement, said, “BigChampagne brings us a great technology platform and an innovative team to help us better understand our fans and deliver insights across all areas of our business. Its expertise will accelerate our mission to drive deeper fan engagement throughout Live Nation…”

Guy Clark Tribute Released

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Houston’s Icehouse Music recently released the double-CD set, This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark, to celebrate Clark’s 70th birthday. Clark was born in Monahans, Texas on November 6, 1941.

The collection was co-produced by Tamara Saviano (Grammy winner for Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster) and frequent Clark co-writer Shawn Camp (“Sis Draper,” “Magnolia Wind”). Saviano is also working with Clark on his definitive biography.

The tribute features 30 tracks by 33 Americana favorites such as Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Shawn Colvin, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris & John Prine, Patty Griffin, Ron Sexsmith, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, and more. The collection was mixed and mastered by Austin’s Cedar Creek Records principal Fred Remmert. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.

For more information click here.

Volume 1

1.    That Old Time Feeling – Rodney Crowell
2.    Anyhow I Love You – Lyle Lovett
3.    All He Wants Is You – Shawn Colvin
4.    Homeless – Shawn Camp
5.    Broken Hearted People – Ron Sexsmith
6.    Better Days – Rosanne Cash
7.    Desperadoes Waiting For A Train – Willie Nelson
8.    Baby Took A Limo To Memphis – Rosie Flores
9.    Magdalene – Kevin Welch
10.    Instant Coffee Blues – Suzy Bogguss
11.    Homegrown Tomatoes – Ray Wylie Hubbard
12.    Let Him Roll – John Townes Van Zandt II
13.    The Guitar – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
14.    Cold Dog Soup – James McMurtry
15.    Worry B Gone – Hayes Carll

Volume 2

1.    Dublin Blues – Joe Ely
2.    Magnolia Wind – Emmylou Harris & John Prine
3.    The Last Gunfighter Ballad – Steve Earle
4.    All Through Throwing Good Love After Bad – Verlon Thompson
5.    The Dark – Terri Hendrix
6.    LA Freeway – Radney Foster
7.    The Cape – Patty Griffin
8.    Hemingway’s Whiskey – Kris Kristofferson
9.    Texas Cookin’ – Gary Nicholson, Darrell Scott & Tim O’Brien
10.    Stuff That Works – Jack Ingram
11.    Randall Knife – Vince Gill
12.    Texas 1947 – Robert Earl Keen
13.    Old Friends – Terry Allen
14.    She Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere – The Trishas
15.    My Favorite Picture of You – Jerry Jeff Walker

Skip Bishop Exits Sony

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MusicRow has confirmed the exit of Sony Music Nashville Sr. VP Promotion Skip Bishop from the label group. Bishop joined the label in 2005 as VP National Promotion for Arista Nashville, and in 2009 he was named Sr. VP Promotion for the entire label group consisting of Arista, RCA, and Columbia/BNA.

Prior to joining Sony he served as President and CEO of his own Bishop Bait & Tackle, a large independent marketing and promotion firm. Bishop’s career also includes time as Sr. VP MCA Los Angeles and Sr. VP Pop Promotion for RCA in New York.

No further details regarding Bishop’s plans or his replacement at Sony are available at this time.

For Sony Music Nashville promotion inquiries, please contact [email protected] (Arista Nashville), [email protected] (RCA), or [email protected] (Columbia/BNA).

Martina’s “Hits and More” Due In January

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RCA Records Nashville will release Hits and More, a twenty-song collection from Martina McBride, on January 17, 2012. The album’s material spans McBride’s career with RCA, including her four No. 1 singles, numerous Top 10 hits, plus three new tracks. A full track list is included below.

GAC recently premiered Martina McBride: The Road To Eleven, an hour-long special following the singer from her signing with Republic Nashville through her four day train journey to promote the release of her new album Eleven. The special is set to re-air December 18, at 10 PM/CT. McBride’s current single “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” is at No. 6 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.

Hits and More tracklist:
1.  “My Baby Loves Me”
2.  “Independence Day”
3.  “Wild Angels”
4.  “A Broken Wing”
5.  “Valentine” (with Jim Brickman)
6.  “Happy Girl”
7.  “Whatever You Say”
8.  “I Love You”
9.  “Love’s the Only House”
10. “Blessed”
11. “Where Would You Be”
12. “Concrete Angel”
13. “This One’s For the Girls”
14. “In My Daughter’s Eyes”
15. “Anyway”
16. “Ride”
17. “Wrong Baby Wrong”
18. “Surrender” – NEW
19. “Straight to the Bone” – NEW
20. “Being Myself” – NEW

Messina, Warren Play St. Jude Country Music Marathon Party

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The St. Jude Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon, presented by Nissan will host a holiday party tomorrow (Thursday, Dec. 15) at Red Rooster on Demonbreun St. from 6-8 PM/CT. Country artists Jo Dee Messina and Darren Warren will perform short sets at the event, which is free and open to the public.

Guests will receive two complimentary drink tickets and the first 100 guests get to take home an official event t-shirt. Additionally, runners who register for the St. Jude Country Music Marathon or 1/2 Marathon on site will get a $10 discount. 25 raffle prizes, including local restaurant gift certificates, will be given out and attendees are encouraged to wear their wackiest running attire for the Tacky Christmas Runner Costume Contest.

Race organizers the Competitor Group combined forces with title partner St. Jude and rebranded the race in October 2012. Scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2012, it is the country’s second largest 1/2 marathon and the largest combined marathon and 1/2 with over 30,000 annual participants. More information here.

Faith Hill To Perform On People’s Choice Awards

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Faith Hill is one of the first performers announced for the 2012 People’s Choice Awards hosted by Kaley Cuoco on CBS, January 11 (9-11 PM/ET). Faith is a four-time People’s Choice Awards winner.

“We are so lucky to have Faith Hill on board to perform at the People’s Choice Awards,” said Executive Producer Mark Burnett. “Her experience, mainstream appeal and status as one of the top female performers of our time make her the perfect addition.”

2012 nominees for Favorite Country Artist are Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, and Taylor Swift. Swift will also compete with mainstream artists for Favorite Tour Headliner and Favorite Female Artist, while Lady Antebellum competes for Favorite Album of the Year. Voting remains open for only Favorite New TV Comedy and Favorite New TV Drama online.

Faith’s new single, “Come Home,” is No. 33 on the most recent MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart. Her new album is expected in early 2012.

Good Works: Rodney Atkins

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Rodney Atkins Photo: Jeremy Harris

As part of the Crown Royal Heroes Project—an ongoing initiative by the whisky brand to honor and give back to everyday heroes—Rodney Atkins provided a free performance to show support for local volunteer firefighters at the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys game in Texas on Dec. 11.

Atkins took the stage one hour prior to kick-off with a special performance dedicated to members of the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund. Adult fans were able to show their support for the Texas-based charity by packing commemorative versions of the Crown Royal purple bags with items to be sent overseas. Crown Royal is donating $10 to the Texas Wildfire Relief Fund for every bag packed by fans before the start of the game. The Texas Wildfire Relief Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to generating awareness for volunteer firefighters in Texas.

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Atkins also performed during the inaugural American Giving Awards in Los Angeles, which aired Dec. 10 on NBC. The audience gathered at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to find out which five charities will be chosen to receive additional funds from Chase Community Giving (CCG). Other featured guests included Miley Cyrus, motivational speaker J.R. Martinez, Will.i.am, Jesse Tyler Ferguson of NBC’s Modern Family, Colin Farrell, and host Bob Costas.

Billie Jo Spears Passes

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Billie Jo Spears, one of the most consistent female country hit-makers of the 1970s, has died in Texas at age 74.

She was famous for her 1975 international smash hit “Blanket on the Ground,” as well as for working-girl anthems and for songs that fused country and disco. Spears was extremely popular in Great Britain and was a fixture in Branson, Mo. for a time.

Born in 1937 in the shipyard city of Beaumont, Texas, she was the daughter of a truck driver father. Her mother was a welder in the shipyards, as well as a guitarist in the Light Crust Doughboys western-swing band. Billie Jo Spears began singing professionally at age 13. She first recorded in Houston at that age and also appeared on the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, La.

After working as a drive-in restaurant carhop and as a secretary, she moved from Texas to Nashville in 1964. Signing with Capitol Records, she first hit the top-10 on the country charts with 1969’s “Mr. Walker It’s All Over,” the saga of a downtrodden secretary. She followed it with “Pittsburgh General,” which stood up for nurses. Other early singles included “Stepchild” (1969), in which a boy kills his abusive stepfather, and “Marty Gray” (1970), which dealt with teen pregnancy.

She faded from the hit parade and underwent vocal-cord surgery, then scored a huge comeback on United Artists Records with the toe-tapping “Blanket on the Ground.” It became her first and only No. 1 hit, both in the U.S. and abroad.

She fused country songs with danceable pop rhythms in such big hits as 1976’s “What I’ve Got in Mind,” 1977’s “If You Want Me,” 1978’s “57 Chevrolet” and 1979’s remake of Gloria Gaynor’s disco classic “I Will Survive.” Spears was also distinctive in that she rarely recorded female “victim” material. Almost all of her hit ballads are about women asserting themselves. These include “Standing Tall” (1980), “I’ve Got to Go” (1978), “I’m Not Easy” (1977), “Never Did Like Whiskey” (1976) and her revival of Tammy Wynette’s “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad” (1981).

Her other hits include 1976’s “Misty Blue” 1978’s Love Ain’t Gonna Wait for Us” and 1979’s “Livin’ Our Love Together.” She also recorded several notable duets with the late Del Reeves. Throughout her career, she sang with a tangy Texas accent and a feisty attitude. Her last appearance on the national country charts was in 1984.

Billie Jo Spears was married five times. In later years, she retained her popularity in the U.K. and recorded several albums for that market. She continued to tour stateside, despite triple-bypass heart surgery in 1993. Her most recent album was released in 2005. She had 22 British shows booked for 2012 at the time of her death.

She died of cancer on Wednesday morning, December 14. Survivors and funeral details were not available at press time.

Burrell And Houghton to Host BMI’s Trailblazers of Gospel Music

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Kim Burrell and Israel Houghton will host BMI's Trailblazers of Gospel Luncheon

Gospel legends Kim Burrell and Israel Houghton have been named as hosts of the 13th Annual BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards Luncheon scheduled for Friday, Jan. 13, 2012 at Rocketown in Nashville.

The invitation-only event will honor Kirk Franklin, the best-selling contemporary gospel artist in SoundScan history, and Pastor Hezekiah Walker, a multiple Grammy-winner and leader of the Love Fellowship Choir. Franklin is one of gospel’s most decorated artists with 20 No. 1 gospel singles, seven Grammys, 37 Stellar Awards, 14 Dove Awards, and six NAACP Image Awards, in addition to sales over 15 million. Walker’s highly influential Love Fellowship Choir has won numerous Grammys and 11 Stellar Awards. He additionally founded the Love Fellowship Tabernacle Church and Hezekiah Walker Ministries in New York and Pennsylvania, and resource centers for congregations all over the country.

Nimbit Reports Spotlight Boosting Facebook Sales

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Nimbit.com reports that its direct-to-fan platform has been showing strong growth in terms of Facebook sales for artists and bands. According to VP of Marketing Carl Jacobson, the trend started about 15 months ago when, “We began to see a sharp uptick in the percentage of direct sales that were coming from our artists’ Facebook stores, versus their other Nimbit direct-to-fan stores (on their website, partner sites, etc.).”

Jacobson says that Facebook sales accounted for 49.67% of total sales for Nimbit artists during Nov. 2011. Nimbit is especially interested in this strong sales uptick because the company introduced its new “Spotlight” Facebook store functionality in September 2011. Nimbit Facebook sales for Sept. to Nov. 2011 vs. the same period in 2010 are up 481%,

Nimbit attributes the huge increase to its redesigned Facebook store options— “Spotlight”—plus “better executed promotions by artists.” The company has also compiled a page full of tips for artists about how to best present their Facebook store and get the best sales results.