Nine North’s Larry Pareigis brought the trio to MR’s conference room for an unplugged performance. “I Get That All Time” is No. 33 this week on the Country Breakout Chart.
Due West (seated) hangs on the MusicRow front steps after a well received mini-concert. Standing (L-R): Music Row’s Michelle Ross, Christie King, Sarah Skates, David Ross; Nine North’s Tom Moran; and Music Row’s Jon Freeman. Photo: Pareigis
Joe Nichols is supporting the troops as well as promoting his new single, “Believers,” with several viral initiatives.
While he was on a tour in Iraq performing for the servicemen and women, he had the video crew documenting the excursion also interview the soldiers about what they believe in. The result is a moving video posted on YouTube titled Believers Challenge From Iraq. “Believers” is the lead single from Nichols’ new CD Old Things New, scheduled for release later this year by Universal Records South.
He also has e-cards and Web site banners (shown below) available featuring the song and the troops. Send an e-card by clicking the banner, or click here to add the banner to your own site.
Nichols has also been making the promotional rounds, including a recent visit to Crook & Chase.
Nichols will perform music from his upcoming CD release "Old Things New" on "The Crook & Chase Show" this week. Recorded in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the episode will premiere on RFD-TV Thurs., Aug. 13 at 7 PM/CT. Pictured (l-r): Nichols, Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase.
Brad Allen
Brad Allen has launched ALL Entertainment and signed Buddy Jewell as the first artist. After 20 years in the music business, Allen is weaving his record label management, production, and publishing experience into a full-service entertainment company. The multi-genre, multi-format operation will also handle CCM artists as well as house a movie/DVD division. Allen most recently co-headed A&R at Midas Records and co-produced Adam Gregory’s single “Crazy Days.”
ALL Entertainment has partnered with New Revolution Entertainment to handle radio promotion of Jewell’s first single, due mid-September. This agreement re-aligns Allen with promotion vets Rob Dalton and Jeff Solima, who together reached the top of the Country Music charts with Emerson Drive’s No. 1 single for Midas, “Moments.” New Revolution is also working with new group Gloriana, helping drive its debut single into the Top 15 of the national country charts.
Buddy Jewell
Stay tuned—Allen hints at a number of other announcements on the horizon.
Jewell’s self-titled debut album on Columbia Records was certified Gold, and garnered two back-to-back top five hits with “Sweet Southern Comfort” and “Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey’s Song).”
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People Country magazine debuts on newsstands today (8/7), with an accompanying TV special set to premiere on CMT.
Dedicated entirely to the Country music scene and lifestyle, this edition, the third of five special Country issues to be published by People in 2009, takes readers inside the homes of Country’s biggest stars.
In the cover story, Reba McEntire opens the doors to the Tennessee home she shares with her manager and husband of 20 years, Narvel Blackstock. The 54-year-old singer also talks about the upcoming release of her 33rd album, Keep on Loving You, her first solo studio album since the new generation of females took over the charts. “Competition fuels me,” McEntire tells People Country. “I look at the charts, and I want to know where I am and whom I have to beat out. It’s more fun that way.”
Also inside: Miranda Lambert dishes on her favorite things, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill talk about their new fragrances, Jennifer Nettles counts her blessings, and Brad Paisley reveals the inspiration behind his newest single and reminisces about the first time he laid his eyes on his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, when he went to see 1991’s Father of the Bride with his then-girlfriend.
Also included:
Exclusive pics of Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley’s wedding to Cassie McConnell in the Bahamas, attended by brother Josh Kelley and wife Katherine Heigl.
The homes of Darius Rucker, Gretchen Wilson, Holly Williams, Kenny Rogers and Jimmy Wayne.
Yearbook photos of Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack and others.
Another bonus: free iTunes downloads from Jack Ingram, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and others. Go to www.people.com/free to get the promo code to download the free People Country playlist.
People Country on CMT is a 30-minute special with exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of photo shoots and interviews (Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Gretchen Wilson and Darius Rucker). The special premiered today (8/7) at 1:30 p.m. ET/PT, and will encore on Sat., Aug. 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET/PT and Sun., Aug. 9 at 11:00 a.m. ET/PT.
A wave of change is approaching the terrestrial and satellite radio industry—like a tsunami headed for shore. Sirius XM is fighting to retain paying subscribers. Radio conglomerates face plunging revenues, rising costs and eroding listenership. But there are additional, perhaps insurmountable factors undermining radio’s future.
The radio business is largely built upon two foundations.
Scarcity—terrestrial radio is built upon demand for a limited number of FCC licenses.
Barrier To Entry— costs to purchase a frequency plus operate are substantial.
Enter the Internet. Startup costs become basic—a URL web address, some readily available low cost software, content and music royalties. Scarcity and barriers to entry are no longer part of this equation. In this morning’s subscriber-only @MusicRow an article about streaming radio says that over half of teens 13-17 are already using the quickly proliferating number of available online services.
Now imagine that in addition to getting the signal on your computer and mobile devices (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) Internet is also available on your car radio. As ubiquitous availability becomes reality, virtual Internet stations will mushroom overnight.
Kenny Chesney is surfing this wave of change with his newly launched No Shoes Radio channel (www.noshoesradio.com) which features the artist’s music, plus a diverse sampling of other artists and formats. Demand from fans was so high that over 50,000 streams were served on launch, temporarily freezing the servers in the process. “It’s…knowing that you’re still in sync with the fans,” said Chesney. Commenting upon the launch glitch he said, “When you try something that people tell you is crazy, in the back of your mind you’re glad there was so much demand.”
So where is this going?
Will it change the country music business which is still tied tightly to country radio exposure and the radio charts?
Will a changing radio landscape open up playlists and expand the format’s diversity?
What do you think?
Advertisements are coming to liner notes near you. Mariah Carey’s Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, set for release on Sept. 15, contains a 34-page mini magazine as the CD booklet. It was co-produced with Elle magazine and will include the usual liner notes and lyrics, as well as ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, the Bahamas Board of Tourism and more. Hypebot says WalMart will display the CD and Carey’s signature Arden fragrance together in the music aisle, as well as in the beauty department.
“The idea was really simple thinking: ‘We sell millions of records, so you should advertise with us,’” Antonio “L.A.” Reid, chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group told Brandweek. “My artists have substantial circulation—when you sell 2 million, 5 million, 8 million, that’s a lot of eyeballs.”
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When Twitter went down yesterday, it was because a group of Russians were trying to stop a blogger from the Republic of Georgia from communicating with sympathizers, reports the Telegraph. The denial of service attack also interrupted Facebook and LiveJournal. The Telegraph says, “This technique uses a network of tens of thousands of compromised computers, known as a botnet, to flood a website’s servers with access requests, leaving ordinary traffic unable to get through, and causing the system to overload and crash.” Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook, corroborated the story to CNET News.
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The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce recently won the nationwide award for Chamber of the Year. It was given by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.
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Although The Nashville Symphony doesn’t even charge tax, it is joining in the Sales Tax Holiday festivities this weekend (Aug. 7-9) by offering a 9.25% discount on all SunTrust Classical Series concerts. You can redeem this discount online by using the promo code TAXFREE, over the phone at 615-687-6400 or by visiting the box office in person. www.nashvillesymphony.org
Sarah Buxton opened for Luke Bryan last month at the WGKX Kix on Beale show in Memphis. Buxton later joined Bryan onstage to sing the last two songs with him.
Capitol Nashville recording artist Luke Bryan and zooppa.com have joined forces to host a fan generated online video contest for Bryan’s latest single “Do I,” launching on Aug. 17 and continuing through Oct. 11. Zoopa.com is a social network focused on user-generated advertising. Fans can win autographed copies of Bryan’s soon to be released album Doin’ My Thing, due in stores Oct. 6, and cash prizes by clicking here.
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New country trio Due West now has their own iPhone application which allows fans to watch videos, browse photos, sample music, read blog posts and latest news, and more. The group is gearing up for the release of their debut album later this year. They recently shot their first video for “I Get That All The Time” which has just been added to GAC.
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Nashville country band KingBilly performed Thurs., July 30 at Chicago’s hot spot Joe’s Bar, rocking the crow with songs like “I Wanna Come Back As Her Beer.” Richard Marx took the stage, joining KingBilly on performances of “You Never Take Me Dancing” (recorded by Travis Tritt) and Keith Urban’s hit “Better Life.” Then actor Hugh Jackman made a surprise appearance, leading to Marx, Jackman and KingBilly performing one of Marx’ biggest hits, “Right Here Waiting."
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Wrangler and The Parks are partnering to give fans the chance to register to win one of twenty autographed advance CDs or a grand prize consisting of a Wrangler gift certificate, autographed guitar and autographed copy of the father/son duo’s CD, Born Into It. In addition, fans can preview the record and download free Wrangler/The Parks desktop wallpaper here.
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American Roots Records group TelluRide wrapped up their west coast radio and concert tour on Sunday. A two-night stint headlining the Tenino Wine and Music Festival raised $24,000 for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. The group is now trekking back across the country for several dates throughout New York this week. The four-man-band wrap up the week at the Watkins Glen race track on Saturday and singing the national anthem live on ESPN prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup road race. The band’s Ricky Schroder-directed music video for the debut single, “Pencil Marks,” was completed last week and will begin hitting television and internet airwaves in the next couple of weeks.
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Country/hip-hop singer Colt Ford is teaming up with NASCAR for the release of a new single, “Racin’ The Way It Ought’a Be,” which is part of the racing-themed CD, Bristol Nights: The Official Music of Bristol Motor Speedway. The 12-song compilation is available on iTunes and Amazon. Bristol Motor Speedway hosts its next NASCAR weekend on Aug. 21-22 where more than 160,000 fans will flock to Thunder Valley.
James Otto’s Warner Bros. Records debut single, “Just Got Started Lovin’ You,” has achieved sales of 500,000 units and has been certified Digital Gold by the RIAA.
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An interview with Universal Records South’s Fletcher Foster is posted at This week In The Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc.
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The NashvillePost reports: Gospel legend BeBe Winans last week won a three-year old copyright case in which he had been named the defendant. The case centered on Winans’ albums My Christmas Prayer, which was recorded in 2003, and Dream, recorded a year later. Read it here.
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Effective Sept. 30, Citadel Media will discontinue syndication of GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. The radio show co-hosted by Buzz Brainard and Suzanne Alexander debuted in January 2008.
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Carrie Smith is the new host of Nashville At Nite. Recently, she has been seen hosting a variety of Internet and television programming including the popular HGTV Solutions. Her resume also includes voiceover work, such as the series voice host of CMT’s Dedicated. The second season of Nashville At Nite begins in September and is available exclusively online at www.NashvilleAtNite.com.
No Gloriana isn’t separating, but its two female members—Cheyenne Kimball and Rachel Reinert—are appearing [by themselves] on the cover of Justine Magazine for its Aug./Sept. issue without Mike and Tom Gossin. The teen magazine, devoted to Real Girls and Real Teen Issues, also contains a four page article that talks about the formation of the band, its new music and “life on the road opening for Taylor Swift’s Fearless 2009 Tour.”
Vocal quartet Gloriana is actively promoting its debut CD release this week which stayed at No. 1 on iTunes on release day. Warner Bros. hosted a casual get together for the group last Tuesday to celebrate the event during which Promo Captain Gator Michaels audio conferenced live with the act who was in N.Y. doing interviews. Most of the Gloriana team, however, were absent from the WB conference room event, since they are on the road attending to launch week details.
Gloriana’s first single “Wild At Heart” was Top 10 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart.
And in case you’re wondering what the Gloriana guys have been up to…click here.
Report: Netflix To Stream iPhone
Multichannel News reports that Netflix DVD service will soon begin offering its Watch Instantly streaming service on iPhones, iPod Touch and Nintendo Wii. The streaming service currently offers fewer titles than the DVD-by-mail version, with the most popular titles conspicuously missing. However, Watch Instantly titles are included at no extra cost over the base Netflix subscription unlike iTunes titles which are available on a pay-per-view basis. Another major difference is that iTunes titles are downloaded, while the Netflix system streams the content without storing it on the device. Pundits expect the service would only be offered while connected via WiFi.
Snow Leopard No. 1 Pre-Order
The Unoffical Apple Weblog reports that Snow Leopard, the upcoming new Apple operating system, is currently the No. 1 pre-order item at Amazon. Although a release date for the software has not been announced, the $29, highly anticipated upgrade is expected sometime in September. The Apple product is due approximately one month before the launch of Microsoft’s new Windows 7. Www.tuaw.com’s Dave Caolo says, “Microsoft hopes to dig itself out of the hole created by public reaction to Vista, while Appe is giving Mac OS X Leopard a shine.”
Pandora & Katz Team For Audio Ads
Online music discovery radio channel Pandora Media has pacted with Katz Online Network, a Clear Channel subsidiary. Katz will begin selling audio ads for the network along with Pandora’s in-house team. Pandora, which generates playlists based upon musical preferences, claims over 11 million monthly unique visitors and 30 million registered listeners. Its database currently contains over 600,000 songs. Pandora users can listen to 40 hours of free music per month that includes visual and audio advertisements. A $36 annual fee option provides unlimited music, removes the ads and provides a higher audio quality stream.
Twitter Filtering Links
Without fanfare, Twitter has begun new security measures aimed at cleaning malware links included in tweets. The Wall Street Journal, reports that online security firm F-secure says Twitter “is increasingly targeted by worms, spam and account hijacking.” The new system is designed to safeguard against such links. Offending tweets are now deleted and replaced with the message, “Oops! Your tweet conatined a URL to a known malware site!”