Orchard Opens Nashville Office

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The Orchard, a global leader in music and video distribution and comprehensive digital strategy, has announced it has opened a new office on Nashville’s Music Row.

“Nashville has always had it right; it’s about the songs,” commented Brad Navin, CEO of The Orchard. ”We hope to apply our expertise around the digital music business to deliver marketing, strategic planning and promotions to Nashville’s top independent labels, artists and publishers for success at digital retail – where it too, is about the songs!”

Through The Orchard’s platform, clients can quickly deliver music and video to digital and mobile storefronts around the world, track where sales occur, and leverage The Orchard’s data analytics tools to maximize sales and promotions. Additionally, clients may tap The Orchard’s suite of services, utilizing physical distribution, retail promotions, online marketing, iPhone application creation, and song placement in film, TV and advertising.

The Orchard’s newest office in Nashville will be led by long time Nashville music veteran, David Kastle. Kastle previously served as VP of Buddy Killen Music Group (KMG), where he signed songwriters including Holly Lamar, Vicky McGehee, Trent Tomlinson, Trey Matthews and David Chamberlain. He started his career at Acuff Rose Publishing and also founded MovieCues, an online music licensing resource to connect independent musicians/songwriters with music supervisors.

To coincide with the opening of the Nashville office, The Orchard signed an exclusive partnership with FUNL, a new venture from music industry veterans Pam Browne, Tamara Alan and Nancy Eckert. The Orchard and FUNL will kick things off with the return of multi-platinum country recording artist Ty Herndon, whose first single “Journey On” is now available across digital retail. The Orchard will also distribute Herndon’s upcoming Journey On, with a June 8 release date.

Also signed on with The Orchard is Turnpike Music, Nashville veteran Larry Pareigis’ independent radio promotion agency, as well as Nashville 2 You (N2U), industry veteran Rick Barker’s marketing agency. The Orchard will handle digital distribution for select clients for each company.
 
To commemorate the new office, Kastle and The Orchard will host a launch party on April 22 at Nashville’s Tin Roof.

Sweet Tweets: Ads Come To Twitter

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When Twitter launched four years ago it was a social networking idea without much of a business model. But the brains behind the microblogging site didn’t seem to mind, instead they focused on growing users— now up to 20 million users per month (comScore data)—and building venture capital—now over $100 million in the bank.

Yesterday Twitter launched its first profit spinning initiative, a promising advertising component called Promoted Tweets. A handful of big name advertisers including Starbucks, Sony Pictures, Virgin America, and Best Buy are the first on board.

With a growing number of marketers and music artists using Twitter as a promotional tool, advertising will be a significant new option when it is opened up to other companies. In fact, so many artists use Twitter to reach fans, MusicRow started a Twitter chart, ranking artists by the number of Followers. Until yesterday, Twitter users could only communicate with their Followers, but with Promoted Tweets, marketers will be able to push their message.

Ads appear when a user searches Twitter, similar to the way Google filters ads. For example, search for “coffee,” and if Starbucks sprung for that keyword, a Starbucks ad will appear at the top of the search results.

According to Twitter’s web site, “If users don’t interact with a Promoted Tweet to allow us to know that the Promoted Tweet is resonating with them, such as replying to it, favoriting it, or Retweeting it, the Promoted Tweet will disappear.”

Currently, ad prices are based on every 1000 impressions, but the Wall Street Journal predicts an evolving model that eventually leads to charging based on how users interact with the messages.

Twitter draws some revenue from licensing partnerships with Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, where Tweets appear in each company’s respective Internet search results. This ties into later plans for Promoted Tweets to show up across the Web. Other future plans may place ads in the stream of posts users see when they log in to the site.

Writer’s Den Adds iPhone App

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Nashville’s Writer’s Den Music has become the first known music publishing company to launch an iPhone Application. Designed by Writer’s Den Music Group Internet Marketing staff member Adam Moore, the app allows subscribers to hear the latest demos from the company’s writers, find out where and when their writers are playing around Nashville, watch exclusive videos of their writers’ shows and read the current buzz on the company and writers. In addition, followers over 21 years of age will have the chance to score a free beer at one of their writer’s showcases if they find any of the company’s staffers; Bobby Rymer, Janice Jackson, Laura Wright or Adam Moore, and show them that you’ve got the app. Anyone who hasn’t met them can find pictures of them on the app.

“I’m excited that music industry insiders, artists and songwriters will have a new way to hear our catalog anytime, anywhere 24/7,” says Moore. “Literally having the latest demos at their fingertips!”

The app is available for free. With an iPhone or iPod Touch, users can download by searching the app store for Writer’s Den.
The Writer’s Den’s current roster of songwriters includes Bonnie Bishop, Ben Cooper, Tami Hinesh, Trent Jeffcoat and Adam Wright. The company has secured cuts and TV placements, including “Taillights Blue” from Alan Jackson’s new album Freight Train; “Rains Here Too” (Tami Hinesh with Kate York) recently featured on the CW Network’s One Tree Hill; “Courageous” (Ben Cooper and Melinda Schneider) recorded by both Olivia Newton John and Australian artist Melinda Schneider; and “I’m Gonna Make You Want To” (Tami Hinesh with Betsy Ulmer and Kelly Archer) recorded by Nathalia on Universal Records in Brazil.

ACM Awards Offer Online Preview

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The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions have developed a weeklong “online experience” in support of the upcoming 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The series will stream through the official ACM Awards widget on CBS.com/acma, ACMcountry.com and other partner sites. The widget can be downloaded here.

The streams will feature exclusive content all week including, ACM Awards Daily, ACM Awards LIVE! The Day Before and ACM Awards Orange Carpet Live featuring country artists Sarah Buxton, Danny Gokey, Jennette McCurdy and Emily West.

The live feed will also be available on the ACM Facebook Fan Page as well as on Facebook Fan Pages of participating country artists. Fans will be able to submit questions via the Facebook pages for artists to answer live as they walk down the Orange Carpet at the MGM Grand. The official social media ‘hashtag’ for this year’s show is: #ACMLIVE.

“Our digital programming is a great way for country music fans to go behind the scenes and participate in the exciting events leading up to the big show,” says Orly Adelson, President of dick clark productions.

Colt Ford Concert Live In HD

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When Colt Ford takes the stage April 30 at Murray State University in Kentucky, fans at home will be able to stream the show live via media delivery portal True View Live. The Tampa-based interactive company will film and broadcast the show in a streaming, High-Definition format with no buffering or stream interruption.

Fans can catch the show through Ford’s official website (www.ColtFord.com) and his social media sites, including Facebook, Myspace and iLike.

In order to view the concert online, fans must purchase an advance virtual ticket at TrueViewLive.com for $9.95. The price also includes bonus live backstage footage and a $10 merchandise coupon.

The True View Live/Colt Ford concert event is produced by 350 Ventures’ Paul Whitehead. Nashville-based marketing and consultancy firm, The Consortium, is directing the project’s marketing efforts.

CMT Awards Tap Top Producer and Director; GRAMMY Awards Date

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Jesse Ignjatovic

CMT has tapped Executive Producer Jesse Ignjatovic, (MTV Video Music Awards) and Director Hamish Hamilton (The 82nd Annual Academy Awards 2010) to produce and direct the 2010 CMT Music Awards, it was announced today (4/13) by John Hamlin, SVP Production, Development and Talent, CMT. When the CMT Music Awards are broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 9, on CMT and CMT.com, it will be the third collaboration between Ignjatovic and Hamilton. The duo previously worked together on the 2007 and 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Since 2007, when Jesse Ignjatovic founded Den of Thieves, he has Executive Produced the MTV Video Music Awards, drawing increased ratings each year, and capturing 27 million viewers last year alone. Ignjatovic also Executive Produced the 2010 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, which saw a 39% ratings increase, and is currently in production of Season 2 of The T.O. Show for VH1. Ignjatovic spent 14 years at MTV where he co-created, produced and developed such programming as Meet the Barkers, Diary, mtvICON, and Dancelife with Jennifer Lopez.

British creative director Hamish Hamilton is a globally respected, multi-camera award show and concert film director. Most recently he directed The 82nd Annual Academy Awards, with this year’s show garnering its highest ratings since 2005. Just one month earlier, Hamilton created the visually arresting Super Bowl halftime show featuring The Who. Other Hamilton credits include six years on the The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and live concert films by Madonna, U2, Rolling Stones, Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse.

•••••••••••••••••••

The 53rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards will take place at the Los Angeles STAPLES Center on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, and will air live on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The date for the GRAMMY nominations announcement will be revealed soon.

As a result of last year’s earlier show and Awards process dates, this year the eligibility dates for the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards are Sept. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010. (This year will mark a 13-month eligibility period.)

GRAMMY Week — a weeklong series of cultural events culminating in Music’s Biggest Night — will again feature celebrations of music, fashion, arts education and philanthropy, including the Salute To series, GRAMMY Style Studio, GRAMMY Career Day, Clive Davis and The Recording Academy’s Pre-GRAMMY Gala, the annual MusiCares® Person of the Year tribute, the GRAMMY Foundation’s Music Preservation Project, the Entertainment Law Initiative luncheon, a Producers & Engineers Wing event, and GRAMMY Museum programs, among others.

Chesney Covers “People Country,” Gives Fans Film Preview

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Kenny Chesney covers the May issue of PEOPLE Country, and in an exclusive interview talks about his break from touring, his girlfriend, and his concert film Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D. In conjunction with the film, Chesney is giving fan club members in the cities where the movie was made—Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and San Francisco— private VIP screenings on Monday, April 19, two days before the flick opens nationwide.

This issue of PEOPLE Country also features Trisha Yearwood’s new food column, in which she shares recipes and personal anecdotes, and answers questions from readers. Readers can email [email protected] now with questions for Trisha and/or a food-related topic you’d like her to discuss in PEOPLE Country’s July issue.

Also in the May issue is a Summer Tours Preview, highlighting Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood and others. PEOPLE Country is also offering free downloads of songs from Colt Ford, Katie Armiger, Danny Gokey, Coldwater Jane and more at www.people.com/free.

This is the second of six PEOPLE Country issues to be published this year. These newsstand-only issues are available for four weeks, with a cover price of $3.99. PEOPLE Country’s frequency has steadily increased since first appearing on the newsstand in 2006.

Genovese To Head New Country Video Network

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Tammy Genovese has been tapped by new video network, The Country Network (“TCN”), to serve as President, TCN Nashville. She has already consolidated the company’s operations to Nashville and will open the principle office at 40 Music Square West, Nashville, Tennessee 37212 on Monday, April 19.

The Country Network is currently airing in HD on WIYC-DT Montgomery, AL and will begin national and international rollout during CMA Music Festival June 10, 2010.

TCN broadcast network will be programmed solely with country music videos, and original programs focusing on artists and fans. The fan-centric, interactive network will offer videos from current and rising stars, as well as heritage artists. Owned and operated by Artists and Fans Network, Inc., TCN is striving to blend local and national broadcasting, mobile devices, and the web, into a seamless music video experience.

Genovese, who was most recently CEO of the Country Music Association, replaces TCN Co-Founder, President and COO Warren Hansen. She will report directly to the executive committee. In this new position, Genovese will be responsible for all non-broadcast operations and will work laterally to the president of the TCN Stations Group. Reporting directly to Genovese will be Kim Bullard, EVP of production; Chad Brock, programming director; and Hansen.

Genovese says the network’s mission is to generate a fan/artist-centric interactive programming schedule with three primary goals: become a primary venue for helping establish successful careers for new artists; provide additional opportunities for country’s mainstream commercial artists to engage their fans; and pay respect to the legends who are still viable and working in the industry today.

Immediately prior to joining TCN she served as the CEO of the CMA, achieving unprecedented growth for the trade organization. She has many honors to her credit including Billboard’s Top Women in Music from 2006-2009, representing the 20 most influential female executives in the music industry, as well as Nashville’s Forward 50 List. She received the Canadian Country Music Association’s Leonard T. Rambeau International Award and the 2009 NAPE award for work on behalf of the CMA for music education in the Davidson Country Public Schools. She is currently serving on the TCN Board of Directors, The Nashville Sports Council, the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and the Music Business Advisory Council, to name a few.

She can be reached at [email protected].

NaFF Offers Music Panels, Films

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Music will be a big part of the Nashville Film Festival, running April 15-22 at the Green Hills Cinema. There are more than 220 films from over 38 countries on the line-up, as well as numerous workshops and panel discussions. Here’s a quick run down of the music events at NaFF. Ticket details here.

PANELS/WORKSHOPS (all take place at Green Hills Cinema – Theater 5)

• Music Supervisors: The ABC’s of Song Placement and Licensing–Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010 2:15 PM
Randall Poster (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Maureen Crowe (The Young Victoria), Susan Jacobs (Little Miss Sunshine), and Greg Sill (In Plain Sight) discuss submitting songs, building relationships, and how technology is changing licensing. Jim Scherer (Whizbang, Inc) will moderate.

• Music Licensing for Filmmakers: Avoiding the Pitfalls–Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010 4:30 PM
Panelists will be Aaron Mercer (Sony/ATV), Melissa Love (Songfinder), Randall Foster (Naxos Records), and Jim Scherer (Whizbang, Inc). Attorney Casey Del Casino will moderate.

• One on One with Carter Burwell–Monday, Apr 19, 2010 7:00 PM
The Mike Curb Career Achievement Award For Film Music will be presented to Carter Burwell. He was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for Where The Wild Things Are and is also the go-to composer for the Coen Brothers, creating classic scores such as Fargo and Miller’s Crossing.

• A Conversation with Shana Feste–Sunday, April18 at 2:00 PM
A chance to meet one of Variety’s “10 directors to watch” and a nominee for the Humanitas Prize for her first feature, The Greatest, which is screening at NaFF. Feste recently wrapped shooting on Love Don’t Let Me Down, filmed in Nashville and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw.

• Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund–Monday, Apr 19, 2010 2:00 PM
Join local and international industry professionals at an open forum to discuss issues affecting film scoring such as finding work, understanding contracts, union issues, licensing, live scoring and soundtrack albums. Presented by the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund. Free Admission.

MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES AND FILMS

Music and Marketing – Joined at the “Hip”

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With popular songs becoming more and more identified with specific products, and flashy corporate messages vying for onstage space with band logos, today’s music fans are left wondering just where the marketing ends and the music begins. The Wall Street Journal’s John Jurgenson posed that pertinent question today (4/9) in an eye-opening article that turns the corporate sponsorship spotlight on artists ranging Black Eyed Peas to Sting to U2 to the Rolling Stones to Tony Bennett, each of whom has acquired a surprising level of marketing expertise.

While the once-subversive Stones are credited with pioneering today’s flourishing love affair between bands and brands with their 1981 Tattoo You tour and its Jovan Musk cologne tie-in, the master marketer among today’s reigning pop stars, according to Jorgenson, is Black Eyed Peas leader
 will.i.am. In fact, concert promoter Randy Phillips, President and CEO of AEG Live, posits that will.i.am has the potential to be “the best ad executive on Madison Avenue. I’ve never seen anyone more astute at dealing with sponsors’ and companies’ needs and understanding their brands.” Phillips is planning to have the rapper/DJ deliver a seminar to AEG’s global marketing team.

While Jurgenson restricts his observations to the pop side of the fence, from Miranda Lambert’s print-based campaign for the cotton industry to Carrie Underwood’s current vitaminwater and Pedigree pet products-sponsored Play On Tour, country music  artists have been exceptionally sponsor-friendly.

Check out the Wall St. Journal article in its entirety here.