LifeNotes: Settle Townsend, Sr.

candle lifenotes11Settle Townsend, Sr., a longtime security guard at Warner Music Nashville, died Friday, Jan. 24. He worked with the label from 1980 until just a few years ago.
After being discharged from the service in 1955, Townsend, a Clarksville native, earned a degree in Biology and began working as a Research Assistant at Meharry University. At the time, Townsend needed extra income for his young family, so he joined Pinkerton security service, which led him to Warner/Reprise. Townsend began work at the label in August 1980, and still held the post nearly three decades later.
Visitation is Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church Capitol Hill, located at 625 Rosa Parks Blvd. The funeral service will be held Saturday, Feb. 1 at 11:30 a.m.

Jelli Aims To Streamline Radio Ad Buys

jelliJelli, a company specializing in radio advertising, has launched a programmatic advertising platform called RadioSpot to streamline the buying and running of radio ads.
RadioSpot is designed to increase efficiency, accountability and transparency for broadcast radio advertising. The dashboard, called RadioDash, provides stations, networks and advertisers details for ad campaigns in real time.
RadioSpot is now deployed at more than 350 radio stations in 128 cities nationwide. This growth has been achieved through partnerships forged over the past 12 months with major radio operators and networks including Townsquare Media, Entercom, Emmis owned WQHT-FM (HOT 97) in New York City, Sun Broadcast Group, Focus 360 and others. RadioSpot now reaches 44 million unique listeners weekly and manages approximately 4 billion radio ads on an annual run-rate basis.
“With almost four trillion radio ads delivered every year, radio is one of the largest advertising mediums, similar in scale to digital display advertising. However, unlike digital, radio has not seen the same investment in ad-tech innovation to buy, manage and serve these ads,” said Mike Dougherty, co-founder and CEO of Jelli. “We’ve worked for nearly five years to introduce technology that helps terrestrial radio become a 21st century medium, leading to RadioSpot.”
Jelli is based in San Mateo, Calif. and New York City.
Broadcast advertising is a $16 billion market in the United States and worth $40 billion globally, according to PricewaterhouseCooper’s 14th Annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook.

Miranda Lambert Joins Jason Aldean's 'Burn It Down Tour'

Jason Aldean performed "Dirt Road Anthem" on New Year's Eve

Jason Aldean


Miranda Lambert will team with Jason Aldean on select baseball stadium dates during his Burn It Down Tour.
Lambert will be part of shows in Cleveland (on July 18), Cincinnati (on July 19), and Pittsburgh (on July 26).
On sale announcements for the dates will be made soon. Aldean and Lambert had fun making the announcement via Twitter.

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Curb Records Purchases Nashville Warehouse

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565 Brick Church Park Drive, Nashville, TN


Nashville’s Curb Records has purchased a warehouse located at 565 Brick Church Park Drive for $2.9 million, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The 5.35-acre property was last assessed at approximately $2.9 million, according to Davidson County Property Assessor’s office.
Curb Records’ Music Row office is located at 48 Music Square E.

Address Change: BBR Music Group

bbrBBR Music Group has moved to a new location in the Music Row area. As of Jan. 30, The music group’s new address is 65 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203. Emails and phone numbers will remain the same.
Companies under the BBR Music Group include Broken Bow Records, Stoney Creek Records, RED Bow Records, BBR Management and Magic Mustang Music.

CMA Takes Country Music To U.K. and Ireland in 2014

brad paisley

Brad Paisley


Country music is set to take over the U.K. and Ireland as the Country Music Association participates in a diverse lineup of events, from songwriters’ showcases to industry panels to star-packed stadium concerts March 14-17.
Scheduled events for the weekend include the Second Annual CMA International Marketing Summit; an evening with the storytellers behind the hits with CMA Songwriters Series, which is making its third run in the region; a special BBC songwriters show taping at the iconic BBC Radio Theatre; and two C2C (Country To Country) concerts, two nights each, at The O2 in both Dublin and London in association with The 02 and SJM Concerts.
CMA Songwriters Series
The CMA Songwriters Series kicks off the weekend’s events on Friday, March 14 at The O2’s IndigO2 in London. Hosted by award-winning songwriter Bob DiPiero, the intimate evening of songs and the stories behind them features Martina McBride, Brett James, and Striking Matches.
 C2C 2014 (Country to Country)
An outstanding line up of music stars are again heading across the Atlantic for a huge two-day music festival extravaganza at The O2 London on Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16. Also for the first time C2C is going to Ireland on Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15 at The O2, Dublin.
Headlining C2C 2014 will be Brad Paisley, six-time co-host of the CMA Awards and a 14-time CMA Awards winner; and Grammy-winning, 13-time CMA Awards nominee Zac Brown Band. C2C 2014 will also see the return of Country superstars Dixie Chicks, who will be performing in the U.K. for the first time in eight years. Rascal Flatts join the line-up as well as Dierks Bentley, Chris Young, and McBride (London show only).
British Music Experience at the O2 London
On Saturday, March 15, CMA will present two panel discussions at C2C featuring songwriters and music executives in the British Music Experience at The O2, London. Attendees will hear about what it takes to be a successful songwriter and panelists will explore the steps to hit-making. These panels are a must for any aspiring songwriter or artist and are free to the public but seating is limited. Panel topics, times, and access information will be announced soon via CMA, C2C, and The British Music Experience websites.
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Martina McBride


On Monday, March 17, CMA will be hosting its Second Annual CMA International Marketing Summit at the British Music Experience at The O2 in London. Last year saw the first international conference held in Paris.
Attendees will be immersed in a full day of presentations and interactive panels at the CMA International Marketing Summit. Music industry experts from the U.S. and U.K. will discuss ways to capitalize on the worldwide power of Country Music followed by a reception at The Media Café in the BBC’s New Broadcasting House and performance of the CMA Songwriters Series.
Highlights of the Summit include a keynote by Big Machine Label Group founder and CEO Scott Borchetta; an overview of the most recent CMA research reports with updated demographic and psychographic information presented by CMA Senior Director of Market Research Karen Stump; in addition to a special Brad Paisley and Friends BBC/CMA Songwriters Show taping at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House, which features Chris Dubois, Kelly Lovelace, and Lee Thomas Miller.
BBC will broadcast the evening as a one-hour program on BBC Radio 2 in the fall of 2014. The event will also be filmed for future broadcast. BBC Radio 2 is the U.K.’s most popular radio station with 14.9 million listeners (Rajar Q3 2013). The show will be introduced by Bob Harris, the network’s Country Music host and previous winner of the CMA International Country Broadcaster Award and the Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award.

Grammy Performances Yield Increased Spotify Streams

Keith Urban performs on the Grammys.

Keith Urban performs on the Grammys.


Tracks by Taylor Swift and Keith Urban saw a significant uptick in streams on Spotify following the Grammys, where both artists had performance slots. From the Sunday night show (Jan. 26) to Monday, Swift experienced a 67 percent increase in streamed songs and Urban received a 60 percent bump.
Daft Punk’s big Grammy wins drove a huge spike on Spotify following the show, with the group’s streams soaring over 200 percent. Additionally, streams of “Another Star,” which Daft Punk performed with Stevie Wonder, increased by 635 percent.
Artists featured on the Grammys who experienced notable Spotify increases include Paul McCartney (126 percent), Kendrick Lamar (99 percent increase), Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (65 percent), Metallica (63 percent), Pharrell (54 percent) and Lorde (46 percent).
As far as individual tracks, Beyonce’s show-opener drove a 52 percent increase in streams of “Drunk in Love,” Chicago and Robin Thicke’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” increased by more than 150 percent, and the Metallica and Lang Lang collaboration “One” increased by 125 percent.
Taylor Swift's Grammy performance.

Taylor Swift’s Grammy performance.

Jerrod Niemann To Release 'High Noon' In March

jerrod niemann111Sea Gayle Records/Arista Nashville hitmaker Jerrod Niemann took to his social media on Tuesday, inviting Facebook fans to visit journeytohighnoon.com to share and unlock the cover art for his new album, High Noon.
Throughout the run-up to the March 25 release of High Noon, the site will continue to be the destination offering fans an evolving variety of new experiences, including opportunities for free downloads, gaming, and exclusive video content. Produced by Jimmie Lee Sloas and Niemann, the High Noon album is now available for pre-order.
High Noon marks the follow-up to Niemann’s musically adventurous 2012 release, Free the Music. Niemann’s chart-topping major-label debut, 2010’s Judge Jerrod & The Hung Jury, produced the chart-topping song and RIAA-certified Platinum Digital Single, “Lover, Lover,” and the Top 5 and RIAA-certified Gold Digital Single, “What Do You Want.”

Industry Pics (1/29/14)

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Pictured (L-R): AJ Burton (Revelry), Jessie Jo Dillon, Melissa Emert-Hutner (Nettwerk One).


Grammy®-nominated songwriter Jessie Jo Dillon has extended her publishing agreement with Nettwerk One Music/Revelry Music Group.
One of Nashville’s finest young writers, Dillon contributed three songs to Brandy Clark’s critically-acclaimed debut album 12 Stories: “Crazy Women,” “Just Like Him,” and “Hungover.” In the past, she has also worked with such artists as George Strait, Rodney Atkins, Craig Morgan, LeAnn Rimes, Carly Pearce, Craig Campbell, and Lorrie Morgan & Pam Tillis.

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All Star Finale of the Phil Everly Penned "When Will I Be Loved"(Photograph by Elli Papayanopoulos / Elli Lauren Photography)

All Star Finale of the Phil Everly penned “When Will I Be Loved.”
(Photograph by Elli Papayanopoulos / Elli Lauren Photography)


The Americana Music Association contributed to an unforgettable night of performances during a pre-Grammy salute to the Everly Brothers: Remembering Phil Everly. The musical celebration, which was held at the legendary Troubadour, featured numerous Americana talents including Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell, Ry Cooder, T-Bone Burnett, Joe Henry, Jim Lauderdale, Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes, The Milk Carton Kids, Sarah Jarosz, Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and many more.

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Pictured (L-R): Rachel Mowl, Trina Lloyd-Weidner, Raeanna Mowl, Clore, Marissa Bond, Alison Toczylowski, Meredith Herberg-Waldron and Hannah Showmaker.

Pictured (L-R): Rachel Mowl, Trina Lloyd-Weidner, Raeanna Mowl, Clore, Marissa Bond, Alison Toczylowski, Meredith Herberg-Waldron and Hannah Showmaker.


The women of the WMBA welcomed new members with a half-day retreat at ASCAP on Saturday, Jan. 25. The event was highlighted by guest speaker John Clore, pictured here with the 2014 WMBA officers. Clore is Director, Brand Management at Word Entertainment and the author of The Music Industry Doesn’t Have To Kill You, his first book. For more information, visit johnclore.com.

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(L to R): Geri McDowell (Gerrieco Texas), Catherine Stein (Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy), Adrien Good (Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy), Brittany Shaffer (Loeb & Loeb), Heather Buresh (Big Loud Bucks), Janet Leese (Starstruck Studios), Patti Donahoe (Applause Artist Management), Judy Seale (Judy Seale International).  Other new members not in attendance are Tinti Moffat (TJ Martell Foundation) and Laura Williams (Regions Bank). Photo Credit:  Denise Fussell

Pictured (L-R): Geri McDowell (Gerrieco Texas), Catherine Stein (Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy), Adrien Good (Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy), Brittany Shaffer (Loeb & Loeb), Heather Buresh (Big Loud Bucks), Janet Leese (Starstruck Studios), Patti Donahoe (Applause Artist Management), and Judy Seale (Judy Seale International). Other new members not in attendance are Tinti Moffat (TJ Martell Foundation) and Laura Williams (Regions Bank). Photo Credit: Denise Fussell


SOURCE–an organization of women executives in Nashville’s Music Industry–held its New Members Luncheon at ASCAP on Jan. 23, 2014. Ten new members were introduced into the organization.

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Celebrating the premiere of “Look at You” during the performance (L to Ri) are: John Rich, John Marks, Big Kenny and Storme Warren. Photo: Parker Young

Celebrating the premiere of “Look at You” during the performance (L-R) are: John Rich, John Marks, Big Kenny and Storme Warren. Photo: Parker Young


Big & Rich exclusively premiered their new single “Look at You” live on SiriusXM’s The Highway during an in studio performance recently at the SiriusXM Music City Theatre in Nashville. “Look at You” was digitally released today (Jan. 29) on iTunes.

Cornerstone Agency Adds Two Global PR Execs

cornerstone agencyAs part of its continuing expansion and evolution, Cornerstone Agency has named Erica Mapa as Senior Account Executive to support the agency’’s rapidly growing consumer public relations division. Based in the company’’s New York office, Mapa will report to Ed James, President of Cornerstone Agency’’s PR sector. Cornerstone also tapped Becky Bayles to oversee publicity efforts in its London office as PR Manager.
Mapa brings extensive PR experience within the entertainment and consumer lifestyle practices, most recently serving as Account Executive at Formula PR, where she developed core strategies and oversaw media relations for brands including Ciao Bella Gelato and Popcorn, Indiana kettlecorn. Prior to that, as an AE at Coyne PR she worked with high-profile travel and hospitality accounts including Hard Rock International and tourism boards for South Africa and Hong Kong.
Formerly a Senior Account Manager at DeVries SLAM, part of DeVries Global, Bayles worked on Beats by Dre, Jose Cuervo and Tanqueray.
With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Sao Paulo and Nashville, Cornerstone is a global creative agency that specializes in music, entertainment and event marketing for clients including Converse, Diageo and Microsoft.