TV series The Song, led by Marc Oswald, Trey Fanjoy and Cary Glotzer, is set to premier the week of Jan. 4, 2020. The multi-genre music, entertainment and lifestyle show reveals the stories behind some of the biggest rock, pop, country, triple A, R&B and hip hop songs.
Oswald will serve as executive producer alongside Tupelo Raycom CEO/Founder Glotzer, while film/video/commercial director Fanjoy will direct the new series. The Song will be presented by Ally and Nashville Music City and distributed by Gray Television, which owns and operates network affiliated stations in 93 US television markets.
“At the heart of Nashville is our songwriter community,” said Butch Spyridon, President and CEO, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “To showcase the songs and songwriters, alongside the artists, is like a peek under the hood of the music that drives our lives—and Nashville gets to be the car.”
Season one, slated to begin recording in October, will consist of nine 30-minute episodes plus a one-hour “Best of The Song” finale. Each episode will be centered around a specific hit song. The songwriter or songwriters will talk in-depth about their journey, the inspiration for the song, how it evolved, and how the song eventually changed their lives forever. The artist who recorded the song will discuss what that same song means to them, what they thought when they first heard it and the impact it made on his/her life and career. Each episode will include three song performances from the songwriter and artist’s catalogs including the featured selection. Additional special guest artists chosen by the songwriter and artist may be woven in to various episodes.
The series will be filmed at TGL Farms in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and co-hosted by Krista Marie and Damien Horne. Following each conversation the writer and artist will take the stage at TGL Farms for a concert in front of a small live audience of approximately 75. The series has established partnerships with the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Belmont University to provide scholarship and internship opportunities for their programs.
“We’ve been lucky enough to spend our entire careers making a living in the music and TV business, and we (all of us, actually) owe every ounce of our success to the creative stories and melodies contained in the songs we love so much,” said Oswald.
Glotzer continued, “This project carries with it the responsibility to shine the brightest light possible on some of the greatest songwriters, artists and songs in American pop culture.”
“I think music fans need a show like The Song,” said Fanjoy. “It’s a fresh, in-depth look into the inspiration and magic behind some of their most beloved hit records. I’m extremely excited to be collaborating with such incredible talent on this series. We have a shared goal to celebrate the musical genius at the core of these hit songs and elevate them with unforgettable performances. I know this series is going to be truly special.”
Scooter Braun’s SB Projects Inks Deal With Amazon Studios
/by Jessica NicholsonScooter Braun
Scooter Braun‘s SB Projects has inked a first-look deal with Amazon Studios, reports Deadline.com. SB Projects is a subsidiary of Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, which also recently acquired and partnered with Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group.
The outlet reports the Amazon/SB Projects deal is a multi-year contract to develop both scripted and non-scripted projects with the company. SB Projects’ film/TV division has produced projects including the series Scorpion and the Justin Bieber documentary Never Say Never.
Superstar manager Braun’s management division also guides the careers of artists including Bieber, Ariana Grande, Zac Brown Band, Dan + Shay (with Sandbox Management), Demi Lovato and more. Ithaca Holdings also previously acquired music publishing company Atlas, which represents Brandi Carlile and more.
The recently-acquired Big Machine Label Group is home to the music catalog of Taylor Swift, and is recording home for artists including Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Lady Antebellum, Reba McEntire, Sheryl Crow, and more.
Music City Roots To Open Live Music Venue In Madison, Tennessee
/by Jessica NicholsonMusic City Roots, the live showcase, radio broadcast and public television series, has revealed plans for a new music venue to open in Fall 2020 in Madison, Tennessee.
On July 11, the Music City Roots team joined Nashville Mayor David Briley, Madison’s Metro City Councilmember Nancy VanReece and other community leaders to reveal plans for a new venue next to Amqui Station. The Roots Barn, scheduled for a grand opening in the Fall of 2020, will be part of a larger Madison Station development, with new housing and street plans poised to solidify Madison as an epicenter of life, work, arts and travel in the growing Metro Nashville area.
The Roots Barn, with state of the art audio by Sound Image, will hold approximately 750 attendees seated or 1,000+ standing. The bars, food service and ticketing areas will be isolated from the music hall, creating optimal conditions for performers and music lovers alike. The Barn will present ticketed shows, private events on request and “Music City Roots – Live from Madison Station” on a weekly basis. Adjacent to the barn, a separate building will house a remote studio for MCR partner WMOT Roots Radio 89.5 FM, the 100,000 watt Americana-format public radio station out of Middle Tennessee State University.
Briley said: “For years, Music City Roots has helped Nashville showcase new talent while carrying on and sharing our deepest musical heritage. Reviving this institution in a neighborhood as vibrant as Madison, where it will complement historic Amqui Station and help establish a walkable neighborhood center, is definitely cause for celebration.”
Amqui Station makes a charming and appropriate companion to the Roots Barn. Built in 1910, it was the last stop north of Nashville before passenger trains reached Union Station downtown. When passenger service was discontinued, Johnny Cash acquired the structure to save it from demolition and moved it to his property in Hendersonville. After his death, it emerged that Johnny had made provisions to return the antique station and its contents to its original home. It stands there now, not far from its once-functional place along the tracks as a museum and visitors welcome center, operated by Discover Madison, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. The potential synergies for local or city-wide events are many.
The Roots Barn was made possible through a transaction between Music City Roots and Discover Madison, Inc. The property is part of a public/private relationship giving community benefit for generations to come, explained Councilmember VanReece: “The land was originally donated to Discover Madison, Inc. by AT&T with the help of US Rep. Jim Cooper and TN Rep. Bill Beck, with the express intent for such an ongoing benefit. This amazing opportunity not only celebrates our history but ensures our renaissance.”
“I’m really excited about Music City Roots getting started on this Madison music venue and the opportunity for WMOT to be a part of it. WMOT and Music City Roots have worked together for nearly three years to bring Americana and Roots music to middle Tennessee on WMOT 89.5. This new space will allow that partnership to continue to grow and expand, while growing our music community in Madison, middle Tennessee and beyond,” said Val Hoeppner, Executive Director, WMOT 89.5 FM.
“The three greatest exports of Southern culture are music, food and whiskey. Ask anyone from around the world about Tennessee, and their answers will most definitely revolve around these things. Of course, our focus is on broadcasting real music—past, present and future—but in the spirit of true Southern hospitality, we will offer an authentic experience combining the best of all these elements to our visitors,” said John Walker, Executive Producer, Music City Roots.
Luke Combs Extends Tour, Adds Second Bridgestone Arena Show
/by Jessica NicholsonPhoto (c) 2019 David Bergman for Sony Records Nashville — Luke Combs photo shoot near Nashville, TN on May 1, 2019.
Luke Combs will extend his massive sold out “Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour” with five new dates including a second show added at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 12, due to popular demand after the first show sold out in just six minutes.
Broken Bow Announces Promotion, Addition To Publicity Team
/by Lorie HollabaughQuinn Kaemmer, Sara Beth Watson Photo Credit: Cody Heckber
Quinn Kaemmer has been promoted to Senior Publicity Manager at Broken Bow Records and Sarah Beth Watson has joined the department as Publicity Manager. Both will report to BBR Music Group VP of Publicity, Jay Jones.
Since joining BBR Music Group in October 2017 as a Publicity Manager, Kaemmer has played a key role in the launch of the fast-rising Jimmie Allen’s debut album Mercury Lane and his historic three week No. 1 hit, “Best Shot,” managed publicity for Randy Houser’s critically-acclaimed album Magnolia, and worked with viral-sensation Blanco Brown, Lainey Wilson, LOCASH and Parmalee among many others. Armed with nearly a decade of experience in the public relations field, her previous stops include NPG PR, marlo marketing, and Reed PR.
“Quinn makes an impact on every project she is involved in,” said Jones. “We are excited to announce her promotion and the contributions on behalf of the BBR artists that it represents.”
Watson has been hired as Manager of Publicity. In this role she will manage day to day publicity needs and messaging for many of the acts at BBR Music Group. Watson joins the team from Red Light Management, where she most recently served on the management team for Drake White and Dustin Lynch. Her five years of industry experience began at Universal Music Group in promotion where she supported the SVP of Promotion and rose to Promotion Coordinator for Capitol Nashville’s roster.
Kaemmer and Watson can be reached at quinn@bbrmusicgroup.com and sarahbeth@bbrmusicgroup.com, respectively.
Stephanie Quayle Makes Academy Of Country Music Visit
/by Lorie Hollabaugh(L-R): Heather Bohn, HBPR; Maddy Stessman, ACM Manager, Administration; Stephanie Quayle; Carli McLaughlin, Rebel Engine Entertainment; Erick Long, ACM SVP, Events Photo Credit: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music
Stephanie Quayle recently stopped by the Academy of Country Music for a visit. The Rebel Engine Entertainment artist visited with staffers and performed her current single, “If I Was a Cowboy,” from her upcoming Fall project.
Nashville Production Music Startup Soundstripe Adds J.R. McNeely
/by Jessica NicholsonJ.R. McNeely
J.R. McNeely, a Grammy-winning engineer and producer with nearly three decades of experience, has joined Nashville-based tech-enabled production music startup Soundstripe as Mix Engineer. In this role, McNeely will ensure that Soundstripe’s library of original content for sync remains at the highest level of quality.
Based in Nashville, McNeely has been a professional audio mixer and engineer for over 28 years. During that time, he has worked on over 300 albums, including three Grammy-winning albums: Unseen Power and Double Take by Petra and Solo by DC Talk. He also received a personal Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album – Non-Classical for Owsley’s self-titled album and worked on an additional four albums that receiving Grammy nominations: Momentum by Toby Mac, God Fixation by Petra, Lay It Down by Jennifer Knapp, and Lift by Audio Adrenaline. McNeely has mixed or engineered albums or singles for prominent artists such as Underoath, Relient K, Anberlin, MxPx, Thousand Foot Krutch, Francesca Battistelli, Starflyer 59, J.J. Cale, Owsley, David Bazan and his band Lo Tom, Jeremy Camp, TobyMac, Rich Mullins and A Ragamuffin Band, Dead Letter Circus, Mandisa, DC Talk, Restless Heart, Audio Adrenaline, The Choir, Buddy & Julie Miller, Randy Stonehill, Aaron Sprinkle, Kevin Max, John Elefante, The Prayer Chain, Petra, Third Day, Judson Spence, Emery, Demon Hunter, Acceptance, and many more.
Created by an in-house team of composers, mix engineers, songwriters, producers, and other music industry professionals, the Soundstripe catalog is available to filmmakers, YouTubers, advertisers, and anyone creating video content via a unique subscription model that gives them unlimited, royalty-free usage for a monthly or annual fee. This has led to over 2 million “micro-licenses” being issued for tens of thousands of customers in over 130 countries since Soundstripe’s inception in 2016. With an avid and loyal creator community, Soundstripe has seen triple digit year-over-year growth for the past three years.
Marc Oswald, Trey Fanjoy, Cary Glotzer Launch ‘The Song’ Series
/by Jessica NicholsonTV series The Song, led by Marc Oswald, Trey Fanjoy and Cary Glotzer, is set to premier the week of Jan. 4, 2020. The multi-genre music, entertainment and lifestyle show reveals the stories behind some of the biggest rock, pop, country, triple A, R&B and hip hop songs.
Oswald will serve as executive producer alongside Tupelo Raycom CEO/Founder Glotzer, while film/video/commercial director Fanjoy will direct the new series. The Song will be presented by Ally and Nashville Music City and distributed by Gray Television, which owns and operates network affiliated stations in 93 US television markets.
“At the heart of Nashville is our songwriter community,” said Butch Spyridon, President and CEO, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “To showcase the songs and songwriters, alongside the artists, is like a peek under the hood of the music that drives our lives—and Nashville gets to be the car.”
Season one, slated to begin recording in October, will consist of nine 30-minute episodes plus a one-hour “Best of The Song” finale. Each episode will be centered around a specific hit song. The songwriter or songwriters will talk in-depth about their journey, the inspiration for the song, how it evolved, and how the song eventually changed their lives forever. The artist who recorded the song will discuss what that same song means to them, what they thought when they first heard it and the impact it made on his/her life and career. Each episode will include three song performances from the songwriter and artist’s catalogs including the featured selection. Additional special guest artists chosen by the songwriter and artist may be woven in to various episodes.
The series will be filmed at TGL Farms in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and co-hosted by Krista Marie and Damien Horne. Following each conversation the writer and artist will take the stage at TGL Farms for a concert in front of a small live audience of approximately 75. The series has established partnerships with the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Belmont University to provide scholarship and internship opportunities for their programs.
“We’ve been lucky enough to spend our entire careers making a living in the music and TV business, and we (all of us, actually) owe every ounce of our success to the creative stories and melodies contained in the songs we love so much,” said Oswald.
Glotzer continued, “This project carries with it the responsibility to shine the brightest light possible on some of the greatest songwriters, artists and songs in American pop culture.”
“I think music fans need a show like The Song,” said Fanjoy. “It’s a fresh, in-depth look into the inspiration and magic behind some of their most beloved hit records. I’m extremely excited to be collaborating with such incredible talent on this series. We have a shared goal to celebrate the musical genius at the core of these hit songs and elevate them with unforgettable performances. I know this series is going to be truly special.”
ASCAP Launches New Showcase Series, ASCAP After Hours
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Kele Currier, Jordan Brooker, Lauren Weintraub, Johnny Dailey, ASCAP’s Holly Chester and ASCAP EVP of Membership John Titta. Photo: Ashley Brooker
ASCAP Nashville has announced a new showcase series, ASCAP After Hours, designed to highlight emerging country songwriter-artists.
The series debuted on June 25 at Analog at The Hutton Hotel, and featured acoustic performances by up-and-coming country songwriter-artists Lauren Weintraub and Johnny Dailey, followed by a full band appearance by emerging artist Jordan Brooker.
BMI, Pinnacle Bank Welcome Unsigned Writers For Next Big Wave Series
/by Jessica NicholsonPhoto (L-R): BMI’s Mason Hunter and Leslie Roberts, Aby Gutierrez, Ava Suppelsa, BMI’s Jody Williams and Spencer Nohe attend BMI’s Next Big Wave for unsigned writers.
On Tuesday (July 9) BMI and Pinnacle Bank welcomed Nashville’s newest hitmakers for an evening of networking in BMI’s Nashville office. The first of three installations in BMI’s Next Big Wave series, attendees of 2019’s first session were BMI country and pop songwriters looking to secure their first publishing deal. The evening provided a unique opportunity for the budding creatives to connect with other writers at similar points in their careers.
Designed to forge personal relationships, foster professional connections and inspire growth and creativity within promising careers, each event in the series is specifically tailored to a different group of new arrivals. With three evenings dedicated respectively to songwriters without publishing deals, new music industry hires and songwriters who have recently secured their first publishing deal, attendees have the opportunity to mix and mingle with their peers.
BMI’s Creative team is on-hand for a unique opportunity to network and educate attendees about BMI’s role in their individual careers. The series allows Nashville’s rising talent to create lasting relationships with BMI and beyond for a stronger Music Row community.
Warner Chappell Production Music Wins NewscastStudio Broadcast Production Award
/by Lorie HollabaughWarner Chappell Production Music has been awarded a NewscastStudio Broadcast Production award alongside partners PIX11 for the promotional piece, “We Are New York’s Very Own.” The NewscastStudio Awards for Broadcast Production aim to showcase the best music compositions and uses. Warner Chappell Production Music was chosen as a custom music for promotions winner from over 200 entries, across multiple broadcast categories.
“We Are New York’s Very Own,” created in conjunction with the creative team at WPIX, is a love song to New York City and supports PIX11’s brand and core message — “New York’s Very Own” — celebrating the diversity of the city while capturing the intimate feeling of ‘home.’ In the promo, a music video combines friendly street scenes familiar to New Yorkers with endearing shots of news talent.
“Working with WPIX on this fun, inspiring project was rewarding in itself for our team,” said Pat Weaver, Head of Production for Warner Chappell Production Music. “Receiving this award is a testament that our combined efforts hit the mark, and we couldn’t be more thrilled and honored.”