Warehouse West Entertainment Inks Development, Management Deal With TracieLynn

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Warehouse West Entertainment has signed TracieLynn to its artist development and management roster. TracieLynn’s single, “99 Bottles,” will release Nov. 20.

Producer and Warehouse West Entertainment partner Luke Wooten says, “We are incredibly excited to help deliver Tracie’s brand of rowdy, raucous country music to listeners, and ’99 Bottles’ delivers on all fronts. Tracie’s energy and passion are infectious not only in her music, but also in her ability to connect with fans even during an extremely difficult time to do so.”

“What I love about ’99 Bottles’ is that its lyrics are fun, refreshing, and not necessarily expected from a female artist,” says TracieLynn. “But that’s why I decided to grab it by the reins and turn it into something that’s mine. I want it to serve as an inspiration to other rising female country artists, to show that we don’t need to fit into any specific mold.”

TracieLynn has also solidified deals with Gateway Bronco and Star Master Coaches and has had a No. 1 on Radio Disney Country with her single “Good Kind of Crazy.”

Industry Ink: CMT, Deluge Music, Pinecastle Records, Banner Music

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Chase Martin Enjoys Virtual Visit With CMT

Pictured (Top Row, L-R): Katrina Lothamer (CMT Music & Talent), Heather Conley (Monarch Publicity), Jordan Hatton (CMT Music & Talent), Ashlee McDonald (CMT Radio); (Middle Row, L-R): Donna Duncan (CMT Music & Talent), Leslie Fram (CMT Music & Talent), Ash Bowers (Wide Open Entertainment/RECORDS Nashville), Stacey Cato (CMT Music & Talent); (Third Row, L-R): Melissa Goldberg (CMT Digital/Social), Kelsey Hendrix (CMT Digital/Social), Emma Giovino (CMT Digital/Social), Chase Martin; (Bottom Row, L-R): Jordan Walker (CMT Music & Talent), Alison Bonaguro (CMT Digital/Editorial).

Chase Martin virtually visited with CMT recently, sharing her story and playing a few new songs including her debut single, “Levi Denim.” The spirited track, written by Abby Anderson, Matt Stell and Allison Veltz-Cruz, released on Oct. 9 along with a video featuring TV star/beauty entrepreneur Savannah Chrisley.

 

Theo & Brenna Sign Management Deal With Deluge Music

Pictured: Theo, Chris Alderman, Brenna

Brother/Sister Bluegrass duo Theo & Brenna have signed with Deluge Music for management. Their debut record When You Go introduced the band as a rising staple in the Bluegrass and Americana world, and most recently, the duo released a timely single entitled, “Let Us Breathe Again.” Deluge recently partnered with Chris Alderman of Rough Hollow Management to form Deluge Music Management, whose roster includes Josh Mirenda, Theo & Brenna, Becky Buller and Jake Hoot.

 

Bobby & Teddi Cyrus Join Pinecastle Records

Bobby and Teddi Cyrus

Bobby & Teddi Cyrus have signed with Pinecastle Records. The husband-and-wife duo is set to release their forthcoming Bluegrass/Americana project in 2021, and the collection features the brand new single, “My Wedding Day,” co-written by Jimmy Sites alongside Jimmy Yeary.

 

Walker Campbell Joins Banner Music Roster

Pictured (L-R): Camilla Kleindienst, Walker Campbell, Daniel Kleindienst. Photo: Banner Music

Walker Campbell has signed with Banner Music. He is the newest addition to their Banner Believers roster with his single, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” and is the youngest Banner Believer at just 11 years old.

“Walker Campbell is a pleasure to work with and we are very excited to work with someone so talented and driven,” says Camilla Kleindienst, CEO of Banner Music.

Carrie Underwood To Debut ‘My Gift’ Christmas Special Dec. 3 On HBO Max

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Carrie Underwood released her first holiday album, My Gift, in September, but the Grammy-winner has another holiday gift for her fans: her upcoming HBO Max music special, My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood, set to begin streaming on Dec. 3.

Underwood will offer a mix of traditional holiday favorites as well as original material from her My Gift album, accompanied by her band and a live orchestra and choir, led by musical director Rickey Minor. The special will include Underwood collaborating with John Legend on “Hallelujah,” an original song Legend wrote with Toby Gad, as well as behind-the-scenes moments of Underwood recording “Little Drummer Boy” alongside her five-year-old son, Isaiah.

“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Playtone and HBO Max to bring My Gift to life,” said Underwood. “Just like the album, I hope this special will help bring some much-needed joy and become part of the soundtrack to people’s holiday festivities this year as it streams throughout the season and beyond.”

“My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood” will be available to stream starting Thursday, Dec. 3 on HBO Max. Underwood is not the only country artist set to premiere a holiday special this  year, as Dolly Parton, and Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have also announced upcoming holiday specials.

ACM Lifting Lives Board Of Directors Announced For 2020-2021 Term

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ACM Lifting Lives has announced a second-year term for the ACM Lifting Lives Officers and announced the newly elected Board of Directors for the 2020-2021 term. Continuing their tenure in office are Chairman Paul Barnabee, Vice-Chairman Troy Vollhoffer, Vice-President Lorie Lytle, Treasurer Dwight Wiles, and Secretary Taylor Wolf.

“ACM Lifting Lives is grateful to have our Officers continue for another term. With their service and leadership, ACM Lifting Lives has been able to help hundreds of individuals within the country music community who have been experiencing financial hardships this year,” said Lyndsay Cruz, ACM Lifting Lives Executive Director. “We look forward to continuing the important work of being a resource for those in need.”

The ACM Lifting Lives Board of Directors is comprised of ACM Board Members, referred to as representative directors, as well as leaders in non-profit and corporate affairs that aren’t ACM Board Members, referred to as public directors.

This year, there were four representative director positions elected, three public director positions elected, five representative director positions appointed and six public director positions appointed by the ACM Lifting Lives Board of Directors:

Newly elected Representative directors include:

  1. Rod Essig
  2. Ebie McFarland
  3. Daniel Miller
  4. Sally Williams

Newly elected Public directors include:

  1. Fletcher Foster
  2. Kimberly Schlapman
  3. Meredith Seacrest

Newly appointed Representative directors include:

  1. Jackie Campbell
  2. Beville Dunkerley
  3. Greg Hill
  4. F. Reid Shippen
  5. Butch Waugh

Newly appointed Public directors include:

  1. Mark Bloom
  2. Chris Farren
  3. Kathleen Flaherty
  4. Ricky Kelley
  5. Elaina Smith
  6. Jay Williams

“I’m honored to continue as Chairman of the ACM Lifting Lives Board and to serve the Industry at this critical time,” said ACM Lifting Lives Chairman Paul Barnabee. “We talk a lot about the influence of music lifting the spirits of those in a time of need and right now it feels more important than ever. The vital work that we do could not happen without the commitment of the artists and industry leaders and their continued support, and we are forever grateful.”

2020-2021 ACM LIFTING LIVES BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS
Chairman: Paul Barnabee, FBMM
Vice-Chairman: Troy Vollhoffer, Premier Global Production  
Vice-President: Lorie Lytle, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Treasurer: Dwight Wiles, Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC
Secretary: Taylor Wolf, ACM Lifting Lives

REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTORS

  • Paul Barnabee, FBMM
  • Jackie Campbell, 615 Leverage + Strategy
  • Duane Clark, FBMM
  • RAC Clark, Lion’s Heart Entertainment
  • Ryan Dokke, Play It Again Music
  • Beville Dunkerley, Pandora
  • Rod Essig, CAA
  • Greg Hill, Hill Entertainment Group
  • Ebie McFarland, Essential Broadcast Media
  • Shawn McSpadden, Red Light Management
  • Daniel Miller, Fusion Music
  • Darin Murphy, CAA
  • F. Reid Shippen, Robot Lemon
  • Troy Vollhoffer, Premier Global Production
  • Butch Waugh, Studio2bee
  • Sally Williams, Live Nation

PUBLIC DIRECTORS

  1. Tiffany Brush, Topgolf
  2. Mark Bloom, UBS Financial Services, Inc.
  3. Ross Copperman
  4. Chris Farren, Combustion Music
  5. Kathleen Flaherty, K21 Communications
  6. Fletcher Foster, F2 Entertainment
  7. John Hickman, Dallas Cowboys
  8. Ricky Kelley, Harley-Davidson of Columbia
  9. Ellen Lehman, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
  10. Lorie Lytle, Fridrich & Clark Realty
  11. Beth Moore
  12. Lisa Paulsen, Stand Up To Cancer
  13. Kimberly Schlapman
  14. Meredith Seacrest, Ryan Seacrest Foundation
  15. Elaina Smith, Nights with Elaina
  16. Dwight Wiles, Wiles + Taylor & Co., PC
  17. Jay Williams, WME
  18. Judee Ann Williams, CAA

PAST CHAIRS

  1. Lori Badgett, City National Bank
  2. Bruce Bowman, Kaboom!
  3. Debbie Carroll, MusiCares
  4. Mark Hartley
  5. Gayle Holcomb, WME
  6. Bill Mayne
  7. Tree Paine, Premium PR
  8. Ed Warm, Joe’s Live

Tim McGraw, Kelsea Ballerini, Dan+Shay Set To Perform On ‘CMA Country Christmas’

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Tim McGraw. Photo: Robby Klein

Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Lady A, Little Big Town, and Darius Rucker with Lindsey Stirling will take the stage for a spirited night of festive classics on the upcoming CMA Country Christmas special airing Nov. 30 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

The performers join hosts Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Akins on the 11th annual musical holiday celebration, which was filmed for the first time without a live audience this past September.

“The idea for this year’s show was to do a throwback of the great Christmas specials of the 1960s and 1970s,” says Robert Deaton, CMA Country Christmas Executive Producer. “Andy Williams, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra all had classic Christmas specials where the viewer was invited into the homes of the host to celebrate the holiday like a best friend coming to visit. That was what we wanted to create for this year’s show. Instead of a big flashy production, we took a page from those iconic specials to say, ‘Come relax, and let’s celebrate the holidays together.’”

Fusion Touring Adds Speakers Series Division Featuring Naomi Judd, Ty Herndon, And More

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Fusion Touring has launched a new Speaker Series division.

Principals Mike Meade, Amy Aylward and Chuck Rhodes revealed the company’s roster of speakers today (Nov. 17), which include Naomi Judd (Singer/Songwriter, Author, Activist), Cledus T. Judd (Host, Motivational Speaker, Comedian), Ty Herndon (Singer, Advocate), Devon O’Day (Host, Radio/Television Personality, Author), Pam Lewis (Author, Public Relations, Entrepreneur), Lisa Brokop (Singer/Songwriter, Motivational Speaker), Mary Sue Englund (Singer/Songwriter, Health and Wellness), Lisa Wysocky (Award-winning Author, Motivational Speaker, Equine Clinician), Scott Augenbaum (Former FBI agent, Author, Cybersecurity Expert), Cynthia Minor (Attorney, Author, Screenwriter), and Chris Thompson (Influencer/Motivational Speaker).

“Considering the overall state of the music and entertainment industry, combined with an ever-changing environment, diversity is not only key, it is essential,” said Meade, Co-Vice President of Fusion Touring. “Our goal is to seek out opportunities that offer alternatives for revenue and growth potential. The development of the speakers division under the Fusion Touring umbrella opens the door to a whole new platform for our roster.”

Fusion Touring has also announced its new office location: 2937 Kraft Drive, Nashville, TN (located in the Berry Hill area). Fusion’s current touring roster includes Darryl Worley, Herndon, Danielle Peck, Michelle Wright, Keith Anderson, Gary Morris, Trent Tomlinson and more. Additional artist signings will be announced in December.

Dolly Parton’s $1 Million Donation To Vanderbilt Helps Fund Leading COVID-19 Vaccine

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In April, Dolly Parton donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center. That donation has partially funded research that has helped biotechnology company Moderna develop one of the current leading COVID-19 vaccines, which has proven to be 94.5% effective.

The New England Journal of Medicine listed the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund from Vanderbilt as among the supporters of the vaccine. Moderna has stated it could potentially produce 1 billion doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021 and is applying for Emergency Use Authorization with the US Food and Drug Administration.

“My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Parton said of the donation back in April via Twitter. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations.”

The donation is just one of many of Parton’s philanthropical efforts. She launched the Imagination Library in 1995; the program has since gifted more than 135 million books to children and is currently gifting books to 1.5 million children around the world each month. In 2017, Parton donated $3 million to those affected by wildfires in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, also raised funds via the Smoky Mountains Rise telethon, and provided $1,000 each month to Sevier County families whose primary residences were destroyed by the fires.

Amy Cranford Elevated To Sr. VP, Administration At Sony/ATV Music Publishing

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Amy Cranford. Photo: Ed Rode Photography

Amy Cranford has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Administration at Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Based in Nashville, Cranford reports to Dale Esworthy, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Administration.

In her new position, Cranford is responsible for overseeing Sony/ATV’s administration initiatives to better support its songwriters, including the client portal SCORE and its app, and she will continue leading the company’s audit team. In addition, she will serve as the business liaison for the global publishing system TEMPO and work to create and implement strategies to further advance its capabilities.

Since joining Sony/ATV in 1994, Cranford has spearheaded numerous efforts which have strengthened the company’s administration services, including the “Cash Out” feature, which enables songwriters to request some or all of their current royalty balance to be paid immediately. Under her watch, Sony/ATV also introduced real-time processing for all its foreign earnings. As a result, foreign earnings will now be reported and paid in the same period in which they are collected.

“Amy’s ability to generate ideas, build consensus and implement new initiatives makes her a key leader and trusted colleague,” said Esworthy. “We are grateful for her selfless dedication and many contributions.”

“I am proud to be a part of Sony/ATV, where our mission is to deliver best-in-class services to our songwriters,” said Cranford. “I look forward to working with Jon, Dale and the entire leadership team in this new role, and I’m excited to further expand our administrative efforts and build upon our success.”

Home Team, Warner Chappell Music Sign Parker Welling

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Parker Welling. Photo: Spencer Combs

Warner Chappell Music Nashville and Thomas Rhett’s Home Team Publishing have signed a global publishing deal with songwriter Parker Welling. The Nashville native worked with Russell Dickerson on his 2017 album Yours, co-writing nine songs, including the title track, “Blue Tacoma,” and “Every Little Thing,” with all three reaching No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart and “Yours” earning an ACM nod for Song of the Year in 2019.

Most recently, Welling co-wrote Dickerson’s latest single, “Love You Like I Used To,” which is in its second week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Canada Country charts.

“As a songwriter, being in the room with Parker is an incredible experience,” said Home Team Publishing co-founder Thomas Rhett. “She knows how to channel the creative energy and write lyric and melody that really connect with the listener. We love that Parker is part of the Home Team family and know we will have many hits together both as a co-writer and a publisher.”

Ben Vaughn, President & CEO, Warner Chappell Music Nashville said, “Anyone who knows Parker knows she’s a creative light that brightens every room she enters. It’s been special to see her get the recognition she deserves and cement her place as one of Nashville’s leading up-and-coming songwriters. We’re thrilled to have her on team Warner Chappell and are looking forward to the future together.”

In 2019, Welling landed another No. 1 on Billboard’s Canada Country chart with Mackenzie Porter’s “These Days.” The songwriter has also worked with some of the biggest names in today’s country music scene including Thomas Rhett for “What’s Your Country Song,” the first single on Rhett’s newest project.

Welling was nominated for the Canadian Country Music Association’s 2020 Songwriter of the Year and has landed a nod for MusicRow’s Female Songwriter of the Year for the past two years, as well as a nomination for MusicRow‘s Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year in 2018.

10th Annual NATD Gala Rescheduled For 2021, NATD Sets Zoom Panel On State Of Touring

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Steve Tolman, president of the Nashville Association of Talent Directors (NATD), has announced that the 10th Annual NATD Gala will be moved to a later date, to be announced in 2021.

Tolman said, “We look forward to honoring members of our industry once again and are confident in the resilience of our industry. We look forward to moving forward when it is safe to do so.”

NATD will also host a Zoom panel on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. CT, to discuss the state of the music industry amidst the pandemic. The panel will be moderated by Conway Entertainment Group’s Tony Conway and Outback Present’s Andrew Farwell. Panelists include industry executives Troy Vollhoffer of Premiere Global Production Co., Bob Kinkead of The Kinkead Entertainment Agency, Gil Cunningham of Neste Live! and Christian Lyhus from Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Those interested in attending can RSVP here.