The Recording Academy Names Lifetime Achievement Honorees

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Glenn Gould, Charlie Haden, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Carole King, Patti Page, Ravi Shankar and The Temptations have been named as Lifetime Achievement Award recipients by the The Recording Academy.

Additionally, Marilyn & Alan Bergman, Leonard & Phil Chess and Alan Livingston have been named Trustee Award honorees; while Ikutaro Kakehashi & Dave Smith and Royer Labs are Technical GRAMMY Award recipients.

“Each year, The Academy has the distinct privilege of honoring those who have greatly contributed to our industry and cultural heritage, and this year we have a gifted and brilliant group of honorees,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, via a release. “Their exceptional accomplishments, contributions and artistry will continue to influence and inspire generations to come.”

Patti Page‘s smooth vocal style blended country and pop music. Her version of “Tennessee Waltz” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country charts in 1950. “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window,” “All My Love (Bolero)” and “I Went To Your Wedding” each topped the Billboard Top 100 chart.

Lightnin’ Hopkins, a Texas country/blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, recorded approximately 1,000 songs. Hopkins’ distinct guitar styling earned him a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

An invitation-only ceremony will be held during GRAMMY Week on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 while a formal acknowledgement will be made during the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast, which will be held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. The Grammy Awards will broadcast live beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Rachel Holder Fights Texting and Driving

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Rachel Holder

Newcomer Rachel Holder has joined Dallas-based marketing company The Time Group for a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of texting and driving. As part of the No Text and Drive Campaign, the Curb Records artist has released a national public service announcement video (watch the psa here).

A free mobile app accompanies the release and features more information and an opportunity for users to receive a free No Text and Drive thumb band when they download the app on their smartphone.

“Statistics prove that you are 23 times more likely to crash if you text and drive. Our hope is to create awareness and cause teens to think twice before texting and driving. If this campaign saves just one life, then it will be a success,” says Margaret McKoin, president of The Time Group, via a release.

Holder adds, “I am proud to be an advocate for safe driving. We encourage teens to wear the thumb bands as a simple reminder to make them think before they text and drive because no text is worth a human life.”

‘American Idol’ Goes To NAB Hall of Fame

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American Idol, the reality musical competition series that launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery, Kellie Pickler, Jennifer Hudson, Phillip Phillips and many other artists, will be the television inductee into the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The series will be honored at the 2013 NAB Show Television Luncheon, to be held April 8 in Las Vegas.

The FOX series returns for a 12th season in 2013 with a special two-night premiere, set to air on January 16 and 17. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the show’s judging panel will include returning favorite Randy Jackson, as well as new judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.

The show is produced by 19 Entertainment, a division of Core Media Group, and FremantleMedia North America, and is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, CEO, XIX Entertainment. Trish Kinane (FremantleMedia North America), Ken Warwick (FremantleMedia North America) and Nigel Lythgoe (CEO, Nigel Lythgoe Productions) also serve as executive producers.

American Idol will join previous NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame television inductees including Betty White, Garry Marshall, Meet the Press, Bob Newhart, The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, Ted Koppel, M*A*S*H, 60 Minutes, The Today Show and Star Trek.

Sony/ATV To Launch “Nashville Guitars & Bars” Initiative

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In January, Sony/ATV Music Publishing will launch the artist development initiative “Nashville Guitars & Bars.” As part of the initiative, Sony/ATV will send two singer-songwriters each month to perform at The Tin Roof locations in Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., Indianapolis and Lexington, Ky.

Singer/songwriters Joey Hyde and Cheryl LuQuire will kick-off the tour with four performances: Jan. 22 at The Tin Roof in Cincinnati, Jan. 23 at The Tin Roof in Louisville, Jan. 29 at The Tin Roof in Indianapolis and Jan. 30 at The Tin Roof in Lexington.

Subsequent events in the music series will follow the same pattern each month: two artists traveling between the four cities (two cities per week), followed by a new pair of artists the next month.

“Sony/ATV is committed to developing artists, which benefits both them and our roster of talented songwriters,” said Troy Tomlinson, Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s President/CEO, Nashville, via a statement. “These events will allow our new artists to build their road chops, develop their fan base, and do what they do best – entertain music lovers. Fans will get to discover and connect in an intimate setting with artists who will one day take home our industry’s biggest awards.”

For more information, visit nashvilleguitarsandbars.com.

 

Sony Promotes Keith Gale

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Keith Gale

Keith Gale has been promoted to Senior Vice President, National Promotion, RCA Nashville.

Gary Overton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville, announced the promotion. “Keith does an incredible job leading and motivating the RCA Promotion staff,” he said. “Combining his nearly 20 years of experience with RCA along with his focus and drive, Keith and his staff have delivered record-breaking hits for Sony artists like Miranda Lambert, Chris Young, Jake Owen, and Love and Theft. He certainly deserves this promotion.”

As Senior Vice President, Gale will continue to be responsible for the development, implementation and supervision of the strategic and tactical radio promotional plans for all of RCA Nashville’s projects. The RCA Nashville roster includes Bush Hawg, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Love and Theft, Jake Owen, Pistol Annies, Joanna Smith and Chris Young.

Gale added, “I’m so appreciative of the faith that Gary Overton has shown in our RCA team. I’m flattered by this promotion, and will continue to work hard to earn it every day.”

Reporting directly to Overton are Keith Gale, Arista Nashville VP National Promotion Lesly Tyson, and Columbia Nashville VP National Promotion Norbert Nix.

In 1994, Gale started with RCA Nashville as Northeast Regional Manager. He was promoted to Director, National Promotion in September 1997, then to Senior Director in September 2000. Prior to RCA Nashville, he was Promotion and Marketing Director for WXTU in Philadelphia, PA. He earned a B.A. in Communication, with a specialty in Radio, TV & Film at Glassboro State College in Glassboro, NJ. Gale is a native of Ridgefield Park, NJ. He resides in Nashville, TN.

Big Machine Label Group Gets PRWeek Nomination

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The in-house public relations department at Big Machine Label Group has been named among the PRWeek Awards finalists for 2013.

Big Machine Label Group’s PR team includes Director of Publicity Jake Basden, PR Account Manager Erin Burr and PR Coordinator Nikki Burns.

As a finalist, BMLG’s public relations department will compete against major companies for the title of In-House PR Team of the Year. Finalists in the category include:

In-house PR Team of the Year nominees:

  • Aflac
  • Big Machine Label Group
  • Cisco Systems
  • The Clorox Company
  • Procter & Gamble

The PRWeek Awards 2013 will be presented by the trade publication March 7 at New York City’s Grand Hyatt. A group of more than 75 judges from across the industry narrowed 800-plus entries to finalists in 35 categories.

 

Bluewater Music Adds Creative Department Hire

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Christian Staehely

Bluewater Music Services Corp.’s Chief Operating Officer Peter A. Roselli has hired Christian Staehely as head of the company’s Creative Department. In his new role, Staehely will be responsible for pitching the catalog, signing new artist-writers, and managing Bluewater’s artist roster.

He formerly interned at Sony/ATV in Los Angeles. Staehely is a 2008 graduate of Princeton University and a former professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners.

 

Weekly Register: #FLAGALINE Rewrites The Rulebook

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The year-end sales goalposts are ahead with only three weeks remaining. Industry sales execs are pretty much on autopilot now, or in holiday lingo we say, “their stockings are hung [buy] the chimney with care hoping the fans soon will be there…” But carefully pre-planned wheels were spinning last week as we saw a new duo debut at No. 3 on the Current Country Albums with an impressive 63k in sales.

Florida Georgia Line’s unusual launch has broken all the rules. They leapt from indie to major label to radio success in what seemed like a single bound and now add album sales success to their achievements! And who’s counting—(we are)—but #FLAGALINE’s “Cruise” also tops the country digital tracks list with over 72k downloads this week for a RTD (release to date) total of almost 1.3 million. Congrats guys and welcome to the Music City hit parade.

It is a foregone conclusion country album sales will surpass 2011 because we are currently 3.4% ahead and only need to sell an average of 1.142 million units per week to break even. That is child’s play for the the last few holiday weeks even in these times of fiscal cliff concerns, unemployment and other events best forgotten during holiday festivities. Music remains a great gift. This past week, for example, we scanned 1.372 million units. So although I’m usually a bit reserved, I’m going to yell out a giant,

………..Y-E-E-H-A-W! Way To Go Nashville!

Ms. Swift, wearing Red for the holidays, continues to top the country albums chart spinning another 167k units of music into platinum. She performed at New York Z100s Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden last weekend and the New York Post said,

“She’s a head-turner and she knows it, but that new sense of confidence suits her. The about-to-turn-23-year-old wasn’t phoning anything in. Watching her commit to the powerchord chorus of “I Knew You Were Trouble” was a minor revelation and a poke in the eye for those who still think of her as syrupy teen-fluff. As if to emphasize that point, the finale of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” saw her issuing a defiant “screw you” to an ex-boyfriend with all the fire of a woman who truly has been wronged, rather than a naive adolescent trying to imagine real heartbreak.” Read the full review here.

And this just in, confirmation from research group NPD Group that “…despite the rising use of Pandora, Spotify, Rhapsody and other options for streaming music, CDs and digital music downloads continue to be a relevant gift choice for many consumers.” NPD reports that 12% of consumers say music will be on their holiday gift lists and they will increase music spending by 18% this year. “Consumers know they can’t go wrong with music as a gift,” says Russ Crupnick, Sr. VP of industry analysis at NPD, “which is why we continue to see music on holiday gift lists, despite the expanding number of free music-streaming options.” Good news for album marketers today, but be prepared for next year when streaming services will no doubt tout subscription gift cards as the “new” best way to give the gift of music.

What would you rather find under the tree on the big day? One album, or an introductory Spotify subscription gift card? Tell Santa and leave your comment below…

CMA Songwriters Series Returns to UK and Ireland

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The CMA Songwriters Series will return to the U.K. and Ireland with Kristian Bush, Brett James, Chris Young, and host Bob DiPiero from February 21-25, 2013.

Presented by BMI & Gibson Guitars, the series has expanded since 2005 to play in major cities across the U.S. In 2013, The CMA Songwriter Series will include performances on Feb. 21 in Dublin, Ireland, on Feb. 22-23 in Belfast, Ireland (featuring select Irish songwriting guests John Farry and Gary Quinn) and on Feb. 25 at London, England’s Bush Hall.

“With the successful debut of the CMA Songwriters Series in the U.K. and Ireland earlier this year, fans across the pond proved that they are passionate about Country Music,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer, via a release. “We look forward to taking this Series overseas once again and introducing more of our fantastic songwriters to fans abroad.”

Tickets are currently on sale. For more information, visit CMAsongwritersseries.com.

Warner Music Nashville Takes in New VP of Promotion

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Kevin Herring

Warner Music Nashville announced yesterday (12/11) the appointment of Kevin Herring as Vice President of Promotion. Herring succeeds Bob Reeves and will report directly to Chris Stacey, Senior Vice President of Promotion, WMN.

“Kevin is widely respected in Nashville and throughout the industry for his promotion talents,” said Stacey via a release. “We’re confident that he’ll greatly contribute to the future success of our artists, and we couldn’t be happier to have a veteran of his stature join the Warner Music Nashville team.”

Herring joins WMN from EMI Records Nashville, where he served as Vice President of Promotion.  Prior to EMI, he spent 13 years with Lyric Street Records, and has experience promoting numerous top-shelf artists including Shania Twain, Toby Keith, and Garth Brooks. 

Created in 2009, Warner Music Nashville is home to Warner Bros. Nashville, Word Label Group, Atlantic Nashville, Elektra Nashville and the LoudMouth comedy label.