HarperCollins Publishers Acquires Thomas Nelson

/by

Yesterday (7/11), HarperCollins Publishers announced it has acquired Nashville-based Thomas Nelson, leading publisher of inspirational Christian content including books, Bibles, e-books, journals, audio, video, reference curriculum, digital apps and live events.

Thomas Nelson will continue to operate as an independent company with its unique editorial focus on inspirational and Christian content. Details, such as how Thomas Nelson will benefit from HarperCollins’ global print and digital platform, are forthcoming.

BMLG Adds Three Staffers

/by
Pictured (L-R): Meg Gregg, Christine Drexel and Lara Lane

The Big Machine Label Group announced three new staff hires today (7/11). Christine Drexel recently joined the team as Coordinator of Promotion & Media Strategy, while Meg Gregg and Lara Lane have been added as Finance & Accounting Coordinators.

In 2010, Drexel began interning at BMLG, working with various departments while attending Loyola Marymount University. In her new role at the company, she is managing the Outnumber Hunger On Tour bus on Rascal Flatts’ Changed Tour. She will report to VP/Promotion & Media Strategy John Zarling. Drexel will be based in Nashville and can be reached at 972-965-8977 or [email protected].

“I am thrilled Christine is joining our team,” says Zarling. “Her passion, work ethic and broad understanding of the promotional landscape make there the perfect addition to the department.”

Gregg and Lane will report to Director of Finance Brad Kash in the Administration Department. Previously, Gregg worked at the business management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy. She can be reached at [email protected] and 615-324-7792. Lane’s background is also in business management, working most recently at Haber Corporation. She can be reached at [email protected] and 615-324-7781.

“As Big Machine Label Group continues to grow, I’m really excited about the strong music industry business management and finance background both Meg and Lara bring to our team,” adds Kash. “Their contributions will allow us to provide an even greater level of support to our roster of artists, songwriters and business partners.”

Chesney to Appear on ESPY Awards, Leno

/by

Photo: Jill Trunnell

Kenny Chesney is still riding a wave of sales success with his new album Welcome to the Fishbowl in the No. 1 spot of Billboard’s Country Album Chart for the third week, and he will head to California for a string of appearances this week.

Tonight (7/11), Chesney will appear as a presenter on ESPN’s ESPY Awards. Chesney has long had a close relationship with the sports network, which aired his films Boys of Fall and The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story. Chesney also appears in the latest “This Is SportsCenter” ad. The Awards, hosted by comedian Rob Riggle, air tonight at 8 pm/CT.

On Thursday (7/12), Chesney will perform his current hit single “Come Over” on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

Over the weekend, The Brothers of the Sun Tour with Tim McGraw will play a sold-out Angels Stadium in Anaheim for the first of its two California shows. On Sunday, the stadium tour will move north to O.co Coliseum in Oakland.

Industry Updates (7/11/12)

/by

RCA Nashville’s Love and Theft recently stopped by CMT to visit with CMT Radio Live host Cody Alan and discuss the duo’s hit single “Angel Eyes.” LNT’s upcoming self-titled album hits stores July 24.

(L-R): LNT’s Stephen Barker Liles, Cody Alan, LNT’s Eric Gunderson Photo: Dingo O’Brien

• • • • •

(L-R): EYB’s Jon Jones, Mike Eli, CMT Canada’s Casey Clarke, EYB’s James Young and Chris Thompson. Photo: Republic Nashville

Eli Young Band just notched its first ever Canadian No. 1 with the red-hot single “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” which topped both Billboard and Mediabase Canada Country Charts as well as CMT Canada’s Top 20. The group is still celebrating the recent news that its breakout hit “Crazy Girl” was certified Gold.

• • • • •

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum recently paid tribute to Chet Atkins’ thumbpicking inspiration, Merle Travis, by hosting the “Muhlenburg County Thumbpickers” concert. Named for Travis’ birthplace in Kentucky, the show featured award-winning Muhlenburg Country guitarists. The program was presented as part of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player, Made Possible by the Gretsch Company, which closes July 15.

(L-R): Joe Hudson, Freddie Russell, Eddie Pennington, Paul Moseley, and Vice President of Museum Programs Jay Orr. Photo: Donn Jones

• • • • •

One Night Rodeo

Country duo One Night Rodeo, which won Next GAC Star in 2008, has been tapped to headline the Hooters Summer on Ice Tour in Florida during July and August. The group and its label Fox Hill Records have partnered with Abaco Beach Resort in the Bahamas for the big tour finale. Dates here.

 

Jana Kramer To Perform on The Tonight Show

/by

Jana Kramer will perform her lead single, “Why Ya Wanna,” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this evening (7/11) at 11:35/10:35 pm CT. The single appears on Kramer’s self-titled debut album, which was released June 5 on Elektra Nashville.

Kramer is currently on Brad Paisley’s Virtual Reality Tour performing on the Virtual Opry Stage – dates run through the Fall and can be found on her website.

Weekly Register: Is The Mighty MP3 Rebalancing Radio Power?

/by

LBT sets a "crunchy groove" on CMT Video Awards with "Pontoon."

Country music’s marketing and sales universe is rapidly evolving. Fast-moving digital influences are sending shock waves across tried and true exposure methods—sometimes causing surprises, and sometimes confirming ultimate truths. Floating into focus this week is Little Big Town’s latest track, “Pontoon” which completes a stunning seven week climb to the No. 1 position on the country tracks chart adding almost 86k downloads this week and looking like it will pass Gold status (500k) next week.

One dependable marketing pillar that remains trustworthy is musical quality. When “Pontoon” was released last May, Robert K. Oermann wrote in MusicRow, “The crunchy groove and relaxed party atmosphere are right on the money for summertime. It goes without saying that the singing and harmonies are pluperfect bliss.” (Producer Jay Joyce and writers Natalie Hemby, Luke Laird and Barry Dean were no doubt equally thrilled when they heard this track emerge from the studio.) Capitol Records wisely realized the record’s value and leveraged it into a high visibility moment on the June 6 CMT Awards TV show.

LBT’s core fans discovered the song in large enough numbers for it to debut on the  May 27 country tracks list at No. 11 (32k downloads). June 3 the song ebbed slightly to No. 13 (26k). Then came the well-conceived CMT Awards performance and “Pontoon” sailed to No. 2 (June 10) with dramatic sales in excess of 81k. Four weeks later and the song has crested at No. 1.

But where is country radio? Isn’t it absolutely imperative to have a Top 5 song in order to open the sales faucet? Perhaps not, because “Pontoon” is still sitting at No. 20 on the Billboard country radio airplay chart (7/9/12). And while 20 is better than No. 40, it’s no secret that songs outside the Top 10 are largely invisible on the country airwaves. Astute observers just saw the same track sales-then-radio effect happen with Brantley Gilbert. Gilbert’s single “You Don’t Know Her…” is No. 1 this week at radio, but has fallen to No. 25 on the tracks sales list after successfully downloading almost 650k tracks RTD over 43 weeks.

The take away is that track sales are becoming a leading indicator and revenue generator out in front of radio airplay. To be fair, radio’s role remains significant. Don’t forget that 500k in track sales is only the TEA equivalent of about 50k album sales. And track sales are not total sales, they are merely sales from a particular consumer group that engages online.

A larger country consumer group is still more comfortable buying plastic discs. In fact, as of this week about 74% of all country music album sales are sold in physical format. This would explain why Capitol has yet to announce a release date for the LBT album. Presumably, they are waiting for the single to gain altitude on the radio charts. As the digital shift continues and streaming/access outlets become more popular, the rebalancing we are starting to see of marketing leverage will become more pronounced. For example, Pandora announced (7-10-12) that it now claims a nearly 6% share of total U.S. radio listening with 54.5 million active listeners at the end of June 2012, a massive increase from last year.

The writing is on the wall. The balance of power between the mighty MP3 (served streaming or downloaded) and terrestrial analog radio, is shifting…. rapidly.

Quick Look
Kenny Chesney stays atop the country album list adding an additional 43k units to his three-week total which is now almost 300k. Our grid snapshots tell the current tale as we anxiously await and watch to find out many Zac Brown Band fans scrambled to get the group’s just released debut.

PS: Be sure to follow @MusicRow and me @davidmross on Twitter for breaking news and more…

Spotify Streams ZBB’s “Uncaged,” Offers Exclusive Content

/by

Zac Brown Band released its new album Uncaged yesterday (7/10) via Atlantic/Southern Ground.

The eleven-track album, featuring current single “The Wind,” is available both in stores and through digital retailers. Fans also have the opportunity to stream Uncaged in its entirety on Spotify, which is offering an abundance of ZBB-related bonus content to promote the release. Spotify has exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, playlists from ZBB and other Southern Ground artists, recipes, and more. Click here to listen.

ZBB is scheduled to perform on Today’s Toyota’s Concert series on Friday, July 13. A full list of upcoming tour dates can be found here.

Sony/ATV Acquisition of EMI Music Publishing Leads To Reorganization

/by

Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s recent purchase of EMI Music Publishing has resulted in company-wide restructuring. Troy Tomlinson, who heads Sony/ATV’s Nashville operations as Pres./CEO, will lead the newly combined local team.

Unofficially, MusicRow has learned that Tom Luteran will be among the staffers continuing on with the company. He has been with EMI for a decade and serves as EMI’s Vice President of A&R.

Five EMI staffers exited yesterday (7/10). Among the lay-offs is A&R Manager Laura Wright who joined the company in 2010. Her prior stops include The Writer’s Den. She can be reached at [email protected].

Also exiting is Sarah Pearson, Executive Assistant, who had been with EMI almost 11 years. She can be reached at [email protected].

Catalog Manager Chris Gillis has left the company after five years. He can be reached at [email protected].

Receptionist Sarah Babish exited and can be reached at [email protected].

As previously reported, Ben Vaughn, Exec. VP/GM of the Nashville office, exited last week after a decade with the publishing company, including leading it since 2010. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Billboard.biz reports that a total of 30-40 people have been let go from the company’s various offices.

On the national level, Martin Bandier leads Sony/ATV Music Publishing as Chairman & CEO. Tomlinson reports to co-president Danny Strick, who ovesees Nashville operations, East Coast creative operations, and US Latin operations.

Prior to the merger, EMI Music Publishing’s songwriter roster included Rhett Akins, Stephen Barker-Liles, Eric Gunderson, Angaleena Presley (with Ten Ten), Thomas Rhett, Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Randy Houser, Dallas Davidson, Chris Young, Hillary Scott, Natalie Hemby, Erin Enderlin, Drake White, Kelley Lovelace,  J.J. Lawhorn, Channing Wilson and more. There is no word on what writers will be affected by the changes.

There is also no information available at this time about EMI staffers Josh Van Valkenburg and Missy Wilson.

Company execs were unable to comment.

Miranda Lambert’s Vocal Rest Extended

/by

Miranda Lambert’s physician is keeping her on vocal rest for another week, extending appearance cancellations to Orange Beach, AL; Atlanta, GA; and Pelham, AL.

Lambert has been recuperating for the last week, when she was forced to postpone appearances at the Jam in the Valley festival in Varysburg, NY on July 6 and Scranton, PA on July 7. No announcement has been made regarding a rescheduled Scranton date.

Lambert’s show in Orange Beach, originally planned for Thurs., July 12, has been moved to October 4
; Atlanta’s July 13 date has been rescheduled for October 5
; and Pelham’s July 14 date will move to October 6.

“I’m so sorry to disappoint the fans that have already bought tickets to see me,” Lambert wrote in a statement. “I’m taking care of my voice and I can’t wait to get on the road again and bring you a hell of a show.”

ACM Pledges $2.5 Million to HoF Capital Campaign

/by

Country artists help ACM officers present the Hall of Fame with a check for $2.5 million. (L-R front row): ACM President Butch Waugh, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, ACM Chairman Sarah Trahern, Darius Rucker, CMHOFM’s VP of Development Pamela Johnson, Kenny Rogers, Nicole Richie, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, ACM CEO Bob Romeo, Jennifer Nettles, Marc Anthony; (L-R middle row): Jay DeMarcus, Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox, John Rich, Big Kenny, Sara Evans, Jason Aldean, ACM Vice President Ken Robold, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood. (L-R back row): Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry, Reid Perry. Copyright Chris Kolk for People Country Magazine.

The Academy of Country Music has pledged $2.5 million to Working on a Building: Country Music Lives Here, the capital campaign that will finance the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s expansion to over 350,000 square feet. Included in the Hall of Fame’s expansion will be the ACM Contemporary Gallery, which will investigate modern trends in country music.

The Academy previously donated a $300,000 gift to the HoF to assist in the acquisition of four instruments that played a role in the legacies of Maybelle Carter, Johnny Cash, and Bill Monroe. The Academy also provides support for the HoF’s All For The Hall Los Angeles benefits, and is a sponsor of the new exhibition The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country.

“It is the Academy’s honor to help ensure that the history of country music can be told for generations to come,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We are able to make this kind of contribution only because of the incredible country music artists who give of their time for Academy charitable endeavors; we can’t thank them enough for the impact they have on our industry.”

“We are deeply indebted to the ACM for this wonderful gift, which will help us continue to fulfill our educational mission and serve our worldwide audience,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “The genre we chronicle is a living thing, constantly evolving; country music history is being made every day. Great museums must remain relevant, and the ACM Contemporary Gallery will allow us to not only expand our examination and celebration of modern stars, important background players and new developments in the genre, but also to spotlight new artists, trends and issues as they break.”

The Working on a Building campaign started in July 2011 and has raised $70 million in cash and pledges to date. The Museum’s expansion is expected to be completed in early 2014.