(L-R): Will Overton (WCM), Kelly Bolton (TR), Ashley Gorley (TR), Taylor Phillips, Ben Vaughn (WCM), Blain Rhodes (TR)
Warner Chappell Music Nashville and Tape Room Music have signed a global publishing deal with Taylor Phillips. The North Carolina native began working in Nashville in 2013. He has since landed three No. 1 hits, including “Homesick” and “Good as You” by Kane Brown, as well as “Hurricane” by Luke Combs.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, the UK investment company, has acquired Big Deal Music Group. Big Deal Music will be rebranded to Hipgnosis Songs Group effective immediately.
Kenny MacPherson will act as CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Group and will report directly to Hipgnosis Songs’ Founder, and CEO of the Investment Adviser, Merck Mercuriadis. MacPherson is joined by Co-Presidents Casey Robison and Jamie Cerreta and Executive Vice President Dave Ayers (New York) as well as Senior Vice President Pete Robinson (Nashville), all of whom have signed new five-year contracts.
“Over the last two years it has been my privilege to assemble and work with a world class team of individuals of the highest calibre,” said Mercuriadis, Founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited and The Family (Music) Limited. “With this acquisition, and following the appointment of Ted Cockle and Amy Thomson earlier this week, the scale and quality of people working with me to drive shareholder returns reaches new heights and sets our company on the path for the next chapter of its growth. This is a best in class team and we now have the resource to be on top of every song’s destiny all day every day and I’m delighted to welcome Kenny, Casey, Jamie, Dave, Pete and the other 30-plus new team members into the Hipgnosis Family.”
Founded in 2012 by MacPherson, Cerreta and Ayers, Big Deal Music Group has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville. Big Deal Music’s roster includes Teddy Geiger, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Joe London, Kamasi Washington, Sharon Van Etten, Sylvan Esso, Jake Sinclair, Dan Wilson, St Vincent and My Morning Jacket. The company has created and acquired a catalogue of over 4,400 songs, written by over 160 songwriters, and features songs achieving five Grammy Awards, 126 NMPA, BMI and ASCAP awards, and 27 Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications. Among the catalog songs are Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches,” ‘Treat You Better’ and “Mercy,” Thomas Rhett’s “Die A Happy Man,” Panic! At The Disco’s “High Hopes,” One Direction’s “Story of My Life,” and more than 30 other songs performed by the group; as well as Niall Horan’s “Slow Hands.”
Big Deal Music Group, significantly, also has a U.S. administration function through its Words & Music Brand which will be part of the rebranding as Hipgnosis Songs Group, effective immediately. In addition to in-house administration for Big Deal Music’s catalogue, Words & Music is also responsible for U.S. administration for several significant third party catalogues including Beggars Music, Mushroom Music Publishing, Gary Numan, Notable Music, Native Tongue, Goo Goo Dolls, Hootie & The Blowfish and Underworld.
“Collectively my partners and I have spent our careers identifying and nurturing some of the most iconic songwriters in contemporary music and creating value for our investors,” said Kenny MacPherson. “Over the last eight years at Big Deal Music my partners and I built a meaningful cultural legacy by assembling an incredible group of artists and label partners and world class songwriters. We look forward to bringing those creators and their enormous talent with us as we join Merck and his team at Hipgnosis. What Hipgnosis has assembled in such a short Mme is truly remarkable – a catalogue of over 13,000 compositions from some of the most important creators in the history of music. My team and I look forward to bringing all of our experience to bear to unlock more value in these catalogues and continue to build on the amazing work that Merck and his team have already done at Hipgnosis.”
The Palm, a popular hangout among the music business community, is facing eviction from Hilton Nashville Downtown, reports the Nashville Post. The steakhouse is currently situated across the street from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena’s main entrance, where it has been since it opened in 2000.
The Palm closed down in March, due to COVID-19 mandates. Though the Palm reopened at half capacity in May, the Hilton Nashville Downtown remained closed through June. In July 2020, the restaurant sued the Hilton Nashville Downtown, arguing that it should not be required to pay full rent during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the period of time that the hotel itself was closed.
“Hilton has asked Davidson County courts to evict The Palm, citing $114,922.87 in damages. Those charges come after the Palm says it paid nearly $25,000 in rent for the more-than-8,000-square-foot space in March,” the Nashville Post writes.
The eviction proceeding is set to be heard before the Davidson County General Sessions Court in September.
Steve Scheinthal, executive vice president and general counsel for Landry’s [who owns all the Palm’s locations], offered the following statement to the Nashville Post: “The Palm is happy to be open and serving Nashville. Our priority has, and will continue to be, putting our employees back to work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Hilton believes it is owed rent during the two months that it closed its own doors, we have offered to pay all of the rent that they believe to be owed in order to put this matter behind us and keep our dedicated employees working.”
Pictured: Scotty McCreery receives a RIAA certified Gold single for “In Between” from Triple 8 Management’s Scott Stem onstage at Ryman Auditorium on September 04, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for Scotty McCreery)
Scotty McCreery performed in the Live At The Ryman series to a sold-out, limited in-venue audience and via livestream at the Ryman Auditorium on Sept. 4, and prior to taking the stage that evening, he was surprised with a plaque commemorating the RIAA-Gold Certification of his No. 1 “In Between.” Last week, the North Carolina native announced the first taste of new music from a forthcoming album with upcoming single “You Time,” set for release Sept. 23, and debuted the tune on the historic Ryman stage.
“It was a fun surprise to receive a gold plaque for ‘In Between’ during ‘HLN’s Morning Express,’” said McCreery. “The fans are the reason why the song was certified gold, so I wanted to share the moment with them again on my livestream Q&A moderated by my friend Bill Cody.”
Jason Moon Wilkins. Photo: Rachel Iacovone / WPLN News
Nashville Public Radio has named Jason Moon Wilkins as the Program Director of its new music discovery radio station which launches later this fall on 91.1 FM. Wilkins has been host of All Things Considered on 90.3 FM WPLN News. He has also earned honors from the Associated Press. Most recently, he produced and hosted the special program A Radio Wake for John Prine, which was carried by numerous stations nationwide and became the most-streamed feature on WPLN News. Wilkins has also worked as a touring musician, music director, manager, music journalist, and helped launch or consult with numerous events and festivals including Next BIG Nashville, which served as a mini-SXSW for the city for several years and grew into a platform for everything from hip-hop to roots rock.
A pilot for a new country trivia game show, “Name That Country Tune,” will be taped in Nashville on Sept. 10 at Studio 615 in Nashville. The fast-paced, family-friendly, charity-driven game show is set in a living room rather than the traditional stage podium design, and will feature three recording artist contestants raising money for their favorite charity. The show host is Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys, and contestants on the first show include Lee Greenwood, Linda Davis, and T. Graham Brown.
“We are pleased that 100% of the funds raised will go directly to the charities selected by the celebrities,” said Executive Producer, Nelson Tucker. “Our number one goal is to raise significant funds for the charities. All advertising monies and donations from viewers go directly to the charities. This is our way of giving back in a significant way.”
Steve Baker. Photo: Brittany Baker
Steve Baker’s company Visual Image Marketing is marking a major milestone this year, celebrating its 20th year of providing music video promotion and marketing services to independent country and Americana artists.
Baker’s business strategies have helped Dolly Parton, The Bellamy Brothers, Larry Stewart, Gene Watson, Kevin Costner & Modern West, T. Graham Brown, Don Williams, The Grascals, Southern Halo, Soul Circus Cowboys, and numerous other acts meet success in a hyper-competitive market. VIM’s client roster has included artists from around the globe like Tina Tara (Austria/UK), Binky (UK), McPeake (Northern Ireland), Australia’s Tornadoes (Australia), Chris Lindberg (Sweden), and others.
“I always try to deliver more than I promise,” Baker says. “And I always keep in mind the fact that my clients depend on me to help build their exposure wherever possible.”
Lucille Starr. Photo: Courtesy Robert K. Oermann
Canadian Country Music Hall of Honour member Lucille Starr died in Las Vegas on Friday (Sept. 4) at age 82.
She was a female rockabilly pioneer who later originated the country standard “Too Far Gone.” Starr’s bi-lingual “The French Song” became a U.S. pop hit, and she recorded a string of Canadian country successes in Nashville. She had numerous television credits and became an international artist with tours and hits in Holland, Belgium, England, Mexico, Guam, The Philippines, Japan, Korea, China and South Africa.
Because she spoke fluent French, many people assumed she was from Quebec, But she was born Lucille Saboie in Manitoba and raised in British Columbia. She began her career in an all-female, French-singing folk group called Les Hirondelles (The Swallows).
She and Bob Frederickson met and married in Vancouver, BC. They took the stage names Lucille Starr and Bob Regan and worked as country performers in the mid-1950s. When the rock ‘n’ roll revolution ignited, they headed for Los Angeles to record rockabilly tunes.
Bob and Lucille’s “Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe” was issued in 1959, followed by the equally snappy “What’s the Password,” “The Flirting Kind,” “The Big Kiss” and “Demon Lover.” Now considered rockabilly classics, they are characterized by Starr’s bopping, high-hiccup vocals and Regan’s stinging guitar breaks.
For the next seven years, the team starred on Los Angeles country television shows, including Town Hall Party. Lucille Starr became the yodeling singing voice of Bea Benaderet’s “Cousin Pearl Bodine” character on the top-rated network comedy The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962-63.
Bob and Lucille had a series of country hits in their homeland billed as “The Canadian Sweethearts.” These included 1964’s “Hootenanny Express” plus the singles “Freight Train,” “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” “I’m Leaving It All Up to You,” “Looking Back to See” and the 1966 No. 1 hit “Don’t Knock on My Door.”
But Starr’s husband became jealous of her vocal talent. This increased when she had a solo international pop hit with “The French Song” in 1964. It became the centerpiece of her debut LP, produced by Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss and country star Dorsey Burnette for A&M Records. The album’s “Crazy Arms” became her first top 10 Canadian country hit as a solo.
Signed to Epic Records, she increasingly recorded as a solo artist in Music City. Billy Sherrill produced her singing his “Too Far Gone” in 1967. The song became a country evergreen recorded by Tammy Wynette, Emmylou Harris, Joe Stampley, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Waylon Jennings, Elvis Costello, David Houston and many more.
“The Canadian Sweethearts” recorded their Side By Side LP with Sherrill in 1967. Canadian hits continued with Lucille’s “Is It Love?” (1968) and “Cajun Love” (1969), as well as the duo’s “Let’s Wait a Little Longer” (1968) and “Dream Baby” (1970). They earned Gold and Platinum record awards in Canada, Holland and South Africa.
Lucille Starr’s solo successes included “Bonjour Tristesse,” “Send Me No Roses,” “Yours,” “Colinda,” “Jolie Jacqueline” and “Here Come More Roses.”
“The Canadian Sweethearts” finally divorced in 1977, and Lucille Starr moved to Nashville to further her career. She sang regularly on Ralph Emery’s morning TV show. In 1981, she recorded her comeback LP The Sun Shines Again in Music City. Appearances on TV’s Nashville Now and the Grand Ole Opry ensued.
Her single “The First Time I’ve Been in Love” returned her to the Canadian country charts in 1988. She also made those charts with the title tune of her 1989 Back to You album.
She starred in the Canadian TV special Lucille Starr in Quebec in 1989, the same year she became the first woman inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Honour. She also starred in two TV specials in Holland.
Former partner Bob Regan died in 1990. The following year, Lucille Starr undertook a 17-date European tour. Based in Nashville, she continued to tour internationally during the 1990s.
In 2010 a jukebox musical titled Back to You: The Life and Music of Lucille Starr premiered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A street in Coquitiam, BC is named in her honor.
Son Bob Frederickson Jr. was the guitarist in the touring act Buffalo Springfield Revisited.
Lucille Starr’s funeral arrangements were unknown at press time.
The National Independent Venue Association and YouTube have joined forces to help preserve independent live music venues across the United States through the Save Our Stages initiative.
NIVA’s mission is to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live music venues and promoters throughout the U.S., and together, YouTube and NIVA will work on unique programming that will help bring live performances back into music venues safely. In addition, YouTube will help raise awareness and funding for the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund.
The Emergency Relief Fund was created to support America’s most vulnerable venues and is intended to provide short-term relief for independent venue owners and promoters on the verge of eviction or permanently shutting down due to COVID-19. The fund is intended to work hand-in-hand with federal and local programs, assisting with the most immediate needs facing the country’s independent venues and promoters and making it more likely that they will be able to reopen, fully, when it’s safe.
“YouTube is a place where artists and fans around the world come to connect and build community,” said Robert Kyncl, YouTube Chief Business Officer. “With traditional concerts on hold, never has there been a more important time to support the live music industry through our partnership with NIVA. We’re committed to doing our part in saving independent venues and continuing to bring artists and fans together through music.”
“With the entire independent venue and promoter industry on the verge of massive collapse, we’ve been fighting urgently for the Save Our Stages Act which will provide meaningful relief to our members and the independent music community,” said Stephen Sternshein, co-founder/treasurer of NIVA, and managing partner of Heard Presents in Austin. “YouTube’s direct involvement helps us generate awareness for the plight of independent live music and raise funds for NIVA’s Emergency Relief efforts. This could literally be the difference between some venues going under or holding on until Congress comes back from recess to pass much-needed federal relief. The independent concert industry will be reeling for years to come from the devastating revenue loss related to COVID-19, so we’re excited about what YouTube and NIVA can do together to bring the live experience back.”
Despite the unprecedented impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, BMI closed its fiscal year ended June 30 with $1.311 billion in revenue, a $28 million increase over the previous year. The company also distributed and administered $1.233 billion to its affiliated songwriters, composers and publishers, 3% or $37 million more than last year. For the fifth consecutive year, these results represent the highest reported public performance revenues and royalty distributions of any music rights organization in the world.
BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill said, “During this unprecedented year, our songwriters and composers’ incredible creativity, talent and resilience were beyond compare and truly inspiring. We were thrilled to be able to distribute our highest royalties ever and deliver them earlier than scheduled to help ease the concerns of our creators and publishers during this challenging time. BMI remains committed to supporting our affiliates during this crisis and beyond, and our team continues to work hard every day to protect the profession of songwriting and composing and ensure the ongoing creation of new music.”
The $1.233 billion total in distributions includes domestic and international royalties, as well as distributions from direct deals that BMI administers on behalf of its publisher and digital service provider clients. Those direct deals, which account for $71 million, represent an increase of $9 million over last year and approximately 6% of BMI’s total distribution.
Though its revenue performance surpassed last year’s results, BMI estimates it absorbed a $60 million negative impact to its revenues due to the COVID -19 effect across multiple businesses. The company’s total domestic revenue, including digital, media and general licensing, came in at $961 million, an increase of $18 million, or 2%, over last year. Strong growth in the digital and radio categories helped weather a decline in other areas, notably the general licensing sector, where businesses such as live concert venues, bars, restaurants, fitness centers, retail establishments and many others faced closures as a result of the pandemic.
Revenue from digital sources represented 32% of BMI’s domestic total with $304 million, an increase of $42 million, or 16%, compared to last year. This marks the first time the digital category eclipsed all others. As people stayed home during the COVID-19 crisis, they turned to indoor entertainment which translated to increases in viewers and listeners. The company saw strong growth from subscription streaming services that feature TV series, movies and music. Notably, BMI entered into new digital audiovisual licensing agreements with Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max and Peacock this year.
Total domestic media licensing revenue, comprised of cable & satellite, broadcast television and radio, came in at $527 million, an increase of $14 million, or 3%, over last year. Of this, cable and satellite-derived income remained the largest contributor at $271 million. Radio revenues totaled $155 million, $27 million higher than last year, or an increase of 21%, thanks to BMI’s rate court settlement with the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) that resulted in a new agreement and retroactive payments. Broadcast television revenue came in at $101 million, flat to last year.
General licensing, along with other income, came in at $130 million, down $39 million, or 23%, from last year. BMI’s international revenue grew to $350 million, up $10 million, or 3%, over last year. This figure would have been $9 million more were it not for a negative foreign exchange impact.
BMI saw its affiliate membership increase by almost 10% this year, with nearly 100,000 new songwriters, composers and publishers joining the organization. Exciting new signings included Succession composer Nicholas Britell, Chance the Rapper, H.E.R., Tame Impala, Dave Mustaine, Juan Salinas and Oscar Salinas of Play-N-Skillz, and the late Pop Smoke, among others, while agreements were extended with Ellie Goulding, Elton John, Khalid, Marshmello, Willie Nelson, Ozuna, Horacio Palencia, Mike Post, Lil Wayne, John Williams, Bebe Winans, and many more. In addition, BMI’s number of licensed musical works grew to over 17 million.
This year, BMI processed approximately two trillion performances. While this number is slightly lower than last year’s total, this is only due to a change in BMI’s internal performance tracking system. The Company actually saw a 26% increase in performances processed when comparing year-over-year with this new approach.
Carrie Underwood, Trisha Yearwood and Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani are among the latest performers added to the upcoming 55th annual Academy of Country Music Awards lineup.
Shelton and Stefani will perform their latest single, “Happy Anywhere,” while Underwood will honor the 95th anniversary of the Opry by paying tribute to female Opry members with a medley of songs made famous by Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. Yearwood will perform “I’ll Carry You Home,” from her album Every Girl, as part of the In Memoriam segment which honors country music luminaries that have died over the past year.
Also joining the all-star lineup are presenters Lauren Alaina, Lily Aldridge, Clint Black & Lisa Hartman Black, Bobby Bones, Cam, Darius Rucker and Runaway June.
Hosted by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban, the 55th annual ACM Awards will be broadcast on Wednesday, Sept. 16 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will be available to stream live and on demand on CBS All Access.
For the first time in the show’s history, the awards will take place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic country music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. Previously announced performers include Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Riley Green, Mickey Guyton, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi, Tenille Townes, and Morgan Wallen.
Tim McGraw
Spirit Music Group has acquired a number of Tim McGraw’s master recordings. The acquisition deal encompasses masters for three of McGraw’s albums: Two Lanes of Freedom (2013), Sundown Heaven Town (2014) and Damn Country Music (2015), all released via Big Machine Records and featuring some of McGraw’s top hits, including the No. 1, Grammy-winning “Highway Don’t Care” and his chart-topping “Humble and Kind,” which were also certified 3x multi-Platinum last week, moving McGraw’s total career RIAA certifications to 75 million. The deal with Spirit also includes the Platinum-certified “Shotgun Rider” and “Truck Yeah.”
“There are few artists in any genre of music who have had the level of success and impact that Tim McGraw has—we’re delighted to welcome Tim McGraw to the Spirit family and to represent his recording interests in some of country music’s most beloved songs,” said Jon Singer, Chairman, Spirit Music Group. “The entire Spirit team is honored to become an active partner in developing and protecting Tim’s incredible legacy of music.”
“Tim is one of the most prolific artists in country music and it is a unique opportunity to be able to acquire such a remarkable body of work in a competitive music rights market. We thank Tim for entrusting Lyric Capital Group and Spirit Music Group with his songs and are committed to doing our part to further build on the success of these master recordings,” said Ross Cameron, Partner, Lyric Capital Group.
“Tim McGraw is a timeless artist who makes timeless music. His recordings have helped shape the sound of country music,” said Frank Rogers, CEO, Spirit Music Nashville. “Spirit Music Group could not be more excited to partner with Tim to represent these amazing records that have become important threads in the fabric of country music history.”
“Jon, Ross, Frank and Spirit’s team have shown great dedication to protecting Tim’s body of work, and that laid the foundation for this deal. They understand the special place that Tim has in music and it’s great to be in business with them,” said Scott Siman, management, EM.Co Entertainment Management Company. “Tim and I are looking forward to working with them to find ways to continue to share the music with the fans.”
Though partnerships encompassing master recordings are rare for a music publisher, this is not the first time that Spirit has done such deals. The company also represents both the master and publishing for a portion of the catalog for T.Rex via Marc Bolan and recently announced it acquired the masters and publishing for the majority of the catalog of Ingrid Michaelson.