Demetria Kalodimos Announces Support To Relaunch ‘The Nashville Banner’

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Demetria Kalodimos

Longtime Nashville journalist Demetria Kalodimos is making major donations to help support the challenging commercial media landscape.

Kalodimos says in a statement obtained by MusicRow, “Together with Meredith Corporation, I am pleased to make a significant donation to The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which will be used by Nashville Public Media, and a separate donation to the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. Both organizations champion the public good and the bedrock values of quality journalism. I appreciate Meredith Corporation’s willingness to support this important cause.”

This effort joins Steve Cavendish with plans to relaunch Nashville news media brand The Nashville Banner as a non-partisan, nonprofit, civic news organization, with hopes to begin publishing online later in 2020.

Cavendish, a former Editor-in-Chief of the Nashville Scene, will serve as president and editor for the soon-to-be-relaunched The Nashville Banner, with former longtime WSMV news anchor Kalodimos as executive producer, according to its website.

More than a year ago, Cavendish announced his plans to revive The Nashville Banner, which was published from 1876 until 1998, when it closed after being purchased by Gannett, parent company of The Tennessean. The Nashville Banner briefly ran online content in 2014, under the ownership of Bruce Dobie.

According to the official site, The Nashville Banner will be a free (no paywalls) digital service, and will focus on local news, beginning with an emphasis on Metro government, Capitol Hill and state government, education, business and criminal justice, though the goal is to eventually add additional coverage areas.

“Soon, we will announce the online return of a familiar name: the Nashville Banner. This ‘electronic newspaper’ will also offer high-quality video, audio and visual storytelling designed to quench the thirst for meaningful news coverage that is fair, accurate, interesting, thorough, and human.” Kalodimos says.

“Nashville Public Media is an emerging civic news organization that will operate as a nonprofit, offering relevant, intelligent, in-depth coverage of local news and issues of importance to the city,” says Kalodimos. “The contribution will help seed this important and unique new resource in a challenging commercial media landscape.”

She adds, “It remains my wish to offer a significant public platform to talented, experienced reporters and visual storytellers whose voices contribute greatly to our public conversation.”

Kalodimos joined Nashville news station WSMV in 1984, and became one of Nashville’s most well-respected news anchors. After more than 30 years with the organization, Kalodimos and WSMV had an acrimonious parting of ways in 2017. In 2018, she sued WSMV for age discrimination; it was announced in January 2020 that they had settled the suit.

Caitlyn Smith Signs With UMPG Nashville

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Pictured (L-R): Cyndi Forman, Missy Roberts, Caitlyn Smith, Terry Wakefield, and Travis Gordon.

Singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Nashville.

Smith, who is signed with Shane McAnally and Jason Owen‘s Monument Records, will release her sophomore album Supernova on March 13. She is a co-writer on the 4x multi-platinum No. 1 hit “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” from Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend. She also co-wrote the 2020 Critics’ Choice Award-winning “Glasgow” from the movie Wild Rose.

Missy Roberts, Senior Creative Director at UMPG Nashville said, “I had the opportunity to work with Caitlyn years ago. To be reunited with her is a dream come true. She is an immense and timeless global talent. It’s a privilege to have her join the UMPG family.”

Smith added, “I’m so excited for my new partnership with Universal Music Publishing. I have known these lovely folks for years and am honored for the opportunity to work with them. Their passion and drive are unmatched and I’m really looking forward to this next chapter.”

Jenn Tressler, Haley Montgomery Join Opry Entertainment

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Jenn Tressler, Haley Montgomery

The Opry Entertainment Group has formed a new Artist & Label Strategy Team specifically devoted to supporting the growing opportunities for artists under its umbrella of brands including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, 650 AM WSM, Ole Red and the Circle network. Jenn Tressler and Haley Montgomery have both joined the new team as Artist & Label Strategy Managers reporting to Jordan Pettit, Director of Artist Relations & Programming Strategy.

Tressler joins the company with eight years of artist and label relations experience at Vevo before joining L3 Entertainment in Nashville where she worked in artist management. Montgomery joins the company from her most recent role as Strategic Partnerships Project Manager at CMA, bringing seven years of experience in partnership acquisition, project management and event planning.

“Just like the world of entertainment overall, there are more ways than ever at Opry Entertainment Group for artists to connect with fans,” said Pettit. “I’m thrilled to have Jenn and Haley’s expertise on board as we work to provide unique value to the artists who partner with us and deliver exceptional entertainment to fans who visit and tune in. The two of them will be invaluable additions to this growing team.”

Opry Entertainment Group is looking to fill one additional position of Manager, Artist & Label Strategy. For more information and to apply visit rhpcareers.com.

RaeLynn, Jimmy Robbins To Perform At Orioles’ “Athletes & Artists Play For Kids” Event

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RaeLynn

RaeLynn, Jordan Schmidt, Jimmy Robbins, Carter Faith and special guest emcee Renee Blair will take part in the upcoming fifth annual “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” charity weekend hosted by the Baltimore Orioles. The weekend, which will take place at Ed Smith Stadium from March 5-8, 2020, celebrates current country hits and combines song and sport to support arts education and girls’ empowerment. The event will feature the fifth annual “Nashville’s Music Row Comes to the Ballpark” VIP charity event, two Orioles home games, and free community workshops for local youth.

A portion of proceeds from the weekend’s events will benefit the Orioles Charitable Foundation’s Music & Arts Education Scholarship, which was created in 2019 to support deserving students and programs in Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville. To date, the “Athletes and Artists” series has raised over $400,000.

“We are thrilled to once again use our platform to bring song and sport together in support of arts education and girls’ empowerment,” said Jennifer Grondahl, Orioles Senior Vice President, Community Development and Communications. “The ‘Athletes & Artists’ series has become an integral part of our community development efforts, and acts as a catalyst for change in the Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville communities.”

This year’s weekend-long series of events will begin Thursday, March 5, when the Orioles host the Minnesota Twins. On Saturday, March 7, the Orioles will once again offer free community workshops for local youth at Ed Smith Stadium, hosted by participating musicians and baseball alumni who donate their time and talent to ensure that gifted kids in disadvantaged communities have access to arts and music education.

 

Bobby Braddock, Buddy Cannon, Ashley Gorley, Craig Wiseman, Liz Rose Among Tin Pan South Lineup

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Tin Pan South has announced its talent-packed lineup for the upcoming festival, slated for March 24-28 in Nashville. Bobby Braddock, Jamey Johnson, Luke Laird, Leslie Satcher, Casey Beathard, Dallas Davidson, Jeff Hyde, Lori McKenna, Craig Wiseman, Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley, Liz Rose and dozens more of the best songwriters in the business will perform on stages across the city during the five-day celebration of songs and the writers who create them.

The full lineup by day with additional information can be found here. Fast Access passes for the 28th annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival are now on sale.

Tin Pan South Week At-A-Glance:
March 23 – Tin Pan South will kick off the 2020 festival with a Whiskey Jam takeover, giving attendees a taste of what to expect for the upcoming week.
March 23-24  – Tin Pan South Songwriting Seminar offering an opportunity to learn from over a dozen industry professionals (including several songwriters who will be performing later in the week during the festival)
March 25 -NSAI will host an Open House at its location on Music Row from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
March 26 – In an invitation-only event, NSAI will hold its first Member Awards (presented by Regions Bank). First-year honors include awards voted by NSAI’s global membership and select honorees recognized by NSAI staff members.
March 26-28 – Afternoon programming at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum beginning at 2 p.m. each day.

Florida Georgia Line Earns Pandora Billionaire Honor

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Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley (L) and Tyler Hubbard (R) celebrate two certifications. Photo: Country Radio Seminar/Kayla Schoen

During last week’s Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, duo Florida Georgia Line was surprised with honors for two milestones on Pandora. The duo earned a Billionaire plaque for surpassing five billion lifetime spins and was named among the Top 10 most-spun country acts in Pandora’s 20-year history.

Tyler Hubbard exclaimed, “Now that is a lot of zeroes!” as his fellow FGL bandmate Brian Kelley laughed and added, “Wow. We are constantly blown away by the support from our fans and are grateful to Pandora for sharing our music around the world. This honor inspires us even more and we can’t wait for you to hear what’s coming next!”

With more than 12 million streams per week on Pandora, Florida Georgia Line’s latest single “Blessings,” featured on the duo’s Gold-certified BMLG Records project Can’t Say I Ain’t Country, has remained on its Top Spins chart for seven consecutive weeks.

FGL was first played, even before they were signed to a label deal, in 2012 on SiriusXM’s The Highway channel as a “Highway Find.”

“It’s exciting to acknowledge these great Pandora achievements for the duo,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM. “We were confirmed believers years ago when we played them as an unsigned act, and now we look forward to more great music to come for Pandora listeners and SiriusXM subscribers.”

The duo just released a country remix of the Justin Bieber track “Yummy,” and are in the studio working on new music. They will join Kenny Chesney’s Chillaxification 2020 Tour this summer.

Pictured (L-R): Back Row – Pandora’s Beville Dunkerley, Big Machine Label Group’s Allison Jones, Big Machine Label Group’s Bekah Digby; Front Row – Big Machine Label Group’s Dave Kelly, BMLG Records’ Jimmy Harnen, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley & Tyler Hubbard, Big Machine Label Group’s Scott Borchetta, Pandora’s Alina Thompson. Photo Credit: Country Radio Seminar/Kayla Schoen

Pictured (L-R): Pandora’s Beville Dunkerley, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley & Tyler Hubbard, Pandora’s Alina Thompson. Photo Credit: Country Radio Seminar/Kayla Schoen

Cumulus Media Names Mike Preston Program Director At KPLX, KSCS

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Mike Preston

Cumulus Media has named Mike Preston as program director for its Dallas/Fort Worth country radio stations KPLX/99.5 The Wolf and KSCS/New Country 96.3.

Preston most recently served as Sr. VP/Programming for iHeartMedia in Baltimore, Maryland and was Program Director for country station WPOC and Adult Hits station WQSR/102.7 JACK-FM. During his career, Preston has also worked as PD for Entercom country station KKWF/100.7 The Wolf and Rhythmic AC station KHTP/Hot 103.7 in Seattle. Preston has also previously served as senior programmer with CBS Radio in San Francisco and Seattle and served at ABC Radio’s WPLJ in New York.

“These two country brands, each in their own distinctive way, have captured the hearts of DFW country music fans. We believe Mike Preston is the right person to lead our talented teams into the future,” said Dan Bennett, Regional Vice President, Cumulus Dallas-Houston. “Mike has had big success in his career as a creative PD who knows how to coach big time talent. We can’t wait to have him in Dallas to further ignite two of the most listened-to country stations in America.”

Preston added, “I’m honored to be joining Cumulus and taking the helm of these two storied stations. Country music is alive and well in Texas and I can’t thank Dan Bennett, Brian Philips and Bruce Gilbert enough for the chance to work with these amazing brands and their teams.”

Round Hill Music Nashville Adds Three

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Brenner, Bottari, Wirths

Round Hill Music Nashville has welcomed three new hires to its administration, sync licensing, and label operations services. Robert Brenner will take on the role of Manager, Royalty Services – Label Operations after spending two years as a Joint Venture Analyst at Warner Music Nashville. Lindsay Bottari will assume the title of Senior Coordinator, Administration after working as a Licensing Coordinator at Fast Track Music Publishing, and Marin Wirths will handle duties as Coordinator, Sync Licensing.

Mark Brown, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Round Hill Music’s Nashville office, said, “We have been very fortunate to attract many talented and driven people to Round Hill. I am excited to add Lindsay, Robert, and Marin to our team.”

Round Hill Music Publishing Nashville recently celebrated their 40th No. 1 single with Chris Janson’s “Good Vibes” (writer: Ashley Gorley), and they will be celebrating their 41st with Dustin Lynch’s “Ridin’ Roads” (writer: Ashley Gorley) and their 42nd with Maren Morris’ two-week No. 1 single “The Bones” (writer: Jimmy Robbins).

Tenille Townes Celebrates Platinum Following CRS Show

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(L-R): Simon Rayner (Sony Canada), Samantha Chong (Sony Canada), Tenille Townes, Warren Copnick (Sony Canada), Crystal Dishmon (Shopkeeper Management), Randy Goodman (CEO and Chairman, Sony Music Nashville)

Tenille Townes performed at Sony Music Nashville and the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “In Harmony” showcase last Thursday night (Feb. 20) during CRS and was surprised with a Platinum plaque following her performance. Her single “Somebody’s Daughter” was just certified Platinum in Canada and “Jersey on the Wall (I’m Just Asking)” was just certified Gold in Canada.

Both songs also reached No. 1 at BDS Canada and Mediabase Canada, making Tenille the first and only female in Mediabase Canada history to achieve two No. 1 singles.

Industry Ink: Haven, Big Loud, In2une

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Demolition Music Artist, Haven Earns Support from Selena Gomez; Added To Dinah Jane World Tour

Signed to Demolition Music And Lh7 Management, Nashville-based pop artist Haven will head out on the road, opening for the Dinah Jane World Tour. Haven will open for the star (and former Fifth Harmony singer) and Agnez Mo. She also recently earned support from Selena Gomez in a video posted on Instagram, for the release of “Be With You,” which debut at No. 6 on Radio Disney’s Top 10. She co-wrote “Be With You” with Emile Ghantous (Pitbull, Chris Brown, JoJo), who also produced the song. The tour launches April 7 in Phoenix, Arizona and will wrap its U.S. run on May 10 in Los Angeles.

“I’m so proud of how hard she has worked. It’s only a matter of time before the world knows her name!” says, Demolition Music President, Jon D’Agostino.

“I’m truly at a loss for words. You’ve been so welcoming and kind to me and this honestly doesn’t feel real,” says Haven in response to Selena’s post adding, “I am so excited to go on tour with Dinah Jane and Agnez Mo! I’m so thankful for the opportunity.”

 

Big Loud Adds Roberts As Marketing Manager

Kelcie Roberts.

Big Loud has named Kelcie Roberts as Marketing Manager for its Records division, reporting to VP, Marketing Candice Watkins. Roberts previously worked as Digital Marketing Director for 287 Entertainment. The Belmont University graduate’s career also includes time at Girlilla Marketing and internships at various Nashville-based labels.

“Kelcie came highly recommended from trusted colleagues and I’m thrilled to have her join our team. I love her passion for our artists and her do-whatever-it-takes attitude,” says Watkins. “Kelcie shares the same vision of where we’re going as a company, and will prove to be the glue of our marketing team as Big Loud continues to chart its own path.”

 

In2une At CRS

Pictured (L-R): Chris Bandi (Records/Wide Open/GCE), John King (Starstruck Entertainment/In2une), Jamice Jennings (In2une), David Corey (WKLB), RaeLynn (Round Here Records/AWAL), Canaan Smith (Round Here Records/AWAL) and Rayne Johnson (In2une)

In2une’s Jamice Jennings visited with artists and WKLB at Country Radio Seminar, where In2une was named Indie Promo of the Year at the CRS/Country Aircheck Awards, held at Nashville’s Omni Hotel.