The Country Music Association recently revealed its recipients for an array of international awards, including the Global Country Artist Award, International Artist Achievement Award, International Country Broadcaster Award, the Jo Walker-Meador Award, and the Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award.
“Advancing Country Music around the world is at the very foundation of CMA’s mission,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Being able to acknowledge the exhaustive efforts of our international and domestic colleagues outside of U.S. borders is very rewarding and central to our strategic objective of growing the business and developing new territories for Country Music.”
Award recipients in alphabetical order by category:
GLOBAL COUNTRY ARTIST AWARD – Morgan Evans
The Global Country Artist Award recognizes outstanding achievements by a Country Music artist originally signed outside of the United States – in both furthering the popularity of Country Music and bringing attention to the Country Music format in their foreign-based territory.
Morgan Evans
The winner of a record three Country Music Channel Music Awards this year, Evans was recently signed as a presenter, host, and ambassador for the Country Music Channel in Australia. He has toured with Country superstars including Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift, as well as headlining his own tours in Australia and New Zealand. Evans was recently signed to William Morris Endeavour Agency.
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Brad Paisley
Formerly the International Touring Artist Award, the CMA International Artist Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement by a U.S.-based artist who contributes to the awareness and development of Country Music outside the United States.
Since being the recipient of this award in 2011, Brad Paisley has remained dedicated to including the international market place in his schedule. In 2014, he headlined the C2C Festival in London and Dublin as well as recorded the special “Brad Paisley & Friends” for BBC Radio 2 before going on to headline shows in Norway and Sweden.
INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY BROADCASTER AWARD – Ricky Ross
Ricky Ross
The International Country Broadcast Award recognizes outstanding achievement by radio broadcasters outside the U.S. who have made important contributions to the development of Country Music in their country.
Singer/songwriter Ross, who regularly visits Nashville, presents the BBC Radio Scotland’s “Another Country.” With a mix of classics and new Country releases, Americana, and alternative Country, he has won two Sony Radio Awards, the first in 2011 and the second the following year.
JO WALKER-MEADOR AWARD – Scott Borchetta
Scott Borchetta
Named for Country Music Hall of Fame member and longtime Executive Director of CMA, the Jo Walker-Meador Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an individual or company in advocating and supporting Country Music’s marketing development in territories outside the United States.
As the founder and CEO of Big Machine Records, Borchetta has supported artist development internationally early in artists’ careers. Borchetta previously won the Jo Walker-Meador Award in 2012.
WESLEY ROSE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Bob Shennan
Bob Shennan
The Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievements in the media, which contribute to the development of Country Music outside the United States. Radio, TV, print journalists, authors, editors, television writers, producers, and PR companies who reside outside the United States are eligible to win this award.
Since Shennan took over as Controller of BBC Radio 2 in 2009, he has driven exposure opportunities and was instrumental in bringing Country Music into the mainstream arena. Now Director of Music, Shennan chairs the newly formed CMA U.K. Advisory Group and serves on the CMA Board of Directors.
CMA International Awards are voted on by CMA International Membership as well as a panel of domestic U.S.-based industry members.
The timing of the announcement coincides with the return of the CMA Songwriters Series, and the third C2C London event (March 7-8), which is presented by AEG Europe and SJM Concerts in association with the Country Music Association.
Attorney McDonald Joins Butler Snow
/by Jessica NicholsonBrenner McDonald
Butler Snow has added attorney Brenner Lackey McDonald to the firm. McDonald will practice with the firm’s business services group and entertainment/media industry team. McDonald has been in private practice since 2011, and previously co-founded and co-owned Nashville-based entertainment management company Modern Management, where she represented Sara Evans, Josh Turner and Diamond Rio in recording agreements, licensing, television, film, music publishing, and more.
“Brenner is a great addition to the firm and our business services group,” said Donald Clark, Jr., chairman of Butler Snow. “The experience she brings in the entertainment, business and litigation fields will provide our clients with yet another great asset.”
McDonald completed her undergraduate education at the University of Kentucky, before going on to earn her Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee Law School. She is a member of the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association.
McDonald has also been actively involved in the Nashville community, playing an instrumental role in the development of Team Rio, which has raised over $1 million since its inception in 2005. Since 2011, she has served as a “Big” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee program.
Industry Ink: ASCAP, Music Row Administrators Group, Country Music Hall of Fame
/by Jessica NicholsonDeStefano, Tompkins, Arata, Alger Slated for Songwriters Round
DeStefano penned “Something In The Water” (Carrie Underwood) and “Don’t Ya” (Brett Eldredge). Tompkins is a co-writer on hits including “Burnin’ It Down” (Jason Aldean) and “Before He Cheats” (Carrie Underwood). Arata is best-known for the Garth Brooks classic “The Dance,” while Pat Alger is a writer on Brooks’ “The Thunder Rolls” and “Small Town Saturday Night” (Hal Ketchum).
The event will be held at Nashville’s City Winery. For more information, visit citywinery.com/nashville.
Music Row Administrators Group To Hold First Spring Meeting of 2015
The guest speaker will be Charles Alexander, who will speak on opportunities for independents in the new music economy.
Alexander is the CEO/Founder of Outside The Box Music a digital strategy, management, marketing and artist services company. They have managed digital strategy and marketing campaigns for Keb’ Mo’, SHEL and Gabe Dixon, as well as, other artists, labels and brands. He manages indie artist Keeley Valentino. He is also the director of “Rock The Net,” a digital music initiative that educates music business professionals and shows them how to amplify their online presence.
To RSVP contact eddiekeithwilson@gmail.com.
Country Music Hall of Fame Honors Michael Rhodes In ‘Nashville Cats’ Series
Pictured (back row, L-R): The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Abi Tapia; former Nashville Cats honorees Reggie Young and Steve Gibson; Michael Rhodes; former Nashville Cats honorees John Hobbs, Bergen White and David Briggs; and Bill Lloyd; (front row, L-R): former Nashville Cats honorees Paul Franklin, Eddie Bayers, and Mac Gayden. Photo: Terry Wyatt
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated bassist Michael Rhodes this weekend during its quarterly series, Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Musicians. Hosted by Bill Lloyd, the program included an in-depth, one-on-one interview illustrated with vintage recordings, photos and film clips from the museum’s Frist Library and Archive.
Rhodes has performed live and played on sessions for many country and pop chart-toppers, including Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Steve Winwood, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, Faith Hill, Wynonna Judd, the Dixie Chicks, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, Neal McCoy, Chely Wright, Doug Stone, and many more.
Will Hoge To Embark on Small Town Dreams Tour 2015
/by Jessica NicholsonWill Hoge. Photo: Glen Rose
Nashville singer-songwriter Will Hoge is gearing up to launch his Small Town Dreams Tour 2015. The tour opens April 10 in Tallahassee, Fla., and will make 16 stops in cities including Dallas; Charlotte, N.C.; Milwaukee; Birmingham, Ala., and more.
Hoge’s 10th album Small Town Dreams is slated for an April 7 release. Hoge recently gave Nashville music industry a taste of the project, including the lead single “Middle of America.”
Hoge was thrust into the national spotlight when his tune “Strong” was included in General Motors’ 2014 Chevy Silverado ad campaign. “Strong” sold more than 200,000 copies and was featured on Hoge’s previous album Never Give In. An accomplished artist and songwriter, Hoge has penned songs for Lady Antebellum (“Better Off Now (That You’re Gone)”) and Eli Young Band (“Even If It Breaks Your Heart”).
SMALL TOWN DREAMS TOUR 2015
April 10 – Tallahassee, FL
April 11 – Fort Lauderdale, FL
April 21 – Birmingham, AL
April 22 – Charlotte, NC
April 23 – Asheville, NC
May 1 – Milwaukee, WI
May 2 – St. Louis, MO
May 7 – Little Rock, AR
May 8 – Dallas, TX
May 9 – New Braunfels, TX
May 16 – St. George Island, FL
May 29 – Louisville, KY
May 30 – Salem, VA
June 5 – Buffalo, NY
June 6 – New York, NY
June 7 – Uncasville, CT
Lee Thomas Miller, Beth Matthews To Speak on Behalf of Songwriters
/by Sarah SkatesLee Thomas Miller is in Washington, D.C. this week.
Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI) President Lee Thomas Miller, and ASCAP CEO and General Counsel Beth Matthews are among those who will testify during a Senate subcommittee hearing titled “How Much For a Song?: The Antitrust Decrees that Govern the Market for Music,” tomorrow (March 10) at 10:00 a.m. EST. Miller will appear on behalf of BMI, and Matthews on behalf of ASCAP, before the subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition, Policy and Consumer Rights to vie for changes to the outdated consent decrees which currently govern the rate setting procedures used by the PROs.
“Performance royalty rates for American songwriters are governed by ASCAP and BMI consent decrees from 1941,” said Miller. “We get paid ridiculously low rates when our songs are streamed through digital music services. Changes must be made or songwriting, as a profession, will become extinct.”
Other witnesses include: Matt Pincus, Founder and CEO of SONGS Music Publishing; Mike Dowdle, VP of Business Affairs and General Counsel of Bonneville International; Jodie Griffin, Senior Staff Attorney–Public Knowledge; and Chris Harrison, President of Business Affairs–Pandora Media, Inc. (If the hearing is streamed, it can be accessed at www.judiciary.senate.gov.)
Elizabeth Matthews
Following the hearing, Miller and ASCAP songwriter Jessi Alexander will perform some of their hits in an event sponsored by NSAI and the National Music Publishers Association.
“We want policy makers to see how little a songwriter earns when their creations are streamed,” said NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison. “We will present payment information from Pandora illustrating that millions of streams amount to only hundreds of dollars.”
This hearing follows last week’s reintroduction of the Songwriter Equity Act (SEA) in the Senate and House of Representatives. The SEA aims to change the process that sets royalty rates for American songwriters.
Currently, two outdated portions of the Copyright Act, Section 114(i) and Section 115, prevent songwriters from receiving royalty rates that reflect fair market value for the use of their intellectual property.
Section 114(i) forbids federal rate courts from considering sound recording royalty rates as a relevant benchmark when setting performance royalty rates for songwriters and composers.
The SEA would allow the rate court to consider other royalty rates as evidence when establishing digital performance rates.
Section 115 of the Copyright Act has regulated musical compositions since 1909, before recorded music existed. Section 115 allows anyone to seek a compulsory license to reproduce a song in exchange for paying a statutory rate. Today, that rate is 9.1 cents per song and does not reflect market value.
The SEA would adopt a fair rate standard for reproduction (mechanical) licenses that reflects free market conditions.
Dierks Bentley, ‘Nashville’ Stars To Celebrate African Children’s Choir
/by Troy_Stephenson(Clockwise from top): African Children’s Choir, Lennon & Maisy Stella, Charles Esten, Dierks Bentley, Connie Britton.
Nashville stars Connie Britton, Lennon and Maisy Stella, and Charles Esten will join Dierks Bentley to celebrate the African Children’s Choir’s 30-year anniversary. The concert event will take place on Sunday, March 22, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville. The internationally acclaimed African Children’s Choir will join the superstar lineup during the event.
All funds raised that evening will go to the African Children’s Choir and their education programs. The African Children’s Choir has educated over 52,000 children in the last 30 years and helped over 100,000 people through relief and development programs in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigera and South Africa. To learn more, visit www.africanchildrenschoir.com
Country Music Execs Join Grammy Alliance’s Managers Think Tank
/by Jessica NicholsonSpalding represents clients including Jason Aldean and Rascal Flatts. Ansel Davis and Betsy McHugh guide Hunter Hayes’ career, while Marion Kraft represents Miranda Lambert. Daniel Miller aids in Lady Antebellum’s career, while Sturdviant is involved with The Band Perry.
The Grammy Creators Alliance was established in response to bipartisan congressional requests for the music community to become involved with policy matters. The growing coalition of songwriters, performers, and studio professionals includes founding members deadmou5, Dr. Luke, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Jennifer Hudson, Jimmy Jam, Alicia Keys, Lady Antebellum, Adam Levine, Ryan Tedder, and Steven Tyler.
Additional managers joining the Think Tank include Scooter Braun, Will Botwin, Mark Beaven, Jay Brown, Troy Carter, Bruce Eskowitz, Jordan Feldstein, Ron Laffitte, Pat Magnarella, Susan Markheim, Michael McDonald, Simon Renshaw, Larry Rudolph, Bill Silva, John Siva, Damien Smith, Ty Stiklorius, Lee Trink, Caron Veazey, and Dean Wilson. Legal advisors include Jay Cooper, Joel Katz, Dina LaPolt, and Charles Ortner.
“As the Judiciary Committee continues its review of the Copyright Act, it is imperative that we understand the implications on the creators of content and their representatives,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “I look forward to hearing the viewpoints of music creators as we consider changes to the law to ensure we ‘promote the progress of science and useful arts,’ as the framers intended. The GRAMMY Creators Alliance will be an important voice in this discussion.”
CMA Announces International Award Winners
/by Jessica Nicholson“Advancing Country Music around the world is at the very foundation of CMA’s mission,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Being able to acknowledge the exhaustive efforts of our international and domestic colleagues outside of U.S. borders is very rewarding and central to our strategic objective of growing the business and developing new territories for Country Music.”
Award recipients in alphabetical order by category:
GLOBAL COUNTRY ARTIST AWARD – Morgan Evans
The Global Country Artist Award recognizes outstanding achievements by a Country Music artist originally signed outside of the United States – in both furthering the popularity of Country Music and bringing attention to the Country Music format in their foreign-based territory.
Morgan Evans
The winner of a record three Country Music Channel Music Awards this year, Evans was recently signed as a presenter, host, and ambassador for the Country Music Channel in Australia. He has toured with Country superstars including Alan Jackson and Taylor Swift, as well as headlining his own tours in Australia and New Zealand. Evans was recently signed to William Morris Endeavour Agency.
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Brad Paisley
Formerly the International Touring Artist Award, the CMA International Artist Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement by a U.S.-based artist who contributes to the awareness and development of Country Music outside the United States.
Since being the recipient of this award in 2011, Brad Paisley has remained dedicated to including the international market place in his schedule. In 2014, he headlined the C2C Festival in London and Dublin as well as recorded the special “Brad Paisley & Friends” for BBC Radio 2 before going on to headline shows in Norway and Sweden.
INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY BROADCASTER AWARD – Ricky Ross
Ricky Ross
The International Country Broadcast Award recognizes outstanding achievement by radio broadcasters outside the U.S. who have made important contributions to the development of Country Music in their country.
Singer/songwriter Ross, who regularly visits Nashville, presents the BBC Radio Scotland’s “Another Country.” With a mix of classics and new Country releases, Americana, and alternative Country, he has won two Sony Radio Awards, the first in 2011 and the second the following year.
JO WALKER-MEADOR AWARD – Scott Borchetta
Scott Borchetta
Named for Country Music Hall of Fame member and longtime Executive Director of CMA, the Jo Walker-Meador Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an individual or company in advocating and supporting Country Music’s marketing development in territories outside the United States.
As the founder and CEO of Big Machine Records, Borchetta has supported artist development internationally early in artists’ careers. Borchetta previously won the Jo Walker-Meador Award in 2012.
WESLEY ROSE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Bob Shennan
Bob Shennan
The Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievements in the media, which contribute to the development of Country Music outside the United States. Radio, TV, print journalists, authors, editors, television writers, producers, and PR companies who reside outside the United States are eligible to win this award.
Since Shennan took over as Controller of BBC Radio 2 in 2009, he has driven exposure opportunities and was instrumental in bringing Country Music into the mainstream arena. Now Director of Music, Shennan chairs the newly formed CMA U.K. Advisory Group and serves on the CMA Board of Directors.
CMA International Awards are voted on by CMA International Membership as well as a panel of domestic U.S.-based industry members.
The timing of the announcement coincides with the return of the CMA Songwriters Series, and the third C2C London event (March 7-8), which is presented by AEG Europe and SJM Concerts in association with the Country Music Association.
Chris Young Takes Tour Overseas
/by Sarah SkatesChris Young is taking his 2015 World Tour to Asia and Australia in March. Young leaves this week for three shows in Hawaii as well as his second trek to Australia for performances in Melbourne, Sydney and Ipswich.
The 29-year-old singer/songwriter, who has been on a sold-out streak since last summer, will then headline his first tour stops in Asia, with dates booked for military installations in Pohang, South Korea; Fuji, Japan; and Okinawa, Japan. 2015 marks his third consecutive year of sharing his show with international audiences.
Young, a CMC International Act of the Year nominee, made his inaugural trip to the UK and Ireland in 2013 for the CMA Songwriters Series. That same year he made his CMC Rocks QLC Festival debut. In 2014 Young ventured across the pond for shows in London, Dublin, Stavanger, Oslo, Gotteborg and Stockholm, helping him earn the award for British Country Music Award International Act of the Year.
Chris Young 2015 World Tour
March 11—Melbourne, Australia
March 13—Sydney, Australia
March 14—Ipswich, Australia
March 15—Ipswich, Australia
March 17—Pohang, South Korea
March 19—Fuji, Japan
March 21—Okinawa, Japan
September 11—Gstaad, Switzerland
September 12—Gstaad, Switzerland
September 14—London, England
September 16—Glasgow, Scotland
September 17—Dublin, Ireland
September 19—Munich, Germany
September 20—Cologne, Germany
September 22—Berlin, Germany
September 24—Stockholm, Sweden
Lee Ann Womack Has ‘Trouble In Mind’ For Record Store Day
/by Jessica NicholsonWomack then teamed with Richard Bennett (Mark Knopfler/Steve Earle), who brought in several vintage guitars. The duo recorded several tunes in one afternoon, and picked three for Trouble In Mind.
“I think independent record stores are so important,” Womack says. “It’s the last temple of music you can take home… A place where people come looking for the rare, for the special or even just the record they have to buy one more time. But I love the idea of people selling records, talking about what’s on them, getting turned on to cool music. I wanted to be part of Record Store Day last year, but we couldn’t get it together in time. So this year, we started early. I got to have Richard Bennett, who is one of those musicians who can get so much heart and tone out of his guitars, come to the house. It was just the two of us, and it was awesome!”
The three songs are the blues classic “Trouble in Mind,” Roger Miller’s semi-obscure “Where Have All The Average People Gone?” and Ralph Stanley’s bluegrass gospel song “I’ve Just Seen The Rock of Ages.” The project is engineered by Chuck Ainlay and mastered by Paul Hamann at Suma Recording Studio.
Trouble In Mind is just the latest in a string of interesting collaborations Womack has taken part in during recent months. She co-hosted the International Bluegrass Music Awards with bluegrass stalwart Jerry Douglas, participated in a CMT Crossroads taping with John Legend, recorded with Ralph Stanley, and more.
[Updated]: LifeNotes: ‘Billboard’s’ Wade Jessen Passes
/by Sarah SkatesBillboard Sr. Chart Manager, Nashville, Wade Ray Jessen passed away unexpectedly this morning, March 5, 2015. He was 53 and suffered a massive heart attack.
With the publication since 1994, Jessen managed the Music City operations, and oversaw all radio and retail charts for bluegrass, Christian, country and gospel. He also represented those charts to the global press community and provided weekly chart analysis on multiple delivery platforms.
He was a well-liked and respected member of the Nashville music community for more than 20 years. He was a former ACM Board member, and was active with the CMA, GMA, IBMA, Leadership Music, SGMA and The Recording Academy.
Jessen was also a SiriusXM radio host on the Willie’s Roadhouse channel. A self-described “country music nerd,” he had extensive knowledge of music history and took particular interest in classic country, antique radios, phonographs, and microphones.
A helpful friend to fellow media, Jessen annually assisted MusicRow in compiling data to tabulate the publication’s Top 10 All-Star Musician Awards.
He was born Nov. 15, 1961 in Roosevelt, Utah. Jessen’s first job in radio was at age 16, as an on-air personality at KNEU/Roosevelt. He later moved to KSOP/Salt Lake City and then to WSM-AM/Nashville, where he was named Billboard’s medium market music director of the year in 1994.
With widely varying interests, Jessen also studied rural, farming, and ranching issues. He enjoyed good wine, cooking, furniture and china.
He was preceded in death by parents Robert Gary Jessen and Rosalee Brown Jessen of Utah. He is survived by spouse Corey Jones.
Funeral arrangements are as follows:
Visitation from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2015 with the family receiving guests from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Spring Hill Funeral Home, 5110 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, Tenn.
Visitation at 11 a.m. Monday, March 9, 2015 with Mass at 12 noon at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1700 Heiman Street, Nashville, Tenn.
There will be a viewing at the Jessen Family home in Utah Friday, March 13, 2015 from 4-8 pm. Graveside services and interment at the Mt. Home-Boneta Cemetery, Mt. Home, Utah Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 11 am. Arrangements entrusted to Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5110 Gallatin Road, Nashville, TN 37216. Click here for additional details.