Industry Ink: CAA, RIAA, Hillsong United, Capitol Nashville

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Frankie Ballard Signs With CAA

Frankie Ballard

Frankie Ballard

Frankie Ballard has signed with CAA for representation. Ballard’s 2014 album, Sunshine & Whiskey, garnered three No. 1 singles, including “Young & Crazy,” the gold-certified “Helluva Life,” and the platinum-certified “Sunshine & Whiskey.” His latest album, El Rio, released in June. He is managed by Christian Svendsen and Jon Elliot of WAY Entertainment and his attorney is Jess Rosen of Greenberg Traurig. Ballard was previously represented by WME.

 

Hillsong United’s Zion Gets Gold Certification

Hillsong UNITED with Capitol Christian Music Group CEO Bill Hearn and team during a stop at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. on their Empires U.S. tour.

Hillsong United with Capitol Christian Music Group CEO Bill Hearn and team during a stop at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. on their Empires U.S. tour.

Hillsong UNITED’s 2013 release Zion has garnered an RIAA gold certification, totaling more than 500K units. Zion‘s “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” spent a record-breaking 45 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs Chart. Most recently, the platinum-selling song was honored with a 2016 Billboard Music Award for Top Christian Song.

 

Capitol Nashville Adds Radio Promotion Regional Directors

Annie Sandor Mara SidweberCapitol Records Nashville has named Annie Sandor as Director of Regional Promotions, Southeast and Mara Sidweber as Director of Regional Promotions, Southwest. The label’s roster includes Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton, Jon Pardi, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.

Sidweber brings her knowledge from Top 40 and country radio, in addition to years working as a regional with Capitol Nashville (2004-2008), Bigger Picture (2008-2012) and most recently as Vice President of Promotion for record label Southern Ground.

Sandor joins Capitol from Curb Records, where she served as Regional Promotions Manager. Prior to her six years with Curb, Sandor worked in promotion for CO5 Music and as the Promotions Director for WWYZ/Hartford, WPOC/Baltimore and WKIS/Miami.

Sandor can be reached at [email protected]. Sidweber can be reached at [email protected]

LifeNotes: Music Industry Security Director Rusty Martin Passes

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Rusty Martin. Photo: facebook.com/rusty.martin.50702

Rusty Martin. Photo: facebook.com/rusty.martin.50702

ASCAP security director and former Mississippi highway patrolman Roy L. “Rusty” Martin passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, July 30. He was 62 years old.

A native of Cleveland, Mississippi, his experience in law enforcement set him on a path in the music industry where he provided security services to Arista Records in the 1990s, under the direction of Tim DuBois, and subsequently in similar roles at RCA Label Group and most recently at ASCAP.

Martin’s main responsibility may have been security, but his cheerful personality and warm persona greeted guests and employees with such sincere interest, the security he provided went way beyond the gun in his holster. Absent of any agenda, Martin was always interested in other peoples’ lives, their families, triumphs and trials. He often served as advocate and cheerleader for everyone he knew which was one of his most endearing traits.

He had a boundless passion and love of country music which equally matched both his love of people and his prior experience in law enforcement. As evidenced by the many comments on social media after hearing of his passing, friends will remember Martin as someone who took the time to become personally invested in people.

Tim DuBois shared via Facebook, “Rusty was an amazing friend to all of us. He was always there to greet us with a smile, and we always knew we were safe when he was around. We all loved this man and knew he loved us right back.”

Rusty Martin and his late wife of 28 years, Becky, were the inspiration of Kenny Chesney‘s No. 1 hit “The Good Stuff,” after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and courageously fought her illness until her death in 2000.

“Becky was just a mother and a best friend, and she always had something positive to say about somebody,” Martin told CMT in 2002. “We were so blessed in a bad situation, because she was home and we were all around the bed holding hands until the last breath was taken.” He shared that experience with songwriters Jim Collins and Craig Wiseman and the tale inspired the tunesmiths to pen “The Good Stuff” which became the second single from Kenny Chesney’s album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems.

Love you my brother.

Arrangements are as follows;

Visitation: Tuesday, August 2,  5:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. CST
Funeral Service: Wednesday, August 3, at 1:00 p.m. CST
The family will also receive visitors Wednesday morning up until the time of the service.

Location:
Booneville Funeral Home
506 N 3rd Street
Booneville, MS 38829
(662) 728-6607
boonevillefuneralhome.net

The Rusty Martin Memorial Fund has been established at Avenue Bank to help cover funeral expenses and will be managed by Rusty’s 3 children, Shane, Shannon & Jason.

Anyone desiring to make a donation can stop by any Avenue Bank branch and make a contribution to the account titled: Rusty Martin Memorial Fund.

If you live out of state or prefer to mail in a contribution, you can send a check to;

Avenue Bank
Attention: Ron Cox
209 Tenth Avenue South, Suite 250
Nashville, TN 37203

 

Rusty Martin. Photo: facebook.com/rusty.martin.50702

Rusty Martin. Photo: facebook.com/rusty.martin.50702

Kelsea Ballerini To Embark On First Headlining Tour This Fall

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Kelsea Ballerini The First Time TourKelsea Ballerini has revealed dates for her first headlining tour, the appropriately-titled The First Time Tour.

The trek is named for her debut Black River Entertainment album, The First Time, and launches Oct. 21 in Houston, Texas. The 11-city tour will close with two shows in Las Vegas, featuring Cam. Jacob Davis, Morgan Evans, Levi Hummon and Carly Pearce are slated for other dates on the tour.

“I’ve been blessed to open for so many incredible artists and people I admire. Getting to watch their shows and learn more about our craft has inspired me to grow as an artist,” shared Ballerini. “One of the highlights of touring has been meeting fans and creating new relationships along the way. And for that reason, I was inspired to put together my first headlining tour. I can’t wait to get up close and personal with the people who have made the last few years so incredible. See you this fall!”

Tickets for The First Time Tour will be available to fan club members beginning Wednesday, Aug. 3, and go on sale to the public this Friday Aug. 5.

Kelsea Ballerini’s The First Time Tour:
Oct. 21: Houston; House of Blues (with Carly Pearce)
Oct. 22: Dallas; House of Blues (with Carly Pearce)
Nov. 11: Knoxville, Tenn.; Tennessee Theatre (with Morgan Evans)
Nov. 12: Atlanta; Buckhead Theatre (with Morgan Evans)
Nov. 18: Mahnomen, Minn.; Shooting Star Casino
Nov. 19: Minneapolis; Mill City Nights (with Levi Hummon)
Dec. 2: New York City; Irving Plaza (with Jacob Davis)
Dec. 3: Buffalo, N.Y.; Town Ballroom (with Jacob Davis)
Dec. 8: Los Angeles; Wiltern
Dec. 9-10: Las Vegas; Orleans Casino (with special guest Cam)

Spirit Music Nashville/Fluid Music Revolution Names AJ Burton To VP Role

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AJ Burton

AJ Burton

AJ Burton has been appointed Vice President of Fluid Music Revolution. The announcement was made Monday (Aug. 1) by Spirit/Fluid, the Nashville-based joint venture between Spirit Music Group and Frank Rogers‘ Fluid Music Revolution.

“Fluid Music Revolution is excited to welcome AJ Burton to the family. AJ’s passion for songs, songwriters and his experience as a music publisher make him the perfect fit for Fluid. We all are looking forward to doing many great things together!” said Rogers.

“It’s an honor and privilege to partner up with Frank Rogers to build Fluid Music Revolution. Frank is a true entrepreneur that I look forward to learning from for years to come. We already have some great things in the works…definitely some exciting times ahead!” said Burton.

Burton, a southern Illinois native, has spent the past 15 years in the music business, most recently running the Nashville office of Nettwerk Music Group in addition to co-owning Nashville independent music publisher Revelry Music Group. Burton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Recording Industry Management and a minor in Entrepreneurship from Middle Tennessee State University.

Spirit/Fluid was formed as part of Spirit Music Group’s continuing focus on and investment in country music publishing. In addition to establishing Spirit/Fluid, Spirit Music Group’s deal with Rogers also included the acquisition of Rogers’ one third interest in certain copyrights of Nashville independent publisher Sea Gayle Music, which Rogers co-founded with Chris DuBois and Brad Paisley in 1999.

Rogers is a multi-platinum producer and songwriter who has won MusicRow‘s Producer of the Year honor three times (2005, 2008- 2009). He’s also co-written several hits, including “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” by Brad Paisley, “Alright” and “This” by Darius Rucker and “Backroad Song” by Granger Smith.

Florida Georgia Line Sets Attendance Record In Wyoming

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Florida Georgia Line at Cheyenne Frontier Days 2016. Photo: Justin Mrusek

Florida Georgia Line at Cheyenne Frontier Days 2016. Photo: Justin Mrusek

Florida Georgia Line bested the Cheyenne Frontier Days concert attendance record on Saturday (July 30) with 25,011 attendees. The festival’s grand finale show bested Jason Aldean’s 2013 record, which at the time was the largest concert ever held in the state of Wyoming.

“Saturday night’s show in Cheyenne was truly amazing, setting the new record for concert attendance,” said Bob Romeo, President of Romeo Entertainment Group. “It was incredible to see how much Florida Georgia Line has grown into a polished, undeniable headline act in just a few short years. Everything from the production to their energy on stage was spot on and the fan response was overwhelming. I’m so proud of Brian and Tyler and all that they have accomplished.”

Florida Georgia Line at Cheyenne Frontier Days 2016. Photo: Cliff Cox Photography

Florida Georgia Line at Cheyenne Frontier Days 2016. Photo: Cliff Cox Photography

Florida Georgia Line sold more than 1.5 million in 2015. This summer’s Dig Your Roots Tour has continued to sell out venues with a bill that also includes Kane Brown, The Cadillac Three and Cole Swindell.

Meanwhile, the duo’s latest single “H.O.L.Y” has now been at No. 1 for 12 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and also reached the top spot at country radio. The song is the first release from the duo’s forthcoming third studio album, Dig Your Roots, which is set for release on Aug. 26 on Big Machine Label Group and features collaborations with Tim McGraw, Backstreet Boys and Ziggy Marley.

Mark Lowry Will Receive ASCAP’s Golden Note Award

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Mark Lowry

Mark Lowry

ASCAP will present songwriter-artist and comedian Mark Lowry with its Golden Note Award at the 38th annual ASCAP Christian Music Awards, to be held on Monday, Sept. 26 at Rocketown in downtown Nashville.

The invitation-only gala will be hosted by Michael W. Smith alongside ASCAP’s President and Chairman Paul Williams and Vice President of Nashville Membership Michael Martin.

Lowry’s lyric to “Mary Did You Know?” resulted in one of the most-loved modern Christmas songs of the century. The captivating song, which he co-wrote with Buddy Greene, has been recorded more than 400 times by artists from every genre including: Reba McEntire, Pentatonix, Cee Lo Green, Clay Aiken, Michael English, Kenny Rogers, Wynonna Judd, The Gaither Vocal Band and a long list of others.

Lowry spent more than 20 collective years as the baritone singer for the Grammy-winning Gaither Vocal Band, and has served as the comedic sidekick for Bill Gaither through live concert tours and the best-selling Gaither Homecoming video and television series.

The ASCAP Golden Note Award is presented to songwriters, composers, and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. Past recipients include Bob McDill, Don Williams, Mary Mary, JD Souther, Reba McEntire, Michael W. Smith and more.

Change The Conversation Panel To Highlight Female Producers, Engineers

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Change the ConversationChange The Conversation, a coalition aimed at helping to level the playing field for women in country music, will focus on opportunities for female music producers and engineers during its next installment on Aug. 3 at BMI. The event will begin at 6 p.m.

The event will welcome Adrienne Gonzalez, Victoria Shaw, Lari White, Alex Kline, Shani Gandi and Gena Johnson. The panel will be moderated by producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson).

Producer/artist Gonzalez found success as a solo artist and as a member of The Rescues.

Shaw has produced artists including Lady Antebellum and Jessie Farrell, and penned four No. 1 songs including Garth Brooks’ “The River” and John Michael Montgomery’s “I Love The Way You Love Me.”

White enjoyed a successful recording career that included a gold album and Top 10 hits including “That’s My Baby” and “Now I Know.” She has produced artists including Toby Keith, Billy Dean, and Shawn Mullins.

Kline is co-owner of Cotton Gin Productions, a full-service music production company based in Nashville. Her songs have been recorded by Ronnie
 Dunn, Lonesome River Band, and Jess Moskaluke. Kline produced the new album from Tara Thompson.

Gandhi has worked on projects for artists ranging from Frankie Ballard and Will Hoge to Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins and The Cox Family.

Johnson has worked as an engineer on projects such as Kacey Musgraves’ Pageant Material, Ben Folds’ So There, Lee Brice’s I Don’t Dance, Hunter Hayes’ Where It All Begins and Dave Cobb’s Southern Family.

The event is free and open to the public, though space is limited. An RSVP is required. Change the Conversation was formed by industry executives Tracy Gershon, Leslie Fram and Beverly Keel in 2014.

Lynn Oliver-Cline Launches Label and Publishing Company

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Lynn Oliver-Cline

Lynn Oliver-Cline

Thirty Tigers and former Southern Ground executive Lynn Oliver-Cline has launched River House Artists (RHA), an independent record label and publishing company developing new talent in Nashville.

RHA’s first artist signing is country newcomer Luke Combs. Combs just finished recording his debut album, which is set to be released this fall with at least eight of the tracks being co-written with Ray Fulcher. Fulcher will be the first songwriter to sign to Oliver-Cline’s publishing division.

“I find it most rewarding to build something from the ground up, so RHA will be a true artist development company to help new talent get to the next level,” Oliver-Cline says. “I’ve always believed in being a cheerleader and advocate for the artist, and I’m confident in my ability to discover and nurture talent.”

Thirty Tigers will be enlisted for marketing and distribution of RHA.

“Lynn was a valued member of our team at Thirty Tigers, so it was an easy decision when she was starting her own label to ask if we could be of service in that venture,” Thirty Tigers founder David Macias said. “Fortunately for us, she said yes! She is someone that has a knack for recognizing special talent, and her first signing is no surprise. Luke Combs is a fantastic artist, and I think that we’re all going to be very successful together.”

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Oliver-Cline’s previous experience includes interning for Hootie & The Blowfish and Fishco Management in 1994. Over the next 10 years she served as a talent scout and A&R Director for producer Matt Serletic (Matchbox 20, Gloriana) in Los Angeles and New York. In 2007 she joined Zac Brown’s ROAR as the band’s day-to-day manager. She then moved to Nashville from Atlanta to work with Southern Ground Artists, where she oversaw the publishing company and label. She was most recently VP of Marketing at Thirty Tigers, serving as project manager for Lucinda Williams as well as Jason Isbell’s Grammy Award-winning album Something More Than Free.

Rezonant Music Publishing Opens With Wipperman, Velletri, Walter

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Pictured (L-R): Tim Wipperman and Garry Velletri

Rezonant Music Publishing has opened offices in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles. The company is led by CEO Tim Wipperman, Exec. VP Creative Garry Velletri, and financial consultant Alan Walter.

Wipperman, a former executive at Warner Bros. Music (now Warner/Chappell Music), will be based in Nashville, while longtime Bug Music executive Velletri will be based in New York. Walter will be based in Los Angeles. His career stops have included Bug Music, Famous Music, and MCA Publishing.

The company has entered into a catalog, co-publishing and joint venture deal with hit songwriter Kevin Kadish and will represent his music moving forward. Kadish’s previous success includes co-writing and producing Meghan Trainor, including the hit “All About That Bass.” Under this joint venture, Kadish has signed writer/artist Jake Scherer to his new publishing venture.

Rezonant has also acquired rights to songwriter Matt Jenkins’ catalog and will be working in conjunction with Combustion Music and Warner/Chappell to exploit his catalog.

Rezonant will be fully funded by an L.A. and New York-based private equity fund that manages more than $750 million in assets. Wipperman says the funding will allow the new company to work aggressively to sign writers and to acquire existing companies and catalogs.

“Too often in today’s catalog acquisition model, larger publishing companies buy out a majority share of another publishing catalog, and then eliminate the people with the historical knowledge,” Wipperman says. “We see that as a mistake. They jettison the creative engine and too many great songs get lost. That means, not only is there fifty pounds of intellectual property in a five pound sack, but too few knowledgeable staff to mine the songs and work with the writers. Our goal is to create real equity partnerships with the prior owners and build value with them for the future.”

“We see this as a great opportunity to partner with the talent that creates the songs, both writers and other publishers,” Velletri explained. “Tim and I have a long history of putting the music first and we both knew what kind of company we wanted to create when we talked about starting a new publishing company. We wanted it to be a new KIND of publishing company. What separates us from the pack is that we do look at these catalog acquisitions and co-venture deals as partnerships. There is a wealth of great music that hasn’t been given the opportunity to be heard. We hope to change that.”

Rezonant’s Nashville office is located at 1209 16th Ave. South. Rezonant’s New York office is located at 332 Bleecker Street, D46.

Wipperman can be reached at [email protected]. Velletri can be reached at [email protected].

Weekly Register: Florida Georgia Line Continues “H.O.L.Y.” Reign

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Florida Georgia Line. Photo: James Wright

Florida Georgia Line. Photo: James Wright

Florida Georgia Line‘s hit “H.O.L.Y.” regains its hold atop the digital country tracks chart this week, and No. 8 overall, selling 53K (973K RTD). Miranda Lambert‘s latest single, “Vice,” falls to No. 2 this week, with 39K sold.

Brantley Gilbert‘s “The Weekend” makes its debut at No. 3, with 30.5K sold. Dan + Shay‘s “From The Ground Up” is at No. 4 with 25.5K. Dierks Bentley‘s “Different For Girls,” featuring Elle King, rounds out the Top 5 with 23.5K.

Major Lazer debuts atop the overall tracks chart, with “Cold Water” moving 169K.

Overall track sales have declined 25.2 percent year to date, while country track sales have declined 23.5 percent year to date.

Big Smo We The People

On the country albums chart, Smo makes this week’s highest debut at No. 13, with his Warner Bros. Nashville project We The People selling 3.4K. Mitch Rossell debuts at No. 34 with Raised By The Radio and Shotgun Rider debuted at No. 75 with its EP Whirlwind.

Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller is at No. 1 this week on the country albums chart, with 13K, followed by Blake Shelton‘s If I’m Honest at No. 2 (10K), Steven Tyler‘s We’re All Somebody From Somewhere at No. 3 (6K), Sam Hunt‘s Montevallo at No. 4 (5.5K) and Keith Urban‘s Ripcord at No. 5 (5.5K).

Overall album sales year to date have decreased 15.2 percent, while overall digital album sales have declined 20.3 percent. Country album sales have dropped 8.7 percent, while country digital album sales have fallen 15.4 percent YTD.

On the Americana/Folk album chart, Stapleton’s Traveller leads with 13K, followed by The Lumineers‘ Cleopatra at No. 2 (4.5K),  Kaleo‘s A/B at No. 3 (3.2K), Paul Simon‘s Stranger To Stranger at No. 4 (3.2K), and The Avett Brothers‘ True Sadness at No. 5 (3K).

Information provided by Nielsen Soundscan