Industry Ink: Latocki Takes Home ADDYs

/by

>>Latocki Team Creative (LTC) won two ADDY awards at the American Advertising Federation Nashville ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Limelight. The company won a Gold ADDY for SESAC’s quarterly newsletter, and a Silver ADDY for a revolving door entrance wrap promoting Jason Aldean during the Country Radio Seminar.

Working on the winning projects were Latocki Team Creative team members (L-R): Maggie Berry, Miranda Crump, Andy Baggett, Rebekah Lee Beard and owner Luellyn Latocki Hensley, as well as Jeff Crump (not pictured).


>>The Second Annual Billboard Country Music Summit, in association with the Country Music Association, will take place Monday – Tuesday, June 6-7 in Nashville. Like last year, the Summit will kick off activities leading up to the June 9-12 CMA Music Festival.
The two-day event will feature panel discussions, case studies and keynote interviews, as well as artist showcases and networking opportunities. Panels and round tables will cover digital content, country radio, touring saturation, new business models, and sponsorship/branding initiatives.
Last year’s inaugural Summit drew more than 400 registrants, as well as superstars Martina McBride and Tim McGraw.
>>The Atlantic is raving about Nashville, calling it a “major force in the music business,” and noting the big Grammy wins by Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss and Taylor Swift in recent years. The article says:

Over the past several decades, Nashville transformed itself from a rather narrow country music outpost in the 1960s and 1970s into a major center for commercial music. By the mid-2000s, only New York and Los Angeles housed more musicians. Nashville’s rise is even more impressive when you look at its ratio of musicians to total population. In 1970, Nashville wasn’t even one of the top five regions by this measure. By 2004, it was the national leader, with nearly four times the U.S. average. Today, it  is home to over 180 recording studios, 130 music publishers, 100 live music clubs, and 80 record labels… The ongoing evolution of Nashville has made it into something of a Silicon Valley of the music business, combining the best institutions, the best infrastructure, and the best talent.

>>Cold River Records has hired Mary Lynne O’Neal as Regional Director of Promotion. She was most recently Assistant Country Editor at All Access. O’Neal will join Cold River promo staffers including Jeff Davis, Jim Dandy and Staci Schane, and label head Pete O’Heeron in marketing flagship artist Katie Armiger. O’Neal can be reached starting March 7 at marylynne@coldriverrecords.com or (903) 926-0625.
>>Radio-info.com reports WSM-FM Nashville PD Russell Penuell has exited the station.

Underwood Makes Film Debut In "Soul Surfer"

/by

Carrie Underwood’s first major motion picture, Soul Surfer, will premiere April 8. She plays a church youth group leader in the real-life story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm in a shark attack. The trailer is available on EW.com.
AnnaSophia Robb (Bridge to Terebithia) plays Hamilton, and her parents are played by Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid.
Underwood has also guest starred on the hit comedy “How I Met Your Mother.”

Hot Schatz PR and Noise New Media Join Forces

/by

Hot Schatz PR and Noise New Media are teaming up to expand their service offerings. The new partnership will combine Hot Schatz PR’s 18 years of experience in traditional media with Noise New Media’s web design, social media and fan engagement campaigns.
The companies say it will help clients bring a consistent message to fans and traditional media, and cross-promote these campaigns. The companies will utilize video and file-sharing strategies, which they say will help keep costs affordable.
Schatzi Hageman is owner and president of Hot Schatz PR. Steve Richo co-founded Noise New Media three years ago, and has since worked with RODEOHOUSTON, Steve Azar, and Phil Vassar.
The two companies will share office space at:
1024 16th Ave. S., 2nd Floor
Nashville, TN 37212

Twitter Retaliation

/by

Social media is an excellent tool for nurturing the celebrity-consumer relationship, but as this filter-free communication system becomes ubiquitous, it is also influencing stars’ business dealings.
NFL players, and even their agents, have been angrily Tweeting about their ongoing dispute with team owners. Specific details of the negotiation which would have previously taken place behind closed boardroom doors are being played out publicly in real time. The instant information feed can be detrimental if it is used to vent during a moment of heated emotion.
The communication flow from star to fan was once closely guarded, but sites like Twitter have cut out the media middle men. Under the guidance of publicists, celebs previously communicated with consumers through more traditional media outlets like newspapers, magazines and television interviews.
The NFL Players Association warned its members about the potential for harm in its lockout guide:

“In this modern world of media and social networking, know that the nature of comments you make on Facebook, Twitter and text are taken seriously by the public. One negative comment by a player can be detrimental to the negotiation process and confuse the public and media on the position of our players.”

Playing into the power of social media, the union has devoted a section of its website to Twitter posts about the potential lockout, and launched a viral video campaign.
More from the New York Times.

Is Product Placement Coming To Tune Town?

/by


Tom Forrest


Britney Spears’ video “Hold It Against Me” [watch here] was released Feb. 17 and has garnered a flurry of attention. Fans perhaps loved the song’s thumping beat or the video’s modern, ultra chic techo-icity, but the trade mags were most enthralled by the unrelenting use of product placement  for companies like Sony, Plenty of Fish (dating website), Britney’s Radiance perfume, Sephora makeup and lots more. Product placement is the practice of exposing products in an admiring light that are really not integral to the video. According to www.tmz.com, Spears netted $500k for the various placements in “Hold It…” PlentyofFish.com, which reportedly spent in the six figure range, saw its traffic spike 20% the day after the video premiered.
Taking advantage of the product placement revenue stream in pop music videos is actually becoming almost the norm for those stars high enough on the food chain to attract such offers. In recent months Avril Lavigne, Lady Gaga and others have benefitted in this way. But what about country music? Is product placement on its way to Music City?
“We haven’t seen much on our end,” says Tom Forrest, President/Partner in Taillight TV whose company produces music videos and other projects. “For the longest time CMT had a policy about no overt product placements or endorsements in the videos,” he says. “Sometimes a male artist will drive a truck they endorse in the video, but it isn’t really meant to be a product placement. They need a vehicle for the video and certainly can’t be seen driving another manufacturer’s truck.” Forrest explains that his company does not participate in these deals. “In every contract we sign there is the payola clause. We cannot call up Coke and work a deal to make sure Reba drinks a coke. Those deals originate between an artist or label and the product.”

Craig Bann


However, with CD sales continuing to slide, music industry execs are busy fishing every revenue stream to see what they can catch. So is it reasonable to assume that country music artists may also begin to seek this kind of compensation?
“The potential for product placement is going to grow as more and more time is spent watching videos online,” says Craig Bann, AristoMedia Sr. VP Marketing & Publicity. “The fact that sites like YouTube, Vevo and others aren’t worried about product placement offers labels and artists a chance to recoup production costs. In the future I’d look for videos from developed artists to have two versions, one with product integrated into the concept and a second that’s product free to be delivered to broadcast outlets like CMT and GAC.”
“Who is willing to pay for Britney Spears to make a $500,000 video?” asks Forrest. “Most likely it isn’t the record company. Only with product placements is she able to afford this kind of imaging. It would be pretty difficult to do if MTV was the primary source of where that video would be seen. But music videos are being seen more and more on the web, on sites that are comfortable giving artists more control over their rights of what products they want to associate with. So yeah, you could definitely start to see this approach come to country. YouTube doesn’t care about product placement.”

Sarah Trahern


GAC Sr. VP Programming Sarah Trahern says she’s heard discussion about product integration from country artists, but has yet to see it appear in a video. “GAC has not yet set a formal policy on integration,” Trahern says. “If we do set one, it will be related to the blatancy of the product integration and whether or not it strongly distracts from the story content of the clip to viewers.”
Product placements on TV have become commonplace. In fact, The Nielsen Company ranks such movements by product and the shows that feature them. For example, According to Ad Age, during the period Jan. 1-31 Coca-cola, Chevrolet and Everlast sport equipment had the highest number of placement occurrences. ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, NBC’s 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards and NBC’s The Biggest Loser were the top three shows in terms of total placement occurrences.
The product placement discussion will evolve because the potential profits are ample, but ultimately, artists will still need to interact with their fans and bear the responsibility for keeping their trust.

Lambert's Record-Setting Sell-out

/by

Miranda Lambert kicked off The Revolution Continues tour over the weekend with two sold-out shows at the famed Billy Bob’s Texas in Ft. Worth. She is the first artist to ever sell out back-to-back nights at the venue. Tickets for both nights were gone in a record breaking 30 minutes.
According to Billy Bob’s Entertainment Director Robert Gallagher, “She was the only female artist to sell out our venue in 2010 and nearly 6000 fans per night came out last Friday and Saturday to give us the first back-to-back sellouts in our 30-year history.”
During Friday night’s performance, Lambert emotionally dedicated “The House That Built Me” to her grandmother who had passed away less than a week before.
The star recently won her first Grammy, and is up for seven ACM Awards on April 3. She also took home three CMA Awards late last year. As she continues her tour, Lambert’s newest single “Heart Like Mine” is climbing MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart and is at No. 11 this week.

Benefits: Victoria Shaw & Friends and Lyrics For Lyric

/by

>>The Nashville Music Guide and Picks Nashville have announced that February’s Lyrics for Lyric show is set for Feb. 23. This will be the fourth installment of the series to benefit Lyric Alana Frizzell, whom was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of Leukemia at 10 months old. It will be hosted by Mark Newton and headlined by Billy Yates. Songwriters appearing throughout the night will be Bryant Meltzer, Cowboy Slim, Emmett Grayson McCarthy, Jamie Saylor, Joe Eskridge, Ray Parton, Gibson & Melletti Band, Sam Cooper, Chris Gantry, Lisa Carver, Amanda Martin, Jimbeau Hinson, Chuck Cannon, James Lann, Joe Kent, Michael Huffman, Buddy Brock, Tommy Barnes, Anika Dartsch, Kelly Murray and Tamara Ray Fosdick. A portion of the night’s proceeds will be donated to the Lyric Frizzell Fund, to offset the costs incurred during the two year old’s cancer treatment at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Doors open at 5 pm. No cover charge; 1407 Division St., Nashville, TN 37203. For more information please visit, www.lyricfrizzell.com, www.nashvillemusicguide.com, www.picksnashville.com and www.billyyates.com.

>>The Victoria Shaw & Friends benefit concert is set for Saturday, March 5 at Limelight Entertainment Complex in Nashville. Performers include Shaw, Keb’ Mo’, Katie Armiger, Robin Meade, Blair Gardner, Chuck Jones, Mitch Malloy, Alex Call and Gary Burr. Tickets are $20 with proceeds benefiting Abintra Montessori School. Doors open at 7, the show and silent auction begins at 8. For details visit www.LimelightNashville.com.

Artists Testing The Country Waters

/by

They may have gotten their starts in the pop/rock world, but The Doobie Brothers and Uncle Kracker are among a group of artists warming up to country.
As reported earlier this month, The Doobie Brothers have been working their single “World Gone Crazy” at country radio. Now comes the news that the band will make its Grand Ole Opry debut on Sat., Feb. 26. Founding members Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston, along with members John McFee (formerly in Southern Pacific) and Guy Allison, will be joined by touring member John Cowan, of New Grass Revival fame.
The band, celebrating its 40th Anniversary in April, has long flirted with country sounds, with songs such as “Black Water” and “Long Train Running.” Their newest album, World Gone Crazy, continues the country connection with a guest performance from Willie Nelson on “I Know We Won.”
Uncle Kracker has enjoyed some country crossover success for several years, spurred originally by his connection with Kenny Chesney and their hit “When The Sun Goes Down.” Uncle Kracker’s recent radio hit “Smile” was also a success on the country charts. His collaboration with Kid Rock, “Good to Be Me,” is nominated for ACM Vocal Event of the Year at the upcoming awards show.
Now Kracker is in Nashville recording his new album with hitmaking producer Keith Stegall, according to Billboard. Among the writers contributing songs are J.T. Harding and Shane McAnally, who scored as co-writers of Chesney’s latest hit, “Somewhere With You.”
Kracker is set to hit the road with Chesney next month.
Other rockers venturing into the country world as of late include Staind frontman Aaron Lewis. Of course, the biggest crossover success story in recent memory is Darius Rucker, whose 2008 country debut Learn To Live spawned three No. 1 singles and helped earn him a Top New Artist CMA Award.

More Vehicles Add Streaming Radio

/by

A growing number of automobile makers are partnering with streaming radio services, and other entertainment apps for upcoming models.
The latest addition is Pandora streaming radio teaming with GM. The offering is expected to debut in the car manufacturer’s Chevrolet Volt and Equinox 2012 models. Users will be able to control Pandora via the car’s factory stereo system.
Pandora has already partnered with Ford, Mini, Mercedes, Toyota, and Hyundai. More here.
The streaming service offers a free version with advertisements, or a paid subscription with no ads. It has about 80 million registered users.
This news follows Pandora’s IPO filing earlier this month.

Industry Ink: Black River Celebrates

/by

>>Black River Entertainment hosted an event in Nashville to celebrate the release of new projects including Sarah Darling’s Angels & Devils, Due West’s Forget The Miles, and Jeff Bates’ One Day Closer CD & DVD. Label owners Kim and Terry Pegula were on hand, and newly-named COO Gordon Kerr emceed the evening.
This is Darling’s second album for Black River Entertainment. Of the eleven songs in the new collection, she co-wrote nine, including first single, “Something To Do With Your Hands.” Vince Gill sings with her on “Bad Habit.” Jimmy Nichols produced Angels & Devils with an assist on two of the cuts from Darling’s frequent co-writer Adam Shoenfeld. Also on the project are her covers of U2’s “With Or Without You,” and Elton John’s “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.”

(L-R): Terry Pegula, Bates, Darling, Brad Hull of Due West, Matt Lopez of Due West, Kim Pegula, Tim Gates of Due West, and Kerr. Photo: Alan Mayor


>>The Financial Times reports that Warner Music is seeking preliminary bids this week for its music publishing company or for the entire group.
>>BMG has appointed Steven Moran global Chief Operating Officer. He will be based in the company’s headquarters in Berlin, and joins BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch. Moran spent more than ten years at Bertelsmann, BMG’s joint venture parent with KKR, as well as time on the European start-up team for iTunes.
>>Hip-hop executive Steve Stoute purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times in order to print a scathing open letter to NARAS. Here’s his point: “Where I think that the Grammys fail stems from two key sources: (1) over-zealousness to produce a popular show that is at odds with its own system of voting and (2) fundamental disrespect of cultural shifts as being viable and artistic.” Read on.
>>TechCrunch reports that popular European streaming music service Spotify could receive $100 million or more in funding. The company is nearing its U.S. launch.
>>Americana singer-songwriter Jalan Crossland has signed with Ted Wagner for artist management representation. Crossland is a flat-picking champion whose primary instrument is the guitar, but also plays the banjo. Wagner’s 25-year career includes time at RCA Records, Equity Music Group, Montage Music Group, Nine North Records and Columbia Nashville, where he was VP of Promotion. Ted Wagner Entertainment Services is located at 3730 Vulcan Dr., Nashville TN 37211. Wagner can be reached at 615-613-3292 or tedwagner@rocketmail.com.

(L-R): Ted Wagner, Jalan Crossland, Andy Phreaner (drums), Shaun Kelley (bass)


Jeff Johnson has joined the GammaBlast team.


>>Video production and editing house Gamma Blast has added director/DP/editor Jeff Johnson. His experience includes directing projects for artists such as Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Josh Groban, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Lindsay Buckingham. As a Director of Photography and Editor, he’s shot and cut projects for everyone from Carrie Underwood to Timbaland and numerous major news and music networks. Johnson joins Gamma Blast owner Chad Denning as the company’s directing talent. To solicit Johnson or Denning for music videos or webisodes, please contact Executive Producer Matt Nahay at 615-321-9552.
>>Local music journalist Jewly Hight will celebrate the release of her first book Right By Her Roots: Americana Women and Their Songs (Baylor University Press) at Music City Roots, Live from the Loveless Cafe on Wed., March 2, 2011. The book delves into the music of Lucinda Williams, Julie Miller, Victoria Williams, Michelle Shocked, Mary Gauthier, Ruthie Foster, Elizabeth Cook and Abigail Washburn.
>>On Feb. 25 Mac McAnally will be recognized with a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail in Belmont, Miss. The producer, guitarist, artist and songwriter is also in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.