Artist Updates: Taylor Swift, Ray Stevens, Erica Nicole, Robby Johnson

Swift's Clue No. 2...

Swift’s Clue No. 2…


Taylor Swift is up to something. The singer-songwriter has released several teases this week, including a brief Instagram video of her repeatedly pressing the button for the 18th floor on an elevator. On Wednesday, she released a screenshot of her phone. The image features the time 5:00, Swift’s cat and a drawing of the Statue of Liberty/New York City in the background. On Thursday, Swift released clue No. 3…a screenshot of the Yahoo! homepage.
Fans have speculated the clues could mean the singer-songwriter will hold a Q&A with Yahoo! on Aug. 18 from New York City, or that new music could be coming Oct. 18 (as Swift’s previous albums have all released around late October). Fans will have to wait and see.

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ray stevens gospel collection1Ray Stevens will release a new Gospel project on Aug. 19, titled Gospel Collection: Volume One. The project will be the singer’s first release as part of the Gaither Gospel series. Stevens also produced the project, which features his renditions of classics including “The Old Rugged Cross/Rock of Ages,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Farther Along.”
Gospel Collection is part of a TV special airing on Dish TV, DirecTV, AT&T Uverse, GaitherTV, TBN, RFD, FamilyNet, CTN, GMTN, Guardian, Liberty, TCT and TLN.  It will air in Canada on Vision TV, CTS, The Miracle Channel and Hope TV.
“This is my first Gospel album in years,” he says. “I’m really excited about it.  I love the songs and worked long and hard on the arrangements, but the coup de gras is being presented as part of the Gaither Gospel Series. I hope everyone will enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.”

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Erica Nicole

Erica Nicole


Erica Nicole will perform at the upcoming Nashville Independent Music Awards, which will take place in Nashville on Aug. 24. She is nominated for Best Country Female Artist, and her song “I Listen To My Bad Girl,” is nominated for Song of the Year. She is also set to perform during the event.
Nicole garnered a Top 20 single on MusicRow‘s CountryBreakout chart with “I Listen To My Bad Girl.”
Voting for the 2014 NIMA Awards is open now here.

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Robby Johnson

Robby Johnson


Robby Johnson is stacking up the media coverage in national outlets. Fresh from an appearance on FOX’s Huckabee, he will perform on the Late Show with David Letterman on Aug. 19.
The video for his single, “South of Me,” has garnered more than 3 million views. He is prepping his 12-track debut album, in collaboration with musician/producer Jimmy Nichols and Frank Myers.
 

Weekly Chart Report (08/08/14)

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[Update]: ASCAP Says District Court Decision Could Threaten Viability

ascap 100 years11[Update]: ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams issued the following statement regarding ASCAP’s submission of public comment this week, as part of the DOJ’s review of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees:
“ASCAP supports the ongoing consent decree review process at the Department of Justice, and we welcome the opportunity to update our music licensing system to better reflect how people listen to music today. These issues are both urgent and complex, and the volume of comments submitted speaks to that. Everyone agrees that the music landscape has shifted dramatically. Songwriters understand that their futures are at stake and that updating the consent decrees is critical for them. Some music users have found ways to exploit this outdated system. And not surprisingly, they are among the first to defend that status quo. At the end of the day, ASCAP believes the U.S. must modernize music licensing in order to preserve the benefits of collective licensing to businesses that license music, give consumers greater access to the music they love, and allow the more than 500,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers we represent to be compensated for the true value their music brings to the marketplace.”
ASCAP’s submission to the DOJ outlines three critical updates to the consent decree that we believe will make the system work more efficiently and effectively for music creators, licensees and listeners in the digital age:

  • Allowing ASCAP to accept a limited grant of rights from its members, meaning ASCAP is able to license certain uses while the rights holders handle others directly. Allowing greater flexibility is necessary to hold the system together.
  • Replacing rate court with a faster, cheaper dispute resolution process.
  • Permitting ASCAP to offer all the rights in a music composition a licensee needs to operate their business – something that ASCAP’s competitors are already free to do.

[Original post, Aug. 5, 2014]:
On July 28, ASCAP filed its opening brief with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Pandora litigation. On Monday, Aug. 4, the brief was unsealed. The brief asks the appellate court to reverse both the district court’s summary judgment ruling, and to either adopt ASCAP’s license fee proposal as described in the brief, or to reverse the district court’s rate determination and remand, and adopt a rate that reflects all arm’s length benchmark agreements.
“This is an appeal from two district court decisions that, if not reversed, threaten the viability of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), this nation’s oldest and largest performing rights organization (“PRO”). Such an outcome would have a profoundly negative effect on songwriters, music publishers and music users themselves, disrupting the marketplace for the licensing of music performing rights that has functioned for many decades as a result of the well-established efficiencies provided by an ASCAP license,” the brief began.
The brief claims that the district court’s decision to grant partial summary judgment to Pandora Media, Inc. erroneously concluded that the ASCAP consent decree precludes ASCAP members from withdrawing from ASCAP the right to license their musical works to some new media services. Additionally, the brief claims that the second decision set a below-market 1.85 percent of revenue royalty rate for Pandora’s use of ASCAP’s repertoire for the period of 2013 through 2015.
“These two decisions, taken together, effectively re-write the consent decree, and arbitrarily depress ASCAP license rates below the rates that would be obtained in a competitive market, leaving ASCAP members who seek competitive market rates from new media services, such as Pandora, no alternative but to resign from ASCAP.” the brief states.
“ASCAP believes that the district court’s summary judgment misinterprets the ASCAP consent decree and deprives ASCAP’s members of rights expressly granted to them by the Copyright Law,” ASCAP’S EVP and General Counsel Elizabeth Matthews says. “With respect to the district court’s rate determination, ASCAP’s brief argues that the court set a below-market price for Pandora’s license, resulting from the court’s failure to use recent direct licensing deals as relevant benchmarks. The district court’s decisions leave music creators at serious risk of consistently being compensated at rates that are below the fair market value of their work. The decisions also risk undermining the benefits that the more than 500,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers ASCAP represents, as well as thousands of music users, enjoy from a robust and efficient collective licensing system.
“Songwriters rely on ASCAP to ensure they are treated with fairness and respect for the value of their creative work in the marketplace and for the certainty that comes with the benefits of collectively licensing their works,” Matthews adds. “We believe the district court’s decisions threaten the very future for all of ASCAP’s members, and that’s why we’re appealing this decision and leading this fight on their behalf.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is reviewing the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees.
 

MusicRowPics: LiveWire

LiveWire visit

LiveWire visit


Way Out West Records band LiveWire recently visited MusicRow’s offices to perform their fiddle-soaked new single, “Drivin’ You Outta My Mind,” which currently sits at No. 49 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout chart. “The song came together in a Nashville hotel room. It was one of those songs that fell onto the page and in the right structure,” says lead singer Andy Eutsler. The song was co-written by Eutsler, Johnny Bulford, Danny Bell and Landon Rolfe.
LiveWire is composed of members Eutsler, Bobby DeGonia, Brad Allen, Cory Shultz, and Scott Kwapiszeski. “I met Andy at a show in 2003, and I asked if he could play bass,” said DeGonia. “He said he couldn’t, but he could sing really well, so we transitioned him to take over some lead vocal duties.” Fiddle player Cory has been in the band since he was 15, after a chance meeting with one of the members in a music instrument shop. From there the band worked tirelessly, playing up to 300 dates per year. LiveWire steadily climbed the ranks from local bar band to in-demand concert band.
During their three-song set at the MusicRow offices, the band also offered their 2013 single, “Whiskey Sunday,” and a preview of the not yet recorded “Quit You,” which compares a love obsession with alcohol addiction. Eutsler says has solid potential as their next single.
The video clip for “Drivin’ You Outta My Mind” was led by the team of Nashville director Flick Wiltshire and Clif Doyal, and recently shot in the Gloss Mountains and the Little Sahara State Park in western Oklahoma. It features Eutsler’s 1967 candy apple red GTO, which was lovingly customized just for the video.
“Months before, I had started building the car from scratch, from just the parts,” said Eutsler. “We knew the car would look good in the video, but I thought, ‘It’s not going to happen in time.’” Dangerous Motors of Cushing, Okla., stepped in, completing the job in four months. “I was impressed,” said Andy. “It looked like it rolled off the showroom floor.”
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CTM Writers INK Signs Marcus Hummon

(L-R): Shona Burr, Shawn Bowling, Eddie Robba, Marcus Hummon, Jared Mitchell, Autumn McEntire, Mark Sizemore and Brandon Perdue)

Pictured (L-R): Shona Burr, Shawn Bowling, Eddie Robba, Marcus Hummon, Jared Mitchell, Autumn McEntire, Mark Sizemore and Brandon Perdue.


Songwriter Marcus Hummon has signed with CTM Writers INK, the publishing division of Catch This Music. The signing was celebrated with a party on Aug. 6 at Nashville’s Thistle Stop Cafe.

“It’s such an honor to begin this journey with Marcus,” says Eddie Robba, President/CEO of CTM Writers INK and Catch This Music. “The day I met Marcus, I knew that eventually we’d be working together in some form or fashion. Marcus is passionate and seems to always have a treasure chest of song ideas with powerful messages!”

Hummon is known for penning the songs “Bless The Broken Road” (Rascal Flatts), “Cowboy Take Me Away” and “Ready to Run” (both for the Dixie Chicks), “Born To Fly” (Sara Evans), and more. He has earned five No. 1 awards from BMI. Hummon released a critically acclaimed Country project for Columbia Records in 1995, titled All In Good Time. In 1998, Hummon and Stuart Adamson released the duo album Supernatural. He recently released The Passion on CTM Records.

Lady Antebellum To Be Inducted Into Georgia Music Hall Of Fame

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Lady Antebellum


Lady Antebellum will be honored as one of the newest members of the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame on Oct. 11. The band’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood are both Georgia natives. The seven-time Grammy Award-winning band will be inducted alongside Danny Beard, Jeff Foxworthy, Francine Reed, Ed Roland and Wet Willie, among others.
“We’ve never been a part of something like this before,” said Lady A’s Haywood. “It’s pretty special hearing the words ‘Lady Antebellum’ and ‘hall of fame’ in the same sentence. We really feel honored to be included.”
Their latest hit single, “Bartender”, just hit No. 1 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Chart.  It is the first release off their album, 747, out Sept. 30.

Takin’ It To The Streets: Doobie Brothers Team With Country Hitmakers

doobie brothers11
Producer David Huff is bringing one of his all-time favorite bands from the past into the present with a new project. “The Doobie Brothers are such an important band in the history of music. The hits transcend time,” explained Huff. “I listened to them growing up in Brentwood and practiced drums to their records.”
He approached The Doobie’s manager Bruce Cohn with the idea of pairing the band with Country stars for re-imagined versions of The Doobie’s classic hits. Cohen set up a meeting between Huff and the band. “I told them, ‘I think there’s a whole new audience for you, and there’s a way to make you relevant to today’s market just by doing the songs a little bit differently.’ They were curious about the project, but it took laying it out piece by piece to get them on board, specifically about how to rework the songs and ideas for touring.”
The result is Southbound, set for a Nov. 4 release on Arista Nashville. UMG Nashville had major success with Tuskegee, a similar release by Lionel Richie and Country stars in 2012, which sold more than 1 million units and was supported by a major tour by Richie.
Though The Doobie Brothers line up has changed through the years, members who participated in the new album are from the band’s earliest incarnation including frontmen Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, and multi-instrumentalist John McFee. Huff and Cohen also reached out to former member Michael McDonald, who was all-in on the new album after a visit to the studio on the first day of tracking.
Once the band was on board, Huff, Cohen and Sony mapped what Huff calls a “fantasy list” of Country artists who might participate in the project. He said it wasn’t an easy task because The Doobie Brothers set the bar so high with their original versions of the songs. Among those who jumped in are Blake Shelton, Hunter Hayes, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band, Sara Evans, Chris Young, Jerrod Niemann, Vince Gill, Casey James, Tyler Farr, Charlie Worsham, and Love and Theft. “Once we started asking the artists, the overall response we got was really positive,” he continued. “It worked out that a few artists picked their own songs, and we picked for some others. Jerrod picked ‘South City Midnight Lady,’ which is a favorite of a lot of artists. He killed it.”

Pictured (l-r):  Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Gary Overton, the Doobie Brothers’ Patrick Simmons, Sara Evans, Chris Young, Doobie Tom Johnston, Love and Theft’s Eric Gunderson, Doobie John McFee, Jerrod Niemann, Love and Theft’s Stephen Barker Liles, and Doobie Brothers manager Bruce Cohn. Photo credit:  Larry Boothby

Pictured (l-r): Sony Music Nashville Chairman & CEO Gary Overton, the Doobie Brothers’ Patrick Simmons, Sara Evans, Chris Young, Doobie Tom Johnston, Love and Theft’s Eric Gunderson, Doobie John McFee, Jerrod Niemann, Love and Theft’s Stephen Barker Liles, and Doobie Brothers manager Bruce Cohn. Photo credit: Larry Boothby


Huff joked, “Zac Brown didn’t have a choice. I hounded his manager Matt Maher to get him on the project. I didn’t take no for an answer because I could envision him on the songs. And Zac did a great job on ‘Black Water,’ with plenty of harmonies from his band and the breakdown in the middle.”
With so many artists involved, Huff said the recording process was a logistical nightmare. “I would get a call from an artist on a Sunday night and they’d say they could record Tuesday, and I had to make it happen.” He laughed in hindsight, “There was one time where I booked all the players and forgot to get a studio.” Still he managed to get several performers, including Shelton, in the studio with The Doobie Brothers at the same time.
The band hadn’t spent much time in Music City, and even though Huff frequently works in Los Angeles, he had a dream of building the project in his hometown. “We cut records differently in Nashville, we’ve got some of the world’s best players,” stated Huff. “So we tapped the core session players, with The Doobies interspersed. For example, Patrick wrote ‘Black Water’ and sang it originally, so he played acoustic guitar with Ilya Toshinsky and the other guys on the new recording. The Doobies also did some auxiliary parts and sang with the artists on some parts.” The Doobie Brothers flew in from California multiple times last fall and winter for sessions at Starstruck, Black Bird and House of Blues. “I don’t want to speak for them,” acknowledged Huff, “but I think they are absolutely impressed with Nashville. The musicianship was really evident to them.”
Pictured (L-R): Doobie Brothers members Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston and John McFee; album executive producer and Doobie Brothers manager Bruce Cohn; Gary Overton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Love and Theft’s Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles; Casey James; album producer and executive producer David Lyndon Huff. Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic

Pictured (L-R): Doobie Brothers members Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston and John McFee; album executive producer and Doobie Brothers manager Bruce Cohn; Gary Overton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville; Love and Theft’s Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles; Casey James; album producer and executive producer David Lyndon Huff. Photo: Ivor Karabatkovic


Video production company Rink Entertainment documented the making of the album, asking the artists to describe how The Doobie Brothers influenced them. “Their answers were fascinating,” said Huff. “They go into quite a lot of detail, which was especially surprising coming from the younger artists.”
He teamed with his brother, mega-hit producer Dann Huff to co-produce four songs on the album. Dann offered, “I think this will be the first time that Nashville will hear how very talented David is. This really was his baby and I see it as his entry into the Country market.”
“His talent in re-imagining these classic hits is incredible,” agreed Sony Music Nashville VP of A&R Jim Catino. “David has done a stellar job working with each of these amazing artists and creating a great energy for The Doobies and everyone involved.”
“This project has been a passion of mine from the beginning to completion,” summed Huff. “To come full circle from playing their music as a teenager, to working with the guys—I’m pretty proud of it.”
David Huff

David Huff


Meet David Huff:
“I got into music, started playing on records, and never looked back. I love Country and pop—I’m musically schizophrenic. Growing up in Nashville Country music is part of your DNA, but I switch hats a lot.” Nashville native Huff started banging on the drums in high school, usually playing with older brother Dann. He moved to Los Angeles after high school and that became his home base while touring. Dann and David formed the band Giant, which was signed to A&M Records and toured all over the world around 1989-1991. When that success faded, he became a sideman for Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, and several pop artists. About four years ago his focus shifted to production.
Besides his work on The Doobie Brothers album, Huff recently remixed the Avicii hit “Hey Brother” for Country radio. “It’s folk meets EDM. The goal was to keep the integrity of the song, but treat it so our market can absorb it. It was a challenge but it turned out well. I kept Dan Tyminski’s classic vocals and recreated everything else. Drum machines and horns don’t typically come into our market, so I replaced the horns with mandolin and fiddle. Instrumentation can be a key to unlock many doors. We captured what it needed to be for this market.”
Southbound Track Listing:
“Black Water” with Zac Brown Band
“China Grove” with Chris Young
“Jesus Is Just Alright” with Casey James
“Listen to the Music” with Blake Shelton with Hunter Hayes on guitar
“Long Train Runnin’” with Toby Keith
“Nobody” with Charlie Worsham
“Rockin’ Down the Highway” with Brad Paisley
“South City Midnight Lady” with Jerrod Niemann
“Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)” with Tyler Farr
“Takin’ It to the Streets” with Love and Theft
“What a Fool Believes” with Sara Evans
“You Belong to Me” with Amanda Sudano Ramirez of the band Johnnyswim with Vince Gill on guitar

Leadership Music Reveals Board For 2014-2015

Pictured (L-R): Mike Craft, Diane Pearson, Sally Williams.

Pictured (L-R): Mike Craft, Diane Pearson, Sally Williams.


City National Bank’s Diane Pearson has been elected president of Leadership Music’s board for 2014-2015. Sony Music Nashville’s Mike Craft is president-elect, Ryman Auditorium’s Sally Williams is immediate Past President. Stacy Widelitz of Stacy Widelitz Music will serve as secretary, and Big Machine Label Group’s Andrew Kautz will join as treasurer.
Incoming board members include: Jon Anthony (Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Radio); Andrew Kautz; Justin Levenson (SESAC), and Erika Wollam-Nichols (NSAI/Bluebird Cafe).
Continuing board members are Tom Baldrica; Jeff Black, Lotos Nile; Julie Boos, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Carey Nelson Burch, My Own Shingle; Debbie Carroll, MusiCares; Bradley Collins, BMI; Lori Condon, Acony Records; Jaynee Day, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee; Fletcher Foster, Iconic Entertainment; Jay Frank, DigSin; Teresa George, ACM; Michael Huppe, SoundExchange; John Ingrassia, Vector Management; Andrew Kintz, SunTrust Bank; Ellen Lehman, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee; Tom Lord, Red Light Management; Bill Mayne, Country Radio Broadcasters; Wendell Moore, Baker Donelson, et al; Lynn Morrow, Adams & Reese; Chip Petree, Ritholz Levy; Amy Smartt, CMA; and Lane Wilson, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.
Will Cheek of Bone, McAllister & Norton serves as legal counsel.

Star Farm Adds Borchetta As West Coast Promotion Director

Chris Borchetta

Chris Borchetta


Star Farm Nashville has added Chris Borchetta as Director, West Coast Promotion. The California native has enjoyed a 12+ year radio promotion career, and has worked with Travis Tritt, Mark Chestnut, and Jerrod Niemann. Borchetta most recently served as Manager, West Coast Promotion for Nine North Records.
“Chris and I have been wanting to work together for years.  Michael and I know that he will do a great job promoting our roster to radio and we are excited to welcome him to the Star Farm Nashville team,” says Matt Corbin, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Star Farm Nashville.
“I am really looking forward to being part of this organization and to represent their quality roster to the West Coast territory,” adds Borchetta.
Michael Powers and Corbin opened Star Farm last month; the company offers project management services such as creative services, music video production, marketing, publicity and distribution.
Borchetta can be reached at cborchetta@starfarmnashville.com, or at 323-744-1753.

Industry Pics (8/7/14)

Pictured (L-R) – Josh Thompson (Big Machine Music), Matt Rogers (ole), CJ Solar (Sea Gayle), Charlie Worsham (Little Louder Music) perform during "Horton Hears A Hit Pub-lishers Crawl"

Pictured (L-R) – Josh Thompson (Big Machine Music), Matt Rogers (ole), CJ Solar (Sea Gayle), Charlie Worsham (Little Louder Music) perform during “Horton Hears A Hit Pub-lishers Crawl”


Big Machine Music partnered with several independent publishers, including  Sea Gayle Music, Liz Rose Music, Wrensong, Little Louder, and Ole, for the second edition of “Horton Hears A Hit Pub-lisher’s Crawl.” The event was sponsored by Fifth Third Bank and Buddy Lee Attractions.
Artists Cassadee Pope, Charlie Worsham, Ryan Kinder, Mickey Guyton, Austin Webb, producer Frank Liddell and their A&R representatives all took part in the event.
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BMI Executive Director, Writer-Publisher Relations Mark Mason (left) and BMI Vice President, Writer-Publisher Relations Charlie Feldman (right) flank Fly Golden Eagle’s Ben Trimble backstage at Lollapalooza.

BMI Executive Director, Writer-Publisher Relations Mark Mason (left) and BMI Vice President, Writer-Publisher Relations Charlie Feldman (right) flank Fly Golden Eagle’s Ben Trimble backstage at Lollapalooza.


Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) presented 21 acts on its 2014 Lollapalooza stage, Aug. 1-3 in Chicago.

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Ryan Seacrest (L) and Cody Alan (R).

Ryan Seacrest (L) and Cody Alan (R).


CMT’s Cody Alan made sure to catch up with fellow Premiere Networks host Ryan Seacrest during recent American Idol auditions in Nashville. It is unclear at this point whether or not Alan decided to audition for this season.