Who’s Earned Gold And Platinum in Nashville?

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riaalogoThe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has released Digital Singles and Standard Album Gold & Platinum Awards, up to January 2015.

Among those standard certifications are the 4x Platinum Taylor Swift (1989) and the Platinum Garth Brooks (Man Against The Machine) and Blake Shelton (Loaded: The Best Of Blake Shelton). Adele‘s 2011 project 21 has now been certified at 11x Platinum.

Digital certifications–which include one download for one certification and 100 on-demand audio and/or video streams as 1 certification–find Florida Georgia Line‘s single “Cruise” at 9x Platinum, and the duo’s 2014 single “Sun Daze” takes in Gold. Brantley Gilbert‘s single “Bottoms Up” moves 2x Platinum.

Swift’s 2008 single “You Belong With Me” moves into 7x Platinum, followed by her 2008 “I Knew You Were Trouble” at 6x Platinum, the 5x Platinum “Shake It Off” from 2014 and “Blank Space” strangely finds two slots, one at 3x and 2x Platinum (we’ll just assume it’s the former). Swift plots five additional singles on the January singles chart, including “Welcome To New York,” the single that donates the profits to NYC public schools.

Meghan Trainor‘s “All About That Bass” single has sold 6x Platinum, followed by her “Lips Are Movin” at 2x Platinum (again listed twice, another at 1x Platinum). The Band Perry‘s 2010 “If I Die Young” slides in with 6x Platinum, while label mates Eli Young Band takes in Platinum for “Drunk Last Night.” “Shotgun Rider” gives Tim McGraw Gold sales, next to BMLG rising star RaeLynn, whose “God Made Girls” also earns the status. Blake Shelton also earns Gold for “Neon Light.”

The full report can be found here.

Nashville Music Moguls Make ‘Billboard’ Power 100 List

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PIctured (clockwise, L-R): Scott Borchetta, Clint Higham, Mike Dungan, Brian O'Connell, Clarence Spalding, Louis Messina, and John Esposito.

Pictured (clockwise, from top left): Scott Borchetta, Clint Higham, Mike Dungan, Brian O’Connell, Clarence Spalding, Louis Messina, and John Esposito.

Billboard recently released its 2015 Power 100 Index, and some of Nashville’s power players are included alongside other top industry moguls.

Topping the list is Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, who led the charge in breaking four new artists in 2014, including Iggy Azalea, 5 Seconds of Summer, Sam Smith,and Ariana Grande, each selling more than 1 million albums and track equivalents in the United States in 2014. UMG also distributed the year’s best seller, Taylor Swift‘s 1989.

At No. 2 is Live Nation president/CEO Michael Rapino. Live Nation claimed 22 of 2014’s top 25 tours. Rapino helps guide some 20,000 employees in 100 offices around the world.

Rounding out the Top 10 are: Azoff MSG Entertainment’s Irving Azoff (No. 3), Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s Martin Bandier (No. 4), Apple’s Jimmy Iovine (No. 5), Red Light Management owner/founder Coran Capshaw (No. 6), Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris (No. 7), iHeartMedia Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman (No. 8), Creative Artist Agency’s Rob Light (No. 9), with Apple’s Eddy Cue and iTunes’ Robert Kondrk at No. 10.

Several power players with strong Nashville ties also made the rankings, including:

No. 23: Big Machine Label Group Founder/CEO Scott Borchetta
No. 33:  Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman/CEO Mike Dungan
No. 37: Live Nation president of country music touring Brian O’Connell
No. 66: Warner Music Nashville president/CEO John Esposito
No. 74: The Messina Group president Louis Messina
No. 76: Maverick partner Clarence Spalding
No. 93: Morris Higham Management’s Clint Higham

Luke Bryan To End 1.1 Million Sales Enterprise

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Luke-Bryan-Spring-Break-Checkin'-OutLuke Bryan will release his final Spring Break album, Spring Break…Checkin’ Out on March 10. Over the past seven years, the superstar has released five EPs which culminated into last year’s 14-song project. Total sales of the enterprise have reached over 1.1 million.

Spring Break…Checkin’ Out includes 11 tracks (six from last year’s release) and five new, original songs all co-written by the UMG Nashville artist. Walmart will carry an exclusive deluxe package, Luke Bryan Spring Break…The Set List: THE COMPLETE SPRING BREAK COLLECTION ZinePak, which will include a two-disk set with all 25 songs plus a 48-page magazine with exclusive interviews and photos from each of the previous spring break releases.

“My fans have been so wonderful to embrace these special spring break albums over the last seven years,” shared Bryan. “We’ve created a lot of amazing memories writing these songs and performing them at the beach shows in Florida. Those concerts are among the most enjoyable of my career!”’

In promotion of the party album, 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. In addition to receiving four nominations for April’s 50th Annual ACM Awards and a commitment to co-hosting the Texas gig for CBS, Bryan will be honored with a summer exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and will embark on a new tour in May, Kick The Dust Up Tour.

Pre-orders for the regular album are available now. The Walmart exclusive is expected to be in stores and at Walmart.com while supplies last.

Spring Break…Checkin’ Out Track List
1. My Ol’ Bronco
2. Games
3. She Get Me High
4. Spring Breakdown
5. Good Lookin’ Girl
6. Checkin’ Out
7. You And The Beach
8. Night One
9.   Like We Ain’t Ever
10. The Sand I Brought To The Beach
11. Are You Leaving With Him

Weekly Register: Sam Hunt Hangs At No. 1

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sam hunt11

Sam Hunt is No. 1 on the country tracks and albums charts.

It’s slow in sales land this time of year. In this post-holiday draught, there aren’t any notable new country releases this week, and there are none on the immediate horizon. The album release schedule starts to warm up in March, when new product is expected from Toby Keith, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and Josh Turner.

In the meantime, Sam Hunt hunkers down at No. 1 on the country tracks and albums charts. An overall sales uptick is expected from Sunday night’s Grammy Awards. Stay tuned.

Top 5 Country Albums
Sam Hunt, 14K, 288K RTD
Jason Aldean, 10K, 818K RTD
Carrie Underwood, 10K, 262K RTD
Blake Shelton, 9K, 317K RTD
FGL, 7K, 548K RTD

It is worth noting that indie turned new Atlantic signee Sturgill Simpson is swimming at No. 8 with 5K/ 97K RTD.

On the total consumption albums chart, the top three slots belong to Taylor Swift (101K), Ed Sheeran (74K) and Meghan Trainor (68K). The top country stars on the list are Sam Hunt at No. 16 with 25K, and Carrie Underwood at No. 24 with 18K.

The Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars hit “Uptown Funk” dances at No. 1 on the tracks chart, selling 365K TW and 3.2 million RTD.

Top 5 Country Tracks
Sam Hunt “Take Your Time” 43K/339K RTD
Blake Shelton ft. Ashley Monroe “Lonely Tonight” 28K/ 343K RTD
Thomas Rhett “Make Me Wanna” 25K/ 405K RTD
FGL “Sun Daze” 25K/ 446K RTD
Luke Bryan “I See You” 24K/ 371K RTD

 

Industry Ink: Arista Nashville, Music Services, Brenda Lee, YEP, AMA

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Arista artist Cam visits SiriusXM

Arista Nashville’s newest artist, Cam, recently stopped by SiriusXM to discuss her new single “My Mistake” and her first radio promo tour.

Pictured (L-R): Lesly Simon (VP, Arista Nashville), John Marks (SiriusXM), and Cam.

Pictured (L-R): Lesly Simon (VP, Arista Nashville), John Marks (SiriusXM), and Cam.

 

Napier Exits Music Services 

musicservicesDue to restructuring, Music Services’ Jill Napier, who served as director of copyright management of the Brentwood-based record and publishing administrator has left the company and seeking new opportunities.

Napier can be reached at jillnapier510@comcast.net or (615) 613-1323.

 

Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) Event To Feature Lauren Alaina

yep11On Monday, Feb. 9. The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville will host industry organization Young Industry Professionals (YEP), and the Song Suffragettes for an evening of music, featuring Lauren Alaina. 

The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by a networking hour from 7:30 pm.

Americana Music Association Extends Registration Rate

AmericanaThe Americana Music Association has extended the special early bird conference registration rate of $265 for Americana Music Association members through Feb. 15, 2015.

This year, the association will restrict the number of registrations sold to 2,000. The current non-member rate is $415. For more information, visit americanamusic.org.

 

 

Brenda Lee Signs New Booking Agency Deal

Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee has signed with The Agency Group for worldwide representation.

Neil Warnock has signed on as Lee’s agent.

Bandsintown Connects With Fans Via Touring Management App

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Bandsintown_logo_300dpi1Artists and artist managers who use Bandsintown now have a new way of tracking behavioral analytics of concertgoers, and a new way of connecting with fans. The web-based service, which is used by more than 15 million concert-goers, introduced the new Bandsintown Manager app today (Feb. 3). The free app is available on Facebook, iOS and Android, and the analytics tool is available to artists with more than 100 “trackers,” or fans who use Bandsintown to receive an artist’s concert updates.

The tool allows artists to know where their largest concentration of fans is located, in order to plan tour stops. The data can also aid artists and managers with tour routing, ticket sales, and more. They can also repost fans’ concert photos and videos, direct message fans, and edit tour dates.

Bandsintown’s new analytics tool follows companies such as Spotify, Pandora, and Kobalt, which have added analytics dashboards in recent years.

Kalatech Named Winner in Sixth Annual Nashville Technology Council Awards

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Back Row: Brian Huddleston (Nashville Tech Council) Debby Farmer (DevDigital) Will Hackett (Kalatech), Josh Griffin (DevDigital.) Front Row: Mitch Ballard (DevDigital), Brittany Wegusen (Kalatech), Melissa Hollis (Kalatech), Max Black (Kalatech), Peter Marcum (DevDigital)

Back Row: Brian Huddleston (Nashville Tech Council) Debby Farmer (DevDigital) Will Hackett (Kalatech), Josh Griffin (DevDigital.) Front Row: Mitch Ballard (DevDigital), Brittany Wegusen (Kalatech), Melissa Hollis (Kalatech), Max Black (Kalatech), Peter Marcum (DevDigital)

Kalatech, a cloud-based platform for music professionals in the touring, booking and publishing industries, won “Early Stage Company of the Year” at the sixth annual Nashville Technology Council Awards, held Thursday at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Kalatech serves some of the Nashville music industry’s best-known artists, songwriters, and industry members, including artists such as Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, songwriters including Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, and Tony Conway of booking agency Conway Entertainment Group. Kalatech, a subsidiary of programming and development firm DevDigital, is headed by Brittany Wegusen, one of the small-but-growing number of young, female IT entrepreneurs making waves in the Nashville music business scene.

“Since launching in May 2014, we’ve experienced rapid growth, and we now have more than 70 clients,” Wegusen said. “We think our company really embodies the spirit of the Early Stage Company award. We hope to be able to make more announcements in 2015 about big-name clients and new products that will continue to help companies in the music business run more efficiently and effectively.”

In addition to running the day-to-day operations at Kalatech, Wegusen will also serve as a speaker and mentor for the startups selected for the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s Project Music program, a 14-week program that began Jan. 18.

Winners at the NTC awards.

Winners at the NTC awards.

Weekly Register: Sam Hunt Takes His Time on Albums, Tracks Charts

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montevallo1111It might be an understatement to say newcomer and MCA Nashville artist Sam Hunt is having a great week. Not only did he celebrate his first No. 1 single with a party in Nashville earlier this week, but he has the top-selling country song and country album in the country this week, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Blake Shelton and Carrie Underwood also make strong showings in the Top 5 on both the albums and tracks charts this week.

Tracks

Hunt’s “Take Your Time” is the top-selling country track this week (and No. 22 overall), notching 48k units. He is followed by Florida Georgia Line‘s “Sun Daze” with 33k, Blake Shelton (ft. Ashley Monroe)’s “Lonely Tonight” with 30k, Carrie Underwood‘s “Something In The Water” with 27k, and Luke Bryan‘s “I See You” with 25k.

Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars‘ “Uptown Funk” remains the top-selling track this week, with 344k this week, and 2.8 million RTD. This week’s top debut overall was Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney‘s “FourFiveSeconds” which debuted at No. 15 overall, selling 53k units.

Overall track sales are down 11.6 percent YTD, while country track sales YTD are down 18.2 percent. This time last year, Katy Perry had the top track with “Dark Horse” at 294k units, and Luke Bryan had the top country track with “Drink A Beer” selling 53k.

Albums

WeeklyReg1The Top 5 country albums this week are Sam Hunt’s Montevallo (16k), Jason Aldean‘s Old Boots, New Dirt (10.5k), Carrie Underwood’s Greatest Hits: Decade #1 (9.3k), Blake Shelton’s Bringing Back The Sunshine (9.1k), and Garth Brooks‘ Man Against Machine (8.6k).

Fall Out Boy debuts at No. 1 on the Top 200 albums chart this week, with the album American Beauty/American Psycho selling 218k in total consumption, with 192k of those being albums. Digital albums accounted for 77 percent of the 192k units.

The top debut on the country album chart this week was Ralph Stanley‘s Man of Constant Sorrow, selling 3.4k.

Overall album sales were down .4 percent YTD, while overall country album sales were up .7 percent. This week last year, the soundtrack for Frozen sold 93k, while Jennifer Nettles‘ That Girl had the top-selling country album, with 19k sold.

Coming Soon

2/17 Mavericks, Aaron Watson
3/3 Toby Keith
3/10 Luke Bryan Spring Break Compilation
3/24 Easton Corbin, Montgomery Gentry
3/31 Josh Turner

Nashville-based Cingle Records Opens

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Rainey Qualley

Rainey Qualley

Full-service label, Cingle Records, has formed in Nashville with Ohio businesswoman Edie Steel and a veteran team assembled to lead, brand, market, promote and publicize the company and its artists.

Dallas and Nashville attorney John Shackelford, of Shackelford, Bowen, Zumwalt & Hayes, will lead the new venture. Executive Russ Zavitson of Zavitson Music Group will handle A&R for the label and produce  the first signing to the label, artist Rainey Qualley.

Michael Powers‘ and Matt Corbin‘s Star Farm Nashville company will lead radio promotion efforts. Jay Frank’s DigMark company will cover Cingle’s online marketing efforts, and Nashville branding agency St8mnt will manage traditional branding and marketing campaigns. Thirty Tigers will distribute product released on the label, and Vanessa Davis and Craig Campbell will handle publicity through their company The POD. Denise Zavitson will project manage all aspects of Cingle Records.

Qualley’s debut single will be worked to country radio the first quarter of 2015.

Ram Truck, Miranda Lambert Launch New Marketing Initiative

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Miranda Lambert Ram TrucksThe Ram Truck brand launches a new marketing initiative this week featuring Grammy® Award-winner Miranda Lambert and a custom “Roots and Wings” song Lambert wrote exclusively for the campaign.

The campaign includes television, print, digital, social media and long-form video elements and is the next phase of the partnership between Lambert and Ram, which was first announced in November 2014.

“Ram has become the fastest growing truck brand by challenging the status quo, and our partnership with Miranda Lambert does just that,” said Olivier Francois, Chief Marketing Officer, FCA – Global. “Building a new marketing campaign around the hugely successful and popular country music artist, and her original song inspired by the characteristics of our brand, is a first for Ram. It is courageous, just like Ram and Miranda. It will broaden the appeal of both of our brands beyond our core audiences as we connect with our respective fans in new, meaningful ways.”

Lambert’s story is told through live action video combined with illustrations, animation and vintage styling. Many of the landscapes are actual locations that are part of Lambert’s life and all of the featured still photos are her personal family photos.

“I am very inspired by what the Ram brand stands for – being who you are, working hard, staying true to your roots,” Lambert said. “I wanted to write a song that would represent all of those things. ‘Roots and Wings’ is personal to me about where I come from and where I am going. The guys at Ram really made the lyrics come to life with the imagery and I hope it speaks to people the way it does to me.”

The “Roots and Wings” video will include 30- and 60-second spots, which launched Jan. 22 on broadcast and cable networks. A 15-second digital spot will also run in select media. The campaign will also include print advertisements.

Lambert’s Certified Platinum Tour will include Ram Truck branding. The 60-second “Roots and Wings” video will be played just before Lambert takes the stage after intermission and in-venue creative displays will also be visible. The silver Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn is the Official Truck of the Certified Platinum tour, and will tow Lambert’s Airstream trailer, “Wanda the Wanderer,” to each venue. The truck will also be on display, allowing fans who attend the concerts to post pictures at #RootsWingsRAM for a chance to win a Miranda Lambert and Ram prize pack.

The campaign was created in partnership with Ram Trucks’ advertising agency Dallas-based The Richards Group and Nashville-based G7 Entertainment Marketing.