[Updated 5/12: The concert will feature call to action messages from President Obama, Big Kenny, Carrie Underwood, Courteney Cox, Ellen Degeneres, University of Alabama Coach Nick Saban, Nicole Kidman, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift and more.
MusicRow has the exclusive list of stars who will be manning the phone bank tonight, including Alabama, Ashton Shepherd, Big Kenny, Clay Walker, Clint Black, Crystal Bowersox, Danny Gokey, Darryl Worley, David Nail, Hank Williams, Jr., Hillary Williams, Holly Williams, Kellie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry, Phil Vassar, Randy Houser and Ricky Skaggs.
Alan Jackson will perform on the show and live stream it at AlanJackson.com.]
Robin Meade
••••
Robin Meade, CNN HLN anchor is set to co-host
“Music Builds: The CMT Disaster Relief Concert.” The show will air live from the Grand Ole Opry House stage and Studio A on Thur., May 12, 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
HLN will re-broadcast the show in its entirety on Sun, May 15, 9 p.m. ET/8p.m. CT, to build additional awareness. Funds will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief effort in the South and Red Cross and phone lines will also be open for HLN’s re-air on Sunday.
“When I anchor stories about the recent storms in the South, my mind isn’t on the statistics, or the footage, or the sound bites,” says Meade. “My thoughts are with that person who looks around and wonders, ‘what am I going to do now that everything is gone?’ I’m so touched by the resiliency of the storm victims, and the generosity of music fans and viewers to help these folks whose lives are now in disarray, and that’s what this telethon is going to be about, lifting up storm victims, letting them know, they’re not alone.”
Joining Meade as co-hosts will be ESPN’s
Erin Andrews and comedian
Ron White. Country artists scheduled to appear include
Hank Williams Jr., Alabama, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Ronnie Dunn, Sara Evans, Tim McGraw and
Trace Adkins. All money raised will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Highlighted regions affected by recent storm, tornado and flooding damage will include Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala.; Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss.; Vidalia, La.; Dyersburg and Tiptonville, Tenn.; and Raleigh, N.C.
Meade will also provide live reports from the Grand Ole Opry House and interviews with featured musicians on Thu and Fri for her popular HLN morning show, “Morning Express with Robin Meade” (6 a.m. – 12 noon, ET).
Information is as follows: Visit
www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts.
Comparing 2011 Sales With 2010
/by adminTable includes albums with 25 or less wks on the chart and with sales over 175,000 units.Data Source: Nielsen SoundScan (Wk. ended 1/2/2011)
It’s only May, but the question is starting to arise, “How will 2011 country album sales compare with the previous year?”
In the words of Nashville’s elected Criminal Court Clerk David Torrence, “It is what it is…” The true answer, of course depends upon many factors.
First we need to look at the upcoming releases planned for 2011. Secondly it would be wise to ask, where are we now? And finally, we must study last year’s successful albums. The present year’s new releases will need to match or exceed 2010 to stay even or improve.
(1.) As of the week ended 5-8-11 country finds itself down 8.5%, approximately 1.2 million album units behind this same time last year. This has been due largely to last year’s highly successful first quarter Lady Antebellum release which has not been matched this year.
(2.) Your Scribe hears unofficially about releases expected later this year from hit artists such as Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, George Strait, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert and more that will surely be announced. But the list is still pretty short when compared with the 18 titles on our 2010 table. New artists can break out unexpectedly, but experienced bin stuffers can also sometimes underperform.
(3.) Last year’s story is easy to decipher. The graph above shows 18 current 2nd half year releases that at the end of 2010 (week ended 1/2/2011) had been on the chart for 25 weeks or less. They also must have sold 175,000 units or more. We didn’t note holiday CDs since they return each year with the frozen temps. Together these 18 albums were responsible for almost 9.23 million units or about 21% of the total 2010 country album sales. Consider them as the “bar” for 2011. (Note that Lady Antebellum’s 2010 release which earned 3 million units isn’t included in the table, since we are dealing with 3rd/4th quarter releases. We already know the results from the first half year—down 8.5%.)
Eyeing the Future
One question to ask is, will we have a new Taylor Swift album? That will make a huge difference considering the singer/songwriter’s 2010 release shifted almost 3 million units. Dividing the 9.23 million units by 18 albums, calculates to average sales per album of 515,000 units. (In reality, only one third of the 18 titles shown achieved this Gold status.) If we take Ms. Swift’s considerable units out of the mix then we get 17 albums sharing 6.3 million units or a more modest 371,000 units each. So one must ask, “Do we expect to launch 17 new releases in the last half of 2011 that can each sell at least 371k?” That is far from a slam dunk.
Looking at the bright side, there is also a real possibility that an unexpected artist will catch fire and burn up the sales charts. In the meantime, “It is what it is.”
Live Nation/Groupon Team For GrouponLive
/by Sarah SkatesLike Groupon, GrouponLive deals will only be available for a limited time. The service is expected to launch in time for the summer concert season.
“Our success is based on selling tickets and filling seats and GrouponLive gives us another platform to achieve this,” said Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. www.grouponlive.com
Hirings at Webster PR, Fifth Third Bank
/by Sarah SkatesAnita Mandell
Mandell, Felso Join Webster & Associates
Webster & Associates Public Relations & Marketing has hired veteran publicist Anita Mandell as Senior Dir. Media/Marketing, and added Montine Felso as publicist.
Mandell’s 20-year career in the music industry began at PLA Media working with Brooks & Dunn and more. Later she shifted to in-house publicity duties for Alan Jackson’s management team. By 1996 she joined Decca Records (subsidiary of MCA Nashville) handling publicity for Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Mark Chesnutt and Dolly Parton. Then Mandell enjoyed a seven-year tenure at Sony Music Nashville working with then Sony acts Mary Chapin Carpenter, Billy Gilman, Jack Ingram, Marty Stuart and Little Big Town.
Felso most recently lived in California and worked at the San Francisco Opera and at NBC Universal in Burbank, working on Days of our Lives and The Tonight Show. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Communications.
Anson Lewis Joins Fifth Third’s Music Division
Anson Lewis
Music Row banking specialist Anson Lewis has joined Fifth Third Bank as a Credit Manager. His expertise is in handling wealth management issues for artists, songwriters, producers, publishers and performing rights organizations, as well as others in the entertainment and professional sports industries.
Lewis comes to Fifth Third with 13 years of professional experience in banking, including five years exclusively overseeing underwriting and credit approval for the largest and most complex loan requests within SunTrust’s sports and entertainment group.
Fifth Third launched its music and entertainment division a year ago when it hired producer Will Byrd to lead the group.
Facebook Serves More Ads Than Any Other Website
/by Sarah SkatesComScore reports that nearly 1.11 trillion display ads were delivered to U.S. Internet users during the first quarter of 2011. Facebook accounted for nearly one third of these. See the full ComScore report.
AdAge points out, “What really sets Facebook apart…is that it’s actually increased the amount of ads it’s serving per page over the past year while everybody else, from Yahoo and Google to AOL and Microsoft, has either leveled off the number of ads or stayed flat.” Facebook accounted for 346 billion impressions in Q1 2011, nearly double the number it delivered in Q1 2010. Read more and see graphs from AdAge here.
Facebook is also experimenting with new kinds of advertising. According to AdAge, users can now earn “credits” for watching video ads on the site. These ads are shown during games, or on the right-hand side of a very limited number of Facebook pages. The credits are a virtual currency used to buy virtual goods in many games and apps on the Facebook platform.
In more news from Facebook, Myspace Music users can now transfer content from their Myspace artist pages onto Facebook. It will show up on Facebook under a new “Music” tab. More here.
Craig Morgan's Hunting Show Returns To Outdoor Channel
/by Sarah SkatesSeason two will have 13 new episodes and is set to premiere June 25.
The reality show gives viewers an all-access pass to Morgan’s travels as he and his crew pursue the ultimate hunting adventures. Each week he is joined by fellow country music artists as well as professional athletes and motocross celebrities.
Viewers can catch Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors every Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. (EST) on Outdoor Channel. Check local listings or log on to www.OutdoorChannel.com.
Jon Anthony Named WSIX PD
/by FreemanPrior to No Shoes Radio, Anthony served as VP Country Programming for Sirius/XM where he oversaw all of the sat-caster’s country channels. Before that he was Assistant PD/MD for Clear Channel’s WMZQ/Washington, DC.
“WSIX is one of our most important brands,” says Clear Channel Nashville OM Rich Davis. “Its heritage as the premier Country music station in the town where it all begins is legendary. Jon Anthony is the perfect person to lead us to even greater success. His country experience in terrestrial radio, satellite and online, in addition to his energy and passion is the perfect fit for where WSIX is headed.”
“I’m very excited about this opportunity to join such an amazing and talented team,” says Anthony. “WSIX has long been revered as one of America’s premier country radio stations and I look forward to continuing its iconic tradition and success.”
CMT Disaster Relief Concert Tonight
/by admin[Updated 5/12: The concert will feature call to action messages from President Obama, Big Kenny, Carrie Underwood, Courteney Cox, Ellen Degeneres, University of Alabama Coach Nick Saban, Nicole Kidman, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift and more.
MusicRow has the exclusive list of stars who will be manning the phone bank tonight, including Alabama, Ashton Shepherd, Big Kenny, Clay Walker, Clint Black, Crystal Bowersox, Danny Gokey, Darryl Worley, David Nail, Hank Williams, Jr., Hillary Williams, Holly Williams, Kellie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry, Phil Vassar, Randy Houser and Ricky Skaggs.
Alan Jackson will perform on the show and live stream it at AlanJackson.com.]
Robin Meade
••••
Robin Meade, CNN HLN anchor is set to co-host “Music Builds: The CMT Disaster Relief Concert.” The show will air live from the Grand Ole Opry House stage and Studio A on Thur., May 12, 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
HLN will re-broadcast the show in its entirety on Sun, May 15, 9 p.m. ET/8p.m. CT, to build additional awareness. Funds will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief effort in the South and Red Cross and phone lines will also be open for HLN’s re-air on Sunday.
“When I anchor stories about the recent storms in the South, my mind isn’t on the statistics, or the footage, or the sound bites,” says Meade. “My thoughts are with that person who looks around and wonders, ‘what am I going to do now that everything is gone?’ I’m so touched by the resiliency of the storm victims, and the generosity of music fans and viewers to help these folks whose lives are now in disarray, and that’s what this telethon is going to be about, lifting up storm victims, letting them know, they’re not alone.”
Joining Meade as co-hosts will be ESPN’s Erin Andrews and comedian Ron White. Country artists scheduled to appear include Hank Williams Jr., Alabama, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Ronnie Dunn, Sara Evans, Tim McGraw and Trace Adkins. All money raised will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Highlighted regions affected by recent storm, tornado and flooding damage will include Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Ala.; Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss.; Vidalia, La.; Dyersburg and Tiptonville, Tenn.; and Raleigh, N.C.
Meade will also provide live reports from the Grand Ole Opry House and interviews with featured musicians on Thu and Fri for her popular HLN morning show, “Morning Express with Robin Meade” (6 a.m. – 12 noon, ET).
Information is as follows: Visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts.
Shania TV Show Debuts With Solid Ratings
/by Sarah SkatesThe OWN original series Why Not? With Shania Twain, premiered Sunday, May 8 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, and debuted as the highest rated premiere to-date outside of the launch weekend for the network. The series ranked third in its timeslot in the key female demo among ad-supported cable networks.
Why Not? with Shania Twain moves to its regular time period Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT this week (May 15).
Pictured left: (L-R): Damon Moberly, Shania Twain, “Party Marty” Mitchell (WKMK/PD), Lexi Carter (WKMK APD/MD), and Sally Green at a book signing at the Barnes at the Noble in Princeton, NJ. Pictured right: Shania Twain stopped by the Premiere Radio studios in NY with (L-R): UMG’s Royce Risser, Premiere’s John Weber, Twain, UMG’s Katie Dean and Sandbox Management’s Jason Owen
Chet Atkins Exhibit Coming To Hall of Fame
/by Sarah Skates"The isolation, the poverty; that's what I came from. It's what makes you fight. It's what makes you work to develop your talent, if you have any, to get out. I picked my way out of East Tennessee." — Chet Atkins
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is planning a cameo exhibition about revered musician and producer Chet Atkins. The Luttrell, Tennessee native, who died in 2001, made his mark as one of Nashville’s A-Team studio musicians, a performer, recording artist, producer and record executive.
“His signature guitar licks shaped recordings by scores of legendary artists, including the Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley and Kitty Wells, and his playing influenced future rock gods Duane Eddy, George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and many more,” explains Museum Director Kyle Young. “As a producer, Chet was an architect of the ‘Nashville Sound;’ he was also a brilliant record executive who signed and propelled a generation of country artists, including Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton and Charley Pride, to fame.”
Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player opens in the Museum’s East Gallery on August 11, 2011, and runs through June 2012. Atkins was signed as a Gretsch signature guitar artist in 1954 and the upcoming exhibition is made possible by the Gretsch Company, with additional support by Great American Country Television Network.
Meanwhile, the Museum is preparing to dim the lights on Tammy Wynette: First Lady of Country Music, Presented by Great American Country Television Network. In anticipation of the exhibit’s June 12 denouement, the Museum is offering a packed lineup of Wynette-themed programs including a series of film screenings and a special program starring Georgette Jones on Saturday, May 28.
In related news, the official Country Music Hall of Fame inductions will take place during the Medallion Ceremony on Sunday, May 22. The event is invitation-only, but the public is welcome to watch the red carpet.
Also, catch Rivers Rutherford at Saturday’s (5/14) Songwriter Sessions, and don’t forget the Cookin’ Out Country lunchtime series on Wednesdays in May. Details at CountryMusicHallofFame.com.
Hometowns Not Forgotten By Rising Stars
/by Sarah SkatesKimberly Perry hands out food to those affected by the tornado that hit her hometown.
Greeneville, Tennessee natives Kimberly, Neil and Reid Perry (The Band Perry) visited their hometown earlier this week to help with tornado relief efforts. They joined the local Red Cross and the Greene County Disaster Relief/Donation Center to distribute food and supplies, offer solace, and express gratitude to the first responders and community volunteers.
• • • • •
The recent tornado also struck close to Chatom, Alabama, the hometown of Thompson Square’s Shawna Thompson. One of the hardest hit families in the area was the Box family of Deer Park, who lost three members. Thompson is auctioning off the dress she wore in the music video for the duo’s No. 1 hit, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” to benefit the family.
• • • • •
Missouri native David Nail will headline a flood relief benefit concert in Sikeston, MO on May 27 to raise money for the thousands of residents in southeast Missouri.
• • • • •
Fellow Missouri native Trent Tomlinson has recruited Uncle Kracker and Keith Anderson for a benefit concert in his hometown Kennett. Proceeds from the May 24 event will go to the Delta Children’s Home.
• • • • •
Edens Edge (Hannah Blaylock, Cherrill Green and Dean Berner) returned home to Arkansas last week to perform and promote environmental awareness with stops in Fayetteville and Bentonville.