TobyMac, for King & Country, Zach Williams Set For Hope Lives Virtual Festival

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The Christian Festival Association will launch the first Hope Lives Virtual Festival, set for July 18, and featuring artists including TobyMac, for King & Country, Newsboys, Matthew West, Zach Williams, and more.

The festival is being produced through a joint effort of all 28 CFA member festivals, in partnership with Compassion International and Eight Days of Hope.

The festival will be streamed via the Christian Festival Association’s Facebook page, as well as via participating artists’ and festivals’ social media accounts.

“We are so excited to bring our festival fans across the nation one unified festival event on July 18th. With the cancelation of nearly all in person summer events for 2020, the CFA members have joined together to bring this virtual event to their communities. We hope it will provide an opportunity for festival fans to reunite in small gatherings in their backyards, church parking lots, etc. to experience the event together. We want this to be a fun, interactive festival experience for all fans who tune in,” said Julie Klinger, CFA, Executive Director.

“Compassion is honored to join the Christian Festival Association (CFA) in their first ever Virtual Festival to benefit the children Compassion serves,” said Tim Thompson from Compassion International. “As COVID-19 is sweeping across the world, the experts say it is hitting the developing world the hardest. Please join us as we partner with thousands of local churches in 25 countries to bring hope to children and give them the opportunity to become all God has created them to be.”

“Eight Days of Hope is excited to partner with the CFA festival family from coast to coast,” said Steve Tybor, President of Eight Days of Hope. “As a ministry that focuses on loving and serving the brokenhearted both after natural disasters and those rescued from sex trafficking, sponsoring Hope Lives is a great way to share with the community of Christ a way that they can make a difference through Eight Days of Hope.”

‘American Songwriter’ Launches 35th Anniversary Song Contest

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Pictured (L-R): Grace Potter, BJ Hill, Matt Nathanson, Eric Hurt.

Music publication American Songwriter has launched its 35th Anniversary Song Contest, to seek out the most promising compositions from aspiring songwriters from around the world.

The first-place winner will earn $10,000, a two-page spread in the January/February 2021 issue of American Songwriter, a Martin GPC-X2E Rosewood Guitar, a lifetime American Songwriter membership, and a career consultation with a reputable music publisher and record label.

Among the artists and music executives taking part in this year’s event are Grace Potter, Warner Chappell Music VP, A&R BJ Hill, Mickey Guyton, Walker Hayes, Matt Nathanson, Empire’s VP, A&R Eric Hurt, New West Records President John Allen, Rounder Records President John Strohm, and more.

The cost to enter is $25 per song submission, and the deadline for submissions is Oct. 31, 2020 at 11:59:59 CT. To enter the contest, visit americansongwriter.com.

 

CMA Adds Performers To Summer Stay-Cay Livestream Event

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Ahead of tomorrow’s CMA Summer Stay-Cay livestream, presented by Budweiser Nitro Gold, the Country Music Association has added performances from country hit-maker Kane Brown as well as Restless Road. International artist Kaylee Bell will also join Morgan Evans for Cocktails + Coffee, a worldly conversation.

The newly-added artists join previously-announced performers including Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Ingrid Andress, Kassi Ashton, Gabby Barrett, Bobby Bones, BRELAND, Lee Brice, Brothers Osborne, Blanco Brown, Kristian Bush, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Jordan Davis, Devin Dawson, Travis Denning, Russell Dickerson, Brett Eldredge, Everette, Tyler Farr, Brantley Gilbert, Gone West’s Colbie Caillat and Nelly Joy, Caylee Hammack, HARDY, Jillian Jacqueline, Chris Janson, Angie K, King Calaway, Lady A, LANCO, Chris Lane, Tracy Lawrence, Brandon Lay, LOCASH, Dustin Lynch, Maddie & Tae, Ashley McBryde, Scotty McCreery, Midland, Justin Moore, Craig Morgan, Kylie Morgan, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Cassadee Pope, Rascal Flatts, Michael Ray, Jameson Rodgers, Darius Rucker, The Reklaws, The Shires, Granger Smith, Cole Swindell, Mitchell Tenpenny, Tenille Townes, Hailey Whitters, Lainey Wilson, Rita Wilson, Charlie Worsham and Brett Young.

CMA Summer Stay-Cay will be hosted by chart-toppers Jimmie Allen and Lindsay Ell, and can be streamed starting tomorrow (July 1) at 5 p.m. CST on CMA’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Miranda Lambert Reaches Top 5 At Country Radio With "Bluebird"

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Miranda Lambert has earned her first solo Top 5 hit in six years with her latest single, “Bluebird,” from her album Wildcard.

Lambert was featured on Jason Aldean’s 2018 chart-topper “Drowns The Whiskey,” but the breezy and hopeful “Bluebird” marks the superstar’s first solo trip to the Top 5 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart since 2014’s “Automatic.” Lambert’s most recent No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart came in 2012 with “Over You.”

Lambert co-wrote “Bluebird” alongside Natalie Hemby and Luke Dick.

The 34-time ACM Award winner recently earned new RIAA certifications, with “Little Red Wagon” being certified Platinum, and the Top 10 hit “Somethin’ Bad” (with Carrie Underwood) earning double-Platinum status.

BREAKING: Warner Music Nashville COO Matt Signore To Step Down End Of 2020

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Matt Signore

Warner Music Nashville Chief Operating Officer Matt Signore will be leaving the company at the end of 2020, according to an internal memo sent by WMN Chairman/CEO John Esposito today (June 30).

Signore spent 15 years at Warner Music Nashville, and had been appointed COO in 2017. Signore joined Warner’s WEA in 2005 as Chief Financial Officer, and then later became General Manager. He became President of WEA in 2013. Prior to his WEA tenure, Signore served as CFO and General Manager of Island Def Jam, and before that he spent time at Island Records.

A well loved executive both company-wide and throughout the music business community, Signore has been an invaluable member of the WMG family. He helped reorganize the company and serves as a key player in the label group’s success.

Esposito shared, “I’ve had the great fortune of counting Matt as a trusted friend and colleague for over 25 years, going back to our days together at PolyGram and IDJ. Besides being one of the greatest execs in our business, Matt is one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever known. A generous and open soul, he’s a mentor and confidante to a generation of people trying to navigate their way through this crazy life. Matt’s dedication and expertise have also been felt by the wider industry, including serving as Board Chairman of Music Biz and being a passionate supporter and Board Director of Porter’s Call, the Nashville-based artists’ counseling service.”

Read Esposito’s full memo below:

Hi everyone,

I’m writing to share the news that Matt Signore will be leaving the company at the end of December.

As many of you know, Matt has been an invaluable member of the WMG family for 15 years, including serving as President of WEA before joining us as our COO in Nashville nearly four years ago. Since then, Matt has helped us reorganize the company and has been a key player in a new era of success. As with every post he’s had throughout his career, Matt is leaving us in better shape than he found us.

I’ve had the great fortune of counting Matt as a trusted friend and colleague for over 25 years, going back to our days together at PolyGram and IDJ. Besides being one of the greatest execs in our business, Matt is one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever known. A generous and open soul, he’s a mentor and confidante to a generation of people trying to navigate their way through this crazy life. Matt’s dedication and expertise have also been felt by the wider industry, including serving as Board Chairman of Music Biz and being a passionate supporter and Board Director of Porter’s Call, the Nashville-based artists’ counseling service.

Matt will be with us through the end of the year to help with the transition, including local oversight of the renovation of our historic Music Row building. Even in the midst of this upside-down world we’re all living in at the moment, we’ll find a way to properly toast Matt and celebrate all that he’s shared with us over the years!

In the meantime, please join me in thanking Matt for his amazing service to our company and our artists.

Espo

Charlie Worsham To Host New WSM Radio Show, Air Castle Community Hour

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Charlie Worsham will host a new monthly radio show on WSM Radio, titled Air Castle Community Hour. The show will broadcast the first Tuesday of each month, beginning July 7, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. CT.

According to Worsham, the show will “celebrate the diverse community of creative spirits that reside in the 615.”

Worsham will also appear as part of the Country Music Association’s CMA Stay-Cay Presented by Budweiser Nitro Gold, set to air Wednesday, July 1 on CMA’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Boz Scaggs Inks With Concord Music Publishing

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Boz Scaggs. Photo: Chris Phelps

Legendary singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs has signed a publishing deal with Concord Music Publishing. The new deal, effective immediately, covers Scaggs’ full catalog from 1968 to the present, as well as future works.

The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist is renowned for his unique blend of soul, rock, and blues and has been releasing chart-topping music for over five decades, including “Lido Shuffle,” “It’s Over,” “What Can I Say” and the Grammy-winning “Lowdown”from his 1976 album Silk Degrees. The 5x platinum Silk Degrees reached the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 and remained on the album charts for 115 weeks. The album also featured “We’re All Alone” which became a worldwide Top 10 hit for Rita Coolidge in 1977. In February 2020, “Lowdown” was sampled by English electronic duo Disclosure on their single, “Expressing What Matters.”

Silk Degrees was preceded by a string of R&B-fused albums such as Moments and Slow Dancer. It was followed by platinum albums Down Two Then Left and Middle Man, the latter of which produced the hit singles “Breakdown Dead Ahead,” “Jo Jo” and “Look What You’ve Done to Me.” Other notable albums from the catalog include Some Change, the Grammy-nominated Come On Home, and Dig. Scaggs’ most recent album, Out of the Blues, released in 2018 on Concord Records, reached No.1 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

“My colleagues and I here at Concord are beyond thrilled about this opportunity to work with Boz,” says Michael Pizzuto, SVP Creative, Synchronization & A&R at Concord Music Publishing. “His wonderfully cool, unique and influential catalog of hit songs and deeper gems, is something we at Concord value, celebrate and on which we will put a creative focus on.”

“I’ve become familiar with the Concord folks over the last couple of years through my most recent record release, and the more I see, the more I’ve come to respect their people and their work. I see a bright horizon with Concord,” said Scaggs about the new partnership.

Downtown Music Holdings Reimagines Music Industry Internships With Virtual ‘Summer School’

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Downtown Music Holdings is launching Downtown Summer School, a free, week-long virtual continuing education program on all aspects of the music industry and the music business. While Downtown has engaged in on-site summer internships for students around the world for the past decade, this new program seeks to re-imagine summer internships impacted by Covid-19, will broadcast live the week of July 27 with morning sessions starting at 12 p.m. ET, followed by afternoon sessions at 3 p.m. ET.

Available to anyone around the world, Downtown Summer School will feature panel discussions with executives from various Downtown divisions, including Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust, CD Baby, and FUGA, as well as executives from Warner Records, Suntrust and Beatstars. Session topics will include subjects like Crafting Hit Songs Around the World; How Unsigned Acts Distribute, Monetize and Promote their Music Today;  Music on Screen; Diverse Career Paths into the Music Industry; and The Future of Music Streaming.

“We’re excited to reimagine our internship program for a virtual audience this year and fuel the next generation of music business leaders and creative entrepreneurs,” said Justin Kalifowitz, CEO of Downtown Music Holdings. “We have an opportunity to reach a wider audience and educate more students than ever before. A major part of our vision for a more equitable and innovative music ecosystem is cultivating talent and demonstrating our appreciation for the business side of music. Downtown Summer School will help participants understand the building blocks of the industry so we can continue to support a thriving creative class, now and in the future.”

Interested participants are encouraged to sign up for Downtown Summer School by July 22 by registering at summerschool.downtownmusic.com.

LANCO Partners With Purposity To Help Nashvillians In Need

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LANCO. Photo: Matthew Berinato.

LANCO has launched its new “Love Runs Deep” initiative today (June 30) through the non-profit app, Purposity, aimed to help Nashville families in need. The new app is designed to provide for local needs, so a user can plug in their zip code and see what’s affecting their neighbors. Needed items can also be purchased within the app, to be shipped directly to the non-profit or social worker in about two days, then delivered directly to the person or family in need.

Named after a significant lyric found in their new single, “What I See,” the movement enables non-profits and school systems to connect families in need of essentials and LANCO will focus on neighbors in need throughout Music City.  Today’s launch highlights one family from Metro Nashville Public Schools that requests help for a single mom and her daughter who lost everything in the March tornados. In addition to MNPS, “Team LANCO” will support other non-profits such as Safe Haven Family Shelter and Make-a-Wish Middle Tennessee, while other organizations will continuously be added as needs are met.

“We drive through the streets of Nashville often and still see damage everywhere from the tornados that left a lot of people with nothing,” LANCO’s Brandon Lancaster said. “We realized if neighbors were hurting before the pandemic because of that destruction, they are really hurting now with added COVID-19 circumstances. We wanted to help our neighbors in need, but we just did not know where to start. That is where Purposity comes in and we are thrilled to partner with them to create ‘Team LANCO’ so we, along with our fans, can make a difference.”

To participate in the “Love Runs Deep” movement, fans can download Purposity’s free app on their mobile and join the LANCO team. Needs will populate under the team page for users to fulfill, and those who join the team and fulfill a need will earn an exclusive “Love Runs Deep” tee.

BREAKING: Curb | Word Entertainment Launches MCC/Curb Records Imprint

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Curb | Word Entertainment has launched the new label imprint, MCC/Curb Records, to provide a dedicated team to support flagship artists Jackson Michelson and Tim Dugger. The new imprint will be led by Curb | Word Entertainment VP, Media Publishing and Promotion Craig Powers, with Curb | Word Entertainment’s Todd Thomas joining as Director of Promotion.

“With the success we are having at Curb | Word Entertainment – across all genres – with a recent number one from Lee Brice with Carly Pearce on ‘I Hope You’re Happy Now,’ to a multi-week number one from Big Daddy Weave with ‘I Know,’ along with for KING & COUNTRY reaching RIAA Platinum status with ‘God Only Knows,’ and international success with Melanie Pfirrman’s ‘Suda (feat. Pitbull & IAMCHINO),’ we are excited to be expanding our team,” shares Mike Curb, owner and Chairman of Curb | Word Entertainment. “We believe big things are in store for Jackson Michelson and Tim Dugger.”

Michelson’s current single, “One Day,” is being promoted to country radio, while Dugger’s “You’re Gonna Love Me” is resonating with NASCAR drivers and fans. His Signs Of A Good Time EP cover has recently appeared on the truck-bed of Team Curb drivers during NASCAR races.