Kiefer Sutherland Signs New Music Management, PR Deals

Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland is joining The Fitzgerald Hartley Co. roster, in association with longtime manager and producer Jude Cole, for music management, and Adkins Publicity for music PR/Publicity representation. APA’s Steve Martin will continue overseeing North America and international live music booking.

In 2016, Sutherland released the project Down In A Hole, followed by a sold-out North American and European tour, and has also made appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, Stagecoach and Glastonbury Festival.

It’s Official: Spotify Files For $1 Billion IPO

Spotify announced Wednesday (Feb. 28) that it plans for an initial public offering, officially completing an F1 filing with the Security and Exchanges Commission. The company will go public under the ticker SPOT on the New York Stock Exchange.

Documents state the company is targeting a $1 billion IPO.

Spotify says it is present in 61 countries and its platform includes 159 million monthly active users and 71 million premium subscribers, as of Dec. 31, 2017.

“Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by these creators,” Spotify said in the filing.

‘Music City’ Singer-Songwriter Jessica Mack To Release Album In March

Singer-songwriter Jessica Mack has a lot to celebrate this week with the March 1 premiere of CMT’s music-themed docu-series, Music City, in which Mack has a featured role, and the March 2 release of her full-length project, One Love.

The project is produced by Andrew Bergthold (Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Ginny Owens, Big Daddy Weave), Bobby Campbell (Nashville, Logic, Mary J. Blige), Josh Bronleewe (Sanctus Real, Natalie Grant, Danny Gokey) and Nate Dodge (E!, MTV, Oxygen).

“Jessica Mack’s persuasive, pop vocals fused with her stellar storytelling-songwriting skillset represents the BEST of the NEW ‘Music City,’ Nashville, TN,” added Shereé Spoltoré, President of Global Songwriters Connection and mentor to Mack.

One Love Official Track Listing
“Sonic Boom” (Jessica Mack, Andrew Bergthold, Mike Van Soest)
“You Are The One” (Jessica Mack. Bobby Campbell, Justin Haplin)
“Mixtape” (Jessica Mack, Kristina Kidd, Andrew Bergthold)
“A Million Ways” (Jessica Mack, Bobby Campbell, Justin Halpin)
“Still Out There” (Jessica Mack, Brett Rutledge)
“Drive” (Jessica Mack, Robert Andrew Vischer)
“Lay It Down” (Jessica Mack, Tony Wood, Josh Bronleewe)
“Only You” (Jessica Mack, Bobby Campbell, Justin Halpin)
“If You Could” (Jessica Mack, Bobby Campbell, Justin Halpin)
“Because You Love Me” (Jessica Mack, Nate Dodge)
“Brand New” (Jessica Mack, Andrew Bergthold)
“Let Jesus” (Jessica Mack, Cory Wigal)

When asked about making her national television debut in “Music City,” Mack said, “Being cast for ‘Music City’ was such an honor and an unexpected blessing! To be a part of a show that inspires people to dream big and go after it – that’s what I’m all about. I’m thankful to share my journey with all who watch!”

“Music City” is an eight-episode series created by renowned executive producer Adam DiVello (MTV’s “The Hills” and “Laguna Beach”), following a group of young adults as they enter the next phase of their lives while chasing dreams of success, fame, and romance in Nashville. Confronted with everyday decisions that carry high stakes for their careers, their relationships, and their futures, they must navigate the rocky road on their journeys of self-discovery. “Music City” premieres on CMT this Thursday, March 1 at 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT.

Jake Owen Rejuvenates Mellencamp Classic On New Single

Jake Owen is paying homage to a heartland classic on his brand new single, “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” which reunites Owen with producer Joey Moi and marks his first release for Big Loud Records. The singer got the thumbs up from Mellencamp himself on the new track, which was important to him as he went about reinventing the rock and roll gem.

“I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” evokes a warm-weather romance set to one of rock’s essential classics, John Mellencamp’s “Jack & Diane.” Based around the 1982 hit’s iconic melody, Owen reinvents the feel-good rock staple a bit.

“I never release a song without the intention of stepping up to the plate and knocking it out of the park,” said Owen. “When I first heard ‘I Was Jack (You Were Diane),’ I thought, ‘How can I do this and re-create what is already a classic song?’ But the more I listened to it, the more I saw my own life growing up. The original ‘Jack & Diane’ was about ‘two American kids growing up in the heartland’ and that image is exactly what so many country songs are based on. Plus, the most important thing to me and my team is that we sent the song to Mellencamp and he digs the track. Getting his stamp of approval sealed the deal for me that this song should be our debut single.”

Along with the new single Owen has recorded a breezy new tune, “Something to Ride To,” that is also being released to all digital music partners today.

He’s set to launch his 2018 “Life’s Whatcha Make It Tour” with special guests Chris Janson and Jordan Davis this Summer with the majority of shows taking place at baseball stadiums across the country.

Leadership Music Class Of 2019 Applications Due Today

The deadline to apply for Leadership Music’s Class of 2019, its historic 30th class, is Wednesday, Feb. 28, ending at midnight. Applications from established industry leaders will be accepted online only at leadershipmusic.org.

The selection process begins in early March, and applicants are notified of their selection in late May.

The eight month, Nashville-based, education program begins in September and is designed to create understanding among music industry professionals and promote teamwork. Participants are required to attend all-day sessions once a month, plus opening and closing retreats during the program.

Leadership Music has graduated more than 1,100 music industry-related executives since 1990.

Mary Chapin Carpenter To Launch New Nationwide Tour This Summer

Mary Chapin Carpenter is celebrating the release of her new album Sometimes Just The Sky this summer with a new nationwide tour that will include stops at Aspen’s Belly Up, the Charleston Music Hall, and many others. Tickets for the newly-announced shows go on sale this Friday, March 2.

Sometimes Just The Sky is set for release March 30 and is available for pre-order now. The Lambent Light Records/ Thirty Tigers album is a celebration of Carpenter’s 30-year recording career and features new versions of some of her most-loved hits as well as one new song, the title track. Produced by Ethan Johns, the 13-track album was recorded live at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios outside Bath, England.

The album’s first single, “Heroes and Heroines” was originally released on Carpenter’s Hometown Girl album in 1987, and was inspired during a visit to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Carpenter’s hometown of Washington, D.C. She recently told Billboard about the song: “I was looking up into the rafters at the aircraft they have hanging there. They have entire airplanes and rocket ships, and there was the Spirit of St. Louis hanging in the rafters, that was the inspiration, and then of course it became a meditation on where we are now. It resonates in a way now that is eerie to me. It’s even more relevant.”

Mary Chapin Carpenter Tour Dates:
June 16—Lenox, MA—Tanglewood Performing Arts Center
June 17—Pittsburgh, PA—Byham Theatre
June 18—Bloomington, IN—Buskirk Chumley Theater
June 20—Wichita, KS—Orpheum Theatre
June 21—Omaha, NE—Holland Performing Arts Center
June 22—Denver, CO—Denver Botanic Gardens
June 24—Aspen, CO—Belly Up
June 26—Sun Valley, ID—Sun Valley Resorts
July 12—Bayfield, WI—Lake Superior Big Top Chautaqua
July 15—Ann Arbor, MI—The Ark
July 16—Columbus, OH—Davidson Theatre
July 20—Portland, ME—State Theatre
July 21-22—Brownfield, ME—Stone Mountain Arts Center
July 25—Ridgefield, CT—Ridgefield Playhouse
Aug. 1—Gettysburg, VA—The Majestic Theatre
Aug. 2—Virginia Beach, VA—The Sandler Center For The Performing Arts
Aug. 3—Durham, NC—Carolina Theatre
Aug. 7—Charleston, SC—Charleston Music Hall
Aug. 9—Chattanooga, TN—Walker Theater
Aug. 11—Vienna, VA—Wolf Trap

In Pictures: ASCAP Snowmass Ski Fest

Pictured (L-R): First Tennessee Bank’s Mark Ford and Bryan Bolton, Edwin McCain, First Tennessee Bank’s Andrew Kintz and Charles Kelley

ASCAP and sEVENTeen Event Management hosted the inaugural Snowmass Celebrity Ski Fest charity event in Aspen, Colorado, on Thursday, Feb. 22. Charles Kelley of trio Lady Antebellum headlined the exclusive event alongside pop singer-songwriter Edwin McCain. The evening was opened by a songwriters round featuring ASCAP hitmakers Chris DeStefano (“Don’t Ya,” “Something in the Water”), Jon Nite (“Boy,” “If I Told You”) and Steven Lee Olsen (“Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “More Girls Like You”).

ASCAP Creative Manager Beth Brinker said, “We changed the backdrop and raised the bar on a classic Nashville experience. The songs and voices that fill stadiums, in a cozy ski lodge setting – and all in the spirit of raising money for LadyAID and kids all over the world. The audience had a once-in-a-lifetime evening and we’re thrilled to say the inaugural Snowmass Celebrity Ski Fest was a success!”

The inaugural annual event raised money for LadyAID, a philanthropic effort founded by the members of Lady Antebellum – Dave Haywood, Kelley and Hillary Scott. Created in 2012, the multi-level organization garners awareness and support for children in need locally, nationally and globally, as it is a component fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Presented by ASCAP, the Snowmass Celebrity Ski Fest offered participants the opportunity to attend an intimate, Nashville “in-the-round” concert at T-Lazy-7 Ranch, a private lodge in the mountains of Aspen. The event was sponsored in part by First Tennessee Bank, Yeti, Columbia and Eddie Bauer.

Pictured (L-R): Guitarist Jason “Slim” Gambill and Charles Kelley. Photo: Ed Rode for ASCAP

Pictured (L-R): Guitarist Jason “Slim” Gambill, Steven Lee Olsen, Charles Kelley, Chris DeStefano, Jon Nite and Edwin McCain. Photo: Ed Rode Photography for ASCAP

Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Alison Webber and Beth Brinker, Chris DeStefano, Jon Nite, Krystal Nite and Steven Lee Olsen in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Photo: Ed Rode for ASCAP

Pictured (L-R): Jon Nite, Charles Kelley, Edwin McCain, ASCAP’s Beth Brinker, Chris DeStefano, sEVENTeen Event Management’s Mollie Case, and Steven Lee Olsen. Photo: Ed Rode.

Florida Georgia Line Announces Nashville Street Party

Florida Georgia Line. Photo: Delaney Royer

Florida Georgia Line will headline a massive street party and concert in Nashville on April 4, to help the NFL’s Tennessee Titans reveal their brand new 2018-2019 uniforms.

The free show begins at 7 p.m. CT at the neon-lined crossroads of Broadway and 1st Avenue, just blocks away from the duo’s three-story entertainment destination FGL House.

Bebe Rexha’s hit “Meant to Be” (ft. Florida Georgia Line) has spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, which is comprised of airplay, sales and streaming data. Rexha, Hubbard, Josh Miller, and David Garcia co-penned the platinum-certified track. FGL is in the studio working on their upcoming follow-up to 2016’s Dig Your Roots album (BMLG Records).

Industry Pics: CMA Foundation, WMBA, Newsboys

CMA Foundation Partners With Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband, Danielle Bradbery

Pictured (L-R): Nicolle Galyon, Danielle Bradbery and Emily Weisband gather prior to their performance Tuesday, Feb. 20 at CMA Songwriters Series presented by U.S. Bank at Wichita’s Crown Uptown Theatre. Photo: Amanda Eckard/CMA

The CMA Foundation partnered with award-winning songwriters Nicolle Galyon and Emily Weisband and country artist Danielle Bradbery to visit schools and surprise students and teachers throughout Kansas last week.

On Tuesday (Feb. 20), the group visited Wichita East High School and conducted an interactive songwriting workshop with more than 120 area music teachers to empower them with new, collaborative skills to use in their classrooms. Following the workshop, Bradbery, Galyon and Weisband took the stage at Wichita’s Crown Uptown Theatre for a special CMA Songwriters Series show presented by U.S. Bank. Galyon hosted the round and the three songwriters performed their works including “We Were Us,” “Sway,” “God Made Girls,” and “Gettin’ In The Way.”

Kansas school visits continued Wednesday (Feb. 21) when Galyon and Bradbery surprised students at Galyon’s alma mater Sterling High School to announce several donations to the school’s music program – nine guitars gifted by a donor, along with a drum kit and baby grand piano provided by the CMA Foundation. Galyon also unveiled a brand-new scholarship she is funding in partnership with the Wichita Community Foundation, the Autobiography Scholarship, which will be awarded to a deserving Sterling High School senior beginning this year.

The events continued Thursday (Feb. 22) following a performance by Galyon at the Kansas Music Education Association (KMEA) Conference in Wichita. Both Galyon and Bradbery met with KMEA Board members and all-state students prior to a songwriting session with teachers led by Galyon.

Festivities concluded Thursday evening at the KMEA President’s Concert during which the CMA Foundation-funded Salina South Middle School guitar class of Salina, Kansas performed under the direction of 2017 CMA Music Teacher of Excellence Matt Gerry.

 

WMBA Kicks Off 2018 With Top Industry Executives

Pictured (L-R): Charlene Bryant, Rachael Miller, Kortney Toney, Ellen Mundy,
Marcie Allen, Jana Horvath, Dana Dickie, Mary Larimer and Lauren Simon

The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) recently held its first two membership meetings of 2018 with guest speakers Marcie Allen (President, MAC Presents), Lindsey Clark (Deaton-Flanigen Productions) and Shannon Sanders (producer, Trustee and former President of The Recording Academy Nashville Chapter). The meetings were hosted by NSAI and The Recording Academy Nashville Chapter respectively.

“WMBA is grateful to have had Marcie Allen, Lindsey Clark and Shannon Sanders as our kickoff speakers for WMBA’s 2018 Membership Meetings. We are so thankful for their support of women and our organization. This has been such a fantastic way to kickoff what will prove to be the best year yet for WMBA. In addition to that, we are honored and excited to welcome a rockstar group of ladies to the WMBA family and look forward to the rest of 2018!” said Ellen Mundy (WMBA President).

Picttured (L-R): Lauren Simon, Dana Dickie, Mary Larimer, Shannon Sanders, Kortney Toney, Jana Horvath, and Ellen Mundy. Not pictured: Rachael Miller and Charlene Bryant.

 

Newsboys Launch Tour With Sold-Out Shows

Pictured (L-R): Jody Davis, Peter Furler, Duncan Phillips, Michael Tait, Phil Joel and Jeff Frankenstein. Photo: Caleb Cook

Christian rock band Newsboys launched their 2018 tour last weekend in California with sold-out shows at City National Civic in San Jose, Redding Civic Auditorium and the Visalia Convention Center, as well as a near-sellout crowd at Stockton’s Bob Hope Theatre.

The Newsboys United Tour showcases a headlining set from current members Michael Tait, Duncan Phillips, Jeff Frankenstein and Jody Davis joined by former members Peter Furler and Phil Joel for a string of the most popular hits from the group’s three-decade career.

Produced by Premier Productions in partnership with the Newsboys, the tour is set to visit more than 30 additional cities across the nation, including Houston, Minneapolis, Dallas and Orlando, before wrapping May 6.

 

Still Working Music Signs Dominic Scott Kay

Still Working Music has signed musician, director and film star Dominic Scott Kay to a comprehensive, multi-faceted deal for recording, songwriting and music management.

Kay was five when he started writing songs and performing on stage, and he landed his first film role not long after, playing the son of Tom Cruise’s character in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report. He also portrayed Henry Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and provided the voice of Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web opposite Julia Roberts, Oprah, and Reba. Kay directed his first film, Saving Angelo, at age 9, which starred Kevin Bacon. Now 21, he still holds the record as the highest working film actor under 18, having racked up nearly 50 credits to his name by his eighteenth birthday.

The Malibu native spent the last four years in Nashville learning the ins and outs of recording and production while honing his craft and his sound. He is based in Bel Air, California, but spends a good deal of his time on the road performing.

“I’ve known Dominic since the beach in Malibu and have been a huge fan since I saw him in Minority Report. When we reconnected in Nashville and I heard his music, I knew he would fit in perfectly with our Still Working family. I am excited to see what lies ahead for Dominic and honored to be part of his musical journey,” says Alex Orbison, President of Still Working Music.