Reba To Launch Beauty Brand

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Reba BeautyReba already has a successful, longstanding clothing and home wares deal with Dillard’s, and now the multi-faceted music mogul is set to make inroads into the beauty business.

The entertainer and her longtime makeup artist Brett Freedman will launch Reba Beauty on April 7. The line will be available at reba.com and Amazon.

According to Freedman, first product from the line is a lipcolor called Reba Deluxstick. Additional products are slated to roll out over the rest of the year.

Freedman is a Los Angeles-based make-up artist and owner/creator of Brett Freedman Beauty (formerly VANITYMARK Cosmetics).

Weekly Register: Luke Bryan Checks In At No. 1

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Luke-Bryan-Spring-Break-Checkin'-OutLuke Bryan’s Spring Break…Checkin’ Out, the final project in the series, checked in at No. 1 on the country albums chart today (March 18) with sales of 89K. When combining the regular and Walmart ZinePak exclusive (which contains all the Spring Break albums), the new album tallied 95K.

Bryan wrapped his seventh and final year of two-day spring break concerts at the Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City Beach, Fla., on March 11 and 12. Local officials estimated over 200,000 fans gathered each day. The spring break albums and concerts began in 2009 as a way to bring fans new music between studio releases.

Elsewhere on this week’s album chart, Eli Young Band’s EP, Turn It On, debuted with 4K. And BMLG labelmate RaeLynn offered her new song, “For a Boy,” which entered the tracks chart at No. 3 country, selling 27K.

Top 5 Country Albums this week
Luke Bryan, …Checkin’ Out, 89K
Sam Hunt, Montevallo, 15K
Shania Twain, Live In Vegas, 9K
Jason Aldean, Old Boots New Dirt, 7K
Luke Bryan, Spring Break…Checkin’ Out, Walmart/ZinePak, 6K

Top 5 Country Tracks this week
Sam Hunt “Take Your Time” 55K
Zac Brown Band “Homegrown” 42K
RaeLynn “For a Boy” 27K
Cole Swindell “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” 25K
Miranda Lambert “Little Red Wagon” 25K

On the all-genre charts, the Empire TV show soundtrack pounced into No. 1 on the Top 200 with 130K total activity (110K album only), holding Madonna to a No. 2 debut with 121K (116K album only).

Year To Date
overall album sales -1.3%
overall digital albums +2.9%

country album sales -16.4%
country digital albums -9.2%

Upcoming Releases

March 24
Striking Matches/Nothing But The Silence/I.R.S.
Easton Corbin/It’s About To Get Real/Mercury Records Nashville
Canaan Smith/Canaan Smith [EP]/Mercury Records Nashville

March 31
Darius Rucker/Southern Style/Capitol

April 7
Kristian Bush/Southern Gravity/Streamsound Records
Will Hoge/Small Town Dreams/Cumberland-Thirty Tigers

April 14
Reba McEntire/Love Somebody/Nash Icon
Dwight Yoakam/Second Hand Heart/Reprise

April 18
Lee Ann Womack/Trouble In Mind [Record Store Day limited edition 12″ vinyl]/Sugar Hill

April 28
Zac Brown Band/Jekyll + Hyde/Southern Ground-John Varvatos Records-BMLG-Republic Records
Tyler Farr/Suffer In Peace/Columbia Nashville

May 5
Chris Stapleton/Traveller/Mercury Records Nashville

Live Nation Inks Deal For New Official Soft Drink, Bottled Water Partner

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LiveNation250Live Nation Entertainment has announced PepsiCo as the exclusive carbonated soft-drink and bottled water partner, providing brands such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist and Aquafina to 75 of Live Nation Entertainment’s amphitheaters, clubs and theaters in the United States, as well as the curated Pepsi “Out of the Blue” experiences with Live Nation artists. These experiences include sound checks, meet & greets, ticket access, and tour/festival tie-ins.

PepsiCo replaces Live Nation Entertainment’s previous partner, Coca-Cola.

FarmBorough, New York City’s new country music festival, Lollapalooza and the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience will also be sponsored by Pepsi.

“Our partnership with Live Nation elevates our robust music platform to new levels,” said Adam Harter, VP, Pepsi Consumer Engagement. “For decades, Pepsi has been a leader in music and has always focused on providing fans with unparalleled access to great music and their favorite artists. Live Nation will play a dynamic role in our new ‘Out of the Blue’ music campaign as we deliver new and exciting music experiences in a way only Pepsi can deliver.”

The alliance officially launched last month when Pepsi began its “Out of the Blue” campaign, a national promotion that spans 100 days and will give away numerous four-person flyaway trips to Live Nation festivals and events. Through May 18, fans become eligible for a chance to win by following @Pepsi on Twitter, snapping a photo of any Pepsi(TM) beverage product and posting it to Twitter with #OutoftheBlue.

“We are looking forward to this long-term alliance with Pepsi, as we are perfectly positioned to further the brand’s music platform,” said Russell Wallach, president, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. “We are passionate about bringing incredible music experiences to consumers, and that mission will be at the heart of all the programming we develop together with Pepsi.”

Artist Updates: Brad Paisley, Streamsound Records, Dualtone Music

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Brad Paisley To Appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley will appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday (March 16), broadcasting from Austin, Texas, during music festival South By Southwest (SXSW). Kimmel will bring his late-night talk show to SXSW for a week of broadcasts, and has invited Paisley to join as one of the performers. Paisley will perform his current single, “Crushin’ It.”

Others slated to appear during that week include Kevin Hart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Romo and Matthew McConaughey, as well as blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr., who will sit in with Kimmel’s house band Cleto and the Cletones.

 

Streamsound Artist Partners with Country Outfitter

unnamed (25)Streamsound Records artist Austin Webb has partnered with Country Outfitter to promote his current single, “All Country On You.” The retail, product, and media company will offer merchandise to Webb’s fans via contests at country radio, as part of the national rollout of Webb’s “All Country On You” campaign.

“Country Outfitter is a proven leader in its industry; interacting with millions of country fans daily,” says Streamsound Records CEO/President Steve Richardson. “Through this strategic partnership, country fans will have a new way to connect and get to know Austin Webb.”

“We’re excited to introduce Austin Webb’s personality, style, and music to millions of Country Outfitter fans,” says TJ McDaniel, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Country Outfitter. “The campaign with Streamsound Records combines a product giveaway with an extensive content marketing campaign to create a perfect storm of promotion at this critical point in Webb’s career. We look forward to watching him take off and claim his place in the genre.”

 

Dualtone Music’s Ivan & Alyosha Gears Up For Tour, Album Launch

Ivan & Alyosha

Ivan & Alyosha

Nashville’s Dualtone Music has released tour dates for the label’s duo Ivan & Alyosha, in support of their sophomore album, It’s All Just Pretend, available May 4. The tour will include stops in Nashville (June 2 at the High Watt), as well as Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities.

It’s All Just Pretend features 11 new songs, and was produced/engineered by Ryan Carbary, Joe Chiccarelli (U2, My Morning Jacket), and Chad Copelin.

For a full list of tour dates, visit www.ivanandalyosha.com.

Weekly Register: Debuts From Shania Twain, Kelly Clarkson

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Shania-Still-The-One-Live-From-VegasShania Twain Still The One: Live In Vegas, a WalMart exclusive CD/DVD set, debuted with 11K units sold, coming in at No. 2 this week. (She wasn’t able to push UMG labelmate Sam Hunt from his stronghold on the top country spot.)

Twain recently announced her first North American tour in more than 11 years entitled Rock This Country. The 48-date run follows her hit two-year residency in Las Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The tour visits Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on July 31. A presale is going on now at ShaniaTwain.com.

kelly clarksonKelly Clarkson’s Piece By Piece landed at No. 1 on the Top 200 with total activity of 97K, including 83K album sales. The Grammy winner also announced her 2015 tour, which will visit her adopted hometown, Nashville, Sept. 5 at the Bridgestone Arena. Tickets go on sale Saturday (March 14).

Other country debuts include Asleep At The Wheel with 4K, and Average Joes’ Mud In The Club Vol. 1, a remixes album, with 3K.

Top 5 Country Albums
Sam Hunt Montevallo 16K TW, 365K RTD
Shania Twain Still The One… 9K, 11K
Jason Aldean Old Boots, New Dirt 8K, 868K
Florida Georgia Line Anything Goes 6K, 587K
Carrie Underwood Greatest Hits 6K, 301K

The longevity of some of the albums in the top 10 is worth noting. Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party is still selling over 4K units per week, 83 weeks after release, for a RTD total of 2.395 million. Eric Church’s The Outsiders is 56 weeks old and still moving more than 5K per week, for 868K RTD. Miranda Lambert’s Platinum is selling over 4k per week, 40 weeks into its run, with 652K RTD.

Top 5 Country Tracks
Sam Hunt “Take Your Time” 57K TW, 603K RTD
Zac Brown Band “Homegrown” 37K, 260K
Cole Swindell “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” 26K, 414K
Little Big Town “Girl Crush” 25K, 222K
Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe “Lonely Tonight” 24K, 468K

Top Albums YTD with TEA
Sam Hunt, 237K
Jason Aldean, 160K
Carrie Underwood, 148K
Florida Georgia Line 131K
Luke Bryan 131K

reba and granddaughter river

Clarkson’s family helped spread the word about her new music.

Platinum and Gold Marks For BMLG and Carrie Underwood

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RIAA-Platinum

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has released 54 Digital Single Awards and Six Album Awards, up to February 2015.

Gold & Platinum’s month-end graduation highlights include 3x Platinum for Florida Georgia Line (feat. Luke Bryan)’s “This Is How We Roll,” 5x Platinum for Taylor Swift‘s “Blank Space” and 1x Platinum for Carrie Underwood‘s “Something In The Water.”

Gold graduations include Brantley Gilbert‘s “More Than Miles,” Swift’s “Style,” and Thomas Rhett‘s “Make Me Wanna.”

‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ Lands New Lead Music Booker

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Julie Gurovitsch

Julie Gurovitsch

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will soon get a new lead music booker, MusicRow has confirmed. Julie Gurovitsch, coordinating music producer for NBC’s Today, will begin her new role as lead music booker next month.

The Tonight Show role was previously held by Jonathan Cohen, who left last month.

After starting at Today in 2014, Gurovitsch oversaw 24 bookings for Today‘s Toyota Summer Concert series. The program included artists Rascal Flatts, Hunter Hayes, Kenny Chesney, and Lady Antebellum, alongside artists including Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Counting Crows, Usher, and more.

Weekly Register: Beachin’ With Luke Bryan

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Bryan is beachin.' His spring break concerts are next week in Panama City, to coincide with the release of his final spring break album.

Bryan is beachin.’ His spring break concerts are next week in Panama City, to coincide with the release of his final spring break album.

Luke Bryan is bringing spring fever to the country tracks chart. His latest songs “Games” (30K) and “Spring Breakdown” (17K) debuted at No. 3 and 14, respectively. They are from his March 10 Spring Break…Checkin’ Out album, the final release in his spring break series. The project offers five new songs and six tracks from last year’s EP. To celebrate release day, Bryan will play two free concerts at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City, Fla., on March 11 and 12. Over 230,000 fans came out for last year’s shows.

Elsewhere on the country tracks chart, the Pete Scobell Band’s “Hearts I Leave Behind,” is at No. 5 with sales of 25K. The song honors Chief Petty Officer Christopher Kyle, the U.S. Navy SEAL commemorated in the award-winning film American Sniper. Scobell is also a former Navy SEAL and is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the recording to the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation. The song was written by Travis Meadows and features Wynonna Judd.

And The Voice contestant Sawyer Fredericks made a splash with his version of “I’m A Man of Constant Sorrow” (23K).

Top 5 Country Tracks TW
Sam Hunt “Take Your Time” 57K
Little Big Town “Girl Crush” 30K
Luke Bryan “Games” 30K
Zac Brown Band “Homegrown” 27K
Pete Scobell Band f/ Wynonna “Hearts I Leave Behind” 25K

Top 5 Country Albums TW
Sam Hunt, 15K
Aaron Watson, 9K
Jason Aldean, 8.6K
Florida Georgia Line, 7K
Carrie Underwood, 6.6K

Indie Aaron Watson stays in the top 5 in his album’s second week of release. He slips to No. 2, selling 9K copies.

Debuting at No. 1 and 2 on the Top 200 albums chart are Big Sean (173K total activity) and Kid Rock (146K total activity). On the tracks chart, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” has a tight grip on the No. 1 spot, selling 240K TW and 4.3 million RTD.

Artist Updates: Carrie Underwood Welcomes Child, YouTube Music Awards, James Carothers

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Photo courtesy of Carrie Underwood/Instagram

Photo courtesy of Carrie Underwood/Instagram

Carrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher welcomed their first child, son Isaiah Michael Fisher, on Friday, Feb. 27.

Underwood shared the news via Instagram, with the caption, “Tiny hands and tiny feet … God has blessed us with an amazing gift! Isaiah Michael Fisher – born on February 27. Welcome to the world, sweet angel!” 

The baby’s gender was revealed onstage during the 2014 CMA Awards by Underwood’s co-host Brad Paisley.

Underwood has been married for nearly five years to professional hockey player Mike Fisher.

She has also announced a clothing line with Calia that will release soon, and earned a Grammy Award earlier this year for Best Country Solo Performance for “Something In The Water.”

• • •

youtube music awardsBrad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, Hunter Hayes, and Meghan Trainor are among the winners at the 2015 YouTube Music Awards, alongside others from various musical genres. Together, the 50 artists have been viewed more than 47 billion times, and have 164 million subscribers. The winners were selected based on growth in views, subscribers and engagement over the past six months on YouTube.

• • •

Renegade Mountain Records’ James Carothers kicked off his first Country Radio Seminar last week by hosting a full Southern breakfast performance at Puckett’s. He performed three songs, including single, “I Must Be Alive,” and entertained the audience of broadcasters and press with stories and impersonations of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

Standing: Ryan McCall ( WGLR Radio), Dr. Dave (KDKD Radio), Mike Thomas (KFAV Radio) Seated: James Carothers and Dave Stanford (WDHR Radio)

Standing: MusicRow CountryBreakout Reporter of the Year Ryan McCall (WGLR), Dr. Dave (KDKD), Mike Thomas (KFAV). Seated: James Carothers and Dave Stanford (WDHR)

• • •

Rick HallRick Hall, known as the “Father of the Muscle Shoals Sound,” the man behind classics including Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” Aretha Franklin’s “I Ain’t Never Loved A Man,” and Alicia Keys’ “Pressin’ On,” will share his stories from working with legendary artists at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

Hall has produced more than 300 pop chart singles, including more than 40 Gold and Platinum records.

His new tell-all memoir, The Man From Muscle Shoals, will be released March 17 (Heritage Builder Publishing), with a foreword by music historian Peter Guralnick. The book comes with the bonus DVD of the Grammy award-winning Muscle Shoals.

• • •

Kent Finlay

Kent Finlay

Kent Finlay, longtime owner of Cheatham Street Warehouse, the San Marcos, Texas venue that was a breeding ground for numerous artists died early morning Monday, March 2 at home in Martindale, Texas. He was 77.

He was a lifelong champion of songwriters and a musician himself. Among those who performed at his establishment were George Strait, Randy Rogers Band, Todd Snider, James McMurtry, Bruce Robison, Hal Ketchum, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt.

“Country music-and just music in general really-lost a great friend today,” said George Strait via a statement. “His legend will live forever in Texas, though. We’ll never forget our friend Kent Finlay. Sad day.”

Finlay is survived by family members including daughter Jenni Finlay, a music manager and marketer.

• • •

Ed Sheeran guitar

Ed Sheeran X Signature Edition Guitar by C.F. Martin Guitar Co.

C.F. Martin & Co. has teamed again with Ed Sheeran, this time for another Signature Artist Edition guitar from the Martin Custom Shop, the Ed Sheeran X Signature Edition.

In 2013, Martin Guitar and Sheeran released the LX1E Ed Sheeran Signature Edition. The latest model is available for pre-order.

 

Farmer Named President of Chesney’s Fishbowl Spirits

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David Farmer

David Farmer

Fishbowl Spirits, LLC, has appointed David Farmer as President, effective immediately. Singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney wholly owns Fishbowl Spirits, the entity through which Chesney created and produces Blue Chair Bay Rum.

Farmer will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of Fishbowl Spirits’ operations and will report to Chesney, Fishbowl Spirits’ Chairman.

Farmer will continue to serve as Chesney’s tour manager, coordinating more than 100 employees during Chesney’s tours. Farmer was worked with the franchise for 18 years.

“Kenny understands how to create not just an incredible show, but a real connection with his fans,” says Farmer. “My goal is to harness that energy and translate that excitement into the Blue Chair Bay brand.”

Named Country Music Association’s Tour Manager of the Year in 2012, Farmer is also a long-standing member of the Business Hall of Fame at East Tennessee State University, where he and Chesney were friends and roommates.

“I’ve known David since we were kids playing football on the street. No one knows me and the things I stand for better than David. His business abilities have helped me take my music from bars to football stadiums. He will bring the same passion, management skills and attention to detail to Blue Chair Bay Rum,” said Chesney.