SiriusXM Acquires Pandora In $3.5 Billion Deal

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SiriusXM has acquired Pandora in an all-stock transaction valued at $3.5 billion. The transaction has been unanimously approved by both the independent directors of Pandora and by the board of directors of SiriusXM. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.

Under the deal, the Pandora brand will remain current, including Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium. Pandora products and pricing will not change as a result of this announcement.

SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer said, “We have long respected PANDORA and their team for their popular consumer offering that has attracted a massive audience, and have been impressed by PANDORA’s strategic progress and stronger execution. We believe there are significant opportunities to create value for both companies’ stockholders by combining our complementary businesses. The addition of PANDORA diversifies SIRIUSXM’s revenue streams with the U.S.’s largest ad-supported audio offering, broadens our technical capabilities, and represents an exciting next step in our efforts to expand our reach out of the car even further. Through targeted investments, we see significant opportunities to drive innovation that will accelerate growth beyond what would be available to the separate companies, and does so in a way that also benefits consumers, artists, and the broader content communities. Together, we will deliver even more of the best content on radio to our passionate and loyal listeners, and attract new listeners, across our two platforms.”

Pandora CEO Roger Lynch said, “We’ve made tremendous progress in our efforts to lead in digital audio. Together with SIRIUSXM, we’re even better positioned to take advantage of the huge opportunities we see in audio entertainment, including growing our advertising business and expanding our subscription offerings. The powerful combination of SIRIUSXM’s content, position in the car, and premium subscription products, along with the biggest audio streaming service in the U.S., will create the world’s largest audio entertainment company. This transaction will deliver significant value to our stockholders and will allow them to participate in upside, given SIRIUSXM’s strong brand, financial resources and track record delivering results.”

According to the agreement, the owners of the outstanding shares in Pandora that SiriusXM does not currently own will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.44 newly issued SiriusXM shares for each share of Pandora they hold. The transaction is expected to be tax-free to Pandora stockholders. SiriusXM currently owns convertible preferred stock in Pandora, representing a stake of approximately 15 percent on an as-converted basis.

AIMP Celebrates Nashville Songwriter Series

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Pictured (L-R) Shane McAnally, Kylie Morgan, Jordan Brooker, Nicolette Hayford, Luke Laird. Photo: Josh Lockhart

The Nashville Chapter of the AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers) hosted its fourth annual AIMP Nashville Songwriter Series on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018 at The Hutton Hotel’s music venue, Analog. The event featured two rounds of up-and-coming songwriters who performed two songs each. Both rounds were hosted by GRAMMY Award winning songwriter/producers Shane McAnally and Luke Laird. The class included six emerging writers who have yet to earn a Top 20 on the country charts and were selected by a special committee made up of music industry professionals, based on submissions from current AIMP Nashville members.

The 2018 class includes Anna Vaus (Black River Publishing), Jordan Brooker (Warehouse West Entertainment), Kassi Ashton (Creative Nation), Kylie Morgan (SMACKSongs), Mike Walker (HoriPro Entertainment Group) and Nicolette Hayford (Diamond Eye Music).

Pictured (L-R): Shane McAnally, Anna Vaus, Mike Walker, Kassi Ashton, Luke Laird. Photo: Josh Lockhart

Carrie Underwood Receives Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame

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Seven-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood was honored with the 2,646th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018, by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in California.

The star is dedicated in the category of Recording at 1750 N. Vine Street in front of the historic Capitol Records Building. Emcee Leron Gubler, President & CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, unveiled the star with Simon Cowell, who was a judge when Underwood won the 4th season of American Idol, and Brad Paisley, with whom Underwood will co-host the CMA Awards for the 11th consecutive year in November.

Underwood released Cry Pretty, her first studio album on Capitol Records Nashville, on Sept. 14. In Spring 2019, Carrie will launch The Cry Pretty Tour 360, which will kick off in May and will play 55 arenas across the U.S. and Canada.

Smith & Wesley’s New Album ‘For Better Or For Worse’ Out Today

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Smith & Wesley‘s sophomore project, For Better or For Worse, is available digitally today (Friday, Sept. 21). The 10-cut collection features the hit singles “The Little Things” and “SUPERMAN ‘For A Day'” and will be distributed by BFD via Orchard.

“We are so excited to get this music out to our fans,” said Smith & Wesley. “We have to thank country radio for supporting us and for the amazing team behind us. We feel like we’re just getting started!”

Smith & Wesley’s Scott and Todd Smith wrote or co-wrote all but two of the tracks on For Better or For Worse, which was produced by Shayne Hill for Dream Walkin’ Records.

The duo also wrote or co-wrote 11 cuts on their debut album, Choices & Chances. Their “Sweet Life” single hit Top 30 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart, and their third single, “You’re The One,” hit No. 27 on the same chart. In addition to being a top-researching single with all demographics, the heart-tugging “You’re The One” became an in-demand wedding song.

For Better or For Worse Track Listing:
  1. “Hook Line & Sinker” – Scott Smith, Evan Kennedy
  2. “The Little Things” – Scott Smith, Todd Smith, Evan Kennedy
  3. “To Be With You” – Scott Smith, Todd Smith
  4. “SUPERMAN ‘For a Day'” – Scott Smith
  5. “A Little On The Redneck Side” – Johnathan Page East
  6. “I’m Over You” – Scott Smith, Todd Smith, Evan Kennedy
  7. “Come Home Soon” – Scott Smith, Evan Kennedy
  8. “Don’t Forget To Leave” – Scott Smith, Evan Kennedy, Jamie Sexton
  9. “If Ever” – Todd Smith, Billy Cerveny
10. “Half A Mile” – Billy Cerveny

Breaking: Buddy Lee Attractions Closes After 54 Years

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Music talent agency Buddy Lee Attractions has closed its doors after 54 years, BLA CEO Donna Lee has confirmed to MusicRow.

Located at 38 Music Sq. E., Ste. 300, the company employed approximately 12 staffers and represented a lengthy roster of tours and bookings for country, inspirational and rock artists, recently including Andy Griggs, Michelle Wright, Jamie O’Neal, Mark Collie, Darryl Worley, Presley & Taylor, Ricochet, Ty Herndon, and more.

Among the company’s staffers are Lee; David Kiswiney, Sr. Executive VP; Steve Peck, VP; Joan Saltel, Agent; Mike Meade, Agent; Anthony Wozniak, Agent; Jimmy Dasher, Agent; Aura Guadagno, Agent; Amy Aylward, Agent; Jon Sayles, Agent, and Marsha Owen, Bookkeeper.

Originally founded in 1964 as Aud-Lee Attractions, the agency was fully acquired by Buddy Lee in 1968. Throughout its history, the agency has represented notable artists including George Strait, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Florida Georgia Line, and Jason Aldean.

Eric Church To Double Down With 2019 Tour, Nashville Nissan Stadium Show

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Eric Church. Photo: Anthony D’Angio

Eric Church, who will release his new album Desperate Man on Oct. 5, has just announced his 2019 Double Down Tour. The trek will visit 19 cities, with back-to-back show nights in each venue, equaling 37 shows. Church will again forego an opening act, as he did on his landmark 2017 tour.

He will also make one headlining stop at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 25, 2019 with tickets on sale October 19 at 10 a.m. CT.

In keeping with Church’s commitment to giving his fan club — known as the Church Choir — priority access, they will be able to purchase tickets during the fan club presale.

To keep scalpers at bay and to ensure tickets end up in the hands of real fans, after the fan club presale, tickets will be sold during Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan presale. All fans interested in priority access to tickets should get verified. Registration begins Friday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. CT.

Tickets inside Church’s stage will be made available exclusively to Church Choir members and only through the brand new Eric Church app. Church Choir members will also have the opportunity to take advantage of exclusive hotel deals in all Double Down Tour cities plus additional surprises related to the tour. More information is available at ericchurch.com.

Eric Church’s 2019 Double Down Tour dates are as follows:
January 18, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 19, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 25, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
January 26, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
February 1, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 2, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 8, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 9, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 15, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 16, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 22, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
February 23, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
March 1, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 2, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 8, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 9, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 15, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 16, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 22, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 23, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 29, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
March 30, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
April 12, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 13, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 19, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 20, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 26, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
April 27, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
May 3, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 4, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 10, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 11, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 17, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 18, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 25, 2019 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium#
June 28, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
June 29, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#

+on sale October 5 at 10 a.m. local time
*on sale October 12 at 10 a.m. local time
#on sale October 19 at 10 a.m. local time

YouTube Lowers Barrier To Entry For Creators Charging Monthly Fees

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In June YouTube expanded channel memberships, allowing creators to charge subscribers a $4.99 monthly fee. This week, Engadget is reporting the barrier to entry just got easier for creators.

Previously, channel memberships were only allowed for 100,000+ subscribers. Now channels with 50,000+ subscribers will be able to earn money directly from fans, rather than relying on money from ads.

Jimmie Allen Set To Spin Down ‘Mercury Lane’ In October

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Jimmie Allen is set to release his debut album, Mercury Lane, Oct. 12 via Stoney Creek Records/BBR Music Group. Allen teased the track listing and behind-the-scenes photos on his socials earlier this week, and has now revealed the artwork and additional details for the full-length album, along with a brand new song.

Hailing back to the origin of Allen’s story, the Ash Bowers/Eric Torres-produced album takes its name from the street Allen grew up on and pays tribute to the influence home and family has had on his incredible journey. Fans will instantly receive six songs with a pre-order of Mercury Lane, including “Best Shot,” “Underdogs,” “21,” “Warrior,” “Back of Your Mind” and “Make Me Want To,” a brand new track that highlights the singer’s romantic side.

“Mercury Lane is where my journey began. All of the fundamental life lessons that shaped my values and make me who I am today, I was taught on that street—its where I learned about love, family, life, how to believe in myself, the concept of never giving up, following your dreams and being a good person,” said Jimmie Allen. “This album touches on all of those ideals and truly feels like I’m sharing a piece of my heart with the world. I’ve been working toward this moment for so long; I can’t wait to share it with everyone.”

Allen’s debut single, “Best Shot” is in the Top 20 on the charts, and has more than 38 million streams to date, and he’s slated to make his national TV debut on Oct. 9 on NBC’s TODAY.

Mercury Lane Track Listing:
“American Heartbreaker” — (Jimmie Allen, Lance Miller, Chris Stevens, Ash Bowers)
“Make Me Want To” — (Jimmie Allen, Paul Sikes, Jennifer Denmark)
“Deserve to Be” — (Jimmie Allen, Danielle Blakey, Tripp Howell)
“How to Be Single” — (Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally, Jimmy Robbins)
“Wait for It” — (Ash Bowers, Thom McHugh, Steve Williams)
“High Life” — (Lance Miller, Brett Warren, Brad Warren, Chris Stevens)
“21” — (Brandon Hood, Josh Jenkins, Ash Bowers)
“Underdogs” — (Ash Bowers, Brandon Lay, Jonathan Singleton)
“Like You Do” — (Jimmie Allen, JP Williams, Josh London, Jason Mizell)
“Back of Your Mind” — (Jimmie Allen, Matthew McVaney, Devin Tolentino)
“Boy Gets a Truck” — (Ash Bowers, Aaron Scherz)
“County Lines” — (Brett Tyler, Ben Burgess, Matt Dragstrem)
“Best Shot” — (Jimmie Allen, Josh London, JP Williams)
“Warrior” — (Jimmie Allen, Casey Beathard, Ash Bowers)
“All Tractors Ain’t Green” — (Jimmie Allen, Brandon Hood, Tim Nichols)

Jimmy Robbins Inks New Co-Pub Deal With Round Hill, Signs Eric Arjes To JV

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Pictured (Back row, L-R): Matthew Beckett (Round Hill counsel), Austen Adams (Dickinson Wright), Joe Fisher (BNNS). (Front row, L-R): Mark Brown (SVP, GM Round Hill Nashville), Jimmy Robbins, Sarah Robbins (JRM), Josh Saxe (Sr. Director A&R, Round Hill Nashville)

Round Hill Music Nashville and Baby Needs New Shoes have signed a new co-publishing deal with hit songwriter and producer Jimmy Robbins.

Robbins has earned 11 Top 10 hits including 8 No. 1 songs as a writer, as well as a No. 1 song as a producer for Canaan Smith’s “Love You Like That” and a Billboard No. 1 Album as a producer for RaeLynn’s Wildhorse. He is a CMA Triple Play Award winner and was ASCAP Song Of The Year winner for Thomas Rhett’s “It Goes Like This.” Robbins also recently earned NSAI’s 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written award for Maren Morris’ “I Could Use A Love Song.”

“It is a real pleasure to be able to announce that Round Hill is continuing our very productive relationship with Jimmy Robbins. Jimmy is a uncommonly talented writer and we are thrilled to be in business together,” boasts Mark Brown, Round Hill Nashville’s SVP & GM.

In addition, Round Hill and Jimmy have expanded their joint venture company JRM and signed Eric Arjes to an exclusive co-publishing deal. Arjes is a multi-genre songwriter and producer who has landed cuts with artists like Tim McGraw, Lonestar, Thompson Square and Newsboys to name a few. Arjes has found continued success in the sync world, creating and performing music featured in national TV Ad campaigns for Hershey’s, Lowe’s, Pringles, Dr Pepper, and Walmart, as well as television shows like The Walking Dead and Teen Wolf, and movie trailers/soundtracks like The Muppets Most Wanted.

“I am thrilled to be continuing with the whole Round Hill team and couldn’t be more excited about Eric joining it. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve met and we’re lucky to work with him,” adds Robbins.

Pictured (L-R): Mark Brown (SVP, GM Round Hill Nashville), Matthew Beckett (Round Hill counsel), Josh Saxe (Sr. Director A&R, Round Hill Nashville), Eric Arjes, Jimmy Robbins, Sarah Robbins (JRM)

Josh Turner Fulfills Dream With New Project, ‘I Serve A Savior’

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Josh Turner is releasing a longtime passion project, I Serve A Savior, on Oct. 26. The faith-based collection features hand-picked hymns, a few brand new originals, and live recordings of some of Turner’s most memorable hits including “Me and God” and “Long Black Train.”

The gospel project also includes a special song penned by Turner’s wife, Jennifer, and eldest son, Hampton, “The River (of Happiness)” featuring backing vocals by Jennifer and all four of Turner’s sons. “It’s an uplifting song,” said Turner. “And having Jennifer and the boys singing on it drives that home.”     

“My faith is the most important thing to me,” said Turner. “I want people to hear the sentiment and heart behind this record. I want them to feel the same inspiration that I felt. I want them to feel that and hopefully they’ll make these songs a part of their life. Working on this project has definitely been a God-ordained blessing. I never would have thought I’d be doing this record this year, but God opened a door and I walked through it. I’ve seen many seemingly impossible things take place during the making of this record and I’ve felt God’s anointing over it.”

In addition to the 12-track project, Turner will release a 90-minute live performance DVD of the new faith-based collection, filmed at Gaither Studios. The DVD will include a special interview of Turner with gospel legend Bill Gaither and will also be edited into a one-hour TV special hosted by Gaither which will air this fall on several networks across the U.S. and Canada.

I Serve A Savior Track Listing:
1. I Saw The Light (Featuring Sonya Isaacs)
2. I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble (Featuring Bobby Osborne)
3. Great Is Your Faithfulness 
4. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
5. Without Him
6. I Serve A Savior
7. How Great Thou Art (Featuring Sonya Isaacs)
8. The River (of Happiness) Featuring the Turner family (Live From Gaither Studios) 
9. Amazing Grace
10. Long Black Train (Live From Gaither Studios)
11. Doxology
12. Me And God (Live From Gaither Studios)