DISClaimer: The Summer Doldrums

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thomas-rhett231

Thomas Rhett


Is this what they mean by the summer doldrums?
I found nothing today that you can’t live without. Sure, there are plenty of pleasant prospects. But there’s precious little that will stop you in your tracks.
The most beautifully sung record in today’s stack of platters is unquestionably the Ray Price/Martina McBride duet. If you must have a major-label effort on the front row of your playlist, make it the Thomas Rhett single. Those two can share the Disc of the Day award.
We have encountered almost everyone in this column before. I was particularly glad to hear from Mark McKinney, Lucas Hoge and Ray Scott again. All three of them continue to impress. Our new faces are Native Run, to whom we present a DisCovery Award.
RAY SCOTT/Drinkin’ Beer
Writers: Ray Scott/Tony Mullins; Producer: Dave Brainard; Publishers: Songs of Universal/Rayality/T. Mullins, BMI/ASCAP; DeciBel (CDX)
-His deep-macho delivery remains riveting. The hopping, bopping, dobro-laced track is a merry, grinning delight. Eminently programmable.
MONTGOMERY GENTRY/Headlights
Writers: Wendell Mobley/Tony Martin/Bob DiPiero; Producer: Michael Knox; Publishers: Warner-Tamerlane/Fonde Mountain/Sony-ATV Tree/Casa Jaco/Love Monkey, BMI; Blaster
-Bro-country, delivered with the volume turned up to 10. Headache inducing.
CANAAN SMITH/Love You Like That
Writers: Canaan Smith/Brett Beavers/Jim Beavers; Producers: Brett Beavers/Jimmy Robbins; Publishers: BMG Gold/Skinny Fat Nashville/BMG RM/BMG Platinum/Music of Big Deal/Stalefish/Sony-ATV Tree, ASCAP/BMI; Mercury (CDX)
-Listenable and engaging. His youthful tenor is a perfect fit for the ultra-romantic lyric.
RAY PRICE & MARTINA MCBRIDE/An Affair To Remember
Writers: Harold Adamson/Harry Warren/Leo McCarey; Producer: Fred Foster; Publishers: Twentieth Century/EMI Catalog/EMI Feist, ASCAP; AmeriMonte (CDX)
-The lush string section, clear keyboard notes and glistening harp playing create a cloud-like setting for these two heavenly voices. Taken from Price’s farewell CD, this is ballad singing at its finest. The song was the lustrous theme of a 1957 Cary Grant/Deborah Kerr cinema romance and a pop hit for its soundtrack singer, Vic Damone.
THOMAS RHETT/Make Me Wanna
Writers: T.Rhett/Bart Butler/Larry McCoy; Producer: Jay Joyce; Publishers: EMI Blackwood/Cricket on the Line/Bill Butler/Hondo Creek, BMI/SESAC; Valory Music
-A sexy Southern summer sound with forward momentum to spare.
JODY LYNN/The World’s Out Dancin’
Writers: Ian Golightly/Alan Fender; Producers: Jack Gale/Jim Pierce; Publisher: Lovey, BMI; Playback (track)
-She’s country, country, country. The sprightly track scampers along on its tippy toes while her slightly-flat, belting delivery gasps to keep pace.
DOLLY PARTON/Lay Your Hands On Me
Writers: Jon Bon Jovi/Richie Sambora; Producer: Kent Wells; Publishers: Universal PolyGram/Bon Jovi, ASCAP; Dolly/Sony/WEA
-Dolly covers Bon Jovi! Her sanctified vocal performance of the 1989 rock hit is solid and almost manages to vanquish a too-busy, too-electrified track.
LUCAS HOGE/Flip Flops
Writers: Lucas Hoge/J.D. Wood; Producer: none listed; Publishers: House of Hoge/Different Day/ASCAP; Reviver
-Innocent, small-town kids head for their first time at the beach in this charming and bubbly ditty. In case you were wondering, “flip flops” rhymes with “bikini tops.”
native run

Native Run


NATIVE RUN/Good On You
Writers: Rachel Beauregard/Bryan Dawley/Steve Moakler; Producers: Luke Laird/Native Run; Publishers: Internal Combustion/Songs of Creative Nation/Warner-Tamerlane/Rachel Beauregard/Dawley/Nan Jam/Songs of Kobalt, BMI; Show Dog
-The voices of this male-female duo are somewhat colorless, but the overall vibe is unmistakably jaunty, happy, sunny and warm. The track mixes acoustic instruments with beefy rhythm effectively.
MARK McKINNEY/Maybe We Should
Writers: Mark McKinney; Producers: Mark McKinney/Eric McKinney; Publishers: none listed; MM
-I like his husky, ingratiating and personable singing a lot. He sounds like somebody you’d like to share a beer with. His romantic come-on in this song is equipped with smiles and gentle persuasion. This boy has the goods.

Weekly Register: 'Burnin' It Down'

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jason aldean burnin it downSales of Jason’s Aldean’s new single are as hot as its lyrics: (you baby laying right here, naked in my bed). The track debuted with 184K downloads to land at No. 1 Country and No. 1 overall. It is the lead single from his upcoming sixth album for Broken Bow, which is being helmed by longtime producer Michael Knox. The song was written by Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, with Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins.
WeeklyRed073014Top 10 Country tracks (sales this week)
Jason Aldean, “Burnin’ It Down,” 184K
Florida Georgia Line, “Dirt,” 95K
Kenny Chesney, “American Kids,” 81K
Dierks Bentley, “Drunk on a Plane,” 61K
Lady Antebellum, “Bartender,” 57K
Lee Brice, “I Don’t Dance,” 46K
Sam Hunt, “Leave The Night On,” 46K
Miranda Lambert w/ Carrie Underwood, “Somethin’ Bad,” 41K
FGL ft. Luke Bryan, “This Is How We Roll,” 39K
Jake Owen, “Beachin,’” 38K, crossing the 1 million mark
Top 5 Country Albums TW
Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am, 15K
Miranda Lambert, Platinum, 14K
Luke Bryan, Crash My Party, 12K
FGL, Here’s To The Good Times, 10K
Various, Now Country 7, 7K
Pop act 5 Seconds of Summer scored the week’s biggest album debut, selling 259K.

YouTube video

Garth Announces Next City On His World Tour

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garth-wynn

Garth Brooks


Garth Brooks has announced his world tour will make a stop in Atlanta on Friday, Sept. 19 at the Philips Arena, beginning at 6:30 p.m. It will be the first time in 18 years that he has played the city. Trisha Yearwood will be the special guest on the tour.
Tickets will be on sale Friday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. EST. There will be a six-ticket limit per purchase. They can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster Express 1-866-448-7849.
Tickets will cost $56.94 plus $4.56 tax, a $4.00 facility fee and a $6.00 service charge, totaling $71.50.
Brooks recently announced multiple shows at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., to kick off his World Tour.

Stone Door Media Lab Relocates

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jeff green11

Jeff Green


Stone Door Media Lab will relocate to Monterrey, Calif. Company founder Jeff Green‘s contact information will remain the same. He can be reached at 615-406-4567, and at jeff@stonedoormedialab.com.
Stone Door launched in 2012 as a Nashville-based creative think tank to provide ratings research, customer data, digital media consumption analytics, market analysis and more. Green previously spent five years as VP/Operations at Country Aircheck, and 22 years in executive posts at the Americana Association, Radio & Records, the Country Music Association, Music & Media and more.

Miranda Lambert Brings 'Playable Poster' To 'Platinum Tour'

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miranda lambert poster1Miranda Lambert has teamed with Crystal Light to debut the first “Playable Poster” at concert venues on her 30-city Platinum Tour. New technology allows Platinum Tour attendees to touch a Crystal Light poster and literally “spin” her record, which will unlock audio tracks from the new album Platinum. The posters are designed by Chicago-based VSA Partners.
“We’re excited to bring this cutting-edge Playable Poster technology to legions of Miranda Lambert fans nationwide,” said Jennifer Dahlgren, Senior Brand Manager for Crystal Light. “These posters will give our consumers a really unique way to experience Miranda’s music that is both memorable and fun.”
Conductive ink is printed on the reverse of the poster, creating touch sensors that can pick up electrical signals from fingers. The conductive ink is connected to a processor – similar to an iPad, but on paper – and an electric speaker is attached to the back, turning the poster into a megawatt speaker.
“I’m always thrilled to introduce new ways for my fans to interact with my music,” said Lambert. “What better way to kick off the ‘Platinum’ Tour than with my favorite brand Crystal Light, and a fun, unique way for concert-goers to enjoy my album.”
Lambert’s Platinum Tour launched July 10 and will run through September.

HitShop Records Realigns Promotion, Marketing Teams

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Skip Bishop

Skip Bishop


HitShop Records has re-aligned its promotional and marketing departments to focus on streaming, satellite, syndication, and other platforms as it prepares for its 2015 release schedule.
National Director of Promotion Rick Baumgartner has exited the company. He can be reached at 615-491-0975.  National Promotion/Special Ops representative Jennifer Wayne is no longer with the organization (she can be reached here). Former National Promotion/Special Ops rep Caroline Cutbirth continues work as a song plugger with Young Guns Publishing.
Diane Monk-Harrison and Director of National Promotion A&R Kim Stephens are both exiting the organization. Stephens can be reached at 404-229-6712.
“We are so grateful to all the support from our radio partners — particularly with the launch of Natalie Stovall — however, the new artist path at terrestrial radio has become an increasingly expensive and crowded lane,” shares industry veteran and RMG Co-Chairman/HitShop President, Skip Bishop. “The fatigue on the new artist airplay system has become difficult for both radio and recording companies — a problem not unique to independent labels, but majors as well. To best serve the artists we align with, HitShop will refocus its energies in artist development in areas including major radio platforms such as satellite, streaming, syndication, social entities and executive level radio strategies. Our staffing will reflect this creative shift.””
Bishop adds that the Young Guns Publishing and Next.Biz entities will not be impacted by the imprint’s realignment. HitShop Records is distributed by Warner Music Nashville and is part of the RMG, whose holdings include Young guns Publishing and Nekst.biz.

“We’re so grateful to HitShop and the opportunities they’ve created for us with country radio for our first single ‘Baby Come On With It’,” shares HitShop artist Natalie Stovall and the Drive. “We’ve just released ‘Mason Jar’ and the response has been incredible! We definitely want to continue to release more music for our fans and will be aligning with additional partners as we work toward releasing a full record in 2015.”

Artists Sign On For Billy Block Benefit in Nashville

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billy block1‘A Love Fest For Billy Block,’ presented by Guess What’s Coming Productions, will be held Wednesday, Aug. 6 at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley. Promoter, producer and musician Block is battling Stage 4 Melanoma cancer. The benefit will provide financial assistance to help ongoing medical treatments.
Special guests during the evening will include Jeffrey Steele, Lari White, Jim Lauderdale, Emily West, Sarah Buxton, Bob DiPiero, Chuck Cannon, and Rocky Block. Doors will open at 5 p.m., with a silent auction to precede the performance. The show will begin at 6 p.m. General admission seating is $20, with limited VIP reserve seats available for $75.
Tickets are on sale at 3rdandlindsley.com.

Tom Baldrica To Leave Show Dog-Universal

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Tom Baldrica

Tom Baldrica


Show Dog-Universal’s VP, Promotion and Radio Marketing Tom Baldrica is exiting the label after joining in 2012. Baldrica will leave his post on Friday, Aug. 1.
“Show Dog-Universal President Mark Wright and I had a two-year agreement,” said Baldrica. “Those two years are now complete and I have chosen to move on. I want to thank Mark, George Nunes, Bill Kennedy and Rick Moxley for the opportunity to work alongside them. And, a sincere ‘thank you’ to the Show Dog-Universal promotion team and staff for their support and hard work. I leave with gratitude and appreciation.”
Baldrica previously served two years as president of Average Joes Entertainment. Prior to his work at Average Joes, he spent 17 years with Sony Nashville, working in radio promotions and marketing. He was named VP, Marketing for Sony Nashville in 2006.
Baldrica can be reached at bnabatman@gmail.com or at 615-715-6378.

IBMA To Launch Film Festival

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ibma1111The inaugural IBMA Film Festival will be held during the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass event, to be held in Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 30-Oct. 4. The film festival will highlight eight film projects, including “Banjo Romantika” (Lee Bidgood), “The Porch Light Sessions” (Anna Schwaber), “At the Feed and Seed” (April Janow), “The Cricket” (Andrew Cartoun), “G2-Mind Over Matter” (David Elfgren), “Herschel Sizemore: Mandolin in B” (Rick Bowman), “The History of Future Folk” (Jeremy Walker), and “The Tao of Bluegrass-A Portrait of Peter Rowan” (Christine Funk).
“We have several goals for the film festival:  to introduce the bluegrass industry to new bluegrass-related films, to promote the creation of these films, and then to provide a platform and a showcase for our members who have created these films,” said Nancy Cardwell, Executive Director of IBMA. “We feel this will be a benefit not only to the filmmakers in our industry, but to the many bluegrass fans that attend World of Bluegrass.”
All eight films in the IBMA Film Festival will have multiple showings Oct. 3 and Oct. 4. The showings, held near the Bluegrass Expo Hall inside the Raleigh Convention Center, are free and open to the public. Some filmmakers will attend the screenings to participate in “Q&A” sessions with the audience.
For more information about the films, along with movie trailers, scheduled viewing times and locations, visit ibma.org/world-of-bluegrass/film-festival.

Industry Ink (7/29/14)

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CTM Writers Ink, the publishing division of Catch This Music, has signed Autumn McEntire Sizemore to its roster.
“We’re thrilled to add Autumn to our unique team of creators,” says Eddie Robba, president/CEO of CTM Writers Ink and Catch This Music. “Autumn brings phenomenal energy that undeniably aligns with our vision for continued growth and success.”
After graduating from Belmont University, Sizemore signed her first publishing contract with Still Working Music Group, and earned her first songwriting cut on Danielle Peck’s debut album. Sizemore, who lives in Nashville with husband Mark and their son Brecken, is the son of Pake McEntire and niece to Reba McEntire.

Pictured (L-R): Narvel Blackstock, Reba McEntire, Autumn McEntire Sizemore and Eddie Robba.

Pictured (L-R): Narvel Blackstock, Reba McEntire, Autumn McEntire Sizemore and Eddie Robba.

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nikki mitchell songwriting contestThe Nikki Mitchell Foundation and Hank Cochran’s The Pen Fund invite aspiring songwriters to get creative for a cause with the New Moon Full Life Songwriting Contest. Entries are being accepted through Saturday, Nov. 29. There is a $20 entry fee for the competition. The fee will go to the Nikki Mitchell Foundation, with a portion going to Hank Cochran’s The Pen Fund, to aid songwriters battling pancreatic cancer. For more information, visit contest.nikkimitchellfoundation.org.
One or more Full Moon Full Life artists will record the winner’s song and perform it at Full Moon Full Life 2015.

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AIMP LogoThe Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) Nashville and Fifth Third Bank welcome the Production Music Association for a Production Music 101 panel held Aug. 6 at ASCAP’s Connie Bradley Board Room from 12:30-2:00p.m. Moderated by Hunter Williams (PMA), confirmed panelists are Randy Wachtler (Warner/Chappell Production), Brian Brasher (Pitch Hammer Music), Paul Jones (Auralation Music) and Lindsey Williams (Composer/Really Big Bison Music), who will address topics such as creation of production music libraries, licensing/monetization of libraries, and worldwide view or reach of production music.
This event will is $10 for AIMP members and $20 for guests.  Pre-registration is required as lunch is provided and can be done until Aug. 1 here.