Exclusive: Mitchell Tenpenny Talks New Label Deal With Sony Music Nashville

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Mitchell Tenpenny. Photo: Haley Crow/MusicRow

By: LB Rogers

Recent Sony Music Nashville signee and Riser House artist and co-founder, Mitchell Tenpenny recently visited the MusicRow offices to play some songs off of a forthcoming major label debut. The singer/songwriter showcased his monstrously creative songwriting ability and expressed his excitement about this new chapter with Columbia Nashville.

Along with Matt Swanson and Jennifer Johnson at Riser House, Tenpenny released his EP Linden Ave in July 2017.

“I did the grass roots thing,” Tenpenny explained about his signing, “I kept writing songs and wanted to put them out so we started Riser House to put out a record. We got to a point where we went as far as we could go.”

The Nashville native and grandson of the late Sony/ATV CEO Donna Hilley has written songs with the publishing giant for a number of years, including top 5 hit for Granger Smith while accumulating an armory of well-crafted songs for his own; collaborating with the likes of Jordan Schmidt, Andy Albert and Devin Dawson.

Tenpenny has been involved in the work of St. Jude in recent months. He was featured in the This Shirt Saves Lives Campaign and recently returned from a visit to the hospital.

“Cancer is close to me,” Tenpenny explained, “I lost my father to cancer. I’ve been in a lot of hospitals and I’m scared to death of them. This place [doesn’t feel like] a hospital. It’s a place where they make you feel like a family.”

Tenpenny expects his first single with Columbia Nashville/Riser House to be released in March 2018 after Shane Allen, Sr. VP Promotion, Columbia Nashville signs off. There is a likelihood his radio debut may be one of those he performed for MusicRow, “Alcohol You Later,” “The Truck I Drove in High School” or “Drunk Me Can’t Get Over You.”

Mitchell Tenpenny with MusicRow staffers.

Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley To Co-Headline Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour

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Johnny Lee and Mickey Gilley are reuniting for a series of dates on the Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour. The two friends will co-headline the tour, which kicks off Jan. 26 in Stafford, Texas and will visit cities across the country including Nevada, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

“I’m really, really happy about going out on the road with my good friend Mickey Gilley and doing the ‘Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour’,” says Lee. “We go back a long time, and it is fun sharing stories and music with the fans. This tour is long overdue, and it is gonna be like old times for you with my good friend- and to me that is a good thing.”

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to tour once again with my good friend. The Urban Cowboy craze kept my career alive for all of these years, and every night when I go to bed, I thank John Travolta for my amazing career. At 81, I am still rockin’,” says Gilley.

The duo can also be seen throughout the year in their hometown of Branson, Missouri, at Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater.

Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour
Jan. 26 – Stafford, Texas – Redneck Country Club
Feb. 4-10 – Country Music Cruise
Feb. 16 – Corinth, Miss. – Corinth Coliseum
Feb. 24 – Kinder, La. – Coushatta Casino
March 17 – Acoma, N.M. – Sky City Casino
March 21-25 – Laughlin, Nev. – Riverside Resort
April 7 – Philadelphia, Miss. – Pearl River Resort
April 14 – Morton, Minn. – Jackpot Junction Casino
April 15-17  – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
April 20 – San Angelo, Texas – Spur Arena
April 22-24 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
April 26 – Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho – Coeur D’ Alene Casino
April 28 – St. Michael, N.D. – Spirit Lake Casino
May 4 – Lawton, Okla. – Apache Casino
May 6-8 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
May 13-15 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
May 20-22 – Branson, Mo. Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
May 27-29 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
June 9 – Renfro Valley, Ky. – Renfro Valley Entertainment Center
June 10 – Lancaster, Pa. – American Music Theater
June 15 – Fort Worth, Texas – Private show
July 13 – Kansas City, Mo. – Ameristar Casino
July 14 – Newkirk, Okla. – First Council Casino
July 20 – Houston, Texas – The Stampede
Aug. 2 – Winnemucca, Nev. – Winnemucca Convention Center
Aug. 3-4 – Jackpot, Nev. – Cactus Pete’s
Aug. 11 – New Braunfels, Texas – Freheit Country Store
Sept. 2-4 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Sept. 9-11 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Sept. 15 – Midland, Texas – TBA
Sept. 16-18 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Sept. 23-25 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Oct. 7-9 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Oct. 21-23 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Oct. 28-30 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Nov. 4-6 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Nov. 11-13 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Nov. 18-20 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater
Nov. 25-27 – Branson, Mo. – Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater

Luke Bryan Extends What Makes You Country Tour Through September

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Luke Bryan has announced additional dates for his What Makes You Country Tour, which will now run through the fall. The tour will kick off on Feb. 16 with special guests Kip Moore and The Cadillac Three, and Jon Pardi is the special guest on all shows from June through the end of the year. Morgan Wallen will open June through August and Carly Pearce appears on select September shows.

The additional run of shows on the “What Makes You Country Tour” will launch on the heels of Bryan’s judging duties on American Idol, premiering March 11 for its first season on ABC. Fans can purchase tickets beginning Jan. 26 for select cities as part of Live Nation’s Country Megaticket at Megaticket.com.  Additional on-sales will continue to rollout over the coming weeks.

For a full list of tour dates, visit lukebryan.com.

Jason Aldean, Jordan Davis, Jimmie Allen To Play Inaugural CRS Amazon Music Showcase

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Jason Aldean, Jordan Davis, and Jimmie Allen will perform at a special inaugural CRS Monday Night Showcase presented by Amazon Music. The Amazon Music & CRS Monday Night Showcase will also feature the Radio Ink Best Country PD Awards, where Radio Ink will honor the Top 30 Program Directors in the country format. This year marks the 20th year that the publication has honored the best PDs in Country. The showcase will take place Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Omni Broadway Ballroom.

In addition to the opening night event, throughout the three days of Country Radio Seminar attendees will also have the unique opportunity to walk inside a 10’ tall Amazon Echo replica to experience Amazon Music’s natural voice commands when paired with Alexa, firsthand.

“Country music has consistently been one of the most-streamed genres on Amazon Music, and we’re happy to work with such a respected convention as Country Radio Seminar to celebrate the country music community,” stated Ryan Redington, Director of Amazon Music. “We’re thrilled to kick off this year’s CRS with an incredible night of live performances while honoring some of the leaders in country radio programming.”

Registration for Country Radio Seminar 2018 is available at CountryRadioSeminar.com for $699 per person.  Single-day passes are also being made available.  Single-day passes (limited to two day passes per person) are $200 per pass. 

Exclusive: Nashville Band Moon Taxi Talks First RCA Album, ‘Let The Record Play’

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Moon Taxi

When Nashville alt-rock staple Moon Taxi met during college at Belmont University, the ambitions and dreams of Trevor Terndrup (vocals), Tommy Putnam (bassist), Spencer Thomson (guitar/producer), Tyler Ritter (drums) and Wes Bailey (keys), centered more heavily on producing genre-melding grooves and enamoring fans with intriguing, uplifting lyrics than on becoming major stars.

For the past decade, Moon Taxi’s members have hustled in the studio and on the road, releasing four independent projects and building a loyal following along the way. Last year, the band told MusicRow they thought, “We were going to be independent artists our whole lives.”

Then they wrote a song called “Two High,” and the song became a major hit, garnering more than 75 million streams to date on Spotify.

“We dropped ‘Two High’ the day after my wife’s birthday so I thought of it as like a birthday present to her, but it ended up being a present to all of us. It just took off like a fire,” recalls Terndrup.

The track was written after the women’s march happened in 2017 at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

“I just happened upon the women’s march and was really inspired,” Terndrup told MusicRow. “Really, the concept for “Two High” came about after our keys player was texting somebody. He wrote “too high” and it autocorrected to “two high.” He told me that story, and I was like, ‘Oh, like the peace sign?’ Then the first verse came together really quickly and it was probably the quickest song that we wrote.”

The song’s success caught the attention of numerous major labels, and the band soon became the latest group to sign with RCA Records.

Terndrop says RCA’s illustrious roster was a big draw.

“They were into career rock bands like Cage the Elephant and Walk the Moon, bands we love. Bands that put out albums, not just singles,” he explains.

“Two High” is a centerpiece on Moon Taxi’s debut major label album for RCA, dubbed Let The Record Play. The project released Friday, Jan. 19.

Throughout the success of “Two High,” the band kept writing for their current album, which was essentially completed by the time the ink dried on the band’s RCA contract. Moon Taxi wrote the majority of the songs at Thomson’s house, and tested the material on fans during their fall tour in 2017.

“When you make the demo as you are writing the song, sometimes you have to go back and learn what you wrote and how to play it,” Terndrup recalls.

With the majority of the songs written, the recording sessions that would become Let The Record Play progressed quickly. “We go in with a list of songs and knock them out,” Terndrup says. “We don’t just sit around and wait for inspiration to strike.”

Let The Record Play serves as an apt title for an album that includes both tracks penned with Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin, as well as saxophone work from Too Many Zooz. The band’s 2018 tour plans includes a slot on Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in June.

“We did a great job as a home-grown band,” Terndrop says, “but we always want to grow and ascend to the next level. We always want to play for more people.”

To purchase Let The Record Play, visit http://smarturl.it/LetTheRecordPlay

Apple Launches Apple Music For Artists; Opens The Door For A Wealth Of Analytics

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By: LB Rogers

Billboard reported today that Apple has released a new dashboard that will give artists a wealth of information regarding their presence on iTunes and Apple Music.

Apple Music for Artists will provide artists analytical insight to invaluable information from iTunes store purchases to the number of plays they have received with Apple Music playlists.

Artists will also be able to explore their prevalence around the world by using the dashboard’s global map. The map will display an artist’s popularity in 115 countries and can expand into the demographics of those fans.

“They can select individual cities and see how many plays and sales they have in each market, as well as look at their top songs in every city. They may further examine the listener demographics per city, for example, calling up how many times females ages 16-24 in Los Angeles have listened to a particular song,” reports Melinda Newman of Billboard.

Additionally, artists will be able to keep track of their progress with an Insights panel that will display milestones like the greatest number of plays or purchases.

This feature is currently being tested by a few thousand select artists before it becomes available to millions of content creators within iTunes and Apple Music’s platforms, reportedly as soon as this spring.

Brad Paisley Adds Bridgestone Arena Tour Date

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Brad Paisley and Rob Hendon. Photo: Derek Cressman

Brad Paisley teamed with painter Rob Hendon for a unique reveal to celebrate the addition of a show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on April 6 to Paisley’s upcoming Weekend Warrior World Tour.

Paisley revealed a wall mural he painted with “the original guitar painter” Hendon on Level One of Bridgestone Arena.

Tickets and VIP packages for the April 6 Nashville date go on sale beginning Friday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. local time. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, Jan. 25 at 10 p.m. local time. A limited number of exclusive VIP Packages will also be available for sale starting Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets and VIP packages can be purchased at BradPaisley.com

The winter leg of the Weekend Warrior World Tour kicks-off this Thursday, Jan. 25 in Los Angeles at STAPLES Center and extend through April. Special guests on the tour are Broken Bow Records artist Dustin Lynch, RED BOW Records’ Chase Bryant and fast-rising star and multi-instrumentalist Lindsay Ell.

Stevie Nicks, Lenny Kravitz, Def Leppard Managers Create New Firm

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Lenny Kravitz

Managers for artists including Def Leppard, Stevie Nicks, and Lenny Kravitz have teamed to form CSM Management, with headquarters in Nashville and Los Angeles. The team includes music managers Craig Fruin, Sheryl Louis and Mike Kobayashi. All three were formerly connected with HK Management, whose founder Howard Kaufman died in early 2017.

The CSM roster includes Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Lynne and ELO, Stevie Nicks, Chris Isaak, Def Leppard and Tesla.

“At CSM, we approach client management with a core philosophy and a global brand perspective. We provide each client with a customized focus on every aspect of their career. Collectively, we bring expertise in international marketing, touring, digital marketing and expertise in film, television, design, and merchandising. We all take pride in creating and implementing solutions that are innovative and collaborative with our artists,” commented Fruin, who represents Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Lynne and Jeff Lynne’s ELO.

Sheryl Louis, who manages Stevie Nicks, Chris Isaak and co-manages Fleetwood Mac, commented: “Bringing our individual expertise under one roof gives our clients the opportunity to thrive and grow more than ever. This wider perspective has created a perfect environment for the three of us to collaborate, explore strategies and ideas, and collectively bring our vast experience and attention to the needs of our artists.”

“Forming this company with Craig and Sheryl felt seamless given our long term partnership with Howard and HK Management. Our special bond with one another and collective vision for CSM enables us to focus on what’s most important and meaningful to our artists during every facet of their careers. We understand the need to adapt to the ever-changing music landscape which guides us to be at the forefront of a thriving global industry. Our commitment is to fully servicing our clients in all aspects of the business while actively looking for like-minded artists to grow our roster,” commented Mike Kobayashi who manages Def Leppard and Tesla.

CSM Management’s Nashville office is located at 1200 Clinton Street, Ste. 241. CSM Management can be reached at 615-750-3590 or [email protected].

 

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A Night For Mike Owens: Benefit Show Slated for Jan. 31

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A benefit show for music industry veteran Mike Owens has been set for Jan. 31, 2018, featuring distinguished country music artists Brandy Clark, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss, Jerrod Niemann, James Otto and others.

The show will be held at at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. and show beginning at 8 p.m.

Proceeds from the event will go towards Owens’ healthcare expenses including costs for modifications needed to his home.

Owens, who most recently served as VP Creative at Sea Gayle Music, began his career in radio promotions at Arista Records in the 90s working for industry stalwarts Tim DuBois and Mike Dungan.

Owens has been on a kidney transplant list for over two years and some of the complications have resulted in a diminished blood supply to his arms and legs. Due to this issue, Doctors at Vanderbilt had to recently remove his leg up to his knee. After being at Vanderbilt hospital for two weeks, he was moved to Summit Rehab center where he began rehab and was fitted for a prosthesis. He was released on Saturday, Jan. 20. With his costly medical expenses, as well as modifications needed for his home, help is needed.

Fo those wishing to contribute directly to assist with these costs, a GoFundme account has been created for Owens.

Tickets to the benefit show can be purchased here.

Rumblefish To Deliver Music Admin Services For Digital Platform WEYV

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The Harry Fox Agency’s Rumblefish has been engaged by WEYV to provide music licensing and royalty support for its new digital content platform, WEYV. WEYV is an ad-free entertainment app that allow users to listen to music, read magazines, and soon, to watch visual content all in one app experience. In addition to offering music from all the major labels and magazines from Time Inc., WEYV will expand its offerings to include additional digital content such as podcasts and videos.

Rumblefish’s music rights and data management platform is designed to simplify licensing and streamline administration. Rumblefish will provide license support, data management, royalty calculation, and publisher payment services for WEYV’s music offering. These services will help to power WEYV with a robust catalog of music and to focus on the growth and expansion of the WEYV platform.

“HFA’s Rumblefish is proud to support the launch of the WEYV digital content platform,” said Michael Simon, President and CEO of The Harry Fox Agency. “With our copyright expertise and extensive publisher relationships, Rumblefish is the most trusted and reliable provider of administration services. And we’re thrilled to support WEYV who recognizes the importance of compensation for music publishers and songwriters.”

“This is an exciting time for WEYV, and we are pleased to have Rumblefish as a trusted partner to expedite administration services,” said Stephanie Scapa, Chief Executive Officer, WEYV. “HFA’s top-notch relationships make it an essential resource for licensing and royalty support as WEYV is committed to fairly compensating our music content providers, including songwriters, artists and publishers.”

WEYV will also donate 0.5% of its revenue to charitable causes, so the more you listen to an artist, the more WEYV will donate to the charity selected by or on behalf of that artist.