Swift Tops “Money Makers” List

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Touring was a big boost to the bottom line for artists including Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift leads Billboard’s 2012 list of “Top 40 Money Makers.” The blonde superstar made about $35.7 million last year according to the magazine’s estimates, more than any other act in any genre. U2 followed closely with earnings of about $32 million, and Kenny Chesney‘s $29.8 million landed him at No. 3 on the list. Country artists scored 11 of the 40 slots.

The data is based on net U.S. income from touring, sales, and publishing. Not included is income from sponsorships, merch, or synch deals. See the complete list and more on the methodology here.

By comparison, similar rankings from Forbes magazine include sponsorship and endorsement deals and are based on gross income. See those here.

Billboard’s Country Money Makers
1. Taylor Swift, $35.7 million
2. U2, $32.1 million
3. Kenny Chesney, $29.8 million
9. Jason Aldean, $13.4 million
15. Toby Keith, $10.4 million
18. Rascal Flatts, $9.6 million
19. Tim McGraw, $9.3 million
21. Brad Paisley, $8.6 million
26. Lady Antebellum, $6.7 million
27. Keith Urban, $6.6 million
34. Sugarland, $5.6 million

IBMA Announces 2012 Leadership Bluegrass Graduates

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The International Bluegrass Music Association's 13th Leadership Bluegrass class at Bone McAllester Norton on March 10, 2012. L-R: (Row 1) Ronnie Norton, Denise Hitchcock, Sharon White, Jamie Katz, Sonya Cotton, Jimmy Bowen, Laurie Dashper, Casey Campbell. (Row 2) Russell Johnson, Martha Stracener Dantzic, Kimberly Williams, Rick Lang, Jennifer Strickland, Lisa Jacobi, Denise Jarvinen; (Row 3) Bob Altschuler, Gene Skinner, Claire Lynch, Daniel Routh, Tony Watt, Ross Pomerenk. (Row 4) Gerald Jones, Michael McLain, Chris Teskey, Chris Oliver. Photo: Stephanie Taylor

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the 2012 graduating class of Leadership Bluegrass.

Leadership Bluegrass, now in its 13th year with more than 300 alumni, is a three-day program that examines the challenges and opportunities facing the music. Related leadership issues and networking experiences are also available.

This year, Leadership Bluegrass was facilitated by Trisha Tubbs and hosted at Nashville’s BMI and Bone McAllester Norton PLLC, March 8-10. Individuals selected to participate in the program represent a cross section of the global industry. For information on the next Leadership Bluegrass class, contact Nancy Cardwell.

Leadership Bluegrass Class of 2012:

Bob Altschuler; Dyer Switch Band, Thirteen Feet of Bluegrass, Educator
Jimmy Bowen; Jimmy Bowen & Santa Fe
Casey Campbell; Belmont University student/Musician
Sonya Robles Cotton; The Louisville Bluegrass Music Association
Martha Stracener Dantzic; Quicksilver Productions
Laurie Dashper; Music City Roots, Bluegrass Underground
Denise Hitchcock; BlueHighways TV
Lisa Jacobi; Steel String Session, Lisa Affordable Websites
Denise Jarvinen; Boston Bluegrass Union, Traditional Music Foundation
Russell Johnson; Grass Cats, Red Sock Publishing, The Comfort Zone Recording Studio, New Time Records
Gerald Jones; AcousticMusicCamp.com
Jamie Katz; PineCone, The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, Inc
Rick Lang; Haley Anna Music, BMI
Claire Lynch; The Claire Lynch Band
Michael McLain; Belmont University
Ronnie Norton; Lonesome Highway
Chris Oliver; Infinity Luthiers
Ross Pomerenk; Acoustic Sound/ Wintergrass
Daniel Routh; Nu-Blu, Red Squared Audio
Gene Skinner; Great Stuff Radio Network
Jennifer Strickland; Jenny Lynn Publishing, Rural Rhythm Records
Chris Teskey; WAMU’s Bluegrass Country
Tony Watt; TheBluegrassUniversity.com, Boston Bluegrass Union
Sharon White; The Whites
Kimberly Williams; East Public Relations, The Expedition Show

Belmont Students to Experience SXSW For Class Credit

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A select group of Belmont University upperclassmen will get a unique opportunity to learn by immersing completely in the hustle of SXSW. Fifteen BU students are headed to Austin this week for the annual music conference and festival, which runs March 13-18.

The trip is part of an experiential learning course offering from Belmont’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, and participating students will receive one hour of credit. Students will be required to complete a series of course objectives that include identifying and networking with executives, learning about industry trends, and discovering emerging new artists. Following the conference, the Belmont students will write a paper and make a presentation to faculty to recount what they learned.

“As an innovative college in the field of music business, Belmont University views SXSW as an opportunity for our students to use this preeminent industry conference as a giant classroom,” said Dan Keen, faculty advisor and instructor for the course. “Our goal is to equip our students attending the event with the tools, strategy and mindset to come away from the experience with ideas, concepts and inspiration that they can immediately apply to the realization of their career goals and dreams. Oh, and we hope they immerse themselves in some amazing new music as well!”

SXSW offers numerous industry events, panels, and networking opportunities at Austin Convention Center during the daytime. After hours, over 2,000 artists from across the globe will showcase for attendees. Among the conference highlights are the keynote speech from Bruce Springsteen, and artist Gloria Gaynor discussing legislation that will allow artists to reclaim their copyrights after 35 years.

AMA and Blackberry Farm Partner For Benefit

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The Americana Music Association has partnered with Smoky Mountain luxury resort Blackberry Farm to bring a unique musical experience to its guests on March 24, featuring the talents of Rodney Crowell and Mary Gauthier. The event will benefit the Americana Music Association.

Crowell, a Grammy winner and AMA Lifetime Achievement honoree, has just finished production of a new album with Emmylou Harris due out in fall. Gauthier is an acclaimed songwriter whose work has been praised in Rolling Stone, New York Times and more.

Blackberry Farm is situated on 9,200 acres in East Tennessee, and has been voted as the No. 1 resort in North America for 2011 by Travel + Leisure magazine. It is also home to a culinary program headed by Grand Chef, Relais & Chateaux Joseph Lenn and an award-winning wine cellar.

Gibson Adds Global EVP

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Bob Weissburg

Gibson Guitar Corp. has tapped Bob Weissburg to serve as Global Executive Vice President. The new position was created as part of the company’s expansion into the consumer electronics arena. He will report directly to Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz.

Weissburg most recently worked as President of Sales and Marketing for the Americas for D&M Holdings. In that role, he oversaw the activities of Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics, McIntosh and D&M Professional products. Prior to D&M, he held several senior positions at Sony, including President of the Consumer Sales Group and Senior Vice President of strategic planning for sales.

In recent months Gibson has been growing its consumer electronics initiatives. The company created a pro audio division through the acquisition of the Stanton Group, which is comprised of KRK Systems, Cerwin-Vega! and Stanton DJ. Gibson then formed a strategic partnership with consumer audio leader Onkyo Corporation. The two companies also launched a joint venture to develop consumer audio products.

Twitter Queen Passes 20 Million Followers

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It had to happen, eventually. Someone would amass 20 million Twitter followers. That the first person to achieve this milestone is Lady Gaga, is no surprise. Gaga’s followers passed the 20 million mark on March 3, 2012. She also has over 830,000 circles on Google Plus and almost 49 million fans on Facebook.

According to reports, Gaga insists that she updates her Twitter account personally and often uses it to interact directly with fans. In August 2010 Gaga passed Britney Spears to become the most followed person on the 140 character message service, and proclaimed herself, “Queen of Twitter.” She still retains that title. (Twittercounter started tracking @ladygaga on Dec. 24, 2008.)

Twittercounter.com’s list of the Top 100 most popular Twitter personalities shows all musical artists in the Top slots. Its Top 5 are Lady Gaga (20,624,935), Justin Bieber (18,361,485), Katy Perry (16,003,242), Rihanna (14,842,144) and Shakira (14,752,357). For a complete list of the Top 100 click here. Taylor Swift is the highest ranking country artist on the list at No. 9 with 11,625,352 followers…the only country artist in the Top 100.

Gaga has also established her own social media network called Littlemonsters.com. According to reports it is a cross between Pinterest and Reddit.

Performers Added To ACM Awards Telecast

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The list of performers at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards is growing as the event draws near. Newly added to show are Blake Shelton, Chris Young, The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum and Rascal Flatts. The awards telecast takes place live from the MGM Garden Grand Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 1 and airs at 8 pm ET on CBS.

Shelton is nominated for two awards, including Entertainer of the Year, and will reprise his co-hosting duties along with Reba. Young is also nominated for two awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year. The Band Perry have picked up their first Vocal Group of the Year nomination, after winning the New Artist of the Year award in 2011. Lady Antebellum leads among groups with five total nominations, including Album of the Year (Own The Night) and Song of the Year (“Just A Kiss”). Ten time ACM Award winners Rascal Flatts will compete against Lady A and TBP in the Vocal Group of the Year category.

These artists join previously announced performers Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw.

CMT Relaunches Insider App

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CMT’s mobile division, launched in 2006, has introduced an upgraded version of its CMT Insider app, now especially optimized for the iPad. The free app is also available for a variety of screens including iOS, and Android platforms.

Included in the relaunch is an exclusive world premiere of the new Marlee Scott video “Train Wreck.”

According to the iTunes store description, in addition to country music news and photo galleries, the app allows fans to “customize a grid of favorite artists and share news articles and photos on Facebook, Twitter, SMS or e-mail a friend.” Another feature includes audio clips from Rhapsody which helps fans find new music and favorite tunes.

CMT and Taylor Guitars Launch Rascal Flatts Contest

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CMT and Taylor Guitars have launched a contest to design the official guitar for Rascal Flatts’ The American Band Tour. In addition to having the guitar played onstage by band members, the winner will get a VIP experience to see the band live and receive his/her own autographed, custom-designed Taylor Guitar GS8 model.

Fans will have additional opportunities to win Rascal Flatts’ autographed GS Mini guitars (provided by Taylor Guitars) at select concert dates, on CMT Radio Live With Cody Alan, and on CMT.com. In total, CMT and Taylor Guitars will give away 15 guitars throughout the summer-long promotion.

Fans can submit guitar designs using approved images and logos now through Monday, April 30. More information at www.rascalflatts.cmt.com.

Carrie Underwood Releases “Good Girl” Video

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Carrie Underwood is set to release the video for her latest single, “Good Girl” today, March 12, with an exclusive world premiere and broadcast on Entertainment Tonight and VEVO.

Following the premiere, ET Online will run an extended feature and VEVO will offer a 24-hour exclusive on VEVO.com and VEVO mobile apps. Both outlets have been promoting the release with behind the scenes footage.

The “Good Girl” video will be available for purchase on iTunes Tuesday, March 13. On Wednesday, March 14, the video will be released to all digital and broadcasters.

The clip was filmed in Los Angeles with director Theresa Wingert. “Good Girl” is the lead single from Underwood’s forthcoming album, Blown Away, due in stores May 1. Since its release two weeks ago, the single has sold 227,000 downloads.