Industry Pics: Scotty McCreery, CMA Songwriters, Brett Eldredge, Thomas Rhett, Dolly Parton, Erica Nicole

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Scotty McCreery Accepts First BMI Country Award

Pictured (L-R): Jody Williams (BMI Vice President, Writer and Publisher Relations), Scotty McCreery, Brian Wright (UMG Nashville Senior Vice President A&R), and Bradley Collins (BMI Executive Director, Writer-Relations). Photo: John Russell

Pictured (L-R): Jody Williams (BMI Vice President, Writer and Publisher Relations), Scotty McCreery, Brian Wright (UMG Nashville Senior Vice President A&R), and Bradley Collins (BMI Executive Director, Writer-Relations). Photo: John Russell

After missing the BMI Country Music Awards in November due to a prior commitment performing at the CMA Marketing Summit, Scotty McCreery accepted his first BMI Award last Friday, Dec. 11, for writing one of BMI’s Top 50 Country Songs of 2015 “See You Tonight.”

McCreery wrote the song with Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell, and it served as the title cut of his second studio album and earned Top 10 status.

CMA Songwriter Series Wraps 11th Season in NYC

Pictured (L-R): Matt Jenkins, Chris DeStefano, Leslie Satcher, and Ashley Gorley. Photo: Kevin Yatarola / CMA

Pictured (L-R): Matt Jenkins, Chris DeStefano, Leslie Satcher, and Ashley Gorley. Photo: Kevin Yatarola / CMA

The CMA Songwriters Series wrapped its 2015 season in New York City for a two-night season finale Friday and Saturday nights (Dec. 11, 12) at Joe’s Pub, home of the first CMA Songwriter Series in 2005.

Top Music Row tunesmiths Chris DeStafano, Ashley Gorley, Matt Jenkins, and Leslie Satcher took the stage for two shows each night to share stories and inspiration behind their hit songs.

Eldredge and Rhett Invite Radio to Final Show

Pictured (L-R): WUSN's Laurie Kapugi, Jeff Kapugi, Zack Kapugi; Annie McKaila friend; McKaila Granning (KEEY); WEBG's Emily Bergman, Steve Stuart; George Briner (BMLG); Marci Braun (WUSN), Brett Eldredge, Thomas Rhett; Fletcher Keyes (WWQM) with girlfriend Kim; John Zarling (BMLG); WMN's Mallory Opheim, Branden Bowler; and Liz Geerling (WUSN)

Pictured (L-R): WUSN’s Laurie Kapugi, Jeff Kapugi, Zack Kapugi; Annie McKaila friend; McKaila Granning (KEEY); WEBG’s Emily Bergman, Steve Stuart; George Briner (BMLG); Marci Braun (WUSN), Brett Eldredge, Thomas Rhett; Fletcher Keyes (WWQM) with girlfriend Kim; John Zarling (BMLG); WMN’s Mallory Opheim, Branden Bowler; and Liz Geerling (WUSN)

Brett Eldredge and Thomas Rhett wrapped their duo-show, CMT On Tour: Brett Eldredge & Thomas Rhett – Suits & Boots, in Chicago on Friday, Dec. 11 with radio friends. The fall tour additionally featured BMLG’s Danielle Bradbery.

Dolly Parton Performs on The Voice

Pictured (L-R): Danny Nozell, Dolly Parton's manager/CEO CTK Management, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Brandon Blackstock, Blake Shelton's manager/Starstruck Entertainment. Photo: Jeremy Westby/Webster Public Relations

Pictured (L-R): Danny Nozell, CEO CTK Management; Dolly Parton; Blake Shelton; Brandon Blackstock, Starstruck Entertainment. Photo: Jeremy Westby/Webster Public Relations

Dolly Parton performed on The Voice as part of an extensive media round to promote her NBC movie, Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, which aired on Thursday Dec. 10 with great ratings.

ACM Welcomes Erica Nicole

Erica Nicole. Photo: Michel Bourquard/ACM

Erica Nicole. Photo: Michel Bourquard/ACM

The Academy of Country Music (ACM) recently welcomed recording artist Erica Nicole to the office while she was in Los Angeles. Nicole performed songs from her current album, I’m Making Mine, and also signed up for ACM membership.

Spotify Shines Spotlight on Rising Country Artists in 2016

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Spotify has released ‘Spotlight on 2016 Country Artists,’ the streaming service’s list of country artists they expect to make great career strides in 2016 include major label artists and indies alike.

‘Spotlight on 2016 Country Artists’ was compiled by Spotify’s in-house music curators, as well as an analysis of streaming data from Spotify users. Artists included in Spotify’s annual list typically have not released an album, yet have gained “buzz” from early music releases and live performances.

The streaming service will host an event on Wednesday, Dec. 16 in Nashville to celebrate the artists and look forward to 2016.

Spotify’s ‘Spotlight on 2016 Country Artists’ includes:

● Maren Morris
● Haley Georgia
● Ryan Kinder
● Steve Moakler
● Brooke Eden
● LANco
● High Valley
● Lauren Alaina
● Lucie Silvas
● Aubrie Sellers
● LoCash
● Russel Dickerson
● Jon Langston
● Dylan Scott
● Tara Thompson

 

Black River Entertainment Names Executive VP of Black River Records

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Rick Froio

Rick Froio

Black River Entertainment CEO Gordon Kerr has added Rick Froio as the Executive Vice President of Black River Records.

In this newly created role, Froio will provide daily support and leadership to Black River Records and report directly to Black River Entertainment CEO Gordon Kerr. Froio will be based at Black River Entertainment’s Music Row offices.

Froio joins Black River Records with over 20 years of executive level experience and an extensive background in global sales. Garnering years of experience from commanding positions including Senior Vice President, Sales for Warner Music Group, NY; Senior Vice President, Sales Atlantic Records, NY; Executive Vice President for Global Business Development/Channel Partnership with Gibson Brands; and Head of Global Sales with Breedlove/Bedell Guitars and Weber Mandolins.

“Black River Records seeks to take important strides in the domestic and global music markets,” said Kerr. “Rick will provide the necessary leadership to continue our efforts in attaining this for our Black River roster. To that end, I am anticipating considerable growth under Rick’s leadership.”

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be a part of the Black River family and its artist roster,” said Froio. “Gordon and his team have created a world class publishing, studio, and record label organization and I’m looking forward to helping the team reach new heights of success.”

Beginning today, Rick Froio may be reached at rick.froio@blackriverent.com or by phone 615-780-3070.

Mary Forest Findley Heads To Red Light

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Mary Forest Findley

Mary Forest Findley

Mary Forest Findley has exited her role as VP, Marketing at BBR Music Group to take a new position at Red Light Management, leading day-to-day operations for radio/media personality Bobby Bones.

“Bobby is someone that I’ve had the privilege of working with on the label side since his arrival in Nashville almost three years ago,” shares Findley. “During that time I’ve been able to witness first-hand his creativity, vision and incredible work ethic. I’m extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to work alongside Bobby, Coran and the talented Red Light team. I’m also deeply appreciative of my time at BBR Music Group under the tremendous leadership of Benny Brown, Jon Loba, Rick Shedd, Carson James and Paul Brown.”

Findley’s new contact information will be available in coming weeks; in the meantime, she can be reached here.

Weekly Register: Adele, Chris Stapleton Reign In Albums Rankings

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Adele 25

Adele continues her albums chart reign, with 25 selling 728K units in its third week of release to mark over 5 million units moved in total. The British singer-songwriter’s concert special is set to air on NBC today (Dec. 14) in tandem with an announcement of her North American tour dates for 2016, including two shows in October at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Meanwhile, Coldplay‘s A Head Full of Dreams debuted at No. 2 on the overall albums rankings, with 210K sold.

Chris Stapleton Traveller

Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller travels back up the country albums chart to the No. 1 slot again (No. 9 overall). Sales for Traveller have now jumped the 500K mark (44K this week). Following Stapleton is Carrie Underwood‘s Storyteller at No. 2 (23K), Luke Bryan‘s Kill The Lights at No. 3 (19K), Eric Church‘s Mr. Misunderstood at No. 4 (16K), and Blake Shelton‘s Reloaded hits collection at No. 5 (15K).

Overall album sales have dropped 5 percent TYD, while overall digital album sales have dropped 1.6 percent. Country album sales are down 3.7 percent from last year, though country digital sales are up four percent YTD.

Top country debuts this week include Jessie James Decker‘s This Christmas at No. 16, and Music of Nashville Season 4 at No. 17. “Burning House” singer-songwriter Cam‘s debut album for Arista Nashville/RCA will make its debut on the chart next week.

Jordan Smith. Photo: Tyler Golden/NBC.

Jordan Smith. Photo: Tyler Golden/NBC.

On the overall tracks rankings, The Voice‘s Jordan Smith debuts at No. 1; Smith’s cover of Queen’s “Somebody To Love” has sold 164K. Adele’s “Hello” is at No. 2 with 158K sold (3 million RTD).

Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett

On the country tracks rankings, Thomas Rhett‘s “Die A Happy Man” is No. 1, with 48K sold. The Voice‘s Emily Ann Roberts‘ version of Dolly Parton’s “9-5” debuts at No. 2 with 35K units sold. Sam Hunt‘s “Break Up In A Small Town” is at No. 3 with 29K, while two more debuts from The Voice contestants enter the Top 5, with Zach Seabaugh‘s rendition of “The Climb” at No. 4 (27K), and Barrett Baber‘s “Ghost” at No. 5 (24K).

Overall digital track sales are down 12 percent, while country digital tracks sales are down 16.1 percent YTD.

Information provided by Neilsen Soundscan

BBR Music Group Promotes JoJamie Hahr to VP Role

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JoJamie Hahr

JoJamie Hahr

BBR Music Group has promoted JoJamie Hahr to the role of VP, Marketing. Hahr will oversee brand partnerships, strategic marketing, and syndicated radio opportunities, as well as coordinate marketing efforts for each of the music group’s departments. Her role is effective immediately.

“The first day I met JoJamie as Promotion Director at K92 in Orlando, I saw a creative, fiery, passionate fan of Country Music who knew the format and fans who supported it. That creativity, fire and passion burns brighter today than ever. As important, she has never stopped learning and constantly tries to figure out ways to connect our artists and music with the audience, be that digitally, socially, print, TV, sponsorships or live events. She was born for this position and has prepared for it since those early days at K92,” says Jon Loba, Executive Vice President of BBR Music Group.

“I want to thank Mary Forest for an incredible few years with us and wish her the best in what is an exciting new opportunity,” continues Loba.

“I’m so grateful for Benny Brown and Jon Loba’s perpetual belief in me and thrilled to continue my growth within this amazing company. We have an extremely talented roster, not to mention the staff that supports them. I can’t wait to dig in and work even closer with every department. We were a Top 5 label group this year and I look forward to helping move that needle even further.” says Hahr.

For the past two years, Hahr has served as the VP of Promotion for BBR Management. Prior to that, Hahr served as the National Director of Field Promotion for The Valory Music Co. (TVMC) after being promoted from Director of Southeast Promotion & Marketing. Hahr’s career also includes work as Director, Southeast Promotion of Broken Bow Records as well as work at MCA Nashville, WSIX-Nashville, and K92-Orlando.

Hahr can be reached at 615-610-2126 and at Jojamie@bbrmusicgroup.com.

 

 

Industry Ink: ASCAP Foundation, The Recording Academy, KCA, BLA

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ASCAP Honored Nashville Songwriters in New York

Pictured (L-R): Brandon Lay, ASCAP Creative Director Robert Filhart, Brandon Ratcliff.

Pictured (L-R): Brandon Lay, ASCAP Creative Director Robert Filhart, Brandon Ratcliff.

The 20th annual ASCAP Foundation Awards in New York City on Wednesday, Dec. 9, honored Nashville ASCAP songwriters Brandon Lay and Brandon Ratcliff with The ASCAP Foundation Harold Adams and the Leon Brettler Award, respectively. Hosted by the ASCAP Foundation at Appell Room of Frederick P. Rose Hall, ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams and ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Colleen McDonough hosted the event.

Lay, a native of Jackson, Tennessee, is signed to a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music Publishing and, as an emerging artist, has toured with acts such as Brantley Gilbert, Aaron Lewis, Darryl Worley and more. Ratcliff hails from northern Louisiana and moved to Nashville in 2014 to pursue a career is music. The first song he wrote as a Music City songwriter was recently recorded by Alison Krauss and will appear on her next record.

The event also featured performances by additional award recipients Richard Marx, Joel Grey, Felicia Collins, Maisy Kay, Pascal LeBouef, Alastair Moock, Watson Lark, and Griffin Matthews and Matt Gould with cast members of The Invisible Thread.

The Recording Academy Nashville to Host Production Panel

pe_logoThe Nashville Chapter of The Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing will host a panel discussion focusing on business, economic and financial aspects of music production, Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 6-8 p.m.

Titled “Lost in Transaction, SoundExchange: Get Plays, Get Paid,” panelists John Strohm (Senior Counsel, Loeb & Loeb LLP) and Linda Bloss-Baum (Senior Director, Artist and Industry Relations, SoundExchange) will discuss how revenue is tracked and collected, and how and what to register with SoundExchange to maximize income. Moderator will be Maureen Droney (Managing Director, P&E Wing).

Admission for Recording Academy voting and associate members is free by today. Guest admission is $25. Complimentary food and drink provided. RSVP to PEWingNashville@grammy.com.

KCA Agency Signs Three, Including Radney Foster

KCA

Keith Case and Associates (KCA)—an artist representation agency—has signed Radney Foster, The Lonely Heartstring Band, and The Campbell Brothers. 

BLA Signs Exile

Exile

Exile

Exile has signed with Buddy Lee Attractions, Inc. (BLA) to continue their more than 50 years of touring.

BLA is the three-time recipient of CMA’s Talent Agency of the Year Award and two-time recipient of the Pollstar Independent Agency of the Year Award.

I.R.S. Nashville Closes after Two Year Run

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irsnashvilleI.R.S. Nashville has closed its doors, MusicRow has confirmed. Initial signee Striking Matches in addition to Marc Scibilia and The Muddy Magnolias from the roster will be reassigned within CMG.

President John Grady is among the staffers to exit, which also include promotion VP Tom Moran, regionals Gwen Foster (West Coast), Will Robinson (East Coast), and Amber Anderson (Promotion Coordinator). Andrew Cohen previously left to launch Suit Music Management. Chris York will remain with the company through the Christian division.

Caroline, the independent services division of CMG, relaunched the historic 1979 label in October 2013. I.R.S. Nashville’s roster also included Cowboy Jack Clement and Ashley Clark. I.R.S. Nashville was responsible for working the country singles from Don Henley’s latest effort, Cass County.

Taylor Swift To Release 1989 Tour Film Exclusively with Apple Music

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Taylor Swift has partnered with Apple Music for the exclusive release of The 1989 World Tour LIVE film on Sunday, Dec. 20.

Available exclusively to Apple Music members around the world, the Jonas Akerlund-directed video was filmed in front of 76,000 fans at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia on November 28, 2015. Never-before-seen backstage footage from rehearsals, in addition to surprise guests that appeared throughout the entire tour was shot by videographers Ivan Clow and Jordan Lynn.

Musical guests featured in The 1989 World Tour LIVE included: Alanis Morissette, Alison Krauss, Beck, St. Vincent, Ellie Goulding, Fetty Wap, Fifth Harmony, Idina Menzel, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Leona Lewis, Lisa Kudrow, Lorde, Mary J. Blige, Mick Jagger, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Maines, Nelly, HAIM, Nick Jonas, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, Steven Tyler, The Weeknd, Walk the Moon, and Wiz Khalifa.

The 1989 World Tour Live also includes special guest appearances including: Andreja Pejic, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Cara Delevingne, Chris Rock, Ciara, Dwayne Wade, Ellen Degeneres, Gigi Hadid, Hailee Steinfeld, Heidi Klum, Joan Baez, Julia Roberts, Karlie Kloss, Kendall Jenner, Kobe Bryant, Lena Dunham, Lily Aldridge, Lily Donaldson, Mariska Hargitay, Martha Hunt, Matt LeBlanc, Russell Wilson, Abigail Anderson, Jamie King, Sean O’Pry, Serena Williams, and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team.

Swift will join Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio at 11 p.m. CT today (Dec. 14) to talk more about the project.

The 2014 Big Machine Records album 1989 has sold over 9 million copies worldwide.

Exclusive: Nashville’s Berry Hill Mixes Big (Music) Business With Small-Town Charm

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Photo: berryhilltn.org

Photo: berryhilltn.org

Less than five miles from Nashville’s famed Music Row, clusters of modest houses line the streets of the city of Berry Hill—Metro Nashville’s smallest satellite city.

The city of Berry Hill churns out an astonishing amount of music, from rock to country to bluegrass to Americana. Numerous studios, labels and music associations have hung their shingles in Berry Hill, essentially making the tight-knit music community a sort of one-stop shop.

MusicRow spoke with IBMA’s Paul Schiminger, IEBA’s Pam Matthews, New West Records’ John Allen, and Westwood Sound Studio’s Mickey Jack Cones, about what attracts musicians, creative types, and music industry members to Berry Hill.

For the full feature on Berry Hill, see MusicRow‘s 2016 Next Big Thing issue by subscribing to MusicRow.

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IBMA

International Bluegrass Music Association [IBMA]’s Executive Director Paul Schiminger
Music City Movement: When IBMA’s Music Row lease was up for renewal, there was a desire to find a place that was more affordable. The Berry Hill area has always been another part of the music community in Nashville. Nashville is the epicenter of so many aspects of all things music. Many of the bluegrass artists live in Nashville and there are many agents and studios in Nashville, so being close to that was important to us to be an effective association.

Bluegrass Rising: The creativity of bluegrass is blossoming in a lot of different directions. The popularity is on a huge upswing now. A lot of people are rediscovering roots style music in many different forms and bluegrass certainly qualifies as a large part of that scene. You have young people looking at the jam bands that have become popular. You have bluegrass artists doing traditional music that would have been more in the realm of what country music would have ventured into years ago and no longer really does. So we have the traditional side of bluegrass, the jam band/contemporary side, and the movement into a sort of ‘countrygrass’ feel as well. With this music being so accessible, artists and fans can mingle many times. That is another unique aspect of this community.

 

IEBA

IEBA

International Entertainment Buyers Association [IEBA]’s Executive Director Pam Matthews
Long Time Coming: I’ve been coming to the Berry Hill area since the 1980s. From 1988 until 2000, I worked for The Judds. I went to County Q to listen to demos then. There is such an eclectic, creative spirit here. Berry Hill hasn’t changed that much, and this is the third Nashville “boom” I’ve seen.

Of Note: Our building was once owned by songwriter and musician Randy Scruggs [Randy Scruggs Productions].

 

New West Records

New West Records

New West Records’ president John Allen
Ease of the Deal: Things like artist approvals, or doing test pressings are easier. We were doing test-pressing listening for The Deslondes’ album. They had questions about the sound. I called up Vance Powell and said I was a few doors down. We just took the test pressing and went to Vance’s studio. There have been a lot of those instances.

Good Vibes: Berry Hill has a real creative vibe over here. I know there has been 60+ studios and probably more. Vance Powell has a studio here, and inevitably we would have artists recording at Blackbird or House of Blues. Jonathan Kane of Journey has an amazing studio here.

 

Westwood Sound Studio Tracking Room.

Westwood Sound Studio Tracking Room.

Westwood Sound Studio’s Mickey Jack Cones
Cracker Barrel Community: Many of these little houses in Berry Hill, you look at from the outside and you think, “This could never be a studio,” but you walk in and it’s a surprise. People think, “This album was done here and that album was done here?” It’s kind of a cool vibe, versus more obvious studio structures that are a little more corporate. I think this studio is comfortable. It’s a little off the beaten path, and it has kind of a Cracker Barrel vibe. But it’s still Berry Hill, and every one of these studios in the area has it’s own character.