Blogs Set Off Facebook Frenzy

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A blog post about the importance of paying for music is the hottest topic on Facebook among members of the Nashville music community—proof that the fight for compensation is a passionate as ever.

David Lowery, lead singer of Cracker and an instructor at the University of Georgia, unleashed an abrasive 4000 word diatribe on the subject at a blog called The Trichordist. It was in response to a post on NPR’s All Things Considered blog by intern Emily White, 21, who openly admitted that she doesn’t pay for music. White wrote:

As monumental a role as musicians and albums have played in my life, I’ve never invested money in them aside from concert tickets and T-shirts… I can’t support them with concert tickets and T-shirts alone. But I honestly don’t think my peers and I will ever pay for albums. I do think we will pay for convenience.

This is a tiny portion of Lowery’s response, which includes many pertinent points:

Is it really that inconvenient to download a song from iTunes into your iPhone? Is it that hard to type in your password? I think millions would disagree.

As MusicRow readers well know, the industry has been fighting illegal downloading and file-sharing for years, with little headway being made.

Today when the subject surfaces, social media quickens the spread of news, links, comments and opinions. So far, songwriters, publishers, studio managers, publicists and reporters have weighed in on the blogs penned by Lowery and White. Share your own thoughts below.

Lady A Sells Out Australian Shows

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Friday afternoon (6/15), Lady Antebellum officially sold out its Australian Own The Night 2012 World Tour dates in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney where they added and sold out a second night at the Opera House due to demand. The group has now sold over 900,000 tickets to the global tour with upcoming dates scheduled in the US, Europe and Australia.

Before heading overseas, the tour continues this week in the US with stops scheduled in Birmingham, AL (6/21), Atlanta, GA (6/22), Greenville, SC (6/23) and Indianapolis, IN (6/24). For a full list of tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.

Tuesday Snapshots (6/19/12)

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Flying Island artist Gwen Sebastian made her Grand Ole Opry debut this past weekend and sang two songs including her current single “Met Him In A Motel Room.” Sebastian has visited the Opry many times, but never performed on the stage before this weekend.

(L-R): Pete Fisher, VP/GM Grand Ole Opry; Sebastian; Little Jimmy Dickens. Photo: Chris Hollo

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The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum recently honored Jimmy Capps in its series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Musicians. Capps discussed his career, including sessions with Alan Jackson, George Jones, Tammy Wynette and more; as a touring musician with the Louvin Brothers; as a member of the Grand Ole Opry band; and as a regular on RFD-TV’s Larry’s Country Diner.

(L-R) Back Row: Ray Edenton, Billy Linneman, Harold Bradley, Chip Young, David Briggs, Jimmy Capps, Eddie Bayers, Reggie Young, Weldon Myrick, Jerry Kennedy, Hargus “Pig” Robbins, Wayne Moss. Front Row: Gordon Stoker and program host Bill Lloyd. Photo: Donn Jones

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BMI showcased some of its up-and-coming talent at boutique Two Old Hippies on June 14. Performers at the clothing store and venue in Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood included Elise Davis, Brinn Black, and Kara McLeland.

(L-R): Davis, BMI’s Julie Stuckey, Black, and McLeland. Photo: Drew Maynard

“Ronnie Milsap’s Country Cut” Contest Announced

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Ronnie Milsap and American Songwriter have announced Ronnie Milsap’s Country Cut Contest, which begins today (6/18). Aspiring songwriters will have the chance to compete to have one of their songs recorded by Milsap for an upcoming album due in fall 2012.

“This really opens it up to receive material from a broader range of songwriters, different than what Ronnie would’ve normally been pitched going into the recording of a new album,” said Creative Director, John Ritchie. “We’re going to find an amazing song.”

The judging panel will present Milsap with 25 finalists, and Milsap will select the winning song. The submission deadline is August 10, and it costs $20 to enter one song ($10 for each additional song). To enter visit www.americansongspace.com.

Industry Judges:
John Ritchie, Creative Director, American Songspace
Caine O’Rear, Editor, American Songwriter Magazine
Ken Madson, Manager, Average Joes Manangement
Noah Gordan, Head of A&R, Average Joes Entertainment
Matt Bjorke, Editor, Roughstock.com
Clay Hunnicutt, Senior VP of Programming Clear Channel Media & Entertainment
Colt Ford, Artist, Average Joes Entertainment
Caitlin Rose, Artist, ATO Records
Craig Shelburne, Writer, CMT.com
Shannon Hatch, Sr. Director Writer/Publisher Relations, SESAC
Bradley Collins, Director Writer and Publisher Relations, BMI

Laying A Legend To Rest

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Frances Williams Preston departed the community she nurtured with the same grace and class she displayed when she was living in it.

The Music Row icon, Country Music Hall of Fame member and legendary BMI executive was fondly remembered at a visitation Sunday (6/17) at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Rotunda and eulogized Monday at funeral services conducted at First Lutheran Church in downtown Nashville. She died of congestive heart failure at age 83 on Wednesday morning, June 13.

The Rev. Becca Stevens, who co-officiated at the funeral with the Rev. Brian Hooper, likened the passing of Frances Preston to the falling of a mighty oak tree. Stevens is married to BMI songwriter Marcus Hummon, and she recalled the many occasions when Preston treated them so warmly at BMI banquets. She told the attendees how blessed they had been to have known such greatness.

“On the eighth day of Creation, God created music,” said Stevens. “Frances carried music to the farthest corners of the world.”

Vince Gill reflected that Preston was powerful, but that she wielded her power with grace and kindness. He sang “Go Rest High on That Mountain” in honor of his fellow Country Music Hall of Fame member.

Soprano Terri Richter provided some of the funeral service’s most memorable music. She sang “Ave Maria,” “O Divine Redeemer” and an a cappella “The Lord’s Prayer” and led the congregational singing of “Amazing Grace.”

Deanna Loveland performed harp instrumentals as mourners entered the sanctuary. Organist Mark Beall played “O God Be Merciful to Me” and “A Mighty Fortress” as Preludes to the service.

The church was decorated with massive white floral arrangements. The church bulletin’s cover was a reproduction of an abstract oil painting by the deceased’s late brother Doug Williams, also depicting a flower arrangement.

More than 300 Music Row dignitaries attended, including Preston’s fellow Hall of Fame members Emmylou Harris, Jo Walker Meador, Brenda Lee and Harold Bradley. The mourners also included Gary Morris, Steve Cropper, Oak Ridge Boys Duane Allen and William Lee Golden, Michael Bolton, Amy Grant, Ray Stevens, Deborah Allen, Norro Wilson, Roger Murrah, Layng Martine, Dennis Morgan, Paul Kennerley, David Conrad, Tony Brown, David & Carolyn Corlew, Roy Wunsch & Mary Ann McCready, Jim Halsey, Kyle Young, Joe Galante, Troy Tomlinson, Jim Free, Dick Gary, Bob & Laura Heatherly, Ansel Davis, Bill Denny and many of the deceased’s BMI colleagues.

At Sunday’s visitation, BMI songwriters including Paul Overstreet, Lee Clayton, Marshall Chapman, Hugh Prestwood and Jon Tiven reflected alongside Jim Foglesong, Dane Bryant, Evelyn Shriver, Sen. Doug Henry, John & Delores Seigenthaler, Rose Drake, Susan Nadler, Mark Wright and John Esposito. Frances Williams Preston is only the second person to have laid in repose in the Rotunda. Eddy Arnold was the first, in 2008.

As visitors entered the Hall of Fame’s lobby on Sunday, they were greeted by large floral tributes sent by Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert, the Country Music Association, Vince Gill & Amy Grant, the Nashville Songwriters Association and more. Singer-songwriter Joe South sent a lavender satin pillow surrounded by lavender roses. Its inscription read simply and eloquently, “She saw the light.”

Frances Williams Preston was laid to rest with a graveside ceremony at Spring Hill Cemetery on Monday afternoon.

Leadership Music Names Class of 2013

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Forty-five new members have been selected to participate in the 24th class of Leadership Music. The annual program is designed to create a forum for established music community leaders to identify and explore issues currently affecting the music industry.

“The Leadership Music Class of 2013 is an impressive group of industry professionals with a wealth of experience and expertise from a diverse field of music businesses,” said Jamie Cheek, managing partner at Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, who, as immediate past president of the board of directors, chaired the committee. “Once again, the selection committee has done an outstanding job in selecting members for a great Leadership Music class, and I am certain all will find the eight month experience enlightening and rewarding.”

Members of the Class of 2013 are: Rachel Barnhard, Digital Marketing, Borman Entertainment; Anthony Barton, Sr. VP, CMT; Holly Bell, Sr. VP, City National Bank; Teddi Bonadies, General Manager, Rodeowave Entertainment; David Boyer, Associate Business Manager, Flood, Bumstead, McCready, & McCarthy; Craig Campbell, President, Campbell Entertainment Group; Sarah Cates, Sr. Director, Curb College Initiatives, Belmont University; Misty Cochran, Director of Advertising and Promotions, Nashville Symphony; George Couri, President/Owner, Triple 8 Management (Austin, TX); Tiffany Dunn, Sr. Counsel, Loeb & Loeb; Marghie Evans, Managing Partner, Do Write Music; Nicole Gaia, President/Owner, NPG PR; Mary Forest Findley, VP, Sales and Marketing, Country Aircheck; Blair Garner, Host, After MidNite, Premiere Radio Networks; Jim Griffin, Managing Director, OneHouse (The Plains, VA); Chris Harris, Artist Manager, Rainmaker Management; Aaron Hartley, Sr. Manager of Administration, CMA; Frank Hernandez, Opera Singer; Jeremy Holley, VP, Consumer and Interactive Marketing, Warner Music Group; Honey Hopkins, Director, Music City Music Council; Tim Hunze, Owner/Partner, Parallel Music Publishing; Jennifer Jacobsen, VP, Industry and Government Relations, Sony Music Entertainment, (Washington, DC); Brian Jones, VP, Bobby Roberts Company; Thomm Jutz, Owner, TJ Tunes; Kelly King, Owner, King Pen Music/Rascal Flatts Entertainment; Will Korioth, Owner, WhiteWater Amphitheatre (New Braunfels, TX); Justin Levenson, Manager, Licensing Operations, SESAC; Jim McCormick, Staff Songwriter, BMG Chrysalis; Marc Meisel, Executive Producer, Prime Ventures (Gainesville, FL); Aaron Mercer, Sr. Director, Commercial Music Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Ellen Meyer, President, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film; Cassie Petrey, Owner, Crowd Surf; Stacey Portnoy, Marketing Manager, Samsung (Bellevue, WA); Laurie Pozmantier, Agent, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA); Jeff Price, CEO/Founder, TuneCore (Brooklyn, NY); Brooke Primero, Sr. VP, PR and Marketing, ACM (Los Angeles, CA); Scott Register, Head of A&R, Think Indie Distribution/Birmingham Mountain Radio (Birmingham, AL); Paula Roberts, Executive Director, National Museum of African American Music; Paul Roper, President, Dualtone Records; John Shackleford, Managing Partner, Shackleford, Melton & McKinley (Dallas, TX); Lesly Tyson, VP, Promotion, Sony Music Nashville; Don VanCleave, General Manager, The Artists Organization; Jeff Van Driel, Director, Business and Legal affairs, Naxos of America; Brian Wagner, Marketing Manager, Ryman Auditorium; Colin Willis, Sr. VP, Sales and Business Development, Next Big Sound.

SoundExchange Crosses $1 Billion Payment Threshold

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SoundExchange has paid out $1 billion in digital royalties since its inception. As digital music has increased in popularity, the organization’s payments have also increased. The $108.6 million distributed in Q1 2012 marks the first time the organization has distributed over $100 million in a given quarter.

Michael Huppe, president of the non-profit digital performance rights organization, credits the rising distributions to increased collections, and improvements in data management and technology to track performances.

SoundExchange collects and distributes royalties from non-interactive digital services, including satellite radio and streaming services such as Pandora. By comparison, on-demand digital services including Spotify and Rhapsody typically pay royalties directly to record companies, bypassing SoundExchange.

Terrestrial radio does not pay royalties to artists or labels, instead it only pays songwriters and publishers. The recent headline making deal between Big Machine Label Group and Clear Channel is shaking up that formula, with the radio giant set to pay BMLG and its artists directly without going through SoundExchange.

While SoundExchange paid out $292 million last year, terrestrial radio royalties remain more lucrative. For the 2011 fiscal year, BMI and ASCAP distributed a combined total of $1.62 billion in performance royalties.

Robinson Joins rpmentertainment Promotion Staff

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Will Robinson

Rpmentertainment’s VP of Promotion Jack Christopher has announced the hiring of Will Robinson as Director of Midwest Promotion, effective immediately.

“Will is a one of the most well-rounded guys in the business,” says Christopher. “He understands that this job is about relationship building, follow-up and using all the tools you have to make it work. We are really excited to add him to our team.”

Most recently, Robinson joined the team launching Triple Crown Promotions, and he will continue to promote Triple Crown projects Rich O’Toole and Lonestar until July 16. Previously, his career includes time in country radio with WQYK/Tampa, WCAT/Harrisburg, and WFRE/Frederick, as well as Midwest promotion for Nine North Records.

Rpmentertainment officially launched in May 2012, adding promotion staffers Jack Christopher, Rocco Cosco, Jon Conlon, and Kelsey Lantrip to promote Maggie Rose’s music including new single “I Ain’t Your Mama.” The company has also partnered with Jeff Solima and Southern Ground Artists to promote future singles by Zac Brown Band.

Easton Corbin Plans Sophomore Album Release

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Mercury Records recording artist Easton Corbin will release his sophomore album All Over The Road on Sept. 18.

The 11-song set includes the fast-rising single “Lovin’ You Is Fun,” written by Bob DiPiero and Jim Beavers, and was produced by Carson Chamberlain.

All Over The Road highlights the singer’s traditional stylings with songs such as the title track, written by Chamberlain, Ashley Gorley and Wade Kirby; “Tulsa Texas” written by Tony Lane, David Lee and Mike Lane; and “A Thing For You,” written by Corbin, Chamberlain and Lane.

All Over The Road is the follow-up to Corbin’s 2010 self-titled Mercury Nashville release, which contained his first two singles, “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It.”

Corbin is scheduled to open for Brad Paisley’s Virtual Reality Tour throughout the Summer.

Sophie Shines Benefit Concert, More Charity News

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Sophie Shines
A slew of top singers will take turns at the mic on Mon., June 25 backed by Tim Akers & the Smoking Section, a funk band comprised of leading session musicians. Set to perform at the Sophie Shines benefit are Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Larry Carlton, Melinda Doolittle, Mandisa, Mike Eldred, Etta Britt, Chris Rodriguez, Annie Sellick & Pat Bergeson, Michael Londra and Lisa Cochran. Proceeds will go to Sophia Salveson, the 19-year-old daughter of music community members Marabeth Quin and Paul Salveson, who suffered a severe stroke in March. The concert is at 6 p.m. on June 25 at 3rd & Lindsley. Visit www.sophieshines.com to buy tickets or make donations.

Craig Morgan Charity Weekend
Craig Morgan’s 6th annual charity weekend takes place Aug. 11-12 in his hometown of Dickson, Tenn. The event kicks off Sat., Aug. 11 with a motocross exhibition, group trail ride and lunch. Later that night, Morgan and friends will perform an acoustic concert at Dickson Middle School. The popular Sporting Clay Shoot will return the morning of Aug. 12 at Nashville Gun Club. Proceeds benefit the Craig Morgan Charity Fund, a component of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which is working to establish Billy’s Place for foster children in Dickson County and Middle Tennessee. Tickets are on sale at NowPlayingNashville.com as well as all TriStar Bank locations in Dickson.

McGraw Hosts Celeb Clay Shootout
The inaugural Celebrity Sporting Clay Shootout, presented by DeltaSports.TV as one of the events surrounding CMA Music Festival (6/5) raised over $65,000 for the Tug McGraw Foundation. For the event at Nashville Gun Club Tim McGraw was joined by Keith Anderson, Luke Bryan, Craig Campbell, Mike Fisher, Troy Gentry, Brantley Gilbert, Josh Gracin, JT Hodges, Steve Holy, Jeff McMahon, Eddie Montgomery, Jon Pardi, Josh Thompson, Brad Warren, Brett Warren and numerous world-class sporting clay professionals. The Tug McGraw Foundation works to improve the lives of military service members who have been affected by Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Steel Magnolia Boosts Second Harvest
Steel Magnolia is headlining a benefit show at the Hard Rock Nashville’s Reverb Room on June 22. Admission for the all ages 8 p.m. show is two non-perishable food items.The duo will also work the front lines of Second Harvest’s Mobile Food Pantry that morning at Una Christ Church. They will promote the events, which are part of their “Speak Out Against Hunger” campaign, with a performance on Fox-17’s TN Morning on June 20.

Willie Hitting The Links
The first annual Willie Nelson Celebrity Golf Tournament will be Sat., June 30 at Pedernales Cut N Putt Golf Club. Proceeds will go to the Pedernales Fire Department, the Helping Hands Crisis Ministry, the Children’s Music Foundation and the RunTex Foundation. Entertainment will include live music from Sonny Throckmorton plus more special guests. Details at www.willienelsongolftournament.com.

Kristofferson Aids UFW
The Kris Kristofferson & Friends Concert Series, June 15-22, will benefit the United Farm Workers (UFW) in celebration of the organization’s 50th anniversary. Kristofferson will perform with renowned Latin artists for the series of dates in California.