Tammy Brown at the 2016 SOURCE Awards banquet in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2016. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography
Widely loved music-industry veteran Tammy Brown has passed away following a decade-long battle with cancer.
Brown worked for song publishers, record labels, producers and recording studios. She championed such artists as Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Keith Urban, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lee Ann Womack and Trisha Yearwood. In 2016, she won a SOURCE Award as a game-changing woman in the Nashville music business.
As a Music Row personality with over 30 years in the industry, Tammy Brown’s resume included stints at Sound Shop Studio, Tree Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Sony Music Nashville and ole Publishing. Throughout her career, she always campaigned for musical and songwriting excellence.
Tammy Brown grew up on a small farm in Oklahoma with no indoor plumbing. Her passion for music led her to move to Los Angeles In 1975. She became a production assistant, spending hours at studios attending to recording session details.
Brown moved to Nashville in 1987. She landed a job at Sound Shop studios, owned by Buddy Killen of Tree Publishing. After a year, she moved over to Tree, booking their in-house demo studios. She assisted more than 100 Tree writers, and organized the publishing firm’s No. 1 parties.
Tree Publishing eventually became Sony Music Publishing. There, Brown became producer Paul Worley’s executive assistant for six years. When he moved to Sony Records, so did she.
She began pitching songs to Worley and to the label. In recognition, she was promoted to Sony A&R supervisor. Her ear for talent led her to match songwriters with artists for writing sessions. She paired Marcus Hummon with Richard Marx, Billy Ray Cyrus with Jude Cole, Mac McAnally with Bob Bennett and Travis Tritt with Casey Beathard, plus Rivers Rutherford.
Getting successful songs to Montgomery Gentry, McBride, The Kinleys, Billy Gilman, Tritt, Marty Stuart, Buddy Jewell and Cyrus led her to becoming Sony’s Associate Director of A&R. During this era, Tammy Brown also became a key figure in Leadership Music’s annual Nashville Music Awards balloting procedure.
After she left Sony in 2004, Brown became the Creative Manager for ole Songs. While there, her efforts for the publisher resulted in six hit singles and dozens of album cuts.
She withdrew from the industry when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. Brown conquered leukemia in 2009. At that time, she was honored with a luncheon by the song-plugger collective Chicks With Hits. But by last year, her cancer had returned.
Tammy Brown went into hospice care and then died peacefully on Sunday, July 30.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Becky Gardenhire Named Partner At WME
/by Jessica NicholsonBecky Gardenhire
WME has promoted Becky Gardenhire to Partner. Gardenhire joined WME’s predecessor the William Morris Agency in 2002 in its Los Angeles office, and relocated to the Nashville office in 2003.
Her client roster includes Adam Craig, Charlie Worsham, Chase Bryant, Clare Dunn, Clayton Anderson, Courtney Cole, Ingrid Andress, Jake Owen, Jordan Davis, Justin Adams, LANCo, RaeLynn, Rascal Flatts, Sara Evans and many others. Additionally, she works across the WME Nashville roster booking concerts in arenas, amphitheaters, theaters, PACS and casinos in the South.
Gardenhire also started “Talk the Talk,” a monthly lecture series that connects the women in WME’s Nashville office with other successful women in the Nashville community. She has signed several artists, and is an integral part in the new artist development program.
In addition to her work at WME, Becky is also very involved in the community. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Symphony and the W.O. Smith Music School. She is an alumni of Leadership Music and Source, and she devotes her time to the WME Foundation. She was recently named to Nashville Business Journal’s “40 Under 40 List,” and is a member of CMA, ACM, GMA, and IEBA.
With the addition of Gardenhire, WME’s Nashville office, led by Rob Beckham and Greg Oswald, is now home to a total of 10 WME partners, including Beckham, Oswald, Gardenhire, Joey Lee, Shari Lewin, Keith Miller, Kevin Neal, Risha Rodgers, Jay Williams, and Lane Wilson.
Adele Moves To SESAC For Performing Rights Representation
/by Jessica NicholsonSESAC’s main headquarters are based in Nashville.
Adele joins artist-songwriters including Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, RUSH, Zac Brown, and Lady Antebellum on the SESAC roster. Among other benefits, SESAC pays royalties on a monthly rather than quarterly basis, and also offers singular licenses that include both performance and mechanical rights.
Adele’s chart-topping singles include “Rolling in the Deep,” “Someone Like You,” “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Rumour Has It,” “Skyfall” and “Hello.”
“We are humbled and grateful to have been selected to represent Adele’s performing rights in the United States,” said Josephson. “With each new release, she surpasses her own prior record of achievement and confirms her place as a global superstar in a category all her own.”
With the release of her multi-platinum debut album, 19, in 2008, Adele earned two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist. Her second release, 21, was named the 2012 Grammy Album of the Year and sold 35 million copies. Adele released her third studio album, 25, in late 2015. The album has gone on to sell more than 23 million copies worldwide, and has earned Adele five additional Grammy Awards.
During her career, Adele has garnered more than 130 awards and received more than 250 nominations for some of the industry’s most prestigious honors to include the Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, Billboard Awards, American Music Award, and Ivor Novello Awards, among others.
Adele just completed a multi-year international tour, and performed her finale in the U.K. at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Industry Ink: ‘Nashville’ Soundtrack, John McEuen, Towne
/by Lorie Hollabaugh‘Nashville’ Releases Third Volume Soundtrack From Season Five
The Music of NASHVILLE, Season 5 VOLUME 3 marks the first-ever third volume soundtrack in the history of the series and includes 17 tracks. Since Nashville debuted in 2012, Big Machine Records has released 10 soundtracks as viewers created a community around the cast’s musical journey, and more than one million albums and five million single-track downloads have been sold with over 200 million streams to date.
John McEuen’s Acoustic Traveler Coming To Sirius XM
John McEuen‘s Acoustic Traveler Show will broadcast on SiriusXM The Village channel 741 from July 31-Aug. 5. The shows will also be available for two weeks on demand at siriusxm.com/streaming. McEuen and the String Wizards will also be performing live in select cities in August. The shows will share the music and memories of the landmark Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album Will the Circle Be Unbroken in multi-media format, including archival photographs, 8mm film from 1967, Circle session photos, narratives and music. Classic songs from the album will be woven in with Dirt Band favorites, hot bluegrass and rare early NGDB music.
Towne Signs With Patriot Artists Agency
Nichole Nordeman Recounts The Miles Of Her Journey On Latest Album
/by Lorie HollabaughThe project also includes a newly recorded-version of “Slow Down” featuring Nichole singing with her daughter, Pepper Ingram. The viral hit from her 2015 EP, The Unmaking, garnered over 23 million views.
The popularity of that song inspired another project from Nordeman, a new parenting book, Slow Down, which will be released on Aug. 22 via Thomas Nelson. The book includes intimate essays from Nichole herself, along with testimonies and stories from listeners, practical help and wisdom on slowing down, and tangible tools that will inspire readers to savor daily parenting moments.
Every Mile Mattered Track Listing:
1. Every Mile Mattered
2. You’re Here
3. Dear Me
4. No Longer
5. Lean
6. Hush, Hush
7. Listen To Your Life
8. Beautiful Day
9. Sound of Surviving
10. Anywhere We Are
11. Slow Down (feat. Pepper Ingram)
Discovery Communications Acquires GAC Parent Company Scripps Networks
/by Jessica NicholsonScripps Chairman, President and CEO Kenneth Lowe is expected to join Discovery’s board of directors following the close of the transaction.
Discovery and Scripps combined company will produce an estimated 8,000 hours of original programming each year, and will be home to 300,000 hours of library content. Combined Discovery and Scripps will hold a nearly 20 percent share of ad-supported pay-TV audiences in the U.S.
The combined company’s portfolio of brands will include Discovery Channel, HGTV, Great American Country, TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, and more.
The deal’s $90 per-share cost, based on Discovery’s Friday closing price, represents a premium of 34 percent to Scripps’ unaffected share price as of Tuesday, July 18, before deal talks were first reported. Discovery is paying $63 per share in cash and $27 per share in stock. Scripps shareholders will own 20 percent of Discovery, which will also take on Scripps’ net debt of approximately $2.7 billion in the deal.
“This is an exciting new chapter for Discovery. Scripps is one of the best run media companies in the world with terrific assets, strong brands and popular talent and formats. Our business is about great storytelling, authentic characters and passionate super fans. We believe that by coming together with Scripps, we will create a stronger, more flexible and more dynamic media company with a global content engine that can be fully optimized and monetized across our combined networks, products and services in every country around the world,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery Communications.
“Through the passion and dedication of our incredible employees, and with the support of the Scripps family, we have built a lifestyle content company that touches the lives of consumers every single day,” said Lowe. “This agreement with Discovery presents an unmatched opportunity for Scripps to grow its leading lifestyle brands across the world and on new and emerging channels including short-form, direct-to-consumer and streaming platforms.”
LifeNotes: Music Industry Veteran Tammy Brown Passes
/by Robert K OermannTammy Brown at the 2016 SOURCE Awards banquet in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2016. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography
Widely loved music-industry veteran Tammy Brown has passed away following a decade-long battle with cancer.
Brown worked for song publishers, record labels, producers and recording studios. She championed such artists as Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Keith Urban, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lee Ann Womack and Trisha Yearwood. In 2016, she won a SOURCE Award as a game-changing woman in the Nashville music business.
As a Music Row personality with over 30 years in the industry, Tammy Brown’s resume included stints at Sound Shop Studio, Tree Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Sony Music Nashville and ole Publishing. Throughout her career, she always campaigned for musical and songwriting excellence.
Tammy Brown grew up on a small farm in Oklahoma with no indoor plumbing. Her passion for music led her to move to Los Angeles In 1975. She became a production assistant, spending hours at studios attending to recording session details.
Brown moved to Nashville in 1987. She landed a job at Sound Shop studios, owned by Buddy Killen of Tree Publishing. After a year, she moved over to Tree, booking their in-house demo studios. She assisted more than 100 Tree writers, and organized the publishing firm’s No. 1 parties.
Tree Publishing eventually became Sony Music Publishing. There, Brown became producer Paul Worley’s executive assistant for six years. When he moved to Sony Records, so did she.
She began pitching songs to Worley and to the label. In recognition, she was promoted to Sony A&R supervisor. Her ear for talent led her to match songwriters with artists for writing sessions. She paired Marcus Hummon with Richard Marx, Billy Ray Cyrus with Jude Cole, Mac McAnally with Bob Bennett and Travis Tritt with Casey Beathard, plus Rivers Rutherford.
Getting successful songs to Montgomery Gentry, McBride, The Kinleys, Billy Gilman, Tritt, Marty Stuart, Buddy Jewell and Cyrus led her to becoming Sony’s Associate Director of A&R. During this era, Tammy Brown also became a key figure in Leadership Music’s annual Nashville Music Awards balloting procedure.
After she left Sony in 2004, Brown became the Creative Manager for ole Songs. While there, her efforts for the publisher resulted in six hit singles and dozens of album cuts.
She withdrew from the industry when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. Brown conquered leukemia in 2009. At that time, she was honored with a luncheon by the song-plugger collective Chicks With Hits. But by last year, her cancer had returned.
Tammy Brown went into hospice care and then died peacefully on Sunday, July 30.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Max Barry, Son Of Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Dies
/by Sherod RobertsonPictured (L-R): Bruce Barry, Max Barry, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.
Max Barry, son of Mayor Megan Barry and Bruce Barry, died from an apparent overdose in Denver, Colorado on the evening of Saturday, July 29.
Mayor Megan Barry and Bruce Barry have released a statement on this tragic news:
“Early this morning, we received news that no parents should ever have to hear. Our son Max suffered from an overdose and passed away. We cannot begin to describe the pain and heartbreak that comes with losing our only child. Our son was a kind soul full of life and love for his family and friends.
Our family would greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers, and would respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn the loss of our child and begin to understand a world without his laughter and love in our lives.”
Max Barry, age 22, graduated in June from the University of Puget Sound. Max attended Eakin Elementary School, West End Middle School, and MLK High School before attending and graduating from University School of Nashville. He is survived by his parents, as well as grandparents Joyce Brody, Jan Mueller, and Ken Mueller.
Information about arrangements will be announced when they are developed. The Barry family would respectfully ask for your understanding and privacy during this very difficult time. They will not be available for interviews until further notice. Messages of condolence can be sent to megan.barry@nashville.gov or Office of Mayor Megan Barry, 1 Public Square, Nashville, TN 37201.
Updated:
A visitation will be held at the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts at the Blair School of Music, 2400 Blakemore Ave, from 5 to 8PM on Monday, July 31.
A memorial will be held at the Belcourt Theatre, 2102 Belcourt Ave, starting at 10AM on Tuesday, August 1 with doors opening at 8:30AM.
In memory of Max, contributions can be made to the Oasis Center or Nashville Humane Association.
Pictured (L-R): Bruce Barry, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Max Barry
Sweet Talk Publicity Adds Courtney Beebe, Jodi Dawes
/by Jessica NicholsonBeebe – formerly of the Country Music Association – is the firm’s newest Publicist, while Dawes – previously of Webster Public Relations – joins as Junior Publicist. Both will take their posts immediately.
“From the minute I met Courtney and Jodi, I knew there was something special about each of them,” shares Sweet Talk president Jensen Sussman. “They both exude passion for public relations, country music and building an artist’s career while their unique backgrounds and experiences bring a fresh energy to the team and our client roster. I’m absolutely thrilled to have them on board!”
Beebe, who graduated with a B.A. from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at University of North Carolina, moved to Nashville in 2012 and began working as a Content Marketing Specialist at Lotos Nile. In 2013, she joined the CMA team as Communications Assistant before rising to Communications Manager and serving as Managing Editor of CMA Close Up magazine.
Dawes, a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a B.A. in Public Relations, began her career as an intern for both WLXX radio and WLEX-TV in Lexington, KY, and also worked in corporate communications for Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex in New York City. At Webster PR, Dawes held the role of Publicity Manager, handling day-to-day activities for Mark Chesnutt, Collin Raye, John Michael Montgomery, and more.
Beebe and Dawes will report directly to Sweet Talk president and founder, Jensen Sussman, joining staff members Julianne Cassidy (Publicist) and Montine Felso (Senior Publicist).
Sweet Talk Publicity’s current client list includes Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, A Thousand Horses, Craig Campbell, FGL HOUSE, Home Free, Jillian Jacqueline, Chris Lane, Dustin Lynch, Tegan Marie, MINXX, Jerrod Niemann, Dylan Scott and Morgan Wallen.
Beebe can be reached at cbeebe@sweettalkpr.com, while Dawes can be reached at jdawes@sweettalkpr.com.
Industry Ink: Billy Joe Walker Jr., Mickey Guyton, Lee Greenwood
/by Jessica NicholsonMemorial Service Set For Billy Joe Walker Jr.
A full obit for Billy Joe Walker Jr. can be read at musicrow.com.
Mickey Guyton Releases New Single “Nice Things”
Singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton has released the new single “Nice Things,” which she wrote with Liz Rose and Stephanie Chapman. To listen, click here.
Lee Greenwood Visits CMA Office
Pictured (L-R): Justin Randall, Brandi Simms, Lee Greenwood, Angela Roland, Brenden Oliver
Lynn Anderson Exhibit To Open At Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum
/by Jessica NicholsonLynn Anderson, known for a string of hit songs including “Rose Garden,” “Keep Me In Mind,” and “How Can I Unlove You,” will be the subject of a new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Lynn Anderson: Keep Me In Mind will open Sept. 15, 2017 and run through June 24, 2018.
“Anderson’s television background and her ability to bring show-business dynamism to recordings and concert performances helped her achieve crossover success,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “With talent and tenacity, the country music star brought increased visibility to the genre in the 1960s and ’70s, and we are privileged to share her story with our guests.”
Born in North Dakota and raised in northern California, Anderson started performing at age six, and by her teens she was appearing regularly on television. Her parents, Casey and Liz Anderson, were successful songwriters. Together, they wrote “The Fugitive,” a hit for Merle Haggard. The Andersons’ connections, and Lynn’s talent and hard work, led to her signing with Chart Records at age 19, in 1966.
By the late 1960s, Anderson was a regular on television’s Lawrence Welk Show, and from 1966 to early 1970 she notched five Top Ten country singles in Billboard rankings. By then, she was also an award-winning equestrian, taking home trophies and ribbons for riding show horses and cutting horses. In fact, Anderson competed in equestrian events throughout most of her life, winning 16 national and eight world championships, as well as the top trophies at several celebrity competitions.
After marrying songwriter and producer Glenn Sutton, Anderson moved to Nashville in 1969. She signed with Columbia Records in 1970, and Sutton produced her first sixteen albums including Rose Garden, released in December 1970. The album’s title track spent five weeks at No. 1 on the country chart and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. The album was among the first by female country singers to be certified Platinum for sales of more than a million copies.
Anderson had several No. 1s in the 1970s (“Keep Me in Mind” among them) and numerous Top Ten hits. She won a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1971. She was named the Academy of Country Music’s Top Female Vocalist in 1967 and 1970, and the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year in 1971. In 1974, Anderson was the first female country singer to sell out Madison Square Garden. Anderson continued to perform and record until her death in 2015.