Artist Action On TV

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Lee Brice performed on The Price is Right as part of a special episode dedicated to the recent ACM Awards. Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS


>>>The Judds premiered last night (4/10) on Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Wynonna and Naomi have been promoting the reality show about their farewell tour with media visits, including The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, airing tomorrow Tuesday, April 12.
>>>Also tomorrow, April 12, Sara Evans will perform her hit single “Stronger” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The song has sold enough downloads to be certified Gold by the RIAA.
>>>The Grascals will make their debut on CBS TV’s The Talk on Tuesday, April 12 when they perform current single, “I Am Strong.”

The Roys visited "Better TV" to promote their new album "Lonesome Whistle." (L-R) Elaine Roy, Audra Lowe, Lee Roy and Rhiannon Ally


Toby Keith sat down with Becca on "The Country Vibe" to talk about his new charity Pros 4 Vets, and new mezcal liquor. (L-R): Chuck, Becca, Toby Keith


"Opry Memories," featuring performances from the Grand Ole Opry 1965-1975, will premiere April 13 at 7 PM/CDT on Nashville Public Television and will run on PBS stations nationwide in June. All performances were taped at the Ryman Auditorium. Hosted by actor-singer John Schneider (R), the show offers performances by Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, George Jones, and Bill Anderson (L), who is celebrating his 50th Anniversary year as a member of the Opry. Photo: Don Olea


 
 

Warner Reviewing Final Bids

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The second round of bidding ended last week in the auction of Warner Music Group, and the New York Times reports a purchaser could be revealed as early as this week. The selling price is expected to be about $3 billion.
At least 10 bidders have been vying for all or part of the company. Some investors have bid separately for the label and publishing divisions.
Media watchers say $3 billion is a healthy price for the company, and believe it is a good sign for the music industry that so many bidders are interested in Warner, given the industry’s slumping sales.

Alison Krauss And Union Station Offer Target Exclusive

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The new album from Alison Krauss & Union Station will be released tomorrow (4/12) bringing fans the first new music from the band since 2004. Paper Airplane, coming via Rounder Records, offers 11 tracks.
The band has also teamed with Target stores for an exclusive deluxe edition of the project which has an additional six tracks, including three studio songs – “These Days” and “A Place Outside,” both written by Angel Snow and Krauss’ brother, Viktor Krauss; and “Frozen Fields,” composed by Jeff Black and Jon Randall. The other three bonus tracks are live versions of “We Hide & Seek,” “Faraway Land” and “Every Time You Say Goodbye.” Target is selling the project at a $13.99 price point.
“These Days” is also being offered as a bonus track for iTunes pre-orders.
AKUS will spend release week in NYC making media appearances, including a visit to The Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday, April 13, and The Today Show on Thursday, April 14.
The title track is the album’s first single, with the music video reaching No. 5 on CMT.com.
This is the band’s follow-up to 2004’s triple Grammy-winning Lonely Runs Both Ways. Krauss also won numerous Grammys for her collaboration with Robert Plant four years ago.
Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas are set for a nationwide tour launching in June and visiting over 50 cities through September.

BMI Promotes Camellia Petty

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Camellia Petty


BMI has promoted longtime employee Camellia Petty to Vice President, Product & Application Development.
In her new role, Petty is responsible for building the business processes and technical foundations required to meet the future needs of BMI’s songwriters, composers, publishers and licensees.
Since joining BMI in 1995 as Project Manager, she has played a key role in creating innovative programs to accurately distribute royalties to BMI’s songwriters and music publishers. Those programs include new methodology for the precise distribution of royalties from professional sports teams, theme parks, airlines and live performances in concert venues of all sizes.
She reports to Nashville based James King, Senior Vice President, Business Technology. “Camellia’s abilities and experience equip her to thrive in this position,” King said. “She has the knowledge, discipline, and passion required to deliver the next generations of technology for our affiliates and business partners.”
Petty holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cumberland University (Lebanon, Tennessee) and an Associate of Science degree from Nashville State Technical Institute. Petty is an active member of the Nashville Technology Council, the BMI Foundation and ORACLE Customer Support Council.

Music Supervisors Return To Nashville Film Festival

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Six of Hollywoood’s leading music supervisors will be in Music City for events during the Nashville Film Festival.
In attendance will be Andrea von Foerster (500 Days of Summer, The O.C.), Alethia Austin (Grassroots, The Cursed), Jon Ernst (The Hills, The World According to Paris), Chris Mollere (Greek, The Vampire Diaries), Marcy Bulkeley (Music Supervisor/BLT & Assoc.), and Richard Glasser (VP Motion Picture Music/Weinstein Co.).
First up is a panel discussion titled Music Supervisors 201, scheduled for Wed., April 20, 10AM at the Regal Green Hills Cinema. Open only to established publishers and industry professionals, this panel moves past the basics and takes an in-depth look at song placement for film and TV. Music supervisors will discuss their current projects, and there will be opportunities for submissions and relationship-building. The panel will be moderated by noted entertainment attorney Jim Zumwalt. To order panel tickets ($35) go to www.NashvilleFilmFestival.org.

The same group of music supervisors will participate in an informal “speed-dating” event organized by the CMA and the Nashville Film Festival on Tues., April 19. The event will be 6:30-9pm at the CMA offices. This is not a pitch session. Limited tickets are available for $150/person and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Call Ted Crockett (615) 742-2500 to attend, voicemails will be returned in the order received.
The Nashville Film Festival runs April 14-21.
Please note panelists are subject to last-minute substitutions.

U2 360 Tour Is Highest Grossing In History

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U2‘s current 360 tour became the highest grossing tour in history over the weekend. A sold-out concert last night (4/10) at Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil pushed the tour past the previous record held by the Rolling Stones’ Bigger Bang Tour which grossed $554 million from 2005-07.
When the U2 tour finishes in Canada on July 30, the gross is expected to surpass $700 million.
There are 26 shows left on the Live Nation outing which launched in 2009. So far U2 360 has played to 5 million people worldwide, with that number expected to surpass 7 million before the tour wraps. The two-year run encompasses 110 shows in 30 countries across five continents.
Promoter and producer Arthur Fogel pointed out that the band’s in-the-round transportable stadium production set can accommodate more fans in the stands. He says, “The extra capacity that the U2 360 creates also allows for a large number, several thousand in fact, of low priced tickets at every show.”
But this massive, cutting edge production is costly reminds U2’s manager Paul McGuinness, who says “the band spend enormous sums on production for their audience.”

Date Set for Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction

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The 41st Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will take place Sunday, October 16, 2011 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, according to an announcement made today (4/11) by John Van Mol, Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation.
This year’s inductees will be revealed in the coming months.
The annual event is one of the highlights of the Nashville awards season and honors those who create the songs that define country music.
Last year’s honorees included Pat Alger, Steve Cropper, Paul Davis and Stephen Foster. The ceremony also features some of music’s biggest names paying tribute to the inductees and attending the event. In years past such country music luminaries as Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Jimmy Buffett, Gretchen Wilson, Jimmy Wayne, the Del McCoury Band, Barbara Mandrell and Raul Malo have performed at or attended the event.

Carter's Chord Plans New EP

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Carter’s Chord has spent a year writing and recording, and fans will get to hear the result of their latest efforts on a new EP coming next month.
Wild Together, set for release May 24, features six songs from sisters Becky, Emily and Joanna Robertson.
The lead single from the Show Dog-Universal Music project, “A Little Less Comfortable,” is a showcase for the family harmonies.
In 2011, the band has been building its team, including announcing a publishing deal with UMPG Nashville, and signing with Jennifer Bohler’s Alliance Media for PR representation.
The band says the new project is a reflection of their growth as writers and musicians. Through the process, they found their artistic identity, which has a little bit of attitude like on tracks “I Can Break Hearts Too” and “Simple Little Screwed Up Life.”
The sisters have a wide variety of influences, particularly their parents Carter and Barny Robertson’s work with Waylon Jennings, but the common thread is an organic sound.

Eye On Idol (4/08/11)

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Pia Toscano


What an impossibly strange week on American Idol.
First, legendary rock ‘n’ roll degenerate Iggy Pop performed (shirtless!) on the Thursday (4/7) results show. He’s almost 64. So there’s that.
And then, in a shocking turn of events, Pia Toscano–widely thought to be a frontrunner–was sent home.
After several weeks of big ballads, the Idol judges were begging Pia to sing something uptempo. So on Wednesday’s (4/6) Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-themed show, she opted for the Ike & Tina Turner classic “River Deep, Mountain High” and delivered a fiery interpretation that would have likely pleased even crazy, gun-toting Phil Spector.
Yet it wasn’t enough.
So what happened? History suggests that voters assumed she was safe and focused their attention voting for others, which left her at a deficit. Certainly possible. Chris Daughtry can tell you all about that phenomenon.
But there’s also the possibility she may not have been as heavily favored as it seemed. Sure, she was undoubtedly one of the best singers of the season, but winning this game requires more. Look at contestants Scotty McCreery or James Durbin, both of whom have avoided the bottom three so far. They’re respectable singers, of course, but beyond that they’ve managed to harness their populist appeal and build legions of screaming, rabid fans. Listen to the way the audience goes bonkers every time Seacrest calls one of their names.
Still, it’s hard to imagine anyone voting for Stefano Langone doing a merely decent version of “When A Man Loves A Woman” ahead of Pia. Judging by the look on his face when Pia’s name was called instead of his, even Stefano would agree. Pia, if you’re out there, don’t stress too much over this. Jennifer Hudson exited way early in her season and she’s got an Oscar.
Since Scotty McCreery, James Durbin and Lauren Alaina are the only three to avoid the bottom three so far, signs point to them being the contestants to beat.
Oy. What else is going to happen this season? Will Rebecca Black get a results show performance spot to duet on “Friday” with Josh Groban, accompanied by the Flaming Lips and the cast of So You Think You Can Dance?
Fingers crossed.

Summer Touring Headed For An Upswing

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Kenny Chesney is planning a full-scale tour after a year off the road.


In 2010, summer touring took a downhill turn, but as the weather warms up, so do the predictions for this year’s concert biz.
After a year off the road, Kenny Chesney is mounting a major outing, sharing billing on the stadium dates with Zac Brown Band. Big stars like Chesney and Brown, who may have toured separately in a booming economy, are teaming up for dates in big venues to boost ticket sales. George Strait and Reba are co-headlining a tour that was one of Billboard Boxscore’s Top 25 Tours of 2010.
The Strait/Reba package, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are among the country stars who successfully navigated 2010’s touring slump, though some had more special guests than others. Underwood didn’t need another big name to sell tickets to her tour, she flew solo on her headlining arena run, playing to over a million fans.
Venturing overseas is another way acts are thriving on the road. Alan Jackson performed a series of shows in Australia for the first time in his career last month. And Aussie Keith Urban is currently leading a tour Down Under with guests Lady Antebellum.
One of the hottest acts of the year, Taylor Swift has been on a worldwide outing and is back in the states, continuing her sell-out run. She concluded the overseas leg with a sold-out show in London, and simultaneously added 16 new dates to the North American portion of the tour, which kicks off May 27. When that leg wraps just before Thanksgiving, she will have headlined 97 stadium and arena shows around the world in 2011.
High ticket prices were one of the factors fueling last year’s touring downturn. Since December, commentators like The New York Post have been predicting lower ticket prices for this season.
Chesney manager Clint Higham told the Wall Street Journal that the singer lowered lawn seat prices from $40 in 2009, to about $30 for this year. Higham added that his superstar increased the number of dates, up from 45 to 60, to make up the difference at the box office. He says Chesney’s ticket sales are already up 15%, thanks partly to taking last year off and “being missed.”
Manager Ken Levitan also talked to the Wall Street Journal for the new article. He says that artists are cutting corners to lower touring costs. “We might be jamming more people on fewer buses, or doing a little less pyro on stage,” he told the paper.
“Our merch numbers are very strong,” he added, “and that’s a good sign of a little more disposable income out there.” He pointed out that his client Kid Rock has been moving about $14 a head in merch, where $10 would be considered strong. In keeping with the current trend that two acts are better than one, Kid Rock will be pairing with Sheryl Crow for a summer outing.