Industry Ink: PLA Media, Tray Wellington, Perkins Publicity

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PLA Media Celebrates Seven Years Of Expanded Creative Services

Pictured: PLA Media Founder Pam Lewis, Graphic Designer & Social Media Manager Rory Edmonds, Media Assistant Ava Barrett & Executive Director Mark Logsdon. Photo Credit: Brandon Collins

PLA Media, a full-service public relations and marketing company, is celebrating seven years of award-winning graphic design. Over the years, the company has pivoted its focus, now providing consumers with innovative public relations and marketing solutions spanning a gamut of services including graphic design, social media, website management, podcast development, etc. PLA Media produces strategic high-profile local, regional, national and international branding campaigns, including websites, logos, social media headers, brochures, album/single artwork as well as advertising and marketing collateral materials. Websites for Gary Morris, Thunder Sound, Waste Tech Services and the 2020 Drug Enforcement Agency Educational Foundation Gala graphics are among projects most recently added to the company portfolio.

 

Tray Wellington Inks With Mountain Home Music Company

Tray Wellington. Photo: Rob Laughter

Tray Wellington has signed an exclusive artist recording deal with Mountain Home Music Company. A founding member of Cane Mill Road, Wellington struck out on his own at the beginning of the year — and now his career takes another step forward with joining the Mountain Home roster. A native of western North Carolina’s Ashe County, Wellington’s initial interest in music led him to the guitar, but it didn’t take long until the banjo became his main focus. By the time he finished high school, he was beginning to make appearances with Cane Mill Road, and in short order, he had appeared with the group at festivals such Grey Fox, Merlefest and Wide Open Bluegrass, while recording several well-received albums. Early in 2020, while continuing to work toward a degree in East Tennessee State University’s renowned Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music program, he released his solo debut, an EP titled Unchained Thoughts.

 

Perkins Publicity Adds Becca Bowen, Brady Lee

Becca Bowen has signed with Nashville-based firm Perkins Publicity for exclusive PR representation. Bowen is currently preparing for the release of her sophomore single titled Just Be You releasing on Jan. 7, 2021. Additionally, Bowen will be a part of the upcoming season of the Outdoor Channel’s show For Love Or Likes, premiering in April 2021. Brady Lee has inked an exclusive artist development and PR deal with Perkins Publicity. Lee’s debut single, “I Can Do This All Day,” debuted on the Apple Country Hot Tracks and Apple Music Editorial Playlist New In Country.

 

Florida Georgia Line Becomes First Country Act To Earn Two RIAA Diamond Single Awards

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Pictured (Top Row, L-R): Jimmy Harnen (BMLG Records), Jackie Jones (RIAA), Mitch Glazier (RIAA); (Second Row, L-R): Michele Ballantyne (RIAA), Halie Hampton (Hit Farm Management); Scott Borchetta (BMLG); (Third Row, L-R): Brian Kelley (Florida Georgia Line), Jeffrey Azoff (Full Stop Management), Tyler Hubbard (Florida Georgia Line); (Bottom Row, L-R): Irving Azoff (Full Stop Management). Photo: Courtesy of BMLG Records

Florida Georgia Line welcomed dozens of music industry colleagues and media members (via Zoom) to celebrate their latest RIAA milestone on Thursday, Nov. 19.

The duo’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard celebrated earning their second RIAA Diamond certification, this time for their collaboration with Bebe Rexha, “Meant To Be.” The new Diamond-certified song follows their 2012 breakthrough “Cruise,” which earned RIAA Diamond designation in 2016.

This makes Florida Georgia Line the only country act in the RIAA’s 62-year history with Gold and Platinum to have two RIAA-certified Diamond single awards. In the RIAA’s history, only 43 singles have earned RIAA Diamond status, less than 1% of all RIAA certified songs to reach that level.

The RIAA’s Mitch Glazier, Michele Ballantyne and Jackie Jones feted the milestone, alongside many on Florida Georgia Line’s label team at Big Machine Label Group, including president/CEO/founder Scott Borchetta, as well as Irving and Jeffrey Azoff of Full Stop Management, which Florida Georgia Line aligned with in early 2020.

The RIAA also announced several additional certifications for the duo: In addition to the double Diamond Single Awards, the duo was celebrated for seven more milestone certifications including: Can’t Say I Ain’t Country (RIAA GOLD album), “Simple” (RIAA 2X Platinum single), “Blessings” (RIAA Gold single), “Talk You Out of It” (RIAA 2X Platinum single), “H.O.L.Y.”  (RIAA 6X Platinum single), “This Is How We Roll” (RIAA 6X Platinum single), and their 17th career #1 “I Love My Country” (RIAA Go.d single).

“Thank you guys for the recognition and this ride has been a dream come true,” shared Kelley. “It’s pretty crazy hearing the numbers. It’s pretty wild to think about it in that time span. Just super grateful. Thank y’all for taking the time and celebrating us, but know that celebrating us is celebrating y’all ‘cause it is all of us. I think we’ve all been doing this together and riding this wave since day one, so thank you guys.”

“It is surreal and it is nice to take a second to let that sink in, and honestly we’re so thankful,” added Hubbard. “It’s awesome to know it’s connecting. When I hear those numbers that’s what I hear, and I just think that’s something that we can all be proud of. Thank y’all for being a part of this team. We’re humbled by it, we’re really extremely motivated, we’re all in a great headspace, and we’re feeling really creative and all this does is inspire us even more. Thanks everybody on this call and thank you for taking the time to recognize that, it’s really special.”

The duo recently released the Christmas track “Lit This Year” which they penned after being invited to be part of this year’s CMA Country Christmas.

“We thought, ‘Why don’t we just write a Christmas song?’ We’ve never written a Christmas song before,” Hubbard said. “BK had this idea he had been wanting to write called ‘Lit This Year,’ and I feel like we all got on Zoom—me and BK and our producer Corey Crowder—and in probably an hour and a half wrote that song.”

Florida Georgia Line has had 17 No. 1 singles to date, with their total digital singles awards topping 54 million. They also just wrapped work on their upcoming fifth studio album.

“We’ve recaptured our creative control and I feel like we are in a new lane,” Kelley said. “In a sense of who we are, where we’re at and the kind of music we want to continue to make and challenge ourselves.”

LiveXLive To Launch Music Publishing Division

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LiveXLive, a global platform for livestream and on-demand audio, video and podcast content in music, comedy, and pop culture, and owner of PodcastOne, Slacker Radio and React Presents, is forming a new division, LiveXLive Music Publishing. The new business vertical will be headed by music industry veteran David Schulhof as President, and expands publishing into LiveXLive’s artists first platform now offering live events, audio, livestreaming, pay-per-view, podcasts and merchandising.

LiveXLive Music Publishing will be added to LiveXLive’s Artist Ambassador Program providing revenue sharing to artists for all activations within the company’s business construct, thus providing a one stop, end-to-end music platform for artists. In addition, LiveXLive will be distributing music and collecting publishing royalties from multiple demand side platform destinations, such as Amazon Music, Pandora, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tidal, Tencent, TikTok, United Media Agency and more.

Schulhof joined LiveXLive last year in the role of Chief Development Officer. He was the co-founder and CEO of Evergreen Copyright Acquisitions, a global music publishing entity he built into one of the largest independent music companies in the world which was sold to KKR/BMG for $80 million and featured a catalog of 65,000 songs, including tracks by Tupac Shakur, MC Hammer, JJ Cale, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Bill Monroe, Teddy Riley, Michael Jackson and many others. Prior to Evergreen, Schulhof was VP of Motion Picture Music, Music Publishing and Soundtracks at Miramax and Dimension Films. Schulhof also held the post of President of IM Global Music, where he produced the award-winning documentary The Soundtrack of Our Lives highlighting music industry icon Clive Davis, which is available on Netflix.

“LiveXLive Music Publishing is a natural extension of our brand and our artists first company ethos. Our platform is perfectly designed to maximize and monetize music publishing assets and generate incremental synch and performance revenue for writers, artists, and producers,” said Robert Ellin, CEO and Chairman of LiveXLive. “As we launch linear channels, build original programming and continue to livestream music content around the world, this is a win for global songwriters. David is a perfect fit for our vision for growth.”

“I am thrilled about this new and extraordinary chapter in my career,” stated Schulhof. “We are well positioned and capitalized to be strategic in acquiring music publishing assets, sign writers and producers, all supporting our artists-first philosophy, a tentpole of the LiveXLive flywheel. The ability to build a new publishing entity within the context of a company that is so focused on the successes of artists in all facets of the music industry is a challenge I am ready to conquer. I am confident my 20+ years in publishing and venture capital will support the growth of LiveXLive and the new publishing division will bring us closer to artists, producers and the songwriting community allowing full service deals to be done within the music industry.”

Dolly Parton, Dan+Shay, Brett Eldredge To Appear On NBC’s ‘Christmas In Rockefeller Center’ Special

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Dolly Parton, Dan + Shay, and Brett Eldredge are among the artists who will take the stage on NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center special on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 8-10 p.m. ET. Also performing on the annual holiday special will be Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jimmy Fallon, Tori Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Gwen Stefani and Meghan Trainor.

The evening includes a special holiday treat with Clarkson and Eldredge performing together, along with duets featuring Parton and Fallon, and Trainor and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire. The cast from the Tony Award-winning hit “Ain’t Too Proud” will also perform a musical number, and the Radio City Rockettes will also make an appearance.

“Every year our viewers look forward to NBC’s iconic tree-lighting ceremony,” said Doug Vaughan, Executive Vice President, Special Programs, NBC Entertainment. “There’s something special about kicking off the holiday season with such an awe-inspiring event.”

At key moments throughout the night, viewers will have the opportunity to donate to Red Nose Day in support of children and families facing hunger and food insecurity this holiday season. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 1 in 4 children in the U.S., or around 18 million, have faced food insecurity in 2020 and may not know where their next meal will come from – an issue that has been significantly worsened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Money raised during the broadcast will support programs providing meals to children and families as well as helping to address child hunger and long-term food insecurity both domestically and internationally.

Musician Tim Atwood Releases Project ‘Who I Am’ Today

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Musician Tim Atwood, a 38-year veteran of the Grand Ole Opry stage, has released the album Who I Am. The 15-track album is led by the first single, “Sending Me Angels.” The project also includes the poignant “You First,” as well as “Shortnin’ Bread Rock” and “It Don’t Matter To The Sun.”

“This album has something for everyone,” Tim says. “This is definitely a country project, but you really can’t put my music in a box and slap a label on it. This album has everything from a country shuffle that I wrote with my wife called ‘Migraine Heartache’  to country boogie woogie. ‘Just Because She Always Has’ is my favorite ballad on this project, and I even covered a Delbert McClinton cover that I sang at my wedding called ‘Sending Me Angels’ featuring the soulful sounds of Charlie McCoy on harmonica. As I do on every project, I conclude my album with two gospel songs because God is always by my side in everything I do.”

FGL Hits No. 1 On MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Radio Chart

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Florida Georgia Line notches their second No. 1 this year on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart with “Long Live,” following “Blessings” which went No. 1 in February. The single was written by Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Corey Crowder, David Garcia, and Josh Miller.

In February, FGL earned a Billionaire plaque for surpassing five billion lifetime spins on Pandora and was named among the Top 10 most spun country acts in Pandora’s 20-year history. They were also honored with the Randy Owen “Angels Among Us” award in October from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for supporting St. Jude families for many years.

Just this week, FGL has inked an exclusive, multi-year touring deal with Live Nation in North America.

Click here or above to read the latest issue of The MusicRow Weekly.

Thomas Rhett’s “What’s Your Country Song” Is Most Added On ‘MusicRow’ CountryBreakout Radio Chart

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Thomas Rhett. Photo: Nick Rau

Thomas Rhett‘s latest single, “What’s Your Country Song,” is the most-added song on this week’s MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio chart, with 31 panel station adds. The song lands at No. 30, earning 653 total spins this week.

The song marks the first track from Thomas Rhett’s upcoming fifth studio project for The Valory Music Co. Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins are also set to co-host this year’s CMA Country Christmas, which airs Nov. 30 on ABC.

Sara Evans Gears Up For Busy Holiday Season With Movie, Virtual Concert Series

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Sara Evans, Wynonna Judd, RaeLynn, and Kix Brooks are putting a country twist on a holiday classic in a new Hallmark Channel movie, A Nashville Christmas Carol, which is premiering Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. ET. Evans plays “Belinda” in the TV movie, which gives a country spin on Charles Dickens’ beloved traditional holiday tale.

Evans is also performing a live series of virtual full band concerts in partnership with VYE over three nights coming up on Dec. 10-12. Each virtual date will have its own theme, with the first show including Evans’ biggest hits including her five chart-topping singles, fan favorite album cuts, and more. The second night will feature the cover songs from her latest album, Copy That, and the last night she’ll perform a virtual version of her annual Christmas concert tour named after her Holiday album, At Christmas. Each show will also include surprise special guests.

Tickets for each of the live virtual shows will start at $14.99 and are available to purchase immediately at vye.live/saraevans, with special packages including exclusive merch bundles and VIP virtual meet & greets also available. A limited number of in-person tickets will be made available at a later date and attendees will be required to follow all appropriate COVID safety protocols including spaced seating, temperature checks, and wearing masks.

 

DISClaimer Singles Reviews: Kelsea Ballerini, Shania Twain, Logan Mize, Clare Dunn, And More

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Welcome to a country-music, all-duets edition of DisClaimer.

Let’s cut right to the chase. Logan Mize and Clare Dunn have the Disc of the Day with Jonathan Tyler and Nikki Lane snapping at their heels and picking up a DisCovery Award as a consolation prize for Tyler.

But the previously reviewed “Rebels and Angels” by Terry McBride and Patty Loveless is still my 2020 favorite in this sub-genre.

LOGAN MIZE & CLARE DUNN /”Get ‘Em Together”
Writers: Dallas Davidson/Mark Holman/Ben Hayslip/Justin Wilson; Publisher:Big Yellow Dog; Producer: Daniel Agee; Label: Big Yellow Dog
-I love male-female country duets, and this one is a sensation. It’s got tempo, smiles, thump, crunch and guitar. Not to mention two personality-packed vocal performances for the price of one. Spin, spin, spin this baby.

HONEY COUNTY/ “Cry Wolf”
Writers: Danielle Rosner/Devon Eisenbarger/Katelyn Clampett/Katie Stump/Maks Gabriel; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Maks Gabriel/Katelyn Clampett; Label: Orchard
-The vocals by this female duo are mixed beautifully—so right up close and intimate you can almost hear them breathing into the microphone. The production shifts from soft and airy to rocking, swirling and exciting. I dig this little toe tapper.

LARKIN POE/”Take What You Want”
Writers: Andrew Wotman /Austin Richard Post/Billy Walsh/Jacques Webster/John Osbourne/Louis Russell Bell; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Larkin Poe; Label: LP
-The latest collection by these two sisters (Megan & Rebecca Lovell) is a covers-only effort titled Kindred Spirits. On it, they reinterpret songs by The Moody Blues, Elvis, Lenny Kravitz, Phil Collins, Elton John and others. This track is their rootsy/acoustic version of the Post Malone number. It’s pretty dang ear opening. If you aren’t hip to these two multi-instrumental wonders, get with the program…..

PRESLEY & TAYLOR/”Everybody Sees It”
Writers: Tenille Arts/Aaron Goodvin/Adam Wheeler; Publisher: none listed; Producer: James Stroud; Label: White Mustang
-These two sisters exude confidence and elan on this goose-bumpy, close-harmony performance. A steady, throbbing beat and tasty guitar licks underscore the silky vocals. One more thing: it is as catchy as can be.

SHENANDOAH & ASHLEY McBRYDE/”If Only “
Writers: Lori McKenna/Phil Barton/Jaron Boyer; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Buddy Cannon; Label: Foundry
-The Shenandoah comeback album of celebrity duets is loaded with delights. Not the least of them is this charming collaboration with McBryde. It’s a sweetly nostalgic, gentle, lilting song that wafts along with wishes of love, hope and decency.

THE SWON BROTHERS & LEWIS BRICE/”Southern Draw”
Writers: Zach Swon/Colton Swon/Lewis Brice; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Zach Swon/Colton Swan; Label: SB
–Nashlahoma is the title of the new Swon Brothers album. This lively, highly likeable track kicks up a lot of dust with its furious drumming, stinging guitar licks and party atmosphere. And no, that’s not a typo. It’s not “drawl.” It’s “draw.” They’re inviting you to the festivities by saying, “Let that Southern draw you in.”

LENA PAIGE & TANYA TUCKER/”Joan of Arkansas “
Writers: Robert Walton Jenkins/Selena Lynn Van Wyk; Publishers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Label: LP
-Paige has a languid delivery that’s not particularly compelling. Tucker, on the other, hand, is vocal charisma on the hoof. The lyric they share is interesting, but the melody just lays there.

ORVILLE PECK & SHANIA TWAIN/”Legends Never Die”
Writers: Orville Peck/Duncan Hay Jennings; Publisher: Sony-ATV, no performance rights listed; Producer: Orville Peck; Label: Columbia
-Colorful, mask-wearing Orville and snazzy dresser Shania might seem to be a good duet idea. Alas, neither of them sings well here, and evidently neither one is capable of vocal harmonizing. Also: The song is a dud.

KELSEA BALLERINI & SHANIA TWAIN/ “Hole in the Bottle “
Writers: Ashley Gorley/Hillary Lindsey/Jesse Frasure/Kelsea Ballerini/Steph Jones; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Ballerini/Frasure; Label: Black River
-The remix of Kelsea’s current single is pointlessly busy with competing drum tracks, overlapping vocals and trainwreck mixing. Shania’s vocals add little. It’s still a very cool song, so I’m sticking with Kelsea’s solo rendition.

JONATHAN TYLER & NIKKI LANE /”Old Friend”
Writers: Jonathan Tyler; Publisher: none listed; Producer: Jonathan Tyler; Label: JT
-Funky, warm and friendly, this rhythm-happy toe-tapper is loaded with cool little acoustic touches from mandolin, harmonica, shaker, fiddle and more. Lane’s sweet soprano harmony sounds lovely up against Tyler’s folkie vocal rasp. Sweet, jaunty and utterly endearing.

BeBe Winans To Serve As BMI Consultant

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Bebe Winans

Longtime BMI-affiliated songwriter and Gospel music legend BeBe Winans will serve as a consultant and personal advisor to BMI President/CEO Mike O’Neill. According to a statement from BMI, Winans will “lend his guidance and perspective to help the company navigate these changing times and continue BMI’s efforts to be a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.”

Winans has earned success both for his musical work with his sister CeCe Winans, and as a solo artist. He has earned six Grammys, 10 Dove Awards, six Stellar Awards, four NAACP Awards and more. He has served as an executive producer for the OWN series Greenleaf, hosted his own radio show on SiriusXM, and has been an actor and author. He shared his life story in the musical Born For This, and released an autobiography by the same name last year. Most recently, Winans released the single “Black Lives Matter,” offering a look at the Black Lives Matter movement and lending his voice to a call for understanding and empathy.

Winans said, “I’m proud to be a partner and guide for BMI and Mike O’Neill as President and CEO at this pivotal moment in our country and our industry. I know BMI is committed to doing the hard work that’s needed and has already taken important steps to drive change, and I’m excited to take this on to advance their progress. I also know Mike as a business leader, and more importantly, I know him as a friend, and I very much look forward to being a partner to him on this moving forward.”

O’Neill added, “I’m very grateful to BeBe for his support, and I know he will be integral in helping BMI continue our efforts to be more diverse and inclusive as a company. Not only is he one of the most inspirational, influential and dynamic songwriter/artists of our time, but importantly, BeBe also brings a wealth of experience and perspective. His wise counsel will be essential to us as BMI continues charting our course forward. I appreciate that BeBe believes in BMI, the mission of our company, and the core foundation of who we are. I will rely on him tremendously as an invaluable resource.”

BMI is also in the process of hiring a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Responsibility Officer to examine the company’s hiring, recruiting and training practices. The company has also developed an internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force as well as Affinity Resource groups, and has established a paid time-off volunteer policy where team members can volunteer at a local, community-based organization promoting diversity, championing social and racial justice, serving underserved communities, and protecting voting rights.