Inman Joins Sony Music Nashville

Sony Music Nashville has announced the addition of Ann Inman to the company as Manager, Media. She started her new role today (4/21), and is reporting to label VP, Media & Corporate Communications Allen Brown.
“It is such a privilege to welcome Ann to our company,” says Brown. “Her solid business ethic, experience and charisma make her a wonderful addition to our media team!”
Previously with Capitol Records Nashville since 2005, Inman served as the label’s Public Relations Coordinator and worked with Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, and Keith Urban among others. She is a 2004 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, and interned with Capitol’s marketing department while in school.
This is the latest development in Nashville’s ongoing media team musical chairs.
Reach her at [email protected].

McGhee Aligns With 1 Degree Sports Mgmt

McGhee Entertainment has aligned with Alan Bullington’s 1 Degree Sports Management, whose roster includes NBA player Rajon Rondo, PGA Tour golfer Kenny Perry and many others. The two companies are located at 21 Music Sq. W. in Nashville.
Doc McGhee, CEO of McGhee Entertainment comments, “Managing any celebrity’s career, whether the client is an artist or an athlete, centers around the ability to have a well-crafted platform in place with a team structured to deliver in today’s fast-paced environment, and we are doing just that through partnerships with companies like 1 Degree Sports Management.”
Bullington, Managing Partner of 1 Degree, shares his thoughts about the collaboration, “Our objective and responsibility is to help each client realize his professional goals, on and off the course, court or field. Our alliance with McGhee Entertainment will allow us to jointly capitalize on the pervasive overlap between sports and entertainment and maximize each athlete’s international exposure, sponsorship evaluation, and activation through the relationships McGhee has developed over the last three decades.”
McGhee Entertainment was formed in 1983 with offices originating in New York City. The current artist roster includes KISS, Ted Nugent, Night Ranger, Chris Cagle, Hootie & The Blowfish, Darius Rucker, Drew Davis, Rodney Atkins, Adam Brand, Heidi Newfield, Jeremy Lister, Sacha Edwards, Down, Cheyenne Kimball, Vintage Trouble, Dirty Guv’nahs, and The Willis Clan. McGhee Entertainment currently has offices located in Nashville, and Los Angeles.
Bullington may be reached via email at [email protected].

Francesca Battistelli Named Dove Awards Artist of the Year

Francesca Battistelli


Dove Award winners in the overall categories

Artist of the Year
Francesca Battistelli
Female Vocalist of the Year
Francesca Battistelli
Male Vocalist of the Year
Chris August
Group of the Year
NEEDTOBREATHE
New Artist of the Year
Chris August
Song of the Year
“Sometimes I Cry”; Jason Crabb (artist), Gerald Crabb, Christian Taylor Music (BMI)
Songwriter of the Year
Gerald Crabb
Producer of the Year
Ian Eskelin

• • • • •

Francesca Battistelli took top honors at last night’s (4/20) GMA Dove Awards where she was named Artist of the Year. The Fervent Records artist also received her second consecutive trophy for Female Vocalist of the Year, as well as Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song Of The Year for her hit “Beautiful Beautiful.”
Other multi-award winners at the show at Atlanta’s Fox Theater included Chris August, Jason Crabb and Point of Grace garnering three Doves each.
First-time nominee August was honored as Male Vocalist and New Artist, as well as Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.

Sherri Shepherd hosts the GMA Dove Awards. Photo Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images


The inaugural Uplift Someone award, which recognizes individuals who better the world and inspire others to do the same, was presented to Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth.
The View’s Sherri Shepherd hosted the show which was taped for television and will air on GMC Sunday, April 24  at 7 p.m. PT.  Click here to download a complete list of winners.

Tornado Destroys Malaco Records

Last week’s tornadoes in Mississippi left much of the Malaco Records complex in ruins in Jackson.
According to WJTV in Jackson, the label headquarters and recording studio were completely destroyed. The company’s warehouse and archives, however, were spared. Many of the employees were inside the buildings when the storm hit last Friday. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Malaco Records opened in 1967, and has been the home of many major blues and gospel artists. “Misty Blue” by Dorothy Moore was on Malaco in 1975, and the label’s studio has also produced Jean Knight’s “Mr Big Stuff” (1971), King Floyd’s “Groove Me” (1970), Anita Ward’s “Ring My Bell” (1979) and other hits. The label’s slogan was “The Last Soul Company.”
Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Mississippi Mass Choir, Eddie Floyd, David Porter, Z.Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Little Milton Campbell, Johnnie Taylor, Walter Hawkins, the Rev. James Cleveland, Dorothy Norwood, Tyrone Davis and many other blues, soul and gospel veterans flocked to the company.
Malaco Christian Distribution was based in Nashville, and the label helped launch the recording-studio careers of such Nashville notables as J. Fred Knobloch and James Stroud.
Label director Tommy Couch Jr. plans to re-open the company next Tuesday in temporary offices in North Jackson.

Ticketmaster To Try Dynamic Pricing

Ticketmaster will introduce dynamic ticket pricing this year, which will change the cost based on consumer demand. The company has partnered with MarketShare to develop a suite of tools to help clients adjust prices before and after the on-sale date. The tools will use a wide range of data sources, such as historical ticket sales, search and video activity, and social media data.
Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard says that with the new system “clients will be able to retain economic value that is normally siphoned off by the secondary market, and to sell more of their tickets that go unsold today. Meanwhile, more fans will have more opportunities to enjoy live entertainment events because tickets will be more accessible and pricing options will broaden.”
Ticketmaster plans to roll out dynamic pricing starting with sporting events and concerts. As part of the initiative it has launched its own LiveAnalytics.

MarketShare is a leading company that has worked with entertainment outfits as well as numerous global brands.

Nashville Film Festival Breaks Records, Names Winners

Marshall Curry's If A Tree Falls won the Documentary Channel Grand Prize at the 2011 NaFF.


With more films yet to be viewed today (4/20) and tomorrow (4/21), the 2011 Nashville Film Festival has already broken its previous records for attendance and number of tickets sold. The event kicked off last Thursday (4/14) and wraps tomorrow night with the Closing Night Party at Mercy Lounge.
The festival’s top jury prizes have been awarded to Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, a tale of two men in a weekend affair, and Marshall Curry’s If A Tree Falls, a documentary about extreme environmentalist collective Earth Liberation Front. Weekend took the Bridgestone Grand Jury Prize for the narrative competition, and If A Tree Falls earned the Documentary Channel Grand Prize in the documentary competition. Weekend’s Tom Cullen earned best actor recognition and Guadalupe Alonso of Last Summer of La Boyita (an Honorable Mention in the narrative category) was named best actress.
Other honors included the New Directors Competition, with the grand prize going to Mike Magidson’s Inuk. Jacob Hatley’s music profile Ain’t In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm was presented with the Gibson Impact of Music Award, the top prize in Music Films/Music City Competition.
Still to come tonight (4/20) are the Tennessee premiere of Michael Tully’s Septien, which was filmed entirely in and around Nashville, as well as Will Gray’s Broke, a documentary about music artists struggling to find ways to thrive in a rapidly changing industry.

ASCAP’s Music Lounge at The Nashville Film Festival featuring Andy Davis, Angel Snow, Keegan DeWitt and The Bridges. (L-R): Jesse Willoughby (ASCAP), Keegan DeWitt, Angel Snow, Andy Davis, Jeremy Byrd, Isaaca Byrd, Peter Groenwald, Brittany Painter, Stacey Byrd and Natalie Byrd. Photo credit: Anna Maki

"Paper Airplane" Glides To No. 1

Paper Airplane, the latest from Alison Krauss and Union Station, glided into the No. 1 spot on both the Country and Bluegrass album charts moving 83,000 units in its debut week [Nielsen Soundscan]. It marks a career best for the band who hadn’t offered new music in seven years.
Meanwhile, the Country Strong soundtrack got a boost from the movie’s DVD/home rental release. The album landed at No. 3 on the Country chart with almost 19,000 units sold, for a RTD total of 213,000. At least three songs from the flick are on the digital tracks chart. And a companion volume offering more music debuted with 6,500 units.

Aldean and Clarkson on "Idol."


On the digital tracks chart, downloads of Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson‘s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” jumped 64% following their American Idol performance last week. Even before the added 59,000 units, the track was already past the platinum point.
Other debuts include Brad Paisley’s “Old Alabama” which sold 56,000 downloads. He played the song on the recent ACM Awards.
All-genre album sales are down 2.9% YTD, while Country album sales are hurting more with a 10% slide.

GMA Dove Awards Tonight In Atlanta

Jason Ingram is tonight's leading nominee. Pictured at the 2011 SESAC Christian Music Awards where he was named Songwriter of the Year.


The GMA Dove Awards will be handed out tonight (4/20) in Atlanta, as the show moves from its longtime Nashville home for the first time. Thanks to the new location, organizers are reporting a 60% boost in ticket sales versus the same time last year.
Jason Ingram is the leading nominee heading into the ceremony with 12 nods—the most ever received in one awards season.

Among the other top nominees are Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, Jason Crab, and Francesca Battistelli. For a complete list click here.
The View’s Sherri Shepherd will host the event at the Fox Theatre, which is being taped to air on GMC on Easter Sunday, April 24 at 7 p.m. ET.
Set to perform are Kenny Rogers with Point of Grace, as well as Francesca Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Kirk Franklin, Chris Tomlin, and more.
There will also be a pre-show event hosted by Jason Crabb with a performance by Guy Penrod.

CMT Award Nominations Coming Wednesday

CMT’s Evan Farmer will present the nominees for the 2011 CMT Music Awards live on the Today show Wed., April 27, airing at 9:00 am CST. Farmer will appear with hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.
The Band Perry will also be on hand during the nomination announcements to perform “You Lie.” This is the first time that CMT and NBC have partnered to announce the CMT Music Awards nominations. Voting will begin on CMT.com immediately following this announcement.
Also for the first time, a sneak peek of the nominees for the USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year category will be available on Monday, April 25 at usaweekend.com.
The 2011 CMT Music Awards mark the 10th anniversary of the awards show and will air live from Nashville on Wed., June 8 on CMT and CMT.com. More details to be announced.
 

Lisa Manning Joins WSM-FM

Longtime radio host Lisa Manning is joining the 95.5 FM WSM team, handling afternoons. She will be in the chair next week.
Locally Manning has worked at WGFX, WKDF, WSIX and WSM-AM.
The station cluster also welcomes Megan Good to the Cumulus Nashville team. She will be acting as Promotion Director for 95.5 FM WSM, WTN, and i106.
These announcements were made yesterday (4/19) by Dan Bowen, Director, Programming and Operations for 95.5 FM WSM.