SOUNDBREAKING: Stories From The Cutting Edge Of Recorded Music, an eight-episode PBS series that explores the impact of recorded music on the modern world, will make its U.S. broadcast debut weekdays on PBS from Nov. 14-23, 2016.
The series features more than 150 exclusive and original interviews with such luminaries as Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash, Don Was, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Barry Gibb, Elton John, B.B. King, Dave Stewart, Lindsey Buckingham, Steven Van Zandt, Rick Rubin and many more.
SOUNDBREAKING was the last project produced by Sir George Martin, who passed on March 8. The series will offer rare archival studio footage from the invention of the microphone to digital streaming.
“Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together regardless of race, nationality, age or income. And recorded music is how we experience it and what makes it accessible,” Martin said of the project prior to his passing. “SOUNDBREAKING afforded me the opportunity to tell the story of the creative process of so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life.”
The television series is the centerpiece of a multi-platform interactive project, including a website and companion book in partnership with PBS, The GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE and The Rock and Roll Forever Foundation.
Each episode will be made available for next-day digital purchase following its broadcast via multiple platforms including iTunes, Amazon Video. The series will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, November 29.
To learn more, visit soundbreaking.com.
FLO Code Rebrands As Dozen Software
/by Lorie HollabaughChris Downs
Software engineering company FLO Code is changing its name to Dozen Software, it was announced today. Co-founded in 2012 by CEO Chris Downs, the company was recently purchased back by Downs from Mark Montgomery, who acquired the team in 2014 to work under the umbrella of his innovation agency FLO{thinkery}. The Dozen Software team played an essential role in the creation Kenny Chesney’s Blue Chair Bay Rum and the video-first media company Made In Network.
“I’m proud to have accomplished all that we did with Mark Montgomery and FLO{thinkery} as FLO Code, and I’m thrilled to continue that work as Dozen Software,” noted Downs. “The timing was right to come together in 2014 and now the time has come to expand and do what our team does best. Our goals remain the same in creating powerful platforms, user friendly websites and apps with simple, and smart functionality.”
Dozen Software, whose name originated from the twelve members that power the company, plans to launch multiple additional projects before the close of the year. The first initiative is IQuity, Inc., a specialty diagnostics company focused on autoimmune research and development of innovative technology and analytics that can shorten the diagnostic process for providers and their patients in three medical specialties: neurology, gastroenterology and rheumatology. The second initiative, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, provides the largest natural habitat refuge for captive elephants in North America, and is located on 2700 acres in Middle Tennessee.
PBS To Release Eight-Episode Music Exploration Series
/by Eric T. ParkerSOUNDBREAKING: Stories From The Cutting Edge Of Recorded Music, an eight-episode PBS series that explores the impact of recorded music on the modern world, will make its U.S. broadcast debut weekdays on PBS from Nov. 14-23, 2016.
The series features more than 150 exclusive and original interviews with such luminaries as Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash, Don Was, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Barry Gibb, Elton John, B.B. King, Dave Stewart, Lindsey Buckingham, Steven Van Zandt, Rick Rubin and many more.
SOUNDBREAKING was the last project produced by Sir George Martin, who passed on March 8. The series will offer rare archival studio footage from the invention of the microphone to digital streaming.
“Music is the only common thread and universal language that binds us together regardless of race, nationality, age or income. And recorded music is how we experience it and what makes it accessible,” Martin said of the project prior to his passing. “SOUNDBREAKING afforded me the opportunity to tell the story of the creative process of so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life.”
The television series is the centerpiece of a multi-platform interactive project, including a website and companion book in partnership with PBS, The GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE and The Rock and Roll Forever Foundation.
Each episode will be made available for next-day digital purchase following its broadcast via multiple platforms including iTunes, Amazon Video. The series will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, November 29.
To learn more, visit soundbreaking.com.
Industry Ink: Writer’s Den Music Group, Academy of Country Music
/by Jessica NicholsonWriter’s Den Music Group Hosts Second Unsigned Writer’s Retreat
Pictured (L-R): Aby Gutierrez, Betsy Lane, Anna Vaus, Brittany Kennell, Emily Hackett, and Andrew Tufano
Writer’s Den Music Group recently hosted their second Unsigned writer’s retreat at Bell Bottom Farm in Cedar Hill, Tennessee. Songwriter’s participating were Anna Vaus, Aby Gutierrez, Andrew Tufano, Betsy Lane, Brittany Kennell and Emily Hackett.
ACM Welcomes River House Artists/Columbia Nashville’s Luke Combs
Pictured (L-R): Lynn Oliver-Cline, River House Artists; Erick Long, ACM; Luke Combs; Brooke Primero, ACM. Photo: Michel Bourquard/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music welcomed River House Artists/Columbia Nashville recording artist Luke Combs to the office while he was in Los Angeles recently. While at the Academy, Combs previewed songs from his upcoming album This One’s For You, along with his current single, “Hurricane.”
Artist Updates: Rascal Flatts, Brothers Osborne, The Time Jumpers, Ryan Kinder
/by Lorie HollabaughRascal Flatts Perform For Patients At Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital
Rascal Flatts performed for the patients and families of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt yesterday (Nov. 7). The touching visit was streamed live to four other children’s hospitals nationwide in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, and Washington D.C., reaching over 2,000 patients. The show marked the first time a performance has ever been broadcast from Seacrest Studios.
Brothers Osborne Adds Nashville Show For 2017
Photo credit: Reid Long
Fresh off the heels of their big CMA win for Vocal Duo, Brothers Osborne wrapped a big week with sold-out shows at New York’s Irving Plaza and in front of a hometown crowd at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland, as part of The Dirt Rich Tour. They will continue the tour through the beginning of next year with upcoming stops in Toronto, Philadelphia and Atlanta and on newly added dates in Seattle (Dec. 1), New Orleans (Jan. 5) and Houston (Jan. 6).
The duo has also added a Nashville date at Marathon Music Works on Jan. 18. Fans can purchase tickets beginning this Friday at dirtrichtour.brothersosborne.
The Time Jumpers Make A Time Jump For Weekly 3rd & Lindsley Residency
Ryan Kinder Sets Annual Kids Toy Drive for Nov. 10
Nick Donley Inks With MV2 Entertainment
/by Lorie HollabaughTop Row (L-R): Tony Harrell, Kendall Lettow, Clay Myers; Bottom Row (L-R): Nick Donley. Photo: MV2 Entertainment
Nick Donley has signed a publishing deal with MV2 Entertainment. Hailing from Oak Hill, Ohio, Donley began writing songs in college and began his career at Clear Channel Communications in Columbus, Ohio, writing commercials for radio. He moved to Nashville in 2006 to pursue a career in music.
MV2 Entertainment General Manager Tony Harrell shared, “We are so proud to have Nick on our team! He brings a unique and fresh approach with great songs.”
MV2 Entertainment publishing’s songwriting roster now includes Bart Allmand, Thomas Archer, Robert Arthur, Nora Collins, David Fanning and Terry McBride.
Garth Brooks Joins ‘The Voice’ as Mentor to Top 12
/by Lorie HollabaughGarth Brooks will be teaching the Top 12 artists on The Voice how to be gunslingers as he mentors the 12 remaining contestants on the show beginning Nov. 14. Brooks joins Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Bette Midler, Joan Jett, and Charlie Puth as an advisor on Season 11 of the top-rated show.
The legend, who just took home the Entertainer of the Year trophy at the 50th Annual CMA Awards, is set to release his latest album, Gunslinger, on Nov. 25. A 10-disc boxed set of his biggest hits is set to hit Target stores this Friday. He will also release the holiday album Christmas Together, with Trisha Yearwood, on Nov. 11.
Brooks recently celebrated his seventh Diamond certification from the RIAA with a capacity crowd at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.
Industry Pics: William Michael Morgan, Alabama, Caitlyn Smith
/by Lorie HollabaughWilliam Michael Morgan Sings For Indiana Pacers Game
William Michael Morgan. Photo: Courtesy Indiana Pacers
William Michael Morgan performed the National Anthem at the Indiana Pacers game Saturday (Nov. 5) on the way to a tour stop at Indianapolis’s 8 Seconds Saloon. The 23-year-old Vicksburg, Mississippi, native will tour through the end of the year before kicking off 2017 with Lee Brice and Justin Moore on the American Made Tour.
Country Music Hall of Fame Honors Alabama
Pictured (L-R): Conway Entertainment’s Tony Conway; Alabama’s Randy Owen, Jeff Cook, and Teddy Gentry; Conway Entertainment’s Brandon Mauldin, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Michael Gray and Abi Tapia. Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images
Alabama’s Randy Owen, Jeff Cook, and Teddy Gentry shared some stories from their legendary career with Country Music Hall of Fame Museum Editor Michael Gray last weekend during a special program at the Hall of Fame’s CMA Theater.
The event included stories from the band’s career and a brief performance by the trio, whose Alabama:Song of the South exhibition runs through June of 2017.
Caitlyn Smith Makes Grand Ole Opry Debut
Pictured (L-R): Paul Moak, Caitlyn Smith, Connie Smith and Rollie Gaalswyk Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry
Caitlyn Smith made her Grand Ole Opry debut to a full house at the Ryman Auditorium last Saturday (Nov. 5). It was a bucket list moment for the singer, who had dreamed of playing the stage since she first began her musical career as a young teen. Smith was recently inducted into the 2016 class of CMT’s Next Women of Country, and her songwriting credits include Hot AC No. 1 “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” (Meghan Trainor and John Legend) and the Platinum song, “Wasting All These Tears” (Cassadee Pope).
Rezonant Music Publishing, MusInk Sign Writer Isaac Fox
/by Jessica NicholsonPictured, standing (L-R): Tim Wipperman, Rezonant; Josh Green, Raven Capital Management; Jeremy Tucker, Raven Capital Management; Denise Stevens, Loeb and Loeb; Richard Orga, MusInk. Seated: Isaac Fox
Songwriter Isaac Fox has been signed to a joint venture between MusInk and the recently-launched Rezonant Music Group. Fox, who resides in Nashville, was trained at the Royal College of Music in London (violin) while making a name for himself in the UK as a go-to multi-instrumentalist for UK-based pop/rock acts, including Irish pop artist Shane Filan.
“From the beginning, Rezonant’s plan was to be a multi genre publishing company,” Rezonant CEO Tim Wipperman said. “Our team sees great potential in Isaac. He’s a 24-year-old musical prodigy and has a great pop song sensibility. We are also excited to go into this co-venture with Richard Orga and MusInk. Partnerships such as this will help us create a strong foundation and allow us to accomplish our goals in a smart and creative way.”
Rezonant Music Publishing was established in 2016 by founding partners and music publishing veterans Wipperman (Nashville) and Garry Velletri (New York), along with financial consultant Alan Walter (Los Angeles). Within the company’s first several months of operation, it signed songwriter and producer Ross Copperman. Rezonant also acquired rights to songwriter Matt Jenkins’ catalog and will be working in conjunction with Combustion Music and Warner/Chappell to exploit those works.
Leadership Music Opens Third Annual Virtual Food Drive
/by Eric T. ParkerTo donate, click on your class and start shopping, or donate a certain amount. Friends and family can donate via the “Friends of Leadership Music” tab at the bottom of the class list.
“We are so excited to again have Leadership Music supporting our mission by participating in their 3rd annual Virtual Food Drive. This drive continues to set the bar as one of our top virtual fundraisers year after year,” says Jaynee Day, Leadership Music Class of ’12, current board member and President/CEO of Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee. “Second Harvest can provide four meals with every dollar donated.”
This year marks the fourth year of involvement with Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee. Over 177,000 meals have been delivered from a grand total of nearly $40,000 and more than 1,000 pounds of food.
Artist Updates: Cam, Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson, Cece Winans, Mary Sarah
/by Lorie HollabaughCam To Debut “Half Broke Heart” On Live With Kelly!
Cam will perform “Half Broke Heart” for the first time on television on Live with Kelly! on Wednesday (Nov. 9.) She is currently on her first headlining tour, The Burning House Tour, which kicked off Oct. 27 in Chicago, with a sold-out show at Joe’s Bar and will visit 12 cities and conclude Dec. 10 at the Orleans Showroom in Las Vegas.
Blake Shelton To Headline Happy Valley Jam
Blake Shelton will headline the Happy Valley Jam, on the campus of Pennsylvania State University on Saturday, July 8, 2017. The concert lineup will also include Chris Young and Big & Rich. Tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Nov. 16 at HappyValleyJam.com.
Jamey Johnson and Ashley Monroe will headline Dean Dillon’s third annual Mountain High Music Festival, held Jan. 11-15, 2017, in Crested Butte, Colorado. The festival will feature world class singer/songwriters and recording artists in intimate settings.
Cece Winans Sets New Album For 2017 Release
The project was largely recorded in Nashville, where Winans now resides.
Mary Sarah Returns To NBC’s The Voice