Cracker Barrel Offers “Wynonna Weekend”

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National collective contesting company Free Promo Network (FPN) has joined forces with Cracker Barrel for their upcoming A Weekend with Wynonna in Music City promotion. Participating radio stations will be allowed take part in this national contest on a trade-for-mention basis, allowing their listeners the chance to win a trip for two to Nashville to meet Wynonna and see her perform on the Grand Ole Opry.

Winners will also receive a copy of Wynonna’s new CD, Love Heals, which will be available exclusively through Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores on May 24. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

For more information, or to sign up, stations can contact Corey Duke at 615-453-9115 or contact@freepromonetwork.com.

CMA Broadcast Awards Submission Schedule

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Beginning Friday, May 21, the Country Music Association will accept online submissions for the 2010 CMA Broadcast Awards for Broadcast Personality, Station, and National Broadcast Personality of the Year at Broadcast.CMAawards.com. The site will continue to accept submissions through 5:00 PM/CT, Thursday, July 1.

Categories for submission include Broadcast Personality and Station of the Year in four different market sizes (major, large, medium, and small), as well as CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year.

To submit an entry, CMA member radio stations and broadcast personalities in the U.S. and Canada should log on to Broadcast.CMAawards.com, where guidelines and instructions for entries are posted. All entries must reflect performances and events between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010.

CMA’s panel of judges, who are radio and industry professionals, will be able to view and evaluate the entries online. After the judges’ scores are recorded, Deloitte & Touche LLP® will tabulate.

Winners will be notified in early October and recognized at The 44th Annual CMA Awards, which will be held later this year in Nashville. The annual gala, known as “Country Music’s Biggest Night,” will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network.

For more information about CMA Broadcast Award entries contact Brandi Simms, CMA Senior Manager of Awards Balloting & Election Administration, at BSimms@CMAworld.com.

ole Unveils Online Admin Web Portal

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Jennifer Beavis

International, independent publisher ole, with offices in Toronto, L.A. and Nashville has launched “adminow,” an online resource for the company’s administration clients.

“It’s akin to online banking,” explains Jennifer Beavis, Senior Director, Administration. “It complements ole’s expert, global customer service, and delivers the immediate transparency ole’s clients have come to expect from mainstream financial institutions.”

According to ole, the company has customized an end-to-end royalty accounting system that includes the automated reconciliation of royalty and accounting systems. The newly unveiled “adminow” improves on the system by offering clients the ability to securely view their detailed account histories, song registrations, splits and royalty income per song, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Additional analysis tools are also on the way to assist clients in managing their businesses. Included will be access to instant advances on pipeline income that they will also be able to track online as it is earned. Clients will also be kept well-informed with news relevant to the world of copyright and music publishing.

Michael McCarty, ole president says, “ole is committed to staying on the leading edge of both technological and client service innovations in the music publishing industry. The slogan “transparent technology.powered by people” is intended to convey the true ole difference – even though we have great technology, quality music publishing service comes down, in the end, to personal service.”

How To Lend A Hand, Get Help

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Photo by Jude Ferrara

The City Paper is keeping a running list of charitable initiatives to help flood victims.

The MusiCares staff wants to remind everyone of their willingness and ability to help those in the music community affected by the recent floods. Call them at 615-327-0050, or toll free at 877-626-2748 or visit www.musicares.com.

Eric Brace & Peter Cooper are donating proceeds from their performance tonight (4/4) at The Station Inn to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for flood relief. Set starts at 9 pm, following the Doyle & Debbie show.

Music City Roots: Live from the Loveless Cafe is hosting a free show tomorrow night (4/5) because they say “There’s nothing like music to embody the spirit of this city, and encourage everyone to persevere.” Performers donating their time include Elizabeth Cook, 
The Wrights, 
Kevin Gordon
, and Stephen Simmons. Doors open at 6, show starts at 7 PM. 
Donations will be accepted at the door for the Community Foundation.

Water Pressure Closes BMI Row Office; Staff Remains Online

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“BMI’s Nashville office remains closed for the second consecutive day due to a lack of water pressure in the 6-story Music Row building, home to over 400 employees,” reports VP Writer/Publisher Relations Jody Williams.

“As a result, scheduled events including the Jason Blume Songwriting Workshop have been canceled. However, most executives are still readily accessible by email. BMI computer systems are operating normally, and writers and publishers can access their online accounts for royalty information, catalogs and new works registration as they always do.”

Up to date information on the status of the BMI offices will be available at bmi.com.

Renee Leymon At Bigger Picture/New Revolution; Capitol Hiring

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Renee Leymon

Twenty-year radio promotion executive Renee Leymon has joined Bigger Picture and New Revolution Entertainment. In her new roles, Leymon will be assisting Rob Dalton in growing and developing the promotion staff at New Revolution Entertainment, and she will also assist the promotion staff at Bigger Picture in securing radio airplay.

Leymon was most recently at Lyric Street Records, working with Rascal Flatts, SHeDAISY, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington, Sarah Buxton and others.

“As you know, we don’t do titles, so like everyone else, Renee will be coming in as a Promotions Executive, custom building the position and which stations she’ll be working to suit her expertise,” said Powers. “We’re excited to have someone of her caliber join us in working the careers of our fine acts like the Harters, Zac Brown Band, Gloriana, Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Tim McGraw and others.”

“I’ve known and trusted Jeff Solima for many years and always wanted to work with him,” says Leymon. “Getting to work with Michael Powers, Rob Dalton and the entire staffs of both teams are an honor for me.”

Leymon can be reached at 615-417-7484 or calebsmeme1@aol.com.

•••••

Capitol Nashville/EMI Records Nashville has added Rachel Dobson as Promotion Coordinator. She can be reached at 615-269-2047 and rachel.dobson@emicap.com. Dobson replaces Alisa Bowman who was promoted to Manager, Syndication & Special Projects.

Flooding At Soundcheck, Schermerhorn, CMHF

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Country Music Hall of Fame, Photo by Jude Ferrara for The City Paper

Everyone here at MusicRow hopes that our readers experienced minimal flood damage, but if you have any news, photos, stories or updates you would like to share, please email us at news@musicrow.com.

BMI’s Nashville chief Jody Williams tells MusicRow that BMI is closed today. A full update is coming soon.

Wrensong Publishing and AristoMedia are two of the latest on the Row to report flooding in their offices.

Water is receding at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which suffered flooding up to the third row of seats in the Ford Theater last night. Today the Museum remains closed and without power. None of the artifacts were damaged.

The Bridgestone Arena is also without electricity.

The basement of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center was filled to the ceiling with water, severely damaging many items including the symphony’s prized $2.5 million pipe organ. The Nashville Scene’s Jim Ridley reports that the enormous pipe organ’s operating mechanism and console were stored in the basement and suffered damage but the full extent won’t be known until the waters recede.

Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Photo by Chris Ferrell for The City Paper

Soundcheck Nashville, the music rehearsal, storage and rental facility located on Cowan St. near the Cumberland River, is flooded. The company’s Ben Jumper reports that no one is allowed inside the building until government officials give the okay, which will probably be when the Cumberland is below the flood stage of 40′. Rehearsals have been canceled until further notice. Jumper and Jan Greenfield are handling calls on their cell phones and updating a blog daily at 9 AM, noon, 4PM, and 9 PM.

Soundcheck from the river looking towards I-24. Photo by Amanda DeAngelis

Opry House Under Water, Show Moved

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The Grand Ole Opry House has suffered extensive damage due to flooding that has overtaken most of the Opryland area of Nashville, including the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills mall. But the show must go on, and management is temporarily moving the Grand Ole Opry to the Ryman Auditorium and War Memorial Auditorium.

The Tuesday Night Opry performance scheduled for tonight (5/4) will take place at the War Memorial Auditorium. Weekend performances will move to the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. Thursday’s performance of Opry Country Classics will remain at the Ryman as previously scheduled. Both the War Memorial and the Ryman are former homes of the Opry.

“While we ourselves are shaken by the impact of the flooding of the Opry House and throughout the area, it is important that Nashville’s most treasured tradition continues with this week’s shows,” said Grand Ole Opry Vice President Pete Fisher. “We look forward to coming together both as the Opry family and as a great American city just as we have every week for nearly 85 years. Our hearts go out to all of those affected in the Middle Tennessee area.”

The last time the Opry had to relocate was in 1975 to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium, just one year after the opening of the Grand Ole Opry House. That move was also caused by Cumberland River flooding.

It is too early to determine how long Opry operations will be impacted at this time. Updates are being posted at opry.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Fellow SouthComm outlet the NashvillePost.com reports that “Gaylord has business interruption and flood damage coverage for up to $50 million in damages. However, over the past three years, the hotel complex generated an average of $66.7 million in revenue during the second quarter and about $61 million in the third quarter.”

Clear Channel Rallies For Flood Relief

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Clear Channel Nashville is holding a daylong radiothon today (5/4) to benefit local flood relief efforts. All five stations in the cluster (WSIX, WRVW, WLAC, WNRQ, WUBT) will be simulcasting, with on-air talent from each outlet sharing hosting duties until midnight. Proceeds will go to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Tennessee Disaster Response Fund.

The hosts are encouraging donations and keeping listeners up-to-date with the latest news and interviews. This morning Gerry House spoke to Gov. Phil Bredesen and Chief of Police Ronal Serpas during his 7-9 AM time slot.

Artists Engage Fans With Contests, Websites, and More

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Keith Urban

Fan engagement is key to artist success these days. Here are some of the latest ways musicians are exciting consumers and getting them involved.

To mark next week’s release of his latest single “I’m In,” Keith Urban is asking fans to submit their favorite “I’m In” story at his website for the chance to win music, concert tickets or an autographed guitar. “I’m In” stories can include making a commitment to a significant other, dedicating oneself to a charity, or any number of interpretations.

Kenny Chesney’s online station No Shoes Radio has teamed with Hooters to launch a national sweepstakes for a trip to his July 2 show at the Joint at the Vegas Hard Rock. There is also a text-to-win component where fans text “Kenny” to 36832 to register. Fans can pick up a free 4-song Chesney compilation, produced exclusively for Hooters/No Shoes Radio, at select locations.

Randy Houser

Randy Houser is offering fans a free ringtone when they vote for him for USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year at the upcoming CMT Awards. His hit “Boots On” is in the running at CMT.com. As a thank-you, fans can opt to receive a free ringtone of Houser laughing, taken from his popular “LOL” viral video.

Wynonna Judd has launched a new online community at wynonna.com built by Nashville-based social commerce network Moontoast.com. Moontoast combines traditional social networking with commerce tools. Now Wy’s fans can communicate with each other, connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, access exclusive content and enjoy broader access to her merchandise and music.

David Bradley is challenging fans to creatively utilize the title of his new single “Soak It Up,” along with radio call letters, DJ names, or other outlet ID’s in a video. The footage will possibly be included in the song’s music video. Bradley is a staff songwriter with Wrensong Publishing in Nashville.

The Harters are blogging from the road to give fans an inside look at life on tour. The band (siblings Michael, Leslie and Scott) is currently on a rigorous nationwide radio tour in support of their debut single “Jenny” and fans can be there every step of the way by visiting their website (www.theharters.tv) and checking out their weekly blogs featuring stories, photos and video.