Apple Close To Acquiring Beats Electronics For $3.2 Billion

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applebeatsThe Financial Times is reporting Apple is close to acquiring Beats Electronics for an estimated $3.2 billion and the acquisition could be announced as early as next week.
If the deal closes, this would be Apple’s largest acquisition and would position the company in the music streaming subscription arena competing with rivals such as Spotify.
Beats Electronics produces audio products and equipment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. The company was founded by rapper and hip-hop producer Andre “Dr. Dre” Young and Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine.
Beats Music‘s streaming service launched January 2014. The service was spun out of Beats Electronics, receiving a $60 million investment to bring the product to market. The core of the streaming service was formed by Beats’ $14 million acquisition of digital music company MOG in 2012.

LifeNotes: Butch Carr

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Butch Carr announcement1111Celebration of life arrangements have been made for the late engineer Butch Carr. The event will take place Saturday, May 10 at 1 p.m. at Brentwood Cumberland Presbyterian, located at 516 Franklin Road in Brentwood. In lieu of flowers, it has been requested that donations be made in Butch’s name to MusiCares or Nashville Engineer Relief Fund.
Carr died April 18 at age 62.
Carr has been an engineer and songwriter in Nashville more nearly 40 years. His most recent engineering credits include work for Kenny Chesney (Life On A Rock), Willie Nelson (To All The Girls…), Sammy Kershaw (All In The Same Boat), Tracy Lawrence (Headlights, Taillights and Radios), among many others.

Ken Robold Exits Southern Ground Artists

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kenroboldslider

Ken Robold


Industry veteran Ken Robold has exited his post as president of Southern Ground Artists. He is currently pursuing new opportunities.
He was named president of Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Artists in 2013, overseeing the record label, publishing and studio divisions. Robold previously served as Exec. VP and GM of Universal Music Group Nashville. The role was the culmination of a nearly 22-year career at PolyGram Records/Universal Music Group.
He is also Chairman of the ACM Board of Directors.
The SGA roster included artists The Wood Brothers, The AJ Ghent Band, Blackberry Smoke, and Levi Lowrey. Southern Ground Artists launched in 2011.
He can be reached here.

19th Annual Key West Songwriter's Festival Launches

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BMI‘s 19th annual Key West Songwriter’s Festival kicked off with an opening concert from headliner Anders Osborne on Sunset Pier at the Ocean Key Resort. The evening continued with performances from some of music’s biggest songwriters including Natalie Hemby, Wendell Mobley, Dean Dillon, Dylan Altman, Tony Joe White and more. The event, which runs through May 11, will feature more than 50 showcases and concerts at venues throughout the island.

Pictured (L-R): BMI Executive Director of Writer/Publisher Relations Mark Mason, Anders Osborne, Key West Mayor Craig Cates, Key West Songwriter's Festival founder Charlie Bauer, and BMI Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations Jody WilliamsPhoto: Erika Goldring

Pictured (L-R): BMI Executive Director of Writer/Publisher Relations Mark Mason, Anders Osborne, Key West Mayor Craig Cates, Key West Songwriter’s Festival founder Charlie Bauer, and BMI Vice President of Writer/Publisher Relations Jody Williams. Photo: Erika Goldring

[Updated]: Bigger Picture Group Closes

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[Updated]: DMG Nashville has entered into a partnership with in2une Music, to continue promoting Lucy Hale‘s debut single, “You Sound Good To Me,” as well as future releases from her debut album.
“We are beyond excited to be in the Lucy Hale business,” in2une Nashville president Dale Connone says. “We look forward to our alliance with DMG Nashville and breaking ‘You Sound Good To Me’ at Country radio.”
 
• • •
Bigger Picture Group has closed its doors, MusicRow has confirmed.
Bigger Picture’s roster included artist ventures with Craig Campbell, Ryan Kinder, Blackjack Billy, Rachel Bradshaw, Smithfield, Chelsea Bain and Chris Janson. Lucy Hale was signed to a joint venture with DMG Nashville/Bigger Picture.
Craig Campbell was the company’s biggest success story. He sold one million tracks combined from his 2011 self-titled debut album and current album Never Regret. His autobiographical single, “Family Man” was a top 15 hit, followed by fan-favorite “Fish.” His latest hit, “Keep Them Kisses Comin,’” is the follow-up single to smash “Outta My Head.”
Bigger Picture artists on MusicRow’s Country Breakout Chart today (May 8) include Campbell at No. 11 with “Keep Them Kisses Comin,'” and Chelsea Bain at No. 80 with “Cowboy in a Cadillac.”
Producer Keith Stegall was an original founder of Bigger Picture but was no longer involved with the company.
Michael Powers served as President of Bigger Picture Group, overseeing all aspects of the operation, including radio promotion, artist management, marketing, and sales. He previously served as President of Bigger Picture Artist Ventures, a division within the Bigger Picture Group.
Alan Kates was a partner in Bigger Picture Group, and also acts as President of Songs of Bigger Picture, and EVP of Business Development for BPG. He also manages producer Stegall.
Bob Cahill was Exec. VP/GM and oversaw operations, artist management, marketing and sales initiatives. Prior to Bigger Picture, his career includes time at EMI Records, Live Nation Artists, V2 Records and Rhino Records.
David Robkin is CEO and oversees finance and strategic direction for the company. He joined Bigger Picture three years ago.
Exiting staffers include Jay Bradley, Matt Corbin, Liz Cost (reach her at 617-650-0986), Jay Cruze (reach him here), Chris DeCarlo, Brad Helton, Jody Mazer, Allen Mitchell, Michael Powers, Joe Putnam, Matt Rovey, Kimmie Trosdahl and Shea Windley.
Jan Perry Rodgers has exited her post as Office Manager & Executive Assistant. She can be reached at [email protected].
 
 

ASCAP Urges Politicians to "Stand With Songwriters" On Capitol Hill

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Pictured (L-R): ASCAP Publisher Board member Leeds Levy, songwriter Josh Kear, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ASCAP Writer Board member Dan Foliart and ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento

Pictured (L-R): ASCAP Publisher Board member Leeds Levy, songwriter Josh Kear, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ASCAP Writer Board member Dan Foliart and ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento.


Award-winning songwriters and composers from different music genres spent Wednesday, May 7 meeting with elected officials to insist on music licensing reform as part of the inaugural American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) “Stand with Songwriters” Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.
ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams, ASCAP Vice Chairman Jimmy Webb (“Wichita Lineman”), Josh Kear (“Need You Now”), Carly Simon (“You’re So Vain”), Randy Newman (“You’ve Got a Friend in Me”), Alan and Marilyn Bergman (“The Way We Were”), Jon Batiste (“Creative”), Narada Michael Walden (“Freeway of Love”), and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart (“Crazy on You”) came to D.C. to perform at a Tuesday, May 6 “We Write the Songs” concert at the Library of Congress, sponsored by The ASCAP Foundation.
During the concert, they discussed the challenges facing songwriters in today’s digital music marketplace and urged policymakers to support updates to federal laws that regulate how songwriters license their works. Joined by ASCAP Board members, including Valerie Simpson (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”), most of the performing songwriters remained in D.C. today to continue the mission.

Frist Center Highlights Photography By Marty Stuart

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Portrait of Johnny Cash taken in September 2003 by Marty Stuart.

Portrait of Johnny Cash taken in September 2003 by Marty Stuart.


The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will present American Ballads: The Photographs of Marty Stuart from May 9-November 2, 2014 in the Conte Community Arts Gallery, which is free to the public.
American Ballads is composed of more than 60 photographs from three bodies of work: “The Masters” of country music; the “Blue Line Hotshots” he has met on his travels on America’s back roads; and the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and others in the South Dakota “Badlands.”
In his introduction to the publication that accompanies the exhibition, Stuart writes “…I often found myself in the company of Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, Porter Wagoner, Merle Travis, Grandpa Jones, Ernest Tubb, and Stringbean. They always welcomed me, treated me like family, and gave me reasons to believe I was a part of the tribe. Whether at a concert, the Opry, a recording studio, a truck stop, or poker game, any time any one of these people were present I viewed it as history in motion. However, other than the fans, I seldom saw anyone present with a camera to capture the proceedings.” 
Stuart and his mother Hilda Stuart will discuss photography at a free event at the Frist on Wednesday, June 4 at 12:00 p.m.

Artist Updates (5/8/14)

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zac brown

Zac Brown


Zac Brown and wife Shelly welcomed their fifth child and first son, Alexander Frost Brown, on Monday, May 5.
Alexander weighed 11 pounds, 7 ounces, and measured 22.5 inches long.

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shania twain111

Shania Twain


Shania Twain has become the Global Ambassador for cat conservation organization Panthera‘s newly launched leopard conservation initiative Project Pardus.
Project Pardus highlights the leopard’s (“pardus” in latin) perilous state and aims to halt leopard killings.

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bonnarooDierks Bentley has been named to Bonnaroo 2014’s lineup as part of  The Bluegrasss Situation SuperJam.
Hosted by Ed Helms, the SuperJam also features the Lonesome Trio, Sarah Jarosz, Lake Street Dive, The Black Lillies, Shovels & Rope,The Lone Bellow, Robert Ellis, Della Mae, Bryan Sutton, and Dave Johnston of Yonder Mountain String Band.
Bonnaroo will take place June 12-15 in Manchester, Tenn.

Black River Entertainment's Lubitz Exiting

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Bill Lubitz

Bill Lubitz


Black River Entertainment‘s West Coast regional Bill Lubitz is leaving to pursue another opportunity. Lubitz took on the role in 2011.
Lubitz also shared duties as Director of National Promotion with Mike Wilson. Wilson continues in that role.
Black River VP/Promotion Bill Macky is currently searching for a replacement. Resumes can be sent to [email protected].

LifeNotes: IFCO's Loudilla Johnson Passes

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Loudilla Johnson

Loudilla Johnson


Loudilla Johnson, who co-founded the International Fan Club Organization (IFCO) died in Franklin, TN on Wednesday, May 7, at age 75.
Along with her sisters Loretta Johnson (1941-2009) and Kay Johnson, she started the first Loretta Lynn Fan Club in 1963 at their family ranch in Wild Horse, Colo. The club was such a success that other Country stars began asking Lynn how to start and run fan clubs. This led the Johnsons to form IFCO in 1965.
IFCO began as an association of 75 fan clubs. It grew to unite and advise more than 375 such organizations, publish the monthly Tri-Son News periodical, create a website and stage fan-appreciation concerts and talent shows.
In 1968, IFCO put on its first concert at that year’s Country Music Disc Jockey Convention, four years before Fan Fair began. After years of staging its annual shows at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds during Fan Fair, in 1995 IFCO moved its Fun Fest show to The Ryman Auditorium. In recent years, IFCO Fun Fest has been held at venues ranging from The Belcourt Theater to the Cadillac Ranch nightclub.
The Johnson sisters relocated to Nashville in 1991. Fan Fair was re-branded as the CMA Music Festival in 2004.
Over the years, the IFCO Fun Fest has showcased a who’s-who of country entertainers, including Keith Urban, Barbara Mandrell, Charley Pride, Gary Morris, The Bellamy Brothers, Jo Dee Messina, Hal Ketchum, Terri Clark, Marty Stuart, Patty Loveless, Keith Whitley, Johnny Cash, The Oak Ridge Boys, Craig Morgan, Josh Turner, Jason Aldean, Connie Smith, Little Big Town, Chris Young, Lady Antebellum, Joe Diffie, Aaron Tippin, Lynn Anderson and Gene Watson.
IFCO also presented its annual Tex Ritter Award to industry individuals whom the Johnsons viewed as particularly beneficial to fans. Past recipients have included Louise Scruggs, Jim Halsey, Bill Anderson, Maybelle Carter, Ernest Tubb, Charlie Daniels, Porter Wagoner, Irving Waugh, Bud Wendell, Ralph Emery, Faron Young, Sam Lovullo, Crook & Chase, Roy Clark, David McCormick, Conway Twitty, Mae Boren Axton and Mel Tillis.
Because their concert proceeds have always gone to charities, the Johnson Sisters were presented with the Ernest Tubb Humanitarian Award at the 2002 R.O.P.E. (Reunion of Professional Entertainers) banquet.
Loudilla Johnson is survived by sister Kay Johnson, brother Everett Johnson, sister-in-law Carlene Johnson and by numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Private family services will be held.