Franklin Theatre Host Writers Night Benefit

Franklin Theatre will host a songwriters night benefit next Monday (8/27) at 7 p.m with proceeds benefiting Williamson County CASA. The organization works in the court system through trained community volunteers collaborating with key agencies, legal counsel and community resources serving as the child’s advocate and representation in juvenile court.

Hosted by Shannon McCombs, the evening will feature performances by Rivers Rutherford (“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You”–Brooks & Dunn, “Real Good Man”–Tim McGraw, “If You Ever Stop Loving Me”–Montgomery Gentry), Wil Nance (“She’s Everything”–Brad Paisley, “Round About Way”–George Strait), Bob Regan (“Your Everything”–Keith Urban, “Thinking About You”–Trisha Yearwood) and Billy Yates (“Choices”–George Jones).

Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 for classic admission and $75 for cabaret admission. They can be purchased here.

Loggins, Middleman and Burr Plan National Tour

Blue Sky Riders

Vocal trio Blue Sky Riders, comprised of Kenny Loggins, Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr, will headline its first national tour this fall to support the self-titled debut album expected Jan. 22, 2013.

The band, who spent the summer opening for Loggins, will kick-off a 14 city tour on September 13, including a five-night residency at New York’s Feinstein’s At Loews Regency.

Select singles from the album will be digitally available in the coming months. The band’s Live At The Rutledge EP is currently available for purchase on iTunes.

Blue Sky Riders tour dates:

9/13– Kent, OH
9/14– Cleveland, OH
9/18– Annapolis, MD
9/19– Glenside, PA
9/20– Londonderry, NH
9/21– Foxborough, MA
9/22– Norfolk, CT
9/23– Ridgefield, CT
9/25-29– New York City
10/1– State College, PA

Snapshots (8/23/12)

Lisa Marie Presley visited BMI’s Music Row offices on Monday, August 20, with her latest album Storm & Grace (produced by T Bone Burnett) in tow. The visit included a viewing of the video for Presley’s single, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” While in Nashville, Presley also made her Grand Ole Opry debut.

(L-R): BMI’s Clay Bradley, Lisa Marie Presley, and BMI’s Leslie Roberts and Mark Mason. Photo: Drew Maynard

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SESAC’s Nashville headquarters was the setting for the album release party for Jerry Salley’s Showing My Age project. A festive gathering of Salley’s friends, family and music industry personnel were on hand to celebrate the new release by the critically acclaimed songwriter, artist and musician.

(L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink, Salley and musician/songwriters Jon Weisberger and Carl Jackson. Photo: Peyton Hoge

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Republic Nashville’s country rock duo Florida Georgia Line – comprised of Tyler Hubbard from Monroe, GA and Brian Kelley from Ormond Beach, FL – made its Grand Ole Opry debut last Friday night (8/17). FGL got the crowd going with a performance of their up-tempo song “Tip It Back” and closed out the debut with their top-selling single “Cruise.” Both tunes are from their current EP It’z Just What We Do, produced by Joey Moi.

(L-R): (Front row) Republic Nashville National Dir. of Promotion Matthew Hargis, Luke Harnen, Republic Nashville President/Big Machine Label Group EVP Jimmy Harnen (Back row) Jason Schmidt, Big Loud Mountain Partner/FGL Producer Joey Moi, Sweet Talk Publicity’s Jensen Arrowsmith, FGL’s Tyler Hubbard, Republic Nashville Southeast Promotion Stacey Blythe, Big Loud Mountain/FGL Mgr. Seth England, Republic Nashville Label Resource Mgr. Megan Knutson, Buddy Lee Attractions Pres. Kevin Neal, FGL’s Brian Kelley, Brian Bonds, Jaime Lyn Bowers, Tom Beaupre

No. 1 Party: Kenny Chesney’s “Come Over”

(l-r): ASCAP's Ryan Beuschel, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally and Sam Hunt. Photo: Ed Rode

Music City’s party-going set convened at CMA headquarters Tuesday (8/21) to toast the creative team behind Kenny Chesney’s recent No. 1 “Come Over”—his 22nd career chart topper. Writers Sam Hunt and Josh Osborne both earned their first No. 1 with this hit, and collaborator Shane McAnally earned his third in 18 months, extending a run that includes Jake Owen’s “Alone With You” and Chesney’s “Somewhere With You.”

“If you can’t find Shane McAnally these days, you probably haven’t spent much time at any No. 1 parties,” echoed ASCAP’s Ryan Beuschel, who hosted the proceedings.

Black River’s Celia Froehlig extolled the talents of Osborne. In addition to the Chesney hit, the Kentucky native also has a piece of the current Chris Young single “Neon” and the expected next Love and Theft single.

Chesney’s manager Clint Higham, who is also Sam Hunt’s manager and publisher, has a long history with McAnally dating back to his days as a Curb artist in the ‘90s. Other presentations were made by McAnally’s publisher Robin Palmer, CRS President Bill Mayne, and CMA’s Brandi Simms and additional awards were presented to producer Buddy Cannon and Sony Music’s Gary Overton and Norbert Nix.

Hunt, who is currently recording his debut album with Joey Moi, credited Tom T. Hall with inspiring him to write the songs he loves. He also thanked his parents, who were present. “I told y’all, ‘I got this!’” he joked. Hunt’s co-writers both predicted major success for him as a recording artist.

Osborne managed to be charming even as he was getting choked up over his accomplishment. “If you’re in the music business, please find the right person,” he advised, before thanking his wife and some of the others he found.

And despite his many recent successes, McAnally was still grateful that he gets to do this for a living. Gesturing to his friend Clint Higham, he said, “It certainly didn’t end up where we thought, but it’s better than I imagined.”

Chesney was unable to attend but sent congratulations via Higham.

Exclusive: Inside Warner/Chappell’s Revival

Phil May

When Cameron Strang came on board as Warner/Chappell Music Chairman & CEO in January 2011, he brought an entrepreneurial spirit with him that created a positive shift company wide. That spirit—established while building his own New West Records—has combined with keen strategies for a string of hits across all genres.

With 17.1 percent market share, Warner/Chappell recently secured the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s second quarter Publisher Airplay Chart. Contributing to the tally are stakes in monster pop/rock hits Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” fun.’s “We Are Young” and the Wanted’s “Glad You Came.”

On the local front, the Nashville team led by VP/GM Phil May notched a string of nine No. 1 hits in as many months, racking up 15.1 percent of country radio airplay, more than any other publisher in Q2. It is Warner/Chappell’s first time leading Billboard’s country airplay chart since Q3 2010.

“We’re having a really good year, and when we sit back and think about what is working for us, it is two fold,” explained May during a recent interview. “Since Cameron Strang came on board with his entrepreneurial background, he’s really changed the way we operate locally because he empowers us to take A&R risks when we find someone we really believe in, which is fantastic. The second part is that we work and operate as a small company even though we’re a worldwide company. Our decision making process, in deals and especially in relation to signing writers, is very quick.”

In the last several months, May and VP A&R Steve Markland have used this agility and careful planning to ink new writers Dean Alexander, Josh Abbott, Laura Veltz, and duo TJ and John Osborne.

Cameron Strang

Since taking on their current roles about three years ago, May and Markland have focused on maintaining a roster with the right mix of songwriters. “We’ve worked to keep a balanced roster,” explained May. “We have developing writers and then our veteran hit writers, as well as rising artist writers, which we hope will ultimately get a label deal.” Indeed Alexander and Abbott have signed separate recording agreements with Warner Music Nashville.

Strang elaborated on the company’s initiatives: “At the core of Warner/Chappell’s strategy is an uncompromising commitment to service. We are forging long-term relationships with incredibly talented songwriters, composers and publishing partners, based around their needs in the music publishing business. At the same time, we are building an ambitious team with an entrepreneurial spirit that is completely dedicated to providing superior music publishing services.

“Our recent success in Nashville is a good example of how that vision is paying off. Phil, Steve and the team are well-connected, fast-moving, getting great results for our writers and showing real leadership in the Nashville community.”

Local Warner/Chappell songwriters Wendell Mobley and Michael Dulaney have celebrated multiple No. 1s in recent months. They co-wrote Jason Aldean’s “Tattoos On This Town,” Dulaney penned Aldean’s “Fly Over States” with Neil Thrasher, and Mobley wrote Rascal Flatts’ “Banjo” with Thrasher and Tony Martin.

“It’s great for us when we have multiple writers on a song,” said May, “but the most important thing for us is getting the best songs. Sometimes that’s when one of our writers has a great connection with writers [from other publishing companies]. There are those writing teams that gel well together and that’s one of the things we try to do is find those people for our writers.” To facilitate this, Warner/Chappell often organizes trips or camps with songwriters from different publishing companies.

Among these successful collaborations are Mobley’s numerous hits with Thrasher, and Ben Hayslip’s (Warner/Chappell/This Music) slew of chart-toppers with fellow Peach Pickers Dallas Davidson and Rhett Akins.

Also contributing to Warner/Chappell’s recent string of hits are Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley (“We Owned The Night”), Brett James (“Reality”), Johnny Bulford (“A Woman Like You”), Brantley Gilbert and Jim McCormick (“You Don’t Know Her Like I Do”), and Ashley Gorley, signed with Combustion Music (“Good Girl”).

Elsewhere on the charts are singles by Warner/Chappell writers Sean McConnell, Blair Daly (with Combustion Music), and Tim Nichols and Marv Green (both with This Music).

“From our standpoint the country market is very strong,” continued May. “We’ve had years of decline in terms of record sales. Now we’re doing really well from a performance standpoint, from radio airplay, but that’s why it’s key to have writers that are writing successful, commercial songs that work in the current market on radio.

“We’re also seeing real growth in other markets, whether it is film, TV, or online. On the TV side, the most recent interesting thing for the country market as a whole is the new show Nashville. It’s very well done, and what’s different than other shows is that the producers want the characters on Nashville to be known for their own songs that aren’t already hits by someone else. We are pitching songs to the music supervisors that are uncut songs, which is very rare. They’ve really engaged the Nashville community, instead of just using publishers’ film and TV offices in L.A. Shows like that bring people to our market who we might not otherwise reach. The number of people using music is probably greater than its ever been and that’s a really good trend.”

Jeff Green Launches Stone Door Media Lab

Jeff Green

Music and media veteran Jeff Green has announced the formation of Stone Door Media Lab, a Nashville-based creative think tank providing ratings research, customer data, digital media consumption analytics, market analysis, industry white papers and related business intelligence on domestic and international initiatives. Researcher Lauren Virshup will join Green as partner when operations begin Sept. 17.

Green elaborates, “Stone Door Media Lab will help companies, primarily within the entertainment space, maximize their revenue growth by providing the business intelligence behind what they do. By looking at history and current trends, companies can make the right strategic moves for future growth.”

Green establishes Stone Door following five years as VP/Operations at Country Aircheck in editorial and research roles; database, website and event development; and production. He has served 22 years in executive posts at the Americana Music Association, Radio & Records, the Country Music Association and Music & Media, based in Amsterdam. A 2013 CRS Agenda Committee Vice-Chair, he is also an RAB-accredited Certified Radio Marketing Consultant and an alumnus of Leadership Music and the Disney Leadership Institute. Green completes his MBA at UMass Amherst in December.

“Lauren Virshup is a skilled researcher, and her strong business background, which includes a Yale MBA and graduate degrees from Columbia and Vanderbilt, exemplifies the expertise and insight we will bring to every project,” Green says. “Together, we plan to identify meaningful revenue opportunities by determining correlations and causality of specific efforts undertaken by traditional and digital media, artists, labels, corporate marketers and social media service providers.”

In addition to commissioned assignments, Stone Door Media Lab will underwrite projects and partner with various firms and specialists.

Stone Door will regularly publish industry research findings, which will be available free of charge via sign-up at www.stonedoormedialab.com.

Reach Jeff Green at jeff@stonedoormedialab.com or (mobile) 615-406-4567; Lauren Virshup at lauren@stonedoormedialab.com; and Stone Door Media Lab at 615-346-9432 or info@stonedoormedialab.com.

SOLID Plans 15th Year Celebration

The Society of Leaders in Development (SOLID) is celebrating its 15th year of existence with a full month of events that will culminate in a special reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“We are excited to spend the month of September highlighting all of the different focuses our organization has had over the last fifteen years,” says SOLID President Jon Romero. “We are even more excited to cast vision for the future of our organization. Here’s to the next fifteen years.”

Events begin Sept. 4 with a conversation with Gene Simmons and manager Doc McGhee at the Hutton Hotel. The following week, SOLID will present Food Truck Frenzy on Sept. 11 in the SESAC parking lot, with 10% of profits benefiting Linda’s Hope. The 15th Anniversary reception takes place Sept. 25 at the Country Music Hall of Fame, the site of the original SOLID inauguration event 15 years earlier. Full schedule included.

September 4
Breakfast with Gene Simmons. 8:15 am – 10am, Hutton Hotel Ballroom

September 11
SOLID’s Food Truck Frenzy. 11 am – 2 pm, SESAC Parking Lot (66 Music Square West ). 10% of profits will benefit Linda’s Hope.

September 15
Habitat For Humanity Build. All day, location TBA

September 20
Job Shadow Day

September 25
15th Anniversary Reception. 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Country Music Hall of Fame. Doors at 6 pm, program begins at 6:45 pm.

Jana Kramer to Perform at WMN’s Pickin’ on the Patio

Warner Music Nashville hosts Jana Kramer for its monthly Pickin’ On The Patio party this Thursday (8/23). Held the fourth Thursday of every month, Pickin’ On The Patio will conclude the 2012 season next month on September 27.

Doors open at 5:00 pm for the 5:30 show. For more information, click here.

Kramer’s debut single, “Why Ya Wanna,” recently broke into the top 10, ranking as the highest charting female debut since Taylor Swift in 2006 with “Tim McGraw.” Her Elektra Nashville self-titled debut album, released June 5, is the fastest climbing debut artist of this year.

Belmont Announces New Curb College Faculty

Kristel Kemmerer

Belmont University’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business has hired five new faculty members: Kristél Kemmerer, Mike Poston, David Schreiber, Brad Ward and Lucas Boto.

Kristél Kemmerer joins as Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Entertainment & Music Business. She holds an Ed.D. from Lehigh University, M.M. and B.M degrees from Ithaca College, and brings over 25 years experience in education. She has extensive expertise in program development, implementation, and assessment of learning outcomes, student development, success, and retention.

Mike Poston

Mike Poston brings almost 40 years of experience to the faculty as full time Instructor of Audio Engineering Technology. After working as a maintenance and installation technician, and studio chief engineer, he transitioned to recording engineer in 1978 and recorded over 70 albums, including many with legendary guitarist Chet Atkins. He also has experience in studio design, and has mastered 300 albums.

David Schreiber

David Schreiber, who previously taught Music Business at Greenville College, Minnesota State University, and Albright College where he served as head of the music industry program, will be joining Belmont’s music business faculty full time this fall. He has presented his research internationally, participated on numerous music industry panels and worked on projects featuring Johnny Lang, Eric Benet, and India Arie.

Brad Ward

Brad Ward, Assistant Professor of Audio Engineering, is excited to return to Nashville from London where he worked as Sound Project Manager for Blitz Communications and a freelance Sound Designer. He will fill a gap in the AET program in the area of live sound, event production, industrial audio, and tour support. He holds an M.F.A. in Sound Design from Yale University, School of Drama, and brings 20 years experience in Audio Engineering plus 10+ years experience in higher education. He was the lead audio engineer for the Cirque du Soleil The Beatles – LOVE show (Las Vegas, NV) and the Artist-in-Residence and a graduate program teacher at the UNLV.

Lucas Boto

Belmont alum Lucas Boto returned to Belmont at the end of 2011 to work on staff as the Coordinator of Sound Reinforcement & Live Events in the Curb College. Starting his career in artist management, Lucas spearheaded the opening of an L.A. office for a Nashville firm. After working in artist management, Boto ventured into the world of live entertainment tour managing events across the globe. While on the road, he also served as production manager, front of house engineer, monitor engineer, and merchandise manager. He has worked with artists Dave Barnes and Jars of Clay.

Weekly Register: On Digital Chart Domination

The good news spread like wildfire last night as Nielsen SoundScan released official word that Taylor Swift’s latest single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” sold 623,000 units. Swift’s debut week sales are the biggest digital sales week ever for a female and only slightly behind Flo Rida’s “Right Round” which scanned 636k in 2009.

Swift’s pop culture influence continues to reign supreme as her musical and media savvy propel her star to new heights. This self-created momentum has become the thread weaving her impressive tapestry of success. Commenting on the new single, writer Ann Powers has an insightful NPR.com article in which she asks the question, “Taylor Swift, Princess Of Punk?”

“Swift’s song spins sugar from spit,” says Powers. “Its sneeringly derisive tone is rooted in its stomping four-on-the-floor beat and builds through Swift’s clipped guitar strums and a vocal marked by Valley Girl-style vocal asides and a whistle-while-you-trash-him melodic hook. In other words, it’s pop-punk, like a Blink-182 song. Or an Avril Lavigne song — which it could have been, had its co-writer Max Martin been working with another of the ingenues he’s aided (say, Lavigne herself).”

Powers cites Swift co-writer Martin as being a perfect fit. “Sassy women are Martin’s metier. He’s helped shape the sound of most of today’s top non-R&B ingenues, one that blends punk’s gob-flinging sarcasm with the melodicism of ABBA and that danceable yet rockish beat. Besides Clarkson and Swift, Martin, often working with another producer, has applied his formula to collaborations with Spears, Lavigne, Katy Perry and Pink.” (Note: Shellback was the third co-writer on Swift’s song.)

It’s a great read, especially in light of the fact that although Swift remains country music’s chief ambassador, her fame has spread to, and been embraced by, all musical formats—a fact easily proven by her amazing sales results.

However, with fame comes pressure. Sales observers and the world will no doubt be watching intently during Swift’s Oct. 22 debut week to see how its sales compare to the incredible one million plus benchmark set by her last set. Sure to play a role will be digital retailers such as Amazon who have been known to severely discount mega-hit albums during debut week—sometimes as low as 99¢. To stem some of the extreme discounts, the charts no longer count debut week sales when prices fall below $3.49. Smoothing out these kinds of issues will be just one of many bullet points on the Big Machine sales team’s To Do list.

Charting The Sales
Country album sales this week were anything but energetic as the Top 75 current country total barely edged above the low-water 300k mark. Zac Brown continued in the top spot with week 6 sales of almost 25k and RTD of 456k. Colt Ford remains in the Top 5 for a third week sliding back to No. 4 with sales of 16k and RTD of 48k. Ford’s showing is no doubt pleasing the Average Joe’s team.

In the tracks department Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” was downloaded almost 87k times placing her in the No. 2 spot on the country tracks chart behind Ms. Swift. Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” got 84k clicks placing it in the No. 3 position. And Hunter Hayes at No. 4 added 65k more sales to his impressive RTD of 1.02 million for “Wanted.”

As the calendar ticks closer to Q4 we’ll get more aggressive with predictions for country’s year end sales totals. Up or down? Currently we have Jason Aldean (Oct. 16), Swift (Oct. 22) and Toby Keith (Nov. 13) warming up in the album sales release bullpen, but no doubt a few more superstar titles will join the fray… Stay tuned.