LeRose Cleans Up Online With New Album

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CJaye LeRose hasn’t stormed up the radio charts yet and she’s anything but a regular face on TV. However, if you have a computer, visit YouTube and are into social networks such as Facebook and Twitter then chances are you may already be a follower or friend.
In 2009, LeRose created her own YouTube channel to raise awareness about animal adoption. But she didn’t receive much reaction until she began posting videos of her songs. She now has over 2.5 million views and 35 thousand subscribers. LeRose has also garnered over 18 thousand Twitter followers and more than 15 thousand Facebook ‘likes.’
“My channel grew like it did not only because of my love for music, but also because of my love for people,” says LeRose who left her hometown Houston only a few short months ago to move to Music City. “I would spend all day just writing people back and answering as many comments as possible. I’ve gotten to be friends with so many of my subscribers.”
Now the young artist is set to release a nine-track album on July 12 called Date With The Tub. “I’ve been waiting so long for this day,” laughs LeRose. “I’m finally ready to take the plunge. Thanks so much to everyone for their support. I love you all!”
The first single from the new package is “The Porch,” which debuted exclusively on Sirius-XM’s The Highway in May. CJaye also helped out the radio network as The Highway’s official video blogger at the recent CMA MusicFest in Nashville.
“Social networking” has become an overused marketing phrase—discussed continuously, but rarely implemented. That makes it all the more contagious when an indie artist without the clout of a well oiled marketing machine, attracts attention in the form of fans, followers and views and ends up with more links than a chain fence.
Date With The Tub Track Listing:
1. Down In My Grave
2. The Porch
3. Slow Down
4. Love You Like A Country Song
5. Declaration of Independence
6. Date With The Tub
7. Already Over You
8. Too Bad For Me
9. Unhappily Ever After

Pat Finch Forms New Publishing Venture

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Publishing veteran Pat Finch has entered into a joint venture with former S1 Songs Group CEO Steve McMellon and Reynold D’Silva (founder of UK indie Silva Screen Records) to form Pat Finch Music Publishing/Southern Crossroads Music.
“I’m privileged to have been given the opportunity to, once again, try and build a successful publishing company from scratch,” says Finch. “I hope to replicate many of the successes the writers, artists and I have previously accomplished in this new venture.”
“We see this as an opportunity to build a new Nashville-based and artist-driven publishing and production company,” adds McMellon. “One that will comprise either artist/writers or producer/writers. We had great success in Nashville during S1 Songs ‘days’ and Pat was instrumental in delivering that success. At Southern Crossroads Music we hope to replicate some part of that achievement in an artist/writer friendly environment.”
Southern Crossroads Music currently represents Nashville singer/songwriter Jabe Beyer whose songs have been featured in HBO’s True Blood and the Fox-TV’s Lie to Me, among others. Also on the roster are UK-based Americana acts Danny and the Champions of the World and Owen James Harvey.
Finch was previously Sr. VP/GM for S1 Songs America, part of the global publishing company First State Media Group that was acquired by Chrysalis Music Publishing in April 2010. BMG then purchased Chrysalis in late 2010 to become BMG Chrysalis.
The company’s offices are located at 1229 17th Ave. S., and the phone number is 615-320-7766. Reach Finch at patrickfinchmusicpublishing@gmail.com, McMellon at stevemac@southerncrossroadsmusic.com or D’Silva at reynold@silvascreen.co.uk.

Dwight Yoakam Re-Teams With Warner

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Dwight Yoakam has reunited with former label home Warner Music Group. The two-time Grammy winner is set to release his first studio album in seven years on Warner Bros. Records.
Yoakam has been co-producing his upcoming album with Joe Chiccarelli, known mostly for his work with rock acts including My Morning Jacket, The Shins, and The Strokes. Recently, Yoakam has also been in the studio with rock star Beck.
This will be Yoakam’s 28th project for Warner and/or Reprise. It follows his 2007 Buck Owens tribute, Dwight Sings Buck, which was released on New West Records.
Yoakam’s more than 25 million career album sales have been fueled by hits including “Honky Tonk Man,” “Please Please Baby,” “Little Ways,” “I Sang Dixie,” “It Only Hurts When I Cry,” “Fast as You” and “Thousand Miles from Nowhere.”

Stars Support ACM Lifting Lives Camp

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ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp was in session last week in Nashville, with 31 campers from around the country participating in activities around Music City.  The residential camp has the dual purpose of studying Williams syndrome and other developmental disabilities, and providing music enrichment through performance and education. The camp is a partnership between ACM Lifting Lives and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.
Photos: Getty Images/Courtesy of ACM Lifting Lives

Gary Allan, Odie Blackmon and Brett James led campers in a songwriting session, creating “In Harmony,” an original song based on campers’ personal experiences and inspirations. (L-R): Odie Blackmon, ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp founder/volunteer Lorie Lytle, Gary Allan, ACM Lifting Lives Exec. Director Erin Spahn, Brett James


Little Big Town participated in a music-driven art activity inspired by the Frist Center for the Visual Arts’ current Andy Warhol exhibit.


 

Wynonna Judd participated in a karaoke event at Winner’s bar. Pictured with camper Brigitte Anderson.


Carrie Underwood visited the campers during their recording session, where they recorded their original song, “In Harmony” with producer Mark Bright and songwriter Brett James. The campers wrote the song with James, Gary Allan and Odie Blackmon. Pictured (L-R): Erin Spahn, ACM Executive Director, Lifting Lives, Carrie Underwood and Lorie Lytle, ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp Chairman


Darius Rucker and campers perform at the Grand Ole Opry.

Nashville In Hollywood

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Chord Overstreet


Blake Shelton will return to the big red coaching chair on The Voice next season. In fact, all four celebrity coaches—Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Shelton—are on board for season two. Starting this winter, NBC’s vocal competition series will air on Monday nights. The network is also expected to give the series a big push with a special post-Super Bowl show.
• • • •
Shelton may be returning to his gig but Chord Overstreet isn’t. The Nashville native is no longer part of hit Fox show Glee. He joined the musical’s cast last year playing transfer student “Sam.” Regardless, he is busy on the show’s tour and will be in Glee Live! 3D!, the movie about the tour, as well as other upcoming films. Overstreet, 22, is the son of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Paul Overstreet. The younger Overstreet may be following in his father’s musical footsteps, he Tweeted last week that he plans to start work on an album.
• • • •
Obviously musical talent runs in the family in Nashville. Band Hot Chelle Rae, comprised of local music biz offspring, is climbing the pop/rock charts with hit single “Tonight, Tonight.” Chord’s brother Nash is part of the group, along with Ryan Follese and Jamie Follese, sons of Keith Follese, and Ian Keaggy, son of Phil Keaggy.
Check out the “Tonight, Tonight” video, featuring an appearance by Chord.

Technically Speaking: SocNet War, Hootsuite and Twitter DM

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It’s almost like watching a cheesy Japanese horror movie from the ‘70s, perhaps The Kracken Defies Godzilla. Yet here we are, in 2011, seeing two titans fight for social network supremacy. Of course Facebook, with its 650 million users worldwide is light years ahead of Google’s new Google+ product that is still in beta. However, Google+ has some great new features and ‘change waves,’ especially in the tech field, can sometimes happen unexpectedly and with lightning speed.
In the meantime, there are three main differentiating factors with the new Google+ product—Circles, Sparks and Hangouts. Circles allows users to sort their friends into groups, which is not a Facebook option. Sparks is a new way to utilize Google news by topics, etc. And lastly, Hangouts is a group video chat option that allows people to pop in and out of communication with friends. For a lot more detail on these topics check out this LA Times story…
 
>>>While the heavy hitters talk about Facebook and Google+ this week (see above story), Twitter continues to grow, almost unopposed and with no direct competitor. Naturally artists and their team members endeavor to perch on the cutting, nay, bleeding edge with repsect to the best ways to bend and shape the Twitter universe. The following thenextweb.com story highlights an important change in the requirements for direct messaging.

Twitter verified accounts {Brands} can let followers Direct Message without following back. According to theNextWeb.com, The relaxation is aimed at providing Twitter users that have large follower counts with a private system with which they can receive a personal message without having to go through the tedious process of following the user, asking them to direct message them, and then unfollow the user after it has been sent. Twitter has not announced whether the feature has begun rolling out to all users.

It remains to be seen how brands and artists will respond to the new rules which are likely to result in added streams of personal messages to process.
 
>>>Hootsuite, the social sharing tool, recently passed the 2 million mark in signups. It hit one million users in Nov. 2010, seven months ago. The service, which is free for about 95% of its users, offers a multitude of tools for social networking handlers including custom interfaces, scheduled updates across all platforms, a plethora of social network analytics and more.
The company’s blog offers this description of its future direction:

Amidst all the consolidations, acquisitions and changes in the marketplace, we are proud to keep leading the way with unique features and thoughtful improvements. As the first social media dashboard, HootSuite has helped define new ways of understanding how social media tools and tactics can be applied to small and enterprise business, political campaigns, government management, civic revolutions, emergency response or just connecting with friends about hobbies you enjoy. With a heaping handful of networks already in the dashboard, look for more connections and tools to come as we are aren’t slowing down.
 


 
 
 

Songwriter Charlie Craig Passes

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Charlie Craig


Charlie Craig, the songwriter behind “Wanted” and other gems, passed away on Friday, July 1. Co-written with Alan Jackson, the hit was one of several of Craig’s songs recorded by the artist. Craig was 73.
The South Carolina native also wrote “Between an Old Memory and Me,” recorded separately by Travis Tritt and Keith Whitley, and “I Would Like to See You Again,” recorded by Johnny Cash, Don Williams, and others. During his forty years in Nashville, Craig had cuts by Reba, Dolly Parton, Aaron Tippin, George Strait, Waylon Jennings and many more.
Friends remember the songwriter as a “talented, loving and loyal man.”
He was preceded in death by his wife Betty. He is survived by daughter Dawn, and two grandchildren.
Arrangements were handled by Bond Memorial Chapel in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. (615) 773-2663.
Visitation was held Saturday, July 2, followed by the funeral on Sunday, July 3.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
See Charlie Craig’s website.

Big Machine Named Presenting Sponsor For Brickyard 400

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The Big Machine Label Group has landed naming rights for the Brickyard 400, which will take place Sunday, July 31 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Officially billed as the “Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com,” this is BMLG’s latest flirtation with the racing world and the first time a record label has ever presented a nationally televised race in the Speedway’s history. Additionally, BLMG artists Rascal Flatts, Reba, The Band Perry, Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert, Thomas Rhett and more will be featured at the event.
“Music and racing are in my DNA and I’ve been involved in connecting the two for quite some time,” says BLMG President & CEO Scott Borchetta. “With the recent sponsorship of Dan Wheldon’s Indy 500 winning effort, the Big Machine Records brand is more recognizable than ever. Now, the Big Machine Label Group is returning to Indy and bringing superstars Rascal Flatts, Reba, The Band Perry, Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert and others to create an amazing racing and music experience for the fans. If you don’t have tickets, run, don’t walk – this is going to be an incredible day and you want to be there!”
Moore, TBP, Gilbert, Rhett and more will perform acoustic sets to start the day’s festivities. Rascal Flatts will perform a pre-race mini concert, which will be partially broadcast on ESPN, before they sing the national anthem. Reba will be on hand to sing the traditional “America The Beautiful.” Fans will also have opportunities to meet and have autographs signed by BLMG artists.

Swift Leads Country Nods For Teen Choice Awards

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Album Art for Swift's "Mean"


The 2011 Teen Choice Awards nominee list has been announced and Taylor Swift leads among country artists with six nominations. Swift is vying for trophies for Female Artist, Female Country Artist, Country Single (‘Mean’), Country Love Song (‘Mine’), Best Break-Up Song (‘Back to December’) and Red Carpet Fashion Icon: Female.
Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler and Jennette McCurdy join Swift in the Female Country Artist category. In the Male Country category, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan are all nominated. Bryan and Shelton are also listed in the Country Single category, for “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and “Honey Bee,” respectively. Other Country Single contenders include The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young” and Lady Antebellum’s “Just a Kiss.”
Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry are also named in the Country Group category, which they share with Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts and Steel Magnolia.
The Teen Choice Awards will air on Fox August 7, 7:00 CT.
Music – Female Artist
Adele
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Music – Male Country Artist
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Music – Female Country Artist
Miranda Lambert
Jenette McCurdy
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Music – Country Single
“If I Die Young,” The Band Perry
“Country Girl (Shake It for Me),” Luke Bryan
“Just a Kiss,” Lady Antebellum
“Honey Bee,” Blake Shelton
“Mean,” Taylor Swift
Music – Country Group
Lady Antebellum
The Band Perry
Rascal Flatts
Steel Magnolia
Little Big Town
Music – Love Song
“Come Down with Love,” Allstar Weekend
“Love You Like a Love Song,” Selena Gomez & The Scene
“Just the Way You Are,” Bruno Mars
“Teenage Dream,” Katy Perry
“Mine,” Taylor Swift
Music – Break-Up Song
“Rolling in the Deep,” Adele
“Forget You,” Cee Lo Green
“See No More,” Joe Jonas
“Grenade,” Bruno Mars
“Back to December,” Taylor Swift

Benefit News: Otto, Herndon, Hayes, Foster

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Former North Dakota resident James Otto was deeply saddened by the recent tragic flooding in Minot, ND. In an effort to help those suffering from the devastation, Otto will host a live streaming benefit concert on StageIt.com on July 7th at 7 p.m. All proceeds including ticket sales and tips will be donated to Minot’s local Red Cross. Moreover, a benevolent fan who has chosen to remain anonymous will match up to $5,000 of monetary tips given during the show.
The concert is part of the series Otto began in early June called “Thirsty Thursdays” in which he performs via live streaming broadcast from his home studio, giving fans a front row experience and chance to hear new music and favorite hits.
“Since I am a former North Dakotan, this is near and dear to my heart. I hope all of you will join me for a very ‘Thirsty Thursday’ that’s more than just fun… it has the ability to make a great impact on those in need,” said Otto. “Please spread the word and join me!”
For more information about James Otto and “Thirsty Thursdays,” visit www.JamesOtto.net.  Tickets for the benefit show can be purchased at www.StageIt.com for $5 each.



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(L-R): Coach Gene Stallings, FUNL Music artist Amber Hayes, Kevin Turner and Ty Herndon. Photo: Christy Watkins.


Ty Herndon and Amber Hayes were on hand June 18 to help former Alabama and NFL player Kevin Turner raise just over $100,000 for the Kevin Turner Foundation benefiting ALS research.
Herndon and FUNL Music labelmate Hayes performed at the private event, which welcomed more than 250 people. Numerous current and former Alabama and NFL players and coaches were in attendance, including Clemson coach/former Alabama receiver Dabo Swinney and legendary Alabama coach Gene Stallings. Herndon’s Grammy-nominated “Journey On” project is the official song and video of the Kevin Turner Foundation.
Turner, who played professional football for eight seasons in the ‘90s with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, was diagnosed with ALS in May 2010.
For more information about Kevin Turner and to see the “Journey On” video, visit www.KevinTurnerFoundation.org.
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(L-R): Foster's Grandpa in Joplin, Kenny Foster


Nashville songwriter Kenny Foster lost his family home in Joplin, MO when destroyed by a tornado that struck the city on May 22nd. A riveting account of his family’s experience, and how music helped him and his loved ones recover is detailed here.
“‘Hometown’ was written to bring some solidarity between those directly affected, and the nation that stood aghast. It was a way to bring those communities together, no matter the distance, to rebuild stronger communities and stronger people,” says Foster.
All proceeds from the purchase of Kenny’s single “Hometown” benefit United Way to aid in the relief efforts in Joplin. Visit www.kentonfoster.com or here on iTunes to purchase.