Tom Corley

Front Row Insurance, which specializes in entertainment insurance brokers, has opened a Nashville office headed by Tom Corley.

Corley’s 25-year career includes work with Ronnie Milsap, Waylon Jennings, Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Restless Heart, and many others. As a Producer for AEG Live and TBA Entertainment, Corley handled tours including the CMT Tour featuring Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert and Rascal Flatts, Reba/Kelly Clarkson Tour, and Kenny Chesney’s stadium and New Year’s Eve concerts.

In 2001, Corley assisted and relocated the CMA Music Festival performance stages from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to the stadium downtown and worked there for the first two years.

“We are delighted to welcome Tom into Front Row,” said David Hamilton, President of Front Row Insurance Brokers. “Tom’s long history as one of the top tour managers in the world gives Front Row a deeper practical understanding of the risks our clients face associated with touring and live events. Tom is a rare expert that can identify the risks of the music industry that should be transferred to the insurance companies: new and existing clients will benefit from Tom’s expertise. Front Row is a specialized entertainment insurance broker: our volume with the insurance companies will allow Tom to offer his clients the best protection at the best possible premiums available in the marketplace. Everyone working in the music industry that seeks Tom out will be better protected and a lot happier after hearing some of his entertaining stories!”

Front Row Insurance also has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Los Angeles. Corley can be reached at 615-326-4226 or at [email protected].

CRS 2016 Content Streaming Online

Panel handouts and sessions from Country Radio Seminar 2016 are now available for this year’s attendees to view and stream. All content can only be accessed through countryradioseminar.com. This past year’s CRS convention took place Feb. 8-10 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville.

To stream panels from CRS 2016, visit countryradioseminar.com and login using the username and password created when registering for the 2016 seminar. Once logged in, audio and video materials can be found under the ‘Media’ tab. Panel handouts, photos and videos do not require a login and are available for public viewing here.

Writers Den Music Hosts First Writers Retreat For 2016

Pictured (L-R, top row): Jordan Reynolds, Patrick Droney, Davis Naish, Adam James, Drew Kennedy. (bottom row): Kat Higgins, Jillian Jacqueline, Melissa Fuller

Writer’s Den Music Group recently hosted their first retreat of 2016 at Bell Bottom Farm located in Cedar Hill, Tennessee. The retreat was attended by Melissa Fuller, Drew Kennedy (Writer’s Den Music Group), Jillian Jacqueline (Downtown Music Publishing), Jordan Reynolds (Warner Chappell), Patrick Droney (Rondor Music/Universal Music), Kat Higgins (Patrick Joseph Music), Davis Naish and Adam James (3 Ring Circus).

Music Business Association To Bring Entertainment & Technology Law Conference To Nashville

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) will bring its popular Entertainment & Technology Law Conference series back to Nashville on Wednesday, May 18, from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the Music Biz 2016 convention at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. The law conference in Nashville will tackle issues facing today’s entertainment attorneys, including copyrights and fair use in 2016 and the legal implications and agreement clauses behind touring and music festivals. CLE credit will be available.

The panel “Infringement or Homage? Copyright Fair Use In 2016” will explore the elements of fair use, substantial similarity, and de minimis copyrighting, as well as best practices for content creators, songwriters, video producers and social media users.  Those on the panel include Suzanne Kessler (Bone McAllester Norton PLLC/Vanderbilt Law School), Loren Mulraine (Bone McAllester Norton PLLC/Belmont University College of Law), Jessie Smith (songwriter) and Stephen Zralek (Bone McAllester Norton PLLC).

The discussion “From Sugarland To SFX and Beyond: The Legal Side of Festivals and Touring” includes the legal deal points for festivals and touring and how they are changing each year due to expansion and consolidation; force majeure clauses post-Sugarland; the annual “additional insured” debate each festival seems destined to have with artists; the impact of the recent bankruptcy of SFX; and more topics. Participants include Adam Ritholz (Ritholz Levy Sanders Chidekel & Field), Chip Petree (Ritholz Levy Sanders Chidekel & Fields), Matt Cottingham (Ritholz Levy Sanders Chidekel & Field), and Jaime Heller (JR Heller Law PLLC).

Admission is included with full Music Biz 2016 badge. Members can attend this event only for $129 and non-members can attend for just $229 with sign-up via Eventbrite. For updated information on Law Conference speakers and sessions, click here.

Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton will release his 12th studio album, If I’m Honest, on May 20 via Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville.

The project’s leading single is “Came Here To Forget,” penned by Craig Wiseman and Deric Ruttan.

“This is the most excited I’ve been about a new album since the release of my second record,” said Shelton. Reflecting on “Came Here To Forget,” Shelton said, “I’ve had a lot of music over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a song before that’s such a direct look into my life.”

Shelton is prepping to host Nickelodeon’s 2016 Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday (March 12). He is currently coaching for his tenth season of NBC’s The Voice. A four-time champion coach, Shelton is reunited this season with Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, and Pharrell Williams.

Cumulus Media and Fontanel have announced Camp NASH, a country music festival scheduled for Memorial Day, May 30, at the Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel. The event will benefit The Special Forces Charitable Trust, which provides meaningful financial support, programs and services to the United States Army Special Forces (Green Beret) community and their families.

Doors open at 11 a.m. with full concert performances by Big & Rich, Thompson Square, Parmalee, Chuck Wicks (who is emceeing the event), RaeLynn, and Breaking Southwest, from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tickets are $29 general admission and $39 reserved, with all ticket proceeds going directly to The Special Forces Charitable Trust. Tickets go on sale March 19. The event is presented by Love’s Travel Stops and Nationwide Express.

Camp NASH’s national media partner is America’s Morning Show, syndicated by Westwood One and heard weekday mornings on country radio stations across the country. Nashville media partners include 95.5 NASH Icon, NASH FM 103.3, 99.7 Super Talk, 104.5 the Zone, and 92Q.

“When we first began discussions with Fontanel about partnering for a Memorial Day country music festival to benefit SFCT, everyone at Cumulus Media was immediately on board and Camp NASH was born,” said Tommy Page, Senior Vice President, Brand Partnerships and NASH, for Cumulus Media. ”Our ability to reach a broad base of listeners nationwide and in Middle Tennessee through our popular Nashville radio stations and NASH country programming will allow us to build great awareness of the event. We will heavily promote Camp NASH to attract country music lovers for a day of great music and fun, while honoring the Special Forces Community and their families, and supporting a most worthy cause.”