Snapshots (11/29/12)

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Justin Moore recently headlined a benefit concert featuring his friends, Jake Owen, Randy Houser and Thomas Rhett at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon. The event raised funds for the Jersey Shore Relief Fund and his publicist Carly Caramanna of PLA Media, whose parent’s home and business were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The proceeds collected for the Caramanna family and the hurricane victims in New Jersey totaled over $20,000. The Caramanna family was also presented with a charitable donation from Big Machine Label Group and Scott Borchetta. “I was completely blown away by the Nashville community. Their love and support has kept us going through this difficult time,” said Carly.

(L-R): Cindy Salgado, Dakota Caramanna, Nancy Caramanna, Carly Caramanna, Justin Moore, Adam Wurtzel, Photo: Bev Moser

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Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood returned to Leogane, Haiti, to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s 29th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. They were among the nearly 600 volunteers who helped build 100 homes in the Santo community in partnership with families affected by the 2010 earthquake, which destroyed 105,000 homes.

(L-R): Brooks and Yearwood. Photo: George Hipple/Habitat for Humanity International

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Alan Jackson recently played for 30,000 people in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Jackson has returned to the US and is wrapping up his 2012 tour dates with three stops in Florida.

 

Big Ride Launches Booking Division

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Pictured (L-R): Kim Leiske and Silver Treft

Big Ride Entertainment has launched an in-house booking division to join the newly relocated label services, management and artist development departments. Booking agent Silver Treft has been tapped lead the new division.

“In-house booking allows us to better provide complete services to our artists, specifically in the early stages of their careers,” said Big Ride Entertainment President Kim Leiske.

The new booking branch of the company is focusing on its roster including Marlee Scott, Craig Wayne Boyd, and Donny Fallgatter.

Treft was previously a booking and management services provider at West Virginia Radio Corporation. Her additional experience includes work as an event promoter and talent buyer for various artists.

For more information on the company, visit bigride.us.

Songwriters Sing For Good Causes

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• • • Emmylou Harris will host the 3rd Annual Miracle on Music Row pet adoption extravaganza on Sat., Dec. 15. Joining her to perform will be Sam Bush, Rodney Crowell, Mike Farris, John Hiatt, Buddy Miller and Kimmie Rhodes. The event runs 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at O.liv Body Bar in Edgehill Village, and will feature a holiday dog parade, photos with Santa, silent auction, and more. Proceeds benefit Bonaparte’s Retreat Dog Rescue. Admission is a $20 suggested donation.

• • • The 13th Annual “Nashville Unlimited” Christmas Concert will be held Tues., Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary of Christ Church Cathedral downtown. The event will be hosted by musician/producer Dave Pomeroy and singer-songwriter Don Henry, who will perform along with Johnny Neel, Jonell Mosser, Gretchen Peters, The Ornaments featuring Jen Gunderman, Michael “Supe” Granda, Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, and more. Pomeroy has organized the concert benefiting Nashville’s Room In The Inn homeless program since 1992, raising over $150,000 for the cause. For the second year in a row, an anonymous donor has offered to match the funds raised at the concert. This boosted last year’s total to $18,000, the highest amount to date. Admission is a $20 suggested donation.

• • • The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) will host its annual Tunes for Tots toy drive and benefit show on Tues., Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Blue Bar/Lucy’s Country Café. Hit songwriters Bobby Pinson, Jeff Cohen, Rachel Thibodeau, and Jason Sever are slated to perform. Representatives from the U.S. Marines will be in attendance to collect toys and donations for the Toys for Tots Foundation. Admission is $5 or free with a new, unwrapped toy.

CRS 2013 Announces New Faces Show Lineup

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Country Radio Seminar has announced that Easton Corbin, Florida Georgia Line, Brantley Gilbert, Jana Kramer and Kip Moore are the CRS 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show® performers.

The 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show will be held Friday, March 1, 2013, at Country Radio Seminar inside the downtown Nashville Convention Center. Co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and Muscular Dystrophy Association, the annual new artist showcase event officially closes out the three-day seminar.

“The response we received from Country radio during the voting process this year was superb,” says CRS Board President Mike Culotta. “The five acts chosen finished extremely strong in the voting and are certainly deserving of an appearance on our New Faces lineup. We’re looking forward to another dynamite evening of entertainment at Country Radio Seminar from these up and coming stars.”

Each New Faces artist will receive a custom-made pair of Lucchese boots. Lucchese is the official boot sponsor of the 2013 New Faces of Country Music Show.

The $499 Regular Registration rate for CRS 2013 is currently available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

Swift To Headline ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2013′

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Taylor Swift is scheduled to headline Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013. 

Ryan Seacrest will again host the bi-coastal celebration from New York City’s Times Square, which will feature Swift, as well as Carly Rae Jepsen and Neon Trees. For the west coast feed, Fergie will return as host with performers Brandy, Flo Rida, Karmin, OneRepublic and Pitbull. Additional performers are expected to be announced in the coming month.

Preceding the countdown, Fergie and Jenny McCarthy will host a two-hour ABC celebration of Dick Clark, the legendary TV personality and producer who rang in the New Year for four decades. The special is scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm, ET (12/31).

Seacrest, Allen Shapiro and Orly Adelson serve as executive producers while Larry Klein produces.

Adele’s ’21’ Surpasses 10 Million in Sales

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Who says you can’t sell albums in the digital age? Adele’s XL/Columbia release, 21, has coincidentally become the 21st album in Nielsen SoundScan history to surpass sales in excess of 10 million units.

She has also received the RIAA Diamond Award, for shipments of 10 million units, making her the only artist or band in the last decade to earn the honor with a one-disc album less than two years after release.  

21 continues to move units, selling 28,000 this past week. The album has remained on the charts since it debuted at No. 1, where it reigned for a SoundScan record of 24 non-consecutive weeks.

The album qualified for the blockbuster status within just 92 weeks of release, a feat only eight albums have achieved in two years (104 weeks) of debuting. These additional musical stalwarts include Shania Twain’s Come On Over, ‘N Sync’s No Strings Attached, Backstreet Boys’ Millennium, Santana’s Supernatural, Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, The Bodyguard soundtrack, and Creed’s Human Clay.

SoundScan’s tracking service has been reporting data since 1991. Since then, the top 10 albums sold are:

  1. Metallica Metallica ­– 15.8 million
  2. Shania Twain Come On Over ­­–15.5 million
  3. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill – 14.8 million
  4. BSB Millennium – 12.2 million
  5. The Beatles 1 – 12.1 million
  6. The Bodyguard – 12 million
  7. Santana Supernatural – 11.7 million
  8. Creed Human Clay – 11.6 million
  9. Bob Marley and the Wailers Legend – 11.2 million
  10. ‘N Sync No Strings Attached –11.1 million

*RIAA tallies shipments from record companies, while SoundScan tracks consumer purchases.

MusicRowPics: Joe Bachman

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Artist Joe Bachman and members of his band dropped by the MusicRow office yesterday afternoon (11/28) to perform and visit with the staff. He sang current single “Small Town Rock Stars” from his album, One, which was produced by Arlis Albritton & NV (New Voice Entertainment). Bachman and his band have been touring around the country for over 10 years.

The Philadelphia native also performed “Soldier’s Memoir,” a powerful and moving song about the struggles often faced by soldiers after returning home from war. All proceeds from the sale of the single benefit The Boot Campaign, Bachman’s favorite charity.

Jägermeister has been a supporter of Bachman for many years and he reciprocated by getting a large tattoo of the liquor maker’s logo on the back of his right arm. The sponsorship began after a representative from the liquor company observed him offering shots of Jäger at one of his concerts.

For more information, visit www.joebachman.com.

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Compass Records Taps Marc Dottore

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Compass Records Group has tapped industry veteran Marc Dottore as A&R for Special Projects, focusing on established artists who need traditional label services, including marketing and distribution, but may not be suited for a major label roster. Dottore will continue to operate his artist management company.

(L-R): Kathy Mattea, Marc Dottore, Connie Smith and Marty Stuart

Among the first projects Dottore is working on with Compass is a multi-artist tribute to Hillbilly Central, the legendary Music Row studio where the Outlaw Movement was born, which is now home to Compass Records.

Compass co-founder Garry West commented, “There’s great value in the partnership and resources that a good label relationship can offer an artist, foremost among those being to free an artist up to focus on his or her creative talents, leaving the business side to a team with that expertise. We’ve spent the past 18 years as an artist-owned, artist-oriented label, supporting and nurturing creative talent, and in the process have developed the infrastructure and market access that artists need. We’re looking forward to working with Marc to bring those resources to the table in developing some new projects and fostering new artist relationships within a 21st century model.”

Dottore added, “As the middle of the market has collapsed, many artists with a recognizable name and loyal fan base find themselves without a manager or label, often making the same record over and over again. Over my career I have focused on strategies that encourage the artist to challenge their perceptions of themselves and expand their audiences. I have a track record of working with very credible artists and helping them to extend their careers well beyond their expiration date at radio. Teaming up with Compass gives me the team and the tool set to approach select artists outside of the standard model and present them those options. I have known and respected Garry and Alison (Brown, Compass co-founder) for over 10 years. When I started to visualize what I wanted the next phase of my career to look like, Compass was a natural fit.”

Dottore has 30-plus years experience in the music business. His career began as lighting designer, production manager and/or road manager for George Strait, Eddie Rabbitt, The Gatlin Brothers, and Kathy Mattea. He spent the next decade at Titley-Spalding, which managed Mattea and Brooks & Dunn. Since that time he has worked with independent-minded artists including Mattea, Marty Stuart and newcomer Sturgill Simpson. Dottore also worked as Director of Artist Management for Universal South Records, and later had a management partnership with Tim DuBois.

Kristofferson to Release First Collection in Four Years

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Kris Kristofferson will release his first collection of new material in four years on Jan. 29 titled, Feeling Mortal.

The Country Music Hall of Famer, Rhodes scholar, and former military officer, again teamed with longtime producer Don Was. The two spent three days cutting 20 sides with musicians Mark Goldenberg, Greg Leisz, Matt Rollins, Sara Watkins, Sean Hurley and Aaron Sterling.

The 10-track set includes “Just Suppose,” a negotiation with shame; “Castaway,” reminiscent of his time flying helicopters over the Gulf of Mexico; and “My Heart Was The Last One To Know,” written with Shel Silverstein and previously recorded by Connie Smith. The album ends with “Ramblin’ Jack,” for folk-singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.

“I always try to be as honest as I can in the songwriting, otherwise there’s no point in doing it,” said Kristofferson. “And what I’m finding, is that I’m more inclined to laughter than tears. I hope I’ll feel this creative and this grateful until they throw dirt over me.”

Feeling Mortal will be available on the iTunes store Jan. 22, one week before its physical release.

Internet Radio Fairness Act Hearing on Capitol Hill

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The National Music Publishers' Association gathered on Capitol Hill Nov. 28 to host a Songwriter Showcase in Washington, DC. (L-R): Lee Thomas Miller ("You're Gonna Miss This"), BC Jean ("If I Were a Boy"), Kara DioGuardi ("Sober"), NMPA President & CEO David Israelite, Linda Perry ("Beautiful"), Desmond Child ("Livin' On A Prayer"). Photo Credit: Susan Biddle

A hearing on Capitol Hill this morning (11/28) will give opposing parties a chance to weigh in on a proposed digital royalty bill called the Internet Radio Fairness Act. The webcast is streaming live at http://judiciary.house.gov at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Among those testifying in opposition of the bill is Jimmy Jam, speaking on behalf of the Recording Academy. According to the organization, “This bill would dramatically cut the royalties that Internet radio services like Pandora pay to music creators, while doing nothing to close the loophole that allows AM/FM radio to pay nothing at all.” Their site is at http://grammy.com/action.

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and NSAI also oppose the bill, pointing to “gross inequities that have developed in the music licensing landscape as a result of opposing rate setting systems applied to the amounts paid to songwriters, composers and publishers versus those paid to record labels and recording artists.” A letter from the parties states: “Pandora’s 2012 annual report stated that it paid 49.7% of its revenue in royalties to SoundExchange, and 4.1% of its revenue in royalties to the US PROs, namely, ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI. In other words, from the total pool of monies paid for the performance of music and sound recordings, almost 92% of the money paid by internet radio flows to record labels and performing artists through SoundExchange, and only 8% of it is paid to songwriters and publisher.” The NMPA and NSAI presented a songwriter showcase this morning in DC featuring Lee Miller, Kara DioGuardi, Linda Perry, Desmond Child, and BC Jean.

Proponents of the bill include Pandora’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Joe Kennedy, who will testify.

The hearing is officially titled “Music Licensing Part One: Legislation in the 112th Congress,” and is hosted by the House Committee on the Judiciary – Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet. Federal lawmakers are not expected to take action until next year.

Also expected to testify are National Association of Broadcasters president Bruce Reese, SoundExchange president Michael Huppe, Venrock Capital’s David Pakman, and Navigant Economics Jeffrey Eisenach.

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For a practical look at the matter, read an editorial posted by Thirty Tigers President David Macias on hypebot.