Dann Huff. Photo: Cameron Powell
Don’t miss Billboard’s Producer of The Decade Dann Huff on The Producer’s Chair 11th Anniversary Show on Thursday, Aug. 31, at World Music Nashville at 7 p.m.
Looking at even a partial discography of Dann Huff’s session work makes one realize that every iconic producer from Quincy Jones and David Foster to Phil Ramone, Mutt Lang and beyond have all hired Huff to play on some of the most significant records of our time. Those are some serious teachers, and likely accounts, in-part, for Huff’s move into production from session work.
The fact is, only musicians of Huff’s caliber get called for sessions with Barbra Streisand, Kenny Loggins, Reba McEntire, Celine Dion, DC Talk, Shania Twain, Michael Bolton, Luther Vandross, Peter Cetera, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Amy Grant, Fine Young Cannibals, Barry Manilow, The Temptations, Chaka Khan, O’Jays, Smokey Robinson, Clint Black, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Natalie Cole, Gladis Knight, Neville Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Rick Springfield, Olivia Newton-John, Toby Keith, Joe Cocker, Bryan Ferry, Peter Wolf, Martina McBride, Chicago, Wynonna, Glen Campbell, Paula Abdul, Tammy Wynette, Mariah Carey, Merle Haggard, Bob Seger, Boz Scaggs and Billy Joel.
That was only the beginning of Dann’s phenomenal career. After returning to Nashville, thanks to a friendly nudge from Mutt Lang to pursue producing, Music City opened its arms too. Huff’s production discography definitely shows the love. Keith, Urban, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Lonestar, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Wynonna, Deana Carter, Pat Green, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Wayne, Bon Jovi, SHeDAISY, Kenny Rogers, LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, Bryan White, Chely Wright, Rebecca St. James, Collin Raye, Trace Adkins, Julianne Hough, Steel Magnolia, Hunter Hayes, Brantley Gilbert, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Sarah Darling, Mickey G, Johnny Gates and The Invite, Kenny Rogers, the television series Nashville and Reba, Big & Rich, Billy Currington, Maddie & Tae, Jennifer Nettles, Thompson Square, Seth Alley, Danielle Bradbery, and The Band Perry are only the beginning, and the artists just keep-on-comin’.
Some of Huff’s more recent clients include Steven Tyler, Thomas Rhett (in co-production with Jesse Frazier), Brett Young, Runaway June, Kane Brown, Rachel Wamnack, Tucker Befford and Midland (in co-production with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne).
A sampling of his accolades includes MusicRow Awards Producer of the Year (2013, 2006), CMA honors for Musician of the Year (2016, 2004, 2001), and ACM Producer of the Year (2014, 2010, 2006) as well as Billboard’s Producer of the Decade honor.
But in a world where producers and engineers come and go quite frequently, one of the things that Huff cherishes most is his 30-year working relationship with engineer Justin Niebank.
After reviewing some of his awards, I just about fell off my chair laughing when Dann asked if he could expect a Rolex at some point? My guess would be yes … but it’s far too early yet.
The Producer’s Chair: Are songwriters and copyright owners doomed?
Dann Huff: No more than any of us. It’s like anything in this country … take a number and stand in line. It depends on who you talk to. Life ain’t fair. Take a look at what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. That doesn’t denigrate all my friends who are songwriters and their need to be protected and compensated but, there’s a lot of that stuff in different forms and some more dire than others. Probably it’s two-fold. This industry was able to support more than it probably should have been able to support so. It’s done some culling of the herd. And I guess some of that is just evolution.
Are they well-represented?
There are a lot of smart songwriters that are involved in this. I know Shane McAnally has been really active on that side and much more articulate than I would be. Everything they say, I back but, I also feel that way about musicians too. And here’s where the discrepancy lies. This industry is so inner-dependent on itself. You hear statements like ‘It’s all about the song’ … well … yes and no … chicken/egg … and that’s really what it is. The song just sitting there doesn’t do anything. I know how much everything that I do is related to that song, the songwriters, the vocal cords of an artist, the promotion staff of a label and everything else through management. There is just no way to extricate any one thing and say; this is why it happens.
The older I get the more I’m aware of what it takes to become successful. We’re all just a part of that thing. But nobody can stand alone. Well, maybe someone like Ed Sheeran. He’s an anomaly. But very seldom does that happen. We all need each other. I want them to get paid but I also want musicians to be paid.
There were so many times when we would come in and add stuff to a song that wasn’t written in the song, like the hook/lick of a song. Other times, that song would sell millions upon millions of records and you were just paid your small fee. In other countries, musicians who play on these hit songs are compensated. And they’re starting to right that shift too. It’s really nice to see there’s a whole new ‘special payments’ for musicians. And I’ve noticed the way musicians come into sessions these days. They’re totally invigorated to be present and create because the more hit songs they’re on, the more money they make. It’s a great incentive.
Has the industry’s search for new revenue streams widened or narrowed the gap between the business and the creative?
In my experience, I don’t feel any change. I feel maybe there is more of an awareness across the board. It has to be very intentional. When I was playing in Nashville, in the ‘90s, it would appear that, when the artist was relatively well-known and the project was moderately good, you could almost expect physical sales to be ½ million and up, and that added to almost a source of entitlement in the record industry, especially here in Nashville. Originally the record industry and the recording studios would be the gatekeepers but because of technology and the leveling of the playing field, anybody could make music on a laptop. I think that’s what kind of changed the whole narrative. In the course of our lives watching this, the entitlement has been stripped away. The awareness of ‘you gotta be good’ is heightened.
Everybody has made less and the pie shrunk drastically. I think it’s made people more responsible. Overall, there seems to be more gratefulness when there’s success. Personally, I feel more involved with the people who run these labels and their A&R staff. There seems to be more dialogue. I think overall, there’s more awareness to the details and to the necessity of not missing, too many times.
I feel badly for the artists, the young singers and entertainers. They’re ‘ready but ready-ish’ and if they don’t hit-it, the labels move on because there are so many in the on-deck circles. I think the industry is assimilating all of this now. It’s just trying to figure out, how these corporations can make money.
Has the redistribution of revenue streams been standardized to the point where, there’s now a new model for how producers get paid?
No. We make our deals with the artists and we take a percentage of the streaming royalties that they take and you get your up-front money. After that it’s pretty much the Wild West. If I was more into the artist development thing, I would participate 360° but, usually the artists who come to me have label deals. So usually I’ll talk to management and work out some kind of incentive for chart success, which are bonuses for reaching peak levels on the charts.
Most producers that I know and work with are writers. I write but it’s not my pursuit. For them, their incentive is their songs and the production is a little extra change on the back-end, if you get a hit. If they want specifically what I do, I guess when they work with me they’re buying into a track record of sorts. It’s like picking a number that has a good chance of dingin’ the bell.
How involved are you in A&R and song-selection for your artists?
The A&R avenues in these labels have really built up. Our A&R presence from the labels in this town is to me, at an all-time high now. Not that they weren’t in the past but the producers of the generation before me were the power-brokers. They had the songs and most of them were publishers like James Stroud and Jimmy Bowen and that’s how they ran their businesses. Nowadays it seems like there’s less of that. These young A&R people are in the clubs, they’re best friends with the writers and they’re perfect in their jobs. To me it’s now more like when I was playing the West Coast. These people are empowered by their label heads and they’re doing the work. When I come into a situation, they always ask, but I like making records. Their job is specifically, ‘What vehicles can we get played on radio?’ I don’t want to live in that reality because I want to be a musician. I’m living my dream job right now. They’ll ask me what the single is but I don’t have to meet with radio programmers.
You won CMA 2016 Musician of the Year. If that win was based solely on session work that you’ve done, on records that you’re producing, that’s incredible.
I would think it would have to be. I have mixed emotions about it … of course you’re always honored to win any kind of recognition so, I’m honored.
My wife Sherri always stands over my shoulder, when I get those ballots because she knows that, if it were up to me, I would vote for my friends. In the CMAs they don’t give awards for producers like the ACMs. But I am a musician and I do play on almost everything. I just feel that the guys I hire that play for me, are more deserving.
Has today’s singles market sealed the fate of the industry in some way or, is it simply another transitional stage, in the evolution of our industry?
I think it’s a transitional stage and part of the evolution. It’s almost come full circle back to the way that pop music was being peddled in the ‘60s, as we all know … singles. I think it’s led to us being much more intentional about what we put out. People are much pickier now. They don’t have to buy anything. They can screen it. So we have to be more compelling in our work.
Are you producing anyone who is not country?
Depending on whom you ask, all the critics say nobody I produce is country [laughs], except Midland.
What is the best advice you can give to new singers, musicians, songwriters and executives?
Make sure you can stay here for the long haul. You can never know when you’re going to get that break-through moment. Make sure you have your business and personal finances in order. Be present … go to the clubs, meet people, network as much as possible. That moment will happen, when you least expect it. And above all, be prepared.
Carter Winter Signs With Roc Nation
/by Lorie HollabaughCarter Winter has signed a publishing deal with Roc Nation.
Winter recently finished his second studio project, The Whiskey In Me, which was produced by Mark Bright and Chad Carlson and reached the No. 4 spot on iTunes and No. 34 on Billboard‘s country albums chart. He is a spokesperson for Durango Boots and has his own line of boots coming out soon.
“I signed with Roc Nation and could not be more excited or thankful to be part of this incredible family,” said Winter. “To have the brilliant individuals associated with this business and movement believe in me is more than I could have ever imagined. Love the ones who love you. Do the best for those who want the best for you.”
Roc Nation announced a publishing partnership with Warner/Chappell Music last year as well as a joint venture, Rhythm House, with songwriter/producer/publisher/DJ Jesse Frasure.
Honor Thy Music: Preserving Country Music History In The Digital Age
/by Jessica Nicholson“These are like finding lost books of the bible or apocryphal pieces that people talk about,” Carolyn Tate, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Sr. VP of Museum Services, tells MusicRow. “To find a body of work that has been saved or put to paper like that is phenomenal.”
Donations such as McDill’s are also increasingly rare, in an age where songwriters rely more on computers than paper when crafting country radio’s latest hits.
“These days when you go into a writing room, nine out of 10 songwriters open up their computer,” says Kix Brooks, who has made several donations to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum over the course of his 30-plus year career.
“The thing they most love [at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum] are those handwritten song lyrics for the songs that you were working on that turned out to be hits,” he says. “I can’t imagine how much paper I’ve dumped over the years that they would have cared about and looking back, fans would have too. But I did find a piece of ‘Red Dirt Road,’ and a piece of ‘Only In America,’ where I was working on it. Some of the lyrics I started with, kind of made me smile, but they were happy to get those. I wish I had done a better job of sending that stuff.”
“As historians, we have to point out how strong the written word is,” Tate says. “We hope it sends a message to other songwriters and folks in town that these things are so meaningful to history and take another look around their own basements.”
While country music fans are no doubt familiar with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s ever-rotating exhibits, as well as the 776-seat CMA Theater, 213-seat Ford Theater, the Taylor Swift Education Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s work with Hatch Show Print and RCA Studio B, the operation has long chronicled the complex and far-reaching history of country music’s stars and industry members.
Since 1987, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, which certifies that the museum operates and manages its collection of more than 2+ million artifacts at the highest standard of quality. Those items include 200,000+ recordings, as well as stage costumes, manuscripts, instruments, and more eccentric pieces including artwork from painter and muralist Thomas Hart Benton.
Accreditation with the American Alliance of Museums requires a tedious reaccreditation process every 10 years. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is one of only 1,000 museums nationwide that have earned that accreditation.
Pictured (L-R): Governor Haslam, Bob McDill, and Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young
In the quest to expand on the museum’s archives, Tate and her team regularly visit with artists, songwriters, industry members, as well as families and estates of artists, seeking new items to be cataloged and archived.
“We are the most careful movers in town and we are free,” Tate says. “We go in with white gloves and pick though delicate items. We always respect that someone has let us in their homes and that they are letting us handle their history. Historically-savvy industry members will come to us and say, ‘I’m closing this office and we are moving. Come and look through our documents and files and see what the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum needs.”
Once items are brought back to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, they are cataloged and photographed, and meticulously maintained. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s 43,000 square feet of dedicated archival storage includes space for digitizing older documents, and a luthier shop for maintaining musical instruments.
“We spend a lot of time and resources collecting born digital items and converting them to make sure the data doesn’t become corrupt,” Tate says.
Tate says it is not only imperative for artists, but for publishers, publicists, performing rights organizations, recording studios, radio stations, labels, management companies, talent agencies and more to donate items and correspondence to help preserve the history of country music.
In the digital age, it is not only written lyrics that are increasingly important, but the myriad of documents that are now routinely sent electronically, which chronicle the industry’s history—press releases, calendars, set lists, day sheets, recording studio time logs, contracts, publishing and/or royalty statements and more. Items that seem mundane in the light of day-to-day operations for most music industry members, including datebooks, calendars, tour itineraries, set lists and journals, can prove invaluable in documenting where the industry was and what was happening at any point in an artist’s career.
“Things that seem out dated now are an incredibly important look back at that time in history,” Tate says. “We have a diary here Janie Fricke’s, before she got her own record deal. She was doing demos, so she would be singing for Coca-Cola in the morning and then she would be cutting her own songs in the afternoon. The variety of her sessions with singers and musicians in town is huge because it speaks to that incredible breadth of work that make up Nashville.”
Kix Brooks
“When I first got to town, the Hall of Fame was one of the first places I went,” recalls Brooks. “And it was exciting to see all those things and the way they had been kept. After decades in a duo, you collect so much stuff. We bought a warehouse to keep this stuff in, and we called the Hall of Fame and said, ‘My kids don’t want all this stuff. We are getting to the point of what do we do with it?’ It’s exciting that they really do care about it, and humbling that memorabilia like the awards, or those envelopes that had your name on them when you opened them, are valuable.”
“If you are managing an artist, you could be thinking about everything that is going out on your artist or if it is their first arena tour or first opening slot for a superstar,” Tate says. “Everybody is in the business of music should be documenting those moments. Bring those to us.”
Tate notes Sony Music Nashville’s Luke Combs and his team as one recent example of those forward-thinking organizations. Tate recalls that in commemorating Combs’ first No. 1 party celebrating “Hurricane,” his team gave the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum a shirt from his first music video.
“That was a great idea,” Tate says. “You can bet that his early career is documented at the Hall of Fame now, and it was as easy as them being gracious enough to say, ‘This is important to be mentioned,’ and to be given the artifacts.”
Items such as those from Combs and Fricke are essential, personal mementos that enrich the story of country music because they document some of the earliest moments from an artist’s career.
“They are not all Gold records or awards, but they are precious to the history of country music,” Tate says.
—
To donate digital items to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, email: archives@countrymusichalloffame.org
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum offers the following examples of items that can be important to maintain throughout an artist’s career, to preserve a legacy for future generations of country music fans:
Clothing: stage wear, including accessories (boots, jewelry, belts, hats, ties, etc.) or items of personal clothing that have significance, as well as clothing worn at awards shows, live performances, and in music videos.
Musical instruments, especially instruments an artist or writer learned to play on, or used to write songs, record, and perform with. The Museum is particularly interested in instruments with connections to specific performances or events in an artist’s life and career.
Awards: CMA, ACM, Grammy, and other industry trophies, plaques, certificates, etc.
Song manuscripts and objects used in the songwriting process, especially handwritten lyrics, including snatches of lyrics to unfinished songs, which help document the creative process.
Photographs: candid photos, from baby pictures and family photos, to the present.
Audio Recordings: studio demos, home recordings, live performances, rehearsal tapes, songwriter work tapes/demos, etc.
Film/Video: Professionally-produced footage of live performances, interviews, music videos, etc. (the Museum can accept most formats, but prefers Quicktime). Home Movies and Video
Personal and business correspondence, including fan mail
Business Documents: these include contracts, lead sheets, publishing and royalty statements.
Gifts/mementos from fans. Datebooks, Calendars, Journals, Tour Itineraries, Set Lists
Born Digital Items: music, documents, calendars, web presence only publications
Obsolete Media: floppy discs, hard discs, zip drives, Cyquest drives, Photo prints/negatives
Correspondence/notes/cards
Billy Ray Cyrus To ‘Set The Record Straight’ In November
/by Jessica NicholsonBilly Ray Cyrus‘ upcoming album Set The Record Straight, which releases Nov. 10, will be packed with collaborations with Joe Perry, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Bryan Adams, Glenn Hughes, Jencarlos Canela, and Ronnie Milsap, as well as with Cyrus’ daughter Miley Cyrus.
“I’m so excited to share this collection of music. These are some of my favorite songs. Some are new and have been an intricate part of ‘Still The King’ story lines. Others are new mixes and different styles of songs that allowed me to experiment with the diversity that is so much a part of my musical being. There are some collaborations with my musical heroes and a special tribute to one of my greatest influences of all time – Ronnie Van Zant and the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. In this being the 40-year anniversary of that tragic crash that impacted me and so many others fans around the world, I wrote and recorded ‘The Freebird Fell’,” Billy Ray Cyrus said.
Momentum will continue for Cyrus’ new album Aug. 29 when he appears on “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” alongside his family, including Miley, Noah, Tish, Brandi, Braison and Trace during their sing-along to “Achy Breaky Heart” (Muscle Shoals Mix), which is included on Set The Record Straight.
Set The Record Straight Track Listing:
1. “Tulsa Time” Feat. Joe Perry
2. “I Wanna Be Your Joe” (New Mix)
3. “Achy Breaky Heart” Feat. Ronnie Milsap On Piano (Muscle Shoals Mix)
4. “You Good”
5. “I Want My Mullet Back”
6. “Country Music Has The Blues” Feat. George Jones & Loretta Lynn
7. “Thin Line” Feat. Shelby Lynne
8. “Hey Elvis” Feat. Bryan Adams & Glenn Hughes
9. “I Wouldn’t Be Me”
10. “Stand” Feat. Miley Cyrus
11. “Hey Daddy”
12. “The Freebird Fell”
13. “Achy Breaky Heart 25” (Spanglish) Feat. Jencarlos Canela
14. “Tulsa Time” (Rokman Remix)
15. “Worry”
Producer’s Chair: Dann Huff
/by contributorDann Huff. Photo: Cameron Powell
Don’t miss Billboard’s Producer of The Decade Dann Huff on The Producer’s Chair 11th Anniversary Show on Thursday, Aug. 31, at World Music Nashville at 7 p.m.
Looking at even a partial discography of Dann Huff’s session work makes one realize that every iconic producer from Quincy Jones and David Foster to Phil Ramone, Mutt Lang and beyond have all hired Huff to play on some of the most significant records of our time. Those are some serious teachers, and likely accounts, in-part, for Huff’s move into production from session work.
The fact is, only musicians of Huff’s caliber get called for sessions with Barbra Streisand, Kenny Loggins, Reba McEntire, Celine Dion, DC Talk, Shania Twain, Michael Bolton, Luther Vandross, Peter Cetera, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Amy Grant, Fine Young Cannibals, Barry Manilow, The Temptations, Chaka Khan, O’Jays, Smokey Robinson, Clint Black, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Natalie Cole, Gladis Knight, Neville Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Rick Springfield, Olivia Newton-John, Toby Keith, Joe Cocker, Bryan Ferry, Peter Wolf, Martina McBride, Chicago, Wynonna, Glen Campbell, Paula Abdul, Tammy Wynette, Mariah Carey, Merle Haggard, Bob Seger, Boz Scaggs and Billy Joel.
That was only the beginning of Dann’s phenomenal career. After returning to Nashville, thanks to a friendly nudge from Mutt Lang to pursue producing, Music City opened its arms too. Huff’s production discography definitely shows the love. Keith, Urban, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Lonestar, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Wynonna, Deana Carter, Pat Green, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Wayne, Bon Jovi, SHeDAISY, Kenny Rogers, LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, Bryan White, Chely Wright, Rebecca St. James, Collin Raye, Trace Adkins, Julianne Hough, Steel Magnolia, Hunter Hayes, Brantley Gilbert, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Sarah Darling, Mickey G, Johnny Gates and The Invite, Kenny Rogers, the television series Nashville and Reba, Big & Rich, Billy Currington, Maddie & Tae, Jennifer Nettles, Thompson Square, Seth Alley, Danielle Bradbery, and The Band Perry are only the beginning, and the artists just keep-on-comin’.
Some of Huff’s more recent clients include Steven Tyler, Thomas Rhett (in co-production with Jesse Frazier), Brett Young, Runaway June, Kane Brown, Rachel Wamnack, Tucker Befford and Midland (in co-production with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne).
A sampling of his accolades includes MusicRow Awards Producer of the Year (2013, 2006), CMA honors for Musician of the Year (2016, 2004, 2001), and ACM Producer of the Year (2014, 2010, 2006) as well as Billboard’s Producer of the Decade honor.
But in a world where producers and engineers come and go quite frequently, one of the things that Huff cherishes most is his 30-year working relationship with engineer Justin Niebank.
After reviewing some of his awards, I just about fell off my chair laughing when Dann asked if he could expect a Rolex at some point? My guess would be yes … but it’s far too early yet.
The Producer’s Chair: Are songwriters and copyright owners doomed?
Dann Huff: No more than any of us. It’s like anything in this country … take a number and stand in line. It depends on who you talk to. Life ain’t fair. Take a look at what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. That doesn’t denigrate all my friends who are songwriters and their need to be protected and compensated but, there’s a lot of that stuff in different forms and some more dire than others. Probably it’s two-fold. This industry was able to support more than it probably should have been able to support so. It’s done some culling of the herd. And I guess some of that is just evolution.
Are they well-represented?
There are a lot of smart songwriters that are involved in this. I know Shane McAnally has been really active on that side and much more articulate than I would be. Everything they say, I back but, I also feel that way about musicians too. And here’s where the discrepancy lies. This industry is so inner-dependent on itself. You hear statements like ‘It’s all about the song’ … well … yes and no … chicken/egg … and that’s really what it is. The song just sitting there doesn’t do anything. I know how much everything that I do is related to that song, the songwriters, the vocal cords of an artist, the promotion staff of a label and everything else through management. There is just no way to extricate any one thing and say; this is why it happens.
The older I get the more I’m aware of what it takes to become successful. We’re all just a part of that thing. But nobody can stand alone. Well, maybe someone like Ed Sheeran. He’s an anomaly. But very seldom does that happen. We all need each other. I want them to get paid but I also want musicians to be paid.
There were so many times when we would come in and add stuff to a song that wasn’t written in the song, like the hook/lick of a song. Other times, that song would sell millions upon millions of records and you were just paid your small fee. In other countries, musicians who play on these hit songs are compensated. And they’re starting to right that shift too. It’s really nice to see there’s a whole new ‘special payments’ for musicians. And I’ve noticed the way musicians come into sessions these days. They’re totally invigorated to be present and create because the more hit songs they’re on, the more money they make. It’s a great incentive.
Has the industry’s search for new revenue streams widened or narrowed the gap between the business and the creative?
In my experience, I don’t feel any change. I feel maybe there is more of an awareness across the board. It has to be very intentional. When I was playing in Nashville, in the ‘90s, it would appear that, when the artist was relatively well-known and the project was moderately good, you could almost expect physical sales to be ½ million and up, and that added to almost a source of entitlement in the record industry, especially here in Nashville. Originally the record industry and the recording studios would be the gatekeepers but because of technology and the leveling of the playing field, anybody could make music on a laptop. I think that’s what kind of changed the whole narrative. In the course of our lives watching this, the entitlement has been stripped away. The awareness of ‘you gotta be good’ is heightened.
Everybody has made less and the pie shrunk drastically. I think it’s made people more responsible. Overall, there seems to be more gratefulness when there’s success. Personally, I feel more involved with the people who run these labels and their A&R staff. There seems to be more dialogue. I think overall, there’s more awareness to the details and to the necessity of not missing, too many times.
I feel badly for the artists, the young singers and entertainers. They’re ‘ready but ready-ish’ and if they don’t hit-it, the labels move on because there are so many in the on-deck circles. I think the industry is assimilating all of this now. It’s just trying to figure out, how these corporations can make money.
Has the redistribution of revenue streams been standardized to the point where, there’s now a new model for how producers get paid?
No. We make our deals with the artists and we take a percentage of the streaming royalties that they take and you get your up-front money. After that it’s pretty much the Wild West. If I was more into the artist development thing, I would participate 360° but, usually the artists who come to me have label deals. So usually I’ll talk to management and work out some kind of incentive for chart success, which are bonuses for reaching peak levels on the charts.
Most producers that I know and work with are writers. I write but it’s not my pursuit. For them, their incentive is their songs and the production is a little extra change on the back-end, if you get a hit. If they want specifically what I do, I guess when they work with me they’re buying into a track record of sorts. It’s like picking a number that has a good chance of dingin’ the bell.
How involved are you in A&R and song-selection for your artists?
The A&R avenues in these labels have really built up. Our A&R presence from the labels in this town is to me, at an all-time high now. Not that they weren’t in the past but the producers of the generation before me were the power-brokers. They had the songs and most of them were publishers like James Stroud and Jimmy Bowen and that’s how they ran their businesses. Nowadays it seems like there’s less of that. These young A&R people are in the clubs, they’re best friends with the writers and they’re perfect in their jobs. To me it’s now more like when I was playing the West Coast. These people are empowered by their label heads and they’re doing the work. When I come into a situation, they always ask, but I like making records. Their job is specifically, ‘What vehicles can we get played on radio?’ I don’t want to live in that reality because I want to be a musician. I’m living my dream job right now. They’ll ask me what the single is but I don’t have to meet with radio programmers.
You won CMA 2016 Musician of the Year. If that win was based solely on session work that you’ve done, on records that you’re producing, that’s incredible.
I would think it would have to be. I have mixed emotions about it … of course you’re always honored to win any kind of recognition so, I’m honored.
My wife Sherri always stands over my shoulder, when I get those ballots because she knows that, if it were up to me, I would vote for my friends. In the CMAs they don’t give awards for producers like the ACMs. But I am a musician and I do play on almost everything. I just feel that the guys I hire that play for me, are more deserving.
Has today’s singles market sealed the fate of the industry in some way or, is it simply another transitional stage, in the evolution of our industry?
I think it’s a transitional stage and part of the evolution. It’s almost come full circle back to the way that pop music was being peddled in the ‘60s, as we all know … singles. I think it’s led to us being much more intentional about what we put out. People are much pickier now. They don’t have to buy anything. They can screen it. So we have to be more compelling in our work.
Are you producing anyone who is not country?
Depending on whom you ask, all the critics say nobody I produce is country [laughs], except Midland.
What is the best advice you can give to new singers, musicians, songwriters and executives?
Make sure you can stay here for the long haul. You can never know when you’re going to get that break-through moment. Make sure you have your business and personal finances in order. Be present … go to the clubs, meet people, network as much as possible. That moment will happen, when you least expect it. And above all, be prepared.
CMHoF Recognizes Artists Supporting Landmark Capital Campaign
/by Alex ParryThe Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum announced the installation of an Artist Wall, recognizing artists who supported the museum’s Working on a Building capital campaign. The $87.5 million campaign underwrote the 210,000-square-foot expansion and the requisite scaling of exhibition and education activities. The full scope of this landmark project was accomplished under budget and ahead of schedule.
The museum is grateful to the following artists who generously contributed to the capital campaign and are recognized on the permanent Artist Wall:
“Over the course of five decades, the museum has maintained its commitment to preserve, interpret and educate its audiences about the evolving history of country music,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “That is our mission, and it would not be possible without the generous support of these artists. We are forever grateful to them for their commitment to the museum and its work.”
Buddy Lee Attractions Signs Bluegrass Artist Joe Hott
/by Haley CrowPictured (L-R): JoAnn Berry (World Class Entertainment & Productions), Joe Hott, Sherry Graf (Buddy Lee Attractions), and Marie Ratzman (World Class Entertainment & Productions).
Rising bluegrass artist Joe Hott has signed with Buddy Lee Attractions for booking representation.
“I am incredibly excited to be working with this talented young man,” notes Sherry Graf, Bluegrass/Americana agent at Buddy Lee Attractions. “I know Joe Hott will have super success and be a household name very soon!”
Hott’s latest release, The Last Thing on My Mind, showcases the West Virginia native’s unique blend of retro-bluegrass, traditional country, and gospel. The 11-song album includes self-penned tracks along with traditional bluegrass favorites, and features both Jamey Johnson and The Whites.
Hott is managed by JoAnn Berry and Marie Ratzman of World Class Talent & Productions, and was recently named a 2017 national brand ambassador for Durango Boots.
Luke Combs Fans Are ‘Tempted’ As Tour Dates Sell Out In Record Time
/by Lorie HollabaughLuke Combs seems ready for the hurricane of headliner status as 19 of the 25 markets on his upcoming Don’t Tempt Me With A Good Time Tour have already sold out, with Combs adding second nights in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Baton Rouge and expanding several shows to larger venues to accommodate demand.
Sell-outs include the iconic Texas Club in Baton Rouge, The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, and Combs’ very first arena show, US Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C.
Ray Fulcher, Josh Phillips and Faren Rachels join him on the outing.
Fan excitement this week also drove Combs’ debut album This One’s For You back to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart, and his brand new music video for “When It Rains It Pours” to cross 2.9 million views.
He has also been tapped by Firestone for the company’s 2017 summer country music digital content series. The first episode of “Luke Combs: Behind The Song,” an inside look at the North Carolina native’s life on and off the road, has just been released. In it Combs offers fans a behind-the-tour look at the vision for his trademark full-throttle live shows in the first installment of the three-part digital series.
The first installment of “Luke Combs: Behind The Song” can be viewed on Firestone social channels here.
Bluegrass Great Pete Kuykendall Passes
/by Robert K OermannPete Kuykendall. Photo: IBMA
Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Pete Kuykendall has died in Virginia at age 79.
It would be hard to overstate Kuykendall’s importance to the bluegrass industry. He co-founded The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). He created Bluegrass Unlimited, the magazine that is the genre’s bible. He was a songwriter of bluegrass standards, including “I Am Weary Let Me Rest” on the million-selling Grammy Album of the Year O Brother Where Art Thou.
He was a former member of the famed band The Country Gentlemen. He was instrumental in the formation of the International Bluegrass Museum in Kentucky. He was a music publisher, a studio owner, a record producer, an event promoter, a music journalist, a radio disc jockey and a historian/archivist.
Dave Freeman of Rebel Records has said, “Without him, I don’t know where bluegrass music would be today.”
Born in Washington D.C. in 1938, Pete Kuykendall was an avid record collector as a boy. He learned to play banjo and became a member of The Country Gentlemen in 1958-59. He also was a country disc jockey in Maryland and Virginia.
During this same period, Kuykendall began writing for Disc Collector magazine. He was one of the first to write seriously about the records of Bill Monroe, Reno & Smiley, Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers and other bluegrass pioneers. He has been called “the first discographer of bluegrass music.”
He worked briefly at the Library of Congress transferring its rare cylinders and acetate discs to magnetic tape. In addition, he built Wynwood Recording Studio in the basement of his house in Falls Church, VA. He recorded a number of country, bluegrass, folk and blues performers there, including Mississippi John Hurt in 1964.
Even after he left the group, Kuykendall produced several Country Gentlemen albums in the early 1960s. He also produced Red Allen and a number of other bluegrass artists.
In 1966, he co-founded Bluegrass Unlimited, initially as a typed and mimeographed newsletter. It is now a glossy, full-color monthly that is read around the world.
Bluegrass Unlimited became the primary source of information about its genre, carrying record reviews, musical-instrument information, festival listings, features, artist news and letters. It knitted an entire community together.
In 1968, Kuykendall became one of the founders of the IBMA. Now headquartered in Nashville, this organization launched an annual awards show, a convention, a museum and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
He was instrumental in creating and managing the Indian Springs Festival. Launched in 1972, this Maryland get-together was a cornerstone bluegrass event for the next 14 years.
Using the pseudonym “Pete Roberts,” he composed and arranged a number of bluegrass classics. They include “Down Where the Still Waters Flow,” “Journey’s End,” “No Blind Ones There,” “Out on the Ocean,” “Rollin’ Stone” and “Remembrance of You.”
Among those who recorded his songs were Bill Clifton, Ralph Stanley, The Country Gentlemen, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Bill Yates, Charlie Waller, Larry Rice, James King and John Duffey.
“I Am Weary Let Me Rest” was recorded by several acts. The Cox Family’s version appeared on the acclaimed 2001 soundtrack CD O Brother Where Art Thou. Kuykendall’s songs are published by his Wynwood Music publishing firm.
In recent years, Pete Kuykendall became an avid collector of instruments. He owned rare banjos, mandolins and guitars as well as a treasure trove of recordings. He was regarded as a key historian of his genre when he was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1996. He and his wife Kitsy Kuykendall remained active in bluegrass circles during the next two decades. They were friendly fixtures at East Coast bluegrass festivals as well as at the annual IBMA conventions
and awards shows.
Pete Kuykendall reportedly began having balance and walking problems. He went into an assisted-living center, but continued to receive friends and share his anecdotes right up to the end of his life.
Kitsy Kuykendall told Bluegrass Today that her husband passed away in his sleep at his nursing facility in Warrenton, VA on Wednesday night, Aug. 23.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Weekly Chart Report 8/25/17
/by Alex ParryClick here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report.
GMA Dove Awards VIP Choir Experience Will Offer Chance To Sing Onstage With Reba
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“I am excited and honored to perform at this year’s show,” said McEntire, who has two Dove Awards nominations. “Recording a faith-filled album has been on my heart for many years, and to see how Sing It Now has been embraced is really special. I’m thrilled this collection of my favorite hymns and some new songs of hope continue to touch people.”
Fans have an opportunity to take part in the GMA Dove Awards VIP Experience that includes a behind the scenes viewing of rehearsals, a red carpet photo opportunity, access to the pre-telecast, and more. The Choir Experience includes all VIP perks plus a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform with Reba McEntire during the telecast. More talent announcements for the show will be announced soon. Early bird ticket pricing ends August 31, and tickets can be purchased at the Allen Arena box office or here.
Top-nominated Dove awards artists include Zach Williams, Lauren Daigle, Chris Tomlin, Kirk Franklin and NEEDTOBREATHE, and a full list of nominees can be found here.