Entries by Sarah Skates

Nashville-Related Music Obituaries, 2008

The loss of two Country Music Hall of Fame members in 2008 was a major blow to the Nashville music community. But we lost many other friends as well. Here is a look back at those who passed away during 2008. VERNON DERRICK, 74, died Jan. 4. Multi-instrumentalist sideman for The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, […]

Katie Armiger Visits Texas Children’s Hospital

Cold River recording artist and Houston native Katie Armiger recently visited the Texas Children’s Hospital to spread cheer to some of the patients. Armiger, pictured with nurses, sang Christmas songs and led the children in Christmas Carols. Texas Children’s Hospital is an internationally recognized full-care pediatric hospital ranked in the top ten among children’s hospitals […]

iTunes Drops DRM

CNET.com reports Apple has finally cut deals with Universal, Warner Music and Sony that would allow iTunes to sell DRM-free music files. EMI has been offering DRM-free files on iTunes for over a year. In return, iTunes will compromise on single song pricing. The tech giant had steadfastly refused to accept the idea of variable […]

Sony Adds To A&R Department

As first reported on 12/23/08, Lisa Ramsey-Perkins has joined Sony Music Nashville as Senior Director, A&R. Reporting to Renee Bell, Exec. VP, A&R, she officially began the role on Dec. 22. Ramsey-Perkins began her career as a personal assistant to Wynonna Judd, and later took on roles at Music Mill, Hamstein Music Group, and Mosaic […]

Sony BMG Officially Becomes Sony Music

Sony BMG Nashville is starting the new year with an offical name change to Sony Music Nashville. As such, the label group Web site can now be found at www.sonymusicnashville.com. E-mail addresses are changing to [email protected], but old addresses will remain in effect during a transition period.

Urban Maps 2009 Tour

Keith Urban has firmed up stops on his 2009 tour, which will hit 58 North American cities such as Nashville, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver. The outing kicks off in May, and will likely go through summer and into the fall. A video for his new single “Sweet Thing” is due this […]

Chesney Tour Is Top Draw of 2008

Kenny Chesney’s 2008 tour drew more fans than any other outing last year in all genres. “There will always be tours that gross more than us,” says Chesney, whose tour came in fourth in overall grosses, “because I believe in trying to make it possible for anyone who wants to come out and rock with […]

WMBA Co-Hosts Toys For Tots Benefit

The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) co-hosted a Toys For Tots Benefit with Lightning 100 to a packed house at 3rd & Lindsley recently. The event was so successful, Lightning 100 has invited WMBA to sign on for next year, and make this an annual event. The Marines, who oversee Toys For Tots, collected an […]

Carson James Joins BBR

Broken Bow Records has named veteran radio promotion executive Carson James Senior Vice President of Promotions. He most recently spent nearly 10 years in the same role at Curb Records. “When Jim Yerger (Broken Bow Executive VP) first approached me about this opportunity, I jumped at the chance to work with a group of people […]

Taylor Swift Set For “SNL” Debut

Taylor Swift, the bestselling artist of 2008 in all genres, will be the musical guest on this weekend’s installment of Saturday Night Live (1/10). She will make her debut on NBC’s long-running sketch show alongside the evening’s host Neil Patrick Harris, star of How I Met Your Mother. Coming soon from Swift is the karaoke […]