Weekly Register: LANCO, Devin Dawson Make Top Country Debuts

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It’s a good week for newcomers on the Nielsen Soundscan Country Albums rankings. Arista Nashville band LANCO‘s debut project Hallelujah Nights debuted at No. 1 this week, with 19K (total consumption). Also entering at No. 5 this week is Warner Music Nashville’s Devin Dawson, whose Dark Horse moved 11K.

Kane Brown‘s self-titled debut, which released in late 2016, is at No. 2 this week, with 16K, followed by Thomas Rhett‘s Life Changes at No. 3 with 14K. Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller album is at No. 4 with 11.5K.

After garnering big wins at Sunday evening’s Grammy Awards, next week’s chart should reflect sales bumps for several artists, such as three-time winner last night Chris Stapleton and double-winner Jason Isbell.

On the Digital Songs chart, Keith Urban makes the top debut this week, with “Parallel Line” at No. 3 country, with 19K.

Florida Georgia Line‘s collaboration with Bebe Rexha, “Meant To Be,” is at No. 1 this week, with 39K (497K to date). Thomas Rhett‘s “Marry Me’ is at No. 2, with 20K. Dierks Bentley‘s new release, “Woman, Amen,” is at No. 4 with 17K, followed by Kane Brown‘s “Heaven” at No. 5, with 15K.

“It Goes On,” a track from Zac Brown‘s new Sir Rosevelt collaboration with Niko Moon and Ben Simionetti, debuts at No. 6 country with 13K.

 

Margo Price Adds April Dates On Nowhere Fast Tour

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Margo Price has extended her Nowhere Fast Tour this Spring, in support of her new album All American Made (Third Man Records). The Blackfoot Gypsies and Aaron Lee Tasjan will be guests on the new tour.

The tour extends a 12-month run for Price, who recently confirmed three headline shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium (two of which have already sold out), and a spot at NYC’s Governors Ball Festival in June.

Two special VIP Experiences will also be offered on the upcoming tour. Meet Margo Price and Sound Check Experiences tickets may include a meet and greet, an invitation to the pre-show reception featuring a private sound check performance by Margo, and a gallery wall showcasing original lyrics and never-before-seen photos and more.

Margo Price tour dates (new dates in BOLD):
Jan. 30 – Emo’s – Austin, TX *
Jan. 31 – The Heights Theater – Houston, TX *
Feb. 1 – Manship Theatre – Baton Rouge, LA *
Feb. 4-11 – Cayamo Cruise – New Orleans, LA
Feb. 2 – The Orpheum Theater – New Orleans (w/ John Prine)
Feb. 18 – The Crescent Ballroom – Phoenix, AZ ^
Feb. 20 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO ^
Feb. 21 – Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO $ SOLD OUT
Feb. 23 – The State Room – Salt Lake City, UT $ SOLD OUT
Feb. 24 – The Olympic – Boise, ID $
Feb. 25 – Neptune – Seattle, WA $
Feb. 26 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR $ SOLD OUT
Feb. 28 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA $ SOLD OUT
March 1 – The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA $
March 2 – Belly Up – Solana Beach, CA $ SOLD OUT
March 3 – Pappy & Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA $ SOLD OUT
March 9 – C2C Country 2 Country – Glasgow, UK
March 10 – C2C Country 2 Country – Dublin, Ireland
March 11 – C2C Country 2 Country – London, UK
April 11 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, IN #
April 12 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL #
April 13 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL #
April 14 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN #
April 15 – Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI #
April 17 – El Club – Detroit, MI #
April 18 – Horseshoe Tavern – Toronto, ON #
April 20 – Del Lago Resort & Casino – Waterloo, NY
April 21 – Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun – Uncasville, CT
April 22 – Higher Ground Ballroom – South Burlington, VT !
April 24 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME !
April 25 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA !
April 27 – Club AE – Pittsburgh, PA
April 28 – Jefferson Theater – Charlottesville, VA
May 19 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN SOLD OUT
May 20 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN SOLD OUT
May 21 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
June 3 – Governors Ball Music Festival – New York, NY
June 14 – Blue Ox Music Festival – Eau Claire, WI
July 13 – Forecastle Festival – Louisville, KY
July 14 – Sloss Music & Arts Festival – Birmingham, AL

* Paul Cauthen
^ Particle Kid
$ Blank Range
# Blackfoot Gypsies
! Aaron Lee Tasjan

Lauren Alaina, Natalie Grant, Jeff Foxworthy To Appear At 10th Annual Nashville Honors Gala

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Natalie Grant, Lauren Alaina and Jeff Foxworthy will join the 10th Annual T.J. Martell Foundation Nashville Honors Gala on March 26 at the Omni Hotel. Nashville star Charles Esten will once again host the event honoring outstanding community leaders that benefits cancer research. Honorees for this year’s gala are Janet Ayers – Lifetime Humanitarian Award, David Poile – Spirit of Nashville Award, Frank Bumstead – Frances Preston Outstanding Music Industry Achievement Award, Mike Smardak – Tony Martell Outstanding Entertainment Achievement Award, and Dr. James Netterville – Medical Research Advancement Award.

The 10th Annual T.J. Martell Nashville Honors Gala is chaired by Danielle Bouharoun and David Kells, along with Honorary Co-Chairs Sondra and Doug Cruickshanks. The Nashville Honors Gala has raised more than $3 million since its inception in 2009.

“The 2018 T.J. Martell Nashville Honors Gala solidifies the common bridge between Nashville’s business, medical, sports and entertainment communities,” Danielle Bouharoun said. “Our honorees are so deserving and continue to grow and change the landscape of Middle Tennessee. This is the Foundation’s signature event for the Southern Region and it will be a memorable night.”

Table sponsorships and tickets are available by contacting (615) 256-2002 or emailing tmoffat@tjmartell.org.

2018 Grammys Show Takes Ratings Tumble

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Bruno Mars

The Recording Academy held its annual Grammy Awards Sunday night (Jan. 28) at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, marking the Grammy Awards’ first time back in the Big Apple since 2003. The show saw big wins for Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, and, in the country field, Chris Stapleton, who took home three honors, including Country Album, Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance.

However, early ratings metrics show the awards show took a tumble from 2017’s ratings, with this year’s show dipping 21 percent from 2017.

In 2017, an Adele-dominated show earned 26.08 million viewers and a 7.8 rating among adults 18-49. This year, viewership was at 17.64 million, with ratings of 5.4/19 among adults 18-49.

See MusicRow‘s full Grammy coverage at MusicRow.com.

Chris Tomlin Announces Second Good Friday Nashville Concert

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Chris Tomlin will hold his second annual Good Friday Nashville concert on Friday, March 30, 2018 at Bridgestone Arena. Good Friday Nashville special guests include Kim Walker Smith of Jesus Culture, Matt Maher, Christine D’Clario, Tauren Wells and Pat Barrett who will all perform on stage with Tomlin throughout the night. Author and pastor Levi Lusko will speak. Tickets for this year’s event go on sale Thurs., Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. CT.

This year, Tomlin will again partner with and donate net proceeds from the concert event to Tennessee Kids Belong (TKB), the state chapter of national non-profit, America’s Kids Belong, and highlight Governor Haslam’s TN Fosters Initiative.

“What an amazing opportunity to bring our Nashville community together on this important day to remember the beautiful gift of hope we have all been given because of the selfless sacrifice of Jesus,” said Tomlin. “I was completely blown away at our inaugural Good Friday Nashville show last year to see the power of unity and know what that can do. It left me with an even greater desire to continue it and spread that same feeling of hope and love to the community of those in need like the children in our foster care system here in Tennessee and supporting those foster care families.”

The inaugural Good Friday Nashville in 2017 became the largest ticketed Christian concert in the venue’s history. Due to the overwhelming response and impact in the community, Tomlin has committed to performing the yearly concert event indefinitely and is currently holding the venue through 2024.

Tomlin recently debuted “Resurrection Power,” the first single from his new album, due out later this year. The song is available now at all digital retailers.

Chris Stapleton, Reba McEntire, Jason Isbell, Little Big Town Named Early Grammy Winners

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Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Jason Isbell, Zach Williams and CeCe Winans were among the early winners for the 60th annual Grammy Awards, held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The annual Grammys Premiere Ceremony, hosted by Paul Schaffer, was streamed online at grammy.com.

Chris Stapleton earned two early trophies, winning both Best Country Song (for “Broken Halos”) and Best Country Solo Performance (for “Either Way”).

“This is an amazing honor to be here. This song is just me and an acoustic guitar, so for that to win is a beautiful thing to me,” Stapleton said from the stage. He went on to thank his family and anyone who voted and bought the album.

Reba McEntire earned the Best Roots Gospel Album for Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope. “This honor isn’t mine,” she said. “I give this back to God.”

Little Big Town earned Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Better Man.”

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit earned both Best Americana Album (The Nashville Sound) and Best American Roots Performance (“If We Were Vampires”).

CeCe Winans was also a two-time winner, earning Best Gospel Performance/Song, and Best Gospel Album (for Let Them Fall In Love). Newcomer Zach Williams earned Best Contemporary Christian Music album, for Chain Breaker.

The televised portion of the 60th annual Grammy Awards will begin Sunday (Jan. 28) at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Early Winners Include:

Best Country Song (award goes to the songwriter): “Broken Halos,” Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance: “Better Man,” Little Big Town

Best Country Solo Performance: “Either Way,” Chris Stapleton

Best Gospel Performance/Song: CeCe Winans, “Never Have To Be Alone”

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: “What A Beautiful Name,” Hillsong Worship

Best Gospel Album: Let Them Fall In Love, CeCe Winans

Best Roots Gospel Album: Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope, Reba McEntire

Best American Roots Performance: “If We Were Vampires,” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Best Americana Album: The Nashville Sound, Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit

Best Bluegrass Album: Law of Gravity, The Infamous Stringdusters and All The Rage, In Concert Volume One, Rhonda Vincent And The Rage (tie)

Copyright Royalty Board Increases Mechanical Rates For Songwriters

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On Saturday (Jan. 27), the Copyright Royalty Board released its ruling on mechanical rates for songwriters for 2018-2022. The court decided in favor of an increase in the overall percentage of revenue paid to songwriters, from 10.5 percent to 15.1 percent over the next five years, marking the largest increase in the Copyright Royalty Board’s history.

The decision stems from a trial that took place from March through June 2017 with the National Music Publishers Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International, representing interests of music publishers and songwriters against Amazon, Apple, Google, Pandora and Spotify.

Additionally, the CRB removed the Total Content Cost (TCC) cap, giving publishers the benefit of a true percentage of what labels are able to negotiate in the free market resulting in significantly higher royalties for songwriters. The CRB also increased the TCC rate resulting in the most balance between record label and publishing rates in the history of mechanical licensing. In addition, the CRB granted a late fee which will dramatically alter the licensing practices of digital music companies.

NMPA President & CEO David Israelite stated, “We are thrilled the CRB raised rates for songwriters by 43.8% – the biggest rate increase granted in CRB history. Crucially, the decision also allows songwriters to benefit from deals done by record labels in the free market. The ratio of what labels are paid by the services versus what publishers are paid has significantly improved, resulting in the most favorable balance in the history of the industry. While an effective ratio of 3.82 to 1 is still not a fair split that we might achieve in a free market, it is the best songwriters have ever had under the compulsory license. The court also decided in our favor regarding a late fee which will force digital music services to pay songwriters faster or be subject to a significant penalty. The bottom line is this is the best mechanical rate scenario for songwriters in U.S. history which is critically important as interactive streaming continues to dominate the market.

“The decision represents two years of advocacy regarding how unfairly songwriters are treated under current law and how crucial their contributions are to streaming services. We thank the songwriters who shared their stories with the court and helped illustrate how badly these rate increases are needed. While the court did not grant songwriters a per-stream rate, the increases in overall rates and favorable terms are a huge win for music creators.”

Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Executive Director Bart Herbison said, “Songwriters desperately need and deserve the rate increases resulting from the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) trial. The CRB was a long and difficult process but songwriters and music publishers together presented a powerful case for higher streaming royalty rates. The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) thanks our songwriter witnesses Steve Bogard, Lee Thomas Miller and Liz Rose whose testimony was compelling.”

Sony/ATV Music Publishing CEO Martin Bandier said, “As the leading music publisher, we believe that overall this is a very positive ruling by the CRB as it will deliver an unprecedented topline rate increase for songwriters and publishers over the next five years. While we are disappointed not to get the per-stream rate that we wanted, the planned rate increases go a long way to fairly compensate our songwriters for the essential contribution they make to streaming’s success story.”

“When It Rains It Pours”: Luke Combs Celebrates Second No. 1 Hit

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Combustion’s Chris Farren, COR Music Publishing’s Mickey Jack Cones, BMI’s Bradley Collins, River House’s Lynn Oliver-Cline, Ray Fulcher, Luke Combs, Jordan Walker, Sony Music Nashville’s Randy Goodman, Big Machine’s Mike Molinar and 50 Egg Music’s Jonathan Singleton celebrate Comb’s No. 1 hit “When It Rains It Pours.” Photo: Steve Lowry

Luke Combs has quickly added another chart-topper, following his debut single “Hurricane.” Industry members gathered at BMI’s Nashville office to celebrate Combs’ second Platinum, multi-week No. 1 single, “When It Rains It Pours.” The track was penned by BMI songwriters Combs, Ray Fulcher and Jordan Walker (of Walker McGuire).

“When It Rains It Pours” marks the first No. 1 for co-writers Fulcher and Walker, and each were honored with BMI guitars to commemorate the occasion.

Among those celebrating were BMI’s Bradley Collins, Warner-Chappell’s Ben Vaughn, River House’s Lynn Oliver-Cline, Big Machine’s Mike Molinar, COR Entertainment’s Mickey Jack Cones, Combustion Music’s Chris Farren, CMA’s Brandi Simms, and more. MusicRow Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson was also on hand to honor the writers with MusicRow Challenge Coins, for “When It Rains It Pours” reaching No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart.

Each of the co-writers can be found out on the road this spring. Combs will kick off the 2018 leg of his headlining tour, Don’t Tempt Me With A Good Time, with two sold-out nights at the legendary Ryman Auditorium. His third single off the album, “One Number Away,” impacted radio earlier this month and continues to climb the charts. Fulcher, who penned 8 of the 12 tracks on Combs’ debut record, joins Morgan Wallen on the road. One-half of rising country duo Walker McGuire, Jordan Walker is out promoting their self-titled debut EP on the Lost Tour, which features a mixture of headlining shows and support dates for Lee Brice, Granger Smith and Drew Baldridge.

Ray Fulcher, Luke Combs, and Jordan Walker. Photo: Steve Lowry

Ray Fulcher, Jordan Walker, Luke Combs, and MusicRow Owner/Publisher Sherod Robertson. Photo: Steve Lowry

In Pictures: ASCAP, AIMP, Kalie Shorr

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ASCAP Teams With Room In The Inn

Pictured (L-R): Room In The Inn’s Melanie Barnett, ASCAP’s Kele Currier, Aaron Eshuis, Joe Clemmons, and Room In The Inn’s Maggie Sananikone and Wendy Smotherman

Inspired by ASCAP writer and Country Music Hall of Fame member Don Schlitz, who performs each week at Room In The Inn, ASCAP will feature songwriters to perform at the shelter once per month in 2018, while ASCAP staffers will volunteer to serve the guests. The series launched in January with songwriters Aaron Eshuis and Joe Clemmons, while ASCAP’s Kele Currier and Robert Filhart were on hand to serve guests alongside Room In The Inn staffers and volunteers.

Room In The Inn aims to provide programs to emphasize human development through education, self-help and work in the community.

 

Pictured (L-R): Songwriters Aaron Eshuis and Joe Clemmons perform at Room In The Inn

 

AIMP Holds Publishers and Artist Development Panel

Pictured (L-R): Brad Peterson, Regions Bank; AIMP Nashville Executive Director John Ozier, ole; Adam Zinke, Black Box; Livia Tortella, Black Box; AIMP Nashville Board Member Ree Guyer, Wrensong Music; Brian Popowitz, Black Box; Kari Barnhart, Regions Bank; AIMP Nashville Board Member Tim Hunze, Parallel

Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) held a panel yesterday in Nashville, titled “How Publishers Will Fill The Artist Development Gap In Nashville’s Music Industry In 2018.”

 

Kalie Shorr Celebrates New EP Release

Pictured (L- R): Blake McDaniel and Brad Bissell, agents at CAA; Kalie Shorr; Todd Cassetty of Cassetty Entertainment, Zach Farnum of 117 Entertainment

Kalie Shorr and her team gathered to celebrate the release of her new EP Awake at The Back Corner on Thursday evening in Nashville.

 

Cheyenne Frontier Days Releases Full Performer Lineup

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Cheyenne Frontier Days has announced the complete lineup for 2018 Frontier Nights with the addition of Nickelback on July 26 and Toby Keith on July 27. Held at Frontier Park in Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 20-29 “The Daddy of ‘Em All,” will feature some of the biggest names in country music.

Kicking off the first night of Cheyenne Frontier Nights, breakout artist Michael Ray will join superstar duo Florida Georgia Line on Friday, July 20. Platinum-certified for his single, “Ready Set Roll,” Chase Rice will join record-breaking seven-time No. 1 hit-maker Cole Swindell as he headlines on Saturday, July 21. Following two back-to-back nights of Championship Bull Riding, Grammy-nominated singer and co-writer of the most downloaded song by a female country artist since 2015, Cam will take the stage to open for Eric Church on Wednesday, July 25. Dubbed as “one of the most versatile [acts]” Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots with second generation cowboy Ned LeDoux will both open for newly announced headliner Toby Keith on Friday, July 27. Closing the final Frontier Nights performance alongside Dierks Bentley on Saturday, July 28 will be ACM, CMT and CMA nominee Kip Moore.

Tickets will be available for purchase on Friday, Feb., 2 at 9 a.m. MT on cfdrodeo.com, the Cheyenne Frontier Days ticket office or by phone at 307-778-7222.