All Hallows' Eve: Artist and Industry Photo Round Up

What are you going to be for halloween? Here’s a selection of artists and industry members celebrating the holiday in creative form.

The Band Perry


Terri Clark & Chuck Wicks

Terri Clark & Chuck Wicks


Via Reba McEntire's Facebook Page: "Halloween was daddy's favorite holiday! He loved to pull pranks over at Ray and Ruby's house. It was always fun for us kids too. Love and miss you daddy."

Reba McEntire’s Facebook Page: “Halloween was daddy’s favorite holiday! He loved to pull pranks over at Ray and Ruby’s house. It was always fun for us kids too. Love and miss you daddy.”


AustinWebb

Austin Webb with Streamsound Rep Theresa Durst Ford


Transformed staff at AristoMedia/Marco Promotions. (L-R): Lauren Barbieri,Sarah Matlock,Brianna Nelson and Sharilyn Pettus

Transformed staff at AristoMedia/Marco Promotions. (L-R): Lauren Barbieri, Sarah Matlock, Brianna Nelson and Sharilyn Pettus


Dustin Lynch and an unidentified trick-or-treater.

Dustin Lynch and an unidentified trick-or-treater.


Curb's Jim Ed Norman and decorated staff.

Curb’s Jim Ed Norman and decorated staff.


Maddie and Tae

Maddie and Tae via Facebook


Lady Antebellum

Lady Antebellum and songwriter Rodney Clawson


 

Awards Season Recap: Reflections On CMAs, Grammys

With the CMA Awards scheduled for Wednesday night, Nov. 5, the CMA took a look back at some CMA Awards milestones. Click here to find out about the first live national TV broadcast, first live radio broadcast, first and only time outside of Nashville and much more.

“The 3rd Annual CMA Awards” was the first show to broadcast live, asJohnny Cash won five Awards in a single night. June Carter.  Plus, the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Gene Autry and Bill Monroe.

Johnny Cash won five awards in a single night on “The 3rd Annual CMA Awards,” the first show to be broadcast live. Photo: CMA


• • • •

To coincide with the first round of Grammy voting, the organization recapped the Top Grammy Recipients of the 21st Century in its latest digital magazineAlison Krauss is the only Nashvillian listed in the top 11. She’s earned 27 Grammys during her career and 17 since 2001. Other Nashville musicians near the top 11 include her longtime band members and solo artists, Dobro player Jerry Douglas and guitarist/singer Dan Tyminski, who have eleven and ten trophies, respectively. Nashville banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck has earned ten.

alison krauss grammy wins

MusicRowPics: Gloriana

Gloriana visit

Gloriana visit


MusicRow welcomed trio Gloriana to its Nashville office recently, where the group offered a preview of “Trouble,”  the lead single from their forthcoming third album. The group’s Rachel Reinert, Tom Gossin, and Mike Gossin served up intricate harmonies during their acoustic rendition of the song.
“It’s based on a a true story I went through with a boyfriend a few years ago,” said Reinert. “He was a liar and a cheater, and it was really therapy in a song. We girls can be detectives when we feel like anything is going wrong, and when we find out, we’ll [mess] your world up.”
“It was two years in the making,” said Mike. “We recorded it in five different states, in Tennessee, but also in Montana, Nevada, California and New York City. We wrote 100 songs for the album, and narrowed it down to 11 tracks.”
They penned all but three songs on the album. “We always want to put some outside songs on albums,” added Mike. “We have a ‘best song wins’ policy. We are so happy with the 11 songs we ended up choosing. It sounds like a full album. We don’t just record three or four strong songs that we think will be potential singles, and then just use filler for the rest of the album. These are all good songs. Even though these days, it’s a singles game and not an album game. We wanted 11 songs that would be good enough to be singles, a project that will make you want to listen to the entire album.”
“No matter how many downloads or streams are popular, great albums don’t have a problem selling,” said Tom. “We wanted to make a great album.”
They finished with a rendition of  their hit single, “Kissed You (Good Night),” which was penned by Tom Gossin and Josh Kear, and later certified platinum.
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Nashville Writers Pair With EDM Artists

Pictured (L-R:) Freeman Wizer (Sea Gayle), Danny D’Brito (Brass Knuckles), Ingrid Andress (Sea Gayle writer), AJ Burton (Nettwerk/Revelry), Anthony Pisano (Brass Knuckles), Mike Fiorentino (Nettwerk/Revelry writer), Evyn Mustoe (ASCAP), Joseph Pepin (Complete Control Mgmt), Tony Livadas (Brass Knuckles) and Chris Van Belkom (Combustion)

Pictured (L-R:) Freeman Wizer (Sea Gayle), Danny D’Brito (Brass Knuckles), Ingrid Andress (Sea Gayle writer), AJ Burton (Nettwerk/Revelry), Anthony Pisano (Brass Knuckles), Mike Fiorentino (Nettwerk/Revelry writer), Evyn Mustoe (ASCAP), Joseph Pepin (Complete Control Mgmt), Tony Livadas (Brass Knuckles) and Chris Van Belkom (Combustion)


Nettwerk One Music/Revelry Music, Combustion Music, Sea Gayle Music and Complete Control Management recently came together to host a two-day writing camp combining Nashville writers: NW1/Revelry clients Neil Mason, Mike Fiorentino and Tammi Kidd Hutton, Combustion client Luke Foley, and Sea Gayle clients Bryan Simpson and Ingrid Andress with two EDM artists: Tritonal and Brass Knuckles.
Nettwerk’s AJ Burton says, “The idea of organizing an outside-the-box writing camp in Nashville intrigued me and my colleague Melissa Emert-Hutner, and after discussing the idea with our friends at Combustion, Sea Gayle and Complete Control Management, we decided to give it a shot. Combining forces between two thriving genres and pushing the limits and EDM artists’ ability to feature various artists on their records, it just made sense to us.”
Complete Control Management’s head of A&R Joseph Pepin says, “I’ve toyed around with the idea of sending dance acts from Complete Control’s roster to Nashville for a while now. When I began discussing the idea with my friends over at Nettwerk, Combustion and Sea Gayle, I found that they shared an equal amount of excitement for the idea, so we moved forward with it. I’ve always had the utmost respect for the songwriting that takes place in Nashville and the ability that the writers in this city have to tell a story in a unique way. I think it is safe to say that we are all really happy with the results of the camp, and we hope to have more outside the box collaborations of this type in the near future.”

Industry Ink: Blaster Records, J. Michael Harter, Sharon Corbitt-House

blaster records111Blaster Records will soon have a new office. As of Monday, Nov. 11, the company’s new address will be 1114 17th Ave. S., Ste. 204, Nashville, TN 37212.

Blaster Records’ number will remain 615-301-1769.

Email addresses for Blaster Records will shift to a new firstname@blasterrecords.com format.

                                                                             • • •
Anozira Records/GMV Nashville artist J. Michael Harter and Charlotte Clayton recently welcomed their first child, daughter Aspen Lee Harter. Aspen was born on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014 at 7:47 a.m. and weighed 6 lbs., 2 oz.
aspen11

Aspen Lee Harter

 • • •

Sharon Corbitt-House

Sharon Corbitt-House


Friends and industry members have joined to celebrate Grand Victor Sound studio manager/HouseKopp Management artist manager Sharon Corbitt-House, a key person in the campaign to preserve the Music Row area’s RCA Studio A.
A fundraiser has been set up to thank Corbitt-House for her work by sending her to a day spa of her choice. There are two days left in the fundraising, and so far, $475 has been raised toward the $500 goal. For more information, visit fundly.com.

Foo Fighters Won't Honor Secondary Market Tickets Tonight At Ryman

foo fighters11Some fans who purchased tickets to tonight’s (Oct. 31) Foo Fighters concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium may be out of luck. According to the band’s social media, tickets purchased from scalpers and secondary sellers will not be honored. Tickets are in extremely high demand because the Ryman, which seats less that 2,400 people, is a much smaller venue than the superstar band usually plays.
In order to prevent scalping, a forced credit card entry system will be used tonight, with plans to cancel anyone who purchased more than two tickets on one credit card. Fans could only purchase tickets to the show through Ticketmaster’s paperless ticketing system. Those tickets were non-transferable, and purchasers must present a matching ID and credit card at the door.
According to kptv.com, tickets went on sale Wednesday (Oct. 29) at 10 a.m. for $20, and sold out in minutes. However, tickets could later be found on secondary vendor sites, with prices reaching over $600.
Foo Fighters’ upcoming album, Sonic Highways, will be in stores Nov. 10. Tonight’s show will also include a screening of their HBO documentary.
Read MusicRow‘s online coverage about concert ticketing, as part of a larger print piece from August/September Artist Roster print magazine.

Exclusive Q&A: Tim Fink On SESAC's Growth In A Changing Industry

Tim Fink

Tim Fink


Tim Fink was playing in a band, running live sound and studying music education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater when a friend told him about a college that offered a degree in audio engineering. It piqued his interest and in the late ’80s Fink made a life-changing move to Tennessee and enrolled in MTSU’s music production program. He expected to return to his hometown Chicago after graduation, but a job at SESAC changed his course. “Little did I know that it would turn into a career for me,” he says.
Today SESAC has around 150 employees, with their headquarters in Nashville and additional offices in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and London. Fink serves as Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations and is approaching his 25th year at the performing rights organization.
What was your first position at SESAC?
My first job at SESAC was on the opposite side of the business. I see us as having two sides: licensing and affiliation. I started in licensing and administration which included reviewing radio station spot rate information, one of the determining factors in their license fee. Shortly after that, SESAC needed help in affiliation so I got to work on both sides of the company. It was amazing because nobody did that, and it’s really when my relationships with the writers started. This developed into me coming into the writer/publisher department full time. The rest exploded from there.
What has been a key to your success in the music industry?
There have been a lot of people I have looked up to in my career, whether they knew it or not. What I have developed from watching other people and the way they’ve done things is pretty simple for me. Treat people the way you want to be treated. That’s the way I chose to be. It’s one of the things that has brought success my way, treating people fairly and taking care of them.
What are some of the high profile signings and accomplishments you have been most excited about during your career?
To this day, it still excites me to honor a writer who has not received an award before. When I signed Hillary Scott, Lady Antebellum didn’t exist. So it was exciting for me to be able to hand her her first plaque. It’s not always just about the high-profile writers. A lot of people have a tendency to overlook successes, and it’s about celebrating the little accomplishments. When a new writer that has never had a ‘hold’ before gets that hold, it’s a step in the process and it should be celebrated. Whether big or small, I love celebrating my writers’ accolades.
How has SESAC evolved during your career?
At the end of the day, the three societies all have to do the same thing. Regardless of how we do things differently, it’s our job to represent our songwriters’ performance rights. If we don’t keep our writers and publishers happy, they go away and so do we. We have to do things that are going to be beneficial to them. We can’t do it the same as anyone else, we have to do it better. When we went to fingerprint technology, we saw an industry in performance rights that essentially hadn’t changed in fifty years in the way they were tracking radio and distributing money. It was an opportunity for us to bring technology into the game. Going to monthly distribution was a big part of it, as well. When we decided to go to monthly distribution, we asked, “How can we benefit our writers and our publishers?”
Hillary Scott and Tim Fink

Hillary Scott and Tim Fink


Looking back over your career, give me an example of when you thought, “Wow! This is really cool.”
When I started here, I would go to various events and I would hear “ASCAP and BMI” or “BMI and ASCAP” and it irritated me. But to be honest, SESAC wasn’t on the same playing field at the time, and I understand why it was left out. So one of the coolest things for me and it sounds really simple, is the fact that I’ve been a part of this organization getting it to a point where now it is more likely to hear “SESAC, ASCAP and BMI” in the same sentence and it is the exception to not hear SESAC mentioned in that same breath. We were a quiet little company. That is very different today. We are a legitimate player in the performing rights world. The respect that we have in the world of performing rights is greatly different than what it was twenty years ago. Our involvement on Capitol Hill is very different than it was in 1990.
What is SESAC’s philosophy in signing new writers for representation?
It’s important to me to let people know that there’s very much an open door policy here at SESAC. A lot of people say we are a selective organization and some people think that’s a closed door mentality, but it’s not. It’s an open door mentality. We look for people who have a need for performance rights representation. I don’t need to sign the guy who is writing music in his garage and playing it for his parents. That person doesn’t need performance rights representation. The way we go about doing business is very strategic. The way we make decisions across the board are generally in the best interest of the writer. My barometer is always about the writer. With signing people like Zac Brown or obtaining the Kurt Cobain catalog; those types of deals are very strategic. There’s a lot more strategy behind what we do than just throwing the dart at the dart board.
What is the most important advice you give your writers?
You’ve heard it before, “Write, write, write.” When you’re done writing that one, write another one. There is so much more involved in getting a song out there than just having a great song. Always do things for a purpose. Don’t do something just for the sake of doing it. Put yourself in places where opportunities can be created. A very simple example: Don’t write at home in your bedroom. Come to the writer rooms. Go to your publishing house. I guarantee that you’re not going to meet somebody in your kitchen when you’re getting your coffee in between verses, that may create an opportunity for you. I will finish it with saying, “Write, write, write.” You’ve got to have the goods.
The Nashville music industry has really been beat up this year, particularly when looking at the lackluster sales. What is your perspective on all of the challenges we are facing? How do you approach it?
I think there have been more changes in the last eight years than in the last fifty. Things are changing so much faster than they used to. This industry has always been in the game of catch up because we have been afforded that luxury. Today? Not so much. We have to put ourselves out in front of these things. I still remain an optimist. I still think the greatest days of this industry are ahead of us. Maybe part of that optimism is what we’ve done at SESAC. There’s ways to look at things differently and that’s what we’ve done. Yes, there’s a lot of things to still be worked out and there will be changes. But the songwriting vocation will still be as strong as ever and there will be ways for writers to make a living doing this. There are a lot of issues out there right now, but I’m optimistic that we will get through them.

Lady Antebellum Gets Into The Halloween Spirit With No. 1 Party

Pictured (L-R): Rodney Clawson, Leslie Roberts (BMI), Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Tim Fink (SESAC), Dave Haywood, Michael Martin (ASCAP) and Mike Dungan (UMG).

Pictured (L-R): Rodney Clawson, Leslie Roberts (BMI), Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, Tim Fink (SESAC), Dave Haywood, Michael Martin (ASCAP) and Mike Dungan (UMG).


Friends, family and music industry members gathered at Nashville hotspot City Winery on Wednesday (Oct. 29) to celebrate Rodney Clawson and Lady Antebellum members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood on the recent chart-topping success of “Bartender.” The song is the lead single from the trio’s fifth studio album 747, and was recently certified platinum. It marks Lady Antebellum’s ninth No. 1 of their career, and Clawson’s 15th chart-topper.
Hosted by ASCAP’s Michael Martin, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, and SESAC’s Tim Fink, the trio was given various plaques and trophies to honor the song’s success.
Given the upcoming holiday, many guests got into the Halloween spirit for the occasion, including the three band members. Kelley and Haywood dressed as a human beer barrels, with Haywood completing his ensemble with a mullet wig and glasses. “We’re the most rock & roll band in the universe right now,” quipped Kelley. He later gave ample credit to Haywood for his work on the song. “We wanted to make this our most energetic record to date. He is a workaholic. He went home with a pregnant wife and found time between all this stuff to come up with these amazing riffs.”
Other adorable costumes included Scott’s young daughter Eisele in a pig costume, and Rodney Clawson’s daughter Charlie in a kitten costume.
The evening also featured Lady Antebellum in an intimate, acoustic performance of the song of the hour, “Bartender,” backed by Rodney and Charlie Clawson.

Natalie Stovall Hosts Web Series Leading Up To CMA Awards

natalie stovall and the driveNatalie Stovall and the Drive are featured in “On The Road To The CMA Awards,” a five-part digital series sponsored by JCPenney, airing now on www.abc.go.com. The series, hosted by Stovall and leading up to CMA Awards week, features Thomas Rhett, Dan+Shay, Clayton Anderson, and Elizabeth HuettBehind-the-scenes footage of the CMA Awards is also included.

Natalie Stovall and the Drive’s first national television commercial, the “Stomp A Little Louder” spot for JCPenney, will air during “The 48th Annual CMA Awards” airing live on Wednesday, Nov. 5 on ABC. An extended version of the spot will be posted to the JCPenney YouTube channel, where viewers can shop the band’s looks via links imbedded within the video.

Stovall will be styled by JCPenney design partner Nicole Miller for all of her CMA Awards week activities, including her performance at CMT’s Next Women of Country event, where she is one of the honorees.

Luke Bryan To Launch Clothing Line 32 Bridge With Cabela's

Screen shot 2014-10-31 at 9.18.05 AM11
Cabela’s Incorporated, the World’s Foremost Outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, announced the launch of Luke Bryan’s new 32 Bridge line of clothing which will debut exclusively at Cabela’s on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The new line will offer men’s and women’s apparel, including short-sleeve T-shirts, long-sleeve T-shirts and caps that appeal to Country music fans and outdoor enthusiasts.
Drawing inspiration from his hometown roots, Route 32 Bridge crosses over the Flint River in Georgia and was an important area with Bryan was raised and developed his love for the outdoors.
“This brand is so dear to me and such a big part of who I am that seeing it come to life is so exciting,” said Bryan. “I can’t wait to share it!”
“Not only is Luke one of the top Country music artists in the world, but he also shares Cabela’s passion for the outdoors,” said Lee Dolan, Cabela’s Vice President of Brand Marketing “Cabela’s was thrilled to collaborate with Luke on the creation of the new 32 Bridge clothing line and is honored to offer 32 Bridge products to our customers.”
Watch as Luke Bryan discusses Route 32 Bridge, the namesake of his new clothing line: