Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith Reunite For Tour

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Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith are teaming up for a 20-city tour. It will be their first non-holiday outing together in more than two decades. The 2 Friends tour is slated to kick off in early February.

They are hitting the road in support of their new releases: Grant’s Somewhere Down The Road, and Smith’s Wonder.

The two first toured together in 1982 on Grant’s Age to Age Tour. Smith was Grant’s keyboard player and opening act. They toured together on and off for the rest of the decade.

Combined, Grant and Smith have won nine GRAMMY® Awards and sold more than 47 million albums.

Strait, McEntire and Womack on Tour 2011

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George Strait

George Strait, Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack have announced 18 tour dates kicking off Jan. 14 in Austin, TX and wrapping April 9 in Louisville, KY. This follows Strait and McEntire’s co-headlining arena tour in 2010.

Strait and McEntire are both nominated for awards at the 44th Annual CMA Awards, taking place this Wednesday (11/10) in Nashville. Strait is up for “Male Vocalist of the Year” award for the 24th time and is also nominated for “Album of the Year” for Twang. Reba is nominated for “Female Vocalist of the Year.”

For more information on the tour and ticket on sale dates, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com,  www.Reba.com and www.LeeAnnWomack.com.

Brooks Benefit Sells Out Nine Dates

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Garth Brooks has sold out a record-breaking nine concerts at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in one day, marking the first time that any performer ever sold that number of tickets in the state of Tennessee. Over 140,000 tickets were sold raising an incredible $3.5 million for Nashville flood victims. (Michael Jackson held the previous record of 72,000 in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.)

Brooks will play nine full concerts in six days when he appears on Dec. 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 and 22.

“A very special thanks to Ben Farrell, country radio, the great people at Ticketmaster and everyone who helped with the onsale…and most of all the people who showed up to get tickets. It’s great to be a part of the healing” said Brooks.

Brooks announced the concert on October 28th alongside Governor Phil Bredesen, Senator Lamar Alexander, Senator Bob Corker, Congressman Jim Cooper, Congressman Marsha Blackburn, Mayor Karl Dean and Ellen Lehman, President of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, with the hope of bringing renewed attention to the needs of the victims of the Tennessee floods.

Tickets were $25.00 (plus a $2.50 user fee and $5.00 service charge) with 100% of the proceeds going to the Community Foundation Tennessee Flood Relief.

Stagecoach Country Music Festival Tickets On Sale

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Tickets for the fifth annual Stagecoach Country Music Festival, to take place Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1st, 2011, are now on sale. For a limited time, general admission passes for the entire weekend are only $99. Reserved seating with exclusive VIP access is also available.

The popular festival, which is held at Empire Polo Field in Indio, California, offers onsite camping and a layaway program for ticket and camping packages.

Performers for the festival include Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Loretta Lynn, Leon Russell, Ricky Skaggs, Mel Tillis, Rodney Crowell, The Punch Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Steel Magnolia and Jack Ingram.  Full lineup, tickets, and other information available here.

Live Nation Suffers Concert Decline

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Live Nation Entertainment Chief Executive Michael Rapino

The Associated Press is reporting that Live Nation Entertainment 3rd quarter net income fell to $51.4 million or 30 cents per share compared with $69.2 million/78 cents per share during the same period last year. The disappointing results were blamed upon heavy discounting of summer ticket prices. Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in Jan. 2010.

AP reports Chief LNE Executive Officer Michael Rapino told analysts on a conference call Thursday the company is “scared of what will happen in November and December if that trend continues.” Live Nation reports that third quarter concert attendance dropped 16% to 16.4 million.

“Clearly the adverse economic environment has negatively impacted our concert business during the 2010 year so far, and has had a similar impact on our ticketing and artist businesses as well,” said Irving Azoff, Executive Chairman of Live Nation Entertainment. “We continue to grow our Artist Nation business with new signings and acquisitions. While our roster of superstar clients and tour schedules for 2011 remains strong, we need some improvement in the overall economic environment in order to optimize profits going forward.”

Country tours may be doing better than other formats perhaps due to more affordable ticket pricing and added value in the form of packaging multiple acts into one show. According to The Tennessean, last October’s International Entertainment Buyers Association conference in Nashville, “was already coping with less-than-good news about the music trade at the time because of lousy ticket sales and canceled shows at virtually every major concert venue in the first half of this year. Without being able to charge higher ticket prices and with corporate sponsorship dollars falling off, some concert venues might have to rethink whether they can afford the big-name acts they’ve been accustomed to booking, some participants said.”

“We know that they want to come, but we’ve got to make it affordable for them,” said Rapino.

Kenny Chesney to Co-Headline Stadium Tour with Zac Brown Band

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Kenny Chesney announced his return to the stage for a nine stadium “Goin’ Coastal Tour”. When the four time CMA/ACM Entertainer of the year sets out on the 2011 tour, he will be joined by co-headliners The Zac Brown Band, plus special guests Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker.

“With four acts on the bill, we’ve created these shows as all-day events, and are working hard to make them affordable for our fans,” says tour promoter Louis Messina. Chesney will make at least 7,000 tickets available at $25 at the majority of the stadium dates.

Tickets for the first leg for of the tour will go on sale starting Nov. 20, with a presale available for registered fan club members at kennychesney.com. Additional arena and amphitheater dates to follow.

Chesney took a 2010 hiatus from the road, to produce a documentary about high school football, “The Boys of Fall,” which shares the name of his first radio single from his latest album, Hemingway’s Whiskey.

Kenny Chesney 2011 Tour
(Stadium Dates Only – co-headline with Zac Brown Band)

Sat Mar 19 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium (on sale Sat Dec 11)
Sat Apr 16 – Dallas, TX – Cowboys Stadium (on sale Sat Dec 4)
Sat Jun 4 – Washington, DC – FedEx Field – (on sale Fri Dec 3)
Sat Jun 11 – Green Bay, WI – Lambeau Field (on sale Sat Dec 11)
Sat Jun 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field (on sale Sat Nov 20)
Sat Jul 2 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field (on sale Sat Dec 4)
Sat Jul 30 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium (on sale Sat Dec 4)
Sat Aug 20 – Detroit, MI – (on sale Sat Dec 4)
Sat Aug 27- Foxboro, MA – Gillette Stadium (on sale Sat Nov 20)

Radio Use Shrinks; Concert Industry Faltering

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This slide shows that radio usage in a 24 hr. period has dropped from 2:43 in 2000 to 1 hr. 24 minutes in 2010. Conversely, Internet usage has expanded from 59 minutes, to 2:52 in 2010. Time spent reading magazines and newspapers has fallen. TV use has grown slightly.


Radio’s Future II: The 2010 American Youth Study conducted by Edison Research and sponsored by Radio-info.com contains a multitude of slides showing changes in attitude toward radio and other media since the study was conducted a decade ago in 2000. Results are based upon 1,533 interviews nationwide, split almost evenly between age 12-24 demo and age 22-34 demo. While this sequel to the 2000 study measures large changes in media and radio use there are also some interesting slides that do not concern radio.

For example, it is not surprising that cell phone ownership increased from 29% in 2000 to 81% in 2010. Of the 81%, 43% say theirs is a smart phone. When the age 12-24 group was asked how often they read a printed newspaper, 58% said, “Never” and 28% answered “sometimes.”

When asked “How many concerts you attended in the last year?” it became clear that the current economy has not bolstered attendance. In 2000 24% of 12-24s went to three or more concerts and 43% said, “none.” In 2010 only 12% said “three or more,” and 64% replied “none.” In 2000 the mean was 2.1 concerts attended, but ten years later the 2010 mean is .9.

The study also addresses the growth of Internet radio streams and apps such as Pandora. In its recommendations it suggests, “Send more stations after these demos or watch them fade away–the consumer and the advertisers still see radio as a youth medium–why don’t the owners? Claim Internet audio or lose it. It can’t be just your over-the-air product. It must be a font of innovation. Learn from what is driving Pandora.”

This graph shows the steady decline in album sales over the 10 year period, falling from 785 million to 2000 to 380 million in 2009.

Ticket Details For Garth Brooks In Nashville

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Fans who want to get in to see Garth Brooks’ first full-scale concert in 10 years will be manning their computers and phones on Saturday morning (11/6). The die-hard devotees will be hitting the box office tomorrow (11/4).

As announced last week, Brooks and wife Trisha Yearwood are set for a flood relief benefit at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 17. Superstar guests are expected to perform.

Tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster on Saturday morning, Nov. 6 at 10 AM/CT. They will be priced at $25 plus fees and there will an eight-ticket limit. Available at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster charge by phone at 1–800-745‑3000 or Ticketmaster Express at 1–866-448‑7849.

Here are the details on purchasing in person at the Bridgestone.

Random numbered wristbands will be given out at the outlets and the Bridgestone Arena Box Office beginning 10AM Thursday, Nov 4 through Friday, Nov 5 at 7PM or while supplies last. The wristband does not guarantee a ticket, ONLY a place in line. The wristband will be placed on your left wrist and wristband holders must return to the same location they received their wristband by or before 845AM Saturday, Nov 6th. If wristband holders show up after 845AM then they must go to the late line. Everybody with a wristband has a chance to be first in line if they arrive by or before 845AM. Those fans without wristbands will be allowed to line up behind wristband holders first come, first served. Must be at least 12 years old and able to be in line unaccompanied. 8 ticket limit. Cash only at the Bridgestone Arena and all outlets.

The Songwriter Agency Opens In Nashville

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The Songwriter Agency, a firm centered on booking hit songwriters in mainstream venues, has opened its doors in Nashville. Music industry veterans Paul Compton, Randy Harrell, and Rod Parkin co-founded the agency, which already has a roster of over 30 country, rock, and pop writers.

Among those on the roster are Regie Hamm (David Cook’s “Time Of My Life”), Buddy Cannon, Wynn Varble, Deanna Bryant (Keith Urban’s “Stupid Boy”), and Phillip White (Rascal Flatts’ “I’m Moving On”).

“We created The Songwriter Agency as an outlet for some of the most talented and gifted composers and creators of award-winning music to get out and perform their songs,” says Compton, President/co-founder of the company. “Music fans know the songs, now they’ll get a chance to listen to the creators of songs that are literally woven in the fabric of our lives.”

For booking opportunities contact Randy Harrell at 904-437-8463 or [email protected].

Leon Russell/Elton John Collaboration; Artists Crossing Borders

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Leon Russell Signs Deal with UMPG for Elton John Collaboration

Legendary songwriter and artist Leon Russell has signed a worldwide co-publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) for The Union, his collaboration with Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin. The Union was released on October 19th.

Russell, John and Taupin co-wrote the album, which is their first studio collaboration, with producer T Bone Burnett. A tour is in the works for John and Russell in 2011.

“Leon Russell is a legend in his own right,” says UMPG Chairman/CEO David Renzer. “Teaming with Elton John and Bernie Taupin has resulted in a special record that will be a true event around the globe. We’re honored to have Leon join the UMPG family and look forward to seeing this project achieve worldwide acclaim and success.”

Russell’s career spans over five decades, and he has collaborated with artists including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Sinatra, B.B. King, Glen Campbell, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones.

Border Crossing

Touring artists crossing the U.S./Canadian border now have a resource to assist them with the process. Border Entertainment is a service company that provides business consultation and ease when moving between the United States and Canada, saving clients time and money.

Entertainers touring in other countries need to be aware of Immigration, Customs, Tax and Labor laws in the host country, and if proper paperwork is not completed, offenders can face inspections and interrogations.

The Border Entertainment customer service team works with clients to ensure a smooth entry and exit to another country. More information is available here.