Rachel Whitney Exits Pandora

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Rachel Barnhard Whitney. Photo: Robby Klein

Pandora Head of Country Music Programming Rachel Whitney has exited the company.

Whitney joined Pandora in 2015, overseeing programming for country and representing Pandora within the music community, as well as creating associated editorial content for Pandora’s blog and social media.

Prior to her work at Pandora, Whitney served as Director of Digital Marketing at Borman Entertainment where she managed digital marketing for artists such as Keith Urban and Alison Krauss. She also had previous career stops at Thirty Tigers and AristoMedia.

Pandora is currently seeking to fill the Head of Country Music Programming role. Applicants can visit Pandora.com.

News of Whitney’s future endeavor is expected soon.

 

Nominations For Country Radio Hall Of Fame Now Open

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Nominations are now being accepted for the Country Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Nominations must be received by Oct. 29, 2018. The Country Radio Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1974, includes two categories: Radio and On-Air Personality.

The Country Radio Hall of Fame is dedicated to the recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to the radio industry over a 20-year period, 15 of which must be in the country format.

The 2019 Hall of Fame inductees will be revealed at Country Radio Seminar’s 50th Anniversary event (CRS 2019), which will take place Feb. 13-15, 2019 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The CRB President’s Award and the Artist Career Achievement Award are also recognized at the event. Information regarding the date, location, sponsorship opportunities and ticket prices for the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards ceremony will be available in the coming months.

Nominations can be submitted at countryradioseminar.com/awards.

Jason Aldean, Maren Morris, Big & Rich Added To Onsite Foundation’s INSPIRE Event

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Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean and Big & Rich will be on hand to perform as part of the Onsite Foundation’s annual INSPIRE event, which will take place Oct. 23 in Nashville. Maren Morris will also be in attendance for a special presentation.

The evening will honor Live Nation’s President of Country Touring Brian O’Connell and his Nashville team with their awards, taking place at Marathon Music Works. The country music industry is rallying around this important event recognizing O’Connell’s ongoing commitment to helping of the victims and families of the Oct. 1 tragedy in Las Vegas. The Onsite Foundation has created a 100 percent Scholarship, trauma and grief intensive program specifically for those who lost loved ones and proceeds from INSPIRE will benefit this directly, helping to find healing through mental health resources.

To purchase tickets and sponsorships packages visit give.classy.org.

CMA Broadcast Award Winners Announced

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The 2018 CMA Broadcast Award Winners were announced Monday (Oct. 15). Jason Aldean personally congratulated the broadcast award winners, who will be honored during the CMA Awards on Nov. 14, which will air live from Nashville. The awards show will be hosted again this year by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.

CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year

National
Lon Helton, Country Countdown USA, Westwood One

Major Market
Bud Ford, Jerry Broadway, Kelly Rebal, Gregory Paul Ford, Tom Wall, Becca Walls–Bud and Broadway, WIL/St. Louis

Large Market
Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt, Kevin Freeman–Jim, Deb & Kevin, WFMS/Indianapolis

Medium Market
Ken Hicks, Kelley Bradshaw, Daniel Wyatt–Ken, Kelley and Daniel, WUSY/Chattanooga

Small Market
Steve Waters, Jessica Cash–Steve and Jessica Mornings, WFLS/Fredericksburg, VA

CMA Radio Station Of The Year
Major Market: KKBQ/Houston
Large Market: WUBE/Cincinnati
Medium Market: WUSY/Chattanooga
Small Market: KTTS/Springfield, MO

UMPG’s Chase McGill Rises To The No. 1 Spot On MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

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MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart

MusicRow’s weekly ranking of the top 60 country songwriters shines a bright spotlight this week on Universal Music Publishing Group songwriter Chase McGill. McGill earns his first-ever week at No. 1 on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart with four active song titles; “Lose It,” “Break Up In The End,” “Short Skirt Weather,” and “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset.”

Josh Osborne moves to No. 2 after an impressive 13-week consecutive run in the top spot. Also enjoying upward momentum is Jessie Jo Dillon at No. 4 and Kevin Welch at No. 5. Welch is the only writer currently in the Top 10 with a single song, “Millionaire,” on the chart earning him all of the song’s points as the solo writer.

The weekly MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart, published every Monday, uses algorithms based upon song activity according to airplay, digital downloaded track sales and streams. This unique and exclusive new addition to the MusicRow portfolio is the only songwriter chart of its kind.

Using a proprietary software, the points earned by each song are evenly split among each of the song’s co-writers, echoing how the business works with respect to publishing revenues and ownership—while reflecting the overall success of active songs for each songwriter. This elite list represents country music’s most successful writers whose songs are currently being heard on radio, downloaded as tracks and streamed across America.

Originally created by MusicRow founder, David Ross, under his own company imprint and brand, the newly rendered MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart is a valuable information source for our industry. Songwriters and publishers are the bedrock of the Nashville music industry and this chart recognizes the enormous commitment required from not only the songwriter, but the entire publishing team behind a songwriter’s career.

Click here to view the full MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart.

 

Mixcloud, UMG Ink Direct Licensing Agreement

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Digital audio streaming platform Mixcloud has inked a multi-year direct licensing agreement with the Universal Music Group (UMG).

Under the agreement, UMG’s recording artists will be compensated for the use of their music on Mixcloud’s advertising-supported and future subscription services. The global agreement, excluding China and Japan, includes payment for previous use of UMG’s music.

Mixcloud offers a diverse collection of serialized, long-form, and unique audio content — over 15 million radio shows, DJ sets, and podcasts. Mixcloud’s Content ID system is capable of identifying music within radio shows and mixes, and tracks usage to pay out royalties to local collecting societies such as SoundExchange and the performing rights societies in the U.S.

“Our focus has always been on empowering artists and curators alike, and this deal with Universal Music will help us usher in a new era of collaboration in which everyone wins,” said Nico Perez, Co-Founder at Mixcloud. “Our platform ensures that all rights-holders are paid fairly for the use of their work in long-form audio, and we are excited to work directly with the world’s largest record label Universal Music to continue to enhance what we can offer to our curators, their listeners, and to the artists that created the great tracks in the first place.”

“Mixcloud has developed an innovative platform where audiences can uniquely discover artists and experience music through curated stations, podcasts, DJ sets and other influencer-driven audio formats,” said James Healy, UMG’s Vice President of Digital Business. “Working together, we will expand the programming that’s available across Mixcloud and give their passionate fans more choice over how they consume music and interact with their favorite artists.”

Cassadee Pope, Maggie Rose, Patrick Droney, Seth Ennis Set For Live In The Vineyard

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Live In The Vineyard, a private music, food and wine festival, has announced artist additions to the special 10-year anniversary event, which includes previously announced multi-Platinum selling artists Jason Mraz, Jewel, and Matt Nathanson.

Joining the line-up will be Rita Wilson, Cassadee Pope, Maggie Rose, Blaine Mitchell, Haley Reinhart, Patrick Droney, and Seth Ennis. Also set to perform as part of an exclusive “Country Track,” for a small group of winners that will be picked by radio stations including KKGO, KRTY, KWBL, KNCI and more, will be LOCASH, Tegan Marie, Tyler Rich, Clare Dunn, Haley & Michaels, and Lucas Hoge.

Live In The Vineyard will take place in Napa Valley, California Nov. 1-4, giving attendees access to stripped-down acoustic performances by well-known as well as emerging artists.

Previously announced LITV performers who will be a part of the special 10th-anniversary celebration of singer-songwriters are Emily Bear, Dean Lewis, Whitney Woerz, Andreas Moss and songwriters Jon Randall and Liz Rose. Artists performing at private events for VIPs only throughout the weekend will include Michael Franti, Mat Kearney, Blue October, Victoria Canal, Rachel Reinert, Brynn Elliott, Emerson Hart, Logan Brill, Jade Bird, William Prince, Dashboard Confessional, Just Loud, JD & The Straight Shot and more.

Casting Crowns’ Latest Album ‘Only Jesus’ Slated For November

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Casting Crowns will release a new album, Only Jesus, on Nov. 16, led by the new track “Nobody” featuring Matthew West, which dropped last week. The tune is one of six songs that will be made available before the new album’s official street date.

“The theme that continued to come up while working on these new songs was that I am not the point – it is not about me, it is about pointing to Him,” said Casting Crowns lead singer Mark Hall about the new project. “God is already at work in our lives, and He has a plan that He places us in so that others can know Him. We are here to show the way to God by how we live, how we react to difficult situations, how we handle trials and troubled relationships. Our hope is that through these songs, you can see what it looks like when Jesus is our only source, our only solution and we are pointing to only Jesus.”

Recently the band released the title track to radio and it has already jumped into the Top 15 at all AC radio charts in just four weeks. “Only Jesus” already has 3.5 million streams across all platforms, and has been featured on key playlists on Spotify (New Music Friday, New Music Friday Christian, Top Christian), Amazon (Fresh Christian, Playlist Cover, Top 100 Most Played, Christian Hits) and Apple’s The A-List Christian list.

Casting Crowns will kick off their “Only Jesus” tour in early 2019.

Track Listing for Only Jesus:
1. The Bridge
2. Nobody (ft. Matthew West)
3. Only Jesus
4. In the Hands of the Potter
5. Even When You’re Running
6. One Awkward Moment
7. Awaken Me
8. One More Song For You
9. Start Right Here
10. The Change In Me
11. Loved Moved First
12. Home

Industry Ink: Kinkead Entertainment, Mitchell Tenpenny, Warner Music Nashville, High Performance Entertainment

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Kinkead Entertainment Signs Juliana Hale

Juliana Hale

The Kinkead Entertainment Agency has signed Juliana Hale to its roster. Hale released the EP Small Talk in May, and is produced by Skidd Mills.

 

Mitchell Tenpenny Celebrates Album Announcement

Mitchell Tenpenny

Mitchell Tenpenny toasted the announcement of his forthcoming major label debut album, Telling All My Secrets, during an event held Oct. 10 at The Cowan at Topgolf in Nashville. Nashville native Tenpenny celebrated the “full circle” moment by performing six songs from the upcoming Riser House/Columbia Nashville album, including his Top 15 single “Drunk Me,” which earned Tenpenny his first gold plaque. Telling All My Secrets releases Dec. 14.

 

“Happy Endings” Tour For Warner’s High Valley, Michael Ray, John Esposito

Pictured (L-R): Michael Ray; High Valley’s Curtis Rempel; Shari Roth (Manager of Regional Radio & Streaming, WMN); Billy Kidd (APD, WBEE); John Esposito (Chairman & CEO, WMN); High Valley’s Brad Rempel

Warner Music Nashville’s High Valley and Michael Ray kicked weekend two of Old Dominion’s “Happy Endings” world tour off in Amarillo, Texas recently. The duo and Ray are pictured above in Rochester, New York with radio friends and WMN Chairman & CEO John Esposito.

 

Exile Signs With High Performance Entertainment

Exile

Band Exile has signed with High Performance Entertainment, started by long-time agent David Kiswiney. Kiswiney spent nearly 24 years with the recently-closed Buddy Lee Attractions booking agency. David Kiswiney / High Performance Entertainment can be reached at hiperfent@gmail.com or 615.812.1972.

BMI Island Hoppers Songwriters Fest Breaks Attendance Records

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Pictured (L-R): BMI songwriters Dave Pahanish and Aaron Barker perform on Captiva Island at Island Hopper Songwriters Festival 2018. Photo by Brian Tietz

BMI’s fifth annual Island Hopper Songwriters Festival attracted record-breaking crowds to Captiva Island, Fort Myers Beach and Downtown Fort Myers Sept. 21-30 as nearly 80 BMI songwriters performed in 25 venues around the area. Writers performing at the festival included Bob DiPiero, Dave Pahanish, Aaron Barker, LOCASH, Jeffrey East, Heidi Newfield, and many more. 

Attendance at the 10-day festival was up more than 20 percent, and the event helps shine a spotlight on the craft of songwriting while also helping jump-start the local economy during a slow time of year by filling hotel rooms and helping give back to BMI-licensed businesses in Southwest Florida who have supported BMI songwriters over the years through the licensing fees they pay.

BMI Icon Bob DiPiero performs in Fort Myers Beach at the 2018 Island Hopper Songwriters Festival. Photo: Brian Tietz

LOCASH at the 2018 Island Hoppers Songwriters Festival