Artist Pics: Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Dallas Smith

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Rascal Flatts Start Vegas Riot

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Photo: Todd Owyoung

ACM “Vocal Group Of The Year” nominees Rascal Flatts kicked off the opening weekend of their Rascal Flatts Vegas Riot! on Wednesday, Feb. 25, the first-ever country residency at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The live shows saw the group connecting with fans on a more personal level at The Joint’s intimate 4,000 seat setting and critics enjoying the residency’s launch.

Thomas Rhett Rocks Madison Square Garden

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Photo: Chris Owyoung

ACM “New Artist of the Year” nominee Thomas Rhett made a run of massive shows last week, beginning at New York City’s Madison Square Garden (2/25) where he brought his high-energy show to the iconic venue opening for Florida Georgia Line.

Dallas Smith Celebrates No. 1

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Photo: Amy Allmand Photography

Platinum-selling country singer Dallas Smith celebrated his latest single, “Wastin’ Gas,” holding the No. 1 spot on the Canadian country radio charts for two consecutive weeks with numerous radio and industry friends along with his UMG Canada and Big Loud Mountain teams last Thursday (2/26) in Nashville during CRS week.

Grammy Camp For High Schoolers Returns To Nashville

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grammy in the schools logoGrammy Camp, the Grammy Foundation’s signature music industry camp for U.S. high school students, will be held in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York this summer. Grammy Camp provides instruction by industry professionals with a curriculum designed to engage students in the technical aspects of creating, performing and recording. The program emphasizes new and emerging music technologies and is held in professional facilities.

Grammy Camp Nashville, June 1-5, 2015, is a nonresidential day camp hosted by Belmont University for local students. Through the generous contributions of Converse and Journeys, Nashville area residents accepted to Grammy Camp Nashville were offered a discounted tuition rate of $100.00.

Grammy Camp New York, Aug. 2-10, 2015, is a nine-day interactive residential summer music experience hosted by Converse Rubber Tracks.

Grammy Camp L.A., June 20-29, 2015, is a 10-day residential camp hosted by University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.

U.S. high school applicants must complete an online application, video audition and track-specific requirements at www.grammyintheschools.com by March 31, 2015. The application fee is $25 per person. A separate financial assistance form is also available to needs-based students.

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Applications for the third annual Music Educator Award™ are currently online. To nominate a teacher, visit GRAMMYMusicTeacher.com. The deadline to nominate is March 15, 2015.

The winner will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award and receive a $10,000 honorarium at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception during GRAMMY Week 2016. The winner will also attend the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards® ceremony, and a range of GRAMMY Foundation events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. The honorariums and grants provided to the finalists and schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Foundation’s Education Champions Converse, Disney Performing Arts, Ford Motor Company Fund, Journeys, and Microsoft.

Amy Grant To Release New Tracks Produced by Vince Gill

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Amy-Grant-Be-Still-And-Know-Hymns-and-FaithAmy Grant will release Be Still And Know…Hymns & Faith on April 14, featuring two newly recorded songs produced by her country superstar husband Vince Gill.

The project will be released by Sparrow Records through Capital Christian Music Group.

Other tracks come from previously released projects Legacy…Hymns & Faith and Rock of Ages…Hymns & Faith, which have sold more than 800,000 copies combined.

Live outings are planned in May from Grant and Michael W. Smith. Additional information will soon be announced.

“Hymns were so much a part of my childhood,” Grant said. “We sang hymns like people sing the national anthem before a ballgame; it was hymns before everything. We sang hymns in our homes, in our church three times a week – there would be some Sunday nights where all we did was sing hymns. These songs are for people who grew up with the hymn tradition – to remind them how inspiring they are.”

Later this year, Grant will host “A Nashville Weekend,” welcoming fans to her hometown for a three-day event featuring concerts and special events. The September weekend will benefit Grant’s Helping Hands Foundation. For more information, click here.

Be Still And Know…Hymns & Faith Track Listing
1. Power In The Blood*
2. Be Still And Know*
3. Jesus Take All of Me (Just As I Am)
4. Rock Of Ages (Feat. Vince Gill)
5. Carry You
6. This Is My Father’s World
7. El Shaddai
8. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
9. It Is Well With My Soul/The River’s Gonna Keep On Rolling
10. My Jesus, I Love Thee
11. Deep As It Is Wide (Feat. Sheryl Crow and Eric Paslay)
12. What A Friend We Have In Jesus/Old Rugged Cross/How Great Thou Art
13. ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
14. Softly And Tenderly
15. Holy, Holy, Holy

*new tracks

Lee Ann Womack, Amos Lee On ‘Rock My Soul’ Concert Special

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Rock My Soul concert.

Rock My Soul concert.

Rock My Soul, a star-studded celebration of gospel music, will air this month on PBS (check local listings). Taped at Nashville’s historic Downtown Presbyterian Church, the concert features gospel legends The Fairfield Four and The McCrary Sisters (daughters of former Fairfield Four bandleader Rev. Sam McCrary). Performing with an all-star Nashville band, guest artists include Amos Lee, Buddy Miller, Lee Ann Womack, Van Hunt and Lucinda Williams.

The program features interviews with many of these artists as well as Robert Plant, Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, Dom Flemson, author and historian Peter Guralnick, NPR’s Ann Powers, and experts from Fisk University and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Rock My Soul is produced by Todd Squared, LLC, producers of Bluegrass Underground.

Performances:
1. “Amazing Grace” – The McCrary Sisters
2. “Noah” – The Fairfield Four with special guest Robert Hamlett
3. “Jesus Gave Me Water” – The Fairfield Four with special guest Amos Lee
4. “Children Go Where I Send Thee” – The Fairfield Four with special guest Lee Ann Womack
5. “Get Right With God” – The Fairfield Four with special guest Lucinda Williams
6. “Hold the Wind” – The McCrary Sisters with special guest Buddy Miller
7. “Use Me Lord” – The McCrary Sisters with special guest Van Hunt
8. “I Got Jesus (and That’s Enough)” – The McCrary Sisters with special guest Lee Ann Womack
9. “Fire” – The McCrary Sisters
10. “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” – The McCrary Sisters with The Fairfield Four
11. “Rock My Soul” – Finale with The McCrary Sisters, The Fairfield Four and all guests

Management Company Rock Ridge Music Adds To Artist Roster

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mckenzies mill

McKenzies Mill

Nashville-based country duo McKenzies Mill (composed of brothers Justin and Ryan Harris) has signed a management deal with Nashville music company Rock Ridge Music. They join the existing management roster which includes Christian Lopez Band, Grace & Tony, JD Eicher, Moonsville Collective, Riley Etheridge Jr., and Ike Reilly. Rock Ridge Music has offices in Nashville, Tenn., and in New Jersey.

Harris says, “We couldn’t be more excited about our recent signing with Rock Ridge. To be able to work with industry vets like Tom Derr and Cynthia Cochrane is exactly what we feel we need. On top of being great at what they do, they are awesome people who are driven to make things happen and help us take our careers to the next level.”

Rock Ridge Music CEO Tom Derr says, “Two great guys, many great songs, and a strong work ethic… why would we not bring that into our world!”

McKenzies Mill is scheduled to go into Soundstage Studios in Nashville in March with New Voice Entertainment set to produce their EP. New Voice is the production company formed by Rich Redmond, Tully Kennedy, Kurt Allison, and David Fanning. NVE’s production credits include Thompson Square, Katie Armiger, and Parmalee.

Artist Updates: Carrie Underwood Welcomes Child, YouTube Music Awards, James Carothers

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Photo courtesy of Carrie Underwood/Instagram

Photo courtesy of Carrie Underwood/Instagram

Carrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher welcomed their first child, son Isaiah Michael Fisher, on Friday, Feb. 27.

Underwood shared the news via Instagram, with the caption, “Tiny hands and tiny feet … God has blessed us with an amazing gift! Isaiah Michael Fisher – born on February 27. Welcome to the world, sweet angel!” 

The baby’s gender was revealed onstage during the 2014 CMA Awards by Underwood’s co-host Brad Paisley.

Underwood has been married for nearly five years to professional hockey player Mike Fisher.

She has also announced a clothing line with Calia that will release soon, and earned a Grammy Award earlier this year for Best Country Solo Performance for “Something In The Water.”

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youtube music awardsBrad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, Hunter Hayes, and Meghan Trainor are among the winners at the 2015 YouTube Music Awards, alongside others from various musical genres. Together, the 50 artists have been viewed more than 47 billion times, and have 164 million subscribers. The winners were selected based on growth in views, subscribers and engagement over the past six months on YouTube.

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Renegade Mountain Records’ James Carothers kicked off his first Country Radio Seminar last week by hosting a full Southern breakfast performance at Puckett’s. He performed three songs, including single, “I Must Be Alive,” and entertained the audience of broadcasters and press with stories and impersonations of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

Standing: Ryan McCall ( WGLR Radio), Dr. Dave (KDKD Radio), Mike Thomas (KFAV Radio) Seated: James Carothers and Dave Stanford (WDHR Radio)

Standing: MusicRow CountryBreakout Reporter of the Year Ryan McCall (WGLR), Dr. Dave (KDKD), Mike Thomas (KFAV). Seated: James Carothers and Dave Stanford (WDHR)

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Rick HallRick Hall, known as the “Father of the Muscle Shoals Sound,” the man behind classics including Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” Aretha Franklin’s “I Ain’t Never Loved A Man,” and Alicia Keys’ “Pressin’ On,” will share his stories from working with legendary artists at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Hall has produced more than 300 pop chart singles, including more than 40 Gold and Platinum records.

His new tell-all memoir, The Man From Muscle Shoals, will be released March 17 (Heritage Builder Publishing), with a foreword by music historian Peter Guralnick. The book comes with the bonus DVD of the Grammy award-winning Muscle Shoals.

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Kent Finlay

Kent Finlay

Kent Finlay, longtime owner of Cheatham Street Warehouse, the San Marcos, Texas venue that was a breeding ground for numerous artists died early morning Monday, March 2 at home in Martindale, Texas. He was 77.

He was a lifelong champion of songwriters and a musician himself. Among those who performed at his establishment were George Strait, Randy Rogers Band, Todd Snider, James McMurtry, Bruce Robison, Hal Ketchum, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.

“Country music-and just music in general really-lost a great friend today,” said George Strait via a statement. “His legend will live forever in Texas, though. We’ll never forget our friend Kent Finlay. Sad day.”

Finlay is survived by family members including daughter Jenni Finlay, a music manager and marketer.

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Ed Sheeran guitar

Ed Sheeran X Signature Edition Guitar by C.F. Martin Guitar Co.

C.F. Martin & Co. has teamed again with Ed Sheeran, this time for another Signature Artist Edition guitar from the Martin Custom Shop, the Ed Sheeran X Signature Edition.

In 2013, Martin Guitar and Sheeran released the LX1E Ed Sheeran Signature Edition. The latest model is available for pre-order.

 

ASCAP Reports More Than $1 Billion in Revenues in 2014

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ASCAP logo 2015The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) reports revenues of more than $1 billion for calendar year 2014, according to their recently released financial statement. ASCAP also delivered royalty distributions of over $883 million to its songwriter, composer and music publisher members, up $32.3 million, a nearly 4 percent increase from 2013.

According to ASCAP, the organization is the first PRO to earn revenues of more than $1 billion in a year.

ASCAP’s number of musical performances captured, identified, matched and processed for payment doubled from $250 billion in 2013 to $500 billion in 2014.

Contributing to the tally were songs recorded by Beyoncé, Beck, Jay Z, St. Vincent, Kendrick Lamar, Max Martin, Rubén Blades, Katy Perry, Iggy Azalea, Romeo Santos, Jessie J, Aloe Blacc, Sia, Meghan Trainor, Lady Antebellum, Lorde, Dr. Luke, Diplo, Calvin Harris and Brandy Clark. 

ASCAP dramatically expanded its surveys of the most significant digital streaming services in 2014, including Apple iRadio, Pandora, Rhapsody and Spotify. The number of writers paid for performances on these services increased by 9 times from 2013. ASCAP identified more than 1.3 million unique works played on those services, 30 times more than in 2013.

Over 40,000 new members joined ASCAP in 2014, a 33 percent increase as compared to 2013. Among those new to ASCAP are CCM artist Lecrae, Vinylz, Andrew Bird, Becky G, Lorenzo Mendez of Original Banda El Limón, composers Jóhann Jóhannsson, Gustavo Santaolalla and Gustavo Dudamel.

ASCAP President Paul Williams commented, “Our songwriter and composer members depend on ASCAP to earn a living and it is our job to advocate and protect their rights across all media. We maintain a strong presence in Washington, D.C. to ensure they are fairly compensated for their creative work, which is the engine driving the entire industry. I am very gratified that we were able to deliver such strong financial results for the talented women and men who call ASCAP home. From our point of view, if we can ensure fair market rates for our members by working with the Department of Justice to modernize our outdated Consent Decree, then everyone wins—music creators, licensees and fans—because the value of collective licensing is that strong.”

“ASCAP had an incredibly successful 2014. We worked extremely hard and continually innovated in order to maximize the financial opportunities for our members in the face of an evolving and increasingly competitive global landscape. We implemented new revenue growth strategies and productivity improvement initiatives in order to deliver the best collective licensing value proposition at the lowest possible cost for all stakeholders,” said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. “Our 2014 financial results clearly demonstrate that collective licensing is the most efficient licensing model available to creators and music licensees alike. The collective can accommodate big data growth of extreme scale at the lowest cost while also providing access to a broad, diverse and high quality repertory of music.”

Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Bandier Appoints Krim to Co-President Role

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Rick Krim

Rick Krim

Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier has appointed Rick Krim as Co-President, U.S., a role in which he will lead the company’s A&R operations in Los Angeles.

Krim will oversee Sony/ATV’s U.S. A&R activities alongside Co-President, U.S. Danny Strick, who is based in the company’s New York office. Both report directly to Bandier.

Bandier says, “Rick is a true music industry professional with deep relationships with the best artists, talent managers and industry executives. He truly knows songwriters and will be a great asset to an already strong team. Given his time at MTV and VH1, he will also bring to us a number of additional skills to complement his immense A&R capabilities.”

Krim says, “I cannot wait to get started in this role as I am not only returning to music publishing, but will be reunited with Marty Bandier who I learned so much from during my time at EMI. It is so exciting and such an honor after all these years to get a chance to work with him again, especially at a company as dynamic as Sony/ATV that is blessed with so many great songwriters and artists. I am also looking forward to working with Danny and the rest of the Sony/ATV team.”

Krim most recently worked at Republic Records as Executive VP, Artist Development. His career has included roles as Executive VP of Talent and Music Programming for VH1, six years as Sr. VP of Talent Acquisition and Marketing at EMI Publishing, and VP of Talent and Artist Relations at MTV Networks, where he began his career in 1982.

A graduate of Bucknell University, he was named in 2003 by the T.J. Martell Foundation, a non-profit organization funding innovative research for leukemia, cancer and AIDS, as the honoree for its 4th Annual Family Day. In 2012 he received the UJA music Visionary of the Year Award for demonstrating leadership and philanthropy at work and in the community.

CRS Continues Six-Year Growth Streak

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Opening day of CRS 2015. Pictured from left to right are: Lady Antebellum(Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott), Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Todd Wagner and Bill Mayne (CRS Executive Director). Photo: Sara Kauss

Opening day of CRS 2015. Pictured (L-R): Lady Antebellum (Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott), Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Todd Wagner and Bill Mayne (CRS Executive Director). Photo: Sara Kauss

Country Radio Seminar 2015 came to an end on Friday, Feb. 27 with a four percent increase in attendance, compared to CRS 2014.

This is the sixth consecutive year the event has experienced a growth in attendee numbers. A total of 2,424 full registrants (attendees, exhibitors, panelists and sponsors) attended this year’s event, which was held Feb. 25–27 at the Nashville Convention Center. In 2014, the total number of full registrants was 2,335.

The three-day event kicked off with an announcement-filled opening ceremony, including the news that CRS 2016 will relocate to Nashville’s Omni Hotel. In addition, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood made a surprise appearance and announced this year’s Country Radio Hall of Fame inductees in both the Radio and On-Air categories. As previously announced, the inductees are Joel Raab, Sammy George and Mike Kennedy. The inductees in the On-Air category are Randy Carroll (KAJA/San Antonio, TX) and Karen Dalessandro (WMIL/Milwaukee, Wis.).

The seminar continued with thought-provoking panels, valuable networking opportunities, prominent speakers, research presentations and intimate performances from some of today’s biggest stars and emerging artists.

With a combined number of 27 panels, sessions and educational presentations, the agenda was packed full of items that focused on many different areas of the country radio industry. Notable panels included, “The Power of the Connected Car,” “Direct From The Consumer Electronics Show: Coolest Gadgets & Gizmos for 2015,” “Social Media Bootcamp, Track 1: How To Speak In Your Brand’s Voice and Get Content Shared” and “Social Media Bootcamp, Track 2: Finding & Engaging Your Consumers In Real-Time.” This year’s CRS also included an appearance from featured speaker Keith Urban at the event, “Being Present,” and Lady Antebellum was featured panelists on “How 3 Become 1: Lady Antebellum.”

Florida Georgia Line Sells Out Madison Square Garden

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Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard (L) and Brian Kelley (R). Photo: Jim Wright

Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard (L) and Brian Kelley (R). Photo: Jim Wright

Republic Nashville’s Florida Georgia Line took their Anything Goes Tour stop to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday (Feb. 25). The sold out show of 13,000 plus people was the duo’s first visit to the venue. The event included opening acts Thomas Rhett and Frankie Ballard.

The show included hits from their two-time platinum debut album Here’s To The Good Times, cuts from their gold, chart-topping sophomore album Anything Goes and closed out the night with an explosive performance of their eight-time platinum song “Cruise.”

FGL is in Europe for the first time with four upcoming shows on the C2C Country to Country festival tour and will continue the Anything Goes Tour 2015 on March 21 in Orange Beach, Ala.