Mavericks To Rock Marconi Awards in Orlando

The Mavericks. Photo: Mark Tucker

The Mavericks. Photo: Mark Tucker


The Mavericks have been tapped to perform at the 2013 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Radio Awards Dinner next month at the 2013 Radio Show convention. The Sept. 19 event is sponsored by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and will be held at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando.
“The Mavericks’ infectious energy, passion and chemistry on stage will make this year’s NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner an unforgettable evening,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Radio John David. “These guys are great entertainers excited to join Radio to salute the Marconi nominees and winners. Our thanks to Scott Borchetta of Big Machine Label Group in Nashville for helping to make this happen.”
Established in 1989 and named after inventor and Nobel Prize winner Guglielmo Marconi, the NAB Marconi Radio Awards are given to radio stations and outstanding on-air personalities to recognize excellence in radio.

Chesney Added To Southern Ground Music & Food Festival

Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney


Kenny Chesney is set to join Zac Brown Band‘s “Super Set” during the Southern Ground Music & Food Festival in Nashville. Chesney will join the Super Set on Friday, Sept. 27. The entertainer will join other sit-in guests including John Fogerty and Jason Mraz. Additional artists will be announced soon.
The two-day festival returns to Nashville’s Great Lawn at Riverfront Park on Sept. 27-28.
Southern Ground Music & Food Festival is promoted by JAM, Outback Concerts, and Sound Events and is produced by JAM, Outback Concerts, and ROAR.
For more information, visit SGMFF.com.

Hunter Hayes, Dustin Lynch To Help Pick Unsigned Only Winners

unsignedUnsigned Only, the international music competition for artists and bands, has announced its list of finalists from among more than 9000 entries and 100 countries worldwide. Winners will be chosen later this month by a panel of celebrity judges that includes Hunter Hayes, Dustin Lynch, and Craig Morgan. Artists from AAA, AC, Christian, Country, Folk, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop/Top 40, Teen, and Vocal Performance will be selected and the grand prize winner will land firsthand guidance and mentoring by label professionals along with key networking opps.
Among the country finalists are Breaking Southwest, Laughlin, and Luke Betchner. A complete list of finalists can be found at the Unsigned Only website.
One Fandemonium winner will be chosen during the competition as well. Fans who go to the Unsigned Only Facebook page and like it can listen to the songs from all of the 2013 finalists and vote for their favorite once per day, every day, until Monday, Aug. 26th.  The overall Fandemonium winner will be announced in late August with the rest of the Unsigned Only winners.

Keith Urban, Danielle Bradbery To Perform at NFL Kickoff 2013

Keith Urban

Keith Urban


The National Football League will launch its 94th season with a celebration featuring performances by Keith Urban and  Danielle Bradbery. The celebration, titled “NFL Kickoff 2013 Presented By Pepsi,” will be held on Thursday, Sept. 5 from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. in Baltimore and Denver. The event will air on NBC, NFL and NFL Mobile from Verizon.
Urban will perform live from a floating stage in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, highlighting songs from his upcoming album Fuse and honoring Super Bowl champions the Baltimore Ravens. The singer previously performed at the NFL’s 2008 kick off celebration.
Following Urban, Bradbery will perform the national anthem at Sports Authority Field in Denver, ushering in the season’s first game between the Ravens and the Denver Broncos.
For more information, visit nfl.com/kickoff

Industry Ink (8-2-13)

nashville is nowville logoT.J. Martell Foundation will launch the first Nashville Is Nowville charity event on Sept. 7 at the Corporate Flight Management “hangar” in Smyrna, Tenn. The event, created to celebrate all things “Nashville,” will feature live performances by musicians Ryan Kinder and Joanna Smith, catering from local restaurants, as well as Nashvillian and Project Runway’s Amanda Valentine debuting her new fashion line.
CFM is located at 276 Doug Warpoole Road in Smyrna, Tenn.
Tickets and VIP tables are available now at tjmartellfoundation.org.

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stageit111Live & interactive virtual concerts online venue StageIt has plans to open a Nashville office. The company, founded in Los Angeles, has hired 19-year-old Morgan Torp-Pedersen to lead the Artist Relations department.
Prior to joining StageIt, Torp-Pedersen worked with the JaneDear girls as a personal assistant and produced Nelly Joy‘s debut music video “Trampoline.” She also opened publishing company Dansk Acres Publishing and worked for AXS TV as a production assistant.
Torp-Pedersen is based in Nashville and can be reached at 615-766-7928 or at morgan@StageIt.tv.

• • •

Jeremy Ash

Jeremy Ash


Capitol CMG Publishing‘s Jeremy Ash has been promoted to Director of Film/TV Music. He will transition out of his day-to-day role as Creative Director where he worked with songwriters including Ben Glover, Chris Stevens, Fred Wilhelm and Jeremy Bose, among others. Ash will work closely with the teams at Universal Music Publishing and Universal Music Enterprises as well as the Capitol CMG labels.
“Jeremy has excelled in film and TV placements over the past few years so this is a natural fit for him,” says Eddie DeGarmo, President of Capitol CMG Publishing.

Two Nashville Production Studios Merge

PK Pictures PK Pictures|NuMynd Studios has merged with Zoe Creative Services to offer television, video and new media production, according to Nashville Business Journal.
Together, the client list of the two companies has included Country Music Association, CMT, GAC, Sony, Microsoft, Exxon, Walmart, along with Olympic media events and BMI awards shows.
PK Pictureszoe creative logo was created in 1986 and holds a production/studio facilities on Elm Hill Pike. Zoe Creative Services was founded in 2002 by D.J. Goller and is located at downtown Nashville’s Cummins Station. It is a full-service production and post-production facility.
“The team from Zoe Creative will broaden and deepen our talent and resource base. We anticipate increased production work for the Nashville community and we will be able to attract more and bigger projects to the city,” PK Pictures|NuMynd Studios CEO Greg Page said. “Nashville’s reputation for television, video and new media production is growing every day and we’re positioned to play a leading role in all these areas.”
“With decades of experience, this combination of production talent with outstanding facilities ensures that all of our clients will get the highest quality product possible,” said Goller. “The first-rate staff and personal service that clients have come to know at Zoe Creative Services are a perfect fit with the talent and experience that PK Pictures has to offer.”
Details on a new location and name for the post-merger company have not yet been announced.

'MusicRow' No. 1 Song

Photo Credit: Adam Taylor

Florida Georgia Line. Photo Credit: Adam Taylor


After only 10 weeks, Florida Georgia Line has taken our MusicRow No. 1 spot with their current single “Round Here.” This notches the duo’s third single from their debut Republic Nashville release Here’s To The Good Times to reach the pinnacle of the chart.
“Round Here” was produced by Joey Moi and boasts writer credits from Rhett Atkins, Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins.
MusicRow’s Robert K. Oermann reviewed the single in June 2013, noting: “It’s official: The entire country music format is now songs about dirt-road partying. Now that that’s settled, this is fantastically well-sung, irresistibly catchy, bodaciously rhythmic and dazzlingly produced.”
The Peter Zavadil-directed music video traces the Florida and Georgia natives’ parallel paths in their hometowns of Ormond Beach, Fla., and Monroe, Ga. Take a look at the boys in their natural habitat:

Warner/Chappell Production Music Appoints President, CEO

Randy Wachtler

Randy Wachtler


Warner/Chappell Production Music, Warner Music Group’s production music arm, has appointed Randy Wachtler as President & CEO. Wachtler is based in Nashville and will report to Cameron Strang, Chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music. Wachtler replaces Randy Thornton, who has left the company.
Wachtler founded production music company 615 Music, which has earned more than 70 awards for excellence in music composition including two National Emmy awards. The company was acquired by Warner Music Group in 2010 and Wachtler was named EVP, North America, for Warner/Chappell Production Music, a post he left in January 2012.
Randy co-founded the Production Music Association (PMA), is a board member of AIMP-Nashville (the Association of Independent Music Publishers), and has served on the boards of Leadership Music and NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences).

Hiring, Promotions at Country Music Association

Tawni Fite

Tawni Fite


The Country Music Association has named Tawni Fite Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships. Fite joins CMA from PepsiCo, where she served as the Mid-Atlantic Region Food Service Senior Field Marketing Manager for two years and worked as a contractor for the company. Prior to her role at PepsiCo, Fite was the beverage company’s account executive at international advertising agency TracyLocke for five years. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Coopers Honors Program where she majored in English and minored in journalism.
“Tawni is a consummate professional who brings to CMA a wealth of experience from a brand perspective, and we are very lucky to have her join our team,” said Sheri Warnke, CMA Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
Ben Bennett

Ben Bennett


Several staffers have been promoted at the organization as well. Ben Bennett has been promoted to Director of Digital Strategy, Catherine Blackwell has been elevated to Senior Marketing Manager, and Amanda Eckard has risen to Director of Creative Services. Bennett has been with CMA for five years and joined the company as its first Online and Mobile Marketing Manager.
Throughout his tenure, Bennett has helped propel CMA-branded digital media to an audience of more than 1.9 million, and as director, he will continue to oversee development and maintenance of all CMA consumer digital platforms.
Catherine Blackwell

Catherine Blackwell


Blackwell joined CMA in 2004 as Membership Administration Assistant and previously worked as Marketing Manager. She is a graduate of Nashville State Community College and worked at Spring Hill Music Group in Sales and Accounts Receivable before joining CMA.
Amanda Eckard

Amanda Eckard


A graduate of Belmont University, Eckard was previously with TNN/CMT’s public relations department before joining CMA in 2001 as an Editorial Assistant. Since then she has served as both Coordinator and Manager of Creative Services, and recently executed an entire brand redesign of the CMA corporate logo and related entities, including the CMA Songwriters Series and CMA Close Up.

Artist Updates: Ricky Skaggs, Jack White, Hunter Hayes

SkaggsHornsby_Lg

(L-R): Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby


• Ricky Skaggs and renowned pianist Bruce Hornsby will perform music from their new live CD, Cluck Ol’ Hen at an upcoming show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 5. Skaggs’ longtime band Kentucky Thunder will also be on hand to perform the batch of brand new songs and bluegrass classics as well as an expansive version of Hornsby’s hit “The Way It Is” with Skaggs and Hornsby at the October show.
• Rocker Jack White has been slapped with a restraining order by ex-wife/model Karen Elson for reported harassment allegations, according to The City Paper. Two years after the two threw a “breakup party” celebrating their split, they are now tussling in court over parenting rights for their two kids. The affidavit accuses White of having a violent temper and sending harassing emails and text messages. The two will go toe to toe in court Aug. 29 over their parenting issues. As previously reported, The City Paper will close its doors Aug. 9.
• Hunter Hayes will round out his summer with a trip overseas to Japan in late August before he kicks off his first headlining tour in October. Hayes will play two full shows at Tower Records Shibuya and Tower Records Osaka during the trip and will also join Jason Mraz for a special show at Studio Coast in Tokyo Aug. 26.