Combustion Atlas Announces First Songwriter To Joint Venture

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Pictured (L-R): Scott Safford; Chris Van Belkom, Vice President, Combustion Music; Jameson Rodgers; Chris Farren, President, Combustion Music; Robert Filhart; and Kenley Flynn, Creative Director, Combustion Music.


Combustion Music and Atlas Music Publishing have signed the first writer to the new joint venture Combustion Atlas, which was announced last month.
Jameson Rodgers has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Richard Stumpf (Atlas CEO) and Chris Farren (Combustion owner/President).
Rodgers was born and raised in Batesville, Miss. After a baseball career at Northwest Mississippi Community College, he headed to University of Southern Mississippi where he performed at bars with a band named Silky Smooth.
“Jameson has impressed me not only as a gifted artist and songwriter, but as a self starting manager of his own career,” said Chris Van Belkom, Vice President, Combustion Music. “We’re so excited to get to work with him and add to the relationships he’s been able to create for himself.”
Rodgers joins a prolific and diverse roster of songwriters who have eared a total of 10 ASCAP Country Music awards, including Ashley Gorley being named ASCAP’s 2014 Country Music Songwriter of the Year.

LifeNotes: Services To Be Held For Jackie Pillers

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Jackie Pillers

Jackie Pillers


Longtime Nashville media member Jacqueline Ann “Jackie” Pillers passed away Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. She was 53.
Pillers, who was known to many members of the local media and music industry, spent nearly 20 years working at WSMV Channel 4. She also worked for WTVF News Channel 5, and WKRN News 2 during her career.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1:00 p.m., at the Chapel of Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home in her hometown Clarksville, with Demetria Kalodimos officiating. Visitation will be Friday, Dec. 5, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 11:00 a.m. until the hour of service, at the funeral home.
Arrangements are entrusted to Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home, 1510 Madison Street, Clarksville, TN 37040. Online condolences may be made at www.neal-tarpley.com.

Weekly Register: Revamped Chart Debuts

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Craig Wayne Boyd. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

Craig Wayne Boyd. Photo: Trae Patton/NBC


The updated Billboard 200 albums chart debuted this week. The new version takes into account album sales, on-demand streaming and digital track sales. This formula is designed to represent total album activity and more accurately reflect consumption, instead of only including album purchases. Details here.
The formula is:
album sales + TEA (defined as 10 tracks = one album) + streaming activity (defined as total streams divided by 1500) = total activity
Even without the boost from streams of her newest album 1989 (which has been withheld from streaming sites), Taylor Swift landed at No. 1 on the new Top 200, with total activity of 339K.
Black Friday shopping gave a 33 percent increase to all-genre album sales, totaling more than 7 million units. By comparison, the same week last year experienced a 62 percent jump, thanks to then-new releases by One Direction (546K) and Garth Brooks hits (164K).
Country album sales are up 46 percent week-over-week, selling 1 million units TW. Brooks stays put at No. 1 on the Country album chart with 63K, and 255K RTD in its third week. The methodology for the individual genre charts has not changed.
Top 5 Country Albums
Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine, 63K
Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt, 31K
Darius Rucker, Home For The Holidays, 30K
Sam Hunt, Montevallo, 26K
Miranda Lambert, Platinum, 26K
Tracks: Craig Wayne Boyd, the indie star from The Voice, has the top-selling country track this week, moving 46K of his version of “I Walk The Line.”
As we zoom to the end of 2014, sales stats are down across the board:
Total albums YTD -12.3 percent (222.297 million TY/ 253.563 million LY)
Country albums YTD -11 percent (28.551 million TY/ 32.091 million LY)
Total digital tracks YTD -12.6 percent (1.009 billion TY/ 1.155 billion LY)
Country tracks YTD -17.3 percent (125.7 million TY/ 151.8 million LY)
Info according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Briggs Exits New West Records

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Gary BriggsIndustry veteran Gary Briggs has exited New West Records, where he was Sr. Vice President of A&R and Artist Relations, to pursue new ventures. During his 10 years at the label, Briggs was responsible for signing and developing new talent including Nikki Lane and Max Gomez, while also advising established artists including John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin and Dwight Yoakam.
Before being promoted to the A&R/Artist Relations position, Briggs oversaw all AAA radio promotion campaigns for New West in addition to producing their Live From Austin, TX CD and DVD Line in conjunction with PBS and Austin City Limits. He is based in Austin.
Prior to New West Records, Briggs was Owner/President of Beyond Rust Management representing Lucinda Williams, M Ward and Beth Orton in partnership with Azoff Music Management. Briggs also previously served as President of Vapor Records, a label founded by Neil Young and his managers, Elliot Roberts and Frank Gironda. Additionally, he held the title of VP of Artist Relations/Creative Marketing at Warner Bros. Records, where he worked on projects involving Wilco, Chris Isaak, Eric Clapton, Don Henley, Mark Knopfler and Neil Young.
Briggs can now be reached at [email protected]

Live Nation Entertainment Appoints Jimmy Iovine To Board Of Directors

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Jimmy Iovine Live Nation Entertainment

Jimmy Iovine


Live Nation Entertainment has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Jimmy Iovine to the Board as a new independent director. Iovine is the co-founder of Beats Electronics and Beats Music. The Board will look to harness Iovine’s entrepreneurial experience creating new business models in the music industry, knowledge of brand building and insight into marketing to music fans.
“Jimmy is an extraordinarily gifted arbiter of culture who understands brands and creating compelling new products and services. He will add an important voice to our board of directors as we look to continue to accelerate Live Nation’s growth plans,” said Greg Maffei, chairman of the Live Nation Board of Directors.
“Jimmy is a great addition to the Board and will be a tremendous asset for me and the rest of the management team. He has been at the forefront of innovation in the entertainment industry for decades, and as an entrepreneur, he has combined business inventiveness and marketing prowess with a deep understanding of the music fan to develop and deliver some of the most sought after artist-oriented consumer products and experiences. This expertise will help Live Nation as we continue to discover new ways to attract and engage the live music fan,” said Michael Rapino, president and chief executive officer of Live Nation.
“Live Nation has put together the right management team and incredible assets to really be effective in the new music economy,” said Iovine.

'CMA Country Christmas' Ratings Tick Up

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Jennifer Nettles (l) and Idina Menzel perform during "CMA Country Christmas" airing Monday, Dec. 1 on the ABC Television Network. Photo: John Russell / CMA

Jennifer Nettles (l) and Idina Menzel perform during “CMA Country Christmas.” Photo: John Russell / CMA

Last night’s (Dec. 1) airing of CMA Country Christmas attracted 8.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen preliminary data on Zap2it.com. The ABC show garnered a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating, up a tenth from the 1.5 adults 18-49 rating earned by the 2013 special.

CMA Country Christmas was up for the second consecutive year in both total viewers (up 20 percent, 8.9 million vs. 7.4 million) and adults 18-49 (up 7 percent, 1.6/4 vs. 1.5/4). The show delivered its second-best-ever numbers in viewers and young adults.

The hour-long show came in second place among the major networks, falling behind NBC’s The Voice. The vocal competition earned a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating and scored 10.99 million viewers.

The show featured performances from host Jennifer Nettles, along with Carrie Underwood, Idina Menzel, Little Big Town, Michael W. Smith, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Steven Tyler, and more.

Paul Jankowski Authors Book on Brand Building

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paul jankowski book 2014New Heartland Group founder and chief brand strategist Paul Jankowski has released new book Speak American Too: Your Guide to Building Powerful Brands in the New Heartland. Jankoski, whose recent work includes the Pizza Hut/Blake Shelton pairing, says the New Heartland consumer segment is comprised of the 60 percent of U.S. consumers living in the Southwest, Midwest, and parts of the Southeast. The new book is a guide to understanding this culture, and a blueprint for brands to use in designing their New Heartland campaigns.
Included is consumer insight research, consumer case studies, and the principal channels through which consumers can be reached and influenced. Nashvillian Jankowski writes about the core values which impact buying behavior, and five key points of access for brands to engage New Heartland consumers: music, food, sports, outdoors and social media. There is a free chapter download here.
Jankowski previous authored the book, How to Speak American: Building Brands in the New Heartland. His career includes time as Chief Marketing Officer for Elvis Presley Enterprises, VP/Media Marketing with SFX Entertainment (Live Nation), and Dir. of Global Entertainment Relations for Gibson Guitar Corp.

Kobalt Unveils Integrated Artist-Writer Services Portal

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kobaltMusic publishing and services company Kobalt has created an integrated data insight tool for artists, labels, publishers and songwriters to track their music and royalties globally in real-time. Clients can now view statements and catalog information, and compare sales, streams and views from Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes in real-time through the Digital Sales tracker. The Kobalt portal also allows detailed analysis of global revenue by various criteria, including income type and territory. Clients can also track views and earnings for YouTube user-generated and partner-provided content.
Additionally, the publishing section of the portal now allows writers to view digital collection data from Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes in real-time. KLS and publishing clients can also use the Kobalt Portal to follow the synch pipeline at each stage of the licensing process. Publishing clients can also take out advances on their income through the portal.
Willard Ahdritz, founder and CEO of Kobalt said: “This is another giant step toward creating an industry platform that offers a more transparent future for artists, songwriters and publishers around the world. The incorporation of label services as a third strand of the Kobalt Portal completes its transition into the world’s first fully comprehensive rights tool. With one hit song today creating billions of transactions, our portal offers an unparalleled level of transparency, enabling Kobalt clients to understand what is happening with their music throughout the global market.”
 

The Rolling Stones Saxophonist Bobby Keys Passes

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Bobby-Keys-2012Saxophone player Bobby Keys, a longtime touring member of The Rolling Stones, died at his home in Franklin, Tenn. today (Dec. 2). He was 70 and had been battling cirrhosis.

During his more than 40 years with The Stones, Keys became an integral part of the band, bonding with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and playing on the classic albums Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St.

Throughout his career he also contributed to recordings by legendary artists John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Barbra Streisand, B.B. King, Carly Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The Texas native settled in Middle Tennessee in the early ‘90s.

The Rolling Stones released this statement following Keys’ death: “The Rolling Stones are devastated by the loss of their very dear friend and legendary saxophone player, Bobby Keys. Bobby made a unique musical contribution to the band since the 1960s. He will be greatly missed.”

'The Voice' Marks 20 Million Singles Sold

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The-Voice-20-million

Pictured (L-R): Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Carson Daly. Photo: NBC


During Monday’s (Dec. 1) episode of The Voice, host Carson Daly announced the NBC music competition has “reached a major milestone in its seventh season” by hitting the 20 million mark for iTunes downloads.
Four judges–Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams–stood by the host to kick off Monday’s show in front of a plaque reading “20,000,000 Singles Sold.”
“That is a testament to our talented artists, amazing band and the guidance of all of our coaches,” said Daly. “To all The Voice fans, thanks for all your support.”
According to Billboard:

  • The show hit 10 million downloads in May 2013
  • Downloads are tallied by iTunes
  • The milestone includes only songs performed on the weekly show, not those released post-competition (e.g. Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery etc.)
  • Republic Records releases the music during the show
  • Unlike American Idol, sales figures for The Voice have allowed tracks from the show to appear on the iTunes and Billboard charts
  • The Voice stands as TV’s No. 1 reality series, averaging 13.9 million viewers each episode (Nielsen)

Performances entering Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs chart have included Bradbery’s Pam Tillis cover, “Maybe It Was Memphis” (167,000 sold) and the Swon Brothers‘ take on Kenny Loggins‘ “Danny’s Song” (158,000 sold), reports the industry magazine’s Phil Gallo. Pope’s version of Miranda Lambert‘s “Over You” stands out as the top-selling track (363,000 sold), while her remake of Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy” also made a substantial mark (202,000 sold).