RCA Studio A Named Among Nashville's Most Endangered Historical Properties

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30 Music Square West. Photo: Stephanie Saujon


RCA Studio A and historic Printer’s Alley are among this year’s “Nashville Nine,” a list of nine structures or areas considered to be the most endangered properties in Davidson Country. The list was announced Tuesday morning (Sept. 23) at RCA Studio A.
Speakers at the announcement included Nashville resident Mike Wolfe (of American Pickers), Historic Nashville president Melissa Wyllie, Nashville Nine Committee Chair Brian Tibbs, and Ben Folds co-manager Sharon Corbitt-House. Nominations were presented by members of the community, with committee members acting to narrow nominations down to the nine properties considered most endangered in the Nashville area.
“Historic Nashville believes historic preservation is an essential part of our community,” said Wyllie. “This year, the community has said loud and clear that, as a city, we need to find a way to grow that also preserves the historic places that make Nashville unique.”
Representatives were on hand from Save Studio A, which announced www.savestudioa.com is up and running, ready to welcome persons passionate about saving the studio and finding an alternative to Bravo Development’s plan to turn the building housing the studio into condominiums.
“They are coming in here and tearing buildings down and building whatever their vision is [for RCA Studio A and the Nashville area], not what the community’s vision is,” said Wolfe. “We have to give a voice to what we want our vision to be.”
Bravo Development’s Tim Reynolds states that the event does not alter development plans. “We have already investigated every way to preserve the property but could not find a feasible solution. We have offered the property for sale to those in the community who are interested in preserving it or who are in the preservation business. However, to date, no one has stepped forward with an offer.  I would encourage those who desire to preserve 30 Music Square West to channel their energy and efforts into raising the necessary capital to purchase the property. At the end of the day, whether the property is renovated or not, it must produce a positive cash flow. This property has remained on the market for a quarter century without a buyer and is now operating at a loss. No investor or owner can continue to operate a property at a loss, and it is not reasonable to ask Bravo Development to do so.”
The 2014 ‘Nashville Nine’ list includes:
1. Albert Samuel Warren House, located at 1812 Broadway (built around 1888)
2. Belair Mansion, located at 2250 Lebanon Road (constructed from 1832-1838)
3. Coca Cola Bottling Plant, located at 1525 Church Street (built in the 1920s)
4. Hamilton Church Cemetery, located at 3105 Hamilton Church Road (built around 1831)
5. Hillsboro High School, located at 3812 Hillsboro Pike (built in 1954)
6. Printers Alley Historic District, located at the 200 block of 3rd Ave. N. and 4th Ave. N., and 300 block of Church Street. (represents buildings built from 1874-1929)
7. RCA Studio A, located at 30 Music Square West (built in 1964)
8. Sunnyside Outbuildings, located at 3000 Granny White Pike (built in the early 19th century)
9. Trail West Building, located at 217-221 Broadway (built early 1900s)
For a full history on each structure on the list, visit historicnashvilleinc.com.

Walker Honored With CMAA's Lifetime Achievement Award

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jeff walker11AristoMedia Group’s President/CEO Jeff Walker was recently honored with the Country Music Association of Australia’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. The distinction recognizes the sustained promotion of Country music, as well as Walker’s 30+ years of supporting and mentoring of Australian artists, writers and industry members in North America.
CMAA president Dobe Newton presented Walker with the honor during the recent Australian Music Festival and Conference. “No one is more deserving of this first International Award determined by the CMAA Board,” said Newton.
Walker is also the recipient of this year’s CMA Jo Walker Meador International Award, which is given to someone whose efforts have had an impact in expanding Country music globally.
Walker has served on the boards of Leadership Music, NARAS, the Canadian Country Music Association, and the Nashville Film Festival (serving as President in 2004-2005). Walker is currently on the boards of the Country Music Association and the Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.

No. 1 Party: Jake Owen's "Beachin'"

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Pictured (L-R): Jon Nite, Jaren Johnston, Jake Owen & Jimmy Robbins. Photo by Ed Rode.

Pictured (L-R): Jon Nite, Jaren Johnston, Jake Owen & Jimmy Robbins. Photo by Ed Rode.


Songwriters, industry executives and artists gathered yesterday (Sept. 22) to celebrate the No. 1 success of “Beachin,’” Jake Owen’s RCA Nashville single.
ASCAP Nashville co-head, LeAnn Phelan, hosted the gathering at the Nashville PRO in association with Northwestern Mutual.
Songwriters Jon Nite (3rd No. 1 single), Jimmy Robbins (fifth No. 1 single) and Jaren Johnston (3rd No. 1 single) contributed writing credits to the Owen-title. All three are ASCAP-affiliated.
Sony/ATV’s Abbey Adams went down the line offering congratulations to the gang, including her writers Johnston and Nite. “We appreciate you opening up to outside songs,” said Adams to Owen. “‘Beachin’’ will forever be a Jake Owen song.”
On behalf of Keith Urban and Joe Fisher, Kent Earls offered remarks for UMPG’s stake of Robbins’ writing. “Thank you to Nashville,” Robbins remarked when he took the mic. “I’ve lived a lot of places growing up and never been a place more welcoming.”
Nite mentioned, “We just write songs that we think are cool. Jake has made this song reach [the fans].”
“Jake is one of the best guys out there,” praised Johnston after crediting Glenn Middleworth for giving him his start in songwriting.
Owen’s nearly 2-year-old daughter Olive Pearl Owen stole the show when she sauntered up to her famous father, who prompted her with the line: “Chillin’, breezing, sippin’, singin’ whoa-a-oh-ah-oh.” Of course she delivered a bashful, “Beachin,” into the mic. “You know a song is good when a little kid sings it!” said Owen.
“I appreciate you guys giving me your craft and letting me be the voice of it,” he said to the songwriters. “I came to write songs and ASCAP was the very first building I walked in.” Upon arriving in Nashville he had dropped off a CD at the PRO labeled with his birth name, Josh Owen. The next day he was back with another CD and when a staff member questioned his return, he claimed his name was Jake, which stuck.
Bill Mayne, Executive Director for CRS, and Brandi Simms, Sr. Director of Membership and Balloting for CMA, offered additional congratulations.
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Pictured (L-R, front row): Nite, Johnston, Owen, Robbins, (back row) Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Abbey Adams, ASCAP’s Evyn Mustoe, Universal Music Publishing Group’s Kent Earls, ASCAP’s LeAnn Phelan & RCA Records Nashville’s Keith Gale. Photo by Ed Rode.

UMG Nashville Eyes UK/Ireland Music Market

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umgUniversal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) has announced it will employ the consulting services of former GM for Decca Records/UK executive Mike Bartlett as it aims at capitalizing on sales in UK/Ireland.
Bartlett launched his London-based market consulting venture in 2014. UMGN imprints receiving the label relations, brand partnerships and touring strategy services include Capitol Nashville, EMI Nashville, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville.
“We’re excited to have Mike as part of our ever-growing international team,” said Brad Turcotte, VP Marketing at UMGN, who has overseen international strategy since March. “Mike will work closely with me to further build our overseas strategy.”
Bartlett is a 15-year record label veteran in the UK. He has worked across multiple genres, launching albums by artists including Gregory Porter, Rod Stewart, Alison Krauss and oversaw sales exceeding 100,000 units for the Nashville TV soundtrack. His team has provided marketing and promotion services for releases from Big Machine, Concord Music Group, Verve Records and Blue Note Records.

Arista Nashville Taps Regional Cliff Blake

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Cliff Blake

Cliff Blake

Cliff Blake will join the Arista Nashville promotion team on Oct. 1, serving as Director, Regional Promotion.

Most recently Director, Northeast/Midwest Promotion for Republic Nashville, Blake’s new post brings him back into the Sony Music Nashville family, where he previously spent more than five years as part of the Columbia Nashville promo team.
A New Hampshire native, Blake’s extensive industry background spans 25 years in broadcasting, followed by 16 years in the record industry, during which he has been a three-time nominee for Regional Promotion Director of the Year.

Lesly Tyson, Arista Nashville’s Vice President, National Promotion, said, “I am so honored to welcome Cliff back home to Sony Nashville. He is one of the most respected record promoters in our format, and a perfect fit for the Arista family.”

On joining the Arista team, Blake shares, “The sands of our business are constantly shifting, but with open eyes, you can learn a lot on every beach you walk. This is an incredible and timely opportunity to walk the journey with some of my best friends in the music business—a rare and wonderful homecoming with colleagues at Arista, as well as at Columbia and RCA.”

Nashville Stars Join Mavis Staples Tribute Concert

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unnamedMavis Staples will be honored at a concert event Nov. 19 at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. The star studded line up for I’ll Take You There—Celebrating 75 Years Of Marvis Staples includes Gregg Allman, Ryan Bingham, Eric Church, Patty Griffin, Glen Hansard, Taj Mahal, Michael McDonald, Buddy Miller, Aaron Neville, Widespread Panic, Grace Potter, and Marty Stuart. Staples will take the stage to perform with a number of special guests throughout the night.
Grammy Award-winner Don Was will serve as music director and lead the all-star band backing the performers. Keith Wortman is the creator and executive producer of the event. Was and Wortman’s recent work together includes concert events honoring Johnny Cash, Levon Helm and Gregg Allman. The Mavis Staples tribute will be recorded for multi-platform distribution.
“There isn’t anyone Mavis doesn’t touch on a deep level,” said Was. “Not just musicians, but humans everywhere. She is truly one of the most powerful and inspiring American singers of all time.”

YouTube Adds Realtime Analytics

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youtubeYouTube is adding features to help video content creators, recently introducing Realtime Reports to its analytics dashboard. The feature provides hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute information about published videos.
The option includes current view counts, minutes watched, levels of engagements (likes, dislikes, comments, etc.) and demographic views. Two reports cover the last 48 hours and the last 60 minutes.
“This report can give you early insights into the performance of your most recently published videos and might help you to adjust their promotion strategy going forward,” said the Google-owned company in a recent blog post.
Although there is a brief lag time, the two graphs are automatically updated on the analytics page, which is set to the time zone of the viewer.
Content owners are able to view data from the last five published videos.
Realtime data does not support filtering, playlists or shows at this time. Therefore, the geographic filter, the date picker, the comparison and the download functionalities are disabled in the interface.

Property Reports: Overnight Fire, and Rendering of New SESAC Building

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Image captured from News Channel 5’s video of the fire at 19 Music Sq. W. Click for the video.


Google Maps image of 19 Music Sq. W.

Google Maps image of 19 Music Sq. W.


The bright red, barn shaped building at 19 Music Sq. W. caught fire overnight and has been declared a total loss. Businesses located in the building include Encore Publicity, Only One Tailoring, Pura Vida Vintage clothing, and the offices of attorneys James Rose, Marshall Snyder, and Michael Mills.
According to News Channel 5, the fire started on the top floor, and was likely an electrical fire. Songwriters were in the building when the fire broke out around 9:15, and they escaped with little to no injuries. Though the fire was mostly contained to the top floor, water and smoke damaged the remainder of the property.
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Panattoni Development Co. has released a rendering of SESAC’s new building, to be located at 35, 37, 39 and 41 Music Sq. E.
The Nashville Post reports that local firm Tuck Hinton Architects designed the 95,000-square-foot building. Approximately half of the space has been leased, and Panattoni Nashville is working with Colliers International to lease the remainder.
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Rendering of the new SESAC building


 

Artist Updates: Florida Georgia Line, Zac Brown Band, Kayla Adams, Laura Story

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Photo courtesy Tyler Hubbard.


Both Florida Georgia Line members are now off the market. Tyler Hubbard proposed to girlfriend Hayley Stommel on Monday, Sept. 22. Hubbard posted a photo to social media of the pair celebrating the engagement, drinking champagne while in a helicopter.
“This is what a lucky man looks like right here. Not sure why but I sure am blessed to call this angel my fiancé,” Hubbard tweeted.
The other half of Florida Georgia Line, Brian Kelley, married Brittney Marie Cole in December 2013.
 

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Kayla Adams


Kayla Adams‘ debut music video, “Sober & Sorry,” will be featured on Virgin Airlines during the month of October.
The video will be showing on flights to and from Australia, and on all U.S. domestic runs.
The clip was produced by Huntley Ritter (Bring It On, We Are Marshall), and directed by Yarrow Kraner for Stafford Multimedia.

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Zac Brown Band performed at Wrigley Field recently. This marks the band’s second iconic ballpark performance this year, following a show at Fenway Park earlier in the summer.

Zac Brown Band and crew celebrate playing at Wrigley Field. Photo courtesy Southern Reel.

Zac Brown Band and crew celebrate playing at Wrigley Field. Photo courtesy Southern Reel.

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Laura Story with husband Martin and their newborn twins. Photo: The Media Collective


CCM artist Laura Story and husband Martin welcomed fraternal twin boys Benjamin Cary and Griffin James on Sept. 18. They weighed 6.5 lbs and 6.3 lbs, respectively. The twins join two-year-old sister Josie.
“Martin and I are so thrilled to finally meet these little guys! God has truly blessed our family,” said Story.
 
 
 
 

“This is what a lucky man looks like right here. Not sure why but I sure am blessed to call this angel my fiancé,” Hubbard tweeted, accompanied by a photo of now-fiancee Hayley Stommel and himself celebrating with champagne in a helicopter.Read More: Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard Gets Engaged | http://theboot.com/tyler-hubbard-engaged/?trackback=tsmclip

Grand Ole Opry To Celebrate 89th Birthday Oct. 10 and 11

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Craig Morgan. Photo: Chris Hollo

Craig Morgan. Photo: Chris Hollo


The Grand Ole Opry presented by Humana will celebrate its 89th birthday on Oct. 10 and 11, with four weekend Opry shows, plus the Opry’s birthday cake, a concert by Opry member Craig Morgan, backstage tours, free music on the Opry Plaza and more.
Lady Antebellum and Chris Janson are confirmed for two shows on Friday, Oct. 10, while Trace Adkins, Keb’ Mo’ and Clare Bowen (of ABC’s Nashville), are slated for Opry performances during two shows on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Morgan will perform a special Opry Birthday Concert at 3 p.m. on Oct. 11, while Greg Bates will  headline the Opry Plaza beginning at 5 p.m. on Oct. 11. The plaza will offer food, fun, and free music on the stage throughout the day.