Edens Edge Celebrates Debut Album Release

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Big Machine Records trio Edens Edge is releasing its self-titled debut album today (6/12), and will promote the release with a high profile tour slot and a national television appearance.

The Arkansas-bred group of Hannah Blaylock, Dean Berner, and Cherrill Green will celebrate the album’s release with a stop at Fox & Friends Weekend which airs on Fox News Channel Saturday, June 16. Additionally, Edens Edge has been selected to support Rascal Flatts’ summer tour, and will join them on the road starting June 15 in Hartford, CT.

Cracker Barrel is also offering an exclusive version of Edens Edge with three additional tracks not found on the regular release. Full track listing below.

Edens Edge track list:
1. Amen (Skip Black, Hannah Blaylock, Catt Gravitt, Gerald O’Brien)
2. Swingin’ Door (Terry Clayton, Brett James, Ashley Monroe)
3. Skinny Dippin’ (Dean Berner, Laura Veltz, Vince Melamed)
4. Too Good To Be True (Gordie Sampson, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges)
5. Last Supper (Hannah Blaylock, Catt Gravitt, Danny Myrick)
6. Feels So Real (Angelo, Hillary Lindsey, Tia Sillers)
7. Who Am I Drinking Tonight (Hannah Blaylock, Laura Veltz)
8. Liar (Andy Stochansky, Laura Veltz)
9. Cherry Pie (Dean Berner, Vince Melamed, Laura Veltz)
10. Christ Alone (Steve Smith)

Cracker Barrel Deluxe Edition exclusive tracks:
1. Roots (Cherrill Green, Catt Gravitt, Skip Black)
2. Little Bird (Dean Berner)
3. Wherever I Go (Hannah Blaylock, Joy Williams, Danny Myrick, Jennifer Schott)

Pickler, Wynnona Score Brand Partnerships

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Kellie Pickler has partnered with Tone Body Wash to introduce Tone Fruit Peel Body Wash this summer. The Tone Turn it Up! series will provide exclusive access to Kellie as she tours in the coming weeks to support her latest album 100 Proof. Fans will have the chance to win prizes, including an all-expenses paid trip to meet Pickler in Nashville. More info here.

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Wynonna Judd has joined forces with Kraft Foods’ Miracle Whip for a commercial campaign called “Keep An Open Mouth,” that plays on the super-sober public service announcement format. Other celebrities joining the campaign include actor Jeffrey Tambor and comedian Michael Ian Black. See the videos here.

BMI, Radio Industry Reach Settlement

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BMI and the RMLC (Radio Music License Committee) have reached an agreement about the fees the U.S. commercial radio industry pays to the performing rights organization in exchange for publicly performing the works in its catalog.

Pending Federal Court approval, the settlement will end over two years of litigation between the parties. ASCAP and the RMLC, which represents a vast majority of the nation’s radio stations, previously reached a similar agreement.

The agreement, covering Jan. 1, 2010 through Dec. 31, 2016, includes a return to a percentage-of-revenue fee structure for stations that pay BMI to perform its more than 7.5 million musical works. It also covers licensing for new media platforms.

Radio stations will receive a $70.5 million credit against 2010-2011 industry payments, meaning many stations will have a BMI credit balance available for the remainder of this year. The impact of this settlement will be reflected immediately with BMI’s June 2012 billing statements.

The agreement includes a 1.7% of gross revenue fee structure (with simplified revenue reporting) for blanket/music format license-reporting stations, less a standard deduction of 12% for revenue derived from terrestrial/analog and HD multicasting broadcasts, and a 25% standard deduction for revenue attributable to new media uses.

News-talk stations will pay a base fee of 0.2958% of gross revenue, less the same standard deductions noted above.

Kacey Musgraves to Open for Lady Antebellum in Europe

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Universal Music Group Nashville recording artist Kacey Musgraves is scheduled to open for Lady Antebellum in select cities on the group’s Own The Night 2012 European Tour this summer.

“Kacey is a really talented singer/songwriter, and we’re just big fans of her music,” said Lady A’s Charles Kelley. “Keith Urban was gracious enough to invite us to Australia with him a few years ago, so we know what a big opportunity it is for a new artist to be able to go tour overseas.”

Musgraves is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on her debut album, which she is co-producing with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird. Her debut single will be released later this year. A sampling of her music can be heard here.

Own The Night 2012 World Tour European Dates:

7/10 — Dublin, Ireland
7/11 — Dublin, Ireland
7/13 — Glasgow, UK
7/15 — Manchester, UK
7/16 — London, UK
7/17 — Birmingham, UK

Industry Ink (6/12/12)

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BubbleUp LTD has announced the addition of Michael Sloane to the company’s Nashville office as Director of Sales. Sloane will focus on business development and marketing with current clientele, while expanding the client roster. Sloane was previously with 13 Managmenet where he was principal in managing digital initiatives for  Taylor Swift. He also founded digital agency Strategic Blend, and served as a senior client manager for Ultrastar Entertainment and Echo Music. Congratulate him here.

Based in Houston, BubbleUp launched in 2004 and has offices in Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, and Oregon. The company has worked with clients including Margaritaville, BB King’s House of Blues, Luke Bryan, Rodney Atkins, Zac Brown Band and more.

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Singer/songwriter Ryan Griffin has signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Christina Cook’s Merci Dupre Music and Dan Hodges Music, LLC. “I have known Ryan for many years, since serving as a Belmont University ‘Best of the Best’ judge when he participated as a student,” says Hodges. “Ryan is an extraordinary voice and Christina and I are pleased with both the opportunity and perfection in the timing.  We are excited to be moving forward as a part of his career.”

(L-R): Susan Hodges, Christina Cook, Ryan Griffin, Dan Hodges, Brittany Spyksma) Photo: Robbie Quinn

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SESAC recently hosted a standing-room only showcase to help the Bluebird Cafe celebrate its 30th Anniversary. Songwriters performing at the event included Brice Long, Brian White, Jon Stone, and Jim Lauderdale.

(L-R): NSAI's Erika Wollam, Brice Long, SESAC's Shannan Hatch, Brian White, Jon Stone, Jim Lauderdale & SESAC's Tim Fink.

Also helping to celebrate the beginning of the Bluebird’s 30 Anniversary on Saturday, June 9 was a pack of hot up and coming singer/songwriters.

(L-R): John Milstead, Bonner Black, Lance Carpenter, Carolina Story (Emily and Ben Roberts)

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ASCAP has launched a redesigned version of its ASCAP Mobile app, available free to users of iPhone, Android, iPad and web-capable cell phones. Users can keep their accounts up to date and review catalog on the go. More info here.

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New York City’s The New School will present a free screening of new Hank Williams film The Last Ride, to be followed by a panel discussion of Williams and his place in American music. The event takes place 6 pm June 20 at The New School’s Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson / J.M. Kaplan Hall. Panelists include film director Harry Thomason, Jett Williams, and Benjy Gaither. The film’s soundtrack releases June 19 on Curb Records.

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Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park will play host to a free tribute concert for the late singer/songwriter Laura Nyro. Titled “The Triple Goddess Twilight Revue – Celebrating the Music of Laura Nyro,” the event will take place Saturday, August 11. Details of the show’s guest lineup will be revealed in the coming weeks.

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IBMA’s World of Bluegrass will return to Nashville September 24-30, and registration is currently open. Full week registration is $325 for IBMA members and $425 for non-members. More info here.

Josh Turner’s “Punching Bag” Out Today

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Josh Turner’s fifth studio album, Punching Bag, was released today by longtime label MCA Nashville. The singer will mark the occasion with a performance tomorrow (6/13) morning on NBC’s Today show.

Lead single “Time Is Love” is already a top 15 hit. Turner co-wrote eight of the 11 tracks on the project which features guest vocals by Marty Stuart, Iris DeMent, Ricky Skaggs, wife Jennifer and children Hampton, Colby and Marion.

Turner is the cover story of the June 18 issue of Country Weekly, and is set for appearances on GAC’s Josh Turner: Packing A Punch, PBS’ A Capitol Fourth (7/4), and ABC’s Good Morning America (7/11). His album will also be featured this week on the Best Buy Theatre marquee in New York City’s Times Square.

Since debuting with the album Long Black Train, Turner has sold more than five million units.

Punching Bag track listing
Introduction by Michael Buffer
“Punching Bag”
“Time Is Love”
“Deeper Than My Love”
“Good Problem”
“Cold Shoulder”
“Find Me A Baby” (feat. Turner’s wife and children)
“Whatcha Reckon”
“Pallbearer” (feat. Iris DeMont and Marty Stuart)
“For The Love Of God” (feat. Ricky Skaggs)
“I Was There”
“Left Hand Man”

Digitial Inititives Are Key Part of CMA Music Fest

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Chris Young hosts a virtual meet and greet with fans.

• CMA’s aggregate digital audience totals over 1.4 million fans.
• Nearly 165,000 fans have joined the CMA MOB by opting-in to receive text alerts.
• More than 31,000 tweets and 22,500 texts were sent to the Jumbotrons at LP Field during the nightly concerts.
• The CMA Awards & Music Fest App was downloaded 17,000 times for the 2012 festival.

Digital media is an ever-growing component of the CMA’s initiatives and was an important part of last weekend’s CMA Music Festival. The organization reports it engaged more fans than ever before with online, mobile app and social media tools, with CMA’s total aggregate digital audience now exceeding 1.4 million fans.

On the social media front, CMA utilized Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest to connect with fans. This year the organization launched a Social Media Team, which in addition to tweeting and posting live happenings at the Festival, held daily games and contests to give away prizes—a key way to engage fans. CMA’s social audiences were notified of times and places of games, and contestants were selected from the crowd through activities such as dance-offs and Country Music trivia. Games included “Dancing on the Stars,” CMA’s version of a cakewalk; “What Was I Thinkin’,” CMA’s take on “The Newlywed Game;” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” in which contestants played dress-up using household items including table cloths and toilet paper.
Among the prizes were Luke Bryan and Scotty McCreery meet-and-greet passes, LP Field Gold Circle seat upgrades, and Fan Fair Hall CMA booth Fast Passes. Each night, the Social Media Team capped off the evening by passing out LP Field Fan Photo Line Fast Passes at random locations revealed via Twitter.

Nightly text-to-screen and tweet-to-screen promotions at LP Field were a hit during pre-show and set-change periods, resulting in more than 31,000 tweets and 22,500 texts sent to the Jumbotrons. Winners of text and tweet promotions won prizes including upgrade to the front row Chevrolet Best Seats in the House, and backstage meet-and-greets with artists including Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Faith Hill, Jana Kramer, Jake Owen, and Blake Shelton.

Through these promotions, CMA’s MOB of fans who opted-in for text alerts climbed to nearly 165,000 members by the close of the Festival. CMA’s Twitter (@CountryMusic) followers increased nearly four percent over the course of the event.

Chris Young hosted a unique virtual meet-and-greet with fans at CMA Music Festival. Even though he spent more than nine hours meeting music lovers in person on Thursday (6/7), Young wanted to continue the connection. He spent the weekend in Indianapolis, Chicago and Detroit with Miranda Lambert’s On Fire tour, but employed Netwave Technology so that he could host a virtual meet-and-greet Friday with fans at the Festival. While waiting to take the stage in Indianapolis, the singer video chatted with individual fans and signed digital photos. He later announced via Twitter a surprise Skype session with CMA Music Festival attendees for Saturday (6/9) from Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Apps and websites were another key component in the CMA’s digital strategy. The CMA Awards & Music Fest App was downloaded 17,000 times for the 2012 festival. It allowed fans to find event details and create customized schedules of activities. The website CMAfest.com offered a similar tool. There was also a mobile phone-optimized counterpart, CMAfest.mobi, as well as an official blog.

Young's fans at CMA Music Festival talk to the singer via Skype. Photo: Caitlin Selle/CMA

Belmont Students Gain Experiential Education on ‘Happy Together Tour’

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Pictured (L-R): Emily Guthrie, Lauren Walsh, Tate Forbes, Max Batchelor, Johnny Cloherty, Lily Restenberger, Emily Carver, Karalyn Gillen and Jenny Bartlett

As we reported in May, ten Belmont University juniors and seniors have joined professor and legendary musician Mark Volman, a founding member of The Turtles, on the road for a portion of the Happy Together Tour.

The tour is part of an experiential learning class that will host the students for two and a half weeks on one tour bus for a grade and credit under the guidance of Volman and staff advisor Lucas Boto. Students will work with touring artists and crew professionals in the areas of tour management, stage management, audio engineering, tour accounting and merchandise sales. These duties will be in addition to load-in, setup, tear-down and load-out.

“Only at Belmont do students get such a unique opportunity,” said Volman. “I’m excited to teach them what I know outside a normal classroom space. Inevitably, their energy will add to the tour experience for the performers as well.”

The Happy Together Tour unites several pop/rock artists of the ‘60s, starring The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie, The Monkees lead singer Micky Dolenz, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Grass Roots, and The Buckinghams.

Watch a video diary from Columbus, GA below or follow the student’s tour blog here.

The east coast run Happy Together Tour:

June 8             Columbus, GA
June 9             Dothan, AL
June 10           Chattanooga, TN
June 14           Jacksonville, FL
June 15           Clearwater, FL
June 16           Hiawasee, GA
June 17           Montgomery, AL
June 19           Glenside, PA
June 20           Brunswick, NJ
June 21           Tarrytown, NY
June 23           Westbury, NY
June 24           Hampton Beach, NH

Fallon’s “Pants” Cover Music Row

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Avert your eyes, children! Warner Music Nashville is releasing comedian/TV host Jimmy Fallon’s Blow Your Pants Off today (6/12), which features the kind of explicit (and hilarious) album cover artwork at right. To promote the release, WMN has decorated 16th and 17th Avenues with enough pants to clothe an army (see photos below).

The album includes collaborations with superstar guests, including Bruce Springsteen, Big & Rich, Justin Timberlake, and more (full track listing below). Fans can order special gear and goodies at blowyourpantsoff.com, which is, surprisingly, SFW.

Fallon began his TV career as a cast member with Saturday Night Live in 1998, spending six years on the show including time as “Weekend Update” co-anchor with Tina Fey. In 2009, he began hosting Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC, which has won praise for memorable viral videos and its acclaimed house band The Roots. The show has been nominated for three Emmy awards, and Fallon has been honored with a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Late Night Host.

Blow Your Pants Off tracks:
1. Neil Young Sings “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
2. History of Rap (feat. Justin Timberlake)
3. Tebowie
4. Scrambled Eggs (feat. Paul McCartney)
5. The Doors Sing “Reading Rainbow”
6. Balls In Your Mouth (feat. Eddie Vedder)
7. My Upstairs Neighbors Are Having Sex (And Listening To The Black Eyed Peas)
8. Bob Dylan Sings “Charles in Charge”
9. Walk of Shame (feat. Dave Matthews)
10. Slow Jam The News (feat. Brian Williams)
11. New French Girlfriend
12. Cougar Huntin’ (feat. Big & Rich)
13. You Spit When You Talk
14. Friday (feat. Stephen Colbert)
15. Neil Young Sings “Whip My Hair” (feat. Bruce Springsteen)

(photos by Caitlin Rantala)

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Nashville Symphony Awarded For Adventurous Programming

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The Nashville Symphony is one of 24 American orchestras to be honored with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

The honors were revealed June 8 at the annual League of American Orchestras conference in Dallas, and acknowledge orchestras that challenge audiences, build repertoire and increase interest in the music of our time. Nashville Symphony earned a second-place award for Programming of Contemporary Music for showcasing the work of contemporary composers like Bela Fleck, Terry Riley and Richard Danielpour.

“We are excited to be recognized for this award,” says President and CEO Alan Valentine. “The Nashville Symphony has an extensive history of commissioning, premiering and recording contemporary American music. When the orchestra performs a brand-new piece, it adds to the excitement of the concert-going experience and allows us to hear the classics in a fresh context. We will continue our commitment to new music with more commissions and world premieres in the seasons to come.”

Nashville Symphony’s programming in the past year has included the world premieres of Nashville Symphony-commissioned Bela Fleck’s Concerto For Banjo, Richard Danielpour’s Darkness in the Ancient Valley, and Terry Riley’s Palmian Chord Ryddle. Additionally, the Symphony co-commissioned Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Dancers, Dreamers and Presidents. For upcoming Symphony events, check here.