CRS 2012: UMG Luncheon, Additional Performers

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UMG's Lauren Alaina will perform at the label's luncheon at the Ryman as well as the CRS 2012 opening ceremony.

It’s hard to believe that Feb. 22, just two weeks from today, will signal the official start of CRS 2012. There are plenty of exciting events on the docket, including the just announced UMG luncheon at the Ryman Auditorium and new performers added to seminar events.

The UMG luncheon, scheduled for Noon on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at the Ryman, will feature a large portion of the label’s roster including Lauren Alaina, Laura Bell Bundy, Easton Corbin, Mallary Hope, Josh Kelley, Scotty McCreery, Randy Montana, Kip Moore, Kasey Musgraves, David Nail, Randy Rogers Band, Canaan Smith, Chris Stapleton, Josh Turner, Drake White and Lee Ann Womack. Conference attendees will also be treated to a lunch in the Nashville Convention Center immediately preceding the event. More artists are expected to be announced soon.

Lauren Alaina will be pulling a double shift the same day. Before joining the UMG luncheon, she will perform the national anthem at the CRS 2012 opening ceremonies at 9 am. She will be accompanied by US Marine color guard for a presentation of the flag.

Additionally, singer-songwriter and Pistol Annie Ashley Monroe has been added to the WCRS Live! showcase on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 3:30 pm. She joins previously announced Matraca Berg, Natalie Hemby, and Lori McKenna for the BMI and Country Aircheck-sponsored event.

This year’s seminar will also feature CRSnet, a new on-site intranet service available to anyone inside the Convention Center with a WiFi-enabled device. Users will be able to access the service for downloads and streams from CRS sponsors and panelists.

CRS 2012 runs Feb. 22-24 at the Nashville Convention Center. $499 regular registration rate is still available here.

O’Neal Returns With Momentum

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Singer/songwriter Jamie O’Neal is going the entrepreneurial route and joining forces with music industry pros to launch Momentum Label Group. O’Neal will oversee all aspects of the label, including serving as producer for some of the label’s artists.

Key staff members assisting with the launch include O’Neal’s father and manager Jimmy Murphy, who will serve as General Manager and Partner; ETA/Quarterback Records’ John Ettinger, heading up radio strategy; Jessica Northey, handling Social Media/Web Strategy; and John Christian, overseeing West Coast promotion.

“I’m so excited about this amazing opportunity,” says O’Neal. “I’ve had my own studio for many years, and being a part of the creative process has always been one of my favorite things about the music business. By having our own label, we can now help introduce the world to some exceptionally talented new artists.”

Momentum’s first release due in March will be the debut single for Rachele Lynae, “Party ‘Til The Cows Come Home.”  More info here.

DJ David Hall Passes

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David Hall in-studio. Photo from Lightning100.com

Longtime Nashville DJ David Hall passed away over the weekend. He was a fixture on the Music City radio scene for more than 30 years and was working at Lightning 100 as PD and afternoon drive host, entertaining listeners with his signature phrase: “David Hall rocks y’all.”

Born in 1954, the Kentucky native moved to Nashville in 1980. He had long runs at then rock stations WKDF (1980-88) and WGFX (1988-93). He had been at L100 since ’93, where he also hosted “Lightning 100 Unplugged” on Sunday mornings, and the on-air live music series “Nashville Sunday Night” at 3rd and Lindsley.

According to his co-workers at L100: “David’s steadfast professionalism and charm were hallmarks of his time at the helm of Lightning 100. He was THE face and THE voice of Nashville rock radio and Lightning 100, spanning decades at the microphone. He was a fierce advocate of many Nashville artists…He brought them to Nashville radio and the rest of the world via live broadcast and the internet every Sunday with Nashville Sunday Night.”

CountryBreakout No. 1 Song

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Today’s the day. Keith Urban wrapped up 2011 in a less-than-desirable way, having to reschedule shows and appearances for his vocal cord surgery. But tonight (Feb. 3) he returns in style, making his first performance after the operation on the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium.

“I’m really looking forward to being back on stage, and more specifically on the Opry stage,” he says. “When I was told earlier this week that the Ryman was going to start renovation on the stage after our show I thought, ‘you know, when we say we’re really gonna tear it up tonight, maybe they’re worried I mean it literally?”

So it’s a sort of cosmically perfect occurrence that his “You Gonna Fly” has just reached No. 1 on this today’s CountryBreakout Chart. The rhythm-heavy rocker offers words of affirmation and encouragement to a partner who’s had a rough go of it, saying “you better believe you’re gonna fly with me.”

Urban is hitting the ground running in 2012, including headlining the All For The Hall benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame on April 10. Joining him will be Vince Gill, Alabama, Alison Krauss & Union Station, The Band Perry and many more. Urban will also return to Sydney in his Australian homeland to appear as a mentor on the Aussie version of popular show The Voice.

Outlaw Country Celebrates Waylon This Weekend

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The music and legacy of Waylon Jennings will be celebrated with a satellite radio special set to air this Saturday, Feb. 4 on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country (Channel 60).

The hour-long special will honor Jennings, featuring stories about the artist and tribute performances from Hank Williams Jr., Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Josh Thompson and Reggie Young. The program was recorded inside the Bridgestone Arena at the SiriusXM Music City Theatre in Nashville, and will be hosted by Outlaw Country’s Hillbilly Jim.

The SiriusXM special will feature songs from Waylon: The Music Inside, a three-part tribute. The second CD in the series WAYLON: The Music Inside, Vol. II, will be released next Tuesday (Feb. 7) via Average Joe’s Entertainment.

Watch a preview from the performance with Hank Jr. below.

YouTube video

Weekly Chart Report (2/3/2012)

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Ira Dean stopped by KLLL/Lubbock to visit with Jeff Scott and promote his new single, "Somethin ‘Bout A Sunday," which had the highest debut on our chart this week. (L-R): Ira Dean (Average Joe's Entertainment) and Jeff Scott (KLLL PD)

SPIN ZONE
Changes abound in the latest version of the CountryBreakout Chart as Keith Urban’s “You Gonna Fly” soars to No. 1. His Capitol labelmate Dierks Bentley is in hot pursuit with “Home” at No. 2, only 63 spins off Urban’s total. Crossing into the Top 10 for the first time are Taylor Swift’s “Ours” at No. 9 and Jake Owen’s “Alone With You” at No. 10. Positioned just outside the Top 10 and ready to strike are Lady Antebellum’s “Dancin’ Away With My Heart,” which gained 223 spins, and Blake Shelton’s “Drink On It,” which added 378.

Make way for the superstars, folks. Gobbling up a majority of the new spins for the week are the latest offerings from Rascal Flatts (“Banjo” at No. 20), Zac Brown Band (“No Hurry” at No. 27), Alan Jackson (“So You Don’t Have To Love Me” at No. 30), and Jason Aldean (“Fly Over States” at No. 39). Phil Vassar also has a highly reactive new single with “Don’t Miss Your Life,” and it has already jumped to No. 45 in its second week charting.

Leading the pack of new entries to the chart is Ira Dean’s “Something About A Sunday,” which lands the Average Joe’s artist at No. 71. Right behind at No. 72 is Thompson Square’s “Glass,” and Rachel Holder’s “In Your Arms” at No. 75. Also making first appearances are Kaleb McIntire’s “Redneck In All Of Us” at No. 77 and Jana Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” at No. 79.

Frozen Playlists: KBCR, KVVP, WBKR, WHMA, WUCZ

Upcoming Singles
February 13
JT Hodges/Goodbyes Made You Mine/Show Dog-Universal
Phil Vassar/Don’t Miss Your Life/Rodeowave
The Dirt Drifters/There She Goes/Warner Bros./WMN

February 21
Thomas Rhett/Something To Do With My Hands/Valory
Julie Ingram/Thank God (For Mom & Dad)/LongShot/Nine North/Turnpike
James Wesley/Walking Contradiction/Broken Bow

• • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Ira Dean/Something About A Sunday/Average Joe’s – 71
Thompson Square/Glass/Stoney Creek – 72
Rachel Holder/In Your Arms/Curb – 75
Kaleb McIntire/Redneck In All Of Us/Rockin’ Country Doc Music – 77
Jana Kramer/Why Ya Wanna/Elektra/W.A.R. — 79

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Zac Brown Band/No Hurry/Southern Ground/Atlantic – 496
Jason Aldean/Flyover States/Broken Bow – 393
Blake Shelton/Drink On It/WMN/Warner Bros. – 378
Rascal Flatts/Banjo/Big Machine – 360
Alan Jackson/So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore/ACR/EMI — 262

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Jason Aldean/Flyover States/Broken Bow — 30
Zac Brown Band/No Hurry/Southern Ground/Atlantic — 21
Rachel Holder/In Your Arms/Curb — 14
Phil Vassar/Don’t Miss Your Life/Rodeowave — 14
Ira Dean/Something About A Sunday/Average Joe’s — 10
Alan Jackson/So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore/ACR/EMI — 10
Josh Turner/Time Is Love/MCA — 9
Rascal Flatts/Banjo/Big Machine — 9

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Kinsey Sadler/Sometimes I Forget — 224
Lewis Copeland/She’s Got It Goin’ On/Phull Entertainment – 211
Claudia Lee/Hollywood Sunset/CLM96enterprises – 210
Wade Bowen/Saturday Night/Sea Gayle/BNA — 209
John Maison/Fast Enough/Big High Five — 181

A couple of key members of the Warner Music Nashville staff surprised Blake Shelton at his Duluth, GA show last Friday (1/27). (L-R): Lou Ramirez (WMN Southeast Regional), John Esposito (WMN President & CEO), Blake and Lance Houston (WBUL/Atlanta MD)
Eric Church spent some time with WGKX/Memphis APD/MD Kay Manley before his show in Southaven, MS. Eric broke the Desoto Civic Center’s attendance record previously held by Jason Aldean by selling 8,918 tickets.  (L-R): Trudie Daniell (EMI Nashville Dir. SE Promotion), Kay Manley, Church, and Angela Lange (EMI Nashville VP Promotion)

Charlie Cook On Air: The Spring Book

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We are getting close to an important time of the year for the smaller market country radio stations in America. Twice a year hundreds of markets are measured by Arbitron to gauge their audience. The bigger markets are measured continuously and a number of markets are also measured in the Winter and Summer months but the smaller markets participate only twice a year.

The Spring Rating period starts March 29. This is just a couple of days before the Academy of Country Music Awards Show April 1 from the MGM Arena in Las Vegas. The timing is good for both the stations and the show.

That’s why I am talking about this two months before the event. Stations tend to try and raise their profile during the rating period and the ACM is going to get a ton of exposure as the rating book starts, on CBS-TV, in magazines, and on the Internet. This is all good for raising the awareness of Country Music and Country Radio.

If this is good for Country Radio it is also good for the Country record business. Shouldn’t there be something that we can all do together?

We know that the big stars are going to be doing new music on the show. I heard of a duet coming from what is going to be the biggest show of the year. We know that radio is going to be playing the big acts.

What if a label did a “national” contest taking the tune in from the TV show and moving the audience into radio station morning shows on Monday morning?  Watch the show, listen for the new song from, let’s pick Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, and when the station plays that song Monday morning between 7-8 AM, listeners can call for a chance to get registered for a trip to see The Brothers Under the Sun concert.

There can be a lot of unaffiliated stations involved in a promotion like this. Make it a Clear Channel-like contest with any number of stations willing to participate. This would get exposure across a number of stations for the TV show and for the performers. This would be good for the radio station and for the listeners.

Wait a minute: a win-win-win-win.

I keep saying that the format is again at a jumping off point. We have so many acts that have broken out of Country only. We have some of the best music on the radio today. Young acts like Jason (who will be on the Grammy Awards next weekend), Eric Church and ZBB bring vibrancy to Country Radio but do not get lulled into thinking there is no competition on the radio for your listeners.

Lady A, The Band Perry and Jason Aldean are all over AC/CHR but Adele, Colbie Caillat and Bruno Mars are very attractive alternatives to our audience.

Country Music and Country Radio should be thinking about ways to work more closely to wrestle these AC listeners away from their stations. I am not questioning the relationship between the two but let’s think more about building the entire format and not just individual songs or labels.

The Awards show, the beginning of the rating period for the smaller stations and beginning of the concert season all seem like a great time to swing for the fences. (I know, the baseball season starts that weekend too).

Dave Collins Joins InstiGator

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Dave Collins has been hired at Nashville’s InstiGator Entertainment as Director of Promotion. In his new role, Collins will be is based out of Phoenix, AZ and report directly to President Gator Michaels. Collins was previously West Coast/Southwest regional promotion rep at Skyville Records.

“I’m ecstatic that Dave has decided to become part of our family,” said Michaels. “His experience in both radio and records is a valuable asset for our company and our clients. Plus, he’s just a really great guy.”

Collins brings 23 years of experience in radio and records to InstiGator Entertainment including time at Nine North Records, Carolwood Records, APD at KMLE/Phoenix, and PD for WQIX/Knoxville, KIXD/Tucson and KWNR/Las Vegas.

Collins can be reached at 480-223-8337 and dave@musicinstigator.com.

Stoney Creek Gains Loss

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Stoney Creek Records has announced the addition of Chris Loss to the position of Vice President of Promotion, where he will report directly to Broken Bow/Stoney Creek Sr. VP Promotion Carson James.

“Chris Loss has proven himself to be one of the leaders in country radio promotion through his tenacity, perseverance and creative thinking,” said James. “His accomplishments speak for themselves and we couldn’t be more proud to welcome him into the Stoney Creek family.”

Loss was most recently VP of Promotion for the Valory Music Co., following three years of serving as the label’s Director of National Promotion. Prior to that, Loss served as Director of West Coast Promotion for Lyric Street Records. In this new role, he will oversee the Stoney Creek promotion staff and initiatives for the roster which includes Thompson Square, Randy Houser, Parmalee, and Lindsay Ell.

“I’m so grateful and humbled that Benny, Jon and Carson have allowed me the opportunity to lead such a bright promotion team and to work with such an amazing label staff and artists,” says Loss. “I want to thank Scott and the entire Valory team for an incredible 4 years. I’m very proud of what we were all able to accomplish during my time there.”

Loss is officially on the job today. Reach him here or at 615-320-1372.

Hill to Headline CRS Warner Music Luncheon

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Warner Music Nashville’s Faith Hill has been confirmed to headline a special luncheon performance at CRS 2012 on Friday, Feb. 24. The WMN luncheon will be held inside the Performance Hall at the Nashville Convention Center from Noon – 1:50 PM.

“Our CRS attendees are in for a special treat at Friday’s luncheon. Faith Hill is one of the finest singers Country music has ever seen, and we are lucky to have this rare opportunity to see her perform in such an intimate setting,” said CRS President Mike Culotta.

CRS 2012 $499 Regular Rate registration is available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com. Registration does not include a ticket to the New Faces of Country Music Show and Dinner, which is now sold out.