Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame To Music City Center

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CMA Foundation and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

Pictured (L-R): CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; 2011-12 Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board, John Van Mol; CMA Board Chairman, Troy Tomlinson; and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and Chair of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board, Pat Alger.

The CMA Foundation has donated $250,000 to help construct the first-ever physical Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at the new Music City Center.

“Songwriters are an important constituency group for the Country Music Association,” said CMA Board Chairman and member of the CMA Foundation Troy Tomlinson. “For the CMA Foundation to see fit to honor the songwriters in order to preserve the legacy of their work and creative impact on the format, speaks to the very heart of why the CMA Foundation was created.”
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame will include two elements.The Hall of Fame inside the Music City Center will include graphic displays and artifacts as well as a state-of-the-art interactive, digital exhibit. Outside the Music City Center’s Hall of Fame lobby will be a Songwriter’s Square complex, consisting of an exterior plaza and stair-step walkway that will be engraved with the names of Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame members, the year they were inducted and the title of their most well-known composition. The project will be revealed when the Music City Center opens this summer.
“Honoring the accomplishments of our songwriting community is important to CMA,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “The CMA Foundation’s decision to fund this important initiative is just another example of our commitment to preserving the legacy and recognizing excellence in our songwriter community.”
“We are truly overwhelmed at this lead gift from the CMA Foundation as the ultimate show of respect and admiration for songwriters,” said John Van Mol, 2011-12 Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation Board and CEO of DVL Public Relations & Advertising. “It is a big and important exclamation point as we continue to work on securing long-term operating funds so this Hall of Fame can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to outreach to this important constituent group and demonstrate our appreciation for the outstanding talent and undeniable contributions made by our songwriters to the popularity and vitality of Country Music,” said Kitty Moon Emery, Chair of The CMA Foundation Board of Directors.
 

DisClaimer: The Stars Are Twinkling This Week

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2

The race for Disc of the Day ends in a tie between Church and Moore.


The stars are twinkling in DisClaimer this week.
With fine new music from Darius, Kris, Kip and Eric, my ears were dazzled again and again. Tim and Billy Ray are here as well. Newcomers Jaida Dreyer, Sheila Marshall, Brandon Jenkins and Taylor Made got their licks in, too.
Jaida made her debut with a Christmas single a few weeks ago, so that leaves Sheila Marshall as our DisCovery Award winner.
I am declaring a tie for Disc of the Day. Both “Hey Pretty Girl” by Kip Moore and “Like Jesus Does” by Eric Church are essential listening.
SHEILA MARSHALL/Can’t Let Go
Writer: Randy Weeks; Producer: Ken Tondre; Publisher: Bug/EMI, ASCAP; Gerriec 
—Sidewinder guitars and a rumbling backbeat introduce the track. Then comes her strikingly bluesy, alto snarl. This baby rocks. Songwriter Weeks was a founding member of The Lonesome Strangers, and his song was previously popularized by Lucinda Williams. But Marshall makes it her own. Sing on, sister.
KIP MOORE/Hey Pretty Girl
Writer: Kip Moore/Dan Couch; Producer: Brett James; Publisher: Music of Stage Three/Songs of Cornman/Roll Through/BMG Chrysalis/Songs From the Couch, BMI; MCA Nashville (track) 
—My favorite new artist bats three for three with this swirling, dreamy come-on. His husky vocal whispers intimacy while guitars chime all around him. As magical as “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck” and “Beer Money” and then some.
DisCovery Winner Shelia

DisCovery Winner Shelia Marshall


JAIDA DREYER/Half Broke Horses
Writer: Jaida Dreyer/Lance Miller/Brett Warren/Brad Warren; Producer: Byron Gallimore; Publisher: none listed; Streamsound 
—She’s a sure nuff country singer. Alas, the guy she falls for has wanderlust and splits while her tears fall. From vocal performance to songwriting to production, this is class all the way around.
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON/Feeling Mortal
Writer: Kris Kristofferson; Producer: Don Was; Publisher: Jody Ray, BMI; KK (track) 
—This Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member is still creating songs that are as powerful as ever. This title tune of his CD that came out this week is a meditation on the sundown side of life by the 76-year-old legend. It’s not depressing, but instead is warm and gracious and grateful for a life well lived. This whole project is the work of a true artist. Celebrate him.
TAYLOR MADE/That’s What Life Is
Writer: David Lowe/Gerald Smith/Johnny Holland; Producer: Dan Mitchell/Dale Morris; Publisher: Laci Morgan/Melody Roundup/Harmony Roundup, BMI/ASCAP; LGR 
—There’s way too much going on in the production during the choruses, including over-the-top strings. But he has a pleasant, earnest voice, the song is solid and the bopping tempo is infectious.
ERIC CHURCH/Like Jesus Does
Writer: Casey Beathard/Monty Criswell; Producer: Jay Joyce; Publisher: Sony-ATV Acuff Rose/Six Ring Circus/Sony ATV Tree, BMI; EMI (track) 
—I love this artist so much it’s ridiculous. This moody slice of audio perfection showcases one of his most expressive vocal performances to date. The lyric portrays a sinner who is loved unconditionally despite his shortcomings. Records like this are why he is the future of country music.
BRANDON JENKINS/Through the Fire
Writer: Brandon Jenkins; Producer: David Percefull & Brandon Jenkins; Publisher: Westen Soul, BMI; Smith Entertainment (track) 
—Jenkins wrote all the songs on his Dallas-recorded CD. This stark, stately, slowly paced title tune is dominated by his harmonica wails and throaty, strangely compelling vocals. An intriguing new stylist.
TIM McGRAW & COLT FORD/Twisted
Writer: Colt Ford/Scott Weaterwax/Wayne Hardnett; Producer: Scott Weatherwax & Shannon Houchins; Publisher: Average ZJS/Planet Crusher/ZJS, BMI/SESAC/ASCAP; Curb (CDX) 
—McGraw’s singing part is engaging. Ford’s monotonic, dominating, hillbilly rapping, not so much.
DARIUS RUCKER/Wagon Wheel
Writer: Bob Dylan/Ketch Secor; Producer: Frank Rogers; Publisher: Special Rider/Blood Donor, SESAC/BMI; Capitol Nashville (CDX) 
—The surprise Old Crow Medicine Show phenomenon is now a mainstream country single. Rucker and producer Rogers give the ultra catchy number some extra bounce, a few banjo plunks, lots of jaunty fiddling and backup vocals by Lady Antebellum. In a word, delightful. The song’s back story is that Dylan sketched out its chorus, but left it unfinished. It circulated as a bootleg. Old Crow member Secor worked up the verses to complete it. Its undeniable sing-along qualities did the rest. Rucker joined the band singing it on the Opry stage last July, and the audience went ape.
BILLY RAY CYRUS/Hillbilly Heart
Writer: Billy Ray Cyrus; Producer: Brandon Friesen; Publisher: Suunageronimo, BMI; Blue Cadillac (CDX) 
—It’s a country-rock stomper about keeping it country.

All For The Hall New York Adds Performers

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NYJason Aldean and Train’s Pat Monahan will join previously announced performers Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris at The Country Music Hall of Fame’s All For the Hall event in New York City.
All For The Hall New York will be held at the Best Buy Theater on Feb. 26.
Tickets for mezzanine seating (performance only) will go on sale on Saturday (Feb. 2) at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets, priced at $200 and $150, can be purchased though the Best Buy Theater box office or via Ticketmaster.com. A limited number of VIP tables and floor seats are still available for purchase at $1,000, $10,000 and $25,000 levels.
A full list of table and ticket levels and benefits can be found at countrymusichalloffame.org/afthny. All for the Hall New York is chaired by AEG Live chairman Tim Leiweke and produced by CAA’s Rod Essig, Vector Management’s Ken Levitan and BMI’s Jody Williams.
 
 

Kenny Chesney Partners with Music and Memory

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Kenny Chesney has collaborated with non-profit Music and Memory to help bring personalized music players to seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The practice has been found to be tremendously therapeutic, leading to improved social engagement and quality of life regardless of the patient’s physical, cognitive, or social condition.
Watch Chesney’s PSA on behalf of Music & Memory below:

CMA Presents Triple Play Awards

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CMA leadership gathers with the newly named CMA Triple Play Award winning songwriters on Jan. 29, 2013 at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tenn. Back row (l-r): CMA Board President, Ed Hardy; Neil Thrasher; Rodney Clawson; Ben Hayslip; CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; Josh Kear; CMA Board Chairman, Troy Tomlinson; and Brantley Gilbert. Front row (l-r): Eric Paslay; Dierks Bentley; Shane McAnally; and Chris Young. Photo credit: Donn Jones/CMA

CMA leadership gathers with the newly named CMA Triple Play Award winning songwriters on Jan. 29, 2013 at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tenn. Back row (l-r): CMA Board President, Ed Hardy; Neil Thrasher; Rodney Clawson; Ben Hayslip; CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; Josh Kear; CMA Board Chairman, Troy Tomlinson; and Brantley Gilbert. Front row (l-r): Eric Paslay; Dierks Bentley; Shane McAnally; and Chris Young. Photo credit: Donn Jones/CMA


CMA Triple Play Awards, honoring songwriters who pen three chart-topping hits in a 12-month period, were presented yesterday (Jan. 29) at the CMA Songwriters Luncheon. Twelve songwriters achieved the feat: Dierks Bentley, Rodney Clawson, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Ben Hayslip, Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Shane McAnally, Eric Paslay, Neil Thrasher and Chris Young.
Presiding over the event at Marathon Music Works was CMA Board Chairman Troy Tomlinson, President and CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville. During the luncheon, he presented a $250,000 donation from the CMA Foundation to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation to help construct the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at the new Music City Center and “Songwriters Square,” an exterior plaza and walkway leading into the state-of-the-art Center, which will be engraved with the names of Songwriters Hall of Fame members and the titles of their most beloved compositions.
In alphabetical order, the recipients of CMA’s Triple Play Award:
Dierks Bentley: “Am I The Only One,” “Home,” “5-1-5-0”
Rodney Clawson: “Drink On It,” “Drunk On You,” “Take A Little Ride”
Eric Church: “Drink In My Hand,” “Springsteen,” “Creepin’”
Brantley Gilbert: “Dirt Road Anthem,” “Country Must Be Country Wide” “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”
Ben Hayslip: “Honey Bee,” “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” “I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
Dave Haywood: “Just A Kiss,” “We Owned The Night,” “Dancin’ Away With My Heart”
Josh Kear: “Dancin’ Away With My Heart,” “Drunk On You,” “Blown Away”
Charles Kelley: “Just A Kiss,” “We Owned The Night.” “Dancin’ Away With My Heart”
Shane McAnally: “Alone With You,” “Come Over,” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”
Eric Paslay: “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” “Angel Eyes”
Neil Thrasher: “Tattoos On This Town,” “Banjo,” “Fly Over States”
Chris Young: “Voices,” “Tomorrow,” “You”

Weekly Register: Gary Allan, Randy Houser Debuts

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gary randyTop Current Country Album Sales swelled W/W by 22 percent with debuts from Gary Allan, Set You Free (No. 1; 106k; 36 percent digital) and Randy Houser, How Country Feels (No. 3; 24k; 42 percent digital).
Tim McGraw’s Curb project was also unveiled, scanning 3.3k and landing at No. 18. McGraw has left Curb Records, so the superstar’s energies have been focused on his upcoming Big Machine album, Two Lanes of Freedom, due the week of Feb. 5 and expected to outperform this week’s tepid numbers. And Katie Armiger, after last week’s attention-grabbing No. 7 (12k) chart entry, slipped back to No. 23 (2.4k).
Grid-Lock
Stepping back to study the industry, all-genre sales slid from positive (2.3 percent) territory to a falling-behind-last-year -0.5 percent. All-genre track sales however, remain up (2 percent).
weeklygrid1-27-13Country album sales dug a deeper hole this week, sliding from last week’s -2.6 percent to -2.9 percent. It’s too early to stress about 2013, but Q1:’13 seems light on upcoming power releases. For comparison, last year (Q1 ’12) featured releases from Dierks Bentley, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Craig Morgan, Gary Allan and a blockbuster from Lionel Richie that opened with almost 200k units.
Q2 ’13 however, already has a few register ringers on the list such as The Band Perry (April 2), Brad Paisley (April 9) and Kenny Chesney (April 30). And it’s likely we’ll see a few as of yet unannounced surprises.
weeklygrid1-20-13Country track sales are the week’s bright spot up 8.3 percent YTD. And leading that Music City track race is Sir Gary Allan’s “Every Storm” perched at No. 1 with 70k downloads. Filling out the Top 5 are The Band Perry (No. 2; 67k), Blake Shelton (No. 3; 60k), Hayes Hunter (No. 4; 55k) and Florida Georgia Line (No. 5; 53k).
Will Work For Food
A Jan. 28 New York Times article, “As Streaming Grows, Royalties Slow To A Trickle,” should be required reading for industry biznicks. “Spotify…lets users choose from millions of songs over the Internet free or by subscription, and is increasingly seen as representing the future of music consumption,” says writer Ben Sisario.
Most industry leaders would likely agree with that observation, but it represents a problem with respect to future revenue streams. According to the article, “On a 99-cent download, a typical artist may earn 7 to 10 cents after deductions for the retailer, the record company and the songwriter, music executives say. One industry joke calls the flow of these royalties a ‘river of nickels.’ In the new economics of streaming music, however, the river of nickels looks more like a torrent of micropennies.”
Actually, I believe that to be a pretty accurate characterization of what may lie ahead. With physical product we earned dollars. That fell to dimes with digital sales and now, with streaming models we are taking another pay cut to pennies…
Here’s another NYT quote that further illustrates the issue, “In its last four reported quarters, Pandora paid $202 million in ‘content acquisition costs,’ including licensing fees, and Spotify recently announced that it has paid $500 million in royalties since its inception. Downloads, by comparison, had $2.6 billion in sales in 2011, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.”

Hayes, Brice, Moore, Eli Young Band Get Super Bowl Gigs

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super bowl logo1As Super Bowl weekend descends on the country this Sunday (Feb. 3), numerous artists will head to New Orleans to perform at various brand-sponsored events and other private events, including Hunter Hayes, Lee Brice and Eli Young Band.
Anheuser-Busch will host several concerts between Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 at a Bud Light-branded hotel in New Orleans that will feature Eli Young Band and Lee Brice, along with Stevie Wonder, Lil Wayne, Big Boi, Pitbull and Flo Rida.
The media attention surrounding such high-profile performances certainly doesn’t hurt, George Couri of Triple 8 Management tells Billboard. “Apart from people who are going to be at the event, Budweiser is going to put out their media machine, letting people know that Eli Young is doing this event with them at the Super Bowl,” Couri says. “Bud Light is obviously one of the biggest advertisers in the Super Bowl and their publicity machine is going to get the word out. That doesn’t hurt.”
Meanwhile, Pepsi has added performances by Hunter Hayes, along with Trombone Shorty and the Roots to an invite-only event at the Metairie Country Club.
Even performances directly outside of New Orleans get a boost from the Super Bowl festivities. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi’s Sr. VP of Marketing Vince Lentini says that the Super Bowl plays a role in booking artists for that particular weekend. Justin Moore will perform at the venue, located about 70 miles outside of New Orleans, on Feb. 1. “When we do Super Bowl, we typically try to book two acts that are going to appeal to potentially a slightly younger demographic,” Lentini says, citing the increase in attendance during Super Bowl weekend.

Celebrating "Cruise" At No. 1

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Pictured (L-R): Front Row – BMI's Penny Everhard; Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley; co-writers Jesse Rice, Joey Moi, and Chase Rice; and Big Machine Label Group's Scott Borchetta; Back Row (l-r): Republic Nashville's Jimmy Harnen; Big Loud Mountain's Craig Wiseman, Seth England, and Kevin "Chief" Zaruk; SESAC's Tim Fink; Artist Revolution Publishing's Sam Brooker; and BMI's David Preston. Photo Credit: Steve Lowry

Pictured (L-R): Front Row – BMI’s Penny Everhard; Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley; co-writers Jesse Rice, Joey Moi, and Chase Rice; and Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta; Back Row (l-r): Republic Nashville’s Jimmy Harnen; Big Loud Mountain’s Craig Wiseman, Seth England, and Kevin “Chief” Zaruk; SESAC’s Tim Fink; Artist Revolution Publishing’s Sam Brooker; and BMI’s David Preston. Photo Credit: Steve Lowry


First No. 1s are always the best. Yesterday (Jan. 29) the industry congregated at CMA to cheer the charttopping success of “Cruise,” co-written by Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, with Jesse Rice, Chase Rice and Joey Moi. It was the first No. 1 for Republic Nashville duo FGL as well as writers Jesse Rice and Chase Rice (no relation). Moi’s track record includes a string of hits producing and writing with Jake Owen and Nickelback.
Florida Georgia Line’s solid work ethic, positive go-getter attitude and devotion to fans was the theme running through the celebration. Handling the honors for BMI, David Preston congratulated the duo, saying, “You came to town to leave a mark, and guys, you did it.”
Republic Nashville Pres. Jimmy Harnen shared his memory of meeting Kelley and Hubbard for the first time, where he noticed their tireless dedication to fans and that “they are not only great musicians, but great people.”
Seth England, who handles management duties for FGL at Big Loud Mountain, was instantly impressed with the band’s touring and talent when he met them a few years ago. He introduced them to Big Loud Mountain’s Craig Wiseman, who jumped on board immediately. “They had a fearless attitude and they wouldn’t take no for an answer,” said England. Big Loud Mountain presented the songwriters and FGL team members with Cruise license plates.
FGL producer/cowriter Moi added, “Keeping up with a [big hit] song like this is a daunting task,” and Hubbard and Kelley met the challenge every step of the way.
SESAC’s Tim Fink noted the odds against songs finding success, and congratulated the duo on beating those odds. In 2012 there were 32 No. 1 songs on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart, with Florida Georgia Line being only one of two new acts with a chart-topper. The duo was the only newcomer who spent multiple weeks at the pinnacle. The track found early success on the MusicRow chart, where it peaked at No. 1 in November, which helped lay the groundwork for its rise up the mainstream charts.
In addition to receiving their own honors, Kelley and Hubbard presented plaques to their family members who were in attendance. Hubbard choked up a little as he remembered the band’s early days, where he and Kelley prayed before their shows at Hotel Indigo. It worked, “God blessed us like crazy,” he assured. Kelley fondly recalled early career meetings with BMI’s Mark Mason, who told the young songwriter he was the “light beer of country music,” and guided him to finding his “dark beer” writing side.
Co-writer Chase Rice, who grew up with Kelley in Florida, offered a long list of thank yous. Jesse Rice, who dreamed of being a songwriter since a childhood trip to the Bluebird Cafe, added, “If I had a script to write, this would be how it went.”
Sam Brooker, Jesse Rice’s publisher at Artist Revolution, presented the rising songwriter with a new Gibson guitar. Brooker shared how Jesse Rice’s relationship with Kelley and Hubbard was founded on a love of music, ever since they met in the parking lot of their apartment complex where the duo was playing guitars on a truck tailgate.
Also on hand to bestow congratulations were Avenue Bank’s Ron Cox, CMA’s Brandi Simms, CRS’s Bradford Hollingsworth, and Country Aircheck’s Chuck Aly, who toasted the “No. 1 that isn’t afraid to break the rules of grammar.”

Word Entertainment Teams With Creative Soul

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creativesoulEffectively immediately, Creative Soul’s artist development services will be monitored by the A&R team at Word Entertainment for a variety of possible opportunities.
“When we approached Word Entertainment about the work we were doing, we were very transparent,” says Creative Soul president Eric Copeland. “Our goals have always been to provide true artist development, amazing music production and opportunity to Christian artists and songwriters. The one problem we have always faced was legitimacy.”
“Since we know Creative Soul and the quality they bring to every project, we see this relationship as a way to keep apprised of new talent and original ministries we might be able to be part of,” said Josh Bailey, Sr. VP of A&R at Word Entertainment.
To learn more about Creative Soul and their development, production and marketing opportunities for Christian artists, visit www.CreativeSoulRecords.com.

Zavitson Music Group Adds VP

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gann

Lynn Gann


Russ Zavitson, president of Zavitson Music Group (ZMG), announced that Lynn Gann, a 25-year music industry veteran has joined ZMG as Vice President, Country Division, a newly created position focused on catalog exploitation, artist development and management opportunities.
Gann is the former VP/Founder of Full Circle Music Publishing. The Nashville native was instrumental in No. 1 hits including “When I Get Where I’m Going,” “Anything Like Me” and “Old Alabama” (Brad Paisley), “Fly Over States” (Jason Aldean), “Homewrecker” (Gretchen Wilson) and “Boys Of Fall” (Kenny Chesney). His career includes time at Tom Collins Music, MCA Music Publishing and Zomba Enterprises.
“Lynn’s reputation as a true industry professional is well documented,” said Zavitson. “He’s widely recognized for his ability to spot a hit well ahead of the pack and his track record for securing a placement he believes in borders on legendary. We’re confident that Lynn’s involvement will be instrumental in making sure our writers are aligned with the right co-writers and our songs find their way into the hands of the artists who can get them heard.”
ZMG’s current roster of writers includes Walker Hayes (Capitol Records), John Ramey of the duo Martin/Ramey (Curb), Tony Haselden, Liz Hengber, Steve Misamore, Jeffrey East, Mike Demay and Terry Dennis. The company has had recent cuts by Thompson Square, Rodney Atkins, Chris Young, Reba McEntire, Dierks Bentley, Point of Grace and Selah.
Gann can be reached at [email protected] or 615-321-2212.