Revered Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock and country superstar Toby Keith are headed to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York. They will be inducted along with Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia (posthumously), Cyndi Lauper, Linda Perry and Willie Dixon (posthumously). The organization’s 46th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner is slated for Thursday, June 18 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Bobby Braddock
“Our 2015 lineup of inductees represents the rich diversity of American musical styles—rock, country, blues and pop—that have captivated the world over the past six decades,” said SHOF President & CEO Linda Moran. “Each one of these brilliant music creators have written instantly recognizable classics, songs that are both of their time and timeless. Our Annual Awards Gala is sure to be unforgettable.”
Braddock and Keith were among the nominees named for possible inclusion into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014.
Bobby Braddock is one of the most successful country music songwriters of all time. He grew up in Florida, traveled the South as a rock and roll musician, and became a songwriter in Nashville in the mid-1960s. He is the only living person to have written number one country hits in five consecutive decades, penning songs for artists such as Willie Nelson, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis, T. G. Sheppard and many more. With 13 No. 1 hits, his songs have become country music standards, including favorites such as, “D.I.V.O.R.C.E,” recorded by Tammy Wynette, “Golden Ring,” the duet sung by George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On,” and Toby Keith’s 2001 hit, “I Wanna Talk About Me.” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” sung by George Jones, has led most surveys as the best country song of all time. In 2001, Braddock embarked on a new career as a producer, discovering singer Blake Shelton and making several No. 1 records with him. Braddock’s most recent No. 1 was Billy Currington’s, “People Are Crazy.” He is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the annual BMI Icon Award. In 2012, he received the ACM Poet’s Award. He has received six CMA Song of the Year nominations, winning twice. He has received a total of 30 BMI airplay awards, and nine “Million Air” awards for songs that received at least one million performances each.
Toby Keith
Toby Keith has been one of the most consistent self-directed songwriters and hit makers of his era. From his first No. 1 smash, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” to “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Who’s Your Daddy,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” “Beer For My Horses,” and “I Love This Bar,” his success is strongly due to his songwriting, which includes having written No. 1 songs every year for 20 consecutive years. It has powered an astounding succession of hits, to the tune of more than 85 million BMI performances. He has been honored with the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Songwriter/Artist of the Decade distinction and is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year. His albums have sold more than 40 million copies, and his tours have drawn more than one million fans each year for the last 14 years. Keith also helps sick children and their families in his native Oklahoma through the Toby Keith Foundation and the cost-free home, the OK Kids Korral. He also supports US troops by participating in USO Tours throughout the world.
Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event begin at $1,250 each, and are available through Buckley Hall Events, by calling 914-579-1000. Net proceeds from the event will go toward the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs. Songwriters Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 organization. The non-deductible portion of each ticket is $170.
For more on the other inductees, click here.
Ann Sweeney Named SVP, Global Policy For BMI
/by Troy_StephensonAnn Sweeney
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced today (Feb. 18) that Ann Sweeney has been named Senior Vice President of Global Policy, effective immediately. She reports to Mike O’Neill, President and CEO, BMI, and is based in BMI’s New York office.
In this newly created position, Sweeney will be responsible for the company’s Government Relations and International efforts, working to protect the rights of BMI’s songwriters, composers and music publishers at all levels of government around the globe. She will also lead the company’s efforts to maximize the collection of global royalties on behalf of BMI’s songwriters and composers and oversee the company’s relationships with foreign performing rights societies.
“Ann is a respected leader with a deep knowledge of the global music publishing industry,” said O’Neill. “Throughout her career she has continued to innovate, embracing new technologies and platforms and ensuring that the words and music that power those platforms receive the fair value they deserve. She will be a tremendous advocate for BMI and the hundreds of thousands of songwriters, composers and publishers we represent around the world.”
Added O’Neill, “I’d like to thank Ron for his exceptional service. His contributions to BMI throughout his tenure have been extensive and cannot be overstated.”
ACM Names New Artist of the Year Award Finalists
/by Jessica NicholsonThe ACM New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s winner will be revealed during the live CBS telecast of the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which will be held Sunday, April 19 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mississippi Arts Commission To Honor Craig Wiseman
/by Jessica NicholsonCraig Wiseman. Photo: Amy Allmand
Songwriter and producer Craig Wiseman will be honored by his home state of Mississippi during the 27th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Wiseman, founder of The Big Loud Shirt Industries, will receive the Excellence in Music Award on Thursday, Feb. 19.
“In Nashville most people know four things about me. I’m a songwriter, I wear big loud shirts, I have a toenail painted red and I’m from Mississippi. I have always proudly claimed Mississippi as my home. I am grateful to help carry the long tradition of Mississippians’ contribution to American music. It is an honor to receive this award from the State that has been woven in my words and melodies and my heart from the very beginning,” shares Wiseman. “I will return to the friends, the love and the warmth of my raising! Praise God, hallelujah and Amen. Now get some catfish cookin’!”
The Hattiesburg, Miss., native has garnered 24 chart-topping hits, and written more than 100 singles. Wiseman has taken home CMA and ACM Song of the Year awards, and was honored as NSAI’s Songwriter of the Decade in 2009. In November 2014, Wiseman received the prestigious ASCAP Heritage Award, in commemoration of ASCAP’s 100th anniversary.
Nominations for the Governor’s Arts Awards were made by the general public, and a group of industry peers served as judges to review and select recipients. The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson and other private sources.
Country Group Blackjack Billy Joins Reviver Records
/by Jessica NicholsonBlackjack Billy
Reviver Records has signed country group Blackjack Billy to its roster. The group includes musicians and songwriters Rob Blackledge, Noll Billings, Jeff Coplan and Brad Cummings.
Blackjack Billy has sold more than 250,000 downloads over the past 18 months, and are currently in the studio crafting their Reviver Music debut, which is slated for a mid-2015 release. They are booked by The Agency Group in Nashville, and managed by RedLight Management.
Coplan is an ole/Roots Three songwriter while Billings is a writer at EMI Music Publishing.
“We make music that is fun, we make music that is relatable to a variety of music lovers and we enjoy doing it together,” says the quartet.
“I was promoting a festival in Mississippi last year and had Blackjack Billy on the bill,” says Reviver President and CEO David Ross. “I was blown away by their command of the stage and the audience’s response and knew I would love to have them join the Reviver roster.”
Reviver Records launched its Nashville operations in December 2014, announcing band LOCASH as its first signing.
Canaan Smith To Release Mercury Records Nashville EP in March
/by Jessica Nicholson“The creation of music, the whole process, has been so close to me for so many years that I feel like I’ve developed my own sound. It’s not super predictable. It’s unique, progressive and edgy,” Smith says.
CANAAN SMITH EP TRACK-LISTING:
1. Love You Like That (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers)
2. Two Lane Road (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Marv Green)
3. Mad Love (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Aaron Goodvin)
4. Hole In A Bottle (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Dan Couch)
5. Stuck (Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, Vincent Hickerson)
Bobby Braddock, Toby Keith To Join Songwriters Hall of Fame
/by Sarah SkatesRevered Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock and country superstar Toby Keith are headed to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York. They will be inducted along with Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia (posthumously), Cyndi Lauper, Linda Perry and Willie Dixon (posthumously). The organization’s 46th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner is slated for Thursday, June 18 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Bobby Braddock
“Our 2015 lineup of inductees represents the rich diversity of American musical styles—rock, country, blues and pop—that have captivated the world over the past six decades,” said SHOF President & CEO Linda Moran. “Each one of these brilliant music creators have written instantly recognizable classics, songs that are both of their time and timeless. Our Annual Awards Gala is sure to be unforgettable.”
Braddock and Keith were among the nominees named for possible inclusion into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014.
Bobby Braddock is one of the most successful country music songwriters of all time. He grew up in Florida, traveled the South as a rock and roll musician, and became a songwriter in Nashville in the mid-1960s. He is the only living person to have written number one country hits in five consecutive decades, penning songs for artists such as Willie Nelson, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis, T. G. Sheppard and many more. With 13 No. 1 hits, his songs have become country music standards, including favorites such as, “D.I.V.O.R.C.E,” recorded by Tammy Wynette, “Golden Ring,” the duet sung by George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On,” and Toby Keith’s 2001 hit, “I Wanna Talk About Me.” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” sung by George Jones, has led most surveys as the best country song of all time. In 2001, Braddock embarked on a new career as a producer, discovering singer Blake Shelton and making several No. 1 records with him. Braddock’s most recent No. 1 was Billy Currington’s, “People Are Crazy.” He is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the annual BMI Icon Award. In 2012, he received the ACM Poet’s Award. He has received six CMA Song of the Year nominations, winning twice. He has received a total of 30 BMI airplay awards, and nine “Million Air” awards for songs that received at least one million performances each.
Toby Keith
Toby Keith has been one of the most consistent self-directed songwriters and hit makers of his era. From his first No. 1 smash, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” to “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Who’s Your Daddy,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” “Beer For My Horses,” and “I Love This Bar,” his success is strongly due to his songwriting, which includes having written No. 1 songs every year for 20 consecutive years. It has powered an astounding succession of hits, to the tune of more than 85 million BMI performances. He has been honored with the Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Songwriter/Artist of the Decade distinction and is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year. His albums have sold more than 40 million copies, and his tours have drawn more than one million fans each year for the last 14 years. Keith also helps sick children and their families in his native Oklahoma through the Toby Keith Foundation and the cost-free home, the OK Kids Korral. He also supports US troops by participating in USO Tours throughout the world.
Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event begin at $1,250 each, and are available through Buckley Hall Events, by calling 914-579-1000. Net proceeds from the event will go toward the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs. Songwriters Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 organization. The non-deductible portion of each ticket is $170.
For more on the other inductees, click here.
Brooks, Yearwood To Host ACM Lifting Lives “One Night, Two Cities, All Music” Gala
/by Jessica NicholsonTrisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are set to host the ACM Lifting Lives “One Night, Two Cities, All Music” fundraising gala on April 17, 2015, two days before the 50th Academy of Country Music Awards. The event, which will consist of two simultaneous shows, will take place at the Omni Dallas Hotel and the Fort Worth Zoo.
Lady Antebellum will headline the show at the Omni Dallas Hotel, with a special performance from Hunter Hayes. Meanwhile, Keith Urban will headline the Fort Worth Zoo concert, with a special performance from Little Big Town. Journalist and Entertainment Tonight co-host Nancy O’Dell will join Brooks and Yearwood to co-host the Fort Worth gala.
Brooks and Yearwood will alternate between both locations throughout the evening to entertain attendees in Dallas and Fort Worth. The inaugural gala will kick off with a cocktail reception, followed by a dinner, live auction and a line-up of performances by country music’s most celebrated artists.
ACM Lifting Lives will donate funds raised from the gala to several Texas-based organizations including Garth Brooks’ charity, Teammates for Kids and the Child Life Zones in Children’s Health of Dallas and Cook Children’s of Fort Worth.
Industry Ink: NSAI, Spin Doctors Nashville
/by Jessica NicholsonNSAI Heads To Washington, D.C.
The Nashville Songwriters Association was in Washington, D.C. recently to discuss copyright issues and the recently released report on music licensing by the U.S. Copyright office in individual meetings with 25 members of Congress.
NSAI Sr. Director of Operations Jennifer Turnbow, Rep. Doug Collins (GA), sponsor of the SONGWRITER EQUITY ACT, songwriters Roger Brown and Ben Glover and NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison.
Spin Doctors Music Group Adds Director of National Promotion
Spin Doctors Music Group Executive VP Kristin Johnson says, “We are fortunate to have Melissa join us and be an integral part of our team. Her relationships with our radio partners and her enthusiasm and passion for our artists will help us continue our growth.”
Reach Melissa here melissa@spindoctorsnashville.com or (615) 329-3375.
Executive Shift at Viacom Touches ‘CMT Music Awards’
/by Eric T. ParkerVan Toffler. Photo: Viacom.
Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music & Logo Group–including CMT and VH1–will not renew his contract, according to multiple reports. Toffler will step down in April from his post, held since 2008.
According to Ad Age, Toffler plans to open a production company called Under The Radar. He is however expected to continue executive producing a number of MTV Network events, including the 2015 CMT Music Awards and MTV’s Video Music Awards.
Toffler has been with MTV for 28 years. His credits include Beavis & Butthead, The Real World, Jackass, Unplugged, Napoleon Dynamite and Jersey Shore.
Last month, Viacom president/CEO Philippe Dauman announced a company-wide shuffle to “focus on more and better original programming that monetizes on all screens.” Departure announcements have also been made from Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Toffler’s successor has not yet been named, however Viacom COO Tom Dooley expounded on Dauman’s remarks, confirming further restructuring details are expected during the second quarter earnings call, April 29.
Artists Welcome Valentine’s Day Babies
/by Sarah SkatesLogan Mize and his children
Artists Logan Mize and Clara Henningsen Calaway each welcomed new babies on Valentine’s Day.
Mize’s daughter Violet Raye Mize joins big brother Lincoln.
Clara Henningsen Calaway gave birth to Louie Cannon Calaway.
Coincidentally, both artists are signed to Arista Nashville and are managed by Dennis Entertainment.
Louie Calaway