Mandalay Bay
MGM Resorts International, the company that owns Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and the Route 91 Harvest festival venue, has sued the victims of the location’s mass shooting, which occurred during the Route 91 Harvest festival on Oct. 1, 2017, killing 58 people and leaving more than 500 injured.
The filing, a complaint for declaratory judgment in federal court in Las Vegas, cites a 2002 federal act called the SAFETY Act and seeks to remove MGM’s liability for the rampage and place it on Contemporary Services Corporation, the security vendor MGM hired for the concert.
While MGM is not seeking compensation from the survivors, backlash has grown from the filing, which includes the names of the victims of the 2017 mass shooting and their loved ones as defendants.
While perhaps a strategic legal move, the optics of the filing has caused a public relations nightmare for MGM and its properties. Some people have taken to social media to call out the company by using the hashtag, #BoycottMGM.
Eric Rose, a partner at California-based crisis management firm Englander Knabe and Allen, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that MGM should have explained its actions before media outlets began reporting the lawsuit against the victims. He also believes MGM will see immediate losses from cancelled bookings and a reduction in new reservations.
Yesterday, MGM Resorts tweeted, “We have filed what is known as an action for declaratory relief. All we are doing, in effect, is asking for a change in venue from state to federal court. We are not asking for money or attorney’s fees. We only want to resolve these cases quickly, fairly and efficiently.”
Edison Research: 18 Percent Of Americans Own A Smart Speaker
/by Jessica NicholsonThe age group with the largest percentage of ownership includes people 45-54, which make up 24 percent of smart speaker ownership. People ages 55+ made up 22 percent of users, followed by ages 35-44 (21 percent), ages 25-34 (18 percent) and ages 18-24 (15 percent).
Women made up 54 percent of overall smart speaker owners in the study, with men at 46 percent.
First adopters have been defined as those who have owned a smart speaker for a year or more. Early mainstream users have been defined as those who have owned a smart speaker for less than a year. 74 percent of users fell into the early mainstream category, while 26 percent of users were defined as first adopters.
Of early mainstream users, 89 percent reported that they have used their smart speaker to play music in the past week; 90 percent of first adopters reported the same. 47 percent of early mainstream users have used a smart speaker to listen to AM/FM radio in the past week, as had 41 percent of first adopters.
When divided by day part, the study found that overall, users were most likely to listen to AM/FM radio on a smart speaker between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Listening to AM/FM radio via a smart speaker ranked as the second-highest indexed activity for that day part.
Meanwhile, 45 percent of early mainstream users report that time spent listening to AM/FM radio via a smart speaker has replaced time they spent with traditional AM/FM radio; 40 percent of first adopters reported the same.
New Spotify Feature Eases Submission Process For Playlist Consideration
/by Lorie HollabaughSpotify is introducing a beta feature as part of Spotify for Artists and Spotify Analytics designed to make it easier for artists and labels to share unreleased music with its worldwide team of editors to enable them to create better playlists.
Artists or their team members can log into the Spotify for Artists account or to Spotify Analytics and select one unreleased song for playlist consideration to submit to the team. Editors will be searching through submissions based on the information to find unreleased music to consider for their playlists.
No one can pay to be added to one of Spotify’s editorial playlists, and editors select tracks with listeners in mind and make their decisions using data about what’s resonating most with their community of listeners.
Because this is a beta feature, it will continue to evolve based on feedback from artists, labels, managers and partners. More than 75,000 artists are featured on editorial playlists each week, and another 150,000 on Discover Weekly on Spotify.
Carrie Underwood And Jason Aldean Drummers Help Deliver Sampling Product
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): Yellow Hammer owner Justin Miller and Nashville Sampling Co. cofounder and drummer Garrett Goodwin in Yellow Hammer’s PhantomFocus™ MixRoom™
Nashville Sampling Co. (NSC) co-owners, Justin Miller and Carrie Underwood drummer Garrett Goodwin have revealed “the next-level drum plugin,” offering a library of drum samples for country, rock and metal production.
Miller and Goodwin invited in-demand session and live drummer for Jason Aldean, Rich Redmond, to help kick off their product line. Redmond’s vast collection of drum samples were all recorded in Nashville, featuring super-deep sampled, DW Kits and ten snares, captured through 23 microphones and an SSL-G Desk. Redmond is featured in a NSC promo video below.
“The PhantomFocus System played a critical role in the creation of our sample libraries,” stated Miller. “Being able to hear a balanced 20Hz – 20kHz frequency response with PFS holographic stereo imaging allowed me to make confident decisions when it came to mixing and editing the samples.”
“They’re just way more deeply sampled,” continues Miller of the distinguishing factors that makes NSC’s samples stand out. “Other companies’ samples are around 5Gb of audio; however, our Rich Redmond library for instance is around 50Gb of uncompressed audio – that’s ten times deeper. Like some other libraries, we have three room-mic pairs to capture the audio, but ours have an additional two overhead pairs to blend as well as three close mics on each drum. NSC offers more dynamic layers and more round robins (alternate hits at the same velocity), rendering more articulations to choose from.”
Nashville Sampling Co. was founded in 2015 by Miller and Goodwin to help producers gain access to core mixing and processing tools behind the sounds heard on today’s top charts. From Goodwin’s Black kit to Redmond’s Modern Country Drums, the producer will find a vast amount of application from a small, yet tightly organized set of virtual instruments.
Jim Lauderdale To Release Two Albums On Aug. 3
/by Jessica NicholsonJim Lauderdale will release two albums on Aug. 3, including his new project Time Flies, as well as Jim Lauderdale And Roland White.
Lauderdale’s 30th and 31st studio albums respectively, the releases mark the singer/songwriter’s return to the Yep Roc roster after a decade apart.
Time Flies was produced by Lauderdale and Jay Weaver at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio and House of Blues Studio. Meanwhile, Jim Lauderdale And Roland White is Lauderdale’s previously unreleased first full-length album, a collection of bluegrass classics recorded in the basement of Earl and Louise Scruggs’ Nashville home in 1979. The master tapes went missing for 39 years and were only recently rediscovered at the bottom of a box by White’s wife.
Parallel Music Publishing Signs Joey Hendricks
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured: Back row (L-R): Denise Stevens, Partner, Loeb & Loeb; Austen Adams, Of Counsel at Dickinson Wright PLLC; Dustin Kovacic, Associate of Dickinson Wright PLLC. Front row (L-R): Tim Hunze, Parallel Music Publishing; Joey Hendricks; Travis Myatt, Parallel Music Publishing
Parallel Music Publishing has signed singer-songwriter Joey Hendricks to an exclusive songwriting agreement. Hendricks moved to Nashville in 2017; Parallel’s Tim Hunze first heard his music in May 2018. Hunze and Travis Myatt offered Hendricks a deal upon their first meeting.
“I tell people all the time to trust their gut and I knew from the first song I heard that we had to sign Joey immediately. His melodies and lyrics are so fresh and unique. We are so excited to be a part of Joey’s journey,” said Hunze, Partner, Parallel Music Publishing.
“I”m so thankful and excited for the opportunity to create at Parallel,’ Hendricks said.
Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Margo Price Top All-Female Lineup For Girls Just Wanna Weekend Festival
/by Haley Crow“Mainstream festivals in the U.S. habitually exclude women as headline artists equal to men,” Carlile says. “I was brought up by Lilith Fair to believe that men and women enjoy live music equally and that women can not only headline a festival—they can BE a festival. I’m proud to announce that our festival has an ALL female-fronted lineup. I would absolutely LOVE to see a ton of men there supporting women in rock and roll, I want to see mothers with children, single people, LGBTQ brothers and sisters letting it all go for a weekend together in harmony (with bottomless tequila on hand to assist).”
Tickets to Girls Just Wanna Weekend go on sale to the public Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Members of the Bramily Fan Alliance—Carlile’s official fan club—will get access to opt-in to an exclusive pre-sale through the Bramily website until Wednesday, July 25. Those who register will be eligible for a pre-sale beginning Tuesday, July 31. Complete details regarding the festival and packages are available via girlsjustwannaweekend.com.
Halfway To Hazard Announce Nashville Residency
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (Back row, L-R): Elliot Pilzer, Ira Dean, Colt Prather, Sam Hayes (Radio Romance), Josh Gramling (Radio Romance), Moises Padilla (Radio Romance). Front row L-R: David Tolliver (Halfway to Hazard), Adam Smithwick (Radio Romance), Chad Warrix (Halfway to Hazard), Ben Williamson
Halfway to Hazard has announced an ongoing residency at Analog in the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. The monthly series, “Halfway to Hazard & Friends,” kicked off last Tuesday, July 10, with a performance by bandmates Chad Warrix and David Tolliver, as well as surprise special guests Chris Young, Radio Romance, American Young‘s Jon Stone, Ira Dean (formerly of Trick Pony) and Colt Prather.
“This monthly residency at Analog has given us the opportunity to showcase all of our multi-genre artist, actor, sports personality, and musician friends that we have made over the last 12 years of adventurous travels,” says Warrix. “And, of course, we get to remind people of our music too, plus win over some new fans in the process. It definitely doesn’t hurt that we can do this a couple miles down the road from our own houses here in what seems to be the current most popular city in America.”
“It was great to be back in Nashville playing live… it’s been too long!” states Tolliver. “Having some of our best friends in the business join together onstage makes it that much sweeter. We’re looking forward to the upcoming shows. Analog is a fantastic venue and adds to the audience experience.”
The Kentucky duo’s next show is Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 6:00 p.m. and ticket information can be found at huttonhotel.com.
Pictured: Chris Young and Ira Dean. Photos courtesy of Deb Wallace Photography
MGM Lawsuit Against Victims Creates Public Relations Firestorm
/by Sherod RobertsonMandalay Bay
MGM Resorts International, the company that owns Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and the Route 91 Harvest festival venue, has sued the victims of the location’s mass shooting, which occurred during the Route 91 Harvest festival on Oct. 1, 2017, killing 58 people and leaving more than 500 injured.
The filing, a complaint for declaratory judgment in federal court in Las Vegas, cites a 2002 federal act called the SAFETY Act and seeks to remove MGM’s liability for the rampage and place it on Contemporary Services Corporation, the security vendor MGM hired for the concert.
While MGM is not seeking compensation from the survivors, backlash has grown from the filing, which includes the names of the victims of the 2017 mass shooting and their loved ones as defendants.
While perhaps a strategic legal move, the optics of the filing has caused a public relations nightmare for MGM and its properties. Some people have taken to social media to call out the company by using the hashtag, #BoycottMGM.
Eric Rose, a partner at California-based crisis management firm Englander Knabe and Allen, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that MGM should have explained its actions before media outlets began reporting the lawsuit against the victims. He also believes MGM will see immediate losses from cancelled bookings and a reduction in new reservations.
Yesterday, MGM Resorts tweeted, “We have filed what is known as an action for declaratory relief. All we are doing, in effect, is asking for a change in venue from state to federal court. We are not asking for money or attorney’s fees. We only want to resolve these cases quickly, fairly and efficiently.”
Industry Ink: Jeffrey Steele, ACM, Frank Ray, Barfrog Music
/by Jessica NicholsonJeffrey Steele’s Songwriting Bootcamp Opens In August
Jeffrey Steele. Photo: Tin Pan South
Hall of Fame singer-songwriter Jeffrey Steele is gearing up for his Songwriting Boot Camp, scheduled to begin Aug. 27 online. Sponsored by 3 Ring Circus Music, the camp will feature nine weeks of inspiration and educational content, coaching from Steele, and much more. Boot camp alumni have gone on to score publishing deals, compose songs recorded by key artists, and write No. 1 singles, such as Blake Shelton’s “She Wouldn’t Be Gone,” co-written by boot camper Jennifer Adan and Lee Brice’s “A Woman Like You” co-written by boot camper Phil Barton.
Enrollment is open now at thinklikeawriter.com and sign-ups close on Aug. 13.
Maddie & Tae Visit ACM
PIctured (L-R): Pete Fisher, ACM CEO with Maddie & Tae
The Academy of Country Music welcomed Universal Music Group Nashville recording duo Maddie & Tae to the office while they were in Los Angeles recently. While at the Academy, Maddie & Tae gave the ACM staff a sneak peek listen to several tracks on their upcoming album, including their current single, “Friends Don’t.”
Frank Ray Notches Chart-Topping Hit On Texas Regional Chart
Pictured (L-R): Lynn Tinsey, Richlynn Group; Oscar Chavira, (Ray’s Manager) White Knuckle Productions; Frank Ray; Kate Richardson, Richlynn Group.
Re Mattei Signs With BarFrog Music
Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Easton Corbin To Perform On Special 90’s Night Show
/by Lorie HollabaughSanders grew up listening to and was influenced to pursue his career by the songs and artists in the 90s. This special by-popular-demand edition “90s NIGHT” will be co-hosted by CMT’s Cody Alan and Katie Cook, and will include a few surprise guest appearances and performances.
Tickets for the “90s NIGHT” are $20 and available here. Proceeds will go to benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation. CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown will host its three hour show from this special edition “90s NIGHT” and the episode will air Aug. 4 and 5 at 9 am ET/8 a.m. CT on CMT.
The 2ndAnnual sold-out 90s Night at Marathon Music Works in March featured Cole Swindell, LOCASH, Tyler Farr, Michael Ray, Chris Lane and Sanders performing with their favorite 90s country heroes including Tracy Lawrence, Diamond Rio, John Michael Montgomery, Blackhawk, Tim Rushlow, Aaron Tippin and Joe Diffie.
Sanders has written songs for Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Tyler Farr and more including the No. 1 singles “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” for Cole Swindell and “Hell of A Night” for Dustin Lynch. He has toured with Cole Swindell, Eric Paslay, and CAM and shared stages with Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Thomas Rhett, Dustin Lynch, Easton Corbin, Gary Allan and more.