CMT Awards Spike Sales

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brad-paisley-ar10The 2009 CMT Music Awards sparked post-show physical and digital sales for every performer and winner following the live telecast on Tuesday, June 16 on CMT. Here is the data according to the Soundscan charts for the week ending 06/21/2009.

Brad Paisley, a three time trophy winner that night, received one of the biggest sales jumps. He had significant digital track increases for “Waitin’ On A Woman” (+72%) and “Start A Band” (+56%). Digital and physical sales of his album Play increased 52%, bringing its total sales to 244,603.

Award winners seeing a single sales spike: Rascal Flatts’ “Every Day” (+51%), Sugarland’s “All I Want To Do” (+35%), Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” (+31%) and Alan Jackson’s “Country Boy” (+31%).

Performers on the show saw increased album sales (physical and digital):
Darius Rucker (Learn To Live) increased 44% to 717,115
Trace Adkins (American Man Greatest Hits Volume II) increased 43% to 639,071
Toby Keith (That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy) increased 37% to 397,629
Sugarland (“Love On The Inside”) increased 30% to 1,660,684
Also getting an up in album sales were Lady Antebellum (27%), Jason Aldean (25%), Dierks Bentley (16%), Kellie Pickler (14%), Taylor Swift (10%) Rascal Flatts (9%), Keith Urban (9%) and Paisley as mentioned above.

Performers who had digital track sales bumps for the songs performed on the Awards:
Trace Adkins (“You’re Gonna Miss This”) increased 83%
Lady Antebellum (“Lookin’ For A Good Time”) increased 65%
Darius Rucker (“Alright”) increased 59%
Toby Keith (“God Love Her”) increased 44%
Taylor Swift (“You Belong With Me”) increased 32%
The B-52s, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Kellie Pickler, Brad Paisley and Jason Aldean also saw single increases in the 10-30 % range, following performances.

In addition, each of the six acts who performed on the Nationwide Insurance side stage experienced post-show sales increases. The secondary stage featured up-and-coming artists Jason Michael Carroll, Carter Twins, Eric Church, Eli Young Band, Gloriana and Joey + Rory.

Hargis Returns to BBR/Stoney Creek

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shelleyShelley Hargis has joined the Stoney Creek Records promotion staff as Manager Regional Promotion, Southwest/Midwest. She is already on the job and reporting directly to Stoney Creek’s VP of Promotion Denise Roberts. Hargis is returning home to the Broken Bow/Stoney Creek family where she previously spent over four years at BBR in radio promotion. Her other prior experience includes six years at Epic Nashville, two years at Midas Records Nashville and most recently working at Mathis Entertainment in management/marketing for artist Adam Gregory.

The Broken Bow Records/Stoney Creek Records promotion team is headed by Carson James, SVP of Promotion.

Hargis will be based in Nashville and can be reached at 615-429-2600 and shelley@stoneycreekrecords.com.

Get Out For A Good Cause This Week

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mhThe Miller Harris Foundation Benefit Concert is tonight, Wed., June 24 at the Bluebird Cafe. Two shows featuring some of Nashville’s favorite songwriters will benefit the organization which helps children with asthma. The 6 PM in-the-round welcomes Kim Williams, Amanda Williams, Roxie Dean, and Brice Long; followed by the 9 PM show with Keith Stegall, Jim McBride, Wynn Varble and David Lee. For reservations go to www.bluebirdcafe.com or call (615) 383-1461.

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The 3rd Annual Alex LeVasseur Memorial Skate & Music Festival will be Sun., June 28 from 2-9 PM. The free, family-friendly event will be at Jim Warren Park in Franklin. There will be skate demos, live music, local food vendors, airbrush tattoos, game booths, silent auction items and giveaways, and much more. Performers this year include Jeffrey Steele, LoCash Cowboys, Ricky Young & Red White Blue, and Pearl Heart. Money raised will go to the Alex LeVasseur Fund and the Memorial Scholarship Program, which works in conjunction with Sixth Avenue skate park in Nashville to help overlooked and underprivileged youth by creating programs to keep them motivated in school and life through skating. LeVasseur is the late son of Steele, and the event was founded in his memory.
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A benefit for the NSAI legislative fund will be held tomorrow night, Thurs., June 25, at the Bluebird Cafe. The 9 PM set features hitmakers Karen Staley (“Let’s Go To Vegas,” Faith Hill; “The Keeper Of The Stars,” Tracy Byrd); Danny Mark Wells (“These Days,” Rascal Flatts; “Check Yes Or No,” George Strait), and friends. For reservations go to www.bluebirdcafe.com or call (615) 383-1461.

Restructuring Of Gaylord Entertainment’s Top Execs.

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Gaylord Entertainment Company announced today (6/24) several key changes to its leadership team, effective immediately. As part of its continuing efforts to streamline the organization, Gaylord announced that John Caparella, currently Chief Operating Officer, will leave the company. David Kloeppel, currently Chief Financial Officer and President, will take on an expanded role and will now oversee all Gaylord’s operations in addition to sales, marketing, development, and information technology. Mark Fioravanti, currently Treasurer, is being promoted to Chief Financial Officer.

“During his tenure as chief operating officer, John played an important role working with our management team in building our unique culture and developing our Gaylord Hotels brand into a world class destination for convention and leisure guests,” said Colin V. Reed, Gaylord Entertainment chairman and chief executive officer. “We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Reed continued, “John’s departure has given us an opportunity to move forward with our ongoing effort to streamline our management structure while taking advantage of the strength of our existing executives. In his eight years at Gaylord, Dave has played an instrumental role in defining the strategic vision for the Company and has built a deep understanding of our group-centric business model. In a short period of time during a very difficult economic environment, Dave led the charge in several areas of our business that helped the Company maintain its strong margins and preserve revenue. Under Dave’s guidance, we were able to take quick action on our cost-cutting initiatives, and shift the focus of our sales team to fill the occupancy gaps vacated by cancellations, which delivered impressive margins last quarter. I am confident Dave will continue to make significant contributions to the business as he now takes on the expanded role of managing the Company’s operations.”

“I have great confidence in Mark, who has played a pivotal role in shaping the financial profile of the Company and has diligently managed our balance sheet and capital expenditures. Of note, Mark was able to lead the charge on extending the maturities of our credit facilities, a significant undertaking in the current tough lending environment.”

Country Stars In Starring Roles

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julianne_houghJulianne Hough is lined up to co-star in next year’s remake of Footloose says the Hollywood Reporter. She will act alongside Chace Crawford, of Gossip Girl fame, who will play the Kevin Bacon role from the 1984 original. Though some reports say Hough has scheduling conflicts, filming will take place in March 2010 with Paramount Pictures set to turn the production around in time for a June 2010 release. Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) is producing and directing the feature. Hough will play “Ariel Moore,” which originally was cast with actress Lori Singer. At age 11 while living in London, Hough worked as an extra in a Harry Potter film.

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Tim McGraw has a significant role in an upcoming film starring Sandra Bullock. The movie is based on the bestselling novel by Michael Lewis called The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game, which chronicles the life of Ole Miss football player Michael Oher who comes from a hardscrabble background but is helped by an affluent family. McGraw, who will play “Sean Tuohy” in the Nov. 20 release, has been on location in Atlanta recently. He is always searching for new roles he told Women’s Wear Daily. “It’s like finding songs,” he said of the script reading. “You have to have a strong feeling for the role, and of course it has to match up with the time available. But acting makes you better at everything else creative you’re doing. It’s another outlet.” In the article, McGraw also noted that he, Faith and family will be moving into a new home in the Nashville area this fall.

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Willie Nelson has appeared in several movies and was recently honored by the 2009 Maui Film Festival, held June 17-21 in Kahului. The Maverick Award celebrates Nelson’s willingness to speak his mind, stand up for his convictions, and fight to protect the freedom of artistic and political expression. His new album American Classic, a collection of standards, will be released Aug. 25.

Latocki Enters Web Solutions Partnership, Wins AIGA Awards

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The LTC Team

The LTC Team

Latocki Team Creative (LTC) and Creative State, an award-winning provider of Web sites and custom Web applications, are partnering to provide custom Web solutions for Nashville corporations and the entertainment industry. “Creative State is a company we believe in,” says Luellyn Latocki, LTC owner and creative director. “We’re looking forward to working with them to provide our clients with cutting-edge Web sites and top-notch Web services that are imperative to the success of an artist’s career. It’s a perfect partnership between independent companies committed to finding and providing custom, branded, creative solutions for our clients.”

Also from Latocki Team Creative, the company won six awards at AIGA Nashville’s first Case Awards Show, held June 20 at the Cannery Ballroom.

The honors included:
Best of Products and Packaging for Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll 4-disc set (Sony Legacy)
Best of Media Packaging: Entertainment for Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll
Merit Awards: Sales Kits/Press Kits for Coondog Corporate Events, Print Self-Promotion for LTC’s mini-portfolio, Identity System/Stationery Package for LTC’s stationery, and Brand Identity Design for Sweet Talk Publicity.

Skyline Signs B&D Hitmaker Don Cook

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doncook

Pictured (L-R): Chip Voorhis, Paul Worley, Liz Morin, Wally Wilson. Seated: Don Cook. Photo: Katie Voorhis

Don Cook, writer and producer of numerous hits by Brooks & Dunn, has signed with Skyline Music Publishing. Among his credits are the B&D songs “Only In America,” “It’s Getting Better All The Time,” “Brand New Man,” “My Next Broken Heart,” “That Ain’t No Way To Go,” “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” and “She Used To Be Mine.” Since 1991 he has co-produced thirteen No. 1 hits by Brooks & Dunn, and served as producer on successful albums for The Mavericks, Olivia Newton-John, Shenandoah, Lonestar, Tracy Lawrence, Joe Diffie, and more.

He also wrote “Even The Man In The Moon Is Crying” and “Born To Love You” by Mark Collie, “What I Meant To Say” and “On A Good Night” by Wade Hayes, “Now I Know” by Lari White and “Small Town Girl” by Steve Wariner. In addition, Cook has had cuts by Conway Twitty, George Strait, Keith Whitley, Vince Gill, Alabama, Waylon Jennings and a host of others.

In 1994, Cook was named Senior Vice President at Sony/ATV Tree, and four years later was upped to Chief Creative Officer. He retired from the business side of publishing in 2004 to focus on his family and songwriting.

Twitter Users Purchase More

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npd-logoA recent NPD Group study suggests that Twitter users purchased 77% more digital music downloads than non-tweeting Web users.

“NPD’s latest music-acquisition study shows that there are segments of consumers who are more actively integrating Twitter as a key tool for communicating and networking,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. “Based on their music-purchasing history, active Twitter users are simply worth more to record labels and music retailers than those who are not using Twitter.”

Twitter awareness increased during the first quarter 2009 to 52% among U.S. Internet-users from 22% in fourth quarter 2008. NPD’s consumer tracking shows that 33% of Twitter users reported purchasing a CD in the prior three months and 34% purchased a digital download. Twitter users actually purchased 77% more digital downloads than those not using the 140 character per tweet social network. Twitter users were also twice as likely than average Web users to visit MySpace Music and Pandora.

“Twitter has the potential to help foster the discovery of new music, and improve targeted marketing of music to groups of highly-involved and technologically savvy consumers, but it has to be done right,” Crupnick said. “There must be a careful balance struck between entertainment and direct conversation on one hand, and marketing on the other. Used properly Twitter has the power to entertain—and to motivate music fans to purchase more new albums, downloads, merchandise, and concert tickets.”
http://www.npd.com

GAC Forms Partnership To Release New Music

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lane-turnerGreat American Country (GAC) has entered a partnership with Original Signal Recordings to release Lane Turner’s new album, a self-titled EP made available to digital outlets on June 9. Under terms of the joint venture, GAC will promote Turner’s music and music videos on its television and radio programs, while Original Signal will spearhead the marketing and distribution efforts.

Turner’s traditional heritage and blue-collar roots made him a fan favorite as runner-up on 2008’s The Next GAC Star.  The storytelling and simplicity-of-life found in classic country songs always resonated with Lane, who counts Conway Twitty and Waylon Jennings as influences.

iTunes will distribute 50,000 free download cards featuring Turner’s lead single “Where’s a Sunset” at two country music festival events this summer. He will also be on the road, including a recent performance at CMA Music Fest, and a July 4th show at the Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, GA.

Nashville in Napa

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napa1Producer Frank Rogers is spearheading a new charity called NOTES that will fund programs that bring music, art and literacy to school age children. He co-founded the initiative with Debi Cali of Baldacci Family Vineyards in Napa Valley, CA.

Tickets for the first fundraiser, Nashville in Napa, go on sale today. The event will take place Sat., Aug. 1 at the caves at the Baldacci Family Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of the Napa Valley. Only 200 tickets are available for the intimate evening which will feature songwriters and winemakers highlighting the similarities between their trades.

Several Music City songsmiths, including Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall will perform, and guests will enjoy food and wine by Napa chefs and winemakers who will discuss the process behind their creations.

Ticket prices and more information at www.NashvilleInNapa.com.