Matthew Morgan Follows Scott Clayton To WME

Matthew Morgan. Photo: Micah Kandros

Music agent Matthew Morgan has joined WME as a music agent in the company’s Nashville office from CAA. This news follows yesterday’s (Nov. 20) announcement that Scott Clayton has moved from CAA to WME as partner and co-head of WME’s Nashville office.

During his career, Morgan has worked with Cam, Gavin DeGraw, Lizzo, Ryan Follese, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Phillip Phillips, Pussy Riot, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Ricky Reed, Rival Sons, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Script, and Zac Brown Band among others.

In Morgan’s previous work with CAA, he co-headed the festival department. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Morgan joined the CAA music department in 2004 following two years at Country Music Television. He is a member of the CMA and ACM.

Las Vegas Shooting Victims File Lawsuits Against MGM Resorts, Live Nation

Attorneys representing more than 450 victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting on Oct. 1 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival filed five new lawsuits in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday (Nov. 20), the LA Times reports. More than 500 people were injured during the attack.

Those named as defendants in Monday’s lawsuits included festival promoter Live Nation, Paddock’s estate, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the hotel from which gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd of Route 91 Harvest Festival attendees across the street, as well as Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino owner, MGM Resorts International.

Victims seeking financial compensation previously filed more than 15 lawsuits.

The suits’ plaintiffs were all Route 91 Harvest Festival attendees, as well as a few security guards working the event. More than 30 of the plaintiffs were shot, and two were family members of victims who were killed. Nearly 100 of the plaintiffs were injured from trampling, according to attorneys. The majority of the attorneys’ clients are from California, which attorneys stated as a reason for filing the suits in Los Angeles instead of Las Vegas.

The plaintiffs argue that the hotel’s operators “breached their duty of reasonable care” by not noticing Paddock was storing guns in his room and by not responding fast enough after security guard Jesus Campos was shot by Paddock before the massacre began. The victims’ attorneys also argued that the festival did not have proper exits or adequately trained employees for when the crowd began evacuating, which they said resulted in more injuries.

“The incident that took place on Oct. 1 was a terrible tragedy perpetrated by an evil man,” MGM Resorts International said in a statement. “These kinds of lawsuits are not unexpected and we intend to defend ourselves against them. That said, out of respect for the victims, we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels.”

Lee Thomas Miller Congress Rally Scheduled For Dec. 4

A rally in support of Lee Thomas Miller‘s run for Congress will be held on Monday, Dec. 4 at BMI’s Nashville office from 4-6 p.m. Lee and several industry leaders will speak during the event, and a host committee of industry leaders is currently being formed.

Everyone in the industry is invited to attend in support of Miller, and to meet him or find out more about the campaign. Miller is running to represent Tennessee’s 7th district in the U. S. Congress for the seat being vacated by Congressman Marsha Blackburn, who recently announced her Senate campaign. He announced his run a few weeks ago, and has stepped down from his former post as president of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) in order to run for the seat.

A tireless champion of songwriter’s rights who has fought for the protections of intellectual property on the front lines before Congress and the U. S. Justice Department, Miller has penned songs like “In Color,” “The Impossible,” “You’re Gonna Miss This,” and “I’m Still a Guy,” for artists like Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins, and Jamey Johnson.

Mac Davis, Brothers Osborne, Natalie Hemby Set For ‘The First And The Worst’

Mac Davis, Brothers Osborne, and Natalie Hemby are the latest artists to offer up their “First And The Worst” songs to help support Music Health Alliance. The artists will gather at Nashville’s City Winery on Feb. 28 to perform the very first and the very worst songs they ever wrote, along with some of their biggest hits.

Now in its fourth year, the one-of-a-kind event will help raise funds for Music Health Alliance, which provides free support to songwriters, artists, musicians and music industry professionals at every stage of their career to find affordable healthcare solutions and financial resources. Advance tickets go on-sale tomorrow to City Winery Vinofile members. Individual tickets go on sale starting at 3 p.m. CT on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, and are $50 for balcony seats at bit.ly/2Ahl6oi and $100 for floor seats at bit.ly/2hPGB83. Sponsor tables start at $1,000 and can be purchased by contacting Music Health Alliance’s Shelia Shipley Biddy at shelia@musichealthalliance.com.

Additional performers for the 2018 event will be revealed in the coming weeks.

 

Eagles Set 2018 Stadium Shows With Chris Stapleton, Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor

Classic rock band the Eagles, including Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, will hit the road in 2018, with a new tour launching March 14 in Chicago. They will bring along several fellow artists for a round of stadium shows.

The trek will include stadium concerts in Orlando, Miami, Denver and Minneapolis with Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band; Washington D.C. and Philadelphia with James Taylor & His All-Star Band, and in Arlington, Texas with Chris Stapleton. All other tour dates are billed as an “Evening With the Eagles.”

The tour will include a stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday, March 23.

Tickets for the Arlington, Denver and Washington D.C. concerts go on sale beginning Friday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. Tickets for all other shows go on sale to the general public beginning Dec. 2 at 10 a.m.

 

 

Sony Music Nashville Promotes Jaime Marconette To Assoc. Director, Digital Strategy

Jaime Marconette

Ed Rivadavia, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Sony Music Nashville, has announced the promotion of Jaime Marconette to the position of Associate Director, Digital Strategy, Sony Music Nashville. Most recently Manager of Digital Marketing, Marconette joined the label group in 2014 and will continue to report directly to Rivadavia.

“Jaime has distinguished himself for his unparalleled work ethic and versatility,” Rivadavia remarked. “His mastery of the technical complexities of Sony Music Nashville’s digital platforms and great success and creativity managing the digital marketing strategy for a range of SMN artists makes this promotion well deserved.”

“Thank you to Randy Goodman, John Zarling, Ed Rivadavia and the whole team at Sony Music Nashville,” says Marconette. “It’s amazing to work with such a talented team on behalf of such incredibly gifted artists.”

With his new Associate Director title, Marconette will continue to execute progressive digital marketing initiatives for Sony Music Nashville.

Prior to working with the Digital Strategy team at Sony Music Nashville, Marconette was employed by AristoMedia in Nashville, Tennessee, and before that Stanford University’s Department of Music in Stanford, California.

Marconette, who served on the 2014 board of Nashville’s young professionals organization SOLID and is from Palo Alto, California, holds a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University in Evanston, IIllinois. He completed his undergrad work with focuses in History and Psychology at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Marconette lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Susan, and dog, Oscar.

Brett Young, Carly Pearce Celebrate Sold-Out Nashville Show

Brett Young and Carly Pearce. Photo: Katie Kauss

BMLG labelmates Brett Young and Carly Pearce had much to celebrate during a show at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on Friday (Nov. 17).

The performance was one of 17 sold-out shows on Young’s first-ever headlining trek, dubbed the Caliville Tour. During the Nashville show, Young lent his soothing, soulful voice to songs including his current single “Like I Loved You,” and his two-time Platinum-certified hit “In Case You Didn’t Know,” as well as the Platinum-certified “Sleep Without You.”

Brett Young celebrates his sold-out Marathon Music Works Nashville show with his team, including Scott Borchetta (President/CEO Big Machine Label Group), Jimmy Harnen (President BMLG Records/EVP BMLG) as well as Red Light Management’s Enzo DeVincenzo and Van Haze. Photo: Katie Kauss

Young has clearly learned one thing from his stints opening shows for Lady Antebellum and Thomas Rhett: Crowds love surprises. Young didn’t falter, as he brought Gavin DeGraw out for a surprise performance.

He also brought opener Carly Pearce out for a stirring rendition of “Whiskey Lullaby,” and offered his own take on the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah” during the Nashville tour stop.

Meanwhile, Pearce offered several songs from her recently-released debut album for BMLG, and celebrated her first No. 1 single, the Gold-certified “Every Little Thing” with her BMLG team after her opening performance. She is the only solo female with a charting country debut single to achieve a Gold-certification in 2017.

Pictured (L-R): BMLG CMO Mike Rittberg, Big Machine Records GM Jim Weatherson and VP Promotion Kris Lamb, Carly Pearce, BMLG President & CEO Scott Borchetta and BMR National Director of Radio Promotion Erik Powell. Photo: Katie Kauss

Brett Young and Gavin DeGraw. Photo: Katie Kauss

Brett Young. Photo: Katie Kauss

Paradigm Agent Steve Dahl Passes

Steve Dahl

Steve Dahl, a longtime Paradigm agent who led the agency’s Fairs & Festivals department, and opened Monterey Peninsula Artists’ Nashville office in 1986, has died.

Dahl was a two-time Pollstar Awards nominee for Third Coast Agent of the Year. He served stints as Vice President and Director-At-Large for the Academy of Country Music, and also served on the boards of the International Association of Fairs & Expositions, the International Entertainment Buyers Association, and the Country Music Association.

Before he was an agent, Dahl was the singer, frontman and trumpet player for The Red Dogs, a rhythm & blues band that toured widely and recorded for ATCO/Atlantic Records in the 1960s. The Red Dogs have been inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame, the Nebraska Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the South Dakota Rock & Roll Music Association Hall of Fame.

Dahl is survived by his wife Beth, with whom he had a son and daughter.

 

Weekly Register: Taylor Swift’s ‘reputation’ Brings Her Fourth Debut-Week Million Seller

Taylor Swift‘s sixth album for Big Machine Records, reputation, marks her fourth time notching more than 1 million in sales during an album’s debut week. reputation sold 1.238 million units, though the album was kept from streaming services. The title debuted at No. 1 on Nielsen Soundscan’s all-genre albums chart. This follows Swift’s first-week sales numbers for 2014’s 1989, which met with 1.287 million in sales during its first week. Her previous debut week million-sellers also include Red (1.208 million) and Speak Now (1.047 million).

Kenny Chesney tops this week’s country albums sales rankings (and at No. 9 overall), with Live In No Shoes Nation selling 33K. Last week the album was at No. 2, with 52K, following its debut week of 219K.

Last week’s No. 1 album, Blake Shelton‘s Texoma Shore, moved 32K this week to land at No. 2, down from 63K in its debut week.

Chris Stapleton‘s From A Room: Vol. 1 is at No. 3, with 17K, followed by Kane Brown‘s self-titled project at No. 4 with 15.6K. Stapleton lands a second album in the Top 5 this week, with Traveller at No. 5 with 15.5K.

Tracy Lawrence‘s Good Ole Days greatest hits, duet album debuts at No. 16 with 7.8K.

YouTube video

On the country streaming rankings, Keith Urban‘s new track “Female” tops the chart with 32K sold this week. He debuted the song on the recent CMA Awards airing. Chris Stapleton‘s “Broken Halos” also keeps riding the bump from his recent CMA Awards performance, with 17.5K sold this week. LANCO‘s “Greatest Love Story” moved 17K this week, followed by Kane Brown with “What Ifs” (ft. Lauren Alaina) moving 15K to land at No. 4. Thomas Rhett‘s “Unforgettable” rounds out the Top 5 with 13K.

The top country debut song this week is Danielle Bradbery‘s “Worth It,” which lands at No. 23, moving 5.9K.

Information courtesy Nielsen Soundscan.

Kesha, Old Crow Medicine Show Set For ‘CMT Crossroads’

Old Crow Medicine Show will collaborate with pop star Kesha on CMT Crossroads, set to air Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 10 p.m. on CMT.

This past April Old Crow Medicine Show released their sixth album, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde, via Columbia Nashville, the same label that Bob Dylan, fifty years prior, released his iconic album Blonde on Blonde. Following the 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde album release, Old Crow Medicine Show also released the DVD/BLU-ray performance, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde THE CONCERT, on Sept. 15. The group was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2013.

In August, Nashville native Kesha released her third studio album, Rainbow, led by the album’s debut single “Praying.” The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Old Crow Medicine Show and Kesha join a long list of eclectic and iconic artists in the 15-year history of CMT Crossroads, which launched Jan. 13, 2002, with a performance by Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams. Since the beginning the series has showcased dream musical partnerships including Kid Rock and Hank Williams, Jr.; Ray Charles and Travis Tritt; Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris; Bon Jovi and Sugarland; Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire; Def Leppard and Taylor Swift; Sting and Vince Gill; John Mayer and Keith Urban; Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood; Stevie Nicks and Lady Antebellum; Katy Perry and Kacey Musgraves; Alicia Keys and Maren Morris; and most recently, the Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgia Line.

CMT Crossroads is produced by CMT’s Margaret Comeaux and Switched On Entertainment’s John Hamlin.