Kelsea Ballerini Added To Music Biz 2018

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Kelsea Ballerini will perform during the upcoming Music Biz 2018 conference’s Awards Breakfast & Presentations. The CMA-sponsored event will honor RIAA CEO Cary Sherman, as well as Dimple Records’ Radakovitz Family.

“Kelsea is an incredible talent, and we’re thrilled to have her perform at our Awards Breakfast,” said Music Biz President James Donio. “Her career got off to a meteoric start, with multiple award nominations and wins, sold-out concert tours, and even making country music history… and she continues her stellar momentum.”

The Awards Breakfast will also feature Music Biz President James Donio’s President’s Address, updating attendees on the state of the industry, highlighting Music Biz’s top initiatives of the past year, and detailing what to expect from the Association in 2018 and beyond. Music Biz Board Chairman Fred Beteille of Facebook will recognize the 2018-2019 Music Biz Board of Directors and announce the Scholarship Foundation Class of 2018.

 

Chris Stapleton, Sam Hunt Among Billboard Music Awards Nomination Leaders

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UMG Nashville artists Sam Hunt and Chris Stapleton have garnered the most country nominations for the upcoming Billboard Music Awards, as the nominations were announced this morning at billboard.com.

Sam Hunt was nominated for five honors, including the all-genre Billboard Chart Achievement Award, all-genre Top Selling Song (“Body Like A Back Road”), as well as Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Song (“Body Like A Back Road”).

Chris Stapleton was also nominated for five honors, including the all-genre Top Selling Album (From A Room: Vol. 1), Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Album (From A Room: Vol. 1).

Sony Music Nashville’s Kane Brown was nominated for three honors, including Top Country Artist, Top Country Song (“What Ifs,” ft. Lauren Alaina), and Top Country Album (Kane Brown).

Big Machine Label Group’s Thomas Rhett was nominated for three honors, including Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Album (Life Changes). Fellow BMLG duo Florida Georgia Line garnered three nominations for Top Country Tour, Top Country Duo/Group Artist, and Top Country Song (“Meant To Be”).

Notably, there were no female artists nominated for the Top Country Artist category. Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, and Maren Morris will vie for Top Country Female Artist.

UMG Nashville’s Alan Jackson earned a nomination for Top Christian Album, for his Precious Memories Collection. Also nominated in the category are MercyMe, Elevation Worship, Hillsong United and Hillsong Worship.

Big Machine Label Group artist Taylor Swift earned five nominations this year, including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album (reputation) and Top Selling Album (reputation).

Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran lead this year’s nominees, with 15 Billboard Music Awards nominations each.

2018 Billboard Music Awards Country And Christian Nominees:

Billboard Chart Achievement Award:
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Drake
Sam Hunt
Ed Sheeran

Top Selling Album:
Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.
P!nk, Beautiful Trauma
Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide)
Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1
Taylor Swift, reputation

Top Selling Song:
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Sam Hunt “Body Like A Back Road”
Imagine Dragons “Believer”
Imagine Dragons “Thunder”
Ed Sheeran “Perfect”

Top Country Artist:
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Sam Hunt
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton

Top Country Male Artist:
Sam Hunt
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton

Top Country Female Artist:
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris

Top Country Duo/Group Artist:
Florida Georgia Line
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band

Top Country Tour:
Luke Bryan
Florida Georgia Line
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

Top Country Song:
Kane Brown ft. Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs”
Sam Hunt, “Body Like A Back Road”
Dustin Lynch, “Small Town Boy”
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, “Meant To Be”
Brett Young, “In Case You Didn’t Know”

Top Country Album:
Kane Brown, Kane Brown
Luke Combs, This One’s For You
Thomas Rhett, Life Changes
Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1
Brett Young, Brett Young

Top Christian Artist:
Elevation Worship
Hillsong UNITED
Hillsong Worship
MercyMe
Zach Williams

Top Gospel Artist:
Anthony Brown & group therAPy
Travis Greene
J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Tamela Mann

Top Christian Song:
Elevation Worship, “O Come To The Altar”
Hillsong Worship, “What A Beautiful Name”
Lecrae ft. Tori Kelly, “I’ll Find You”
MercyMe, “Even If”
Zach Williams, “Old Church Choir”

Top Gospel Song:
Anthony Brown & group therAPy, “Trust In You”
Travis Greene, “You Waited”
J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise, “You Deserve It”
Tamela Mann, “Change Me”
Charlie Wilson, “I’m Blessed”

Top Christian Album:
Elevation Worship, There Is A Cloud
Hillsong UNITED, Wonder
Hillsong Worship, Let There Be Light
Alan Jackson, Precious Memories Collection
MercyMe, Lifer

Top Gospel Album:
Anthony Brown & group therAPy, A Long Way From Sunday
Travis Greene, Crossover: Live From Music City
J.J. Hairston & Youthful Praise, You Deserve It
Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Heart. Passion. Pursuit
Marvin Sapp, Close

Change The Conversation Panel To Feature Nielsen Music’s Erin Crawford

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“The Power of Female Country Artists” will be presented by Erin Crawford, Senior Vice President of Nielsen Entertainment/General Manager of Nielsen Music at the Change the Conversation event on April 23 at 6 p.m. at the Country Music Association. The free event, which is open to the public, is co-sponsored by SESAC and MTSU.

Crawford will discuss the marketability and endorsement potential of female country artists, and where they are being undervalued in the industry using Nielsen Music data and consumer insights. She will also demonstrate how streaming playlists, social media and live performances can be leveraged to advance female country artists’ careers.

“The mission of Change the Conversation is personally important to me, and I am honored to share Nielsen data and insights to bring attention to the issues facing women in Country music and provide guidance and inspiration on how to break down barriers,” said Crawford.

In addition to leading business strategy for Nielsen Music, Crawford serves on the advisory board of the Women in Music organization and is an advisor at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. She is a two-time Women in Music City honoree by the Nashville Business Journal and has served as a co-leader of the global Women in Nielsen employee resource group.

“In a world that revolves around data, Change the Conversation is thrilled to present Nielsen’s research on the power of women in the marketplace,” says Tracy Gershon, co-founder of Change the Conversation. “This presentation goes hand and hand with our mission to dispel myths about the impact of female artists in our industry.”

Meghan Linsey Joins Mount Music Group

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Pictured: David Mount, Meghan Linsey

Los Angeles-based newcomer Mount Music Group has just closed a long-term management deal with Meghan Linsey. David Mount founded Mount Music Group in 2017. His career has included time at Warner Music Group.

Linsey started her career in country music as one half of the chart-topping duo Steel Magnolia and made a shift to pop music on NBC’s The Voice. Her most recent album, Bold Like a Lion was produced by Tyler Cain and released late last year. It includes collaborations with Aloe Blacc and Fred Schneider.

Linsey’s Bold Like a Lion tour kicks off on April 19 at The Mint in Los Angeles, California.

 

Warner Music Nashville Adds VP, Finance

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Warner Music Nashville has welcomed a new VP, Finance, with industry veteran Danny Bess. Bess will report directly to COO Matt Signore.

Bess will oversee deal analysis and the execution of business strategy for the entire roster of artists. As VP Finance he will evaluate operations, systems and processes, making continuous efforts to increase effectiveness and control costs. Additionally, Bess will direct quarterly budgeting and forecasting, maintain internal policy compliance and manage the functions and professional development of the WMN finance team.

“Danny has the experience, insight and spirit to be a strong business partner to our entire team,” said Signore.

Bess transitions over to WMN after nearly 25 years at Universal Music Group, most recently as VP Finance of its Nashville division. A Vanderbilt University graduate with an M.B.A. from Tulane, Bess began his career at Sony BMG in 1989.

ACM Week In Pictures: UTA, SESAC, Play It Again Music, Change The Conversation

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SESAC and Play It Again Music Team Up for ACM Lifting Lives

Photo (L-R): Play It Again owner/publisher Dallas Davidson; SESAC singer/songwriter Lee Brice; SESAC VP of Creative Services Shannan Hatch; SESAC songwriter Rob Hatch; PIA VP of A&R Alex Torrez; PIA President Juli Newton Griffith; and Mike “Frog” Griffith.

Play It Again Music and SESAC were all smiles during Saturday’s (April 14) ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-off. ACM Lifting Lives is the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Through partnerships within the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs for those who have faced unexpected hardships.

 

United Talent Agency Celebrates ACMs

Pictured (L-R): Curt Motley, Brian Nossokoff, Troy Vollhoffer (Premier Global Production), Nick Meinema, Lance Roberts, Nick Barnes

The United Talent Agency team met with Troy Volhoffer of Premier Global Production at Sunday evening’s (April 15) Academy of Country Music Awards.

 

Cam Joins Change The Conversation Panel During ACM Week In Las Vegas

Pictured (L-R): Leslie Fram, Cam, Tracy Gershon, Beverly Keel.

Singer-songwriter Cam joined MTSU Recording Industry Chair Beverly Keel, as well as CMT’s Leslie Fram and industry executive Tracy Gershon for a Change the Conversation panel on Saturday (April 14) at Academy of Country Music’s pre-awards festivities.

 

Weekly Register: Country’s Top 5 Albums Chart Welcomes Three Debuts

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This past week welcomed three debuts to the Top 5 country albums rankings, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Blackberry Smoke debuts at No. 3 (and in the Top Americana slot) with Find A Light moving 16K. Restoration: The Songs of Elton John, featuring songs from artists including Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osborne and more, debuted at No. 4, with 15K. Johnny Cash: Forever Words, an album based on a book of the late entertainer’s poetry, debuts at No. 5 with 9.2K.

Kane Brown returns to the No. 1 spot this week, with his self-titled album moving 16.5K this week. Last week’s No. 1 debut, Kacey Musgraves‘ Golden Hour, falls to No. 2 this week, with 16K.

Another notable country debut is David Lee Murphey‘s No Zip Code, which features the duet with Kenny Chesney “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” The album debuted at No. 35 with 3.8K this week.

On the country digital sales rankings, Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line‘s “Meant To Be” continues to dominate, with 33K in sales this week. The track is now at 892K to date. The three entertainers performed the smash hit on Sunday (April 15)’s Academy of Country Music Awards.

Last night’s ACM performances also included the next three songs in this week’s digital sales rankings, including Kenny Chesney’s latest, “Get Along,” which comes in at No. 2 with 26K, and reigning Entertainer of the Year Jason Aldean‘s “You Make It Easy,” which is at No. 3 with 23K. Carrie Underwood also performed her new single, “Cry Pretty” on the awards show. The track enters at No. 4 with 21K, followed by Kane Brown’s “Heaven” at No. 5 with 19K.

Sony Music Nashville Celebrates ACM Wins, Nominations

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Pictured (L-R): Sony Music Nashville’s SVP A&R Jim Catino,
EVP/COO Ken Robold and EVP Promotion/Artist Development Steve Hodges;
ACM Awards Vocal Group of the Year Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey; ACM’s
most-awarded artist Miranda Lambert; four-time nominated Maren Morris; Randy
Goodman, Chairman/CEO, Sony Music Nashville; double-nominated Kane Brown
and Sony Music Nashville EVP Marketing/New Business John Zarling.

Sony Music Nashville’s artists, staff and guests celebrated the label’s wins and nominations at the 53rd annual ACM Awards during a post-party at Las Vegas’ Hakkasan.

During the award ceremony, Vanner Records/RCA Nashville’s Miranda Lambert won ACM Female Vocalist of the Year for the ninth consecutive year and is the current record holder for most consecutive wins in this category. Lambert also won ACM Song of the Year for “Tin Man” along with co-writers Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, receiving two awards, both as artist and songwriter. With these wins, she now has 32 ACM Awards, and is the most-awarded artist in ACM Awards history, a record previously held by Brooks & Dunn.

Additionally, RCA Nashville’s Old Dominion won ACM Vocal Group of the Year Award, their first award in this category. They previously won ACM New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year at the 51st ACM Awards in 2016.

 

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Plot Summer Tour

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have revealed their upcoming summer tour, with singer-songwriter Aimee Mann joining them for most of the dates.

Additional guests include Hiss Golden Messenger, Brandi Carlile, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Marie Lepanto, John Moreland, Amanda Shires, and Communist Daughter.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit recently took home two Grammy awards, for Best Americana Album (The Nashville Sound) and Best American Roots Song (“If We Were Vampires”), marking four total Grammy wins for Isbell.

The 400 Unit features Derry deBorja (keyboards), Chad Gamble (drums), Jimbo Hart (bass), Sadler Vaden (guitar) and Shires (fiddle).

Isbell and company sold out six nights at the historic Ryman Auditorium last fall.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Summer 2018 Tour Dates
July 5 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
July 6 – Minneapolis, MN – Basilica Block Party
July 7 – Sioux City, IA – Saturday In The Park
July 13 – Bonner Springs, KS – Americana Kansas City
July 14 – Birmingham, AL – Sloss Music & Arts Festival
July 15 – Louisville, KY – Forecastle Festival
July 17 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center (w/Hiss Golden Messenger)
July 18 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion (w/Hiss Golden Messenger)
July 20 – Canandaigua, NY – Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (w/Brandi Carlile)
July 21 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point (w/Brandi Carlile)
July 22 – Gilford, NH – Bank Of New Hampshire Pavilion (w/ Brandi Carlile)
July 24 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap (w/Hiss Golden Messenger)
July 25 – Cleveland, OH – Jacob’s Pavilion (w/ Aaron Lee Tasjan)
July 27 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
July 28 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest
August 24-25 – Austin, TX – Bass Hall  (w/Marie Lepanto)
August 26 – Austin, TX – Bass Hall  (w/John Moreland)
August 28 – Phoenix, AZ – Symphony Hall (w/ Amanda Shires)
August 30 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre (w/Aimee Mann)
August 31 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre (w/Aimee Mann)
September 1 – San Diego, CA – Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall (w/Aimee Mann)
September 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater (w/Aimee Mann)
September 6 – Redmond, WA – Marymoor Park (w/Aimee Mann)
September 7 – Portland, OR – Oregon Zoo Amphitheater (w/Aimee Mann)
September 10 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody Opera House (w/Communist Daughter)
September 13 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Theater (w/Communist Daughter)
September 14 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre
September 15 – Indianapolis, IN – Lawn @ White River (w/ John Moreland)
September 23 – Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
September 28 – Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheatre

Details at www.jasonisbell.com.

Post-ACM Awards, Blake Shelton and Friends Party Into The Night

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Pictured (L-R): Blake Shelton and Cole Swindell

Following two performances during the 53rd Annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas, Blake Shelton continued the good times with a stacked line up of artists at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.

Warner Music Nashville labelmates Cole Swindell, RaeLynn, Chris Janson and Michael Ray performed to the capacity crowd, joined by fellow hitmakers Toby Keith, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Brett Young, Jon Pardi and Luke Bryan.

Shelton introduced each of the performances with personal anecdotes as his guests performed cover songs spanning decades of country music.

Chris Janson and Blake Shelton

Photos: Warner Music Nashville