Lauren Alaina’s ‘Getting Good’ Goes Gold

On July 20, multi-Platinum-selling No. 1 singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina was surprised before performing on the Grand Ole Opry with a plaque to commemorate her song “Getting Good” being certified Gold by the RIAA.

“Getting Good,” written by Emily Weisband, is included on her EP of the same name which was released in April of 2020. Alaina also realized a childhood dream of recording a special mix of the song with her friend and mentor Trisha Yearwood.

“This achievement as a female in country music is such an honor,” says Alaina. “Thank you to my fans for listening and buying the music I pour my heart into. These Gold records are just as much yours as they are mine.”

Alaina also received news that her singles “Like My Mother Does” from her debut album Wildflower, as well as “Doin’ Fine” and the title track from her sophomore album, Road Less Travelled, were also certified Gold.

 

 

Cody Johnson To Kick Off 2022 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has announced Cody Johnson will help kick off the Rodeo’s 90th anniversary celebration with a RodeoHouston performance on Monday, Feb. 28. He will join previously announced headliner George Strait amongst next year’s festivities.

“Cody Johnson has established an enthusiastic following among our RodeoHouston fans since his first performance in 2017,” says Rodeo President and CEO Chris Boleman. “We can’t wait to welcome Cody back to RodeoHouston to help kick off our 90th anniversary celebration.”

Johnson has become the sound of the rodeo season with his performance of “Welcome to the Show,” the official song of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. His 2022 performance will mark his fourth performance at RodeoHouston.

The remaining 2022 RodeoHouston entertainer lineup will be announced at a later date. Individual tickets for Johnson’s performance go on sale to the public Thursday, July 29 at 10 a.m.

 

 

AIMP Nashville Chapter To Host Music Publishing Webinar

On Thursday, July 22, the AIMP Nashville Chapter will host Music Publishing 101 to 301 and Beyond… at 4:30 p.m. CT. The webinar will be presented by industry veteran John Barker, President & CEO of ClearBox Rights, LLC, an independent IP rights management company based in Nashville.

During the webinar, Barker will set the stage with 101 basics, moving through copyright laws and terminations, types of licenses and royalty streams, clarification and understanding of digital royalties, current business stats and trends, updates on current legislation and the MLC, and what the future of music publishing might look like.

The webinar is free for AIMP members to attend and $5 for non-members. To register, click here.

 

 

Fran Romeo Joins The Ranks At Neste Live!

Entertainment industry veteran Fran Romeo has joined Neste Live!, a joint venture with Live Nation, as a Talent Buyer and Consultant to the full service event production and talent buying company.

Romeo has spent more than 22 years as one of the country’s top talent buyers. Prior to founding the Fran Romeo Agency, she spent more than 10 years as an owner of Romeo Entertainment Group (REG), serving as President of the company beginning in 2005. Previously, Romeo served as Managing Director of TBA Entertainment Corporation’s Seattle office and Executive Vice President of TBA Entertainment’s Fairs and Festivals division. She has also held a seat on the Board of Directors for both the Academy of Country Music and the International Entertainment Buyers Association.

“We are excited about this new partnership with Fran Romeo as she is considered a top talent buyer in the Fair marketplace, and we expect this affiliation will bring high-level service and programming opportunities to Neste Live!’s Fair clients,” says Neste President Gil Cunningham.

“This is an amazing opportunity for me as Gil was my mentor when I first began buying talent and having the affiliation with Neste Live! brings a new level of offerings for my event clients,” shares Romeo. “It’s great to have Live Nation recognize the importance of the Fair market in the entertainment space.”

Cunningham, an ACM Award winning promoter, started his career in the event business as a talent buyer in 1972 and moved into the event production business in 1988 before he co-founded Neste Event Marketing in 1995 alongside his wife and business partner Liz Cunningham. Originally established as a sponsorship and event marketing company, Neste expanded to include Talent Buying services in 2002, and since that time has grown into one of the largest talent buying and event services companies in North America.

Chrissy Metz is headlining Chrissy Metz & Friends, a special benefit show, at Nashville’s historic Bluebird Cafe on July 30. Proceeds from Chrissy Metz & Friends benefit the CMA Foundation and its mission to provide resources and support for music teachers, students, and music education programs across the U.S.

Joining Metz for the round will be award-winning songwriter and producer Jimmy Robbins (Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Maddie & Tae, Brett Young) and the soulful singer-songwriter and Bowyer & Bow/Capitol Christian Music Group recording artist Blessing Offor.

Best known for her role as Kate Pearson on NBC’s This Is Us, Metz has released several tracks including “Girl Go,” “Talking to God,” “Actress,” and “Feel Good.” Metz also makes her return to the Grand Ole Opry stage this Saturday, July 24.

The Bluebird Cafe recently announced its reopening after 16 months, and celebrated its first show back with performances from Nashville’s songwriters Joel Shewmake, Annie Mosher, and Jason Matthews.For a full list of upcoming shows at The Bluebird Cafe, click here.

The Core Entertainment management company and Universal Music Canada (UMC) have launched a new joint venture designed to offer Canadian artists a collaborative and integrated approach to releasing music worldwide. The joint venture’s first signing is Grammy-nominated, Nashville-based Canadian singer-songwriter Steven Lee Olsen.

Working in tandem, the UMC team, led by Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Remedios and Executive Vice President and General Manager Kristen Burke, together with The Core founders Kevin “Chief” Zaruk and Simon Tikhman, and The Core Canada President Tracy Martin, will hand-select a roster of talent, developing the acts together in their respective and distinct roles as management and label.

The Core will offer management services, creative direction and A&R development to artists, bringing key acts to Universal Music Canada for UMC’s consideration to sign to a record deal. Artists signed will benefit from UMC’s globally focused strategic insight and project leadership.

“I’ve long admired Chief, Simon and Tracy’s individual strengths, smarts, and passions. The Core Entertainment’s vision and drive in championing artists is inspiring. This partnership is an opportunity to work with people we admire to do what we love — supporting a wide-range of artists in lockstep with a formidable management team,” says Remedios. “Steven Lee Olsen is a prolific songwriter with a voice that demands to be heard. With his signing, UMC couldn’t be prouder to double down on our commitment to country music with Steven at the forefront.”

“The Core strives to work with the most innovative and authentic industry leaders, and there’s no doubt Jeffrey, Kristen and the Universal Music Canada team are among the best in the business,” Tikhman, Zaruk, and Martin share. “We both know the artist always comes first, and this powerful collaboration will allow us to holistically support some of today’s brightest talent across genres. We’re thrilled to welcome country singer-songwriter Steven Lee Olsen to the family as our first joint signing and look forward to a long and successful partnership.”

Olsen moved to Nashville in 2004 and his songs have since been recorded by Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, Rascal Flatts, Billy Currington, Dallas Smith and others. He has notched two No.1 hits in the U.S. with his Grammy-nominated, double-Platinum certified “Blue Ain’t Your Color” (Keith Urban) and “More Girls Like You” (Kip Moore).

Chapter 645

Good things come to those who wait.

That’s how the saying goes, but for Wyoming singer-songwriter Ian Munsick, it’s a life lesson. He was signed to his Nashville major-label deal mid-pandemic, and his Coyote Cry CD has been ready forever. But his first concert in Music City did not occur until Tuesday evening (July 20). That’s a long wait.

“To say this is a long time coming is an understatement,” said Cris Lacy when she introduced him to a V.I.P. crowd backstage. “There’s a lot of things that have happened that we need to catch up on. Most people here have never seen Ian live, including people at this label. So this is special.”

“You guys are about to become part of history tonight,” promised James Marsh when he introduced Ian onstage, “the first time this artist has ever played Nashville.”

The Warner Music newcomer did not disappoint. He came out howling and never let up. Ian Munsick is a tenor vocalist, which is always an uphill battle at country radio. But he already has 80 million global streams of his music. So there.

The venue was the spacious indoor/outdoor partyland Ole Smoky Distillery. Guests imbibed Ole Smoky Moonshine and Yee Haw beer to swill down Prince’s hot chicken, served with white bread & pickles (natch), veggie salad and coleslaw.

But everyone seemed much more focused on schmoozing than snacking, or paying attention to music, for that matter. Working the room were John Zarling, Jon Freeman, Regina Stuve, Ron Stuve, Scott Gunter, Dwight Wiles, Lance Roberts, Dave Pacula, Shane Tarleton, Gary Kraen (did you know he was from Wyoming?), Erv Woolsey, Todd Cassetty, Charlie Cook, Rachel Whitney, Sally Seitz, Wes Vause, Jody Williams, Katherine Richardson, Caroline Rudolph and Victoria Chaitoff.

It turned out to be a long night. We got there at 5:30 PM. The headliner was preceded by feisty femme country rockers Meghan Patrick (“My First Car Was a Pickup Truck”) and Ashland Craft (“Good Ole Girls”). Ian Munsick finally took the stage at 8 PM, peppering the crowd with “Long Haul,” “Solo,” “Humble” and more.

We are told that he is at the forefront of “a musical movement,” presumably bringing something “western” to country. I don’t know about that. But he did do well.