Jake Owen announced today (Feb. 28) that he will release his next full-length album, Greetings From…Jake, on March 29 on Big Loud Records. The ACM-nominated single, “Down To The Honkytonk,” and Owen’s seventh career No. 1 “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” will be featured on the album. Owen’s first full-length project with Big Loud is produced by Joey Moi.

The album’s cover art was inspired by postcards from Owen’s childhood and his Floridian roots, with a nod to Owen’s new label home and a welcome invitation for fans to join him on this next chapter musically and in all areas of his life.

Fender Guitars has introduced its new Fender Next program aimed at amplifying a set group of artists as they evolve throughout their careers. Ashley McBryde, Soccer Mommy, Dillon Carmichael, Patrick Droney, badflower, and Lindsay Ell are among the Nashville-connected artists chosen to participate in the inaugural program. The Fender Next program will illuminate 50 of the most exciting new artists representing the new face of guitar worldwide.

“We work with over 2,000 artists, and supporting and servicing artist needs first has long been at the core of our artist marketing efforts,” said Fender Vice President of Artist and Integrated Marketing Matt Watts. “We wanted to develop a program that was our flag in the ground and say, ‘We are making a commitment to artists through product, marketing support, public relations strategies and other areas to hopefully move the needle for them.'”

In addition to providing global performance opportunities and Fender product, Fender Next artists will be featured across Fender content from editorial to social media, telling their individual stories as they progress on their musical journey. There are plans to expand its global reach even further in 2020, with a new lineup of Fender Next artists chosen each year.

“We don’t see any other brand or music company doing anything of this magnitude, and we’re beyond excited to see how Fender Next elevates players, as they make music on stages and in studios around the world – from Hollywood and Nashville to Tokyo, London, Sydney and beyond,” said Watts.

On March 14-15, 2019, Fender will kick off the program with The Fender Next House – a unique interactive pop-up experience at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Fans will have the chance to attend leadership discussions and intimate concerts featuring Fender Next artists, try Fender Play at demo stations, and more. There will also be guitar techs on site to assist with set ups for all artists in the Fender family.

SiriusXM has revealed more than 100 new Xtra curated streaming channels across various genres. The new channels, all commercial-free, are available to SiriusXM All Access and SiriusXM trial members, via SiriusXM app, web player and select connect devices.

With the new channels listeners can explore top music by decades, discover newly-created formats and more. Among the new channels are Prime Country Top 100, Prime Country 80s Hits, New Emerging Country Music, and Prime Country Party. Several channels are devoted to a variety of pop and rock music, mashed up to play various mixes of tracks from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.

“With more than 100 new commercial-free channels to choose from, SiriusXM is offering even more variety for our subscribers. The new channels have the DNA of current SiriusXM channels that our subscribers love, but offered in a variety of new versions that fit listeners’ tastes, moods and activities,” said Steve Blatter, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Music Programming, SiriusXM. “We have also developed channels that satisfy the demand for combining SiriusXM channels together into exciting new curated experiences. These new channels are sure to make our streaming service even more attractive and valuable to our listeners.”

ASCAP and BMI have issued a joint open letter in response to work by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine whether a possible modification or cessation is necessary for the consent decrees that have governed music licensing since 1941. According to the Wall Street Journal, staff for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham have planned several meetings (the first began Monday) with stakeholders to discuss legislative efforts to create a new licensing system to serve as a replacement.

The consent decrees affect both BMI and ASCAP, which together license approximately 90 percent of music made in the U.S. ASCAP and BMI administer public performance rights, and allow businesses to obtain blanket licenses to perform works from their vast, respective catalogs of music.

 

With the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) evaluating the future of the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees, there has been much discussion and concern throughout the industry about the potential long-term impact. This is not surprising, since modifying or sunsetting the decrees would have far-reaching implications for the entire music business. Given that BMI and ASCAP are at the core of this issue, we feel it is important to share our perspective on how potential changes to our decrees could benefit all involved – if done right.

The DOJ’s attention to this matter represents a clear opportunity to do what BMI and ASCAP have been trying to do for years – modernize music licensing to better reflect the transformative changes in the industry. It’s why when we first heard about the possibility of the DOJ sunsetting the consent decrees, it came as welcome news.

We believe that a free market with less government regulation is hands down the best way for music creators to be rewarded for their hard work and intellectual property. A free market would create a more productive, efficient and level playing field for everyone involved. Competition is a good thing.

We also know that change is hard. The BMI and ASCAP consent decrees have been in place for nearly 80 years, and suddenly getting rid of them would provoke drastic changes to the current system that would cause chaos in the marketplace. We’d venture to say all sides agree on this.

So, in order to provide an orderly transition, we’re recommending the DOJ replace the current BMI and ASCAP consent decrees with newly formed decrees that would protect all parties. Like all modern consent decrees, they would also include a sunset provision. Those new decrees would contain four key provisions:

First, allow all music users to still gain automatic access to the BMI and ASCAP repertoires with the immediate right to public performance. However, this right should be contingent upon a fairer, more efficient, less costly and automatic mechanism for the payment of interim fees.

Second, retain the rate court process for resolution of rate disputes, as recently reformed by the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (MMA).

Third, BMI and ASCAP will continue to receive non-exclusive U.S. rights from our writers and publishers, which allows licensees, songwriters, composers and publishers to still do direct deals if they so choose.

Fourth, preserve the current forms of licenses that the industry has grown accustomed to beyond the traditional blanket license, such as the adjustable fee blanket license and the per- program license.

But a word of caution. As we’ve seen over the years, some organizations will try to use this moment and BMI’s and ASCAP’s consent decrees to serve their own interests at the expense of the songwriter. Old and new issues could come into play, such as 100 percent licensing, or, even more concerning, a push in Congress by music users to create a compulsory licensing model. Compulsory licensing would take us backwards, not forward, creating a system in which the government – not the market – would determine the value of songwriters’ work. It could also have dire consequences for other creative industries.

In fact, we see no scenario in which more government regulation of this industry would benefit anyone.

It’s important to remind everyone that protections exist today, in the form of antitrust laws, that would continue to exist in a post-decree world and govern current parties as well as any future market entrants. We don’t need to create or rewrite legislation to accomplish what antitrust laws already effectively oversee. PROs and licensees all have the same goal of keeping music flowing to the public.

Ultimately, a vibrant PRO system is important to maintain the balance of the industry. With more music being used than ever before, it is critical to safeguard the value of the performing right and grow the income stream it generates for creators. BMI and ASCAP operate on a non-profit-making basis, returning nearly 90 cents of every dollar in licensing fees to our songwriters, composers and music publishers, and we do this in the most efficient and effective way possible. Simply put, BMI and ASCAP offer an essential layer of protection for creators, from helping them through the early stages of their careers, to tracking and paying on performances across all mediums, and advocating for their rights on Capitol Hill. All of this helps keep the music flowing and enables licensees to play the world’s best music today, as well as the hits that will be created in the future.

We don’t have to look far back to see just how much we can accomplish when the industry comes together and puts music first. The MMA was signed into law because creators and licensees found common ground and solutions that supported the greater good of the industry. That greater good is reflected in the four provisions we are recommending to the DOJ that don’t necessarily benefit BMI and ASCAP, but stand to benefit the industry at large. It is that same spirit of compromise which will allow both our licensees and the music creators we represent to thrive in this new era.