CMA Studies Financial Habits of Country Fans

/by

A study just released by the Country Music Association examines the financial habits of country fans. Here are some of the highlights:

• 84% of respondents have a positive sentiment about their financial situation a year from now
• 42% use mobile device banking
• 78% conduct financial business online
• 30% seek input from financial planners and brokers, as well as from family and friends
• 72% report a greater inclination to use a credit card affiliated with a loyalty rewards program, with exclusive opportunities to ticketed events as one of the top five desirable attributes for such a program

The survey was conducted online with respondents aged 18+ from the CMA Insider Fan Panel, a group of more than 13,000 Country Music fans recruited from various industry social nets and events. Respondents were queried on their perception of the state of the U.S. economy and their own financial situation.

CMA’s research reports are a benefit of CMA membership. The complete findings of this and previous studies are available on CMA’s members-only website at www.My.CMAworld.com/Research.

Live Nation Announces Inaugural Watershed Music Festival

/by

Live Nation Entertainment and ACM Promoter of the Year Brian O’Connell have established a new country music festival set for August 3-5 at the Gorge Amphitheater in Oregon.

The Watershed Music Festival will feature camping, late night sets, impromptu jam sessions, and collaborations. So far the lineup includes Dierks Bentley, Kix Brooks, Sara Evans, Brantley Gilbert, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Thompson Square, Uncle Kracker, Dwight Yoakam, Tracy Lawrence, Reckless Kelly, The Lost Trailers, Steve Holy, Johnny Reid, Jon Pardi, Thomas Rhett, Morgan Frazier, DeeJay Silver and a local stage will feature regional acts each night. More artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

“For years, we’ve wanted to host a multiple day country festival that builds on the tremendous success for our annual Sasquatch Music Festival and Dave Matthews Band residency,” said Jeff Trisler, President of Live Nation Seattle. “We believe this event will bring that same sort of excitement and energy to The Gorge for an entirely new group of music fans.”

The Watershed Music Festival has a capacity of 25,000 with lawn terrace seating and camping options.

Three-day passes go on sale Sat., May 5 at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.

American Idol Tour Includes Nashville Stop

/by

The American Idol Live! tour, presented by Chips Ahoy! and Ritz, will return to US cities this summer to showcase the Top 10 finalists from Season 11.

The tour launches in Detroit, Michigan at the Joe Louis Arena on Friday, July 6 and wraps September 11 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tour also includes a stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on August 12, where the crowd will undoubtedly celebrate Murfreesboro resident Colton Dixon’s seventh place finish. In addition to Dixon, performers include DeAndre Brackensick, Elise Testone, Erika Van Pelt, Heejun Han, Hollie Cavanagh, Jessica Sanchez, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, and Skylar Laine.

“Every year we are amazed at the extraordinary wealth of untapped talent that is discovered on American Idol and we couldn’t be happier with this season’s top 10 contestants,” says 19 Entertainment President Iain Pirie. “We are truly excited to bring our contestants on tour across America directly to our fans’ hometowns.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 11 at 10 am. Full dates are included below. The American Idol season finale will air on Fox May 23.

DATE — MARKET — VENUE
July 06 — Detroit, MI — Joe Louis Arena
July 07 — Rosemont, IL — Allstate Arena
July 09 — Minneapolis, MN — Target Center
July 11 — St. Louis, MO — Scottrade Center
July 12 — Kansas City, MO — Sprint Center
July 14 — Broomfield, CO — 1STBANK Center
July 16 — West Valley City, UT — Maverik Center
July 18 — Seattle, WA — Key Arena at Seattle Center
July 19 — Portland, OR — Rose Garden
July 21 — Sacramento, CA — Power Balance Pavilion
July 22 — San Jose, CA — HP Pavilion at San Jose
July 23 — Los Angeles, CA — Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE
July 25 — Ontario, CA — Citizens Business Bank Arena
July 26 — San Diego, CA — Valley View Casino Center
July 27 — Glendale, AZ — Jobing.com Arena
July 29 — Dallas, TX — American Airlines Center
July 30 — Lafayette, LA — Cajundome
July 31 — Jackson, MS — Mississippi Coliseum
August 02 — Orlando, FL — Amway Center
August 03 — Sunrise, FL — BankAtlantic Center
August 05 — Duluth, GA — Arena at Gwinnett Center
August 06 — N. Charleston, SC — North Charleston Coliseum
August 08 — Washington, DC — Verizon Center
August 09 — Baltimore, MD — 1st Mariner Arena
August 11 — Columbus, OH — Schottenstein Center
August 12 — Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena
August 14 — Pittsburgh, PA — Consol Energy Center
August 15 — Rochester, NY — Blue Cross Arena
August 16 — Toronto, ON — Air Canada Centre
August 18 — Manchester, NH — Verizon Wireless Arena
August 19 — Worcester, MA — DCU Center
August 21 — Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
August 22 — Long Island, NY — Nassau Coliseum
August 25 — Portland, ME — Cumberland County Civic Center
August 26 — Providence, RI — Dunkin Donuts Center
August 28 — Newark, NJ — Prudential Center
August 30 — Albany, NY — Times Union Center
September 01 — Bridgeport, CT — Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard
September 02 — Uncasville, CT — Mohegan Sun Arena
September 04 — Syracuse, NY — War Memorial at OnCenter
September 06 — Wilkes Barre, PA — Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
September 07 — Atlantic City, NJ — Boardwalk Hall
September 08 — Reading, PA — Sovereign Center
September 10 — Cincinnati, OH — US Bank Arena
September 11 — Milwaukee, WI — Bradley Center

Photo Friday (4/27/12)

/by

SESAC Hosts Music Supervisors Panel at Film Festival
SESAC hosted “Music Supervisors 101: The Basics Of Song Placement” during the Nashville Film Festival. The panel offered insight and advice from successful music supervisors Evyen Klean (Hemingway & Gellhorn, Game Change), Tricia Holloway (Middle Men, Honey 2), P.J. Bloom (Glee, American Horror Story), Jo Jo Villanueva (American Reunion, Arthur), Jenee DeAngelis (Cold Case, Breaking Pointe) and Michael Freeman (Music Producer/Ogilvy & Mather). Jim Scherer, President of Whizbang Inc., moderated.

Pictured (back row L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink, Michael Freeman, Evyen Klean, PJ Bloom, SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Jim Scherer. (front row L-R): Nashville Film Festival’s Stacey Widelitz, Jo Jo Villanueva, Tricia Holloway, Jenee DeAngelis and Nashville Film Festival’s Tyler Middleton. Photo: Peyton Hoge

Rachele Lynae Visits CMA
Momentum Label Group artist Rachele Lynae stopped by the CMA offices this week to treat the staff to barbeque and share new music including current single “Party ‘Til the Cows Come Home.” Momentum is headed by CEO Jamie O’Neal.

(L-R): Momentum Label Group Radio Strategist, John Ettinger; CMA Sr. VP of Marketing & Communications, Sheri Warnke; CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; Rachele Lynae; Momentum Label Group Chief Executive Officer, Jamie O'Neal; Momentuam Label Group GM, Jimmy Murphy; and CMA Sr. Coordinator of Member Relations & Services, Betsy Walker. Photo: Christian Bottorff

BMG Chrysalis Debuts Concert Series With Carly Simon
Carly Simon performed an intimate concert at BMG Chrysalis’ Los Angeles space; the first in a new showcase series featuring the music right’s company’s top songwriters. Simon offered her beloved classics including “You’re So Vain” and “Anticipation,” as well as new songs such as “I Can’t Thank You Enough.” The following evening, Simon was honored with the Founders Award at ASCAP’s Annual Pop Awards for her four-decade career.

Pictured (L-R): Richard Blackstone, Exec. VP, Creative and Business Development, BMG Chrysalis NA; Laurent Hubert, Pres., Creative and Marketing, BMG Chrysalis NA; Debra A. White; Carly Simon; David Hirshland, Exec. VP, Client Services, BMG Chrysalis NA; Hartwig Masuch, CEO, BMG Rights Management; Larry Ciancia, Manager; Wendy Griffiths, Sr. VP, Marketing, BMG Chrysalis NA

Underwood Reveals Release Week Plans

/by

Carrie Underwood’s fourth studio album Blown Away (19 Recordings/Arista Nashville) hits stores on Tuesday (5/1) and the superstar is gearing up for a busy week to promote the release.

On Monday (4/30), Good Morning America will air an exclusive interview with Underwood and later the same day she will perform on The Late Show With David Letterman in addition to a performance on the Live On Letterman webcast concert series. On Tuesday (5/1), Underwood will return to Good Morning America for a special outdoor performance in Times Square, followed by a concert that night for Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio web service. Sony Nashville and Clear Channel have also partnered to promote Blown Away with a series of spots and exclusive content.

She will return to her American Idol roots on Thursday (5/3), followed by upcoming appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (5/9); Jimmy Kimmel Live! (5/10); and Dancing With the Stars (5/15). Additionally, she is slated to appear at the Billboard Music Awards May 20.

Blown Away, produced by Mark Bright, is currently available for streaming in the iTunes store. The album’s first single “Good Girl” has already been certified Gold.

Yesterday (4/26), Underwood stopped by PS22 in Staten Island, NY to perform “Good Girl” with the fifth grade choir. Check out the video below.

MusicRowPics: Tim Culpepper Artist Visit

/by

Honkytone Records artist Tim Culpepper visited the MusicRow staff yesterday (4/26) to share his new single “Ghost,” which is currently no. 33 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.

The Montgomery, AL native also played “Pourin’ Whiskey on Pain” and “His Old Boots,” both of which will appear on his forthcoming album. Culpepper is heading to the west coast soon to continue his radio tour in support of “Ghost.”

Check out the video for Culpepper’s “Ghost” above, complete with dancing zombies.

[slide]

Artist Updates (4/27/12)

/by

Lee Brice released his new album Hard 2 Love on Tuesday (4/24) and the lead single, “A Woman Like You,” has already hit No. 1. The next single, “Hard to Love,” is hitting radio now. Brice’s media blitz began with co-hosting duties on the No. 1 national morning show Today on March 20 and continues through the next two weeks. This week, Brice is back in New York promoting the new album and has already appeared on Fox & Friends, CNN’s Showbiz Tonight, and Imus In The Morning. On Monday (5/1), Brice will make his first appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, followed by an appearance on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (date TBD). He will also appear on the syndicated The Better Show on Wednesday (5/2). Later in the week, he will visit Fox News Channel’s Huckabee for an appearance that will air 5/12. Check www.leebrice.com more info and tour dates.

• • • •

Today (4/27) Larry Gatlin will join the Fox Business Network’s Willis Report at 4 pm and 7 pm CT, sitting on a panel for a group discussion on several hot-button news topics. For more information on Larry Gatlin, visit www.gatlinbrothers.com.

• • • •

RCA duo Love and Theft (Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson) will perform the hit single, “Angel Eyes,” during a scene in this week’s episode of ABC’s hit series, GCB, starring Leslie Bibb, Kristin Chenoweth, Annie Potts, Miriam Shor, Jennifer Aspen and Marisol Nichols. GCB airs on ABC Sunday, April 29 at 9 pm CT. To pre-order Love and Theft’s album, visit http://amzn.to/GQLGhu.

• • • •

Inside Music Row is celebrating the airing of its 250th episode this week, April 23-29. This week’s episode of Inside Music Row includes coverage of the ACM Awards, Darryl Worley and the new Grascals CD release. After a successful string of hits like “Have You Forgotten,” Worley has a new single out called “You Still Got It” that is climbing the charts and a new album is expected in summer. Check out the interview here. The show airs in Nashville on WNAB/CW58 every Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. CT.

Lee Ann Womack Covers McCartney, Collaborates With Crowell

/by


Lee Ann Womack is recording  a cover of Wings’ “Let ‘Em In,” written by Sir Paul McCartney, which will appear as the title track to a new country and roots collection benefiting The Women and Cancer Fund.

Womack is working with noted producer Phil Madeira for her part of the project, which also features contributions by Bruce Cockburn, Ollabelle, Teddy Thompson, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer, Buddy Miller, and Jim Lauderdale among others. A previous volume was released with McCartney’s blessing in 2011 and featured Phil Vassar, Sarah Darling, Steel Magnolia, SHeDaisy, and more.

“I’ve gone through long periods of time when I’ve sung ‘Let ‘Em In’ in my live shows, because I just think the song is so good,” said Womack. “I love what it says about bringing people together. So when Phil asked if I’d like to be a part of this, I was delighted!”

Womack also appears on a track called “Mama’s On A Roll” from the Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr collaboration Kin. Other guests on the project include Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, and Kris Kristofferson.

Womack is currently finishing work on a follow-up to her 2008 album Call Me Crazy with ACM Producer of the Year and husband, Frank Liddell.

Cleaver Named President of Avenue Bank

/by

Kent Cleaver, a founding officer of Avenue Bank, has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer for the company. He has served as COO since Avenue Bank opened in July 2007.

“Kent is a tremendous leader at Avenue Bank, having been one of the founders,” said Avenue CEO and Board Chairman Ronald L. Samuels. “A transition like this is common for a company that experiences the growth we have. When Avenue Bank began, we had a small number of people wearing a number of different hats.

“Five years later, with total assets of $667 million and 98 employees, now is the right time for us to operate in more defined leadership roles, and Kent is excellent for this. He has been a dedicated partner from day one.”

In his new role, Cleaver will focus on business development as well as oversee and manage daily operations. As President, he also has a seat on the board of directors. He is a native Nashvillian with 33 years experience in the banking industry.

Samuels will continue as CEO and Chairman of the Board. He will lead Avenue’s strategic planning and community direction, as well as advising on planning and development.

Tyler Farr Headed For Opry Debut

/by

BNA Records newcomer Tyler Farr is set for his Grand Ole Opry debut Saturday night (4/28), where he will perform debut single, “Hot Mess.” Check out the track here.

“One of the most influential experiences in my life was the first time I went to the Opry,” explains Farr. “What made it so special was that I was backstage and my stepfather [was playing lead guitar onstage] next to George Jones. As he sang ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today,’ my arms filled with goosebumps. It was then that I knew The Grand Ole Opry was the heart and soul of country music.”

Farr sang his way through high school and went to college at Missouri State on a vocal performance scholarship. After two years in college, he packed up his car and headed to Nashville where he landed a gig at Tootsie’s playing the 10 pm – 2 am shift.

Since then he’s opened for Miranda Lambert, Jerrod Niemann, and spent a year on the road with Colt Ford.