Sales/Marketing Archives - Page 41 of 175

Industry Pics: Nash Icon Records, Bill Anderson, Provident Label Group

May 1, 2015/by Jessica Nicholson

Reba Celebrates Chart-Topping Success

Nash Icon Records artist Reba celebrated her latest album’s second week atop the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with a private SiriusXM listener event at the Loveless Barn just outside of Nashville. During the evening, she was presented with a plaque from her Nash Icon Records/Big Machine Label Group family to honor her album Love Somebody as the first release and first No. 1 for the label imprint.

During the event, Reba performed a mix of classics such as “Fancy” and “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia,” as well as new material from Love Somebody, including “Going Out Like That,” “Love Somebody,” and “Until They Don’t Love You.” The performance will air on SiriusXM’s Prime Country and The Highway over Memorial Day Weekend.

Members of the Big Machine Label Group staff attended the special performance to help celebrate Reba’s second consecutive week with the No. 1 Country album.

Bill Anderson Honored For Songwriting Milestone

Bill Anderson recently added to his illustrious list of songs recorded by and released by top artists, with the tune “Country” from Curb Recording artist Mo Pitney. The song gave Anderson the distinction of having an entry on the country charts for seven straight decades. Anderson’s diverse career has included time as a singer, songwriter, television host, radio personality and author.

He was recently signed by Webster Public Relations for pr representation.

Pictured (L-R): Publicist Kirt Webster, Bill Anderson & Anderson’s Manager Lee Willard (Straight 8 Entertainment).

Building 429 Hits Sales Milestones

CCM group Building 429 notched a career milestone, hitting one million in single sales. The group’s label Provident Label Group honored the group with a plaque presentation, as Provident’s Sr. VP Dean Diehl praised the group for its accomplishment.

“Building 429 has an uncanny ability to identify big ideas that connect with our core market at a deep level,” said Diehl. “Great songs are the lifeblood of any artist’s career and as we celebrate what the group’s past hits have done, all I can say is, wait until you hear what’s next!”

Pictured (Back row, L-R): Nina Woodard, Blaine Barcus, Andrew Patton, Ben Brown, JoAnna Illingworth, Jimmy Wheeler, Amanda Snyder, Provident Label Group. (Front row, L-R): Aaron Branch, Jason Roy, Jesse Garcia, Michael Anderson, Building 429

Weekly Register: Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen Say ‘Hold My Beer’

April 29, 2015/by Sarah Skates

Reba’s Love Somebody hangs on to the No. 1 country album spot for a second week, roping in 23K TW/81K RTD.

The biggest country debut belongs to Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen who teamed for Hold My Beer, Vol. 1, which comes in at No. 4 with 12.5K.

Performances on the ACM Awards helped boost Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Sam Hunt and Christina Aguilera. Little Big Town’s Pain Killer album got a 22 percent bump, moving 14K this week and coming in at No. 3. Current single “Girl Crush” continues to grow in popularity, getting a 13 percent increase, and selling 110K TW to sit at No. 1 country and No. 3 overall.

Lambert’s album Platinum came it at No. 5 with sales of 11K, a 33 percent increase week over week.

Hunt’s Montevallo hangs at No. 2 with 18K. His single “Take Your Time” is at No. 2 country, selling 58K TW and taking over the 1 million mark.

Shelton, who hosted and performed on the ACMs, jumps 57 percent with single “Sangria” which sold 39K TW.

The top country single debut this week is Christina Aguilera’s “Shotgun,” which is No. 7 with sales of 30K. Xtina is in the middle of an arc on the TV show Nashville.

On the overall album chart, Alabama Shakes debuted at No. 1 with Sound + Color, 96K (total consumption). Wiz Khalifa is the No. 1 track wizard, with “See You Again” selling 316K.

Big Machine To Release ‘Nashville’ Season 3, Volume 2 Soundtrack

April 28, 2015/by Troy_Stephenson

Big Machine Records will release The Music Of Nashville: Original Soundtrack Season 3, Volume 2 just before the Season 3 finale of the hit ABC TV series on May 12.

The album will be released to digital retailers and Target and will feature 18 tracks sung by cast members throughout Season 3 with two tracks exclusively available at Target.
To date, music from Nashville has sold nearly 4.5 million digital tracks.

Tracklisting:
1. “Borrow My Heart”
Performed by Clare Bowen, Jonathan Jackson, Sam Palladio | Written by Phillip LaRue, Lia LaRue
2. “Can’t Help My Heart”
Performed by Laura Benanti, Will Chase | Written by Sarah Buxton, Jedd Hughes, Kevin Griffin
3. “I’m On It”
Performed by Chris Carmack | Written by Matt Jenkins, Matt Ramsey, Trevor Rosen
4. “Longer”
Performed by Clare Bowen, Sam Palladio | Written by Andrea Davidson
5. “This Is Real Life”
Performed by Connie Britton, Lennon & Maisy | Written by Trey Bruce, Derek Cannavo,
Maren Morris
6. “My Heart Don’t Know When To Stop”
Performed by Aubrey Peeples | Written by Allen Salmon, Shannon Wright
7. “The Rivers Between Us”
Performed by Connie Britton, Charles Esten | Written by Eric Kaz, J.D. Souther
8. “I’ve Got You (and You’ve Got Me)”
Performed by Lennon & Maisy | Written by Jacob Davis, Shelley Skidmore, Bob Moffatt,
Clint Moffatt
9. “My Song”
Performed by Clare Bowen, Jonathan Jackson, Sam Palladio | Written by Sarah Siskind,
Femke Weidema
10. “Sad Song”
Performed by Laura Benanti | Written by Ashley Monroe, Matraca Berg
11. “If I Drink This Beer”
Performed by Will Chase | Written by Jonathan Singleton, Brad Tursi
12. “Broken Song”
Performed by Chris Carmack | Written by Cody Johnson, Tony Lane, Travis Meadows
13. “Hold You In My Arms”
Performed by Jonathan Jackson, Hayden Panettiere | Written by Sarah Siskind
14. “Mississippi Flood”
Performed by Hayden Panettiere | Written by Tofer Brown, Lucie Silvas, Jamie Floyd
15. “This Is What I Need To Say”
Performed by Jonathan Jackson | Written by Sarah Siskind
16. “Heart On Fire”
Performed by Lennon & Maisy | Written by Sarah Buxton, Blair Daly, Kate York
17. “I Found A Way”
Performed by Aubrey Peeples | Written by Shannon Wright, Adam Wright
18. “Have A Little Faith In Me”
Performed by Will Chase, Maisy Stella | Written by John Hiatt
19. “One By One”
Performed by Jonathan Jackson, Hayden Panettiere | Written by Nicole Johnson, Josh Johnson (Target Deluxe Track)
20. “Novacaine”
Performed by Laura Benanti, Jonathan Jackson | Written by Cary Barlowe, Steven Lee Olson,
Caitlin Smith (Target Deluxe Track)

Weekly Register: Reba’s Back With No. 1 Debut

April 22, 2015/by Sarah Skates

Reba had plenty of visibility during release week, including winning an ACM Milestone Award.

Reba’s first new studio album in five years sailed to the top of the country charts; Love Somebody debuted at No. 1 with sales of 58K/total activity of 62K. The Nash Icon artist had momentum from lead single “Going Out Like That,” which has already sold more than 100K downloads. She also scored with a sassy performance on Sunday night’s (April 19) ACM Awards, blending the single with her modern-classic hits “Fancy,” “Is There Life Out There,” and “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia.”

Also scoring a solid debut is Dwight Yoakam’s Second Hand Heart (WBR) coming in at No. 2 country with sales of 21K. These debuts helped give country album sales a 33 percent bump week-over-week.

Rounding out the top five country albums are No. 3 Sam Hunt (18K), No. 4 Florida Georgia Line (13K) and No. 5 Now That’s What I Call ACM Awards 50 Years (12K).

Little Big Town gave a stellar performance of “Girl Crush” on the ACM Awards, reeling in 97K downloads and landing at No. 1 on the country tracks this week, pushing the song past the gold goalposts with 522K RTD. This is the best one-week sales tally for a country track in 2015.

Interestingly, Meghan Linsey’s cover of the same song from The Voice is this week’s top country debut, coming in at No. 3 with 44K. George Strait, who also had a notable ACM performance, debuts single “Let It Go” at No. 9 country, selling 27K. Hanging in the top 5 are: Sam Hunt “Take Your Time” (58K), Zac Brown Band “Homegrown” (39K) and Florida Georgia Line “Sippin’ On Fire” (35K).

Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” has the best one week sales for a country track

“Girl Crush” earned the best one-week sales tally for a country track in 2015.

March 2015 Tallies From RIAA

April 21, 2015/by Eric T. Parker

In March 2015, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded certifications for 55 Digital Single Awards and 12 Album Awards.

Among those with Nashville ties are Hunter Hayes (“I Want Crazy”) at 2x Platinum, Taylor Swift (“22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”) at 3x and 6x Platinum, respectively. Jana Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” hit Platinum as did Swift’s “Style.”

Nashville Notable Gold Singles
Lee Brice – “Drinking Class”
Brett Eldredge – “Mean To Me”
Hunter Hayes – “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me”
Hunter Hayes – “Invisible”
Sam Hunt – “Take Your Time”
Blake Shelton feat. Ashley Monroe – “Lonely Tonight”
Cole Swindell – “You Ain’t Worth The Whiskey”

Nashville Notable Gold Albums
Chris Tomlin – How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection
Meghan Trainor – Title

Kenny Chesney Launches No Shoes TV

April 17, 2015/by Jessica Nicholson

Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney is bringing the fun of his The Big Revival Tour to fans across the nation, via the newly-launched No Shoes TV. The series is a quick-hit roundup of the best moments from this year’s The Big Revival Tour’s major stadium shows. Correspondent Deanna Kay, who launched the series from Chesney’s recent Nashville show at Bridgestone Arena, will catch up with Chesney’s No Shoes Nation in the parking lot, on the road, and anywhere during the shows.

Kay has been capturing pre-game action as part of ESPN Music’s “College Game Day” for several years, as well as interviewing celebrities for ESPN Music’s “Game Time with Deanna Kay.” Her previous work includes VH1’s “Big Morning Buzz,” MTV’s “House of Style,” “TRL,” and the annual “Video Music Awards,” among other shows.

“I’ve always said there is so much more to these shows and this tour than what happens onstage,” says Chesney. “The No Shoes Nation are the most passionate music lovers I’ve ever seen. When you get out amongst them, you can’t help but get swept up. And I wanted to give the people who can’t be there a chance to get the feel for the whole day… because some of what happens, you’ll never get a regular TV network to make part of a concert special.”

“My dream job is to be an on-camera host mixing sports, music and social media. I want to make people smile, be informative and fun,” Kay says.

Kay will also be a ticket source. During tour stops, she will hide tickets, leaving clues via social media (@NoShoesNation on Twitter/Instagram, as well as No Shoes Nation’s Facebook page) to give fans the opportunity to have scavenger hunt fun and get upgraded, as well as rewarding people with the best stories some of the coveted wristbands for the GA area down front.

Watch the first installment of No Shoes TV below.

[Updated]: LifeNotes: Contemporary Christian Music Innovator Billy Ray Hearn Dies

April 17, 2015/by Jessica Nicholson

Billy Ray Hearn

[Update]:

Visitation for Billy Ray Hearn will take place Friday, April 24 from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at BMI, located at 10 Music Sq. E.

Funeral services will take place Saturday, April 25 at 11 a.m., at Brentwood Baptist Church, located at 7777 Concord Road, Brentwood, TN.

[Original post, Thursday, April 16, 2015]:

Billy Ray Hearn, an innovator in the Contemporary Christian music industry, has died. He was 85.

Hearn began one of Contemporary Christian Music’s first record labels, Myrrh Records (part of Word Record Co.) in the 1970s. Myrrh released the early albums from Christian star Amy Grant, among others. Hearn was the director of music promotion and music publishing for Word until 1976, when he founded Sparrow Records. The company opened a Nashville office in 1986, and in 1991, Hearn moved the entire operation to Nashville. In 1992, Hearn sold Sparrow to EMI Music.

Today, Billy Ray’s son Bill Hearn continues as president/CEO of Capitol Christian Music Group, home to Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, tobyMac, David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, and more. A division of Universal Music Group, Capitol CMG includes Capitol CMG Label Group (Sparrow Records, ForeFront Records, sixstepsrecords, and Hillsong), Capitol CMG Publishing, Motown Gospel, and Capitol Christian Distribution.

Billy Ray Hearn was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1997, and has been honored with the Gospel Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Hearns created the Martell Best Cellars Dinner, which has raised more than $2 million for the Frances Preston Labs at Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. They also created the Sparrow Foundation, which has donated to institutions including Baylor University and New Hope Academy.

Earlier this year, Billy Ray Hearn and Bill Hearn were honored with the Frances Preston Lifetime Music Industry Achievement Award from the T.J. Martell Foundation, which battles life-threatening illnesses. He was also the founder of T.J. Martell’s Best Cellars Dinner that has raised millions of dollars across the country in support of leukemia, cancer and AIDS research.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Billy Ray Hearn accepts his Special Citation of Achievement at the 2010 BMI Christian Awards. Photo: Kay Williams/BMI

Sparrow Music Publishing Songwriting Achievement Awards presentations to Charlie Peacock, Steven Curtis Chapman, Andrae Crouch, and Michael W. Smith. Billy Ray Hearn is pictured on the right next to his son Bill Hearn.

Weekly Register: Rucker’s ‘Southern Style’ Reigns For Second Week

April 15, 2015/by Jessica Nicholson

This week was lackluster for new releases, and both the overall tracks and overall albums charts saw significant dips.

On a brighter note, Neilsen’s country albums tally saw Darius Rucker’s Southern Style reign supreme for a second consecutive week, moving 17k units. Rucker sold 52k during the project’s debut week.

Also in the Top 5 this week are Sam Hunt’s Montevallo (15k), Now That’s What I Call ACM Awards: 50 Years (11k), Luke Bryan’s Spring Break…Checkin’ Out (10k), and Florida Georgia Line’s Anything Goes (7.4k)

Top country debuts this week went to Will Hoge at No. 15 (3.7k), Kristian Bush at No. 16 (3.7k), and Pokey LaFarge at No. 28 (1.4k).

Also worth noting is Lee Brice who jumped from No. 21 to No. 7 this week, selling 7.1k (an upward swing of 179 percent), on the strength of a Google Album of the Week promo, on sale for $2.99.

The Original Soundtrack from the movie Furious 7 topped the overall album chart, selling 111k this week. The top debut on the overall album chart was All Time Low at No. 2, selling 80k. All Time Low was the only debut in the top 10 this week.

Compared to last week, overall album sales were down 1.7 percent, while overall digital sales were up 2.6 percent. Country album sales were down 13.2 percent, while country digital sales were down 7.5 percent.

This time last year, the top overall album was Frozen, which sold 133k that week. On the country charts one year ago, Martina McBride’s Everlasting topped the country album chart, selling 21k.

Tracks

Sam Hunt’s “Take Your Time” tops the country tracks tally this week, with 55k units moved. Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” moved 43k this week, followed by Zac Brown Band’s “Homegrown” (40.5k), Thomas Rhett’s “Crash and Burn” (40k), and Cole Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” (35k).

Wiz Khalifa earns a second week at No. 1 on the overall tracks chart with “See You Again,” which sold 464k. The top overall and country debut this week is Thomas Rhett’s “Crash and Burn” (40k). The track debuted at No. 4 on the country tracks chart and at No. 31 overall.

Year-to-date, overall track sales have fallen 9.7 percent, while country tracks have fallen 16.5 percent.

This time last year, Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” topped the overall track chart, selling 257k, while Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again” topped the country tracks chart, selling 108k.

Nielsen Report: 32 Million People Attend At Least One Festival

April 15, 2015/by Jessica Nicholson

For millions of Americans, a favored route for escaping everyday life and experiencing fresh musical sounds is attending one of the numerous music festivals around the country each year.

According to a study by Nielsen Entertainment, 32 million people attend at least one music festival annually. A segment of these festival attendees are ardent music fans, with one-third of festival goers attending more than one music festival per year.

Nearly half (46 percent) are age 18-34, which offers another incentive for marketers to court the millennial demographic. These millennial festival fans are more engaged than the general population on social media and other digital platforms. They are 98 percent more likely to discover new music on Spotify than the average music consumer. They also show greater levels of engagement on social media outlets such as Snapchat (67 percent more likely to use than the general population), Vine (69 percent), and Tumblr (81 percent).

The study found that these festival-goers also spend more than the general population on music. In general, festival attendees spend an average of $207 on live events, digital music and streaming.

The festival audience is evenly split between men (49 percent) and women (51 percent).

Click here for the full report.

Marbaloo Marketing Relocates To L&C Tower, Adds Staffers

April 10, 2015/by Jessica Nicholson

Marbaloo Marketing, which has provided marketing services for artists including Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Maddie & Tae, and others, has recently taken up residence in the L&C Tower, located at 401 Church Street. Also taking up residence in the tower is Marbaloo’s sister company, Tourbaloo.

The move offers Marbaloo nearly 6,000 square feet of space, encompassing the entire 13th floor of the L&C Tower. Marbaloo’s new address is 401 Church Street, Ste. 1300, Nashville, TN 37219.

The greater office space offered by the new location will prove beneficial to Marbaloo Marketing, which recently added two publicity managers and two marketing coordinators to its ranks.

Blakelee Land and Stephanie Gonzalez have joined as publicity managers. Land previously worked at Meredith, Better Homes & Gardens, and Lucky in New York. Gonzalez previously worked at Wolf Kasteler Public Relations in Beverly Hills.

New marketing coordinators at Marbaloo include Jordon Petty, who was previously with Show Dog-Universal, as well as Kelly Dean, who previously worked with New Heartland Group.