Annie Ortmeier
Universal Music Group Nashville VP, Marketing-Digital Accounts Annie Ortmeier was recently announced as one of this year’s MusicRow Rising Women on the Row honorees. MusicRow will feature Q&As with each of this year’s six honorees leading up to the event. MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row for 2018 also includes Faithe Dillman, Leslie DiPiero, Becky Gardenhire, Lynn Oliver-Cline, and Janet Weir.
Since joining UMG Nashville in 2013 as Director of Digital Marketing, Ortmeier has risen to the role of VP, Marketing-Digital Accounts, where she oversees streaming marketing strategy and analysis for all UMG Nashville artists, across all streaming accounts globally. Ortmeier’s career in digital marketing and commerce also includes time at Big Machine Label Group (Director of Interactive), Live Nation Entertainment (Merchandising Manager) and CMT.
MusicRow caught up with Ortmeier to discuss her music industry career, and advice she has for industry newcomers. MusicRow Magazine’s sold-out Rising Women On The Row event will be held Tuesday, March 27 at Omni Hotel Nashville.
MusicRow Magazine: When did you first become interested in the music industry?
Annie Ortmeier: I’ve always been interested in music. I distinctly remember hearing Patty Loveless’ [1994 album] When Fallen Angels Fly and I pulled out the liner notes and was enraptured by those songs and the people who made them. It was like I saw behind the curtain.
You went to college in Nebraska and then took an internship at CMT. How did that turn into your first music business job?
Growing up in Nebraska, that was our only other connection to music outside of radio. Growing up we didn’t have cable, but I would watch CMT at my friend’s house, so at least that name stood out to me as being an identifiable brand. I went above and beyond in my application and built a mini-book of writing samples, projects I’d worked on, made my own letterhead and resume. They called me back and offered the internship. I had graduated college at that point and was saving up money to move to Nashville. They offered me an internship at CMT.com and I guess this would have been 2004 and it’s funny to talk about today, but iTunes was a fairly new service, as was Amazon. I came here in January 2005 with an unpaid internship and at the time it was really interesting. I think CMT.com had just been born out of country.com which MTV had bought them away from Gaylord. There were nine or 10 people running the website. When the internship closed, they offered me a job to run CMT.com’s online store, which was a brand new position. It would grow to about 30 people working on the site.
This year, you were promoted to the role of VP, Digital-Marketing Accounts for Universal Music Group Nashville. How has that changed your day-to-day responsibilities?
The role hasn’t changed a ton, it’s really been a work in progress to get to that point. I came in running digital accounts, overseeing and running digital accounts and being a liaison with streaming services. That kicked off the streaming relationship and that has obviously continued to evolve and so my role has evolved.
I’m solely focused on streaming now. I’ve let go of a couple of other pieces I worked on in the past and work on the label’s streaming strategy as a whole, across all services that offer streaming, either audio or video.
With artists on the UMG roster who are album-driven and others whose music is more single-driven, how do you navigate crafting individualized marketing plans in regards to streaming?
What Universal has done so well is that their artists are not really similar. They all have very different lanes. In the past, I’d been offered other roles at management companies that would be focused on one or two artists, and I just felt like that would be detrimental to the creativity of what you can do. Having many artists pushes me to be more creative to accomplish what I can for this diverse roster. What I do with Chris Stapleton will be different to what I do with Sam Hunt. Stapleton, even in a streaming era, is still an album artist, and in the data, I see that people are not just consuming one song from Chris Stapleton; they are consuming every song.
Very early on when we were getting ready to put out Traveller, we knew that in Nashville people knew who he is and we know his incredible breadth of work as a writer and musician and vocalist, but if you were to find an artist profile on him at any service provider, you would see one or two songs. So, in order to combat that, I asked Chris, “Could we put together a playlist that pulls together every song you’ve ever written and put it into one place, so people can understand the depth of you as a writer, which would not be able to be found across streaming services otherwise?” He said, “Ok, that’s fine.” I got this list of songs from his publisher, 400 rows deep on an Excel doc of every song he had written or co-written. At the time there were about 101 songs of his on the streaming services, so I put these all together in a playlist we called ‘Written By…Chris Stapleton.” We launched that before his initial record came out. It just started to organically grow and after the CMA Awards [in 2015, which featured Stapleton’s collaboration with Justin Timberlake], it continued to blow up.
Just around this most recent record [From A Room, Vol. II], I created [a playlist] called “Complete Collection,” with every bit of music on albums he’s worked on as an artist, with a few songs he’s written, or worked on, or collaborated on as an artist as well. Again, we didn’t have to do that much promotion behind those. I can see in that data that people are listening to the entire playlists. They are invested in Chris as an artist.
With Sam [Hunt], we started really early in 2013 or early 2014 where I was meeting some resistance when trying to talk about streaming or educate folks on streaming and lead people down the path of how powerful streaming could be as a marketing driver. We were in the process of signing Sam, and an opportunity came up and I asked if Sam might be able to do this showcase for one of our services and he said he would. He jumped on board very early and understood that he, as well as his audience and people he hung out with, they were using streaming services.
When we put out the record, we had a great adoption around the world because of the access of streaming. Those early days of Sam saying yes and being positive about streaming, it’s basically become an association in country music: Sam Hunt is streaming and streaming is Sam Hunt. So when we put out “Body Like a Back Road,” it just took off. I don’t think even we thought it would blow up like it did and cross over, but I still think streaming services in general and adoption of his fans on those streaming services early on has led to this success. The numbers we were putting up early on at the height of that track last summer—that one track was outstreaming entire albums in a week’s time, and something that still hasn’t been touched by another song in country, but I do think every week when I look at the chart we are edging up there…I remember early days when we would be lucky to have a song stream one million streams in a week’s time and now I count we have 40-50 songs that could be doing a million streams per week, we’ve got 10-15 doing 2 million-plus, and 5 or 10 doing 3 million or 4 million streams. That top number keeps creeping up. Sam really led the way there. I know all of us will start doing those numbers in the coming years with the adoption of streaming, but Sam definitely is an outlier and he started really early and got a lot of investment from young people in that medium of music delivery.
How do you keep up with the new developments in the streaming world—new platforms and changes on current platforms?
That is one of the hardest parts of my job [laughs]. Every single day, something changes that directly affects how I do my job, and that is scary but also really invigorating. It’s funny, but I have Google alerts on all of the services so I know as soon as there is a move or change. Generally, inside of Universal, we are at the forefront of these conversations, as are the other major and indie labels, with having these conversations with the services and getting those terms right. At least once per week, there is some new change that comes out and we have to get on the phone within Universal and outside of Universal to discuss, ‘Are we adopting that? Are we going forward with that?’ I’ll get in touch with my counterparts at other Universal labels and others in Nashville. Those of us who have worked in this space long enough really do rely on each other as things change.
What developments are you most excited about for 2018?
Every service has been coming to us in country [music] and saying they are investing in us in 2018. We’ve been hearing that for a few years, but this year, it is obvious that they are putting their money where their mouth is, and they are stepping up in a big way and investing in country and investing in the growth of country and streaming for fans of country.
As far as looking at streaming numbers in 2016 and last year, I think 2017 was more of a tipping point than people give it credit for, and I think 2018 will be the mass adoption in our format of our fans fully converting into streaming or fans that have already been there on streaming services that may have identified in the past as a rap, pop or hip-hop fan, are going to start converting over to country more and you will see more of that crossover.
What advice do you have for young women entering the music business?
It doesn’t take a degree from a music school from an education standpoint, but there is a lot of great literature on a daily basis that I use to educate myself on developments with platforms or legislation. I probably study legislation the most and this Music Modernization Act. What will that mean for everybody and for us and how artists get paid? That’s something everyone is paying attention to. So educating yourself on all those pieces of the industry—what’s happening in the live space, in publishing, in all the different facets of the industry. Having that knowledge when you are new to the industry and looking for a first job is going to set you up for success. It’s changing so fast, I don’t know a school that can change their curriculum fast enough to keep up with it.
Rising Women On The Row 2018: UMG Nashville’s Annie Ortmeier
/by Jessica NicholsonAnnie Ortmeier
Universal Music Group Nashville VP, Marketing-Digital Accounts Annie Ortmeier was recently announced as one of this year’s MusicRow Rising Women on the Row honorees. MusicRow will feature Q&As with each of this year’s six honorees leading up to the event. MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row for 2018 also includes Faithe Dillman, Leslie DiPiero, Becky Gardenhire, Lynn Oliver-Cline, and Janet Weir.
Since joining UMG Nashville in 2013 as Director of Digital Marketing, Ortmeier has risen to the role of VP, Marketing-Digital Accounts, where she oversees streaming marketing strategy and analysis for all UMG Nashville artists, across all streaming accounts globally. Ortmeier’s career in digital marketing and commerce also includes time at Big Machine Label Group (Director of Interactive), Live Nation Entertainment (Merchandising Manager) and CMT.
MusicRow caught up with Ortmeier to discuss her music industry career, and advice she has for industry newcomers. MusicRow Magazine’s sold-out Rising Women On The Row event will be held Tuesday, March 27 at Omni Hotel Nashville.
MusicRow Magazine: When did you first become interested in the music industry?
Annie Ortmeier: I’ve always been interested in music. I distinctly remember hearing Patty Loveless’ [1994 album] When Fallen Angels Fly and I pulled out the liner notes and was enraptured by those songs and the people who made them. It was like I saw behind the curtain.
You went to college in Nebraska and then took an internship at CMT. How did that turn into your first music business job?
Growing up in Nebraska, that was our only other connection to music outside of radio. Growing up we didn’t have cable, but I would watch CMT at my friend’s house, so at least that name stood out to me as being an identifiable brand. I went above and beyond in my application and built a mini-book of writing samples, projects I’d worked on, made my own letterhead and resume. They called me back and offered the internship. I had graduated college at that point and was saving up money to move to Nashville. They offered me an internship at CMT.com and I guess this would have been 2004 and it’s funny to talk about today, but iTunes was a fairly new service, as was Amazon. I came here in January 2005 with an unpaid internship and at the time it was really interesting. I think CMT.com had just been born out of country.com which MTV had bought them away from Gaylord. There were nine or 10 people running the website. When the internship closed, they offered me a job to run CMT.com’s online store, which was a brand new position. It would grow to about 30 people working on the site.
This year, you were promoted to the role of VP, Digital-Marketing Accounts for Universal Music Group Nashville. How has that changed your day-to-day responsibilities?
The role hasn’t changed a ton, it’s really been a work in progress to get to that point. I came in running digital accounts, overseeing and running digital accounts and being a liaison with streaming services. That kicked off the streaming relationship and that has obviously continued to evolve and so my role has evolved.
I’m solely focused on streaming now. I’ve let go of a couple of other pieces I worked on in the past and work on the label’s streaming strategy as a whole, across all services that offer streaming, either audio or video.
With artists on the UMG roster who are album-driven and others whose music is more single-driven, how do you navigate crafting individualized marketing plans in regards to streaming?
What Universal has done so well is that their artists are not really similar. They all have very different lanes. In the past, I’d been offered other roles at management companies that would be focused on one or two artists, and I just felt like that would be detrimental to the creativity of what you can do. Having many artists pushes me to be more creative to accomplish what I can for this diverse roster. What I do with Chris Stapleton will be different to what I do with Sam Hunt. Stapleton, even in a streaming era, is still an album artist, and in the data, I see that people are not just consuming one song from Chris Stapleton; they are consuming every song.
Very early on when we were getting ready to put out Traveller, we knew that in Nashville people knew who he is and we know his incredible breadth of work as a writer and musician and vocalist, but if you were to find an artist profile on him at any service provider, you would see one or two songs. So, in order to combat that, I asked Chris, “Could we put together a playlist that pulls together every song you’ve ever written and put it into one place, so people can understand the depth of you as a writer, which would not be able to be found across streaming services otherwise?” He said, “Ok, that’s fine.” I got this list of songs from his publisher, 400 rows deep on an Excel doc of every song he had written or co-written. At the time there were about 101 songs of his on the streaming services, so I put these all together in a playlist we called ‘Written By…Chris Stapleton.” We launched that before his initial record came out. It just started to organically grow and after the CMA Awards [in 2015, which featured Stapleton’s collaboration with Justin Timberlake], it continued to blow up.
Just around this most recent record [From A Room, Vol. II], I created [a playlist] called “Complete Collection,” with every bit of music on albums he’s worked on as an artist, with a few songs he’s written, or worked on, or collaborated on as an artist as well. Again, we didn’t have to do that much promotion behind those. I can see in that data that people are listening to the entire playlists. They are invested in Chris as an artist.
With Sam [Hunt], we started really early in 2013 or early 2014 where I was meeting some resistance when trying to talk about streaming or educate folks on streaming and lead people down the path of how powerful streaming could be as a marketing driver. We were in the process of signing Sam, and an opportunity came up and I asked if Sam might be able to do this showcase for one of our services and he said he would. He jumped on board very early and understood that he, as well as his audience and people he hung out with, they were using streaming services.
When we put out the record, we had a great adoption around the world because of the access of streaming. Those early days of Sam saying yes and being positive about streaming, it’s basically become an association in country music: Sam Hunt is streaming and streaming is Sam Hunt. So when we put out “Body Like a Back Road,” it just took off. I don’t think even we thought it would blow up like it did and cross over, but I still think streaming services in general and adoption of his fans on those streaming services early on has led to this success. The numbers we were putting up early on at the height of that track last summer—that one track was outstreaming entire albums in a week’s time, and something that still hasn’t been touched by another song in country, but I do think every week when I look at the chart we are edging up there…I remember early days when we would be lucky to have a song stream one million streams in a week’s time and now I count we have 40-50 songs that could be doing a million streams per week, we’ve got 10-15 doing 2 million-plus, and 5 or 10 doing 3 million or 4 million streams. That top number keeps creeping up. Sam really led the way there. I know all of us will start doing those numbers in the coming years with the adoption of streaming, but Sam definitely is an outlier and he started really early and got a lot of investment from young people in that medium of music delivery.
How do you keep up with the new developments in the streaming world—new platforms and changes on current platforms?
That is one of the hardest parts of my job [laughs]. Every single day, something changes that directly affects how I do my job, and that is scary but also really invigorating. It’s funny, but I have Google alerts on all of the services so I know as soon as there is a move or change. Generally, inside of Universal, we are at the forefront of these conversations, as are the other major and indie labels, with having these conversations with the services and getting those terms right. At least once per week, there is some new change that comes out and we have to get on the phone within Universal and outside of Universal to discuss, ‘Are we adopting that? Are we going forward with that?’ I’ll get in touch with my counterparts at other Universal labels and others in Nashville. Those of us who have worked in this space long enough really do rely on each other as things change.
What developments are you most excited about for 2018?
Every service has been coming to us in country [music] and saying they are investing in us in 2018. We’ve been hearing that for a few years, but this year, it is obvious that they are putting their money where their mouth is, and they are stepping up in a big way and investing in country and investing in the growth of country and streaming for fans of country.
As far as looking at streaming numbers in 2016 and last year, I think 2017 was more of a tipping point than people give it credit for, and I think 2018 will be the mass adoption in our format of our fans fully converting into streaming or fans that have already been there on streaming services that may have identified in the past as a rap, pop or hip-hop fan, are going to start converting over to country more and you will see more of that crossover.
What advice do you have for young women entering the music business?
It doesn’t take a degree from a music school from an education standpoint, but there is a lot of great literature on a daily basis that I use to educate myself on developments with platforms or legislation. I probably study legislation the most and this Music Modernization Act. What will that mean for everybody and for us and how artists get paid? That’s something everyone is paying attention to. So educating yourself on all those pieces of the industry—what’s happening in the live space, in publishing, in all the different facets of the industry. Having that knowledge when you are new to the industry and looking for a first job is going to set you up for success. It’s changing so fast, I don’t know a school that can change their curriculum fast enough to keep up with it.
Rob Hatch Inks Publishing Deal With Kobalt
/by Jessica NicholsonRob Hatch
Kobalt, a music and technology company built for artists, songwriters, publishers and labels as an alternative to the traditional music business model, has signed Nashville-based country songwriter Rob Hatch. The worldwide agreement includes publishing administration for all of Hatch’s future works as well as his back catalog.
General Manager, Kobalt Nashville, Jesse Willoughby said of the deal, “We’re honored Rob has entrusted us with his catalog and look forward to helping Rob grow his already successful career. Really excited what the future holds for Rob and proud to have him as part of the Kobalt family!”
Throughout his career, Hatch has collaborated with and/or scored co-writes on works by the likes of Luke Bryan, Faith Hill, Gretchen Wilson, Rhett Atkins, George Jones, posthumous songs by the late Johnny Cash, and more. Following his first No. 1 song on Billboard’s US Hot Country Songs chart, Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” in 2011, Hatch once again reached No. 1 with Lee Brice’s “I Don’t Dance” in 2014. Hatch was also named SESAC Songwriter of the Year in 2014.
“I couldn’t be more excited about being part of the incredible team at Kobalt,” said Hatch. “Jesse has put together a rockstar group that I am going to do my very best to supply with hit songs. Kobalt feels like a new home and the perfect match for me, my family, and my music.”
‘Heartworn Highways’ Documentaries Coming To DVD
/by Lorie HollabaughThe original classic documentary features stirring performances from legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, David Allan Coe, Steve Young, Rodney Crowell, Gamble Rogers, Steve Earle, Barefoot Jerry and the Charlie Daniels Band, while the Revisited film includes a focus on the new generation of trailblazers including John McCauley, Jonny Fritz, Josh Hedley, Justin Townes Earle, Shovels & Rope, Langhorne Slim, Robert Ellis, Andrew Combs, Shelly Colvin, Phil Hummer and others who honor the tradition of their predecessors while forging a highway all their own.
2016 marked the 40th anniversary of the seminal music documentary that offered a glimpse into the lives of these artists and captured the nascent roots of the Outlaw Country movement in the mid-1970s.
MCA Nashville’s Jordan Davis Celebrates Gold Single
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured (L-R): UMG Nashville President Cindy Mabe, UMG Nashville COO Mike Harris, Jordan Davis, UMG Nashville EVP A&R Brian Wright, MCA Nashville VP Promotion Katie Dean, UMG Nashville VP A&R Stephanie Wright, UMG Nashville Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan. Photo: Graham Dodd
Wednesday evening (March 21), MCA Nashville’s Jordan Davis played to a sold-out crowd at Exit/In in Nashville as part of his first headlining White Wine and Whiskey Tour.
Prior to the show, Davis was surprised with a plaque for his debut single “Singles You Up” receiving Gold Certification by the RIAA. His debut album Home State will be released tomorrow, March 23, and features “Singles You Up” in addition to 11 other tracks all co-written by Davis.
CMT Names Morgan Selzer To Sr. VP Role
/by Jessica NicholsonMorgan Selzer. Photo: Marisa Q Photography
Morgan Selzer has been elevated to the role of Senior Vice President of Development for CMT. In this role, Selzer will lead all facets of CMT development strategy. She is based in Los Angeles with frequent travel to Nashville.
The announcement was made today by Keith Cox, President of Development for Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT, to whom she will continue to report.
“Morgan is a seasoned and savvy development executive who crafts compelling stories across multiple formats and genres,” said Cox. “During her tenure at CMT, she’s delivered the network’s biggest hits and has a clear, creative vision to elevate the brand to new creative heights.”
Since joining CMT as Vice President of Development in 2014, she’s been involved with shows including Nashville, Party Down South, and I Love Kellie Pickler, that have set new ratings benchmarks for the network. Currently, she’s overseeing production of the final season of Nashville, as well as Music City, as well as the revival of the hit series, Wife Swap.
Before joining CMT as Vice President of Development, Morgan served as Director of Development for Style Network where she spearheaded new content creation, generated original formats, recruited talent and worked closely with production companies to acquire and mold original programing for the network. Previously, Morgan served as manager at MTV where she supervised series including America’s Best Dance Crew and From G’s To Gents.
DisClaimer: Eric Paslay Tops New Releases
/by Robert K OermannEric Paslay. Photo: Joseph Llanes
Today’s stack of discs features returning vets, current superstars and shiny new faces.
The blasts from the past are Ronnie McDowell and John Schneider. The hottest hitmakers are Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert. And our baby acts include Lonny Ray, Risa Binder and our DisCovery Award winner, Tenille Arts.
Despite their many merits, none of the above takes home this week’s championship ring. The Disc of the Day honor goes to Eric Paslay.
TENILLE ARTS/Moment of Weakness
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; 19th & Grand
– Nicely done. The ringing piano, thumping percussion and echoey atmosphere on this melodic power ballad underscore a penetrating soprano performance. Lend this your ears.
CHRIS STAPLETON/Midnight Train To Memphis
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Mercury (ERG)
– The grinding guitar and relentless percussion announce a ferocious Southern-rock outing. Yet another hair-raising vocal performance from this powerhouse.
MIRANDA LAMBERT/Keeper of the Flame
Writers: Lambert/Hemby/Rose; Producers: Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf & Eric Masse; Publishers: Pink Dog/Sony-ATV/Happygowrucke/Creative Pulse/These Are Pulse Songs/Warner-Tamerlane/Songs of Crazy Girl, BMI; RCA (track)
– Miranda’s double CD The Weight of These Wings is full of awesome tunes. This irresistible toe tapper is a deliciously listenable song of strength and survival. She’s such a pistol.
JOHN SCHNEIDER/Fish
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Maven Music (ERG)
– An attempt at good-humored funkiness. The production is appropriately jaunty/goofy, but there’s a certain built-in seriousness in his voice that doesn’t do “cute” well.
KEITH URBAN & JULIA MICHAELS/Coming Home
Writers: Keith Urban/J.R. Rotem/Nicole Galyon/Merle Haggard/Julia Michaels; Producers: Urban, Rotem; Publishers: none listed; Capitol
– Haggard’s guitar licks kick it off, but after that it is tongue-tripping, burbling electro-pop all the way. Cleverly produced and crisply performed.
MIDLAND/Burn Out
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Big Machine (track)
– Is it just me, or does this sound like a clone of “Drinkin’ Problem?”
ERIC PASLAY/Young Forever
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publishers: none listed; EMI (ERG)
– I love the way it starts out simply and then builds into such a joyous anthem. This is a bona fide hit, amen.
LONNY RAY/I’m Right Here
Writers: none listed; Producers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; BMI, LR (track)
– It’s a baritone ballad with a mellow, r&b vibe and some cool guitar filigrees. Well written and sung with warmth.
RONNIE MCDOWELL/Crazy Crush
Writers: McDowell; Producer: none listed; Publishers: Richland Station, no performance rights listed; RM (track)
– This has a retro-country feel. The falsetto yodel each time he gets to the chorus word “crazy” is particularly ear catching.
RISA BINDER/You Came Along
Writers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Warehouse (CDX)
– The day’s strongest rocker boasts a “nervous” guitar run, a rumbling rhythm track and a sunny, soaring soprano chorus. Bright sounding.
Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam Team For LSD Tour
/by Jessica NicholsonMusic luminaries Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and Dwight Yoakam will team for the LSD Tour, which launches June 12 in Boston. The tour will visit amphitheaters and theaters in major markets, before wrapping Aug. 18 in Indianapolis. Los Angeles rocker King Leg will open the shows.
The tour includes a stop at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Aug. 12.
SiriusXM will present the tour and recently announced a 24/7 channel curated by Dwight launching in late April titled Dwight Yoakam and The Bakersfield Beat ‘Where Country Went Mod.’
Williams recently re-recorded her 1992 classic Sweet Old World for its 25th anniversary, and Earle is also touring this year in support of Copperhead Road’s 30th anniversary.
Tour opener King Leg released their Sire Records debut Meet King Leg, which was co-produced by Yoakam and Chris Lord-Alge.
Various pre-sales will begin March 26 at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets will go on sale to the general public starting March 30 at 10 a.m. local time at livenation.com.
LSD Tour Dates:
June 12: Boston, MA Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
June 13: New York, NY Beacon Theatre
June 15: Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
June 16: Gilford, NH Bank of NH Pavilion
June 17: National Harbor, MD MGM National Harbor
June 19: Baltimore, MD Pier Six Pavilion
June 20: Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
June 21: Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre
Aug. 1: San Francisco, CA The Masonic
Aug. 3: San Diego, CA Open Air Theatre
Aug. 4: Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
Aug. 10: Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheater
Aug. 11: Charlotte, NC Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
Aug. 12: Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
Aug. 14: Morrison, CO* Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug. 16: Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
Aug. 17: Rochester, MI Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
Aug. 18: Indianapolis, IN Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn
*not a Live Nation date
Rising Women On The Row: Tree Vibez Music’s Leslie DiPiero
/by Jessica NicholsonLeslie DiPiero
Tree Vibez Music General Manager Leslie DiPiero was recently announced as one of this year’s MusicRow Rising Women On The Row honorees. MusicRow will feature Q&As with each of this year’s six honorees leading up to the event. MusicRow’s Rising Women on the Row for 2018 also includes Faithe Dillman, Becky Gardenhire, Lynn Oliver-Cline, Annie Ortmeier, and Janet Weir.
At Tree Vibez Music, which was launched by Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, DiPiero oversees all day-to-day operations, as well as big picture planning for the company, including signing and developing talent and strategizing opportunities for the company. DiPiero’s career stops have included Buddy Killen Music, Beckett Music Group, Tom-Leis Music, and Advanced Alternative Media.
MusicRow caught up with DiPiero to discuss her music industry career, and advice she has for industry newcomers. MusicRow Magazine’s sold-out Rising Women On The Row event will be held Tuesday, March 27 at Omni Hotel Nashville.
MusicRow Magazine: You joined Tree Vibez Music last year as General Manager. What appealed to you most about Tree Vibez?
Leslie DiPiero: Brian and Tyler, they are amazing people and talents and their passion for the writers that they sign, and just their whole outlook on wanting to truly take care of people and nurture new talent. They put their own money and time behind their roster.
You signed Corey Crowder, Daniel Ross (in conjunction with Big Machine Music) and RaeLynn (in conjunction with Warner/Chappell Music) shortly after joining Tree Vibez. How did those signings come about?
Daniel had been writing with the guys on the Tree Vibez bus for several months, just to see if they were all going to gel. Around that time, Tree Vibez had a changing of the guard at the company and Daniel was never signed. I came on board and he was taking a few meetings at other publishing companies. Fortunately one of those meetings was with Big Machine Music. Big Machine is such a great company, so Tyler, Brian, Mike Molinar and I just sat down and worked it out, within the first two weeks I was on board.
With RaeLynn, we were all such fans of her music, that when we heard she was looking for publishing deals, it was a no-brainer if we could make it happen. We had a talk with [Warner/Chappell’s] Ben Vaughn, and he was really excited about working with Tree Vibez, and then we heard that all the majors were looking at Corey Crowder and there were really big deals on the table at that time. Corey was just about ready to make a decision and really, Daniel and RaeLynn and Corey all bought into the vision we shared for this company. That speaks volumes for Tyler and Brian.
How do you describe the Tree Vibez vision?
It’s a complex of creativity. The songwriters’ deals are extremely generous. Tyler’s and Brian’s career went from zero to 60 fast and nothing makes them happier than to take their big torch and tip it over and light more candles. They want other people to have as big of flames as they have.
They are so about nurturing and giving back and I think they got that a lot from their mentor Craig Wiseman. Creativity comes first and they want people to know there is freedom. There isn’t this immediate, ‘If you aren’t getting cuts and having No. 1 songs the first year you are out of here’ thing. It’s very family-based, creative-based, and higher power-based.
What lessons did you learn during your time at Buddy Killen and Tom-Leis?
At Buddy Killen Music, my female heroes in town taught me, and I tried to learn by example. I remember walking into rooms where you would just watch Frances Preston and how she spoke to songwriters. I would sit outside the door of Robin Palmer’s and Celia Froehlig’s offices, and I would listen to them speaking to songwriters and learn how they did deals.
In 2013, you were part of opening management company Advanced Alternative Media. What career lessons did you take from your time at Tom-Leis and Buddy Killen that helped you open AAM?
I was with Tom-Leis for almost 17 years and they are such patrons of the arts. They said, ‘We don’t have to make millions, just make your numbers and have integrity and you’ll be here a long time.’ They were angels not only in my life, but angels to artists and writers like Sarah Buxton and Brandon Kinney. Sarah had a deal on Lyric Street for about five years before anything came out and the investors were like just like, “Make sure the music’s right. We don’t want her to have pressure.” Similarly, now with Brian and Tyler, they put songwriters and the music first. They are not bean counters; they feel they should just take care of their people.
AAM was an amazing experience, and it made me realize how much I missed the Nashville publishing community. Then I got the phone call to be interviewed for Tree Vibez Music. Brian and Tyler and I went to [Nashville restaurant] Taco Mamacita and sat in a booth for about an hour and we were like, “Okay. This is crazy. We all have the same outlook, so let’s do this.”
As songwriting has incorporated more tracking, how has that affected the song plugging and publishing side of the industry?
It is faster, and in the last four or five years, when we opened the [Advanced Alternative Media] office in Nashville four years ago, no one really knew what a track person or what a top liner was. Here we are five years later, and most writes are co-writes. Publishers prefer are to have the artist in the room, a track person in the room, and an extra fabulous songwriter in the room, so you have a trifecta each day. The artist and the songwriter leave after the session is done, and the track person has to spend several hours working on the demo, so that’s the process that has gone on. It’s interesting how that has changed since I first came here. Publishing splits may change because you have a track writer doing so much extra heavy lifting after a writing session happens. Then if the song gets cut, you have the producer who is working on the song with the artist asking the track writer for what are called stems, so it’s a very interesting time because writers, producers, and track people are not always getting the compensation they deserve for the extra work they are doing.
Do you see that changing?
The splits are even until we collectively decide they shouldn’t be. I feel personally once a song is recorded, if there is a different producer working on it, that the writer-producer should be compensated. But Nashville has not as a whole agreed to that yet.
What advice do you have for young women just getting started in the music industry?
Learn about the women that were here before you. The era that you are in now is not about you; it’s about something bigger. It’s an honor to serve the creative community. When you don’t get along with others, it disrespects the women that came before you.
Jim Ed Brown’s Wife Recalls Life With Opry Star In New Book
/by Lorie HollabaughJim Ed Brown’s wife Becky Perry Brown goes on the record in her new book, Going Our Way, and explores her life and the love she shared with the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame star during their 54 years of marriage.
“I wrote it simply to tell my story and set the record straight,” says Brown. “History should reflect the truth.”
Brown and collaborator Roxane Atwood take the reader on an engaging journey from the couple’s Arkansas early days, to their first date and the production of Jim Ed’s last album – and everything in between. The book includes hilarious tales from the road, as well as a full frank account of the affair that tore their marriage briefly apart. Autographed hardcover and trade paperback options of the Clovercroft Publishing offering are available for purchase now at GoingOurWay.net.
New Buck Owens Set Chronicles Capitol Singles
/by Lorie HollabaughOmnivore Recordings and the Buck Owens Estate are releasing Buck Owens and the Buckaroos’ The Complete Capitol Singles: 1967–1970 on May 11.
Taken from the original mono and stereo masters, The Complete Capitol Singles: 1967–1970 collects the A- and B-side to all 18 singles from Buck’s historic Capitol singles from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, including 14 Top Ten hits in their original, chronological form. The collection includes duets with Susan Raye and Buck’s son Buddy Allen.
The set is Omnivore’s second in a series chronicling all of Owens’ career on Capitol and was produced and compiled by producer Patrick Milligan and mastered from original analog master tapes by engineer Michael Graves at Osiris Studio.
“The reason my Capitol records sounded the way they did — real heavy on the treble — was because I knew most people were going to be listening to ’em on their AM car radios,” said Owens. “At the time, nobody else was doing anything like that, but it just seemed like common sense to me. And it was one more reason that you knew it was a Buck Owens record as soon as it came on the radio — because it just didn’t sound like those other records.”