Gwen Sebastian Signs Booking Agreement with Artist Events

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Gwen Sebastian has joined Artist Events for booking. Between touring with Blake Shelton and her own concert appearances, Sebastian recently released the video for “Small Town Soul.” The track has been featured on Sirius XM The Highway’s “On The Horizon.” Sebastian’s current label home is Flying Island Entertainment.
Gary Kirves, Artist Events CEO, previously worked at booking agency Buddy Lee Attractions.

Pictured l to r: Flying Island’s Louis Newman, Gwen Sebastian, Artist Events’ Gary Kirves and Flying Island’s Nancy Eckert

Pictured (L-R): Flying Island’s Louis Newman, Gwen Sebastian, Artist Events’ Gary Kirves and Flying Island’s Nancy Eckert

MusicRowPics: Casey James

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Pictured (L-R): Kelsey Grady, Troy Stephenson, Eric Parker, Casey James, Sarah Skates, Jessica Nicholson, MusicRow Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson, and James’ manager Bryan Frasher.


Season Nine American Idol finalist Casey James gained significant chart traction with his debut single, “Crying On A Suitcase,” which climbed into the Top 15 in 2012. He was later chosen by pop queen Taylor Swift as one of her openers for her 2013 Red Tour.
The multi-talented Columbia Nashville artist returns to Country radio with the angst-ridden ballad “Fall Apart,” penned by Will Bowen, along with Josh Carter and Zach Carter (a sibling duo better known as Kingston). The song is the first single from James’ forthcoming sophomore project.
“’Fall Apart’ is the first song I cut, and it set the bar really high for the rest of the album,” James said during a recent visit with the MusicRow staff to preview select album tracks. A talented guitarist, James’ own smooth axe riffs resonate during the instrumental ending to “Fall Apart.”
James has worked on the upcoming album for more than two years, fine tuning the project’s layered sound along with several co-producers, including producer/engineer Julian King (Tyler Farr, Emerson Drive). “We had to pick the right co-producer for the right song. Each producer brings a different feel, a different sound.
“These are more vocal songs than the last record,” says James, who also previewed the King-produced “Light Years.” “I picked who I wanted to produce it, and each musician I wanted to play on it.”
He rounded out the visit with a live acoustic version of the inspirational song “Fuel.” “It’s about having confidence and faith in yourself,” said James, “about taking negativity and challenges and turning them into fuel.”
The forthcoming album is tentatively slated for a 2015 release.

Songwriters On The Road: Writing Retreat, Virgin Islands

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Pictured (L-R, bottom): Ben Cooper, Gavin Slate, Melissa Fuller, Hannah Blaylock, top row left to right, Jillian Jacqueline, Kat Higgins, Kellys Collins and Andy Albert.

Pictured (L-R, bottom): Ben Cooper, Gavin Slate, Melissa Fuller, Hannah Blaylock; (top): Jillian Jacqueline, Kat Higgins, Kellys Collins and Andy Albert.


Big Deal Music, Downtown Music Publishing, Patrick Joseph Music, Parallel Entertainment, Starstruck Writers Group, and The Writer’s Den recently held a songwriter retreat at Bell Bottom Farms in Cedar Hill, Tenn.
Writers in attendance included Jenn Schott, Ben Cooper, Gavin Slate, Melissa Fuller, Hannah Blaylock, top row left to right, Jillian Jacqueline, Kat Higgins, Kellys Collins and Andy Albert.

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Hit-Makers-&-Rum-ChasersThe Hit Makers & Rum Chasers songwriting series will return to the Reichhold Center for the Arts in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Event promoter Carolyn Miller of Nashville-based 343 Agency has assembled a lineup of hit-makers which includes Kendell Marvel, Dave Berg, Marc Beeson, and Marcus Hummon.
Tickets are available from $20-$40 at the venue box office, by calling 340-693-1559. For additional information, visit HitMakersandRumChasers.com.
 

ole Inks Deals With Rory Feek, Joey Martin

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ole completed a deal to bring past and future compositions by country singer/songwriter Rory Feek under its banner. In addition, ole signed Joey Martin, Rory’s wife and partner in the duo Joey+Rory, to a worldwide catalog and writer admin deal and obtained the digital rights to the pair’s television variety show, The Joey+Rory Show, on RFD-TV.
Feek’s catalog currently includes more than 200 works, including the #1 Billboard Hot Country Songs hits “Some Beach,” which was recorded by Blake Shelton, and “A Little More Country Than That” by Easton Corbin. He has also written songs for Kenny Chesney, Randy Travis, Mark Wills, Terri Clark, Clay Walker, Trisha Yearwood and many others.
“Rory’s back catalog first came to ole in 2010 as part of our Blacktop Music Group acquisition; now, we’re happy to welcome him to our roster of active writers,” said Gilles Godard, ole Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Development. “While he’s already had quite a bit of success, his career is just getting started, and we’re looking forward to taking this journey with him as we expand his reach in the digital world and explore new opportunities for his ever-expanding catalog.”
“I’ve known and admired Gilles and Robert [Ott] at ole for a while and couldn’t ask for a better group of folks to represent my music,” said Rory Feek. “It’s a blessing to have my catalog in such good hands as my wife Joey and I move forward in our careers as artists, songwriters, and TV personalities. We’re excited to see what the future holds in store.”

MusicRowLife: MusicRow Chart Director Troy Stephenson

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Pictured (L-R): MusicRow Chart Director Troy Stephenson and son Charles Dale Stephenson

Pictured (L-R): MusicRow Chart Director Troy Stephenson and son Charles Dale Stephenson


MusicRow Chart Director Troy Stephenson and wife Amy welcomed son Charles Dale Stephenson on Oct. 17, 2014.  He joins big brother Henry to form the “Hank and Chuck Show.”
Stephenson facilitates the MusicRow CountryBreakout chart and Chart Report process each week, assists with advertising, and more.
The Albany, Wis. native received his Degree in Communications, Sales/Marketing from The University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2003. He spent 10 years in radio promotions with stops in Madison, Wis., Miami, Fla. and Ft. Myers, Fla.

Vanderbilt Law To Host Free International Copyright Panel

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Vanderbilt Five international experts will discuss the current state of copyright law as it pertains to songwriters and composers during an open forum session at Vanderbilt Law School, Friday, October 24.
“Is Copyright Working for Songwriters and Composers? A Global Panel at Vanderbilt Law School” will be free and open to the public from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Flynn Auditorium at the law school, 131 21st Ave. S. The forum follows the International Council of Creators of Music, which meets Oct. 23-24 at the Lowe’s Vanderbilt Hotel.
Daniel Gervais, professor of law and director of the Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program, will moderate the discussion.
Participants will include:
Jörg Evers, composer and president of Germany’s GEMA (a performing rights organization)
Lorenzo Ferrero, composer and president of the International Council of Music Authors (founded to protect the rights of music creators)
Jean-Marie Moreau, songwriter and former vice president of France’s SACEM (a performing rights organization)
Eddie Schwartz, songwriter and president of the Music Creators of North America (founded to provide a voice for music creators)

Pandora Launches Artist Marketing Platform

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pandora175In a blog post yesterday, Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren announced the Artist Marketing Platform (AMP), designed to help artists and managers obtain more value from data provided by the internet radio giant. Pandora plays music from more than 125,000 artists. More than 12,000 of those artists have more than 100,000 Pandora listeners that have given feedback, which is now available to the artists in a visual-friendly format.
The Pandora AMP personal dashboard highlights key metrics for an artist’s tracks, stations and listeners. It breaks down an artist’s Pandora listeners by number of listeners and by demographics. The dashboard also provides information on how many fans have created a Pandora station based around them or a similar artist. It offers a tally of thumbs up or thumbs down an artist or particular song has received from listeners. Perhaps the most important tool available through AMP is the interactive heat map, which allows musicians to see where people are listening to their music on Pandora across the United States.
Performance can be viewed for the past seven, 30, or 90 days.
“With AMP, we hope to make the day in and day out easier for artists by eliminating the guesswork,” Westergren said. “From finding out what songs are performing well to inform singles or set lists, to mapping where an artist’s fan base is to inform tour schedules, our ultimate goal is to help artists across the spectrum build and maintain their careers.”
 
 

Citi, Live Nation And Yahoo Introduce New Interview Series

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unnamed (5)Citi® Private Pass, Live Nation Entertainment and Yahoo today (Oct. 23) announced Backstage with Citi, a new exclusive behind the scenes interview web series on Yahoo Music. Citi is now an official sponsor of Yahoo Live, a pioneering music experience on Yahoo, including the Live Nation Channel which offers fans a live concert everyday for a year. The new series Backstage with Citi is an extension of Citi’s long-standing relationship with Live Nation.
Citi is offering behind the scenes backstage access available anywhere, anytime and segments of the interview will be exclusively available on www.citiprivatepass.com for 48 hours before it posts on Yahoo.
“Our customers love the access that we offer across live music and entertainment, and withBackstage with Citi we are able to pull back the curtain even further putting our cardmembers in the room with artists when they sit for a comprehensive interview with one of the nation’s top interviewers and on one of the most popular media platforms,” said Jennifer Breithaupt, Citi’s SVP of Entertainment Marketing.
Yahoo News global anchor Katie Couric will interview a select number of artists who will be showcased as part of the series, giving Citi card members and music fans a glimpse behind the scenes with in-depth, compelling, interviews with some of the biggest names in music.
Web Series On Yahoo Music Kicks off with Conversation with Lady Antebellum on Friday, Oct. 24.
“Katie is so good about digging in and really asking about the stories that inspire the music – from the studio to the stage,” said Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott. “We always love chatting with her and think it’s a fun way to complement the concert experience for the fans!”

Aristo International Report Highlights Country's Global Impact

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Click to download the full report.

Click to download the full report.

The AristoMedia Group has released its Aristo International Report for fall 2014, highlighting Country music happenings around the globe. The company has been issuing this quarterly review since 2008.

Highlights in the new fall issue include:

• Country superstars set for the C2C (Country 2 Country) Festival in Europe

• Recap and photos of the Canadian Country Music Association Awards and CCMA Week, which took place in September. Among the events was AristoMedia owner Jeff Walker receiving a lifetime achievement award.

• The Sounds Australia event at the Americana Music Festival

• Digital Country radio stations, and a new Country video show

• Q and A with Australian music executive Milly Petriella and Aussie news briefs

• Remembrance of George Hamilton IV, highlights of the Gstaad festival, Gord Bamford receives CMA Global Country Artist Award and more

Nashville-based Video Creator Acquires Cable TV Ad Sales Organization

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StudioNowStudioNow, a Nashville-based video content creator that broke from AOL in 2013, announced today (October 22) the purchase of Jacksonville, Fl. video field production company Bluwave Productions.
Bluwave’s company services to clients in 22 advertising markets in the Southeast and includes one of the nation’s largest cable TV ad sales organizations.
As part of the deal, Bluwave’s founder Jim Dalton will join StudioNow as an advisor and key shareholder. Charlie Bolton will continue as Vice President and General Manager of Bluwave.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bluewave’s team to the StudioNow family,” said David Mason, StudioNow CEO. “Bluwave has mastered the art of creating quality content at scale. They will provide a huge boost to StudioNow’s ability to offer our market-leading solutions to Fortune 500 companies, brands, agencies and SMB’s.”
“By combining with StudioNow, Bluwave will have more resources to meet the needs of our clients in our region and across the country,” said Dalton. “We gain access to StudioNow’s industry-leading video production platform and 8,000 creative professionals, including directors, producers, animators, voice actors, editors, cinematographers, photographers, writers and other creative resources.”
Founded in 2007, StudioNow was purchased by AOL in 2010 for $36.5 million. The company – which maintains offices in New York and San Francisco for the business of creating over 50,000 high-quality, low-cost videos – has since been aligned with Nashville-based Claritas Capital after a 2013 strategic position, in which funding was provided to help expand the business.
StudioNow has created videos for ClearChannel, IBM, AT&T/YellowPages, Toyota, Verizon, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Simon & Schuster, Random House, FedEx, Twitter, CBS, Disney and Sports Illustrated.