The United Way has begun its search for songs with a positive message for use in its Stuff the Bus campaign.
The 2013 Live United Song Contest will accept entries through June 12, to be judged by an industry panel for lyrics, melody, production and relevancy to United Way’s mission to advance the common good.
Judges include Randy Brown (Artist Manager at Borman Entertainment), Bradley Collins (Sr. Director of Writer-Publisher Relations at BMI), Stevie Erickson (Song Plugger at Patrick Joseph Music Publishing), Randy Goodman (Co-chair of the Music City Music Council) and Marty Slayton Jordan (George Strait backup vocalist).
Top ten finalists will be selected to perform at The Listening Room Café during United Way’s Stuff the Bus Launch Concert on Thursday, June 20 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. A winner will be chosen at the event for inclusion in an upcoming United Way Day of Action video, which will be featured on unitedwaynashville.org and emailed to partners across the city.
Each song requires an entry fee of $10, which will benefit United Way’s Stuff the Bus school supply drive to benefit at-risk Nashville students. All finalists must be available to attend and perform at the June 20 event.
To submit an entry for the contest, click here.
For more information or to volunteer at one of the Stuff the Bus Days of Action, click here.

For the first time in its 87-year history, 650 AM WSM is set to release a compilation volume of live, in-station performances. On June 25, the 16-track release Live From The Archives of 650 AM WSM- Volume One (Red River Entertainment/RED Distrbution) will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally. The disc features an introduction from Vince Gill, Ralph Emery’s National Radio Hall of Fame Induction and songs from Darrell Scott, The Time Jumpers, Mark Wills, Shawn Camp, JD Souther, The Grascals, Elizabeth Cook and others.

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It seems that American Idol isn’t moving viewers to download new music as mightily as it once did. The season’s winner Candice Glover only notched 54,000 downloads of her debut single “I Am Beautiful,” according to Nielsen Soundscan, while runner-up Kree Harrison‘s “All Cried Out” moved 24,000 downloads. Comparatively, Season 9 American Idol Lee DeWyze winner sold approximately 100,000 copies of his single “Beautiful Day” in 2010.
Here are the best first week for Idols coming off the show, according to USA Today:

1. Clay Aiken, “This Is the Night” (393,000 first-week sales)
2. Ruben Studdard, “Flying Without Wings” (286,000)
3. Phillip Phillips, “Home” (278,000)
4. David Cook, “Time of My Life “(236,000)
5. Kelly Clarkson, “A Moment Like This” (236,000)
6. Taylor Hicks, “Do I Make You Proud” (228,000)
7. Scotty McCreery, “I Love You This Big” (171,000)
8. Carrie Underwood, “Inside Your Heaven” (171,000)
9. Fantasia, “I Believe” (142,000)
10. Kris Allen, “No Boundaries” (134,000)
11. Lauren Alaina, “Like My Mother Does” (122,000)

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Kelsey Granda

Sony/ATV Music Publishing is moving its administrative operations to downtown Nashville to a new space that will serve as the company’s global administration hub. The creative team will remain on Music Row.
Sony/ATV has executed a long-term lease with Amstar for 50,000 square feet of office space in downtown Nashville’s Fifth Third Center, located at 424 Church Street. The company will occupy three floors in the building and is set to move before the end of the year.
Sony/ATV expects to increase overall headcount in Nashville by more than 40 percent in departments including global administration, royalties, copyright, finance, IT and human resources.
The long-term presence of Sony/ATV’s creative offices on historic Music Row, located at 8 Music Square West, will not be affected by this move. However, the building at 65 Music Square West which currently houses the administrative team will be sold.
The need to hire more admin staffers results in part from the company’s acquisition of EMI Music Publishing. Recently Sony Corporation of America and a group of investors acquired EMI Music Publishing, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing administers EMI on behalf of the investor group. Together with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV owns or administers more than 2 million copyrights.
Commenting on the announcement, Martin Bandier, Chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing said, “We are thrilled to have found such accessible and functional office space in downtown Nashville’s beautiful Fifth Third Center. Our new offices will provide us the necessary room to expand, while still being part of Music City. We’re particularly grateful to the incredible support from Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Governor Bill Haslam for helping us to continue to make Nashville, Tennessee Sony/ATV’s global administration hub.”
“Sony/ATV’s decision to expand its global administration offices into the heart of downtown Nashville speaks to the vibrancy of our urban core and the strength of our brand as Music City,” Mayor Dean said. “The music and entertainment industry is a major economic force in our city because of the growth of companies here like Sony/ATV. I want to thank Marty Bandier and everyone at Sony/ATV for their continued investment in Nashville and thank the Music City Music Council, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the state of Tennessee for their partnership.”
Sony/ATV controls many of the best known songs ever written including “New York, New York,” “Hallelujah,”  “All You Need Is Love,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Moon River,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “The Mission Impossible Theme,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Over the Rainbow,” “Stand By Me,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others.

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Ben Harper has signed an exclusive, worldwide co-publishing agreement with BMG Chrysalis US.
Harper says, “I look forward to working with BMG. They have an incredible roster that I’m proud to be a part of. Laurent Hubert and his team are real leaders and innovators in the music publishing space, which is such an important part of an artist’s career.”
For his twelfth studio album, Harper collaborated with acclaimed blues artist Charlie Musselwhite to release Get Up in January 2013.
“Get Up showcases a special musical chemistry between two legendary artists who complement each other’s unique talent and style while pushing artistic boundaries,” said Jill Pedone, Creative Director at BMG Chrysalis US. “It is a rare opportunity to work with a songwriter such as Ben who flourishes with any musical genre.”