Facebook Prioritizes News Feeds

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Edison Research Strategy VP Tom Webster has written an interesting blog regarding Facebook’s practice of “attention rationing” with respect to its news feed.
Webster points out that the social network’s news feed changed its flow a while back from a “chronological, roughly real-time stream of your friends’ activities, to something a little more ‘selective.’ ” As Webster notes,

…with Facebook enjoying massive mainstream adoption, understanding how it ranks and prioritizes items in your news feed is of great importance. For brands and companies the game is still to produce compelling content that readers and “likes” will value and interact with. Webster explains, Facebook’s optimization algorithm, EdgeRank, essentially scores your interactions with your Facebook friends, and promotes items in your stream from people you favor with your attention, every time you read their profiles, click on their links, or comment on their updates. Close friends are assigned more weight than distant acquaintances, comments are weighted more heavily than the easily-given “likes,” and newer tends to trump older.

Has the new algorithm improved the user experience? Webster seems to think so, although he realizes that marketers now must try to engage and interact with all their fans to get the benefits of having a large number of “likes.” And for those who love lists, there’s three conclusions on how to make the most of the new EdgeRank optimization algorithm.

Industry Ink: Shock Ink Adds Online Marketing

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Shock Ink expands • Craig Morgan/BNA split • Bluewater signs NeedToBreathe • CMA debuts “Member of the Month” • Jay Frank web feature • Duncan/Spinville work The New Relics • Class Act signs The Hillbenders • Verge Network launches
>>Entertainment publicity company Shock Ink has expanded its offerings to include online and social media campaigns. Founder Elaine Schock has hired Chip Schutzman to spearhead the new division. As founder of Miles High Productions, Schutzman directed music programming for House Of Blues Entertainment. For over a decade he has consulted for and directed more than 150 campaigns. Shock Ink represents clients including Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Jeff Dunham, Ben E King and David Lee Roth.

Craig Morgan


>>Radio-info.com reports that Craig Morgan and BNA Records have amicably parted ways.
>>Bluewater Music has signed a foreign administration agreement with NeedToBreathe. The band is busy prepping the release of its fourth album and a run on Taylor Swift’s tour. In 2010, NeedToBreathe took home three Dove Awards. Their music has been played in countless films and television programs, including P.S. I Love You, When In Rome and Desperate Housewives.
>>CMA is launching a “Member of the Month” feature on CMAworld.com in April, spotlighting an organization member and their achievements. The editorial team of CMA’s award-winning publication CMA Close Up will select the member, with help from suggestions sent to CloseUp@CMAworld.com (put “Member of the Month” in the subject line). “We look forward to celebrating those members whose positive spirit exemplifies the best of Country Music,” said Wendy Pearl, CMA Vice President of Corporate Communications and CMA Close Up Executive Editor. “I want to give special credit to CMA Close Up Editor Bob Doerschuk, who created this idea.”
>>Jay Frank, CMT’s Sr VP of Music Strategy, is featured in a new online video series launched by branded entertainment and music marketing agency BlinkerActive. See it here.
>>Blues Alley Records has once again teamed with Jerry Duncan at Duncan Promotions and Spinville Records’ Jack Pride for radio promotion of The New Relics’ single “Dixie Queen.” This is the band’s third single that the Blues Alley/Duncan/Spinville team has worked at radio, with the first two hitting the MusicRow Country Breakout Chart. “Dixie Queen” will be released Feb. 14 and goes for adds March 7.
>>Mike Drudge’s Class Act Entertainment has signed The Hillbenders for booking. The company also represents J.D. Crowe & The New South, Michael Martin Murphey, The Whites, and others. Drudge can be reached at 615-262-6886.
>>Verge Network, Inc. a syndicator of radio station content for online and mobile devices, has launched in Nashville, Kansas City, and Little Rock. The company has named three senior
executives: Steven Ludwig, President; Grant Merrill, VP/Sales; and Dan Holiday, VP/Operations. They can be reached at firstname.lastname@RadioChanged.com. A recruiting search is under way for a National Sales Manager.

Country Slide—YTD Sales Off 14.3%

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Warner's the JaneDear Girls debuted with over 10k units.


The winter doldrums haven’t just frozen Nashville’s weather. The country sales charts are also shivering from cold consumer indifference. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Top 75 Current Country sales slid slightly from last week, remaining in the root cellar, i.e. under 320k. Overall, YTD country album sales are off 14.3% compared with the same period last year. Last year’s highly successful Lady A album which was released in early Jan. 2010 is one reason for the significant 2011 country sales shortfall. For example, in 2010 Lady A sold 470k albums during the last three weeks of Feb. 2010. This year, with no major new releases during that period, we are bound to see the YTD percentage fall further.
But wait, let’s not abandon ship, jump off a ledge or otherwise do anything rash. Sales numbers are highly dependent upon release schedules and the race isn’t over till year end. Later this year we will likely see a new album from Lady A and possibly new Taylor Swift product just to name a few. These developments will have a strong effect on brightening the tally.
Meanwhile, Jason Aldean nudges Ms. Swift to the No. 2 album position by less than a 100 units as they both shift almost 27k. Landing in the No. 10 spot is the likeable JaneDear Girls whose self-titled CD debuts with over 10k units. Of course the usual suspects make up the remainder of the Top 10. From positions 3-9 are: Lady Antebellum, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, the Band Perry and the Country Strong soundtrack.
Tracks Back
Digital tracks are becoming more important in our numbers game. This week’s country genre tracks chart Top 100 boasts 1,069,926 downloads, down about 3% from last week’s total. From a track equivalent album (TEA) perspective (10 tracks= one album) that is another 107k albums.
Industry execs have been hoping that growing track purchases will offset shrinking physical product sales by units. But that has not happened. The track/album equation is also disappointing when looked at from a dollar standpoint. In an interview last week for MusicRow’s upcoming CRS issue, CMT’s Jay Frank told this writer he expects to see a week soon where the top track passes the top album in terms of retail value and profitability. (Retail value example: 30k albums X $10= $300k. 300k tracks X $1.29=$387k. Profitability example: 30k albums X $7.50=$225k and 300k tracks X .90¢=$270k.)
The top seven tracks on the country digital download list all sold greater than 30k downloads. In order they are Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Thompson Square, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, The Band Perry and the JaneDear Girls. JaneDear’s “Wildflower” showed a 109% jump this week with over 31k downloads.

David Gales Returns To The Gales Network

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David Gales


David Gales, Founder and Partner of The Gales Network (TGN), is returning to the company after two years as a digital executive with Sony Music Nashville. At TGN, he rejoins Chief Strategist Melinda Scruggs Gales in providing clients with brand direction, marketing and media services.
“My tour at Sony furthered my insight into what’s important in developing strong brands and strategies,” comments Gales. “Brands face a marketplace that is running at hyper-speed and morphing constantly. TGN is better prepared than ever to provide marketing direction and solutions that keep our clients ahead of the curve.”
David Gales founded TGN in 1995 as a consultancy focused on facilitating the collaboration of the music and technology industries. Today, The Gales Network provides brand mapping, strategic planning and marketing services support to a wide variety of clients in and outside of the entertainment industry
He can be reached at david@galesnetwork.com.

Luna Chica Starts 2011 With Momentum

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Luna Chica Records International is looking ahead with new signings, a new international division, and multi-channel digital success. The label’s internet-driven business model launched in May 2010 and signaled what GM/Dir. of A&R Brenda Cline calls a “re-birth.”
“We are very proud of the level of talent that we have delivered to radio and the extremely positive feedback we are receiving,” she comments.
Joining the Luna Chica roster are the diverse talents of Don and Steve White, the Red Dirt Rangers, Christi Bauerlee, Tarryn Smith, and Marty Grebb. They join existing Luna Chica artists Jesse and Noah Bellamy, Tommy Job, Burrito Deluxe and Ty Crook.
Red Dirt Rangers ended up at No. 1 on the AirPlay Direct’s Top 50 Americana/AAA Albums chart for December 2010 and at No. 2 for January 2011 with Ranger Motel. Digital releases of Jesse and Noah’s “I Want Texas For Christmas” and Grebb’s “The Very Best Christmas” both garnered significant download attention from radio stations worldwide. Grebb’s album, High Steppin’, charted at No. 2 on the AirPlay Direct’s Top 50 Blues Albums chart in January.

Jesse and Noah Bellamy


Luna Chica also announced the launch of its international division, with European radio CMR Nashville owner Lee Williams directing. International artists are expected to be announced soon.

Thirty Tigers Celebrates 10th Anniversary

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President and co-founder David Macias


Marketing, management and distribution company Thirty Tigers is celebrating its 10th year in business this March. Co-founded by David Macias and Deb Markland, the company started as a small home-based consultancy, and today is a nine-person outfit with national distribution, and a Grammy-award winning release to its credit. Last year, Thirty Tigers’ sales totaled more than $4.3 million, up from $3.3 million in 2009.
Thirty Tigers plans to mark the occasion with events at SXSW and in Nashville.
The company’s growth was spurred by a 2002 partnership with Sony’s independent distribution and marketing arm, RED, which it recently re-upped through 2015. In 2006, Thirty Tigers added a management division, with a current roster that includes Jason Isbell, Elizabeth Cook, Low, Trampled By Turtles and Those Darlins.
Over the last decade, Thirty Tigers clients have included The Avett Brothers, James McMurtry, Drive-By Truckers, Todd Snider, Caitlin Rose, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Billy Joe Shaver, North Mississippi All Stars, and Kathy Mattea. They also released the 2005 Grammy-winning collection Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, which was co-produced by Macias.
In exchange for about 10% of wholesale retail sales, Thirty Tigers provides project management, publicity services, radio promotion, new media marketing, financial modeling and distribution.
“I’m very proud of our business model,” says Macias. “We’re a great value proposition for our artists. My favorite quote about us was from an interview with Beth Nielsen Chapman about self-releasing artists, and she said that being with us was just like being with a label, only you got a check. I love that.”

Musical Chairs

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New gigs for Megan Knutson, Emilee Warner, and Wayne Leeloy

Megan Knutson


>>Republic Nashville President Jimmy Harnen has promoted Megan (Whalen) Knutson to Label Coordinator. In this position, she will work with each label department in Nashville as well as the Universal Republic team in New York. In addition to her new responsibilities, Knutson will also continue as Harnen’s assistant. “In just under a year, Megan has become an integral part of our team at Republic Nashville. Plain and simple…no matter how tall the task…she gets it done!” says Harnen. She can be reached at 615-324-7901 or megan.knutson@republicnashville.com.

Emilee Warner


>>Publicist Emilee Warner has joined Crash Avenue, launching the Louisville based company’s Nashville Division as Senior Publicist. The Nashville office will specialize in promoting Americana, folk, bluegrass, and roots rock independent artists.
Warner was most recently publicist at Compass Records, and has a resume that includes CMT Radio, WRLT-FM Nashville, Keith Case & Associates, and her own independent PR firm Big Shindig Media. Warner is a member of the IBMA’s Leadership Bluegrass Class of 2011. She can be reached at emilee@crash-avenue.com.
>>Wayne Leeloy has joined Topspin Media, heading up the digital company’s Nashville office as Sr. Director of Artist Services. He is responsible for building industry and artist relationships across all genres. Topspin allows its clients to connect directly with fans, and promote, distribute and sell music, concert tickets, and more.
Leeloy previously launched Ticketmaster’s Music Services team in Nashville. His career also includes 15 years in Memphis, heading up Business Development and Artist/Industry relations for the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission, and running his own Foundation Music Group. He also spent time at Seattle marketing firm 206 Inc. handling sponsorship, brand management, event production and community development for clients like Walt Disney Records, Levi’s, Toyota and Urban Outfitters. He can be reached at wleeloy@topspinmedia.com and 615-787-7166.

Red Light To Manage Wynette Legacy

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Red Light Management will partner with Bicycle Music and its affiliate, The AF Circle C Fund, to exploit Tammy Wynette’s name, likeness and image rights. Through its affiliate the AF Circle C Fund, Bicycle Music controls substantial copyright interests in Wynette’s catalog of works and master recordings as well as her name, likeness, image rights and trademarks (Stand By Your Man™, Tammy Wynette™, and First Lady of Country Music™).
“Tammy Wynette will always be one of the greatest and most influential artists in country music, a true icon,” said Bicycle CEO Roger Miller. “We are dedicated to preserving her legacy and ensuring that the world will continue to enjoy her music and her image for generations to come.”
“Having worked with Tammy in the mid to late ’80s, it’s undeniable the influence she had not only on country music, but across so many spectrums of the industry”, said Red Light Management’s Fletcher Foster. “Along with a massive catalog of hits, she broke ground as one of the first country artists to tour overseas. She appeared on MTV in the ‘90s with an international #1 dance hit. Her voice still defines country music, and her legacy earns her the title of ‘the First Lady of Country Music’.”
Born in Mississippi, Wynette dreamed of appearing on the Grand Ole Opry from an early age, inspired by her father, a sharecropper and part-time musician. She moved to Nashville in 1966 and was signed by producer Billy Sherrill. Their legendary partnership resulted in 35 No. 1 hits, including “My Elusive Dreams” (her first chart-topper), “I Don’t Wanna Play House,” “D-I-V-O-R-CE” and her trademark song, “Stand By Your Man.”

SS Debuts Digital Song Genre Rpts

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Genres Ranked by Percent Share of 2010 Total Digital Track Sales. Source: Nielsen SoundScan Overall Genres, sales from 1/4/2010 – 1/2/2011


One of the latest offerings from Nielsen SoundScan, the company that tracks sales of recorded product, is a series of Digital Song Genre Reports. These new lists compliment the Digital Song Genre charts which were created at the start of 2010.
“Nielsen SoundScan’s new digital song genre capabilities are an additional tool to help our label and retail partners market and sell music,” said David Bakula, Sr. VP Nielsen Entertainment. “Genre data provides an important context with analyzing digital track data in terms of artist sales as well as the broader trends at both the label and national levels.”
According to the company, Nielsen SoundScan offers 27 digital song genres overall and 16 core genres in each classification—Overall, Current, & Catalog. Current includes digital songs released in 2009 or 2010; Catalog includes digital songs released prior to 2009. More than five million songs have been coded with genres to date.
Nielsen offers two levels of genre categorization – Core Genre and Overall Genre. Core is the primary genre for any given song (a song may only have one core genre assignment) and overall Genre, which allows for digital songs to cross multiple genres simultaneously in order to better evaluate a song’s overall performance in the current market.
Rock was the most popular digital song genre with a 27% share during 2010. Rock also experiences a higher percentage of catalog sales within the genre, with 72.4% of its sales coming from catalog [see chart].

Eventful Launches Nashville Post

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Ryan Bitzer


Web site Eventful has established a Nashville office to be headed by Ryan Bitzer as Director of Tour Marketing.
Bitzer previously helped launch and run the Nashville division of Sparkart Group, Inc., a digital agency that specializes in online entertainment marketing. Prior to that he was Chief Strategy Officer at RPM Management, overseeing the web presence, marketing and brand partnerships for Tim McGraw and Julianne Hough.
With 20 million users, Eventful is a digital media company that connects fans with live music and local events. It drives event attendance through a blend of social media, and direct marketing campaigns.
Eventful’s unique Demand it!™ feature is used by over 100,000 performers to engage fans to “demand” a show, thereby optimizing tour routing.
“I’m incredibly excited to be establishing a formal presence for Eventful in the Nashville market,” said Bitzer. “The live music industry is currently at an inflection point and it’s critical that a company offering unique and impactful tour marketing solutions to artists is firmly integrated into the Nashville music community.”
Bitzer can be reached at ryanb@eventful.com and (615) 967-7010.