iTunes Song Sales Pass 25 Billion

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itunesThe 25 billionth song was purchased from the iTunes Store recently. As the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store, iTunes averages over 15,000 song downloads per minute.
The iTunes Store has a catalog of over 26 million tracks and is available in 119 countries.
Who is the lucky music fan that purchased the 25 billionth song? Phillip Lüpke from Germany, who will receive a €10,000 iTunes Gift Card as a prize. His purchase was the track “Monkey Drums” (Goksel Vancin Remix) by Chase Buch.

Grammy Preview: Recap of Nominations, Performances

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urlThe 55th annual Grammy® Awards will be presented at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Sunday night (Feb. 10), airing live at 7 PM/CT on CBS.
The most recently announced performance is a Levon Helm tribute that will include Zac Brown, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Elton John, Mumford & Sons and Mavis Staples. Previously announced performers for the star-packed awards show include Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, The Black Keys, Kelly Clarkson, FUN., the Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, Rihanna, Jack White, Elton John and Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys and Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, Sting and Justin Timberlake.
Going into the show with three nods each are Nashvillians Swift, Clarkson, White, Hunter Hayes, and Mark Hall of Casting Crowns. Country stars with two nominations apiece are Eric Church, Ronnie Dunn, and The Time Jumpers, which includes perennial Grammy darling Vince Gill. Nashville based rocker Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys earned six nominations, tying for the lead with five other stellar acts.
Since 2009, Nashville has been on a Grammy winning streak, started by the acclaimed Alison Krauss and Robert Plant collaboration which was that year’s top winner. In 2010, Swift racked up the most trophies and in 2011 Lady Antebellum followed suit. Last year, Adele dominated, but Nashville was well-represented with wins by Swift, Lady A, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and The Civil Wars.
Select 2013 Grammy Nominations
Record Of The Year
“Lonely Boy” — The Black Keys
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Kelly Clarkson
“We Are Young” — FUN. Featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know” — Gotye Featuring Kimbra
“Thinkin Bout You” — Frank Ocean
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — Taylor Swift
Best Country Solo Performance
“Home” — Dierks Bentley
“Springsteen” — Eric Church
“Cost Of Livin’” — Ronnie Dunn
“Wanted” — Hunter Hayes
“Over” — Blake Shelton
“Blown Away” — Carrie Underwood
Best Country Album
Uncaged — Zac Brown Band
Hunter Hayes — Hunter Hayes
Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran — Jamey Johnson
Four The Record — Miranda Lambert
The Time Jumpers — The Time Jumpers
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart”–Eli Young Band
“Pontoon”–Little Big Town
“Safe & Sound” — Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars
“On The Outskirts Of Town”–The Time Jumpers
“I Just Come Here For The Music”–Don Williams Featuring Alison Krauss
Best Country Song
“Blown Away”–Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
“Cost Of Livin’”–Phillip Coleman & Ronnie Dunn, songwriters (Ronnie Dunn)
“Even If It Breaks Your Heart”–Will Hoge & Eric Paslay, songwriters (Eli Young Band)
“So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore”–Jay Knowles & Adam Wright, songwriters (Alan Jackson)
“Springsteen”–Eric Church, Jeff Hyde & Ryan Tyndell, songwriters (Eric Church)
Best New Artist
Alabama Shakes
FUN.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Album Of The Year
El Camino — The Black Keys
Some Nights — FUN.
Babel — Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange — Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss — Jack White
Song Of The Year
“The A Team” — Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)
“Adorn” — Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
“Call Me Maybe” — Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)
“We Are Young” — Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (FUN. Featuring Janelle Monáe)
See a list of Nashville-related Grammy noms.
See the complete list of Grammy noms.
 
 

APA Nashville Signs Shooter Jennings

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shooter

Shooter Jennings


APA Nashville has signed Shooter Jennings to its roster. Jennings’ new album, The Other Life (Black Country Rock/Entertainment One Nashville) and its short film will be released March 12.
“With Shooter’s multi-talented interests in music, film, television and merchandising, there is a virtual franchise of opportunities everywhere you turn,” commented APA Nashville’s Stu Walker. “We could not be more excited to be working with him.”
Jennings also continues his seven-year tenure on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel with his signature show, “Electric Rodeo.”
APA Nashville’s roster also includes Asleep At The Wheel, Corey Smith, Darryl Worley, Cross Canadian Ragweed, David Lee Murphy, Don Williams, Jo Dee Messina and Sawyer Brown, among other artists.

George Strait To Be Honored During CRS

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George Strait. Photo: Vanessa Gavalya

George Strait. Photo: Vanessa Gavalya


George Strait is to be honored on Tuesday, Feb. 26 with the 2013 Country Radio Broadcasters Career Achievement Award.
The presentation, which takes place during the CRB’s Country Radio Hall of Fame Induction, will recognize Strait for his significant contribution to the development and promotion of country music and country radio.
“George Strait has done a superb job promoting country music and country radio over the years. His dedication to the format and ongoing contribution to the industry as a whole make him the perfect recipient for this award,” said Mike Culotta, CRB President.
Previous winners of this award include Brooks and Dunn, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.
As previously announced, the 6 p.m. ceremony will also feature Gaylan Christie being inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame. Dr. Don Carpenter, Crook & Chase, Eddie Edwards and Bill “Dex” Poindexter will be inducted in the Air Personality category. Bob Romeo will receive the 2013 President’s Award.

Artist Updates (2/6/13)

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glorianaTrio Gloriana will perform their current single, “Can’t Shake You,” with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday (Feb. 15). Fans can watch the performance on NBC beginning at 11:35 p.m. CT.
 

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kenny-chesney
 
Band members for Kenny Chesney‘s upcoming No Shoes Nation 2013 tour are gearing up for spring training, as his band reports for rehearsals on Feb. 13. “I used to say we’re like a baseball team: six months on, six months off, because I love baseball so much,” Chesney says.
“But the truth is, what we do to create what people see from a show this size out there on the road really does take a lot of work, a lot of thought and a lot of practice. And the great thing about my crew is they get as much a charge seeing the fans respond to what goes into all this work as the band and I do when we’re on stage.” Eric Church, Eli Young Band, Kacey Musgraves will open the show and Zac Brown Band will join Chesney for select dates in 2013.

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LumineersCMT, VH1 and Dualtone Music will present the digital world premiere of The Lumineers’ new music video, “Stubborn Love,” on Thursday (Feb. 7) on VH1.com and on CMT.com. The video wil also premiere on CMT, CMT Pure and VH1’s weekly Top 20 Video Countdown on Saturday (Feb. 9).

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lonestar1
 
Lonestar has released the single “Maybe Someday” to country radio, and the single is available on iTunes. “Maybe Someday” is the second single from the band’s upcoming album Life As We Know It, which will release on the band’s own 4Star Records/The Orchard.
 
 
 
 
 

TNN Gets Ray Stevens' 'Ray-ality TV'

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ray stevensComedian Ray Stevens is back on television with TNN’s Ray-ality TV. The weekly 30-minute comedy show will feature unique music and humor. The first year of Ray-ality TV will include 26 episodes that will feature several familiar faces.
Ray-ality TV will air Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. CT.

“’Ray-ality’ is a presentation of all the movie, video and TV appearances that have made up my ‘reality’ for the past several years along with excerpts from my stage performances, TV pilots and new comedy material that is shot expressly for the series,” notes Stevens.  “We just pick a subject title like ‘chickens’ and away we go! We use what we’ve done in the past, what we are currently doing or whatever pops into our heads at the time to put together 30 minutes of music and comedy for the whole family.  That is what I do after all.”
YouTube video

'MusicRow' Announces 2013 CRS CountryBreakout Award Performers

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MR-CRSHeading
MusicRow Magazine is excited to announce performances by rising stars High Valley and Jaida Dreyer at its 11th annual CRS Meet & Greet and CountryBreakout Awards.

Jaida Dreyer and High Valley

Jaida Dreyer and High Valley


The invitation-only event will take place Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2-4:00 p.m. CT at Margaritaville in downtown Nashville. It serves as the unofficial kick-off to Country Radio Seminar, which attracts broadcasters from across the country for events Feb. 27-March 1.
In addition to performances by this year’s outstanding lineup, the afternoon’s events will include the presentation of MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Awards. Given annually, these honors recognize artists who earned the most airplay on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart during the preceding year. For 2013, the awards have been expanded to include new honors for Male Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Group of the Year. These recognitions join longstanding awards for Label of the Year, Breakout Artist of the Year, Independent Artist of the Year, and CountryBreakout Reporter of the Year.
“CRS is always such a fun and action-packed conference for our industry, so I am very excited to treat attendees to performances by High Valley and Jaida Dreyer at MusicRow’s CRS Meet & Greet and CountryBreakout Awards,” says MusicRow Publisher Sherod Robertson. “These two artists made such a lasting impression on our team, I look forward to showcasing their talents on Feb. 26th, while we also celebrate the artists who garnered the most airplay on the MusicRow Chart.”
An in-depth profile of the yet-to-be-announced award winners will be included in the February/March 2013 edition of MusicRow Magazine, set to debut at the awards ceremony. Copies will be available throughout the Nashville Convention Center during CRS, including at kiosks in the coffee lounge and in the second floor conference area. As with each print issue, MusicRow paid subscribers will receive copies by mail.
About the Performers:
Jaida Dreyer will celebrate the release of her debut album, I Am Jaida Dreyer, on the day of the MusicRow CountryBreakout Awards (Feb. 26). Produced by Byron Gallimore and released by his Streamsound Records, her debut follows the release of radio singles “Guys Girl,” “Confessions” and “Half Broke Horses.” During recent months, Streamsound’s flagship artist has traveled on a coast-to-coast radio tour. Growing up a gypsy while her mother chased equestrian work, Dreyer lived in seven states before turning 18. Eventually, her love of music led her to Nashville, where she wrote or co-wrote every song for her album.
High Valley is made up of brothers Brad, Bryan and Curtis Rempel, who have earned multiple Canadian Country Music Association and Juno nominations in their homeland of Canada. They’ve been recording for more than a decade and opening shows for Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Reba McEntire. Their upcoming U.S. debut album Love Is a Long Road was produced by Jeremy Spillman and Phil O’Donnell. In 2007, executive John Mays signed High Valley to Nashville’s Eaglemont Entertainment. High Valley’s current single, “Love You For A Long Time,” has made a strong debut in the U.S. since its August release. High Valley is promoted by Rodeowave Entertainment and Diane Richey Promotions.

Weekly Register: House Of Discs

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(A Music City Adaptation. Based upon House Of Cards, Netflix’s new 13-episode Washington political drama.)
HOCEpisode One
Announcer: Although the thermometer says Music City’s winter has been quite temperate, a mid-winter funk has descended upon Nashville label boardrooms. Jobs could be at stake. As measured by the Nielsen SoundScan sales charts, strong consumer headwinds and chilling indifference have hit Music City marketers.
[Background music–hauntingly plays Barbara Mandrell singing “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool…”]
[Ruggedly handsome, middle-age label head] 
[Talks directly to the audience as way of introducing his character]
Scott Espodungerton: Yeah, there is a disturbing downward trend YTD on our sales charts, but so what? Country music is also enjoying a surge in cultural popularity. Nashville has its own self-titled TV show, the format boasts numerous arena-filling songslingers and is well represented on national award shows (including the upcoming Grammys). In addition, country is reaching foreign shores with new initiatives such as the CMA’s International Marketing Summit in Paris on March 1. Don’t chase the quick money, I always say. To dominate, real power is created by accumulating top artist brands—for the long term.
weeklygrid2-3-13[Knock on the door. Assistant shows in a stunning young female journalist, ambitious, determined and very frank…Chloe Barnes]
Chloe Barnes: Scott Espodungerton, you and I should become news buddies. If you start leaking inside news to me then in episodes 3 or 4 we can provide some love interest to move the plot of this series along. Your insider tips will make me look smart (I already have sexy covered…)
Scott Espodungerton: Chloe, point your readers to the Weekly Grid which shows country music is off almost 6% YTD and far deeper than the all-genre deficit of -2.5%. Then note that this week’s Top 75 Current Country chart shows sparse total sales of about 265k or 13.5% less than the same time last year. Also throw in some concerns about low streaming royalties.
Chloe: [Furiously tapping the information into her phone which she somehow uses to write her stories. Subtle swoon] Oh, that’s perfect.
Scott Espodungerton: Come over here. Take off your heels… [Scene fades quickly as label head confidently wraps his arm—quid pro quo—around Chloe’s waist]
weeklygrid1-27-13Episode Two
Announcer: Country sales analysts continue to show concern over country’s upcoming album release schedule for February and March. Debuts this week from Kris Kristofferson (No. 28) and Blue Sky Riders (No. 30) each failed to crack the 2k mark. A Tim McGraw effort from the artist’s new label Big Machine hit bins earlier this week and will be reflected in next week’s numbers. However, Curb released a McGraw project which after two weeks has registered a disappointing 6k units. Fortunately, last year’s Q1 list was also devoid of “register ringers” until the Lionel Richie release (week ended 4/1/12), so although the deficit will likely increase it may not plunge over the next two months.
Chloe Barnes: [Texting Scott Espodungerton] Need something new to feed the news machine. Whatcha got?
Scott Espodungerton: [Texting back] Check digital download tracks chart and YTD Albums with TEA. CU this evening?
Announcer: This morning a new reporter seemingly out of nowhere has the front page on MusicRow magazine and a feature GAC interview with Storme Warren to discuss her startling behind-the-scenes breaking sales updates. The town is buzzing about where this bright new reporter came from and how she could possibly have gotten “inside” so fast…
[MusicRow article]
Tracks Talk While Country Tops YTD TEA List
by Chloe Barnes
Announcer: [Reading out loud] “Despite naysayers pointing to the deficit in country music album sales (-5.9%) there are bright signs on the horizon,” says an unnamed, but high-placed, industry source. “One of the best measures of overall sales power is YTD TEA which aggregates albums (digital and physical plus tracks).”
Topping that chart this week is Nashville flag waver Taylor Swift with over 412k TEA units YTD. (Bruno Mars is No. 2 with about 321k units. Dualtone’s Lumineers are No. 4 with almost 300k TEA units.)
Country track downloads also continue to be a bright spot, up 7 percent YTD. Blake Shelton’s “Sure Be Cool…” leads with over 65k downloads followed by The Band Perry (No. 2; 60k), Gary Allan (No. 3; 57k), Hunter Hayes (No. 4; 49k) and FGL (No. 5; 46k).
Country and Nashville are also represented in top Grammy nominee categories—Record, Album and Best New Artist. Taylor Swift earned a nod for Record of the Year with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and Hunter Hayes is nominated for Best New Artist. Other artists with Nashville ties in the categories include Record—The Black Keys, Kelly Clarkson; Album—The Black Keys, Jack White; and New Artist—The Lumineers. Stay tuned next week as we investigate and analyze the upcoming Tim McGraw launch and more…
[Announcer fades, enter label head at his desk]
Scott Espodungerton: [Talks directly to the audience] Power in Music City is controlled by those who spend the most money. Yes, we are facing shrinking retail shelf space and margins, plus increased marketing costs, but we’re still at the top of the Music Row food chain. But those who play the game long term realize humility beats arrogance every time. It’s important to remember one’s friends on the way up, that’s what I always say…
[Scene fades with teaser for Episode 3 showing Scott Espodungerton taking a phone call from the New York boss to explain slumping sales…]

YouTube Debuts Country Now Channel

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cnbYouTube’s first channel exclusively featuring original country music content launched today (Feb. 6) at www.youtube.com/countrynow.
Country Now is home to the original series Country Download, Hear & Now, OMC! and I Luv My Country, which are created and produced in Nashville. Former Sony Music Nashville executive Butch Waugh is among those leading efforts for Country Now.
GreenLight Media & Marketing, a West Hollywood based company headed by longtime branded entertainment executive Dominic Sandifer, produces the Country Now channel. GreenLight is an independent agency within a network of sister companies that includes Red Light Management, ATO & TBD Records, and several major music festivals. Its clients and partners have included the GRAMMYs, AOL, YouTube, Pandora, Hyundai, adidas and American Express. Prior to launching GreenLight, Sandifer led the Entertainment & Integrated Brand Marketing Group for TBA Global, working with Chase, Nestle, Nike and McDonald’s. He also headed Universal Music Group/IGA’s Strategic Marketing team where he helped develop music-driven marketing strategies for Coca-Cola and XBox, and helped create tie-ins between Sting and AOL Broadband, and Black Eyed Peas and iTunes.
As a consultant for GreenLight, Waugh is working with labels, managers, and artists to provide content for Country Now. He explains, “Dominic looked to me for the lay of the land in Nashville, to make sure we were presenting country music in the right way, and also to share Country Now’s vision with Nashville.”
GreenLight tapped Randy Brewer’s Revolution Pictures to create the series I Luv My Country and Country Download, and Stokes Nielsen is producing and hosting Hear and Now. “What really impressed me about Dominic and the folks at GreenLight is they wanted to use Nashville based companies to create the channel,” adds Waugh. “I could see his energy for it and that he wanted to create something great.
“We talked about addressing the needs of country music fans,” Waugh continues. “If you look at it, there are consumers for labels, viewers for TV and YouTube, fans who buy tickets, and listeners for radio. They’re not always the same people, but they bleed over. So we looked for ways to expose country music and country artists to all these different types of country fans. We want to help connect the dots between the music and the fans and increase the awareness process. With Country Now, fans get to hear the song, see the video with the image of the artist, and discover the lifestyle behind the artist. It is especially valuable for new artists.”
While music programming will anchor the channel, Country Now will also feature lifestyle programs about fashion, sports, cars, southern cooking and culture. Additional series are expected in the near future, including live music programming.
More about the series:
cn Hear & Now, hosted by Stokes Nielsen of The Lost Trailers, is the YouTube version of Country radio. Premiering every Tuesday, artists provide a video intro to their new songs before pressing play on the full track. Screen images include album artwork, photos, and links to purchase the song.
OMC! (Oh My Country!) showcases the best country fashion with new episodes debuting every other Wednesday. It offers red carpet coverage by the “Twang Gang,” made up of Laura Bell Bundy, Brooke Engen, Tiffany Engen and Hugh Howser. It also includes style essentials from country stars, and the “Red-Neck Carpet.”
Country Download is a weekly show highlighting country music news, reviews, and recommendations from Emmy award winning personality Shane Tallant, WSIX afternoon drive personality The AntMan, and country radio and TV personality Samantha Stephens. New episodes will launch each Friday.
I Luv My Country is an animated series that features user-submitted country music videos combined with commentary from comedic hosts Jimmy Dale and Cleave, who appear exclusively on the channel. The premiere episode will debut soon with new content released each Monday.
“We’ve never had a country music dedicated channel on YouTube,” sums Waugh, “so I was pretty excited about having a destination for country music fans. I come from the Joe Galante school of thought, so I’m all for anything you can do to get country music artists in front of fans, especially in front of YouTube’s 22 million viewers.”

YouTube video

Artist Snapshots (2/6/13)

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On Jan. 29, Lady Antebellum and Stevie Nicks teamed up to film an episode of CMT Crossroads in Culver City, Calif. The episode will air later this year.

CMT's "Crossroads" Presents: Stevie Nicks and Lady Antebellum

Pictured (L-R): Van Toffler, President of Viacom’s Music and Logo Group; Charles Kelley; Brian Philips, President of CMT; Hillary Scott; Stevie Nicks; Bill Flanagan, EVP/Editorial Director, MTV Networks; Dave Haywood; John Hamlin, SVP of Music Events and Talent, CMT; Margaret Comeaux, Senior Director of Music and Event Production, CMT. Photo: Frank Micelotta

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Family trio The Henningsens made their Grand Ole Opry debut on Saturday (Feb. 2). Introduced by John Conlee, they performed their debut single, “American Beautiful,” and “To Believe,” another co-penned song from their forthcoming summer album debut, American Beautiful.

henningsens opry debut1

Pictured (L-R): Paul Barnabee, Senior VP, Marketing, Sony Music Nashville; Alicia Jones, Dennis Entertainment; Brian, Clara and Aaron Henningsen; Pete Fisher, Vice President, General Manager, Grand Ole Opry; John Dennis, Dennis Entertainment and, Lesly Tyson, VP, National Promotion, Arista Nashville. Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry

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Tunesmiths Jimbeau Hinson (Wrinkled Records) and JT Hodges (Show Dog-Universal) were all smiles Tuesday (Jan. 29) after Hinson performed for a packed house at Nashville music bar 3rd & Lindsley. The free concert supported Hinson’s recently released album, Strong Medicine.

jt hodges1

Pictured (L-R): JT Hodges and Jimbeau Hinson. Photo: Chris Somerville