CMA Announces Donation Drive, Sarah Trahern Talks Ongoing COVID Support [Interview]

/by

Through its Music Industry COVID Support (MICS) initiative, the Country Music Association has helped aid music industry professionals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today (March 9) the organization announced a support donation drive benefiting Musically Fed and will be accepting goods at the CMA office (35 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203) Monday, March 15 through Friday, March 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Among the items needed are basic food items such as pasta and rice, as well as toiletries.

Food Items Needed:
Dried Pasta & Sauce
Oatmeal, Cereal
Canned Fish/Meat
Canned Fruits/Veggies
Soup, Crackers
Rice, Quinoa, Dry Beans
Peanut Butter
Nuts

Toiletries Needed:
Toothpaste
Laundry Detergent
Dish Soap
Hand Soap
Body Wash
Shaving Cream
Toilet Paper
Paper Towels

Musically Fed also has an Amazon Wish List, from which donations can be purchased before March 19. To direct your purchase to the food drive, select “Country Music Association, c/o FOOD DRIVE’s Gift registry” as the shipping address.

Sarah Trahern. Photo: Courtesy CMA

CMA CEO Sarah Trahern spoke to MusicRow about the donation drive, and about CMA’s continued efforts to help support music industry professionals who are struggling during this health crisis.

In the state of Tennessee alone, more than 50,000 music jobs have been impacted by the pandemic, and that number is estimated to be hundreds of thousands more nationwide.

“One of the people on our board drew a diagram for us one day and around this person’s artist, there were about 140 people directly on the road food chain—not to mention the manager in the office, a publicist, and a freelance staff,” Trahern says.

“We started working on ‘What can we do over the course of the year?’ Some of it is hard investment dollars.”

At the onset of the pandemic, CMA donated $1 million to The Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund in addition to a $100,000 donation to Music Health Alliance.

CMA has since outlined additional funding to six nonprofit partners—Music Health Alliance, Musically Fed, Notes for Notes, Porter’s Call, The Store and Touring Professionals Alliance Kitchen —which, along with previous nonprofit investments, are funded through CMA’s $3 million long-term COVID-19 commitment that began in early 2020.

The organization has continued to analyze and assess the specific needs of music professionals to determine the most vital resources and services to provide. Established as a portal for key resources in the categories of food supply, health and wellness, and career services, MICS helps to connect industry professionals with appropriate nonprofit partners offering critical support.

“One of the things that I was most proud of during this time was a small program that we worked on to help people with their resumes and to find temporary jobs for people who don’t have work right now. We don’t want them to leave our business, but they might need access to a job for six months.

“[The donation drive] is something easy for us to engage the people in the Nashville community and the people in the music community, the ones who are doing okay right now to say, ‘Hey, come lean in and help us. Help us help our brethren get back on their feet.”

While Trahern is hopeful that touring is on the horizon with vaccines beginning to roll out, programs like the resume workshop and the upcoming donation drive are put in place to help get touring professionals to the other side. “They’re not a population that is used to asking for help,” she says. “They’re the people in black, they’re the ones who crawl up in the rafters. Our business was one of the first businesses to close and we’ll probably be the last one to open back up in a lot of ways.”

CMA will march on to support the music industry during this hardship. “We’re going to continue to support programs around the country. We’re doing another nationwide program that will be announced in the next few weeks with six to eight markets that are music cities outside of Nashville, but that have a high density of people in the music business who are hurting right now. We’ll continue our support with groups like the Music Health Alliance, and Porter’s Call to work on creating access to mental health resources during this time.”

Corey Crowder Breaks Into Top Five On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

/by

Corey Crowder. Photo: Nicola Harger

Songwriter-producer Corey Crowder makes his way into the top five on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart this week, as a co-writer on Florida Georgia Line’s “Long Live,” Blake Shelton’s “Minimum Wage,” Chris Young and Kane Brown’s “Famous Friends,” and Chase Rice feat. Florida Georgia Line’s “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen.”

Josh Osborne remains at No. 1 again this week, with Morgan Wallen’s “Sand In My Boots,” Darius Rucker’s “Beers And Sunshine,” Rascal Flatts’ “How They Remember You,” Sam Hunt’s “Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s,” and Carly Pearce’s “Next Girl.”

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

Kobalt Music Signs Admin Deal With Claire Guerreso

/by

Claire Guerreso

Singer-songwriter Claire Guerreso has signed an exclusive administrative agreement with Kobalt Music.

Combining all genres of music into a power mixture of her own song creations, Guerreso specializes in making and performing music for media outlets such as film and TV as well as writing with and for other artists.

Her ability to both write and perform in any genre has taken her music around the world. Equally apt at writing dark, ethereal songs, upbeat dance tracks and introspective ballads, her music has been featured in shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, Reign, Lucifer, Pretty Little Liars, Shades of Blue, The Walking Dead, American Ninja Warrior and more. She has also had placements in national ad campaigns for Samsung and Ford. In total, her music has garnered an excess of 20 million streams across all platforms.

“I am very happy to be working with Kobalt and their amazing team,” says Guerreso. “It feels great to be a creative part of this company with people who are passionate about music and finding the right place for songs. I’m excited to see what we can do together!”

“I’m very excited to welcome Claire to the Kobalt family. Her ability to work across multiple genres, international markets and the tremendous success she’s had in the Sync world makes her the perfect fit for our creative roster,” says Kobalt GM, Jesse Willoughby.

Sony’s Beyond The Instrument Initiative Benefits Music Education

/by

Noah Cyrus is the inaugural ambassador for Beyond The Instrument.

Sony Music Group has launched Beyond The Instrument, an annual program to advance educational resources and promote career development within the music industry.

Noah Cyrus is the inaugural program ambassador and will kick off an educational workshop series with a virtual discussion with students at Antioch High School in Nashville. The four-week series of music industry education workshops is part of a partnership between Sony and Music Forward.

Sony’s Beyond The Instrument program will also fund the Save The Music J Dilla Music Technology Grant, offering a comprehensive package of musical instruments, sound engineering equipment, and technology software which will be delivered to the school in time for the 2021-22 school year.

Cyrus said, “Music has always been such a huge part of my life and I was extremely fortunate to grow up in a family where I was constantly surrounded by music; I really experienced the benefits firsthand of learning and creating music at a very young age, providing me an emotional outlet and passion that I am still beyond thankful for everyday. This is why I am so honored and excited to be the inaugural program ambassador of Beyond The Instrument, and for the chance to give back to Nashville, a city that’s very near and dear to my heart.”

Tim McGraw To Headline Virtual Heart Strings For Hope Benefit

/by

An all-star line-up of performers including Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Scotty McCreery, Ashley McBryde and Lauren Alaina are set for MultiCare’s Heart Strings for Hope concert. The event will be streamed across the nation on March 9 and will raise funds to support mental health care, while providing hope and healing through music.

Hosted by Bryan White, the schedule also includes Jordan Fisher, Mat Kearney, Payton Smith, Lindsay Ell, Lindsey Lomis, Matthew West, Cory Wong, Chuck Wicks, Phil Vassar, Mitch Rossell, Jimmy Wayne, Lexie Hayden, Marc Broussard, Craig Campbell, Jason Crabb, Payton Smith, Ty Herndon, Terri Clark, Music Travel Love, Troubadour 77, and Kade Puckett.

Tickets and donations made through vye.live will jointly benefit MultiCare Inland Northwest Foundation and MusiCares. The Foundation will use the proceeds to elevate and expand access to care for Behavioral Health services in the Inland Northwest. MusiCares will use the proceeds to support mental health care in the music community across the nation.

The show will be streamed live and tickets are pay what you can: $10, $25, $50 per household.

Big Yellow Dog Music Promotes Two In Label Services Department

/by

Pictured (L-R): Kara Tusch and Claire Karlia

Big Yellow Dog Music has promoted Kara Tusch to Director, Label Services, and Claire Karliak to Senior Coordinator, Label Services.

Tusch joined BYDM in 2016 and was previously the Label Services Manager. In the new role she will oversee Big Yellow Dog Music label projects and releases including marketing and digital strategies, DSP coordination, and release timelines. A native of Connecticut, she received her Music Business degree from Belmont University in 2015. Her college internships included a stint at Big Yellow Dog Music, which led her to be hired as Social Media Coordinator in 2016.

“Kara has such dedication and passion for our artists and their unique projects,” said Big Yellow Dog Music co-owner and CEO Carla Wallace. “During this past year, her leadership skills were so important to our success. Hats off to this rising star!”

Karliak joined in 2020 and previously worked as Label Services Coordinator. In her new role she will assist with all Big Yellow Dog Music label projects and releases including distribution coordination, social media and marketing efforts, and digital advertising. Originally from Ohio, Karliak graduated from Belmont University as a Music Business major in 2019.

“Claire has been an incredible support to the label team throughout the past year!” said Tusch. “Her attention to detail, overall enthusiasm, and personal approach with our artists has been instrumental.”

Big Yellow Dog Music’s recent label releases include Leah Nobel’s rising hit “Beginning Middle End” (from Netflix’s To All the Boys: Always and Forever), the 2021 Grammy-nominated Blue Umbrella by Burt Bacharach and Daniel Tashian, Tashian’s 2020 Grammy-nominated children’s album I Love Rainy Days, and Logan Mize’s Still That Kid.

Weekly Register: ‘Dangerous’ Joins Elite List Of Record-Breaking Albums

/by

Morgan Wallen. Photo: John Shearer

Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous is ruling the charts for the eighth consecutive week. He has a grip on the top two spots on the country songs streaming chart, as well as the top country album in the nation. With this streak, his ambitious double album joins an elite list (see below) of only six other country projects to have spent eight or more weeks at No. 1, according to Billboard.

Top 5 Country Albums: Dangerous: The Double Album logged 82K this week for a release-to-date total of 1.139 million. Rounding out the Top 5 country albums are Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get (28K) and This One’s For You (17K), Wallen’s If I Know Me (16K) and Chris Stapleton‘s Starting Over (14K).

Top 5 Country Streaming Songs
Morgan Wallen “Wasted on You” 8 million this week/86 million RTD
Morgan Wallen “Sand In My Boots” 7.1 million/77 million
Niko Moon “Good Time” 6.9 million/182 million
Luke Combs “Better Together” 6.5 million/269 million
Gabby Barrett “The Good Ones” 6.1 million/131 million

Lil Tjay f/ 6lack dials up the No. 1 song overall with “Calling My Phone” scoring 19 million streams.

Country Albums That Spent 8-Plus Weeks at No. 1 
Garth Brooks, Ropin’ the Wind
Billy Ray Cyrus, Some Gave All
Taylor Swift, Fearless
Garth Brooks, The Hits
Eagles, Hotel California
Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album

Source: Billboard

Guy Clark Documentary Offers Virtual Screening Opportunities

/by

Without Getting Killed or Caught, a documentary about the life and legend that is songwriter Guy Clark, has announced a number of additional screenings beginning on March 23. All of the events will include a 90-minute showing of the documentary, available to view during the allotted screening time, followed by a 20-minute discussion with special guests.

The film chronicles the relationship between Clark, his wife Susanna Clark, and fellow musician Townes Van Zandt, and pulls from Susanna’s personal diaries as well as Tamara Saviano’s 2016 Clark biography. It was produced and directed by longtime Americana music producer/executive Saviano and filmmaker Paul Whitfield, and features interviews with Clark himself along with poignant reflections from some of his closest friends and musical allies, including Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Verlon Thompson, and Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, as well as record executive Barry Poss.

All showings will be priced at $25. A full list of screenings is below and more information, including where to purchase tickets, can be found at withoutgettingkilledorcaught.com/tickets.

The film is set to make its virtual world premiere at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival on March 18 at 10 AM CT and can be watched by badge holders at any time throughout the duration of the festival.

 

YouTube video

Without Getting Killed or Caught virtual screening schedule:

    • Tuesday, March 23, 7 PM ET: Kessler Presents, discussion with Rodney Crowell.
    • Thursday, April 8, 7 PM ET: YETI Presents, discussion with Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay.
    • Friday, April 16, 9 PM ET: YETI Presents, discussion with Sarah Jarosz.
    • Sunday, April 18, 1 PM ET: SiriusXM Outlaw Country Presents, discussion with Steve Earle.
    • Thursday, April 22, 7 PM ET: YETI Presents, discussion with Andrew Combs.
    • Sunday, April 25, 1 PM ET: American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks Presents, discussion with Kix Brooks.

All screenings powered by Seer.

Tauren Wells To Release ‘Citizen Of Heaven (Live)’

/by

Tauren Wells is giving fans who have been missing concerts a taste of his live show with new album Citizen of Heaven LIVE, which features 15 tracks and four accompanying videos recorded during his album launch event in January 2020 at Lakewood Church in his hometown of Houston. The album is slated for release April 16.

“My favorite thing about creating an album is anticipating what the live versions of the songs will become,” said Wells. “Having a song come alive for the first time in the writing room or the studio is a crazy feeling, but there is a different energy and excitement when the song comes alive in a room full of people! We captured all that fire on this new live album, and it is a full-on heatwave! You’re about to dance, cry, laugh, and worship all at the same time so be prepared. The people in the car next to you are going to be really confused!!”

Wells, a six-time Dove award winner (including 2020 CCM Artist of the Year and Album of the Year), Platinum-singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, and public speaker, has accumulated 776 million total solo career global streams.

He is currently on the Toby Mac Hits Deep Tour 2021, wrapping up the spring leg last weekend with three consecutive nights at the Allen Event Center in Allen, TX, and will also join the fall leg of the tour.

Citizen of Heaven LIVE Track List:

  • Never Gonna Let Me Go
  • All My Love
  • Miracle
  • When We Pray
  • There’s Something About That Name (feat. Davies)
  • All My Hope
  • Citizen of Heaven Intro
  • Citizen of Heaven
  • God’s Not Done with You
  • Echo (feat. Davies)
  • Until Grace (feat. Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts)
  • Known
  • Like You Love Me
  • Famous For (I Believe) / Do It Again (feat. Jenn Johnson & Christine D’Clario)
  • Hills and Valleys

Details: Lambert’s Casa Rosa To Bring Taste Of Texas To Tennessee

/by

Miranda Lambert has shared some details around her new Casa Rosa bar and restaurant on Broadway in Nashville, set to open this summer in partnership with TC Restaurant Group.

The four-level entertainment complex will feature three floors of live music and nightlife, including a rooftop bar, and another highlight, the “Pink House,” will be home to some of Lambert’s most recognizable and important memorabilia. The “Pink House” will include the birdcage from her No. 1 song and CMA Video of the Year “Bluebird,” unique clothing and set pieces from her video shoots, a dazzling rhinestone saddle modeled after a favorite of hers from Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, a customized “Yellow Rose” wall for photos, and dozens of items that highlight milestones and special moments in the country singer’s life.

“I’m so excited to have a honky tonk with my name on it! Casa Rosa will be a little taste of Texas in Tennessee,” said Lambert. “Tacos, tequila and tufted pink booths, what else can a girl ask for? This place is special to me and I’m happy to be representing  the ladies here in Music City! See y’all down there!”

“We’re very excited to be working with Miranda; such an iconic artist with a fantastic fan base,” said Grant Burlingame, vice president of operations for TC Restaurant Group. “This last year has provided us the ability to really put focus and attention toward this project and we can’t wait for her fans to be a part of this experience.”