Luke Combs Extends Tour, Adds Second Bridgestone Arena Show

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Photo (c) 2019 David Bergman for Sony Records Nashville — Luke Combs photo shoot near Nashville, TN on May 1, 2019.

Luke Combs will extend his massive sold out “Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour” with five new dates including a second show added at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 12, due to popular demand after the first show sold out in just six minutes.

The additional dates also include stops at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre, San Diego’s Pechanga Arena, San Antonio’s AT&T Center and Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. Tickets will be available for verified fan pre-sale starting next Tuesday, July 16 at 10 a.m. local time with general on-sale following on Friday, July 19 at 10 a.m. local time.
Combs will be inducted as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry on July 16.

Broken Bow Announces Promotion, Addition To Publicity Team

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Quinn Kaemmer, Sara Beth Watson        Photo Credit: Cody Heckber

Quinn Kaemmer has been promoted to Senior Publicity Manager at Broken Bow Records and Sarah Beth Watson has joined the department as Publicity Manager. Both will report to BBR Music Group VP of Publicity, Jay Jones.

Since joining BBR Music Group in October 2017 as a Publicity Manager, Kaemmer has played a key role in the launch of the fast-rising Jimmie Allen’s debut album Mercury Lane and his historic three week No. 1 hit, “Best Shot,” managed publicity for Randy Houser’s critically-acclaimed album Magnolia, and worked with viral-sensation Blanco Brown, Lainey Wilson, LOCASH and Parmalee among many others. Armed with nearly a decade of experience in the public relations field, her previous stops include NPG PR, marlo marketing, and Reed PR.

“Quinn makes an impact on every project she is involved in,” said Jones. “We are excited to announce her promotion and the contributions on behalf of the BBR artists that it represents.”

Watson has been hired as Manager of Publicity. In this role she will manage day to day publicity needs and messaging for many of the acts at BBR Music Group. Watson joins the team from Red Light Management, where she most recently served on the management team for Drake White and Dustin Lynch. Her five years of industry experience began at Universal Music Group in promotion where she supported the SVP of Promotion and rose to Promotion Coordinator for Capitol Nashville’s roster.

Kaemmer and Watson can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively. 

Stephanie Quayle Makes Academy Of Country Music Visit

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(L-R): Heather Bohn, HBPR; Maddy Stessman, ACM Manager, Administration; Stephanie Quayle; Carli McLaughlin, Rebel Engine Entertainment; Erick Long, ACM SVP, Events Photo Credit: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

Stephanie Quayle recently stopped by the Academy of Country Music for a visit. The Rebel Engine Entertainment artist visited with staffers and performed her current single, “If I Was a Cowboy,” from her upcoming Fall project.

Nashville Production Music Startup Soundstripe Adds J.R. McNeely

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J.R. McNeely

J.R. McNeely, a Grammy-winning engineer and producer with nearly three decades of experience, has joined Nashville-based tech-enabled production music startup Soundstripe as Mix Engineer. In this role, McNeely will ensure that Soundstripe’s library of original content for sync remains at the highest level of quality.

Based in Nashville, McNeely has been a professional audio mixer and engineer for over 28 years. During that time, he has worked on over 300 albums, including three Grammy-winning albums: Unseen Power and Double Take by Petra and Solo by DC Talk. He also received a personal Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical for Owsley’s self-titled album and worked on an additional four albums that receiving Grammy nominations: Momentum by Toby Mac, God Fixation by Petra, Lay It Down by Jennifer Knapp, and Lift by Audio Adrenaline. McNeely has mixed or engineered albums or singles for prominent artists such as Underoath, Relient K, Anberlin, MxPx, Thousand Foot Krutch, Francesca Battistelli, Starflyer 59, J.J. Cale, Owsley, David Bazan and his band Lo Tom, Jeremy Camp, TobyMac, Rich Mullins and A Ragamuffin Band, Dead Letter Circus, Mandisa, DC Talk, Restless Heart, Audio Adrenaline, The Choir, Buddy & Julie Miller, Randy Stonehill, Aaron Sprinkle, Kevin Max, John Elefante, The Prayer Chain, Petra, Third Day, Judson Spence, Emery, Demon Hunter, Acceptance, and many more.

Created by an in-house team of composers, mix engineers, songwriters, producers, and other music industry professionals, the Soundstripe catalog is available to filmmakers, YouTubers, advertisers, and anyone creating video content via a unique subscription model that gives them unlimited, royalty-free usage for a monthly or annual fee. This has led to over 2 million “micro-licenses” being issued for tens of thousands of customers in over 130 countries since Soundstripe’s inception in 2016. With an avid and loyal creator community, Soundstripe has seen triple digit year-over-year growth for the past three years.

Marc Oswald, Trey Fanjoy, Cary Glotzer Launch ‘The Song’ Series

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TV series The Song, led by Marc Oswald, Trey Fanjoy and Cary Glotzer, is set to premier the week of Jan. 4, 2020. The multi-genre music, entertainment and lifestyle show reveals the stories behind some of the biggest rock, pop, country, triple A, R&B and hip hop songs.

Oswald will serve as executive producer alongside Tupelo Raycom CEO/Founder Glotzer, while film/video/commercial director Fanjoy will direct the new series. The Song will be presented by Ally and Nashville Music City and distributed by Gray Television, which owns and operates network affiliated stations in 93 US television markets.

“At the heart of Nashville is our songwriter community,” said Butch Spyridon, President and CEO, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “To showcase the songs and songwriters, alongside the artists, is like a peek under the hood of the music that drives our lives—and Nashville gets to be the car.”

Season one, slated to begin recording in October, will consist of nine 30-minute episodes plus a one-hour “Best of The Song” finale. Each episode will be centered around a specific hit song. The songwriter or songwriters will talk in-depth about their journey, the inspiration for the song, how it evolved, and how the song eventually changed their lives forever. The artist who recorded the song will discuss what that same song means to them, what they thought when they first heard it and the impact it made on his/her life and career. Each episode will include three song performances from the songwriter and artist’s catalogs including the featured selection. Additional special guest artists chosen by the songwriter and artist may be woven in to various episodes.

The series will be filmed at TGL Farms in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and co-hosted by Krista Marie and Damien Horne. Following each conversation the writer and artist will take the stage at TGL Farms for a concert in front of a small live audience of approximately 75. The series has established partnerships with the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Belmont University to provide scholarship and internship opportunities for their programs.

“We’ve been lucky enough to spend our entire careers making a living in the music and TV business, and we (all of us, actually) owe every ounce of our success to the creative stories and melodies contained in the songs we love so much,” said Oswald.

Glotzer continued, “This project carries with it the responsibility to shine the brightest light possible on some of the greatest songwriters, artists and songs in American pop culture.”

“I think music fans need a show like The Song,” said Fanjoy. “It’s a fresh, in-depth look into the inspiration and magic behind some of their most beloved hit records. I’m extremely excited to be collaborating with such incredible talent on this series. We have a shared goal to celebrate the musical genius at the core of these hit songs and elevate them with unforgettable performances. I know this series is going to be truly special.”

ASCAP Launches New Showcase Series, ASCAP After Hours

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Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Kele Currier, Jordan Brooker, Lauren Weintraub, Johnny Dailey, ASCAP’s Holly Chester and ASCAP EVP of Membership John Titta. Photo: Ashley Brooker

ASCAP Nashville has announced a new showcase series, ASCAP After Hours, designed to highlight emerging country songwriter-artists.

The series debuted on June 25 at Analog at The Hutton Hotel, and featured acoustic performances by up-and-coming country songwriter-artists Lauren Weintraub and Johnny Dailey, followed by a full band appearance by emerging artist Jordan Brooker.

BMI, Pinnacle Bank Welcome Unsigned Writers For Next Big Wave Series

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Photo (L-R): BMI’s Mason Hunter and Leslie Roberts, Aby Gutierrez, Ava Suppelsa, BMI’s Jody Williams and Spencer Nohe attend BMI’s Next Big Wave for unsigned writers.

On Tuesday (July 9) BMI and Pinnacle Bank welcomed Nashville’s newest hitmakers for an evening of networking in BMI’s Nashville office. The first of three installations in BMI’s Next Big Wave series, attendees of 2019’s first session were BMI country and pop songwriters looking to secure their first publishing deal. The evening provided a unique opportunity for the budding creatives to connect with other writers at similar points in their careers.

Designed to forge personal relationships, foster professional connections and inspire growth and creativity within promising careers, each event in the series is specifically tailored to a different group of new arrivals. With three evenings dedicated respectively to songwriters without publishing deals, new music industry hires and songwriters who have recently secured their first publishing deal, attendees have the opportunity to mix and mingle with their peers.

BMI’s Creative team is on-hand for a unique opportunity to network and educate attendees about BMI’s role in their individual careers. The series allows Nashville’s rising talent to create lasting relationships with BMI and beyond for a stronger Music Row community.

Warner Chappell Production Music Wins NewscastStudio Broadcast Production Award

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Warner Chappell Production Music has been awarded a NewscastStudio Broadcast Production award alongside partners PIX11 for the promotional piece, “We Are New York’s Very Own.” The NewscastStudio Awards for Broadcast Production aim to showcase the best music compositions and uses. Warner Chappell Production Music was chosen as a custom music for promotions winner from over 200 entries, across multiple broadcast categories.

“We Are New York’s Very Own,” created in conjunction with the creative team at WPIX, is a love song to New York City and supports PIX11’s brand and core message — “New York’s Very Own” — celebrating the diversity of the city while capturing the intimate feeling of ‘home.’  In the promo, a music video combines friendly street scenes familiar to New Yorkers with endearing shots of news talent.

“Working with WPIX on this fun, inspiring project was rewarding in itself for our team,” said Pat Weaver, Head of Production for Warner Chappell Production Music. “Receiving this award is a testament that our combined efforts hit the mark, and we couldn’t be more thrilled and honored.”

 

SiriusXM Adds New Channels, Personalization, Expanded Video, Mobile App Upgrades

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SiriusXM Select subscribers now have access to unlimited streaming at no additional cost. This upgrade allows those subscribers to listen outside the car—on a phone, at home, and online—joining the SiriusXM All Access, SiriusXM Essential Streaming and SiriusXM Premier Streaming tiers.

This upgrade for SiriusXM Select customers will also include access to over 100 recently launched Xtra Music Channels, curated across genres. This coincides with an expanded preview of SiriusXM Video that unlocks SiriusXM’s On Demand Archive via the SiriusXM app and web player. Subscribers can see hundreds of videos including in-studio performances, behind-the-scenes moments, and more from artists including Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Reba McEntire, Lady Antebellum, with new videos being added regularly.

Subscribers to the SiriusXM All Access and SiriusXM Premier Streaming packages will now be able to create their own customized commercial-free music stations within the SiriusXM app. With Personalized Stations Powered by Pandora, driven by Pandora’s Music Genome Project, the stations will draw from SiriusXM’s music library and be served through SiriusXM’s delivery infrastructure.

“We have always been dedicated to delivering our customers great value for their subscriptions, and we have achieved remarkable growth and listener loyalty by delivering unrivaled and exclusive content in an easy-to-use way. These new initiatives represent another tremendous step forward in that effort, and give our customers more value for their money than ever before,” said Jennifer Witz, SiriusXM’s President, Sales, Marketing and Operations. “Tens of millions of SiriusXM Select subscribers now get access to SiriusXM outside the car, and the many benefits of the SiriusXM app, at no additional cost. We are also especially proud that only six months after completing the merger with Pandora, our teams have brought unique music personalization to the SiriusXM app using Pandora’s industry-leading technology for our millions of All Access and Premier Streaming customers.”

For more info on these new features, go to SiriusXM.com/big.

Ruston Kelly Signs With Concord Music Publishing

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Ruston Kelly has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Concord Music Publishing. Kelly is set to release his next album on Rounder Records in 2020.

Born in South Carolina, Kelly moved to Nashville at 17 and began penning songs for artists like Tim McGraw and Josh Abbott Band. He continued working on his own material, breaking through with the release of his debut EP Halloween in 2017 and his full length debut album, Dying Star in September of 2018.

“Ruston is that rare, wonderful breed of writer – with one foot firmly planted in tradition, while constantly pushing the limits of contemporary creativity. He has an undeniable punk ethic, like many of the legendary greats before him,” said Tom DeSavia, SVP of A&R/Artist Relations for Concord Music Publishing.

“We’re so honored to have Ruston join the Concord family of songwriters. We are beyond excited to be a part of his creative team, and we can’t wait for the world to hear what he has in store,” said Brad Kennard, VP of A&R at Concord Music Publishing.

“Refreshing the air in a writer’s sphere is bittersweet but also necessary at times,” said Ruston Kelly. “Signing with Concord is just that for me, and I’m very excited to have such an enthusiastic and driven team here.”

In addition to his solo work, Ruston Kelly has written songs for artists like Rob Baird, Hayes Carll, and Lucie Silvas. He recently played the Bonnaroo Music Festival and is set to perform at Lollapalooza in Chicago next month. Kelly will kick off his headlining Brightly Burst Tour in September.