New West Announces Executive Changes

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Gary Briggs

New West Records recently announced the promotion of Gary Briggs to Sr. Vice President of A&R and Artist Relations. Briggs, who is based in Austin TX, will be responsible for discovering and developing new talent. He will also continue to manage relations for the current roster, which includes longtime artists John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Kris Kristofferson, and newer signings Robert Ellis and Buxton.

Previously Briggs oversaw all AAA radio promotion campaigns in addition to producing the Live From Austin TX CD and DVD line. Prior to New West Records, Briggs was Owner/President of Beyond Rust Management representing Lucinda Williams, M Ward and Beth Orton in partnership with Azoff Music Management. Briggs also previously served as President of Vapor Records, a label founded by Neil Young and his managers, Elliot Roberts and Frank Gironda. Additionally, he held the title of VP of Artist Relations/Creative Marketing at Warner Bros. Records, where he worked on projects involving Wilco, Chris Isaak, Eric Clapton, Don Henley, Mark Knopfler and Neil Young.

“I am excited about where we are headed as a company and am confident that Gary Briggs can lead us in that new direction” says George Fontaine, Owner and President of New West Records. “Gary’s artistic instincts and talent for recognizing, developing and managing artists will undoubtedly enhance New West’s already strong roster.”

Meanwhile, Peter Jesperson has been named VP Catalog and Production, responsible for developing content for reissues, box sets and limited edition vinyl titles from the New West Records catalog. The catalog includes this year’s acquisition of the Antone’s and Watermelon record labels. In addition to his new responsibilities, he will continue his work coordinating content for packaging and final audio for current releases. Jesperson, who is transitioning from A&R into this new role, is based in Los Angeles, CA.

ASCAP To Honor The Civil Wars

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ASCAP will honor Nashville duo The Civil Wars with the Vanguard Award, which recognizes the impact of musical genres that help shape the future of American music. The duo will be presented with the honor during the invitation-only 49th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards, set for Sun., Nov. 6 at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Past ASCAP Vanguard Awards honorees include Sara Bareilles, Beastie Boys, Beck, Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Jack Johnson, and Björk.

“We are elated and honored to be receiving this year’s ASCAP Vanguard Award,” say Joy Williams and John Paul White of The Civil Wars. “Past winners over the years have been inspiring and influential to us in individual ways. We are thrilled to be added to such a list.”

“The Civil Wars not only epitomize indie success in the ever-changing landscape of the music business, they also create beautiful, expressive art that has deeply connected with listeners,” says Tim DuBois, Vice President and Managing Executive, ASCAP Nashville. “We are honored to present Joy and John Paul with the ASCAP Vanguard Award as an acknowledgement of their unique impact on American music.”

The breakout indie duo have experienced a whirlwind year following the release of their full-length debut Barton Hollow. The acclaimed album debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and has sold over 180,000 units to date. The duo has also appeared on Jay Leno and been selected as a “You Oughta Know” artist to watch by VH1. They are currently nominated at the annual Americana Honors and Awards and the 45th Annual CMA Awards.

The 49th annual ASCAP Awards will also salute the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most-performed country songs from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. Awards for Songwriter of the Year, Songwriter/Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Publisher of the Year will be revealed as well. As previously announced, Don Williams will also be presented with ASCAP’s Golden Note Award.

Content Remains King. All Rise For The King!

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Advertising Age’s recent Media Issue (Oct. 3, 2011) looks hard at the “Content Is King” motto, questions its relevance in the current digital mix, and offers some insightful observations in the process. Overwhelmingly though, the various articles and writers support the premise that in today’s media tug of war, content and content owners remain royal.

“Rising competition for content has…strengthened the hand of content owners…,” says writer Jack Neff (As Devices And Distribution Compete, Content Enjoys A Renaissance) who points to Netflix’s increasing costs and competition from other outlets while trying to renew its content licenses as an example. (According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter Netflix content costs are likely to rise 10X from about $180 million in 2010 to nearly $2 billion next year.)

In many ways Netflix appeared like it had cornered the video streaming market and would be able to leverage its power to exercise control over the space. Not so argues Neff. “Netflix is perhaps the biggest victim of content’s rising power—and just when it looked to some like it had killed the king.” He also points to the book world as an example. “Book publishers used the leverage from Apple’s iPad entry last year to break the $9.99 price ceiling Amazon once had on most e-books.”

However, Neff notes that content owners and distributors need each other. “It’s true that creating content alone won’t cut it,” he says. “Owners need to find smart partnerships with an increasingly complex web of distributors. But it’s equally true that a distribution platform with little to distribute is of little use to consumers, no matter how fancy the interface is.”

“Content owners are in the catbird seat, because anytime a new distributor or new device crops up they need great content to drive the platform’s appeal,” says Will Richmond President of marketing intellegence and consulting firm Broadband Decisions. “Video-content owners and book publishers benefit most from rising demand for content because they didn’t take the paths that have hurt the music and newspaper industries. The music industry was slow to make its product available online for a fee, which helped fuel illegal peer-to-peer content sharing. And newspapers and many magazines spent years giving their product away for free, supported (marginally) by advertising…”

Nonetheless, Neff warns content owners not to get too greedy. If prices increase too far, they will run the real risk of stimulating consumers toward illegal file sharing. Helping to pay for these increased content costs, several cable networks, including Nashville’s Comcast, have quietly, but effectively tightened the video-on-demand (VOD) ad model by disabling the fast-forward option for VOD selections allowing networks to include more VOD viewing impressions in their ad metrics.

Ad Age’s Media edition also studies the evolution of content distribution business models. Wired Editor in Chief Chris Anderson tells writer Matthew Creamer, “Once rich content can be distributed globally at virtually no cost on platforms that have billing relationships already established (IOS, Android, Kindle, etc.), we can experiment wildly with who pays and how much. For example, ad-dependent models can diversify into profitable subscriber models and turn periodicals into brands and digital storefronts that can sell other content.”

David Remnick, Editor of the New Yorker cautions creators to stay focused on quality, “The guiding idea here is that new technologies should amplify, not alter our principles: in this case, values of depth, beauty, accuracy and journalistic ambition.”

Great content undeniably still sits on a special throne. And that seems to be true across the entire media realm—print, music, video and online. But content is not like buying bologna in the supermarket deli section, it doesn’t come by the pound. To comfortably wear a crown, it must have a royal spark which attracts attention and audience engagement.

Photo Friday: WMBA, Paisley and Underwood, NMPA, Randy Travis

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Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) celebrated its newly-established non-profit status October 4 with a wine and cheese reception hosted by the organization’s Board of Directors at the Country Music Assocation’s headquarters. Contributing sponsors for the event included CMA, Huskins-Harris, Fiddlecakes, and Music City Lifestyles.

(L-R) Back Row: Rachel Rodriguez, Alumni Co-Chair, Josee Deschenes, Social Co-Chair, Becky Harris, Chairman of the Board, Betsy Walker, Membership Chair, Cindy Heath, Director, Amanda Fletcher, Social Co-Chair, Kama Upton, Community Svc./Education Chair, Dottie Rager, Alumni-Co-Chair; (L-R) Front Row: Holly Ashby, Vice President, Brandi Simms, President, Hank Adam Locklin, Director, Amery Fridenstine, Treasurer, Trina Lloyd-Weidner, Secretary. Photo: Darcy Ferris Photography

Brad Paisley’s hit duet with Carrie Underwood, “Remind Me” has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales exceeding 1 million downloads. Written by Paisley with Chris DuBois and Kelley Lovelace, remind me stormed the country charts recently as the third single from Paisley’s This Is Country Music. Paisley and Underwood will re-team to host the 45th Annual CMA Awards at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 9.

(L-R): Caryl Healey (SMN VP Sales), Gary Overton (SMN Chairman & CEO), Paisley, Underwood, & Skip Bishop (SMN SVP Promotion).

National Music Publishers Association executives recently visited Nashville for the NMPA’s Annual Songwriter Showcase at the Bluebird Cafe. EMI songwriter Kelley Lovelace was awarded with two Gold Songwriting Notes for penning Brad Paisley’s “Water” and the Paisley/Underwood duet “Remind Me.”

NMPA President and CEO David Israelite (back left) and NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison (back right) with David Lee, Rachel Thibodeau, Jason Sever, and Kelley Lovelace.

Randy Travis celebrated his 25 years performing in country music with a special appearance on the Grand Ole Opry Tuesday night (10/4). Paying musical tribute to Travis were fellow artists who appear with him on his newest CD Anniversary Collection. Guests included John Anderson, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Connie Smith, Gene Watson and Joe Stampley. “It’s amazing to me to be celebrating my 25th anniversary in the music business on this stage because of the way I grew up and what I grew up listening to,” said Travis onstage. The “Opry Live” premiere of the show on GAC will air Saturday, Oct. 15

(L-R): Connie Smith, Joe Stampley, Travis, and Gene Watson. Photo: Joel Dennis

Country Music Marathon Announces New Partnership

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Competitor Group, Inc. have announced a new title partnership as the official benefiting charity of the Country Music Marathon. The event, now re-branded as the St. Jude Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon presented by Nissan, takes place Saturday, April 28, 2012.

“The St. Jude Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon is the perfect match for St. Jude’s rich history with the country music industry and our St. Jude Heroes program,” noted Richard Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC, St. Jude’s fundraising arm. “The event is truly a marriage of fitness enthusiasts and country fans alike nationwide who want to do something meaningful in the fight against childhood cancer and other deadly diseases.”

“While I believe each and every event Competitor Group organizes is spectacular, the St. Jude Country Music Marathon is my personal favorite,” said Tracy Sundlun, Sr. VP of Competitor Group and a founder of the Nashville race. “We are excited to launch a new era of the marathon by partnering with St. Jude and their incredible network of supporters and country music radio stations, which will take the promotion of this event and the city of Nashville to a whole new level.”

Over its 12 year history, the race has become a major annual event that draws over 30,000 participants. According to Sundlun, the event includes the second-largest 1/2 marathon in America and is the country’s largest combined marathon and 1/2. To date, charity partners have raised over $22.3 million through the race, one of Tennessee’s largest fundraising platforms.

(L-R): Rick Shadyae, Jr., CEO, ALSAC/ St. Jude children's Research Hospital; Jessica Turri, St. Jude Survivor; Scott Hamilton, World Champion Figure Skater & Olympic Gold Medalist; Ed Temple, legendary Head Coach of the U.S. Olympic & Tennessee State University Women's Track & Field; Suzanne Alexander, Host of GAC’s Great American Country; Council member Ronnie Stein, City of Nashville; Tracy Sundlun, SVP, Competitor Group; and J Schaffer, Senior Manager, Nissan. Photo: George Walker IV

Arista Nashville “Remains Unchanged”

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The Los Angeles Times is reporting that “RCA Music Group is slimming down for the holidays by shuttering its Arista, Jive and J Records subsidiaries, a move by new label execs to strengthen the identity of the RCA brand.”

The report further states that “In an effort to refresh RCA Records, all label imprints — J Records, Arista Records and Jive — will now be under the iconic RCA Records label,” according to a statement RCA issued Friday.] Other sites, such as Rolling Stone and USA Today, are also reporting the story.

Gary Overton, Chairman and CEO, Sony Music Nashville, responds, “Arista Nashville and its respective roster are not impacted in any way. Our 4-label Sony Music Nashville operations remain unchanged.”

Artist Visit Photos: The McClymonts and Lucy Angel

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MusicRow was recently blessed with visits from not one, but two, family trios: Australian sisters The McClymonts, and the Anderton family members of Lucy Angel. The McClymonts played selections from their American debut Wrapped Up Good, including the title track (No. 38 on the CountryBreakout Chart this week) and “I Could Be A Cowboy.” The sisters will also have a segment airing on NPR’s Weekend Edition tomorrow (10/8) as well as an appearance on Fox & Friends October 16. Lucy Angel showcased songs from their self-titled EP, including CountryBreakout Top 30 single “Serious” and possible single contender “I’ll Be Your Whiskey.”

Pictured with the McClymonts are (L-R): David Ross, MusicRow Founder; Mollie McClymont; Sara Skates, MR News Editor; Sherod Robertson, MR President; Sam McClymont; Jon Freeman, MR Chart Director; Brooke McClymont; and Christie King, MR Art Director/Production Mgr.

Pictured with Lucy Angel are (L-R): Christie King, MR Art Director/Production Mgr., LA’s Emily Anderton, LA’s Kate Anderton, MR Chart Director Jon Freeman, MR News Editor Sarah Skates, MR President Sherod Robertson, LA’s Lindsay Anderton

DeGraws Open Nashville Venue

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Singers and brothers Gavin DeGraw and Joey DeGraw are adding a new venue and restaurant to the mix on Lower Broadway. The National Underground Nashville will have a grand opening on Sat., Oct. 15 with performances by Joey DeGraw, Hilary Williams, The Cold Stares, and the Eric Jon Band.

Sister Neeka DeGraw handles booking for the club, which is available for showcases and private events, and is said to offer a top-of-the-line sound system. All three siblings live in Nashville now.

The National Underground Nashville is located at 105 Broadway near Big River Grille and across from the Hard Rock Café.

“We feature live music seven nights a week and are trying to stick to an indie, Tom Petty style rock and roll, while having a soft spot for traditional country,” reports Gavin, who plans to attract risings acts as well as established artists.

Says Joey, “The idea for The National Underground was birthed on the road. I always dreamed of a live music touring circuit that catered to more of the indie market where the draw would be less than 200 people. We’re excited to be here in Nashville opening our second location, not only because we live here now, but also because it’s the ideal environment for this kind of venue.”

Fans of all ages are welcome until 9 p.m. at the non-smoking venue.

Reach Neeka at nashvillebooking@thenationalunderground.

Tim DuBois To Exit ASCAP

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Tim DuBois has announced that he will be exiting his post at ASCAP as Vice President and Managing Executive, Nashville, at the end of this year.

Commenting on his decision, DuBois said, “My commitment to ASCAP was to guide the development of a newly configured Nashville Regional Office. Over the past two years we’ve built a strong structure and team to support and service the needs of our members in the Nashville region, and I am proud to pass the torch to such a capable group of young executives. It’s time for me to return to Vanderbilt and to devote more time and energy to my entrepreneurial activities.”

ASCAP Executive Vice President of Membership Randy Grimmett added, “We have been fortunate to have had Tim’s guidance these past two years during which he oversaw a major restructuring of ASCAP’s Nashville office. We thank Tim for his service to ASCAP. As a songwriter, he remains an important member of the ASCAP family, and we value his continued support for the team that will serve ASCAP for years to come.”

ASCAP’s Marc Driskill will expand his leadership role as VP & General Manager, Nashville, overseeing ASCAP’s Nashville operations with Senior Creative Directors LeAnn Phelan and Michael Martin continuing in their roles leading the creative staff of Mike Sistad, Jesse Willoughby, Ryan Beuschel, Robert Filhart, Jess Draper and Anna Maki, who have proven their excellence as a creative resource to the Nashville community and are committed to providing outstanding service to ASCAP’s members.

Jay Frank Announces New Venture

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Music industry veteran and author Jay Frank has announced the launch of Nashville-based DigSin, a digital music company where subscriber fans will get all releases for free. In a departure from the typical record label model, DigSin will focus on single song releases and maximizing listening audience.

“DigSin is the result of years of examining the new ways music fans find and listen to music,” says Frank, who will make the announcement at today’s Digital Music Forum West in Los Angeles, CA. “We are committing ourselves to expose new songs in a targeted, organic way that enables us to be a trusted filter to music fans.”

The name is a shortened version of Digital Single and aims to build a database of music fans who will receive every label release for free in their preferred genre and format. The label will focus on pop, rock and dance music.

“To succeed as a music company today, you must be open to multiple new revenue streams and new ways of thinking,” says Frank. “Through a combination of free music, social networking, analytics and traditional promotional outlets, we will be a new model for music companies for the future.”

Deals with DigSin purport to be flexible and artist-friendly, enabling the label to partner with advertisers and other outlets in numerous exposure opportunities. Frank founded the company on the principle that developing artists need smart marketing in the digital world, and hopes to provide a stepping stone to the next plateau.

Frank was most recently an executive with CMT and authored the 2009 book, Futurehit.DNA on what it takes to have a hit in the digital era. Prior to that, he was a digital music executive with Yahoo! Music.

For more info, visit http://www.digsin.com.