Loeb & Loeb LLP Adds Music Industry Practice Associate

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Michael A. Johnson

Michael A. Johnson


Loeb & Loeb LLP has hired Michael A. Johnson to the firm’s Nashville office as an associate in the Music Industry Practice.
“Michael has both legal and business experience working within the entertainment and music sectors, and a good understanding of the business and creative issues facing individuals and companies in these industries,” said John T. Frankenheimer, partner and chair of Loeb & Loeb’s Music Industry Practice. “His transactional and litigation experience will be a great addition to our team in a key market for our Music Industry Practice. We are pleased to welcome him to the firm.”
Johnson’s practice focuses on business and intellectual property transactions, as well as copyright and trademark prosecution. He represents artists, songwriters, and record labels in the negotiation of various agreements, including recording, producer, publishing, management, and licensing agreements. In addition, he handles a wide variety of civil litigation matters, with a particular emphasis on entertainment contractual disputes and copyright litigation.
Johnson is a member of the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was an Articles Editor for the Vanderbilt Law Review, and his B.S. from Kentucky Christian University.
Johnson previously worked with Nashville-based firm of Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert, PLLC, where he handled a variety of litigation matters, including entertainment and copyright disputes, as well as transactional matters. Prior to law school, he worked at Creative Artists Agency booking and scheduling live concerts and tours.

Owen Bradley Festival To Kick Off This Weekend

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Owen Bradley

Owen Bradley


Ralph Emery will serve as host of the first annual Owen Bradley Music Festival and Talent Search this Saturday, Sept. 7, in Westmoreland, Tenn. Brenda Lee, Dee Twitty, members of the Bradley family, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Westmoreland Mayor Mike Carter, and Mandy Barnett will all be on hand for the festivities celebrating the life of Bradley, who hailed from Westmoreland and is often referred to as one of the architects of the “Nashville Sound.” His production style launched the careers of many stars of the 1950s including Patsy Cline, Lee, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty and Kitty Wells.
The festival begins at 9 a.m. with various events and free music on two stages in downtown Westmoreland. Clinton Gregory, Stella Parton, Becky Hobbs, Gerald Smith, Bluegrass Vibrations, Happy Hearts, and Sons of the South are among the artists slated to perform during the day-long celebration. The day’s events culminate at 4 p.m. with the Owen Bradley Talent Search in the Westmoreland Expo Center. The winner of the talent search will receive a free recording session with Larry Beaird of Beaird Music Group and free distribution of their CD single by CDX and Anyway Mailing to 2,300 country radio stations across the country.
Admission for the day’s activities is $5. Additional details and a complete schedule of talent, times and locations can be found at westmorelandchamber.org.

Terri Clark To Be Featured in CMHoF Spotlight Exhibit

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Terri Clark

Terri Clark


Terri Clark will be featured in her own spotlight exhibit, titled Terri Clark: Canadian Country Singer, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The new exhibit, located on the second floor gallery within the museum’s permanent exhibition, will be revealed Sept. 13. Terri Clark: Canadian Country Singer will run through Dec. 31.
Clark will hold a special interview and brief performance in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater on Oct. 12 at 1:30 p.m. The program is included with museum admission and is free to museum members.
Clark was born in Montréal, Québec, and moved to Nashville in the late 1980s, where she landed a gig at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. She signed to Mercury Records in 1994, and her debut single, “Better Things to Do,” became a Top 5 hit. Clark’s other hits include “When Boy Meets Girl,” “Now That I Found You,” “I Wanna Do It All” and “Girls Lie Too.” In 2004, she became the first female Canadian artist to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Among the artifacts on display in Terri Clark: Canadian Country Singer are:
-Original manuscript for “Better Things to Do,” written by Tom Shapiro, Terri Clark and Chris Waters.
-Clark’s Telecaster-style electric guitar—built by luthier Jim Triggs—from her first music video, “Better Things to Do,” in 1995.
–Manuel-designed duster Clark wore for the back cover of her 1996 album Just the Same.
-One of Clark’s trademark black Resistol hats.
-Microphone and stand Clark used while co-hosting America’s Morning Show.
-Trophy presented to Clark when she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.
Other current spotlight exhibits focus on ABC’s Nashville, Garth Brooks, Lee Greenwood, Hargus “Pig” Robbins and Connie Smith.

Charity: Bones, Bundy and Ballard Raise Money For Haiti

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Premiere Networks’ The Bobby Bones Show co-host Amy, WSIX/The Big 98 and 1907 Apparel hosted a live concert event last week promoting 30 Abes, a Sept. 28 food packaging event in Nashville, Tenn., which aims to package 500,000 meals for children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

On Friday, Aug. 30, hundreds of fans and listeners gathered at East-Centric Pavilion in Nashville, Tenn., to see Country artists Frankie Ballard and Laura Bell Bundy, as well as The Raging Idiots, featuring Bobby Bones and Eddie from The Bobby Bones Show. The concert raised donations totaling 6,000 meals for Haiti.

Laura Bell Bundy, Bobby and Eddie from The Bobby Bones show perform.

Laura Bell Bundy, Bobby and Eddie from The Bobby Bones Show perform.


Frankie Ballard performs for 30 Abes.

Frankie Ballard performs for 30 Abes.

• • •

Nashville-based band Tenth Avenue North raised more than $100,000 with their inaugural celebrity golf tournament, the Tenth Avenue North Classic. This year’s beneficiaries are high school outreach Cru RDU, College Golf Fellowship and Compassion International.
The featured players included six-time PGA Tour winner Stewart Cink, PGA Tour winner Kevin Streelman, two-time PGA Tour winner Scott Stallings, two-time Super Bowl champion Antwan Harris and NASCAR drivers Blake Koch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Also participating was tobyMac as well as members from NeedtoBreathe and Stellar Kart.
Tenth Avenue North will be part of “The Winter Jam 2013 Tour” Spectacular kicking off early November. Visit jamtour.com for a complete list of tour dates.

Pictured (L-R): Jason Jamison, Ruben Juarez, Jeff Owen, Kevin Streelman, Mike Donehey, Brendon Shirley. Photo: Paul Kim

Pictured (L-R): Tenth Avenue North’s Jason Jamison, Ruben Juarez and Jeff Owen; Kevin Streelman; Tenth Avenue North’s Mike Donehey and Brendon Shirley. Photo: Paul Kim

Super D Buys Alliance Entertainment

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logo-sdidSuper D Independent Distribution has purchased Alliance Entertainment, and with the acquisition will now become the second largest music wholesaler in the country, with revenues of around $920 million, according to Billboard.com. The combined company will have music sales of about $450 million and a market share of 6.64 percent, putting it in the fourth spot of top music accounts just behind ITunes, Anderson Merchandisers, and Amazon.
The deal closed yesterday and though terms were not disclosed, it is estimated that Super D paid in the range of $85-125 million for the deal. The remainder of the companies’ combined business after music sales, around $470 million, comes mostly from DVD sales and a small amount of accessories. With this merger and Anderson Merchandisers acting essentially as a rack-jobber, Baker & Taylor becomes the lone remaining large competitor in both the one-stop store and Internet CD fulfillment space.

Nashville Set To Get 'Crazy' Music Industry Reality Show

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a&e networksNashville will get another Music City-centric show thanks to A&E. The cable network, under Executive VP and GM David McKillop, has ordered the series Crazy Hearts: Nashville, a docuseries chronicling the lives of aspiring country music artists, according to a statement from A&E.
Production is set to begin immediately on the series, which is based in Nashville. The series will include eight hour-long episodes that follow a group of aspiring musicians in their pursuit of music careers as they balance life, love and music.
Crazy Hearts: Nashville comes from Eastern’s Toby Barraud and Stefan Springman. A&E’s Drew Tappon, Fred Grinstein and Evan Lerner will executive produce the series.
A premiere date for the series has not been announced.

Irving Azoff Announces New Venture

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Irving Azoff

Irving Azoff


Legendary music industry executive Irving Azoff, 65, has announced the creation of Azoff MSG Entertainment. The company includes his artist management business (with clients including the Eagles, Steely Dan, Van Halen and Christina Aguilera), a television/live event division, a 50 percent stake in Digital Brand Architects, and a 90 percent interest in a publishing venture headed by former ASCAP executive Randy Grimmett. The company is backed by the Madison Square Garden Company, which supplied $175 million to the company. Azoff counts Madison Square Garden Company’s executive chairman James L. Dolan as a longtime supporter.
The Madison Square Garden Company will pay $125 million for a 50 percent stake in Azoff MSG Entertainment, and will provide up to $50 million of credit to the company. Azoff will also serve as a consultant to the Madison Square Garden Company.
In a joint interview, Azoff and Mr. Dolan described the mission of the new company as being somewhat loose, saying they see it as a lean, digitally focused company that will address the needs of the evolving music business. Azoff’s career began in artist management in the 1970s.
Dolan joined Live Nation’s board in 2011, after the company merged with Ticketmaster and Azoff was named Executive Chairman. After Azoff exited his post as Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment and CEO of Front Line Management Group in January of this year, Dolan resigned from the board; Dolan’s company did away with its 3.9 million shares in Live Nation for $44 million.

Black River Entertainment Names VP, Sales & Marketing

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Dan Anderson

Dan Anderson


Black River Entertainment has named Dan Anderson as VP, Sales & Marketing. In his new role, Anderson will oversee all aspects of marketing, sales and new media for Black River Entertainment.
“I first met Dan nearly 20 years ago and was impressed with him then,” states Black River Entertainment General Manager Greg McCarn. “Dan’s diverse background both on the label and management side make him uniquely qualified for his new role at Black River. I’m excited to work along side of him as we continue to grow this company.”
“I’m looking forward to working with Greg, Gordon Kerr and the team at Black River Entertainment,” says Anderson. “Being a part of a label, and entertainment company, that reflects a forward thinking model of the business is an exciting prospect.”
The Nashville native and Belmont alumnus most recently spent four years in artist management at Red Light Entertainment. Previously, he served more than 10 years at what is now Sony Nashville, where he rose to the rank of Director of Artist Development & Marketing. He also spent five years working with Moress Nanas Entertainment.
Anderson will be based in Nashville, working out of Black River Entertainment’s Music Row offices, and may reached via e-mail at dan@blackriverent.com and by phone at 615-780-3079.

LifeNotes: Cole Swindell's Father Passes

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cole swindell11

Cole Swindell


[Update, 3:30 p.m., Sept. 4, 2013]

In lieu of flowers the family is asking for donations to be sent to:
Morgans Chapel UMC
c/o The Building Fund
3308 Shellman Bluff Road, NE
Townsend, Ga. 31331
Phone: 912-832-2772
Cards can be sent directly to Redlight Management at:
40 Music Sq. W.
Nashville, TN 37203

[Previous Story, 9:35 a.m., Sept. 3, 2013]
MusicRow sends its condolences to singer-songwriter Cole Swindell and his family. The singer’s father, William Keith Swindell, 64, died unexpectedly over the Labor Day weekend.
“Lost the greatest man I’ve ever known today,” Swindell shared via Twitter Monday night (Sept. 2), “the kind of Dad that made this world a better place. He always did everything he could to make mine better … doesn’t seem real. Hard to understand. Please keep my family in your prayers. Thanks for all the love, msgs, & support already.”
Swindell also shared a photo of the singer as a child, looking on as his father played guitar.
Georgia native Swindell is slated to open shows for Luke Bryan‘s Dirt Road Diaries Tour this fall. Swindell recently inked a label deal with Warner Bros. Records after his single, “Chillin’ It,” sold more than 100,000 copies without the aid of a label.

Brett Eldredge To Launch Headlining Club Tour in October

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Brett-EldredeBrett Eldredge, who recently celebrated his first No. 1 hit single, “Don’t Ya,” is gearing up for his first-ever headlining club tour. The Bring You Back Fall 2013 Tour commences in October and includes an already sold-out hometown show at Joe’s Bar in Chicago on Oct. 5. Eldredge released his debut album, Bring You Back, in August.
The Bring You Back Fall 2013 Tour will make 20 stops, 14 announced now, including major cities Austin, Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, Fla., Milwaukee and Washington D.C. Eldredge has previously opened for Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert, and will be opening the final leg of Keith Urban‘s Light The Fuse Tour 2014 in January.
Brett Eldredge “Bring You Back” Fall 2013 Tour:
Oct. 3 Oxford, Ohio – Brick Street Bar
Oct. 4 Milwaukee – The Rave II
Oct. 5 Chicago – Joe’s Bar
Oct. 10 Davie, Fla. – The Round Up
Oct. 11 Jacksonville, Fla. – Mavericks
Oct. 12 Bradenton, Fla. – JoyLand and Nightclub IV
Oct. 17 Chattanooga, Tenn. – Track 29
Oct. 25 Boston – Paradise Rock Club
Oct. 30 St. Louis Park, Minn. – Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill
Oct. 31 Lincoln, Neb. – Single Barrel
Nov. 16 Decatur, Ala. – Herb’s Music Hall
Nov. 22 Austin, Texas – Midnight Rodeo
Nov. 30 Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
Dec. 7 Springfield, Ill. – Boondocks