Sara Evans Visits The Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter

Sara Evans visited The Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter this week and performed several songs from her new album Words, including the lead track “Marquee Sign.” Evans’ eighth studio album was released July 21 on her own label, Born To Fly Records.

 

Caroline Jones Performs At WME Speakeasy Showcase

Country-pop singer/songwriter Caroline Jones performed at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville Wednesday night (Aug 16) as a part of WME’s Speakeasy showcase.

Jones co-produced her forthcoming album, Bare Feet, with Grammy and Academy Award-winning producer Ric Wake (Trisha Yearwood, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston). The six-song EP is set to release Aug. 25.

 

Tracy Lawrence, Craig Morgan Perform Duet At The Grand Ole Opry

Tracy Lawrence invited fellow country star Craig Morgan to join him onstage at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday night (Aug. 15) to debut the song “Finally Home.”  The new duet appears on Lawrence’s forthcoming album featuring collaborations with fellow country music artists on some of his most iconic hits.

A portion of the proceeds from “Finally Home” will be donated to Operation FINALLY HOME, a national, non-profit organization providing mortgage-free, custom-built homes to wounded, ill and injured veterans or widows of the fallen.

 

AIMP Nashville Gets Inside Scoop From Music Sups

The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) and Regions Bank, with sponsorship from Big Deal Music, Combustion Music, ole and Warner/Chappell Production Music, hosted the successful “Inside Scoop From Music Sups” panel on Monday, Aug. 14 at the Basement East in Nashville.

In this third-year event, five music supervisors–John Bissell (Mothlight Music), Sarah Bromberg (Bonfire Collective), Rick Clark (Rick Clark Productions), Amanda Levine (Platinum Rye) and Janet Lopez (Neophonic)–gave AIMP members and guests the inside track on their music needs and pitching tips. A showcase of selected performers, Edison Tesla Celebrity Death Match (ft. Griffin House and Jeff Trott), KS Rhoads, and Svrcina, preceded the panel.

 

Cole Swindell No. 1 Celebration

The Warner Music Nashville team celebrated Cole Swindell‘s seventh consecutive No. 1 single, “Flatliner,” with a Sippin’ on 7 for 7 party Monday night (Aug. 14) in Nashville.

 

Academy Of Country Music Welcomes Hunter Hayes For A Visit

The Academy of Country Music welcomed Atlantic Records recording artist Hunter Hayes to the Los Angeles office recently. While at the Academy, Hayes performed his new single, “Rescue,” and other songs that are currently streaming.

Click here to watch a video from Hayes’ visit featuring an exclusive interview and clips from his performance.

 

Segue 61’s First Graduating Class

Segue 61 graduated its inaugural class of ten students on Aug. 9. Led by former BMI executive Clay Bradley and star studio musicians Guthrie Trapp and Pete Abbott, Segue 61 is a one-year, interdisciplinary music business certificate program offered by Catawba College located in Nashville.

The school helps talented individuals prepare to enter the music industry in the areas of performance, songwriting, publishing, audio engineering, production, artist development and music business-oriented disciplines of management, marketing, and artist development.

 

On Sept. 16, 2016, federal Judge Louis Stanton issued an order rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) interpretation of the BMI consent decree, allowing BMI to continue its longstanding practice of fractional licensing. The DOJ appealed that decision, and today BMI filed its brief in response.

BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill issued a statement regarding BMI’s brief:

“BMI’s appeal argument is extremely simple in that it comes down to the language of our decree. As Judge Stanton clearly stated, there is nothing in the BMI decree that prevents us from engaging in the industry-wide practice of fractional licensing. What is not simple, however, is the impact the DOJ’s interpretation of our decree would have on the marketplace. It would stifle competition, hinder collaboration and unfairly benefit music users at the expense of the American songwriter. As always, we hope for the opportunity to sit down with the new leadership of the DOJ to educate it about the negative ripple effect its 100% licensing interpretation would have on the entire music industry.”

BMI held its fourth installment of its summer Rooftop On The Row series Tuesday night (Aug. 15) with Walker McGuire and Jon Langston. The George Dickel and Cumulus-sponsored event attended by Music Row tastemakers, friends and family was held on the BMI rooftop amid stunning views of a sunset over the Nashville skyline.

The 2017 CMA Fest special on ABC drew 5.71 million viewers on Wednesday, Aug. 16, according to zap2it.com, earning its biggest audience in three years. The special drew footage from this year’s CMA Music Festival, which was held in Nashville on June 8-11.

The three-hour special earned a 1.2 share among adults 18-49.

Three Hounds Music has entered into an exclusive publishing agreement with singer/songwriter David Tolliver. A Music City fixture for nearly a decade, Tolliver is best known as half of the critically acclaimed country/rock duo Halfway to Hazard. He has co-written the majority of Halfway to Hazard’s three albums, and has had cuts by Tim McGraw, Jarrod Niemann, Brantley Gilbert, Wynonna Judd, Neal McCoy and numerous others.

“I’m really excited about beginning this new page in my life and I’m so happy to be doing it with Three Hounds Music,” says Tolliver. “Tom Harrison (CEO/Founder) and Tyler Bell (General Manager) are good people and I’m looking forward to a great future with them.”

In addition to Tolliver, the Three Hounds family includes songwriters Bobby Terry (Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, Gretchen Wilson), Chris Cavanaugh (Kip Moore, Lonestar, Steve Holy), Sarah Beth Terry (Craig Morgan), Kevin Brandt (Montgomery Gentry, Travis Tritt, Randy Travis), and new Americana duo Fleener.