Warner Music Group Strikes Facebook Deal

Warner Music Group (WMG) and Facebook announced a holistic partnership that includes licensing agreements covering the music company’s recorded music and music publishing catalogs for use in social experiences such as videos and messages. The deal allows fans to create, upload and share videos with licensed music from their favorite artists and songwriters. Under the partnership, WMG and Facebook will continue to work together to develop new products that enable users to personalize their music experiences across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Oculus.

Eric Mackay, EVP, Global Digital Strategy, Warner/Chappell, commented, “The team at Facebook is creating a truly innovative product and is showing real commitment to its participation in the growth of the music business. We’ve taken our time to arrive at the best possible deal, one that recognizes the value that music creates on social networks, while empowering our songwriters to reach audiences around the world, in a way that will spark creativity and conversation among their fans. Our incredible catalogue of songs will be represented throughout Facebook’s platforms and we’re excited to work together to create new opportunities for both our songwriters and Facebook’s users.”

Ole Obermann, Chief Digital Officer, Warner Music Group, added, “Our partnership with Facebook will help expand the universe of music streaming and create supplementary revenue for artists. Fan-created video is one of the most personal, social and often viral ways that music is enjoyed, but its commercial potential is largely untapped. This collaboration will lead to new possibilities for our artists, while enhancing the user experience across Facebook, Instagram and Oculus, and enabling people to communicate and express themselves using the music they love.”

Tamara Hrivnak, Head of Music Business Development and Partnerships, Facebook, said, “When Facebook and music come together, we have the power to bring people closer together. Music brings to life the happy, the sad, the throwback and the funny in all the moments and messages we share with friends. We are delighted to partner with Warner, its artists and songwriters, and welcome them to our platforms.”

https://www.facebook.com/warnermusicgroup/videos/10155467138908014/?t=0

Copperline Music Group Inks Distribution Deal With The Orchard

Pictured (L-R): Derek Anderson (The Orchard), William Edwards (CMG), Craig Wayne Boyd, Rusty Harmon (CMG), Alyssa Logan (CMG), Dewayne Brown (The Orchard)

Copperline Music Group (CMG) has signed an exclusive distribution deal with The Orchard for the label’s releases. Current Copperline Music Group projects include Craig Wayne Boyd’s Top Shelf and Jason Morton and The Chesapeake Sons‘ new self-titled album.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with The Orchard and their teams in Nashville and New York,” says Copperline Music Group’s Rusty Harmon. “Having access to their multitude of proven label services will enhance our ability to achieve success for our artists.”

“As the music industry continues to evolve and change, I find myself looking to sign artists and labels that understand these changes,” notes The Orchard’s Dewayne Brown. “Ones that embrace the challenges of the new movement to a more digital streaming world, but yet still feels that there is life and needs for physical product. I am so very honored and proud that Rusty Harmon and his staff at CMG have join our family here at The Orchard Nashville. Our staff is extremely excited about working with CMG, Craig Wayne Boyd, Jason Morton, and beyond.”

Copperline Music Group has also partnered with Girlilla for digital marketing and Absolute Publicity for publicity services.

Weekly Chart Report 3/9/18

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Industry Pics: CMHoF, Randy Travis, Brett Young, Zach Williams

Country Music Hall Of Fame Celebrates American Currents: The Music of 2017

Pictured (Back row, L-R): Josh Osborne, Ashley Gorley, Molly Tuttle, Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Kyle Young, Dave Cobb, John Osborne and T.J. Osborne of musical duo Brothers Osborne and Shawn Camp, (Front Row L-R) Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley of musical duo Florida Georgia Line, Luke Combs, Sierra Hull, Randy Travis, Kane Brown and Chris Young attend Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum new exhibition American Currents: The Music of 2017 on March 6, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum) [Click photo to enlarge]

On Tuesday, March 6, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated the opening of its newest exhibition American Currents: The Music of 2017. Located in the Museum’s ACM Gallery, the exhibit chronicles the latest chapter in country music’s ever-evolving story through a behind-the-scenes look at all things new and noteworthy from the prior year. Several artists in attendance viewed their displays in the exhibition for the first time, including Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Shawn Camp, Dave Cobb, Luke Combs, Florida Georgia Line, Ashley Gorley, Sierra Hull, Jason Isbell, Josh Osborne, Amanda Shires, Randy Travis, Molly Tuttle and Chris Young. Others featured in the exhibit include Jason Aldean, busbee, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Rodney Crowell, Fort Lonesome, Sam Hunt, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Lori McKenna, Maren Morris, Jon Pardi, John Prine, Thomas Rhett, Marty Robbins, Sturgill Simpson, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

 

Randy Travis Visits The Song Suffragettes

Pictured (L-R): Makayla Lynn, Karla Davis, Kalie Shorr, Randy Travis, Kaylin Roberson and Katelyn Clampett. Photo: Todd Cassetty

Country Music Hall of Fame member and icon Randy Travis made a surprise visit to Monday night’s Song Suffragettes show at the Listening Room where they returned the surprise with a cover of “Forever and Ever, Amen.”

 

Brett Young Celebrates Triple Platinum Status

Pictured (L-R): “In Case You Didn’t Know” songwriters Trent Tomlinson, Brett Young, Tyler Reeve. Photo: BMLG Records

ACM nominee Brett Young celebrated the success of his three-time platinum hit “In Case You Didn’t Know” recently with his cowriters at Losers Bar and Grill in Nashville. Written by Tyler Reeve, Kyle Schlienger, Trent Tomlinson and Young, “In Case You Didn’t Know” is the only song from a debut country artist to earn RIAA 3X Platinum Certification since 2014.

 

Zach Williams Welcomes Chris Pratt To California Show

Pictured (L-R): Chris Pratt, Zach Williams

Zach Williams‘ Roadshow Tour recently hit Ontario, California near Los Angeles and the singer-songwriter welcomed Guardians of the Galaxy actor Chris Pratt to the show. Williams recently earned a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for his breakthrough project Chain Breaker.

In January, Pratt posted a video, featuring music by Williams, to his more than 14 million Instagram followers; the video has more than 2.3 million views to date.

Jedd Hughes Renews Publishing Deal With Carnival Music

Jedd Hughes

Carnival Music has extended its publishing deal with Jedd Hughes. The respected songwriter, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist first joined the Carnival roster in 2007, and returns to Nashville after a brief stint in Los Angeles.

A collaborator of legends and elder statesmen including Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, and the late Guy Clark, as well as young bloods such as Dierks Bentley, Sarah Jarosz, and Ryan Bingham, Hughes is a bridge between giants of various generations and musical persuasions. In addition to co-writing Jarosz’s “House of Mercy,” which earned the 2017 Grammy for Best Americana Roots Performance, Hughes has penned and co-penned hits including Keith Urban’s “Put You in a Song,” as well as tracks for Tim McGraw, Little Big Town, Charles Kelley, Josh Gracin, and more.

“Jedd’s talent is unmatched,” says Carnival Music’s Courtney Gregg. “Plenty of people know he’s a virtuosic musician and skilled songwriter, but what’s most impressive about Jedd is his restlessness. He is constantly growing. He’s the kind of artist Carnival was created to serve.”

“I have always been drawn to those living in the land of fearless creativity,” Hughes says. “I am at home and musically at peace at Carnival Music.”

Alabama Announces The Hits Tour 2018

Country group Alabama announced the first of leg of The Hits Tour 2018, launching March 23 in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The band will showcase their collection of 43 No. 1 singles spanning 21 Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum albums and a musical tradition and legacy that continues.

“This year’s tour is for the lifelong fans, and also the younger generations just now discovering the music,” Randy Owen notes.

Tony Conway continues, “The band is having fun, selling tickets, and sounding unbelievable vocally. This tour is about the music of the past 49 years the band’s 43 No. 1 singles. Alabama is still and will always be the greatest country band in American History.”

THE HITS TOUR 2018 TOUR DATES:
Friday, March 23 @ Verizon Theatre – Grand Prairie, TX
Saturday, March 24 @ Majestic Theatre – San Antonio, TX
Friday, April 13 @ Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA
Saturday, April 14 @ Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA
Sunday, April 15 @ Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA
Friday, May 11 @ Bank of Kentucky Center – Highland Heights, KY
Saturday, May 12 @ Grossinger Motors Arena – Bloomington, IL
Saturday, May 19 @ Wild Adventures Theme Park – Valdosta, GA
Sunday, May 20 @ Portsmouth Pavilion – Portsmouth, PA
Saturday, May 26 @ Lake Ozarks Amphiteater – Camdenton, MO
Sunday, May 27 @ Tree Town Country Music Festival – Forest City, IA
Friday, June 22 @ Country Stampede – Manhattan, KS
Saturday, June 23 @ Wild West Arena – North Platte, NE
Sunday, June 24 @ Divots Center – Norfolk, NE
Thursday, July 19 @ Country Jam USA – Eau Claire, WI
Saturday, July 28 @ Mountainfest – Morgantown, WV
Wednesday, August 1@ Bell MTS Place – Winnipeg, MB
Thursday, August 2 @ Sasktel Centre – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan CA
Saturday, August 4 @ Big Valley Jamboree – Camrose, Alberta CA
Sunday, August 5 @ Encana Events Centre – Dawson Creek, British Columbia CA
Thursday, August 16 @ Bi-Mart Willamette Country Music Festival – Brownsville, OR
Saturday, September 8 @ The Brandon Amphitheatre – Brandon, MS

Keith Urban To Make SXSW Performance

Keith Urban is headed to SXSW on March 16 for a featured speaking engagement and performance, to be presented by Bumble, the female-first social networking app with over 27 million global users.

“Creation and Connection: A Conversation with Keith Urban,” will be held at the Austin Convention Center at 12:30 p.m. and will see Urban speak about his career, creative process and how he stays connected in an isolating age. Later that night, Urban will then take to the stage with a performance at Stubb’s BBQ outdoor stage (Waller Creek Amphitheater).

Openers for the show, which begins at 8 p.m., include Devon Gilfillian, Lauren Ruth Ward, and Larkin Poe.

Bumble’s Head of Brand, Alex Williamson, cited the impact of Urban’s song “Female,” and the importance of sharing its message.

“‘Female’ is a celebration of the power and the importance of women,” Williamson said. “We believe strongly in the song’s message as it aligns with our company’s mission of empowering women to make the first move in creating impactful relationships in every aspect of their lives.”

Music and Platinum badge holders receive primary access to official music showcases. SXSW Film and Interactive badge holders, along with Music Festival wristband holders and Showcasing Artist wristband holders have secondary access. All admissions subject to capacity.

Urban’s upcoming studio album, GRAFFITI U, is slated to come out prior to his “Graffiti U World Tour 2018,” which will kick off in St. Louis on June 15.

Meghan Trainor To Join ASCAP’s ‘I Create Music’ EXPO Keynote Panel

Meghan Trainor will participate in a keynote conversation at the 2018 ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, joining a distinguished lineup of music creators that includes Jason Mraz, Marc Cohn, Darrell Brown, Dan Wilson, Claudia Brant, Billie Eilish, Desmond Child and Paul Williams. This year’s EXPO takes place May 7-9 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in L.A.

Trainor’s relationship with ASCAP stretches back to the beginnings of her music career, when she first attended its “I Create Music” EXPO at 16 years old, right after self-releasing her first-ever recordings. Trainor cites meeting panelist Natasha Bedingfield at that EXPO as a transformative experience for her, and is now coming full-circle to participate as a 2018 keynote.

Trainor’s breakout 2014 single “All About That Bass” (co-written with producer Kevin Kadish) spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Diamond by the RIAA. She followed up the colossal hit with her first full-length album Title in 2015, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and 2016’s Thank You, which went Platinum. Trainor’s highly anticipated new single “No Excuses” was released on March 1.

She has won four ASCAP Pop Music Awards, and last year was recognized with the ASCAP Vanguard Award at the 2017 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, for her impact on musical genres that are helping shape the future of American music.

Now in its 13th year, the ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO is the largest conference of its kind in the United States, attracting over 3,000 music creators for three days of panels, workshops, master classes, keynotes and one-on-one sessions with the industry’s top hitmakers. Registration is now open for this year’s EXPO, and information can be found at ascap.com/exporegister.

Nashville Musician Hannah Miller Discusses Songs Included In NBC’s ‘This Is Us’

Hannah Miller

There is always a Nashville connection.

On this week’s episode of NBC’s This Is Us (titled “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life”) the voice carrying the song “Beauty And Pain” belongs to Nashville singer-songwriter Hannah Miller.

The song marks Miller’s second time recording a song that was included in the hit NBC series. Her acoustic rendition of the song “We Can Always Come Back To This” was included in Season 1’s powerful and pivotal episode “Memphis,” which centers on Randall Pearson (played by Sterling K Brown), the death of his biological father William Hill (Ron Cephas Jones), and Randall’s relationship with Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia), who adopted Randall at birth.

The song was penned by This Is Us composer Siddhartha Khosla and Chris Pierce. While a full-band version of “We Can Always Come Back To This” can be heard earlier in the “Memphis” episode, Pierce and Khosla sought a softer, female acoustic version to close out the episode.

“For ‘We Can Always Come Back To This,’ it was such a monumental episode and scene, and I was so thankful that it really worked,” Miller tells MusicRow. “That was one of the highlights of all of last year. I love the whole world of licensing and TV because music can bring so much emotion to a scene, but without the scene, the music doesn’t mean as much.”

Miller’s vocal placements came about through music licensing company Sorted Noise, and its Los Angeles partner Music Alternative.

“I had no context going into the show, we just got the song, the chart and a music video from the people who wrote the song. I filtered it through my style. Even with ‘We Can Always Come Back To This,’ I didn’t understand the song, really, until I saw it in the scene, and I could see how it was written to fit perfectly in that scene.

“I found out after the fact that several people had submitted acoustic demos and the composer actually called me the day after the episode aired and said, ‘When we heard yours, we knew it was the right one.’”

This week’s episode centered on the background of a newer character, a teenage girl named Deja, the foster child of Randall Pearson and wife Beth.

“The cool thing is I had seen every episode. I knew the story and what was going on, and it was so important to me that [the song] meant something and was special within the show. I didn’t want to distract or take away anything from the show. I just wanted to add. I had had placements over the years and I would sit down and watch the shows because my song was in it, but I had no real relationship to the show at all. Part of the reason I was so excited to do this was because I found out it was for This Is Us. I was like, ‘Yes, I’m going to do this no matter what!’”

Even with having songs featured in the episodes, Miller says she first saw the finished episodes when they aired on NBC, like everyone else. “It was so nerve-wracking. We got a little bit of information for this [latest] one. We knew the episode would be about Randall [Pearson] and Deja, the foster child they had taken in.”

Miller has plenty to celebrate this week, as her own latest album, Midnight Morning, released on Tuesday (March 6) via Sorted Noise Records. Eight of the 10 songs were produced by Jars of Clay member Charlie Lowell, and the album was recorded at Gray Matter studio.

“Sorted Noise paired Charlie and I together during a songwriting workshop for film and television and we liked what we did so much that I asked him to work on the whole album.”

The 10-track album also includes an updated version of “We Can Always Come Back To This.” Miller says she hopes for future songs to be included in the hit TV show. Miller recently traveled to Los Angeles to perform her rendition of the song for the Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, where the song was nominated for Best Song Recording Created For Television.

“My dream is for This Is Us to use one of my original songs, but I’m not complaining and I’ll record whatever song they want.” Miller says.

Krystal Keith, Lance Carpenter Preview New Tracks

Pictured: Lance Carpenter, Krystal Keith. Photo: Haley Crow/MusicRow

Show Dog Nashville artists Krystal Keith and Lance Carpenter were listening when fans began to respond to a duet they recorded, “Anyone Else,” penned by Kelly Archer, Greg Bates and Emily Shackleton.

Carpenter discovered the song and brought it to Keith. “I had been writing with Krystal and asked her if she’d put a vocal on it so I could see what it sounded like as a duet. Her folks flipped out over it, and I loved it.”

A music video was released for the song in January, and “Anyone Else” will be included on Keith’s EP, which is slated for a July release.

During a visit to the MusicRow Magazine offices, Keith and Carpenter also performed “Boulder” from the upcoming EP.

Carpenter, who co-wrote Kelsea Ballerini’s smash “Love Me Like You Mean It,” offered an acoustic rendition of the song. They closed with a new collaboration, “I’m Buying,” which has not been recorded yet.

PIctured (L-R): Krystal Keith, MusicRow Magazine’s Sherod Robertson, Lance Carpenter. Photo: Haley Crow/MusicRow

 

Krystal Keith, Lance Carpenter with MusicRow Magazine staffers. Photo: Rick Moxley/Show Dog Nashville