Summerfest 2019 Taps Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Willie Nelson & Family

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Summerfest has revealed their 2019 headliner lineup for the The American Family Insurance Amphitheater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including: Thomas Rhett with Dustin Lynch and Russell Dickerson on June 26; The Outlaw Music Festival featuring Willie Nelson & Family, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Avett Brothers, Counting Crows, Alison Krauss, Dawes, and Trapper Schoepp on June 27; Jason Aldean with Kane Brown and Carly Pearce on June 28; Bon Iver with Lord Huron and Julien Baker on June 29; Zac Brown Band with Drake White on June 30; Lionel Richie with Michael McDonald on July 2; Jennifer Lopez on July 3; The Killers with Death Cab for Cutie on July 5; Billie Eilish on July 6 and Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and ScHoolboy Q on July 7.

Summerfest has also announced the 2019 headliner lineup for their ground stages, including artists Chris Janson, Brothers Osborne, Brandi Carlile, Cole Swindell, LANCO, Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Jimmie Allen, Lindsay Ell, Judah & The Lion, Lauren Alaina, Riley Green, Chase Rice, Tenille Arts, Chris Lane, Dylan Scott, Brandy Clark, HARDY and more.

“For 11 days on 12 stages, Summerfest delivers on its reputation as ‘The World’s Largest Music Festival,’ offering a diverse lineup of artists to our fans on Milwaukee’s lakefront,” said Don Smiley, President and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “The completion of the first phase of the new American Family Insurance Amphitheater will make its debut this year during Summerfest, and, immediately after the festival, work will begin on the second phase of the construction project. The grand opening of the amphitheater will take place in June 2020, at which time $148 million will have been invested in Henry Maier Festival Park in the last 15 years. We are committed to remaining a top destination for music fans worldwide, as well as a driver of $186 million of economic impact for the region,” he added.

Construction during the first phase of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater features improvements to the infrastructure and back-of-house areas, including the raising of a portion of the current roof from 36’ to 65’ feet, which was completed in early February, to accommodate the largest touring productions, in addition to the following: a removable stage and flat floor seating in front of the stage, 19 state-of-the-art dressing rooms, new production spaces, dining/catering facilities, nine loading docks, and six new high-definition LED walls throughout the venue.

For a limited time, the U.S. Cellular 11-Day Power Pass is available for $110 ($10/day) includes admission for all 11 days. The U.S. Cellular 3-Day Pass is available for $57 and is valid for one general admission per day on three different days of the festival. General admission tickets to Summerfest are only $23 and $15 for weekday tickets (valid prior to 4 p.m.).

Dates, times and stage locations as well as additional headliners will be announced in the coming weeks. To purchase tickets, see the full Summerfest lineup and festival information, visit summerfest.com.

Summerfest 2019 Lineup:
June 26
Thomas Rhett
Dustin Lynch
Russell Dickerson
Walk The Moon
Foreigner?
Weathers
Voila
Chelsea Cutler
Quinn XCII
Hanson
Steve Aoki
Matt Hoyles
Judah & The Lion
Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
Otis Taylor and the Psychedelic Banjo Posse

June 27
The Outlaw Music Festival featuring Willie Nelson & Family
Phil Lesh & Friends
The Avett Brothers
Counting Crows
Alison Krauss
Dawes
Trapper Schoepp
Lizzo
R&B Cadets
Dillon Carmichael
Neon Trees
Aaron Lee Tasjan
10,000 Maniacs
Foghat
Andrew W.K.
Gryffin
Elle King
St. Paul and the Broken Bones
X
Donna Missal
Steve Earle & The Dukes
Lanco
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

June 28
Jason Aldean
Kane Brown
Carly Pearce
Brandi Carlile
Collective Soul
Styx
T-Pain
The Beths
Flora Cash
Shaed
Sweet Crude
Cory Wong
Lovelytheband
The Lonely Island
Ggoolldd

June 29
Bon Iver
Lord Huron
Julien Baker
Third Eye Blind
Chicago
Jimmy Eat World
Silent Planet
Silverstein
Jordan Davis
Ludacris
August Burns Red
Mitchell Tenpenny

June 30
Zac Brown Band
Drake White
Lake Street Dive
Los Lonely Boys
Brothers Osborne
3 Doors Down
Reverend Horton Heat
Jimmie Allen
Ozomatli
Riley Green
Catfish & The Bottlemen
ADIA Victoria
Guided By Voices
The National

July 2
Lionel Richie
Michael McDonald
Young the Giant
Trap Manny
First Aid Kit
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
Big Gigantic
Chaka Khan
Black Pumas
Coin
Chvrches
Frenship
The Allman Betts Band

July 3
Jennifer Lopez
Nora Collins
Brandy Clark
The Roots
Two Friends
Lindsay Ell
Switchfoot
Matoma
Soja
Loverboy
Hawthorne Heights
Carousel Kings
The Association
Royal Tusk
Taking Back Sunday
Trea Landon
Lauren Alaina
Yungblud

July 4
X Ambassadors
HARDY
Courtney Barnett
Christopher Randolph & the Family Band
Chase Rice
Tenille Arts
Chris Janson
Sublime with Rome
Vic Mensa
Common Kings

July 5
The Killers
Death Cab for Cutie
Cole Swindell
Daya
Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Leonid & Friends
Max
Jesus Jones
Trea Landon
38 Special
The Spinners
Dashboard Confessional
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Anna-Marie
The Head and the Heart
Oxymorrons
Matisyahu

July 6
Billie Eilish
Dark Star Orchestra
Chris Lane
The Suffers
DJ Keezy
DJ Abilities
Evidence
Dumpstaphunk
Dem Atlas
Semisonic
Nikki Jean
Sa-Roc
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound
Skillet
Brother Ali
Atmosphere

July 7
Lil Wayne
Snoop Dogg
ScHoolboy Q
Jason Mraz
Juice
Sego
La Sonora Poncena
Dispatch
Dylan Scott
Dispatch
Rodrigo y Gabriela

Country Singer-Songwriter Earl Thomas Conley Dies

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Earl Thomas Conley

Acclaimed country singer-songwriter Earl Thomas Conley passed away today (April 10). He was 77.

Conley had 18 No. 1 hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including “Holding Her and Loving You,” “Nobody Falls Like a Fool,” “What I’d Say” and “Once in a Blue Moon.” Conley set a record with his 1984 album, Don’t Make It Easy for Me, when he became the first artist in any genre to have four number one singles from the same album.

Born October 17, 1941, in Portsmouth, Ohio, Conley joined a Christian trio while in the Army. Once he was discharged, he worked a number of blue-collar jobs and played in Nashville clubs at night. Conley then moved to Huntsville, Alabama to work in a steel mill, where he met Nelson Larkin who got him a deal at the independent label GRT in 1974. Conley later signed to Warner Bros. in 1977 where he landed his first Top 40 single, “Dreamin’s All I Do.” He left the label in 1979, and went to Sunbird Records to work with Larkin again. Conley quickly scored a Top 10 hit with “Silent Treatment” and then his first of 18 No. 1 songs, “Fire and Smoke,” in 1981. RCA signed Conley shortly after.

At RCA, Conley had plenty of singles shoot up the charts including hits “Tell Me Why” and “Heavenly Bodies.”

By the end of the 1980s, Conley found a collaborator in bluegrass extraordinaire Earl Scruggs’ son, Randy Scruggs. He also worked closely with Keith Whitley, releasing a duet with him called “Brotherly Love,” which earned the two a CMA nomination after Whitley had passed.

Collaborator and friend, Blake Shelton, shared the news via Twitter. His caption reads: “My heart is absolutely destroyed today… I’m sad to report that Earl Thomas Conley passed away very early this morning. Earl was my all time favorite singer, hero and my friend. Prayers to his family. We will all miss you deeply my brother. Now go rest..”

Funeral announcements have not been released at press time.

Blake Shelton and Earl Thomas Conley. Photo: Twitter/@Blake Shelton

Joe Kelly Announces Relaunch Of CDX Records, CDX Label Services Divisions

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Joe Kelly, president of CDX, has announced the relaunch of CDX Records, in addition to offering label services to new artists and heritage artists releasing new music along with their catalogs. CDX Records originally launched in 1992, in the peak of the country club/nightclub era with the release of “Cotton Eyed Joe” which became an instant hit among dancehalls across the world.

CDX Label Services will offer artists the opportunity to build the right team within their budget to maximize their promotional efforts. Everything from physical product manufacturing to digital/physical distribution, product one sheets, radio promotion teams and marketing will be offered by the new division of the company.

“I have a whole new vision of where we are going to take CDX within the music industry. Everyone automatically puts us in the category of servicing music to radio which we will continue to do, but we are much more than that,” says Kelly. “For years, CDX has helped point artists in the right direction of lawyers, producers, publicists, and promoters without ever showing favoritism to any company. Now, we are just going to be offering that service up as a standalone business.”

CDX Records and CDX Label Services will not be hiring an in-house promotion or publicity staff. The company will continue recommending independent companies to fill those positions to individually to fit the needs of each specific artist.

Kelly began his label career in 1999 with Intersound Country and Platinum Entertainment working as a Regional Director of Promotion. In 2001, he joined Blue Diamond Records as Label Vice President overseeing all marketing, sales, and publicity. In 2004, Kelly was named VP of Label Operations of Aspirion Records, home of Collin Raye, Joe Nichols, T. Graham Brown, John Corbett and others, where he remained until 2011 when he returned to CDX.

Brett Young, Chris Janson, Lindsay Ell Among Newly-Added CMA Fest Performers

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Brett Young, Lindsay Ell, Chris Janson

Brett Young and Chris Janson are among the performers recently added as part of CMA Fest’s nightly concerts, taking place at Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville this summer. Young will take the stadium stage Saturday night (June 8), while Chris Janson will perform Sunday night (June 9).

Nissan Stadium openers include Marty Stuart on Thursday, Jo Dee Messina on Friday, Billy Ray Cyrus on Saturday and David Lee Murphy on Sunday. Two different student groups from Nashville School of the Arts, a beneficiary of the CMA Foundation, will perform the National Anthem during CMA Fest – the first kicking off the Chevy Riverfront Stage Thursday morning, followed by a second group performing Thursday evening at Nissan Stadium.

Additional artists performing the National Anthem at the stadium include Lindsay Ell on Friday, Runaway June on Saturday, and Jimmie Allen on Sunday. More festival news and lineup additions will be announced in the coming weeks.

Previously announced artists performing during the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium include Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Pistol Annies, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban.

2018’s CMA Fest drew capacity crowds and the largest engagement of fans in the event’s history, with visitors from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and 36 international countries flocking to downtown Nashville. Additional stage lineups, Xfinity Fan Fair X activities and more will be announced in the coming weeks.

[UPDATED] SoundExchange Sues Music Choice For Underpayment

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[Updated, 4:25 p.m.]

Sam Harper, VP of Communications, offered the following statement on behalf of SoundExchange to MusicRow:

“The only stunt is claiming that we hold $1.2B of unpaid royalties. This is flat wrong. We pay out 90% of royalties within 45 days of receipt and 95%+ of royalties within three years. After 3 years, the balance is refunded to all artists and rights owners we pay in the form of an admin rate refund. And at 4.7%, our administrative rate is the lowest of any comparable organization.”

[Previous story, 10:49 a.m.]

SoundExchange filed a lawsuit on April 10 against Music Choice to recover underpaid royalties between Jan. 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2016, but its believed to extend beyond that period.

“Music Choice’s actions reflect a persistent effort to avoid paying royalties for its use of protected sound recordings,” said SoundExchange SVP/General Counsel Colin Rushing. “Its creative accounting has cheated creators out of the royalties they are due and is inconsistent with the Copyright Royalty Board’s regulations.

“We hope this action will compel Music Choice to pay the royalties that are due to music creators and to change its practices moving forward.”

The action comes after an audit of Music Choice’s royalty statements from their range of music channel subscription services with businesses and individual subscribers. Music Choice is one of many digital music service providers relying on a statutory license to obtain the rights to use sound recordings in its BES (business establishment service). The statutory royalty rate and payment terms for a BES are set forth in CRB regulations at 37 C.F.R. Part 384. Currently, the basic royalty rate for a BES is “12.5 percent of [the] Licensee’s ‘Gross Proceeds’ derived from the use in such service of musical programs that are attributable to copyrighted recordings.”

As a result of the audit, SoundExchange discovered that Music Choice systematically underreported its “Gross Proceeds,” leading to underpayment to SoundExchange for statutory royalties related to the BES.

In response, Music Choice offered the following statement to MusicRow:

“Music Choice has always paid all royalties it is required and, in fact, paid artist royalties even before it was required by law. This suit is a stunt by SoundExchange to distract people from the appropriate concerns copyright holders have that SoundExchange is holding $1.2 Billion of paid royalties without distributing them to the appropriate copyright holders.”

Brian Bunn Signs With Curb/Word Music Publishing

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Pictured (L-R): Jonathan Mason (VP Word Worship Music), Nathan Drake (Dickinson-Wright), Colt Murski (Senior Creative), Brian Bunn, Nina Jenkins (Creative Manager), Janine Appleton Ebach (VP Curb|Word Music Publishing), MaryAnn Keen (BMI, Writer Publisher Relations), Austen Adams (Dickinson-Wright), Ryan Dokke (SVP/GM Curb|Word Entertainment)

Brian Bunn has signed a publishing deal with Curb/Word Music Publishing.

Bunn is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist with years of live performance experience to his credit. Before stepping off the road to pursue songwriting full time, Brian was a lead guitarist for artists including Thomas Rhett, Third Day, DecembeRadio, and David Crowder. In 2016, he toured with Thomas Rhett as direct support for Jason Aldean.

Bunn’s songs have been recorded by Lee Brice, Dylan Scott, Kellie Pickler, Parmalee and others and have earned air time on channels like CBS, The Outdoor Channel, and The Discovery Channel.

The Press House Hires April Dickey As PR Director

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April Dickey

With more than 10 years in entertainment public relations, April Dickey has joined The Press House as PR Director of Nashville. Dickey has previously worked for Live Nation, Warner Music Nashville, and BottleRock Napa Valley. She has been leading the charge of her own company, The BANDWagon, for the past five years, but decided it was time to join a team of like-minded motivated publicists when The Press House CEO Dawn Kamerling approached her about the position.

“I am thrilled to have April join our team at the helm of the Nashville office. The Press House is celebrating it’s 18th year in business this month, and I am excited to work side by side with April, her roster and her amazing energy.” says Kamerling.

The Press House, a full-service PR and branding firm, has offices in New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles.

Spotify’s “Secret Genius” Songwriters Pen Open Letter: “Do The Right Thing And Drop Your Appeal”

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Many songwriters who have been part of Spotify’s “Secret Genius” program are speaking out against the digital service provider’s appeal of the Copyright Royalty Board’s recent rates determination.

MusicRow has obtained a copy of an open letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, which urges Ek and the company to drop its appeal. Several of Nashville’s top writers are among the letter’s signees.

Spotify launched its Secret Genius Awards in 2017 to honor songwriters who contributed to the top-streamed songs on the platform. The service also launched Secret Genius studios in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta and London. Now many of those writers and creators are speaking against Spotify’s recent appeal (along with Amazon, Google, and Pandora).

“We’re hurt and disappointed. You created a songwriter relations team and ingratiated Spotify into our community,” the open letter reads. “We know that you are not the only DSP appealing the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rate determination. You are, however, the only provider that made us feel we were working to build a modern music industry together.”

Shortly after the CRB finalized its rate determination in February—a decision which would ultimately raise the pay from digital service providers to songwriters and publishers by 43.8%—most of the leading streaming services appealed the rate determination. Apple Music chose not to appeal.

Numerous industry organizations, including the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and Songwriters of North America (SONA), have criticized the digital service providers’ appeal of the CRB rates. Additionally, the NMPA and NSAI are planning a Town Hall Meeting in Nashville for tomorrow (April 10) from 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m. CT at 3rd & Lindsley.

Read the full open letter to Spotify’s Daniel Ek below:

 

April 9, 2019
Spotify
c/o: Daniel Ek
4 World Trade Center
150 Greenwich Street, 62nd Floor
New York, NY 10007

RE: An Open Letter to Spotify

Dear Spotify:

We’re hurt and disappointed. You created a songwriter relations team and ingratiated Spotify into our community. We know that you are not the only DSP appealing the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rate determination. You are, however, the only provider that made us feel we were working to build a modern music industry together.

Now, we can see the real reason for your songwriter outreach. You have used us and tried to divide us but we stand together.

Our fight is for all songwriters: those struggling to build their career, those in the middle class and those few who have reached your Secret Genius level. But none of us are “secret!” WE all create the ONE thing you sell… songs.

Do the right thing and drop your appeal of the Copyright Royalty Board rate determination.

Sincerely,

Not So Secret Geniuses

Alex Hope, Ali Tamposi, Ammar Malik, Amy Allen, Andres Torres & Mauricio Rengifo, Andrew Goldstein, Ashley Gorley, Asia Whiteacre, Babyface, Barry Dean, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Bibi Bourelly, Billy Steinberg, Brett James, Brian Lee, Brody Brown, busbee, Captain Cuts, Caroline Ailin, Chloe Angelides, Cirkut, Claudia Brant, Cook Classics, Danja, Dave Bassett, David Garcia, David Hodges, David Pramik, Doc McKinney, Ed Drewett, Electric, Emily Warren, Emily Weisband, Evan Bogart, Frank Dukes, Giorgio Tuinfort, Greg Kurstin, Greg Wells, Ian Kirkpatrick, Ilsey Juber, Jason Evigan, Jaycen Joshua, Jesse Frasure, Jin Jin, Joe Kirkland and Jason Dean from Whiskey Water, Johnny Yukon, Jonas Jeberg, Josh Osborne, Jozzy, J.T. Harding, Lori McKenna, Louis Bell, Luke Laird, Ludwig Goransson, Lunch Money Lewis, Madison Love, Marcella Araica, Mike Elizondo, Mike Wise, Mr. Hudson, Murda Beatz, Nasri Atweh, Neil Ormandy, Nic Nac, Nicolle Galyon, Nile Rodgers, Oak Felder, Priscilla Renee, Rob Knox, Rodney Clawson, RØMANS, Ross Copperman, Ross Golan, Ruth Anne Cunningham, Sarah Aarons, Scott Harris, Sebastian Kole, Sebastian Krys, Serban Ghenea, Shane McAnally, Simon Wilcox, Sir Nolan, Starrah, Steve Mac, Teddy Geiger, The Futuristics, The Orphanage Trevor Brown and Zaire Koalo, T-Minus, TMS, Tricky Stewart, Vinylz, Wayne Hector, Western Weiss, Zach Crowell

Women’s Audio Mission To Hold Nashville Conference

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Women’s Audio Mission, a San Francisco-based organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts, will hold an event in Nashville on April 27-28.

The organization will present their WAMCon Nashville immersive recording arts conference, a two-day event with workshops covering topics from studio recording and mixing techniques to songwriting, guided by award-winning female producers and engineers like Linda Perry (P!nk, Adele, Alicia Keys), Emily Lazar (David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Beck), Shani Gandhi (Alison Krauss, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jewel), Simone Torres (Cardi B, Sia, Dua Lipa, Usher, Sean Garrett), Gena Johnson (Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves), Jordan Brooke Hamlin (Indigo Girls, Lucy Wainwright Roche), Jennifer Decilveo (Andra Day, Beth Ditto), and Melissa Pierce (Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire).

“While female artists including Ariana Grande, Halsey and Lady Gaga have dominated the charts in 2019, women throughout the music industry still remain hugely underrepresented,” said WAM Executive Director Terri Winston. “Programs like WAMCon Nashville, featuring some of the country’s most talented audio engineers and music professionals, are designed to inspire and grow the next generation of successful female producers and engineers and address this disparity. Nashville is country music’s creative hub and we look forward to bringing our program to its thriving music community.”

WAM trains over 2,000 women and girls a year in the recording arts to address the critical lack of women in the audio industry. Over the past year, WAM hosted three sold-out recording arts conferences in Los Angeles at Capitol Studios, New York at Jungle City Studios and YouTube Space NY, and Boston at iZotope/PRX Podcast Garage, which served over 500 women.

WAMCon Nashville will take place at The Tracking Room, as well as Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios. The event is sponsored by Spotify, Eventide, Epidemic Sound, Shure, The Walt Disney Studios, iZotope, and Universal Audio, and presented in partnership with Change the Conversation, an organization that fights gender inequality in the music industry by providing support, education, and community for women artists and executives.

Additional details about WAMCon Nashville, including the information about the sessions, panelists and workshop leaders, as well as ticket purchase, is available here: WAMCon Nashville 2019.

 

Tortuga Music Festival Increases Onsite Sustainability Initiatives

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Rock The Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival will take place for a seventh year in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on April 12-14. Each year, the festival strives to build on its conservation and sustainability initiatives onsite. Efforts such as providing compostable service-ware, enforcing no plastic straws or sales of plastic water bottles, donating all leftover food and serving food that is responsibly caught and farmed, as well as encouraging fans to take alternative transportation to help reduce the emissions associated with fan travel, are some of the ways Tortuga encourages attendees to live in an environmentally and eco-friendly way, all in support of ocean conservation.

For the first time, Tortuga Music Festival will also introduce another way to reduce single-use plastic by offering fans the opportunity to purchase a limited-edition pint cup that can be used all weekend long. Attendees will have additional opportunities throughout the weekend to learn more about ocean conservation and sustainability, alongside ways to actively help #RockTheOcean at the festival’s onsite Conservation Village where they can interact with over 30 worldwide leaders in ocean conservation. Conservation Village also allows attendees to enjoy games, interactive touch tanks, cooking exhibitions and the latest in ocean technology.

The three-day, newly three-stage festival will provide fun-in-the-sun to fans throughout the weekend with news that Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney & Thomas Rhett will headline this year’s festival alongside Danielle Bradbery, Kane Brown, Sheryl Crow, Delta Rae, Lindsay Ell, Morgan Evans, Flo Rida, Chris Janson, Jillian Jacqueline, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, Cody Johnson, Elle King, Dustin Lynch, Maddie & Tae, Midland, Maren Morris, David Lee Murphy, Carly Pearce, Cassadee Pope, RaeLynn, Michael Ray, Trombone Shorty, Mitchell Tenpenny, The Wailers and more will perform across the weekend. Single-Day and Three-Day passes are available at: tortugamusicfestival.com.