Jeff Skaggs Joins Creative Nation

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Jeff Skaggs

Jeff Skaggs


Creative Nation has hired Jeff Skaggs to lead the creative department and to oversee the company’s songwriter roster, which includes Luke Laird, Barry Dean, Native Run and Maggie Chapman.
Skaggs most recently served as creative director at Kobalt Music Group, and launched his publishing career at Mighty Isis Music in 2005.
“Jeff is a respected creative executive that will be a great addition to Creative Nation,” says Beth Laird, Co-Owner and General Manager of Creative Nation. “His relationships and passion for music are undeniable and make him a great fit for our company. We are excited to have him join the team!”
More additions to the team include Annalia Alba, Kristen Pellegrino and Sarah Lai. Alba, a former Creative Nation intern, has moved into a graphic design role. Lai (of publicity company SLPR) will oversee publicity and marketing for the company, while Pellegrino will focus on digital marketing.

Music Industry Day Welcomes Musicians to Experience NAMM

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NAMM opens its doors to musicians, songwriters, and sound and staging professionals on Music Industry Day, Saturday, July 19 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nashville’s Music City Center.

This day offers an opportunity to demo new gear from hundreds of brands, attend workshops, check out live music, and network with music industry leaders at an exclusive, trade-only NAMM event. These workshops will guide musicians on topics ranging from marketing to navigating endorsement deals. The day also includes a session on building the ultimate pedalboard setup.
Songwriting workshops will feature Clay Mills, co-founder of the songwriter support group SongTown USA. GRAMMY-nominated songwriter of the year Thornton Cline will lead a panel titled Hit Songwriting: Secrets of the Pros. The Women’s International Music Network presents the She Rocks Showcase In The Round, highlighting female artists performing their own original music.
Five-time Emmy-winning actor and recording artist Jonathan Jackson and Nashville-native singer-songwriter Greg Bates will play acoustic sets in the afternoon. Rounding out Music Industry Day is a ukulele circle and drum circle. A full schedule of Music Industry Day events can be found online. 

Tickets are available online for advance purchase for $10, $20 at the door.

Nielsen Releases 2014 Mid-Year Sales Report

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NielsenNielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS recently revealed the 2014 mid-year U.S. music sales airplay and streaming data for the six-month period of December 30, 2013 through June 29, 2014. Nielsen SoundScan measures U.S. point-of-sale of recorded music product, while Nielsen BDS tracks U.S. radio airplay and music streams.
For the first six months of 2014, album sales were down 14.9 percent (selling 120.9 million units), vs. the first six months of 2013, when 142 million units were sold. Meanwhile, vinyl album sales were up 40.4 percent and overall on-demand streaming services were up 42 percent, with on-demand audio up 50.1 percent and on-demand video up 35.2 percent.
Eric Church and Luke Bryan were among the top ten selling albums for 2014 year-to-date. Church lands at No. 3, with Outsiders selling 642,000 YTD. Bryan’s Crash My Party has sold 455,000 units YTD, both for the week ending June 29, 2014. The Frozen soundtrack topped the chart with 2,696,000 copies sold, followed by Beyonce‘s Beyonce at No. 2 with 702,000 units sold YTD.
When Track Equivalent Albums are also included in the YTD tally, Church’s Outsiders lands at No. 6 YTD, with 755,000 in sales, while Bryan’s Crash My Party lands at No. 7 with 746,000 units sold. Florida Georgia Line lands at No. 10 YTD with 712,000 in sales of Here’s To The Good Times. The Frozen soundtrack also tops this chart with a total of 3,379,000 in sales.
Nashville resident Jack White‘s Lazaretto takes the top spot in the 2014 YTD Top 10 Selling Vinyl albums. Lazaretto sold 491,000 units, followed by Arctic Monkeys‘ AM at No. 2, with 251,000 units sold.
Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” is the year’s most played song. See the full report here Nielsen Music 2014 Mid-Year US Release.

We’ve Been Flocked!

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riser birdsDierks Bentley’s flock of Riser Birds landed at the MusicRow offices to raise funds for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Next we will “Flock It Forward.”
Through Aug. 12, Nashvillians within a certain radius of downtown can support the cause by making a donation and flocking their own yard or someone else’s yard with Riser Birds.
The Riser Bird Movement is helping promote his upcoming Miles and Music For Kids event, which also benefits the hospital.
Visit dierks.com/riserbirdmovement for information about flocking, to buy flocking insurance, or get details about Miles & Music on Sept. 28 in Nashville.
The Riser Bird, the logo from his current album Riser, represents the importance of rising above life’s challenges.
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Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn To Play Ryman Auditorium

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Merle Haggard


Two Country music legends will be performing at the Ryman Auditorium this year. Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn have both announced dates for stops at the iconic venue.
Haggard will be touring throughout the summer with his renowned band, The Strangers, and will play a two-night set next month at the Ryman. The shows are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 25 and Tuesday, Aug. 26, both starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for both shows will go on sale this Friday, July 11 at 10 a.m.
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Loretta Lynn


Lynn will also play back-to-back nights this October, with tickets on sale now. The Country Music and Songwriter’s Hall of Fame member will play at the Ryman Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11, with both shows scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.
For information on these shows or to purchase tickets, visit ryman.com.

Artist Updates (7/7/14)

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Craig Morgan

Craig Morgan


Craig Morgan has returned to the Outdoor Channel for another season of his hit television show, Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors. The fifth season premiered Sunday, July 6 at 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST.
On June 30, the Black River Entertainment artist released the single, “We’ll Come Back Around,” penned by Brandy Clark, Jessie Jo Dillon and Trevor Rosen.

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Lady Antebellum


Lady Antebellum is among the artists featured in Samsung Telecommunication America’s first commercial for Milk Music powered by Slacker. The streaming service is free and without ads, offering Samsung users a way to discover and enjoy music. The Country trio’s “Long Stretch of Love” will be included alongside songs from John Legend, Iggy Azalea with Charli XCX, Cold War Kids, and others.

Milk Music is available now exclusively for Galaxy consumers as well as Samsung’s latest tablets. The service is ad-free for a limited time.
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whoawoman11Country singer Sarah Darling, a current contestant on ABC’s Rising Star, is the cover girl for WHOAwomen Magazine’s July issue. Darling opened up about how her faith in Christ shapes her life and career. She also discussed her French pastry side business and her new boot line with Durango Footwear.

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danny gokeyDanny Gokey‘s recently released sophomore album, Hope In Front of Me, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian charts and at N0. 40 on the all-genre Billboard chart.
To celebrate the release, Gokey gave a live-stream performance of all new songs from Hope In Front of Me last week, and offered a preview of the title track’s music video.

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Lyndsey Highlander celebrated yet another week at No. 1 on CMT Pure’s 12 Pack Countdown last week. This is the seventh week Highlander has landed on the countdown and her fourth week at No. 1.

Pictured (L-R): Keith Reagan (Director), Alex Kramer,Top- Rick Patin, Jake Gammon, Chelsea Dartez (C2 Media Relations), Carly Caramanna (C2 Media Relations)Bottom- Jason Nacvo (white tie), Lyndsey Highlander, Kenneth Duncan (co-writer), Brian Smith

Pictured here: Keith Reagan (Director), Alex Kramer, Rick Patin, Jake Gammon, Chelsea Dartez (C2 Media Relations), Carly Caramanna (C2 Media Relations), Jason Nacvo, Lyndsey Highlander, Kenneth Duncan (co-writer), Brian Smith and others

Weekly Chart Report (07/03/14)

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                 Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report
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Bandsintown Launches Tour Management App

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Bandsintown_logo_300dpi1Bandsintown has introduced its first mobile application for artists and managers, Bandsintown Manager. The app will allow touring artists, music managers and digital marketers to control touring information via their mobile devices.
Bandsintown Manager pushes event dates to Facebook, Twitter, Google YouTube, and artist websites. Tour date information is also pushed to concert discovery app Bandsintown, as well as partners including Shazam, Nokia MixRadio, SoundHound, DeliRadio, Squarespace, and others.
In the event of a venue or tour date change, artists or managers can directly message fans who have RSVP’d to their show. The app also aggregates all concert photos and videos of a show posted by fans on BandsinTown and Instagram, which artists can then browse and repost on Facebook or Twitter to increase engagement.
“Our goal has always been to connect artists and fans so they never miss a show” said Julien Mitelberg, Bandsintown CEO. “By introducing a mobile app built exclusively for artists, we enable both major and emerging acts to better promote their tours and for the first time to communicate directly with our 11 million registered users, so concert-goers get the most out of the live music experience—before, during and after the event.”

Swift's 'Red' Tour Is Highest Grossing Country Run Ever

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Swift in Nashville in September 2013.

Swift in Nashville in September 2013.


Taylor Swift’s blockbuster Red tour has set the all-time record for highest grossing single tour by a Country artist. According to Billboard Boxscore, the 15-month outing grossed $150 million, besting the record set by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul tour during 2006 and 2007, which made $141 million.
The Red tour sold over 1.7 million tickets and included 86 concerts, 15 of which were at stadiums.
Swift’s four continent, 12 country extravaganza began on March 13, 2013. The first leg ran for six months in North America and closed with a three-show stand in Nashville in September. Swift wrapped 2013 with concerts in Australia and New Zealand. She traveled to Europe and Asia in 2014. The tour closed June 12 with a performance in Singapore.

Through The Lens (7/3/14)

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Zac Brown Band recently sold out two nights at Boston’s Fenway Park, without the aid of supporting acts. The band played for combined audience of 70,000 fans over the weekend. This puts Zac Brown Band in good company, as one of the handful of acts (including Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen) that have played there since it began hosting concerts in the early 2000s.

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Zac Brown Band plays one of their sold-out shows at Fenway Park. Photo: Southern Reel

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Arista Nashville’s sibling duo The Swon Brothers are in the Ram Country spotlight with an exclusive performance for Yahoo Music. The duo is featured singing their debut single, “Later On,” as well as their cover of the Loggins & Messina hit “Danny’s Song.”

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The Swon Brothers. Photo: Ram Country/C.J. Hicks

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Rhett Walker Band returned to the Grand Ole Opry stage Wednesday night (July 2), where they shared the stage with artists Craig Campbell and Mel Tillis. They performed tracks from their upcoming album Here’s To The Ones, due out Oct. 14. The band performed at the Opry for the first time on May 2, 2014.

Rhett Walker Band

Rhett Walker Band performs at the Grand Ole Opry

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Adam Doleac showcased songs from his upcoming album at Nashville’s 12th and Porter on June 24. The Hattisburg, Miss., native has been writing with songwriters including Jeffrey East, John Ramey, Hannah Blaylock, Chris Roberts and more, and is touring the southeast.

Pictured (L-R): Jeffrey East, Doleac, John Ramey

Pictured (L-R): Jeffrey East, Adam Doleac, John Ramey