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Vince Gill Celebrates Opry 20th Anniversary [video tribute]

Vince Gill was surrounded by family, loved ones and fellow artists as he celebrated his 20th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night (8/13). Among those joining Gill on stage throughout the show were wife Amy Grant, daughter Jenny Gill, Jimmy Dickens, Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride, and The Time Jumpers. The […]

Sugarland Forced To Cancel Date Following State Fair Tragedy

Sugarland is dealing with the tragedy that occurred at the Indiana State Fair Saturday night (8/13). Just before the duo was scheduled to perform, high winds caused the stage to collapse, killing five people. [See previous report below]. The band, who is touring with opener Sara Bareilles, was forced to cancel its show the following […]

Friday Artist News (8/12/11)

CMA Music Festival special airs on Sunday (8/14) • Jamey Johnson performing at Farm Aid and working on new album • GAC to air Origins: Chris Young • Keni Thomas releasing his first book • Blackberry Smoke to perform on Grand Ole Opry

Photos: Bryan, Brett, Bundy

Luke Bryan made an appearance on the Today Show earlier this morning to perform his hit single “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and promote his new album, tailgates & tanlines. Fans can also catch him on Sunday’s ABC CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night To Rock television special. • • • • Atlantic Records’ artist […]

Combustion Promotes Chris Van Belkom

Combustion Music announces the promotion of Chris Van Belkom to VP. Van Belkom formerly served as Sr. Creative Director and has been with Combustion since 2004. Working directly with company President, Chris Farren, Van Belkom will oversee all aspects of the creative department and manage the writing staff, which includes songwriters Ashley Gorley, Brett James, […]

Songwriter Workshop • Topspin Seminar

>>The ASCAP Foundation Country Songwriters Workshop is now accepting submissions for this fall’s program held on October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4 and 18th from 2-4 p.m. at ASCAP’s Nashville offices. Conducted by veteran songwriter Bonnie Baker, each session will feature prominent music industry guest speakers giving advice on the art and craft of […]

Sound Of Change Headed To Music City

Put your ear to the music industry railroad tracks and you’ll likely hear a faint rumbling headed toward Nashville—don’t recognize it? It’s the sound of change. Warner Music’s recent purchase by Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries seemingly brought little or no change to Music City, but the upcoming sale of EMI—both publishing and records— is likely […]

Brantley Gilbert Sets Release Date

Brantley Gilbert is slated to release Halfway to Heaven Deluxe, his first project from The Valory Music Co., on Sept. 13. Lead single “Country Must Be Country Wide” is quickly making its way up the charts and currently sits at No. 12 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.

Idols Reveal Album Releases

American Idols Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina join the ranks of major label artists planning album releases for Fall, with their debuts scheduled one week apart in October.

Weekly Chart Report (8/12/11)

It’s gridlock at the top of the CountryBreakout Chart as Trace Adkins’ “Just Fishin’” notches a second week at No. 1. But Toby Keith’s “Made In America” is only down 28 spins at No. 2, followed by Kenny Chesney’s “You And Tequila” only 14 spins below Toby at No. 3.

Wal-Mart Closing MP3 Store

Digital Music News is reporting that after 7 years, Wal-Mart is closing its online […]

Despite Negative Tweets, #TwitterCrucialToMarketing

As advertisers increasingly turn to social media, problems can arise, accidentally sending consumers unintended mixed messages. A promoted Trend on Twitter reportedly cost $120,000 per day, and gets the advertiser the […]

Charlie Cook On Air

In the minds of engineers at Ford Motors, media is media is media. I read recently that they are eliminating CD players from their cars, starting with the Fusion. Now, it would be one thing if they were eliminating the CD player as a way to save money on production—kind of like the little surprise you get when you get a flat tire and look for the spare in your trunk for the first time.

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