Deezer Acquires Muve Music

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deezerDeezer has acquired Cricket’s music service Muve Music, allowing the French on-demand audio service to make a solid inroad into the North American market. Cricket, a subsidiary of AT&T, provides 4G wireless voice, text and data. Muve Music has approximately 2 million paying subscribers.

Muve will be discontinued on Feb. 7, while “Deezer from Cricket” launches Jan. 31. All Cricket customers will be able to access Deezer, which offers more than 35 million tracks. Muve users will have the option to sign up for an extended free trial, download the Deezer app, and transfer their existing libraries and playlists.

Deezer also recently acquired Stitcher, with plans to add talk radio to its music service. Deezer opened a U.S. office in 2014, but the service was available solely as a premium hi-fi service through Bose or Sonos speakers.

“Our strategy,” Deezer North American CEO Tyler Goldman told MusicWeek, “is to deliver services that fit different market segments. With Sonos we reached the music enthusiasts, who like listening at home with quality audio. With Cricket, we move into the pre-paid wireless segment. I was a big fan before talking to them. They’ve done a good job at building a service. They have effective marketing and distribution channels. They are doing things that are right so it’s a big opportunity for us to market our service to their users.”

Industry Ink: Sunset Grill’s Swan Song, Average Joes Staff Change, CRS, Blue Barrel Records

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meganbarrySunset Grill’s Swan Song

As previously reported, after 24 years of service to the Nashville community and a favorite hang for the music industry, Randy Rayburn has closed Sunset Grill. And although the restaurant, located at 2001 Belcourt Ave., in Hillsboro Village is now closed to the public, Randy is holding one last event this evening in support of Metro Council At-Large and candidate for mayor, Megan Barry.

All are invited to stop by the reception today (Jan. 8) from 5:30-7:00pm. Hosts include Randy Rayburn, Sonata Rayburn, Ree Guyer Buchanan, Mike Dungan, Fletcher Foster, Tracy Gershon, Emmylou Harris, Andrew Kautz, Mary Ann McCready, Jason Owen, Nancy Shapiro, Clarence Spalding, Debbie Linn, Stacy Widelitz, Roy Wunsch, Julie Miller, Buddy Miller, Marion Kraft, Kay West, Katie Dean, Erika Wollam Nichols, Fiona Prine, Trip Aldredge, Tori Hughes, Jamie Amos, Patrick Kennedy, Barbara Moutenot and Roger Moutenot. Suggested contributions are $150 and guests can rsvp to [email protected].

Sunset Grill opened its doors on November 20, 1990. For lease or sales information regarding the property, contact Robbins Properties at (615) 301-6571.

 

Britta Coleman

Britta Coleman

Britta Coleman Exits Average Joes

Britta Coleman, Director of Operations at Average Joes Entertainment, will be exiting the company as of March 1, 2015. Coleman’s career includes 20 years at Sony Nashville in various roles, in addition to 3 1/2 years at Average Joes. Coleman is looking for her next opportunity. You can reach her at [email protected], or [email protected], or her at 615-400-1583.

 

 

Country Radio Hall of Fame Class Nominationscountry radio hall of fame11

Nominations for the Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2015 categories are currently being accepted, and must be received by Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. Nominations can be made through countryradioseminar.com. Submissions received after the Jan. 16 deadline will be considered for the 2016 Country Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The 2015 Country Radio Hall of Fame Induction dinner and awards ceremony will take place June 24, 2015. Recipients will be announced during CRS 2015, which will take place at the Nashville Convention Center Feb. 25-27.

 

Blue Barrel Records Releases First Album

blue barrel recordBlue Barrel Records, a Memphis-based record label, will release its first album, Mighty Souls Brass Band’s Lift Up! Funding for the label comes from founder John Buford, who also leads A&R for Blue Barrel alongside noted Memphis artist John Kilzer and Archer Records’ collaborators Ward Archer and Brian Dixon. Label activities are administered by Archer Records (label home of Kilzer, Amy LaVere, Lily Afshar and more). Initial plans dictate that the label will work with two new artists per year, producing an album and funding all pressing, distribution and marketing activities around the release of that record.

 

‘MusicRow’ Reveals Marketplace Listing Service

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MusicRowMarketplace_PostGraphic

MusicRow is proud to announce the creation of the MusicRow Marketplace, a listing service for jobs, real estate and more.

Residing on MusicRow.com, listings on the site are free and will be posted for 30 days. Listings are being accepted via the MusicRow Marketplace Submission Form, and will be posted at the discretion of MusicRow.

“Many people have expressed interest in a Music Row listing service, so I welcome the opportunity to offer a hub as a free service for members of the industry,” said MusicRow Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson. “I’m excited to watch the Marketplace expand and cater to the needs of our community.”

Navigate to the MusicRow Marketplace by clicking the “Marketplace” tab in the menu bar at the top of MusicRow.com. We look forward to your listings and welcome any feedback.

Kobalt Music Publishing Inks New Deal with Shane McAnally

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Shane McAnally

Shane McAnally

Kobalt Music Publishing has welcomed ACM Songwriter of the Year 2014 Shane McAnally back to its fold in a new worldwide admin and creative services deal.

Covering all new works from July 2014, the deal also finds Kobalt retaining works from 2009-2012, which have been with the company from the start through an earlier admin deal). Additionally, the agreement covers all works from McAnally’s publishing company SMACKSongs, which represents writers including Jo Eldridge, Matt McGinn, and Matthew Ramsey.

McAnally said of the deal: “Kobalt’s model is one that is often imitated, but has yet to be perfected by anyone else. The combination of their incredible creative team along with the accuracy and reach of their collection methods, make them an undeniable perfect partner for me and the Smack family. We are all very excited to be working together again!”

Kobalt Senior VP, Creative (Nashville) Whitney Daane added: “The opportunity to work with Shane McAnally again, as well as to partner with the team at SMACKSongs, is fantastic. We started this journey with Shane in 2009, and to be a part of the profound impact he has had on contemporary country music and help him continue to expand his career as both a writer and producer is thrilling. His talent and passion for music are inspirational.”

Big Machine Records Signs Waterloo Revival

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Waterloo Revival with Big Machine Records CEO/founder Scott Borchetta.

Waterloo Revival with Big Machine Records CEO/founder Scott Borchetta.

Big Machine Records is set to release new music from duo Waterloo Revival. The duo’s debut single “Hit The Road” is already gaining traction on Sirius XM’s The Highway. The single was penned by George Birge (lead vocals/guitar) and Cody Cooper (guitar/backing vocals), as well as songwriters Dustin James and Jason Carter.

“Hit The Road” will impact country radio Feb. 9, with Waterloo Revival currently working on additional music for their debut album. The duo began collaborating on songs in the Austin, Texas, area at age 15. In 2012, Waterloo Revival was created, combining southern rock influence with a touch of Nashville country.

“’Hit The Road’ hit me over the head first on listen – great voice, great melody, great song.” expressed Big Machine Label Group President and CEO Scott Borchetta.

“We’ve had such a great time performing for the people of Austin but are so excited to take the next step musically with our move to Nashville,” said Birge. “It is a dream come true to work with Scott and the team at Big Machine. We are so thankful for their support with ‘Hit The Road’ and can’t wait for more fans to hear it.”

Cooper adds, “The love that we have received for the single has been so overwhelming. We’ve worked hard to make music that the fans will enjoy and are excited to share more soon.”

Waterloo Revival joins Superstars Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts as well as talented newcomers Danielle Bradbery, Laura Bell Bundy, The Cadillac Three, Seth Alley and Lauren Jenkins on Big Machine Records.

Weekly Register: 2015 Starts With Sales Slump

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Old Boots New Dirt starts 2015 at the top of the chart.

“Old Boots, New Dirt” starts 2015 at the top of the chart.

Album sales took a deep dive between the last week of 2014 and the first week of 2015. Overall sales sank 47%, moving 5.274 million this week, while country sales fell 55%, moving 561K. This holiday shopping hangover is on par with the same time period last year.

The overall top new artist album belongs to Louisa Wendorff. The Belmont student’s EP, Arrow, sold 2.8K TW and 3.2K RTD. She gained recent popularity thanks to her mash-up cover of two Taylor Swift songs.

At the top of the country album chart, Garth Brooks is replaced by Jason Aldean who sold 20K this week. On the all-genre chart, Swift stays put at No. 1 with 244K of 1989.

Top 5 Country Albums TW
Jason Aldean 20K
Luke Bryan 19K
Carrie Underwood 19K
Sam Hunt 16K
Garth Brooks 14K

Top 5 Country Tracks TW
Carrie Underwood “Something in the Water” 46K
Tim McGraw “Shotgun Rider” 45K
Jason Aldean “Burnin’ It Down” 40K
Florida Georgia Line “Sun Daze” 37K
Eric Church “Talladega” 34K

Maddie & Tae’s “Girl in a Country Song” shimmies past the 500K mark this week, with 516K RTD.

Numbers according to Nielsen Soundscan.

 

Underwood, Hayes, Lady Antebellum Win at People’s Choice Awards

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Hunter Hayes and The Band Perry at the 2015 People's Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images

Hunter Hayes and The Band Perry at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images

Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, and Taylor Swift were among the top winners at Wednesday evening’s (Jan. 7) People’s Choice Awards.

Hunter Hayes earned Favorite Male Country Artist, while Underwood was named Favorite Female Country Artist, bringing her to a total of seven career People’s Choice Award honors. Lady Antebellum earned a nod for Favorite Country Group.

In the pop categories, Taylor Swift earned Favorite Pop Artist, as well as Favorite Song for “Shake It Off.”

NBC musical competition The Voice, which features coach Blake Shelton, earned an honor for Favorite Competition TV Show.

lady antebellum people's choice awards 2015

Lady Antebellum performs at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images

Artist Pics: Tyler Farr, Josh Abbott Band, WME

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Tyler Farr performed this past Saturday (Jan. 3) during halftime of the NFL Wild Card Game of the Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

Tyler Farr_NFL Wild Card Game performance 2

Tyler Farr performs at the NFL Wild Card Game

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Josh Abbott Band kicked off 2015 with two back-to-back shows at the World’s Largest Honky-Tonk, performing new music from their forthcoming full-length album for over 5,000 eager fans each night at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas.

Josh Abbott Band

Josh Abbott Band perform at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas

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An American flag flown over special forces base, Camp Montrond, in Bagram, Afghanistan has returned to its homeland after being purchased by William Morris Endeavor’s Greg Oswald to benefit Charlie Daniels‘ Journey Home Project. 

WME

Pictured (L-R): David Corlew, Mercedez Longever, Greg Oswald, CW3 Chief Warrant Officer Scott Schroeder, and wife Laura Schroeder. Photo: Jeremy Westby

McGraw, Hill Offload Leiper’s Fork Farmland For $3 Million

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McGraw and Hill still have spades of onstage chemistry.

McGraw and Hill at the 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have sold 131 acres of farmland in Nashville’s Leiper’s Fork area to a Texas family for approximately $3 million, according to The Tennessean.

The land is part of more than 750 acres of land the couple listed for sale more than a year ago. The remaining 621 acres are available as a whole or in two parcels. The remaining acres are available for $18.5 million.

Gigabit Technology Coming To Nashville?

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10405464_759819527447868_7306400756164651797_nMore news rolls out of Las Vegas’ CES convention, this time concerning Comcast’s Internet speed.

Broadcom, a leader in semiconductors announced the world’s first DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem system-on-a-chip (SoC). With it, home speeds could increase to faster than a Gigabit per second (Gbps). Video speeds are said to see a 50 percent increase in efficiency. Downstream speeds will probably be about four times that of upstream speeds, notes PCworld.

Comcast currently advertises the “fastest Internet download speed” of up to 505 Mbps, at $400/mo. Google Fiber offers gigabit speeds in specific markets, and AT&T’s GigaPower is also expected in the city soon. Comcast executive vice president Tony Werner estimates that the Internet service provider will service 1 Gbps speeds to customers in 2015 and beyond. Liberty Global, the London-headquartered broadband provider, also spoke within the same timeframe.

“DOCSIS 3.1 is a critical technology for Comcast to provide even faster, more reliable data speeds and features such as IP video to our subscribers’ homes by harnessing more spectrum in the downstream,” said Werner.

In a recent WPLN article, Emily Siner interviewed Todd Oney with Nashville Electric Service who noted the fiber optic cable Nashville began laying in the 90s is theoretically capable of supporting 50 terabits per second (50,000 times faster than a gigabit), but equipment to convert that data is not yet capable of handling those speeds.