Weekly Chart Report (07/20/2012)

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Curb Records’ Rachel Holder stopped by WKSF/99.9 Kiss Country to bring Music Director Brian Hatfield some Little Debbie snacks from her hometown Chattanooga, TN and share her Top 15 single “In Your Arms.”

SPIN ZONE
Kenny Chesney‘s “Come Over” sprints to the top of the charts in Olympic fashion this week, just ten weeks after release. Keith Urban‘s “For You” edges up one spot to No. 2, followed by Blake Shelton‘s “Over” at No. 3. Gloriana‘s “Kissed You Good Night” comes in at No. 4 while Little Big Town‘s “Pontoon” continues paddling upstream entering the Top 5 with 236 additional spins.

Rounding out the Top 10 are singles from veterans and newcomers including Love and Theft‘s “Angel Eyes” with a 173 gain spin increase, Lady Antebellum‘s “Wanted You More,” Thomas Rhett‘s “Something To Do With My Hands,” Jana Kramer‘s “Why Ya Wanna” and Zac Brown Band‘s “The Wind” gaining 301 additional spins in its seventh week on the chart. ZBB has had a big week which included its latest album offering Uncaged topping country and all genre sales charts with debut scans of 234k units.

Tim McGraw‘s “Truck Yeah” jumps from No. 32 to No. 24 and has received the chart’s largest increase in spins in all three weeks since release, adding 546 spins this week. Eric Church‘s “Creepin'” climbs from No. 57 to No. 38 gaining 354 spins. Jason Aldean‘s “Take A Little Ride” lands the highest chart debut at No. 57 with 413 spins. Other debuts include Craig Morgan‘s “Corn Star” at No. 71, Miss Willie Brown‘s “You’re All That Matters To Me” at No. 73, Brandon Holland‘s “Man In The Moon” at No. 76, Aaron Watson‘s “Raise Your Bottle” at No. 78, Tommy Steele‘s “My Side Of The Street” at No. 79 and Chris Cagle‘s “Let There Be Cowgirls” at No. 80.

Frozen Reports: KDOL, WCJW, WTRS, WUCZ, WAKG, WXMM, WPPL, WCMS, WJMQ, WQNZ, WTCM

Upcoming Singles
July 23
Tyler Barham feat. Casey Walker/Meet Me In Montana/YN Records
Cloverdayle/Like We Were Kids Again/New Voice
Sarah Jarosz/Annabelle Lee/Sugar Hill
Brian Milson/Too Damn Young/Permian-Quarterback
Jaida Dreyer/Confessions/Streamsound
Sara Evans/Anywhere/RCA
Rich O’Toole/Red Wine On Your Lipstick/Triple Crown
Doug Briney/It’s All Country/DB Songs

July 30
Jason Cassidy/Ride of Your Life/A-Blake
Jordan Anderson/Key to My Heart/Go Time
Joey+Rory/When I’m Gone/Sugar Hill
Randy Rogers Band/One More Sad Song/MCA
Brantley Gilbert/Kick It In The Sticks/Valory
Jason Aldean/Take A Little Ride/Broken Bow
D. Vincent Williams/Down By The River/BPG

• • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Jason Aldean/Take A Little Ride/Broken Bow – 57
Craig Morgan/Corn Star/Black River – 71
Miss Willie Brown/You’re All That Matters To Me/Octone-A&M-Rodeowave – 73
Brandon Holland/Man In The Moon – 76
Aaron Watson/Raise Your Bottle/HTK Records – 78
Tommy Steele/My Side Of The Street – 79
Chris Cagle/Let There Be Cowgirls/Bigger Picture Group – 80

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Tim McGraw/Truck Yeah/Big Machine – 546
Jason Aldean/Take A Little Ride/Broken Bow – 413
Eric Church/Creepin’/EMI Nashville – 354
Zac Brown Band/The Wind/Southern Ground-Atlantic – 301
Carrie Underwood/Blown Away/19-Arista Nashville – 294

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Jason Aldean/Take A Little Ride/Broken Bow – 30
Eric Church/Creepin’/EMI Nashville – 29
Tim McGraw/Truck Yeah/Big Machine – 21
Kip Moore/Beer Money/MCA – 19
Carrie Underwood/Blown Away/19-Arista Nashville – 10

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Britt & Blaire/Young Summer/Mt. Juliet Records – 168
Kelly Parkes/All Cried Out – 166
Dave Russell/Where The Money Goes/Cupit – 164
Bobby Dean/Me and George Strait/Lamon – 163
Stephanie Grace/Hey There – 162

Heidi Newfield stopped in Meridian, MS to visit with WOKK’s Scott Stevens.

Toby Keith continues to sell out venues on his Live in Overdrive tour, including a recent show in Washington, DC. Pictured with (L-R): SDU’s Macy Morgenthaler, WMZQ's morning show personality Boxer, and WMZQ’s Promotions & Marketing Director Kim Sauer.

Hudson Moore with KSTV's Brad Heitman (R) and Vision Entertainment's Seth Necessary to promote his single "Fireworks," which debuted at No. 48 on the Texas Music Chart last week.

Radio News: Marconi Award Noms, Dan Halyburton

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The National Association of Broadcasters has announced the finalists for the 2012 NAB Marconi Radio Awards honoring radio stations and on-air personalities for excellence in broadcasting. The winners will be revealed Sept. 20 at the NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner & Show, held during the 2012 Radio Show at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX.

Country Station of the Year noms
KCLR-FM, Columbia, MO
KUAD-FM, Fort Collins, CO
WIL-FM, St. Louis, MO
WYCD-FM, Detroit, MI
WZZK-FM, Birmingham, AL

Other award categories include Personality and Station of the Year in Large, Medium and Small Markets. See the complete list here.

Dan Halyburton

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Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee Dan Halyburton has joined Texas State Networks in a business development role. He will be based at the CBS/Dallas headquarters. Halyburton was most recently Exec. VP of New Media at McVay/Cook Associates. He can be reached at 214-707-7237 or dan.halyburton@cbsradio.com.

Jimmy Rector Joins EMI Records Nashville

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Jimmy Rector

Capitol Records Nashville has hired country radio promotion veteran Jimmy Rector as Director of Promotion, Midwest for EMI Records Nashville. Rector will begin his new gig Aug. 1 and will report directly to EMI VP of Promotion, Kevin Herring.

Rector was most recently VP of Strategic Planning & Promotion for Show Dog Universal.

“I feel like the Miami Heat when they signed LeBron James!” says Herring. “We are thrilled to have a promotion pro and boxer of Jimmy’s caliber on the EMI team.”

The move brings Rector’s career full circle. His promotion career began at Capitol Records in 1990 as a coordinator, working with artists such as Garth Brooks. Of his return to the Capitol family Rector says, “very rarely do you get to go back to where it all began and join the choir. My mom will be proud!”

Rector’s other stops include regional rep for Decca Records, regional Director at Capitol and BNA Records, Head of Promotion for RAYBAW Records, and VP of Promotion for Columbia Records.

Starting Aug. 1, he can be reached at jimmy.rector@emicap.com.

CRS Launches Battle of the Bands

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Country Radio Seminar has announced its inaugural CRS Battle of the Bands industry event, to be held Thurs., Sept. 27 from 6-9 pm at 3rd & Lindsley.

The friendly competition will pit bands against each other in an effort to raise the most money for the CRS Scholarship Fund and The Country Radio Hall of Fame. To participate, all bands must be comprised of members of Nashville’s country music record label community.

“This fun-filled event is going to be a great excuse to watch our friends and colleagues let their inner Rock Star explode on stage,” said CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne.

This will be a private, industry-only event. Contact the CRS offices at (615) 327-4487 for more information or to submit your band for consideration.

For information on CRS 2013 click here.

KJ97 Wins Underwood Video Premiere

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San Antonio’s KJ97 won a nationwide contest for the Private World Premiere of Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” music video. The prize package for KJ97 includes a “red carpet” event for listeners which will be attended by Underwood and video director Randee St. Nicholas.

Among the hundreds of country radio stations that participated, KJ97 had the largest number of listeners who voted for their station to win this event.

“Be it raising tons of money for the Kids of St. Jude or helping to bring the biggest stars to KJ Country, our listeners have always been up to the challenge,” enthuses KAJA PD Travis Moon. “I am so proud to work at KJ97, a radio station with such active and passionate listeners. This is their event!”

“Blown Away,” the second single release from Underwood’s 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville new album of the same title, was written by Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins.

Weekly Chart Report (7/13/2012)

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Flying Island's Gwen Sebastian visited WGTY's Dan Douglas while she was in Gettysburg, PA. Her single “Met Him in a Motel Room” hits our chart at No. 44 this week.

SPIN ZONE
This week The Band Perry‘s “Postcard From Paris” slides into the No. 1 spot in its 19th week on the chart. Kenny Chesney‘s “Come Over” leaps from No. 4 to No. 2 with a 248 spin gain followed by Keith Urban‘s “For You” maintaining the No. 3 position. Blake Shelton‘s “Over” enters the Top 5 at No. 4 sliding up 2 spots, followed by Gloriana‘s “Kissed You” holding at No. 5 for the second week.

Little Big Town‘s “Pontoon” continues its momentum this week with 199 additional spins and moves up 2 spots to No. 7 in its 11th week on the chart. Meanwhile, Phil Vassar‘s “Don’t Miss Your Life” doesn’t miss the chance for a Top 10 as he moves from No. 11 to No. 10.

Tim McGraw‘s “Truck Yeah” jumps from No. 60 to No. 32 in its second week on the chart and receives the largest increase in spins again this week with 725. Carrie Underwood‘s “Blown Away” keeps climbing with another 456 spins, upping 11 spots to No. 33. Sara Evan‘s “Anywhere” lands the highest chart debut at No. 65. Other debuts include Kip Moore‘s “Beer Money” at No. 68, Corey Wagar‘s “Take Ya Back” at No. 71, Bill Gentry‘s “That Kind of Life” at No. 75 and Sawyer Brown‘s “Ain’t Goin’ Out That Way” at No. 76.

Frozen Reports: KDOL, KDXY, KMOK, WDHR, WDKN, WKWS, WXXK

Upcoming Singles
July 16
Lauren Alaina/Eighteen Inches/Mercury Nashville-19 Recordings-Interscope
Kelleigh Bannen/Sorry on the Rocks/EMI Nashville
Levi Riggs/There’s Still A Place For That/Flying Island
Lonestar/The Countdown/4 Star Records
Shooter Jennings/The Real Me/eOne
John Karl/Redneck Rich (Hillbilly Happy)/Pour Boy
Don Williams feat. Alison Krauss/I Just Come Here For The Music/Sugar Hill
Brinn Black/Should Have Been Us/SMG Records

July 23
Sara Evans/Anywhere/RCA
Jaida Dreyer/Confessions/Streamsound
Sarah Jarosz/Annabelle Lee/Sugar Hill
Brian Milson/Too Damn Young/Permian-Quarterback
Rich O’Toole/Red Wine On Your Lipstick/Triple Crown
Doug Briney/It’s All Country/DB Songs
Tyler Barham feat. Casey Walker/Meet Me In Montana/YN Records
Cloverdayle/Like We Were Kids Again/New Voice

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New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Sara Evans/Anywhere/RCA Nashville – 65
Kip Moore/Beer Money/MCA – 68
Corey Wagar/Take Ya Back/GTR – 71
Bill Gentry/That Kind of Life/Tenacity Records – 75
Sawyer Brown/Ain’t Goin’ Out That Way/Beach Street Records – 76

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Tim McGraw/Truck Yeah/Big Machine – 725
Carrie Underwood/Blown Away/19-Arista Nashville – 456
Kenny Chesney/Come Over/Blue Chair-Columbia Nashville – 248
Zac Brown Band/The Wind/Southern Ground-Atlantic – 220
Miranda Lambert/Fastest Girl In Town/RCA Nashville – 211

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Carrie Underwood/Blown Away/19-Arista Nashville – 16
Miranda Lambert/Fastest Girl In Town/RCA Nashville – 16
Tim McGraw/Right Back Atcha Babe/Curb – 12
Aaron Lewis/Endless Summer/Blaster Records – 12
Trace Adkins/Them Lips (On Mine)/Show Dog-Universal – 10
Casey James/Crying On A Suitcase/19-Columbia Nashville – 9

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Brandon Holland/Man In The Moon – 187
Tommy Steele/My Side Of The Street – 174
Britt & Blaire/Young Summer/Mt. Juliet Records – 169
Bobby Dean/Me and George Strait/Lamon – 160
Kelly Parkes/All Cried Out – 150

Toby Keith took a moment to visit with WLHK/Indy PD Bob Richards before performing to a sold out show in Indianapolis on his Live in Overdrive Tour.

Arista Nashville’s Kristen Kelly was in Lexington, KY recently to perform at WBUL’s Red, White and Boom show. Her single, “Ex Old Man” lands at No. 52 on our MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart this week. Pictured (L-R): WBUL PD Michael Jordan and Kristen Kelly

Columbia Nashville's Tyler Farr (center) and WCTK Providence MD Jessica Tyler share the joy of having the same name during a recent visit. Playing the odd man out is WCTK PD Bob Walker (R).

 

JT Hodges Turns To Fans To Pick Next Single

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JT Hodges is letting fans pick his next single through a poll on his Facebook page. The Show Dog-Universal Music recording artist opened the polls last week and voting will continue through July. Fans will be able to listen and choose between “Sleepy Little Town,” “Leaving Me Later,” and “Rather Be Wrong Than Lonely.”

Two weeks before the Aug. 21 street date of his self-titled debut album, the label will announce the fans’ choice and release the single to radio.

“JT’s fan base is one of the most active I have seen for a new artist,” said SDU VP Sales, Marketing and New Media Bill Kennedy. “They have already purchased more than 130,000 downloads of his two singles and we at the label thought it would be a smart idea to let these people who really get him and his music weigh in on the next single.”

Hodges revealed the fan initiative via the special video message posted below.

YouTube video

Charlie Cook On Air: When Songs Push Boundaries

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Radio stations, record companies and artists all have similar customer relationships. Many marketers think that if a customer likes something, that equals usage and purchase. This is not always the case, so moving the consumer from like to action is a challenge we deal with everyday.

I remember a story told by Dick Purtan, one of my all time favorite radio personalities from Detroit. WXYZ radio was doing a call out contest. He got a listener on the air and asked her if she knew the cash call number. She commented that she and her husband had met Dick at a party recently and she remarked about how funny and engaging he was at the event. How much she and her husband enjoyed his company that night.

Again, he asked if she knew the cash call amount and her comment was, “Oh no. We listen to JP McCarthy.” JP was the long time Purtan competitor on cross-town WJR Radio.

Engagement. Positive impression. Great memory. No sale.

How often do we do that? Most of us live within our unique business world and think that everyone else understands the importance of that world.

In radio we often refer to the station as a utility. It is there whenever you flip the switch and consumers begin to take the ability to control the switch for granted. We tell radio stations to do something special that helps you stand out and creates a bond with the audience.

We refer to some artists as radio hit makers who have not yet been able to translate into record sales. Getting out on tours and performing live in front of fans and appearing on TV as often as possible help artists gain that all-important “face time” with fans.

Obviously building a long term trusting relationship takes more than just exposure and time. Researchers will tell you that consumers are looking for someone that shares their values. How can artists do this? How important is the individual song in connecting with the fans values?

Some artists can get past one song that raises eyebrows. I caught more crap from listeners in LA when “Toes” was on the radio every four hours. Zac Brown Band was still relatively new in its career and this was a huge hit for the band. Apparently it caused no lasting problems with enough listeners to do any damage to the group.

Sugarland pushed the boundaries with “Shhh it happens.” They have a strong fan base and if this lyric tested listeners’ values they just turned their heads the other way.

“Last Name” by Carrie Underwood continues to test below play levels and I think that this is because it is out of character for Carrie and doesn’t meet the values that listeners have for her in their minds.

“Fancy” by Reba was recently the lowest rated song on a test that I saw. Is this what people think about when Reba comes to mind? (Maybe we have just heard the song for 43 years. Not just from Reba, the Bobbie Gentry version is from 1969.)

The most recent song that might test Country Radio’s family friendly image is “Truck Yeah” by Tim McGraw. Tim has more radio airplay than anyone in the last 10-15 years. He has a long list of huge hits and a great following. This song is perfect for live performances and his tour with Kenny Chesney is a MUST SEE event. The jury is still out with the radio listener, who makes up a very small percentage of concert goers.

Country programmers, including this one, were all quick to add this song. It is a great summer song and quite frankly, the way it is sung does not lead you to insert the obvious double entendre that seeing the title would lead you to believe. Still there will be some parents, with 4-11 years olds sitting in the back seat, holding their breath.

This is not going to do any damage to Tim. He has as solid a reputation with fans as any act. They love him and they should for his enormous body of work.

I am waiting to hear from my radio stations.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)

Benken Exits Quarterback Records, Announces New Venture

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Tony Benken

Quarterback Records VP Promotion Tony Benken is exiting the company to open his own boutique cigar shop in Nashville, it was announced today (7/12) by Quarterback founder Chris Allums. Benken joined the label in January 2011.

“It’s with 20 years of fond memories (Chesney, Aldean, Alabama, Lorrie, Craig, Martina, and others), that I announce my retirement from the music business to pursue my other passion, cigars,” said Benken. “I thank John and Chris for their terrific friendship and thank the Quarterback team, which I’ve been honored to lead.”

Benken and his business partner, Scott Partridge, will open Big Star Cigar in Mt. Juliet on Sept. 1. He will remain with Quarterback through July 31, and his new email address will be tony@bigstarcigar.com.

During his 20 year music industry career, Benken worked with BNA Records, RCA Records, Virgin Records, Universal South, Broken Bow, and Treehouse.

“We hate to see Tony go,” said Allums. “He has been a great asset to our growth here. He is chasing his passion and we wish him well in his new career.”

Quarterback Partner John Ettinger added, “Tony will be missed. He exemplified the energy and integrity we instill in our team. Smoke one for us, Tony!”

Allums is currently searching for Benken’s replacement. Reach him at 615-300-5321.

CRS “Crazy Days” Promotion Selling Quickly

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Time is running out to take advantage of the CRS 2013 “Crazy Days of Summer” promotion going on through July 31, as almost half of the allotted 349 spots have been sold in just one week.

CRS unrolled the “Crazy Days” rate of $349 on July 2, and it will remain active through July 31 or until the 349 spots are claimed. The price is a discount of $150 from the $499 Regular Rate. A New Faces of Country Music Show ticket will be included with registration until the showcase sells out.

Following the “Crazy Days” promotion, the $399 Early Bird Rate will be offered until Dec. 1, when the $499 Regular Rate goes into effect. Register here.