Toyota Adds Pandora

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Toyota's Entune telematics service integrates apps with the car's infotainment system. (Credit: CNET)


The Pandora “pandemic” may soon be rolling into a car near you!
Ford previously announced it would offer Pandora in connection with its SYNC platform.
Today, at CES in Las Vegas, Toyota revealed it will also roll with Pandora using its Entune multimedia system. The Toyota system will also reportedly engage users with other apps such as Bing, OpenTable, iheartradio and movietickets.com. Users only need to download an Entune app to their iPhone, Android or Blackberry and pair the phone via bluetooth with the car’s system. The individual apps are actually run by the Entune server.
Toyota plans to unveil the new functionality later this year.

ACM Showcase Teams With Opry, GAC

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Luke Bryan


The ACM Showcase, an evening dedicated to the newcomer nominees for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, is set for Tues., Jan. 18 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event is open to fans and will take place as a special Grand Ole Opry performance, which is set to air on GAC.
Reigning ACM Top New Artist Luke Bryan will host the event featuring Top New Solo Vocalist nominees Eric Church, Randy Houser and Easton Corbin; and Top New Vocal Duo or Group nominees The Band Perry, the JaneDear girls and Steel Magnolia.
This special will air at 10:00PM EST on Thursday, January 27 on GAC and will kick off fan voting for these categories at VoteACM.com. Voting will close on Thursday, February 24 at 12noon EST. The winner in each category will be announced in March and those artists will move on to compete for Top New Artist, which will be announced during the 46th Annual ACM Awards broadcast on April 3, 2011 on CBS.
The complete list of nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards will be announced in February.
ACM Showcase tickets are available to the public beginning today (12/4) at opry.com or by calling 1-800-SEE-OPRY.

Pickler Weds…More Artist News

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Kellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs


Kellie Pickler and songwriter Kyle Jacobs were married in an intimate ceremony on Saturday, January 1, 2011 on a private island in the Caribbean.
Nicole Kidman will appear at The Belcourt Theatre for a screening of her new film Rabbit Hole, and participate in a post-screening discussion moderated by WSMV anchor and filmmaker Demetria Kalodimos on Sat., Jan. 8 at 3:00 pm.

LeAnn Rimes has announced her engagement to actor Eddie Cibrian.
UMPG Nashville songwriter Lori McKenna is planning the Jan. 25 release of her new album Lorraine. The hit songwriter has recent cuts by Keith Urban, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, LeAnne Rimes, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood.
Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys of Fall” has become his ninth Certified Gold Single.
Bill Anderson has signed with Nick Meinema of The Agency Group for exclusive worldwide booking representation. Meinema has been Anderson’s exclusive agent throughout Canada since 2007. He may be contacted at nickmeinema@theagencygroup.com or (416) 368-5599.
Columbia/Legacy is planning the Feb. 22 release of Johnny Cash’s From Memphis To Hollywood, a double album featuring previously unreleased demos, live radio recordings, non-album singles and B-sides. The tracks are from Cash’s early career in the 1950s and ‘60s, including time at Sun Records and Columbia Records.
Joe Diffie has written a cookbook called Homecoming, The Diffie Family Cookbook. It is available on Amazon and www.joediffie.com.
Paramore members Josh Farro and Zac Farro have left the band. Remaining on board are lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York.

Randy Montana Debuts 3-Song EP

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Montana shot the video for "1000 Faces" in early December near the L&C Tower in downtown Nashville.


Randy Montana’s 3-song EP is hitting online outlets, just as his new single “1000 Faces” hits radio. Produced by Jay Joyce, the 1000 Faces EP contains the title track (Montana, Tom Douglas); “Assembly Line” (Montana, Natalie Hemby); and “Last Horse” featuring Emmylou Harris on harmonies (Montana, father Billy Montana, Rodney Clawson).
The Mercury artist’s debut single was “Ain’t Much Left of Loving You.” His full-length album is due out later this year.
The January issue of Southern Living magazine boasts Montana as one of five “Best New Artists” in its Best of the South feature.
Look for the premiere of the “1,000 Faces” music video at www.randymontana.com tomorrow (12/5).

Cameron Strang Named CEO Warner/Chappell

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Cameron Strang


Warner Music Group Corp. announced today the appointment of veteran music industry entrepreneur, Cameron Strang, as CEO of Warner/Chappell Music. The appointment was announced jointly by Warner Music Group’s Chairman & CEO, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., and Warner/Chappell’s Chairman & CEO, David H. Johnson.
Strang, the founder of New West Records and Southside Independent Music Publishing, will serve as Warner/Chappell’s CEO effective January 1, 2011 and will be based in Los Angeles. Johnson will continue as Warner/Chappell’s Chairman until July 1, 2011, at which point Strang will assume the additional role of Warner/Chappell’s Chairman. Johnson, who had served as WMG’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel since 1999, was initially elevated to serve as interim CEO of Warner/Chappell in 2006, and was subsequently promoted to Warner/Chappell’s Chairman & CEO in 2007.
Warner/Chappell has also acquired Strang’s Southside Independent Music Publishing, a leading independent music publishing company that was behind some of the biggest hits of 2010 including two of the songs nominated for the 2011 “Record of the Year” Grammy Award—B.o.B.’s “Nothin’ on You” and Cee Lo Green’s “F*** You.” Other recent hit songs on Southside include Brad Paisley’s No. 1 “American Saturday Night” and Uncle Kracker’s hit “Smile.”
Strang is the founder of both Southside Independent Music Publishing and New West Records, and co-founder of DMZ Records, a joint venture record label he launched with producer T-Bone Burnett, and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.
With the acquisition of Southside, Warner/Chappell gains a roster including Nashvillians Ashley Gorley, Blair Daly and Matthew West, as well as Bruno Mars, and producer Brody Brown. In 2009, Southside acquired Nashville publisher Combustion Music, and the catalog of multi-Platinum rock act Kings of Leon.
Other top Southside songs include Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” “All American Girl” and “Just A Dream;” Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This;” Brad Paisley’s “Then” and “American Saturday Night;” Kenny Chesney’s “Where I Grew Up;” Darius Rucker’s “It Won’t Be Like This For Long;” Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” and “Sex on Fire;” and Flo Rida’s “Right Round.”
Strang launched New West Records in 1995 with the signing of singer/songwriter Billy Joe Shaver. In 1998, he moved the label’s home to Los Angeles. During the last decade, Strang and New West have released numerous award-winning albums and built an impressive roster including Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, Kris Kristofferson, Rickie Lee Jones, Drive By Truckers, Ben Lee, Old 97’s, and Buddy and Julie Miller. Recently New West acquired the Texas Music Group, and released the award-winning soundtrack to the film Crazy Heart.
Read about changes at New West following Strang’s exit here.

New West Names Ruthig GM Following Strang’s Exit

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Founder and longtime President of New West Records Cameron Strang has joined Warner/Chappell Music as CEO. New West GM

Michael Ruthig


Michael Ruthig will assume the label’s daily operations responsibilities. In this role he will continue to oversee domestic and international sales, with a more active role in Production and A&R. Prior to joining New West, Ruthig held positions at EMI, Clear Channel and Live Nation.

Katelyn Craig


Katelyn Craig will also see her role expanded in light of this change, as she is promoted to lead New West Independent Music Publishing. Her responsibilities include overseeing all creative and administrative services for NWIMP artists, as well as securing film and TV placement.
Contact Ruthig at Ruthig@newwestrecords.com or 310-246-5766. Reach Craig at katelyn@newwestrecords.com or 310-246-5766.

Solid Reviews For "Country Strong"

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Solid reviews are coming in for Country Strong, which is already showing at the Carmike 20 in Franklin, Tenn. and is slated for a wide release on Friday, Jan. 7. Many critics are saying the movie is carried by strong performances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw.
The LA Times finds “down-home comfort” in the film despite its predictable “music-drenched melodrama” centered around the “roughhouse country music industry.” According to the review:

When the starting point is a world in which even the toughest guys wear their hearts on their sleeves, the trick for filmmakers is how to walk the line without getting stuck in the muck, and that is a problem the filmmaker hasn’t yet figured out
What helps elevate “Country Strong” when the music stops is the strength of the performances. It’s not easy to play opposite [Oscar winner Paltrow] but McGraw does a credible job. He is such an appealing guy on-screen, working an easy charm in a way that seems so effortless it’s turning him into Hollywood’s good old boy of choice (see “The Blind Side”). But the scene stealer is the Minnesota farmboy, Garrett Hedlund, who took up the guitar for the film and, despite an acting hot streak that includes “Tron: Legacy,” actually could quit his day job. His scruffy Trace Adkins-style baritone and kickback charisma on-stage makes Beau irresistible to more than just [Paltrow’s character] Kelly.

The Huffington Post says:

Paltrow easily delivers the best performance of her adult life, playing a woman who has many demons to battle. The strength to keep it together threatens to fall apart constantly, yet it never once veers into melodrama.
The acting performance aside, the surprising part is seeing Paltrow belt out tunes, play the guitar and strut on stage as if she was born and raised in the heartland.

McGraw will discuss the film on upcoming television appearances including the Late Show with David Letterman (1/4), Good Morning America (1/5), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (1/5), Chelsea Lately (1/6) and The Martha Stewart Show (1/7). He returns to the road this spring on the Emotional Traffic Tour with special guests Luke Bryan and The Band Perry.
MORE
• See the L.A. Times picks for the best country music movies.
• Music videos below from the motion picture soundtrack:
McGraw and Paltrow perform “Me and Tennessee,” written by Paltrow’s husband Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Paltrow’s Yahoo exclusive performance of “Coming Home.” The song by Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, and Troy Verges is nominated for Best Original Song–Motion Picture at the Golden Globe® Awards, taking place on Sunday, January 16, 2011, airing on NBC from 8:00-11:00 p.m. (EST).

Smartphones Becoming Dominant

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According to market research company Nielsen (1/3/11), the Apple iPhone operating system remains the top mobile OS in the US enjoying a 28.6% market share. Closely following the Cupertino giant is Google’s Android system with 25.8%. Blackberry, once the top dog in the mobile platform race, slides from 33% in June 2010 to 26.1% in the current study.
According to Nielsen, 45% of customers ready to purchase a mobile phone opted for a smartphone instead of a feature phone. Also notable is a finding that among recent smartphone acquirers, 40% chose Android over the last six months, making it the leading choice.
Strong smartphone demand benefits the music industry since the handheld devices encourage and facilitate consumption of music, video and social network engagement.

Little Jimmy Celebrates 90

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On December 18, the Grand Ole Opry celebrated the 90th birthday of Little Jimmy Dickens, a 62-year Opry veteran.  Opry member and Dickens’ good friend Brad Paisley led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” as Opry members Jeannie Seely, Bill Anderson and Jim Ed Brown rolled out his birthday cake.


Earlier in the evening, Paisley had tweeted a photo of the cake with the message:  “Celebrating the 90th B Day of Little Jimmy tonight.  Here’s the cake, and he’s in there waiting to jump out actually.”

Throughout the show, Twitter and Facebook greetings from some of Dickens’ fellow country stars and fans from around the world poured in.  A sampling of other tweets and posts from friends:

Kix Brooks: “90?  He’s been telling all the ladies he’s 76!  Happy Birthday, Little Jimmy!  Hope it’s the best yet!”

Sara Evans: “Little Jimmy, today you are about 32,986 & ½ days old.  90 doesn’t sound too bad after hearing that, does it?  Happy Birthday, we love you!”
Marty Stuart: “Wishing Little Jimmy Dickens a very happy 90th birthday on Sunday – my sincere thanks for bringing country music to new heights.”
Fellow Opry member Trace Adkins visited Jimmy over his birthday weekend, below is a video of their conversation. During the visit, Dickens shares stories of Christmases and birthdays past growing up in West Virginia.

Toby Keith New Year's Eve; Bobby Bare at Fontanel

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Photo: Jeff Gleason


Toby Keith made a surprise visit to his I Love This Bar & Grill at Mesa Riverview in Arizona for New Years Eve where he performed a handful of songs to ring in the New Year including “Whiskey Girl,”  “I Love This Bar,” “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)” as well as “Cocaine” (Eric Clapton, JJ Cale cover).  Toby was in town to attend the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ the next day.

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(L-R): Marc Oswald, Fontanel co-owner; Bobby Bare; Dale Morris, Fontanel co-owner; and Gary Shiebler.


On Thursday Dec. 16, fishing, food and music fans packed the Farm House Restaurant at Fontanel for the kick-off of the inaugural Thursday Night Fishing Club Music Series. Organizer and leader Gary Shiebler mixed his original fishing songs in with a variety of rock and country classics. Between songs, lucky audience members won free fishing rods, reels, baits and tackle and passes to tour the Fontanel Mansion. Country music legend Bobby Bare made a rare Nashville appearance at the event taking requests for some of his biggest hits. The Thursday Night Fishing Club Music Series will resume as a bi-weekly event at the Farm House Restaurant at Fontanel in mid-January, and announcements will be made soon regarding special guests.