Industry Ink (1/7/14)

ACM Lifting Lives®’ January “My Cause” web feature will spotlight RCA Nashville recording artist Sara Evans and the charity organization, Alabama Forever. The web feature drives awareness of artist-supported charitable organizations and supports fundraising efforts for those philanthropies. Evans is scheduled to release her seventh studio album Slow Me Down on March 4, 2014.
“My Cause” allows ACM Lifting Lives to tangibly demonstrate the Academy’s support of country music artists.  Over the past two years, ACM Lifting Lives has donated more than $190,000 to artists’ favorite charities through this program, and will again make a donation in addition to driving fan awareness.
This month, “My Cause: Alabama Forever” highlights an organization that was founded in response to the April 27, 2011 tornadoes that ravaged the state of Alabama. The organization’s core purpose is to help Alabama communities in need by offering viable resolutions to maintain the best possible life for the citizens of Alabama for generations to come.
To donate, visit alabamaforever.org.

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Monday, Jan. 13 is the deadline to purchase $499 regular rate registrations for Country Radio Seminar 2014. The on-site rate will take effect on Jan. 14, increasing registrations to $599 per person.
The CRS 2014 agenda includes more than 20 educational panels and industry-leading speakers, including “Cracking the Code: Using Data to Discover the Hits,” “Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Beats: It’s Their Country, Too,” “Marketing On A Shoestring Budget,” “Would You Like Sales Prospects to Call You?” and more. In addition, the 2013 CMA Vocal Group of the Year, Little Big Town, will present a panel about perseverance in the Country music industry and featured musicians from the new award-winning documentary Muscle Schoals will present a panel discussing the impact that Muscle Shoals has had on the music industry.
For more information, visit countryradioseminar.com.

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The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. (CVC) is accepting entries for its seventh annual Music City Songwriting Competition until Feb. 15. Elektra Nashville recording artist, actress and songwriter Jana Kramer is serving as the honorary ambassador of the competition and will offer a mentoring session to the winner among other prizes.
The competition is open to amateur songwriters only and will accept entries now through Feb. 15, 2014. Submission forms with completed entries can be mailed to Music City Songwriting Competition, P.O. Box 190633, Nashville, TN 37219 USA or submitted online. Submission fee for the first song is $30 USD. Each additional song is $20 USD. For more information and to enter a song, visit visitmusiccity.com.