The Women’s Music Business Association has announced a new program allowing members and alumni to engage with one another. Leading the program are WMBA Alumni Co-Chairs Aimee Graham and Melissa Flaxman, overseen by WMBA Executive Board member Lindsey Clark.

The alumni series will kick-off on March 31 at 6 p.m. via Zoom, with a conversation with Clark (Deaton Flanigen Productions), Executive Board Chairwoman Brandi Simms (MooTV, Moo Creative & The Steel Mill), and board member Amery Fridenstine (Above Board Consulting). The event is open to members and alumni of WMBA, as well as the public.

Furthermore, the alumni program will be creating more opportunities for the membership and alumni to come together through mentorship programs, social events, and more.

Joining Simms, Clark and Fridenstine on the WMBA board are Cameo Carlson (Mtheory Nashville), Mary Catherine Kinney (Spotify), and Legal Counsel Lauren Spahn (Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley, & Norton LLP).

Celebrating its 21st year, the WMBA is dedicated to fostering opportunities for women within the music industry through education, networking, industry involvement, and community service.

Brandi Carlile. Photo: Sachyn Mital

Brandi Carlile will lend a hand to a few deserving organizations with her upcoming special livestream concert from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Sunday, March 28.

The show, which is Carlile’s first full-band performance since before the pandemic, will broadcast via Veeps with a portion of ticket sales benefiting two organizations: The Rainey Day Fund and Fanny’s School of Music, with all remaining proceeds supporting Carlile’s band and crew. Tickets for the show are on sale now, including a ticket bundle that includes a pre-order of Carlile’s forthcoming memoir, Broken Horses. Full ticket details can be found at brandicarlile.veeps.com.

Broken Horses reveals Carlile’s own story, recounting the events of her life that have shaped her music and the music that has shaped her life, and is due out on April 6 via Crown, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. Along with her upcoming show and memoire release, Carlile is nominated in two categories at the 63rd Grammy Awards: Best Song Written for Visual Media (“Carried Me With You” from Onward written with Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth) and Best Country Song (“Crowded Table” performed by The Highwomen written with Natalie Hemby and Lori McKenna). She also produced The Secret Sisters’ acclaimed new album, Saturn Return, which is nominated for Best Folk Album.

(Top row, L-R): Charles Esten, Lori Feldman, Michelle Klinger, Jessica Lee; (Bottom row, L-R): Lee Perlman, Alissa Pollack, Dr. Todd Rubin and Cathy Sullivan

Musicians On Call (MOC), the nonprofit organization which brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities, welcomes Charles Esten, Lori Feldman, Michelle Frohlich-Klinger, Jessica Lee, Lee Perlman, Dr. Todd Rubin and Cathy Sullivan to its National Board of Directors.

Additionally, iHeartMedia Executive Vice President, Global Music Marketing and Strategy Alissa Pollack has been elected Vice Chair of the National Board.

“Due to the stress, anxiety and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, Musicians On Call’s programs were needed more than ever last year to support patients, families and caregivers in healthcare facilities. Thanks to our incredible volunteers, supporters, staff and Board, we brought the healing power of music to more people virtually in 2020 than in any other year in our history,” said Musicians On Call President & CEO Pete Griffin. “We are excited to build on this momentum and continue sharing the joys of live music with record numbers in 2021 and beyond. Each of the leaders we are welcoming to our National Board of Directors bring extraordinary talents and expertise that will help us grow MOC in new and strategic ways in the coming years.”

Esten is best known for his role as Deacon Claybourne on CMT’s Nashville, and his current role of Ward Cameron in the Netflix series Outer Banks. Esten is an active Musicians On Call volunteer and regularly performs for patients and caregivers in hospitals, hospice centers, and VA facilities. He also serves as the National Honorary Spokesman for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night campaign.

Feldman spent more than 25 years in the record industry, most recently as EVP of Strategic Marketing at Warner Records. In late 2019 she joined Paradigm Talent Agency as chief marketing officer. Feldman has been recognized numerous times in Billboard’s Top 100 Women in Music and Branding Power Players lists. She has introduced many artists to MOC’s mission and served on the organization’s President’s and Advisory Councils.

Frohlich-Klinger has led numerous social impact causes since 2008, including teaming up with artist Carlos Augusto Pereira to create elaborate murals in the hallways of Miami Children’s Hospital and launching the Miami Branch of Musicians On Call, where she served as Program Director from 2009 to 2012.

Jessica Lee is co-chair of the Privacy, Security & Data Innovations practice at Loeb & Loeb.

Lee Perlman is Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative and Financial Officer of the Greater New York Hospital Association.

Todd A. Rubin, MD is a Nashville-based orthopedic surgeon who specializes in disorders of the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder.

Cathy Sullivan is a CPA at Baker, Sullivan Hoover PLC. She is Trustee for the John and June Cash Trusts. She is a longtime Volunteer Guide for Musicians On Call, helping the organization launch its Bedside Performance Program in Nashville in 2007. She has also served on MOC’s Advisory Council for more than a decade.

The RIAA’s 2020 Year-End Music Industry Revenue Report shows the fifth consecutive year of growth for the industry.

According to the report, United States recorded music revenues grew 9.2 percent in 2020 to $12.2 billion at estimated retail value.

Streaming revenues grew 13 percent to $10.1 billion, making up 83 percent of total revenue. For the first time, the streaming category includes music license revenues from Facebook and streaming fitness services like Peloton.

Paid subscription services continued to be the primary driver of revenue increases. Revenues from paid subscriptions grew 15 percent to $7.7 billion, making up almost two-thirds of total recorded music revenue. The industry added 15 million new subscriptions in 2020, the most ever in a single year, reaching a total of more than 75 million.

For the first time since 1986, revenues from vinyl records were larger than from CDs. Total revenues from physical products were virtually flat at $1.1 billion.

Read more on the 2020 numbers from RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier, here.

Click here for the full report.