Mayor Convenes Music Business Council

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nashNashville Mayor Karl Dean, in partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, has created a Music Business Council made up of artists and industry executives who will spearhead various economic development efforts that capitalize on Nashville’s identity as Music City. The priorities Dean has established for the Council include increasing live music venues in the city, increasing music business relocations, improving Nashville’s public school music education program, expanding the CMA Music Festival and developing a new multi-genre music festival. The Music Business Council will serve as an ongoing industry support organization to accomplish these and other goals.

“Nashville is not any city, we’re Music City,” Dean said. “We have an opportunity to grow that identity and benefit both our city and the music industry in the process. My goal is to make Nashville the destination for music performances, festivals, business and education.”

Music Business Council Members:

Mary Ann McCready, Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy – chair

Tim Dubois, Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management  – facilitator

Jim Hester – Mayor’s Office liaison

Tawn Albright, echo

Connie Bradley, ASCAP

Kix Brooks, Artist

Tony Brown, Tony Brown Enterprises

Steve Buchanan, Gaylord Entertainment

Pat Collins, SESAC

Karl Dean, Mayor

Kylee Ervin, Diamond Coach

Rod Essig, CAA

Kira Florita, Leadership Music

Jay Frank, CMT

Eric Geadelmann, 821 Entertainment

Tammy Genovese, CMA

Mike Golden, Bandit Lights

Randy Goodman, Lyric Street Records

Emmylou Harris, Artist

Dan Hays, IBMA

Bart Herbison, NSAI

Pat Higdon, Universal Music Publishing

Jed Hilly, Americana Music Association

Barrie Kessler, SoundExchange

Ken Levitan, Vector Management

Rich Maradik, Gaylord Entertainment

Janet Miller, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Mark Montgomery

Steve Moore, AEG Live

Dave Pomeroy, Nashville Association of Musicians

David Ross, Music Row Publications

Rivers Rutherford, Songwriter

Ralph Schulz, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Jim Selby, Naxos

Nancy Shapiro, NARAS

Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau

Demetrus Stewart, Pure Springs Gospel

John Styll, GMA

Bo Thomas, Belmont University

Crom Tidwell, CT Merchandising

Cal Turner, III, Cal IV Entertainment

Alan Valentine, Nashville Symphony

Garry West, Compass Records

Jack White, Artist

Jason Moon Wilkins, Next Big Nashville

Jody Williams, BMI

Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum

Industry News: TuneCore, NAMM, CMT, Underwood & Knake

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TuneCore and Musicnotes Team for Musicians

tunecoreOnline music distributor TuneCore (www.tunecore.com) has teamed up with online sheet music company Musicnotes (www.musicnotes.com) to provide yet another way for musicians to make money from their music. Starting in May, any TuneCore artist selling over 25,000 songs within 90 days can have at least one of their songs professionally scored, translated to sheet music and made available for sale via paid download at Musicnotes.com, earning money from each sale. The seeds of this innovative partnership were planted at this year’s Leadership Music Digital Summit where TuneCore CEO Jeff Price first encountered Tim Reiland, Chairman and CFO of Musicnotes. Musicnotes.com has sold over five million sheet music downloads since its inception in 2000 at an average price of $4.95. This relationship further democratizes the industry by providing, for musicnotesthe first time in the history of the music and publishing industry, a unique opportunity for artists based on sales numbers, not an editorial filter. “The music industry began in many ways with the selling of sheet music,” said Price. “The irony of the intertwining of digital downloads with sheet music is not lost on both companies.”

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nammNAMM Returns to Music City

NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, is getting ready to hold its 2009 Summer NAMM, the second annual gathering of the music products industry which will be held at the Nashville Convention Center July 17-19. NAMM unites its member manufacturers, retailers and distributors under one roof for the summertime musical instrument and products show. Online pre-registration is now open for Summer NAMM. For more information and to register, click here.

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cmt1Adkins, Aldean And Bentley To CMT Awards

Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley have been added to the performance line-up for the 2009 CMT Music Awards, which will premiere live on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00 CT on CMT and CMT.com. Previously announced performers include Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and British rockers Def Leppard.

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Underwood’s African Tour

849229c1-3048-8909-cc789d89351a1d3a_200Carrie Underwood made her second trip to Africa earlier this month, visiting orphanages and health centers near Luanda, Angola where she participated in the area’s cause to help fight malaria. Underwood’s visit was part of American Idol’s “Idol Gives Back” charitable endeavors. A special video package will air on American Idol tonight (5/12), to help show viewers how their donations have helped with various relief programs.
While in Angola, Underwood visited an all-girl orphanage in Luanda where the girls performed songs and poetry after she delivered bed nets and backpacks with school supplies to the orphanage. Underwood also participated in a community bed net giveaway in Ngangula, and wrapped up her 3-day trip by visiting a health center in Luanda where pregnant women received malaria counseling and treatment. American Idol and the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF) partnered last year to raise awareness and funds for organizations that provide relief programs to help children and young people in extreme poverty in America and Africa. ExxonMobil sponsored Underwood’s most recent trip to Africa.

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Kami Knake to Topspin

Kami Knake, formerly Director of Digital Sales and Marketing for Warner Bros. Records in Burbank and in Nashville, has left the company. Knake is now consulting for Topspin, a technology-driven marketing, management, and distribution platform for the direct-to-fan channel. She is also consulting on online marketing  and sales for brands, bands, and managers. Artists wanting help growing their online business and reach Knake at butrmgmt@gmail.com or at kknake@topspinmedia.com.

CMA Awards on ABC Nov. 11

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cmaThe Country Music Association and ABC Television Network have announced that The 43rd Annual CMA Awards will air Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 CT live from Nashville’s Sommet Center on ABC. Last year’s CMA Awards ranked behind only the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards during the 2008-2009 season for awards shows among total viewers. ABC won Wednesday night in both total viewers (15.9 million) and adults 18-49 (5.0/13). Nearly 35 million viewers watched all or part of the ceremony. The 2008 CMA Awards came in No. 7 for the week in the 18-49 demo and No. 9 for the week in total viewers, according to Nielsen.

The eligibility period for the 2009 CMA Awards is July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. All voting for “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” will be conducted online. The first ballot and instructions will be e-mailed June 30 to CMA members in good standing who are eligible to vote. Voting for the first ballot closes at 5:00 PM/CT, July 16.

The second ballot will be e-mailed to CMA members Aug. 11. Voting for the second ballot closes at 5:00 PM/CT, Aug. 24. The final nominees in each of the 12 categories will be announced in early September.

The third and final ballot will be e-mailed to CMA members Oct. 16. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends at 5:00 PM/CT, Nov. 3.

The 43rd Annual CMA Awards is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer. Paul Miller is the Director. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Premiere Radio Networks is the official radio packager of the CMA Awards, including a stereo-radio simulcast of the gala event. American Airlines is the official airline of the 2009 CMA Awards, and Chevy is the Official Ride of Country Music.

CMT Partners With Dish Network

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cmtCMT is partnering with Dish Network to bring country stars to Dish Network subscribers it was announced today (5/11) by Ira Bahr, Chief Marketing Officer for DISH Network and Mary Beth Cunin, Senior Vice President of Programming Strategy for CMT. Under the deal, six episodes of the CMT series Invitation Only will have exclusive premiere windows on Dish Network’s new CMT-branded franchise, CMT Front Row Only on DISH Network. The one-hour, monthly series kicks off on Dish Network on Tuesday, June 2 with Darius Rucker. dish-networkUpcoming episodes will feature Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley and Sugarland, with more to be announced. Invitation Only features country stars performing before a small studio audience in Nashville, taking questions from fans and delivering candid answers. Previous episodes on CMT have featured Keith Urban and Alan Jackson. The Dish Network/CMT partnership also includes content from CMT Crossroads and the upcoming 2009 CMT Music Awards.

RCA Names Elizabeth Sledge Mgr. Regional Promotion

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elizabeth-sledge-1Keith Gale, Vice President, National Promotion, for RCA Records Nashville has announced that Elizabeth Sledge is the new Manager, Regional Promotion for RCA Nashville. Based in Nashville, Sledge is on board immediately, working the territory previously helmed by Norbert Nix, who was promoted in April to National Director. Most recently Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager for Montage Music Group, Sledge is a 10-year industry veteran who is returning to the Sony Music Nashville family after beginning her radio promotion career with the Columbia Nashville imprint in 2002. Her e-mail will be active shortly at liz.sledge@sonymusic.com. For now, Sledge can be reached at 615-301-4465 or toll-free at 800-463-0579.

Once Again Underwood’s a 10

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849229c1-3048-8909-cc789d89351a1d3a_200Arista artist Carrie Underwood has already sold more than 10 million albums with her first two releases, and now the singer scores another 10, with her current single, “I Told You So,” becoming her tenth single to top a key sales or airplay chart. The accomplishment distinguishes the four-time Grammy winner as the first country artist in history ever to achieve 10 No. 1 singles on the strength of their first two albums. This week’s No. 1 is the fifth consecutive chart-topper from Underwood’s Carnival Ride album, which includes “Just a Dream” and three hits the singer co-wrote: “So Small,” “All-American Girl,” and “Last Name.” The recently crowned ACM Entertainer of the Year has also taken a former #1 song to the top of the country charts a second time – 21 years after Randy Travis took “I Told You So” to the top. She becomes the first country artist to return a song to #1 since Alan Jackson took Don Williams’ “It Must Be Love” back to the top nearly nine years ago. “I Told You So” is also available as a digital single in a duet version featuring Travis.

Joe Nichols Issues “‘Believers’ Challenge”

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joeUniversal Records South artist Joe Nichols‘ new single, “Believers,” is garnering some strong reactions from the fans. Released to radio on April 20, the song’s message is already inspiring listeners to share their own stories of getting through tough times. To help them share their stories, Nichols has set up a special site for people to record a brief video, stating why they are a believer (youtube.com/officialjoenichols). Submissions will be considered for inclusion in a possible music video for the song. “Believers” is the leadoff single from Nichols’ new, as yet untitled CD, which is set for a late summer release.

“It’s just amazing the kind of feedback we’re getting from this song,” Nichols said. “I wanted to give people a way to share with each other what inspires them and makes them believers.”

Nichols explains the “Believers” site below.

CMA Launches “CMA Industry Insite”

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cmaAs part of its ongoing strategic mission of being a resource for the country music industry, the Country Music Association is launching “CMA Industry InSite,” a monthly online educational series for CMA members. The first episode — on publishing — will be available Monday, May 18 on CMA’s member Web site (MyCMAworld.com). Future topics include personal management, record labels, radio, social networking, entertainment law, and touring. New episodes will be posted on the third Monday of the month. CMA members will also be able to submit questions to the panel of experts interviewed for each episode. The series was developed by CMA’s Artist Relations Committee, chaired by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, to lay a foundation for how the various business interests within the industry function. The series is produced by digital marketing firm Hi-Fi Fusion.

“Initially, this information was available to new artists on DVD, but the format made the information obsolete very quickly and did not allow us to keep pace with the changing face of the industry,” Brooks said. “Housing the series online and archiving the episodes once they are posted enables us to routinely update the material to stay current with changing business trends.”

It was also important to the Artist Relations Committee that the project reach beyond the artist community and become a tool that could be easily accessed at any time by CMA’s entire membership. Each segment, which is 8-10 minutes long, features specialists from that field. Each month, a new segment will be rolled out to the community with the opportunity to submit questions to the experts with the answers posted online.

Participants in the publishing episode include: Chris DuBois, Partner, Sea Gayle Music; Rusty Gaston, General Manager/Partner, This Music; Ree Guyer Buchanan, President/Owner Wrensong Publishing/WE Records; Pat Higdon, President, Universal Music Publishing Group; Victoria Shaw, President/Owner AvaRu Music; Troy Tomlinson, President/CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville.

Global Events Kick Off CMA Fest

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cmaSixteen prominent international country artists will convene in Music City next month to participate in a series of global country music events, beginning June 8 in downtown Nashville. The CMA Global Artist Party (presented by CMA and sponsored by NiteTrain Coaches) will once again serve as the unofficial start to the 2009 CMA Music Festival with its annual showcase on Monday, June 8. The event, hosted by Jace Everett, will feature a total of eight artists from Australia, Ireland, U.K., Canada and New Zealand, including Australia’s “Telstra Road to Tamworth” winner, Peter McWhirter. The showcase begins at 6:15 PM at The Stage on Broadway.

CMA Global Artist Party performers include Kirsty Lee Akers (Australia), Colm Kirwan (Ireland), Lucie Silvas (U.K.), Alex J. Robinson (Canada), Peter McWhirter (Australia), Ashley Cooper (New Zealand), The McClymonts (Australia) and George Canyon (Canada).

aristoThe annual AristoMedia Global Showcase (presented by AristoMedia and sponsored by CMA, NiteTrain Coaches and Digital Rodeo) will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 3 p.m. at The Second Fiddle. International artists from France, U.K., Norway, Switzerland, Australia and Canada will perform, including the “Telstra Road to Tamworth” Songwriter’s Award winner Corey Colum. Former Mavericks bassist and Digital Rodeo Director of Industry Relations Robert Reynolds will host the event, which will feature Pierre Lorry (France), Brianie (U.K.), Tore Andersen (Norway), Rolf Fritschi (Switzerland), Dianna Corcoran (Australia), Codie Prevost (Canada), Corey Colum (Australia) and David Bradley (U.K.).

“Both of these events are certainly a highlight for the global Country Music community each year,” says AristoMedia President Jeff Walker. “Music City is regarded as the heart of Country Music and the CMA Music Festival is one of the best live events in the world.  The chance for these artists to travel and perform here is not only an exciting opportunity for the artists, but for the city of Nashville and the entire international country music movement as well.”

Austin Guitarist Stephen Bruton Dies

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brutonGuitarist/singer/songwriter/producer Stephen Bruton, a highly respected and much-loved member of the Austin, Texas music community, died Saturday (5/9) in Los Angeles of complications of cancer. He was 60. Bruton served as guitarist for Kris Kristofferson for nearly 40 years and spent several years on the road as guitarist for Bonnie Raitt.

Turner Stephen Bruton was born Nov. 7, 1948, in Wilmington, Delaware, but moved with his family to Texas when he was 2.  As a teenager, he won banjo competitions, switching to guitar in his teens. Shortly after graduating from Texas Christian University, Bruton joined Kristofferson’s band just as the singer/songwriter’s career was getting started and toured with him on and off for decades.

He recorded five critically acclaimed solo albums, and his songs were recorded by artists including Raitt, The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kristofferson), Jimmy Buffett, Patty Loveless and numerous others. He died at the home of his childhood friend, producer T Bone Burnett, with whom he had been working on Crazy Heart, a film being produced by Burnett. Bruton produced the music for the film.

“We finished it about two weeks ago,” Burnett said. “I’m deeply grateful he got to complete his work on the film. It meant a tremendous amount for him to get it finished. In the last 72 hours things just started shutting down. I think everybody thought he would kick it quickly because he was Stephen Bruton. We all thought he was invincible.”