Jay DeMarcus’ Red Street Records Signs Reagan Strange, Cade Thompson

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Pictured (L-R): Mark Lusk, Don Koch, Cade Thompson, Reagan Strange, Jay DeMarcus.

Red Street Records, the Christian music label founded by Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, has signed two new artists, Reagan Strange and Cade Thompson.

Strange, a 14-year-old singer from Memphis, competed on NBC’s The Voice in Season 15.

“I think Reagan, and how young she was and the maturity level and the depth of her voice, with the precision that she delivers in a song, really captivated me following her on the show,” DeMarcus tells MusicRow. “And then getting to meet her in person when the Flatts were out in [Los Angeles] on the voice, I really got to see the heart of the person and that was even more impressive. It’s been a joy to get to know her over the past year and I can’t wait for the world to see what’s ahead for her…I believe that the world needs to hear the message that Reagan has to deliver. We live in a world right now where a lot of young people are faced with things that I could never imagine when I was a young person, and I believe she can be a light for an entire generation of younger kids.”

Thompson, 18, is a soulful contemporary artist with a sound that appeals to Christian music enthusiasts and mainstream pop audiences alike. Thompson has shared concert and festival lineups with for King & Country, Colton Dixon and Jaci Velasquez, among others.

“I heard about Cade from my friend and business partner [acclaimed producer and songwriter] Don Koch,” DeMarcus said. “He sent me some demos Cade had done early on and after hearing ‘My Provider,’ I was sucked in immediately. And there is something so captivating about his voice and really, a transparency of who he is as a person is refreshing. He’s not your typical artist, he’s got some depth to him that is very rare to find in such a young man.”

DeMarcus launched the Red Street label in 2018; DeMarcus first began his own music career in Contemporary Christian Music, as part of the duo East to West, before later joining with Gary LeVox and Joe Don Rooney to form country group Rascal Flatts.

“I always feel like I’m going back home every time I work [in Christian music]. I grew up in the church and have always loved contemporary Christian music. It’s great to ‘come back home’ and feel like I’ve never skipped any time,” he said last year when he formed the label.

Sam Hunt Publicly Responds To DUI Arrest

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Sam Hunt

After being arrested early Thursday morning (Nov. 21) for allegedly driving drunk, Sam Hunt has released a public statement via Twitter.  “It was a poor and selfish decision and I apologize to everyone who was unknowingly put at risk and let down by it. It won’t happen again,” Hunt said in his Tweet.

The singer was booked at the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, and was released after posting the $2,500 bond around 9 a.m. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 17, 2020.

Hunt released “Kinfolks,” his first single in over a year in October, with plans to release a full album in early 2020. ET reported that Hunt was was expected to release a new song on Friday called “Sinning With You,” but did not.

BMG To Release Hank Williams Photo Book And Six-CD Set Of Remastered Live Recordings

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On Feb. 7, 2020, BMG will release a Hank Williams table-top book and six-CD set of remastered live recordings, titled Hank Williams: Pictures From Life’s Other Side—The Man and His Music in Rare Photos and Recordings.

The recordings have been pulled from a discovered collection of recorded broadcasts from a radio show Williams started hosting in 1951. Sponsored by Mother’s Best Flour Company, the 15-minute broadcasts were aired every weekday.

The find more than doubled the number of known Williams recordings; as the six-CD collection features 144 tracks representing the complete rundown of Williams’ performances from the existing transcription discs. Along with classics such as “Lovesick Blues,” “I Saw the Light,” “Cold Cold Heart,” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” the Mother’s Best recordings represent the only known versions of dozens of Hank Williams performances.

The compilation was produced by Cheryl Pawelski, and each track was carefully restored and remastered by Michael Graves. Together, they earned Best Historical Album Grammy award for their work on Hank Williams’ The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 compilation in 2015.

The recordings are packaged in a slipcase with a book that chronicles Williams’ career in photographs. With the assistance of Grammy nominee Scott B. Bomar and Hank photo collector Ken Campanile, the 272-page hardbound volume was assembled by leading Hank Williams expert Colin Escott, who wrote the definitive biography of the American music icon and has won two Grammy awards for Best Historical Album for his production work on previous key Williams releases. Williams’ daughter, Jett Williams, contributed a foreword for the book.

To gather the photos, the team coordinated with Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music, the Grand Ole Opry Archives, the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the production company behind Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary, and various Hank fans and historians, including photos that had been saved by Hank Thompson, as well as fellow Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens. Additionally, fan photos were licensed from the Tom Sims Photo Archive, one of the world’s largest collections of country music photos.

Click here to pre-order Hank Williams: Pictures From Life’s Other Side—The Man and His Music in Rare Photos and Recordings.

Sony Music Nashville Promotes Two In Digital

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Jaime Marconette, Jessica Valiyi

Sony Music Nashville has promoted Jaime Marconette and Jessica Valiyi to the position of Director, Digital Strategy, Sony Music Nashville.

Ed Rivadavia, Vice President, Digital Strategy for Sony Music Nashville, says, “I couldn’t be more proud of Jess and Jaime’s commitment to employing the full range of digital strategy and marketing activities – from social media, CRM, D2C, digital advertising, web and content development, and identifying new technologies – to maximize consumption-focused results.”

Marconette became a member of the Digital Strategy team at Sony Music Nashville in 2014. Before that, Marconette was employed by AristoMedia in Nashville, and Stanford University’s Department of Music in Stanford, California. Serving on the board of Nashville’s young professionals organization SOLID in 2014, he is from Palo Alto, California, and holds a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. An active CMA and ACM member, Marconette completed his undergrad work with focuses in History and Psychology at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Prior to joining Sony Music Nashville in December 2017, Valiyi served as the Digital & eCommerce Manager in the Marketing Department at Big Machine Label Group since 2014. She launched digital campaigns across the entire BMLG roster. An Indianapolis native, Valiyi graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in 2010. Previous stints include Radio Promotions & Marketing at Emmis Communications and Procurement at Roche Diagnostics, one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies To Work For. She is an active member of WMBA (Women’s Music Business Association), Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, and a SOLID alumni.

Marconette can be reached at jaime.marconette@sonymusic.com and Valiyi at jessica.valiyi@sonymusic.com.

Blanco Brown Makes Grand Ole Opry Debut

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Pictured: Blanco Brown & DJ
(C) Grand Ole Opry, photo by Chris Hollo

Blanco Brown recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut performance on Tuesday night (Nov. 19), performing his smash hit “The Git Up.” He became the first artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry stage accompanied by a DJ. He performed tracks including “Temporary Insanity,” “TN Whiskey” and “The Git Up,” from his album Honeysuckle & Lightning Bugs (BBR Music Group).

After the performance, he met with Grand Ole Opry member Charley Pride and asked Pride to sign his jacket. He also performed at an Opry Debut After Party at Ole Red and signed albums for fans.

“What an incredible moment, I can’t believe it was the first time since the Opry started in 1925 that an artist has performed using 808’s,” said Brown. “I make music to spread joy and seeing the Ryman Auditorium filled with people smiling and dancing with me was something I’ll never forget. I want to thank the Grand Ole Opry for opening their hearts to me and allowing me to share my purpose with their audience.”

Pictured: Jon Loba (BBR Music Group), Dan Rogers (Grand Ole Opry) Blanco Brown, Jordan Pettit (Grand Ole Opry) (C) Grand Ole Opry, photo by Chris Hollo

Industry Pics: Blake Shelton, Randy Travis, Gabby Barrett

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WMN At ‘The Voice’

Pictured: Justin Newell, Tom Martens, Anna Cage, Chad Schultz, Blake Shelton, Bridget Herrmann, Lou Ramirez, Kati Salverson, and Mark Niederhauser.

Warner Music Nashville execs recently visited Blake Shelton at The Voice on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

 

SOURCE Nashville Welcomes Randy And Mary Travis

Pictured: Catherine Moore, Alicia Lanier-Jones, Mandy Gallagher-Morrison, Kari Barnhart, Mary Travis, Lisa Harless, Suzanne Lee, Becky McIntosh, Claire Cook-Taylor. Photo: Alison Webber/ASCAP

Randy Travis and wife Mary Travis were the guest speakers at Thursday’s (Nov. 21) SOURCE Nashville monthly luncheon at ASCAP entitled “Braving The Storms Of Life: An intimate interview with Randy and Mary Travis.” Lisa Harless, Regions Private Wealth MGMT Wealth Advisor Sr. VP, Entertainment and Sports Division, conducted the interview.

 

Gabby Barrett Visits ACM

Pictured: Brooke Primero, ACM SVP, Marketing; Gabby Barrett; Tom Lord, Red Light Management. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music recently welcomed Warner Music Nashville recording artist Gabby Barrett to the Los Angeles office. While at the Academy, Barrett  performed her top-streaming debut single “I Hope” plus fan-favorite “The Good Ones”— both of which she co-wrote. She also treated the staff to a first listen of a few songs that will be featured on her upcoming Ross Copperman-produced project.

Weekly Radio Report (11/22/19)

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Click here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.

RIAA Issues Statement Regarding Ask Musicians For Music Act

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Mitch Glazier, Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, has issued a statement regarding the introduction of the Ask Musicians for Music Act of 2019 (the “AM/FM Act”) by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN):

“We applaud Chairman Nadler and Senator Blackburn for their leadership in introducing bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure creators receive fair market value for their music on all platforms.  By requiring broadcasters to get permission from music creators to use their music in the same way broadcasters are entitled to give permission for the use of their signal – the AM/FM Act addresses inequities in law that should be fixed.

“Introducing the AM/FM Act on the same day the House Judiciary Committee marked up the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 (the “STCPP Act”) underscores a core principle: both broadcasters and creators deserve the same rights when it comes to the use of their property.  The current state of the law granting broadcasters that right while denying it to creators is unjust and skews the market.  We look forward to working with Chairman Nadler, Senator Blackburn and the entire music community to pass this bill.”

Hit Producer Tay Keith Partners With Save The Music Foundation, Audiomack To Give Back To Tennessee Students

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Before graduating from Middle Tennessee State University just last December, hip-hop producer Tay Keith has earned a Grammy nomination, multiple Platinum records and endless acclaim and notoriety. His production credits include Drake’s Platinum “Nonstop,” BlocBoy JB’s 3x-Platinum “Look Alive,” Travis Scott’s 5x-Platinum “Sicko Mode,” and more. Beyond that, the Memphis, Tennessee native has worked with Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, Cardi B, DJ Khaled and more.

Tomorrow (Nov. 22), Tay Keith will appear at Maplewood High School in Nashville to host a master class to celebrate the Keys + Kids Piano Grant, in partnership with streaming platform, Audiomack, and the Save The Music Foundation. The school will receive a digital hybrid piano and keyboards for students to realize their full potential through the power of making music.

“We teamed up with Audiomack to do a giveaway for a high school music program, and they brought me in to set the example and show [the students] that it’s possible to make things happen with school still in the picture,” Tay Keith tells MusicRow. “Students that chase their dreams in music a lot of times tend to drop out. I personally feel like I can show them that it’s possible, there are other ways to do it.”

Tay Keith

Notably, Tay Keith was Grammy-nominated and well on his way to more success during his last semester at MTSU. He has said on multiple occasions that finishing his education was very important to him.

“Honestly, I feel like if this opportunity would have presented itself to me when I was coming up, it would have driven me in a more motivated direction just on the simple fact that I really didn’t have a sense of direction creating music when I was younger. It kind of just worked out [for me], but I feel like if I would have had someone to talk to me in high school about my options, that could have motivated me to go a little bit harder. I would have had that sense of direction of what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until my upper class years when I actually had already solidified my position in the music industry that I knew that was what I wanted to do,” he says.

Maplewood High School students at the event tomorrow will hear Tay Keith’s story, and will receive some instruments. Students will then have the opportunity to ask him questions about his career path to success. To conclude the event, there will be a student performance on the donated piano.

The Erv Woolsey Co. Inks Deal With Ian Munsick

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Erv Woolsey, Ian Munsick, Allen Mitchell, Caroline Rudolph. Photo: Sean Sheetz

The Erv Woolsey Co. has announced a partnership with Caroline Rudolph, CEO and executive creative director of Not A Public Figure Management, to represent country up-and-comer Ian Munsick.

As an independent artist, Munsick has accumulated more than 6 million streams on Spotify and 110,000 monthly listeners.

Munsick recently won Song of the Year at the iHeartRadio Rocky Mountain Country Music Awards, for “Horses Are Faster.” He was also a finalist in the annual NSAI Song Contest presented by CMT. He is set to release an album next year.

“Allen Mitchell and I have known Caroline for several years and have followed her and Ian’s progress closely. I’ve always felt she had a good ear for new, fresh-sounding artists who still have the ability to carry the traditional torch,” artist manager Woolsey notes. “After hearing Ian’s new music and spending some time with him, we jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the journey!”

“I couldn’t name a more capable team. Erv’s immense respect and knowledge, Allen’s experience, my creative guidance and, most importantly, Ian’s talent will bring a great deal to the country music table,” Rudolph says. “It’s a full-circle moment for me to be in a partnership with an industry legend who I’ve been learning from since first moving to Nashville. This feels like home.”