Awards Sales Bumps Fading Fast

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Backstage at the ACM Awards; Two Ft. Fred and Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition cover girl Brooklyn Decker.

Once upon a time, Nashville sales execs enjoyed a great amusement ride called the “Post Awards Bump.” Marketers would line up to ride this thrilling machine a few times each year immediately following a high profile televised award show featuring country music. But alas, like the long-defunct Opryland amusement park, the “Sales Bump” ride also seems to have closed up. Yes, things have changed.
For example, last week’s ACM Awards show (4/3) got great reviews for its pacing and strong performance lineup. But nevertheless, according to Nielsen SoundScan, country album sales nudged up an anemic 1% from the previous week. (The Top 75 Current Country rose 2.9%.) Perhaps this is the result of change arriving at retail country music outlets in the form of shrinking shelf space? And although it’s yet to be officially announced, Best Buy, (like Wal-Mart) has agreed to use Anderson Media to rack its stores with music product instead of dealing with the labels directly, a transition which will likely exert added pressure on label margins. [You heard it here first.]
Fortunately, country track sales did light up the consumer scoreboard, posting a gain this week—and really the only overall ACM bump to be found—of 6%. (Top 100 country tracks jumped 17.7% or only 220,261 units.)
But even in today’s world of diminished expectations, there are some individual highlights. Blake Shelton immediately comes to mind. His personality sparkled as new ACM co-host and “Honey Bee” performance stung its way into most viewer’s hearts. Shelton’s Loaded: The Best of… received a modest 15% hike to almost 7,000 units, but his single flew to the top of the country tracks chart boasting more than twice as many units as the No. 2 track—almost 139,000. The track was released on Sunday so that fans could achieve instant gratification and buy it immediately after hearing it on the ACM show. Warner Sr. VP Brand Management & Sales Peter Strickland was on a plane this morning and unavailable for comment, but his Sunday release strategy (tracks usually get released on Tues.) paid off handsomely. And who’s counting, but Shelton also placed six additional tracks on the top 100 country tracks list.
Numerous artists enjoyed album bumps of about 20%, but in real numbers these meant only a few thousand additional units at best. A strange example is Sugarland. They hosted the Mandalay Bay venue during the show and Ms. Nettles got two performance slots. The unexpected result was a 5% drop in album sales, and even the duo’s top selling track “Stuck Like Glue” faltered, sliding 19% to just below 25k units. (Did the Rihanna pairing upset Jennifer’s fan base?)
Zooming out to the larger view, as we close the week of 4/10/2011 all genre album sales are only off 4.1%. Country album sales are in a deeper trough, down 11.7%. However, the year is young and country’s real sales test will develop later in the year when release schedules heat up and efforts to entice consumers begin in earnest.
 

Industry Ink Wednesday (4/13)

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Producer Charlie Peacock, Erika Attwater, Jonathan Richards, and Twenty Ten Creative Director, Sam Ashworth. Photo: Allister Ann


Grammy winning producer Charlie Peacock (The Civil Wars, Switchfoot), Sr. VP of A&R for Twenty Ten Music has signed new country band Attwater to an exclusive production and publishing deal.
The band, made up of Erika Attwater and Jonathan Richards, started recording with Peacock in January and the result is described as classic rock a la Fleetwood Mac with bluegrass flavoring. Among the Nashville tunesmiths who have contributed to the project are Luke Laird, Sam Ashworth, Trent Dabbs, and Matthew Perryman Jones. Peacock also recruited A-list session players, and engineers Justin Niebank and Richie Biggs. Attwater first met Peacock by following him on Twitter.
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Lindsay Bertelli


Tour production exec Lindsay Bertelli has launched Reach, LLC, an entertainment marketing agency. She has a long history of working with the star-studded CMT On Tour and will keep working with the tour as one of her first clients. Other clients include Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc, World Vision, and Calgary Stampede.
Bertelli began her career at Moore Entertainment Group, which later affiliated with both TBA Entertainment and AEG Live. As Senior Project Manager, she managed nine years of production and sponsorship for CMT On Tour. Other professional highlights include project management of Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson’s 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour, Brooks and Dunn’s Neon Circus & Wild West Show and Playboy’s 50th Anniversary Club Tour. Corporate clients with product and touring projects have included Nescafe, Crown Royal, Yuban Coffee, and Toyota.
Serving as President of Reach, Bertelli brings with her Director of Talent Buying Amy Bryan, Producers Lauren Keckley and Katie Sanders, and Executive Assistant Whitney Williams.
Reach LLC can be contacted at 114 30th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212, 615-340-5390, email addresses are firstinitiallastname@reachnash.com (ex. lbertelli@reachnash.com).
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WRVW-FM Nashville, TN was recently awarded the National Association of Broadcasters’ Crystal Radio Award for their outstanding commitment to community service.
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The radio tower of legendary Nashville station 650AM WSM has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. In more WSM AM news, the station set a ratings record last month according to Arbitron PPM ratings for the February 2 – March 2 time period. The station’s increase in share of the Nashville listening audience is the largest gain any country station in any market has ever generated between January and February.

McGraw Tour Opens In Texas

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Tim McGraw performs at the Houston Rodeo in March 2011.


Tim McGraw kicked off his Emotional Traffic Tour with special guests Luke Bryan and The Band Perry on Friday, April 8 in Corpus Christi, TX. The run of arenas and amphitheaters will cover at least 60 dates through August. He’s offering three different VIP packages for fan club members.
In the midst of touring, McGraw is set for an April 28 visit to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fans can enter the “Band Bench” contest to surround the stage during his performance here (contest band code: TIM).
McGraw and his tourmates will also play an exclusive concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of SiriusXM at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on April 27. The show will air live on three SiriusXM channels, including his own “Tim McGraw Radio,” which will be available on the satcaster April 20 through April 27.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (4/13/11)

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Every doggie has his day.
This week, it’s the puppy platters that are in the winner’s circle. None of the major-label offerings made my ears wild with excitement. But two pieces of indie product did.
Singer-songwriter David G. Smith is a major find. He hails from Iowa, but spends most of his time in Music City. If a man is judged by the company he keeps, this guy is an A-lister for casting the likes of Mary Gauthier, Kenny Malone, Verlon Thompson and Dan Dugmore on his Non-Fiction CD. He also wins this week’s DisCovery Award.
The new trio Stealing Angels had the wisdom to enlist Paul Worley as its producer, and the classy sonic result is all over its disc debut. The harmonizing threesome is Jennifer Wayne (the granddaughter of John Wayne), Caroline Cutbirth (a descendent of Daniel Boone) and Tayla Lynn (the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn). In addition to penning many of their own, they chose (again wisely) to include songwriters Gary Burr, Dave Berg, Paul Kennerley, Al Anderson, Marcus Hummon, Georgia Middleman and Leslie Satcher on their project. Give those wise, wise women a Disc of the Day prize.
DAVID G. SMITH/You’re The Reason God Made Tequila
Writer: Lori Shropshire/Deanna Walker/David G. Smith; Producer: Miles Wilkinson & Buddy Mondlock; Publisher: Shire/ZMG/Alrose, ASCAP/BMI; Hey Dave (track) (www.HeyDaveMusic.com)
—Gig alert: Mr. Smith is staging his CD release show tomorrow (Thursday, April 14) at The Bluebird Cafe at 6:00 p.m. It will feature several of his stellar supporting players from the disc, including Jonell Mosser, Jelly Roll Johnson and Buddy Mondlock. Jelly Roll is particularly prominent on this delightfully bluesy, funky, loose-limbed track. The album is called Non-Fiction, and there’s audio pleasure in every track. The vulnerable, hushed ballad “In This Cage” will stop your heart. “Her Body Won’t Lie” has steady, thumping rhythm to spare. “Fear (That Son of a Bitch)” is packed with wry vocal personality. Very highly recommended.
STEALING ANGELS/Paper Heart
Writer: Gordie Sampson/Hillary Lindsey/Steve McEwen; Producer: Paul Worley; Publisher: No Such/Bug/Music of Windswept/Songs of Southside Independent/Raylene/EMI Blackwood/Birds with Ears, SOCAN/ASCAP/BMI; Skyville (track) (www.stealingangels.com)
—This female trio includes Tayla Lynn, who is Loretta’s granddaughter. The harmonies are perfectly lovely on this soaring, melodic, heartache-with-tempo outing. Hang on for the overdubbed, layered, deliciously interwoven vocals in the finale, plus the superb sounding instrumental fade. I’m definitely into this.
RANDY HOUSER/In God’s Time
Writer: Randy Houser/David Lee Murphy/Shane Minor; Producer: Cliff Audretch III, Randy Houser & Mark Wright; Publisher: Little Britches/Do Write/Old Desperados/Carol Vincent/Sony-ATV Tree/Code Six Charles, BMI/ASCAP; Show Dog Universal
—This artist has such a magnificent voice, but has yet to find the song that propels him to radio stardom. I don’t think this ultra slow ballad is the one, but I still love to hear him sing.
TERRY BAUCOM/Do You Wrong Kind Of Girl
Writer: James Cody Shuler; Producer: Terry & Cindy Baucom; Publisher: Pine Mountain Railroad, BMI; John Boy & Billy (track)
—Bluegrass banjoist Baucom is issuing this lively ditty as the debut single from his CD In a Groove. In addition to his scampering banjo, it features trio vocal harmony on the choruses thanks to Jamie Dailey and Lou Reid.
BLAKE SHELTON/Honey Bee
Writer: Ben Hayslip/Rhett Akins; Producer: Scott Hendricks; Publisher: WB/Melissa’s Money/Get a Load of This/EMI Blackwood/Rhettneck, ASCAP/BMI; Warner Bros.
—Sunny, smiley and a sure-fire hit. Ya gotta love this guy.
ROBYN LUDWICK/Hollywood
Writer: Robyn Ludwick; Producer: Gurf Morlix; Publisher: Robyn Ludwick, BMI; Late Show (track) (www.robynludwick.com)
—Her album is called Out of These Blues, and she solo wrote every song on it. This lead-off track drawls its way into ever deepening misery. This babe is seriously bummed out, and it sounds just fine. Americana programmers, in particular, take note.
RODNEY ATKINS/Take A Back Road
Writer: Rhett Akins/Luke Laird; Producer: Ted JHewitt & Rodney Atkins; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Rhettneck/Universal-Careers/High Powered Machine, BMI; Curb
—It’s the one about loving rural life. Again.
BRANTLEY GILBERT/Country Must Be Country Wide
Writer: Dekle/Ford/Gilbert; Producer: Dann Huff; Publisher: none listed; Valory Music
—It’s kind of the audio offspring of Hank Jr.’s “A Country Boy Can Survive,” only with a loud rock backing track.
MICHELLE TURLEY/My X Husband
Writer: Turley/Putman/Braddock; Producer: C.F. Turley; Publisher: Popdark/Sony-ATV, BMI; Victorio
—Fiddles saw merrily away during the opening notes. The mood stays light once she starts to sing in her thin-yet-feisty little voice. Amusing, especially with the yammering “answering” voices.
KATE RUSSELL/Damned If I Do
Writer: Kate Russell/Rich Mouser; Producer: Kate Russell & Rich Mouser; Publisher: none listed; Urunga (615-302-0072)
—This gal has been making regular appearances in this column for several years. As before, her womanly, husky, blues-tinged vocal works best with an “attitude” lyric like this one. Her rocking performance is backed up with some snazzy electric guitar work by co-writer and co-producer Mouser.

Review: McEntire Tour Ends On High Note

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Backstage after the concert. (L-R) Sandi Borchetta- VP Creative Services BMR; David M. Ross- Publisher MusicRow; Reba; John Zarling- Sr. Dir. New Media; and George Briner-Dir. Ntl. Promotion.


Reba McEntire’s flawless performance delighted an April 9 Louisville, KY audience at the city’s new KFC Yum Center.
Staged in the round, the Chockie, Okie redhead’s musical portion was nestled between opener Lee Ann Womack and closer George Strait. This night was extra special because it was the tour’s final date. As the anticipation for a “first glimpse of Reba” built, video screens showed snippets from a variety of the star’s many accomplishments. Included were scenes from her first major supporting movie role, Tremors (with Kevin Bacon); a variety of hit music video edits; footage from the Broadway musical, Annie Get Your Gun; and of course a few frames from her sitcom success simply titled, Reba.
Seated in the VIP soundboard seating area was producer Tony Brown, whose sharp ears nurtured many of the hits which would be performed during the evening’s show. The lights came up. Reba seemed to float down the runway onto the stage and burst into her first Mercury Records No. 1 (1984) “Can’t Even Get The Blues.”

Big Machine President/CEO Scott Borchetta couldn't resist climbing behind the wheel of the "Fancy" cab.


Then the hits kept rolling with songs like “Fear Of Being Alone,” “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” and the infectious blues romp, “Tell Me Why.” Lee Ann Womack re-appeared on stage and delivered a soaring vocal read with Reba on the 1993 smash “Does He Love You,” originally recorded with Linda Davis. Another standout was the Kelly Clarkson song “Because Of You.”
Just as it seemed time to move from ballads back to uptempo numbers, an oversized blond woman wearing a George Strait t-shirt with redneck jewels glued all over it and holding a Budweiser in her hand screamed and yelled as she ran to join Reba onstage. It didn’t take long to recognize Melissa Peterman the comedienne who played Barbara Jean on the Reba TV sitcom. Peterman, who incidentally will soon release a comedy album on one of the Big Machine imprints was outrageous. At one point George Strait talked over the speakers and Peterman made his mouth move on her t-shirt pretending she was a ventriloquist… Next Peterman and McEntire volleyed gags like two champion tennis players at Wimbledon. Peterman wanted to sing with Reba, then she agreed to sit quietly on a stool. Then she sang a line anyway. The sitcom chemistry worked nicely and Peterman exited to strong applause.
Reba regained control of her show singing “I’m A Survivor,” and one of her latest Valory Music No. 1 hits “On The Radio.” She worked the in-the-round setting smoothly, visiting with all four sides of the audience. Yes, the production was nice and yes, the lighting and sound were extremely well done. But omg–it was all about the vocals!
Perhaps there’s a reason why this country icon, Hall Of Famer, has 15 American Music Awards, 9 People’s Choice trophies, 7 CMA honors, 2 Grammys, sold over 55 million albums worldwide, appeared on Broadway plus had a No. 1 sitcom on two networks for six consecutive years. McEntire’s vocal instrument is a joy to experience. She exercises total control over her notes and phrases, and like an expert chief mixes just the right amount of vocal spice to flavorfully expose a song’s emotional heart.
In an unusual production touch, the encore embraced the most production elements of the set. Of course the song was “Fancy.” It began with a clip of the music video with the singer in the backseat of a cab. When the lights came on a real life yellow cab drove out onto the arena floor and up to the stage. A woman in a red dress got out (Reba) who climbed up on the stage and ripped into this chilling parable of loss and redemption.
The satisfied crowd screamed and applauded, cause Fancy did not let them down.
 

Frankie Ballard Debut Coming In May

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Warner Bros.’s new guitar slinger Frankie Ballard is gearing up for the May 24 release of his debut project.
For the album he teamed with producer Michael Knox, known for work with Jason Aldean. The lead single “Tell Me You Get Lonely” resulted in a hit video, and strong lead-in to his current single “A Buncha Girls.” Ballard co-wrote several of the tracks for his release. As a songwriter, he also contributed a song to Billy Currington’s latest album.
Ballard’s self-titled effort has eight tracks, shorter than most full-length albums. Warner Bros. has been experimenting with offering shorter albums during the last year, particularly with the release of Blake Shelton’s Six-Paks. This allows new music to come out more frequently.
Ballard has toured with Uncle Kracker, and will open select dates for Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famer Bob Seger and superstar Taylor Swift this summer.
Even before inking his record deal, Ballard was opening big-name shows. In 2008, the Michigan native won Kenny Chesney’s “Next Big Star” regional competition and opened for the star in Detroit.
Track listing:
1.   A Buncha Girls
2.   Single Again
3.   Place To Lay Your Head
4.   Tell Me You Get Lonely
5.   Get On Down The Road
6.   Sober Me Up
7.   Rescue Me
8.   Grandpa’s Farm

[updated 4/13] Bobo, Hunze Exit BMG Chrysalis

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Dale Bobo


MusicRow has also learned that Tim Hunze, Sr. VP of BMG Rights Management has exited the company. Hunze headed the Nashville office of Stage Three Music, and was brought under the BMG Chrysalis umbrella when it acquired Stage Three.
Hunze can be reached at timhunze@gmail.com and 615-414-1097.
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Dale Bobo is exiting his role as Exec. VP of Chrysalis Music following the company’s merger with growing publishing giant BMG, which is now known as BMG Chrysalis.
Bobo first took office at Chrysalis in April 2010. With more than 25 years of experience, the publishing vet’s resume also includes a lengthy term as Sr. VP/GM of Warner/Chappell Nashville. He tells MusicRow, “I can honestly say I enjoyed every single day at Chrysalis. Working with amazing writers like Brett Beavers, Jeff Stevens, Jim McCormick, Victoria Banks, Shelley Skidmore and Danny Orton has been a dream come true. Being a part of an office with Abbe Nameche, Patricia Wittmer and Jersey Ross has been really fun and having the opportunity to work under Chrysalis President Kenny MacPherson has been awesome. For a publishing guy it doesn’t get much better than that.” Contact him at dalebobo@me.com.
Corporate mergers often lead to consolidation of staff and positions. When Chrysalis acquired S1 Songs in April 2010 it led to the departure of S1 Sr. VP/GM Pat Finch, who was replaced by Bobo. Finch is currently representing hit songwriter Brett Jones’ Big Borassa publishing.
BMG has been on a buying spree for more than a year, and continues to acquire big-name catalogues and publishers. Nashville is feeling the trickle-down effect as staffs are consolidated. The local EverGreen Copyright office, which was purchased by BMG in 2010, recently experienced downsizing. BMG Chrysalis’ Music City operations are being run out of new offices at Cummins Station under the leadership of Executive VP Darrell Franklin.
Richard Blackstone is Chief Creative Officer of BMG Chrysalis US. Based in the US headquarters in New York City, he has strong ties to Nashville. He reports directly to CEO Hartwig Masuch.

Photos: Charley Pride, Margaret Durante, Jeremy McComb

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Pictured (l-r): MS Senator Robert Jackson, Charley Pride, MS Country Music Trail's Alex Thomas; Photo: Jeff Holder.


Charley Pride has been honored with a road marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail. The ceremony was held Tuesday, March 29 on Highway 3 in Pride’s hometown of Sledge, MS. A portion of the highway has also been renamed “Charley Pride Highway.” “I’m honored and humbled at the same time. It was wonderful!” says Pride. “Who’d have thought that a kid who walked four miles to school and four miles home every day would ever get such a tribute?”

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Recording artist Margaret Durante visited the CMA offices on April 8 to perform songs from her forthcoming EP including the title track and upcoming single “Maybe Tonight.” Durante is signed to Stroudavarious Records’ imprint Emrose Records.

Pictured (l-r): CMA Senior Coordinator of Member & Industry Relations Betsy Walker, Stroudavarious Records President Bill Catino, Hot Schatz Public Relations Owner and Press Agent Schatzi Hageman, Stroudavarious Records Vice President of Marketing Derek Simon, Margaret Durante, Conway Entertainment Group President and CMA Board Member Tony Conway, Stroudavarious Vice President of Promotion Bill Macky, and CMA Senior Manager of Membership & Balloting Brandi Simms.

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Pictured (l-r): Wounded Warrior Mike Durner and Jeremy McComb



Jeremy McComb participated in the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride in San Diego, Calif. during late March. McComb says, “While I’m a bit sore and exhausted, this weekend was incredible and life changing for me!! I made so many new friends with the Wounded Warrior Project. The warriors continue to amaze me through their stories, their selfless actions, their spirit and will.”
 

NYP: EMI Will Be Sold As Single Unit

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With rumors swirling about the auction of Warner Music Group, prognosticators have let the upcoming sell of EMI slide to the back-burner.
But today (4/12) the New York Post reports that Citigroup, which took control of EMI in February, plans to sell the company as a whole, instead of selling off separate recording and publishing divisions.
This plan is in line with the wishes of EMI Chief Executive Roger Faxon reports the paper, which also says that EMI’s corporate structure has the recorded music and publishing units so intertwined that they would be difficult to break apart.
A buyer for Warner could be announced as early as this week. And the EMI sale is expected to start when the Warner one closes.

Industry Ink Tuesday (4/12)

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Stacey Lee


iV Group has hired Stacey Lee as Creative Facilitator to work with new agency partners and manage client projects. Previously, Lee was a music supervisor and a music production supervisor for lm and television in Los Angeles, working on major network series including The West Wing and Friday Night Lights. Lee also worked as Senior Account Executive for DMI Music & Media Solutions, where she created custom audio branding solutions for clients ranging from Target to General Mills. Under the direction of CEO Steve Keller, iV Group provides strategic audio branding for a wide range of global agencies and brands. Lee can be reached at slee@ivgroup.cc or 615-320-1444.
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CMT’s first scripted series Working Class has been canceled according to a note on the show’s official Facebook page. The first season finale was April 1. The show’s star Melissa Peterman will still host new episodes of The Singing Bee.
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The GMA Dove Awards are following suit of other major awards shows and offering fan voting for select categories this year. Fans can vote here for the Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year categories before the end of today (4/12). Those who vote will be entered to win a trip to the Dove Awards in Atlanta, GA on Wednesday, April 20. The awards show will be televised on GMC on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 7 p.m. ET.
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The Songwriter Agency has signed Richie McDonald and Bryan White for booking representation. McDonald scored numerous hits as the front man and principal songwriter for Lonestar. White hit the top of the country charts four times and received awards from the CMA, ACM and Grammys. The Songwriter Agency is headed by Paul Compton, Randy Harrell and Rod Parkin. For booking, contact Harrell at Randy@thesongwriteragency.com or 904-437-8463.
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BMI has entered a partnership with Sony’s new multi-platform streaming digital music service “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity.” With the agreement, Music Unlimited can stream the more than 6.5 million musical compositions in the BMI repertoire.
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Publishing executives Dave Durocher and Steve Toland, have partnered with marketing executive Jason Collins to launch one-stop sync licensing outfit Splother. Splother’s content will be selected by music industry executives, offering a simple “click to pay” solution for licensing music for film, television, advertising, video games and more. Splother launches April 15, 2011 at splother.com.
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Professor and exec Paul Allen has written the 2nd edition of Artist Management for the Music Business (Focal Press). Allen’s book includes artist manager profiles, a template for an artist career plan, and samples of major contract sections for artist management and record deals.
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New Cuts of Bluegrass has launched out of Franklin, TN delivering the latest releases from the bluegrass world to radio stations, DJs and programmers nationwide on one disc. The service compiles new song releases from major and independent labels and ships the discs to over 450 traditional and internet radio stations as well as satellite broadcasters. Contact them at 615-294-6536
 or info@newcutsofbluegrass.com.