Great American Country Hosts Concerts At CMA Music Festival

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2014_cma_music_festival_logoThe first ever Great American Country Breakfast Series will help kick off the CMA Music Festival each day starting on Thurs., June 5 and will take place at The Music City Center in downtown Nashville.
Tickets are $50 and include all-star performances, buffet-style breakfast, autographed photos, ticket to a photo meet-and-greet with the daily performers, entrance into the CMA Music Festival AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X venue, and special gifts from Great American Country.
The daily line up for the Great American Country Breakfast Series:
· Thursday, June 5: Canaan Smith, Lauren Alaina, Dustin Lynch, and Neal McCoy
· Friday, June 6: Native Run, Brothers Osborne, Corey Smith, and Scotty McCreery
· Saturday, June 7: Natalie Stovall and The Drive, The Henningsens, Laura Bell Bundy, and RaeLynn
· Sunday, June 8: Rose Falcon, Leah Turner, Jamie O’Neal, and Kristian Bush
Seating is limited to 250 and the Thursday show is sold out. Limited tickets are still available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Ticket information can be found here.

Industry Ink (5/29/14)

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leadership musicLeadership Music will celebrate 25 years of educating music executives with an upcoming anniversary bash. The event for Leadership Music alumni will be held Thurs., Aug. 21, from 5:30 – 8:30 PM at The Rosewall venue in The Gulch.

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alanjackson
Alan Jackson has big news to share next week. The veteran entertainer will host a press conference Thurs., June 5 at 9 AM/CT at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater. The event, timed to coincide with CMA Music Festival, will be live streamed at countrymusichalloffame.org.
 

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solid_latest4The Society of Leaders in Development (SOLID) will donate a portion of the proceeds from its annual CMA Fest Yard Sale & Auction to the local Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) chapter. The event will be held on June 7, beginning at 8 am at the Bridgestone Arena. SOLID’s Yard Sale & Auction is open to the public and includes autographed merchandise, tickets, guitars and meet & greet opportunities.

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Verastar Records has hired Dan Mitchell as President and Sean Gasaway as Vice President.
Mitchell is best known for co-writing the Alabama hit “If You’re Gonna Play In Texas, You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band,” as well as production and management work with Tiny Tim, Johnny Paycheck and others.
Gasaway produced and co-wrote artist Marianne Allison’s first single, “Till It Breaks My Heart” which is featured in the recent Starz movie Category 5 starring C. Thomas Howell and Burt Reynolds.
Verastar has offices in Nashville and Las Vegas.

L-R: Dan Mitchell - President, Artist Marianne Allison, Sean Gasaway - Vice President

(L-R): Dan Mitchell, President; artist Marianne Allison; Sean Gasaway, Vice President

$75 Million High-Rise To Open in the Gulch

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blueprint1111A $75 million, high-rise apartment building is slated for construction in the Gulch, according to The Tennessean. Crescendo is the given name of the 23-story building that will be located at 641 Division Street, which currently serves as the home for Myers Flooring. The existing structure will be torn down, and Myers has plans to build a new showroom on the remaining 1.2 acres on the west side of the property.
Crescendo will house 330 luxury apartment units, ground level retail units and a 600-space parking garage. The total building will be approximately 350,000 square foot.
Division Street Land Partners, led by Nashville developer Travis J. Kelty, has signed on for the project.
Construction is slated to begin in 2016.

The Respect Act Fights For Pre-1972 Recordings

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project72The Respect Act is being introduced today (May 29) in the House of Representatives, and is legislation that would require digital radio services to pay royalties for pre-1972 recordings that are played by companies that use the statutory license administered by SoundExchange. The act is being introduced by Representatives George Holding (R-NC) and John Conyers (D-MI).
SoundExchange was joined by dozens of recording artists to launch “Project72,” a campaign to support The Respect Act. Project72 spotlights the fact that digital radio providers are not paying royalties to musicians who recorded music before February 15, 1972. This is based on the companies’ interpretation of state and federal copyright law. SoundExchange estimates that this practice deprived legacy artists and record labels of more than $60 million in digital royalties last year.
“We applaud Representatives Holding and Conyers for taking this step toward righting a wrong being done to pre-72 artists whose music has inspired all of us. The Respect Act rightfully requires digital radio to treat all sound recordings equally, regardless of the date they were made,” said Michael Huppe, SoundExchange president and CEO. “It’s time we show respect for the legends of Motown, Jazz and Blues, and those who gave birth to Rock ‘n’ Roll. Their work is still a massive force on radio and is the foundation of the music we listen to today.”
Project72 kicks off with an open letter, signed by more than 70 recording artist including The Allman Brothers Band, The Beach Boys, Rosanne Cash, Melissa Etheridge, Al Green, B.B. King, The Moody Blues, Cyndi Lauper, Martha Reeves, members of Steely Dan, The Supremes, The Temptations and Three Dog Night.

Apple's Beats Music Drops Price

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One day after Apple announced that it had purchased Beats Music, the streaming service released an app update that dropped its yearly subscription price from $119.88 to $99.99. The price change applies to users of Apple iOS, Android and Windows Phone. The trial service period for first-time Beats users has also been extended to 14 days.
Monthly Beats Music users will continue to be charged $9.99/month.
Beats Music began offering in-app purchases in April, just weeks before the Apple deal was announced. Spotify does not offer in-app purchases; instead customers are directed to to the website to purchase its $9.99 per month web-and-mobile package. Meanwhile, Rdio offers a $14.99/month plan for in-app purchases, and a $9.99 plan for those who sign up via a web browser.
The purchase of Beats by Apple could mean a multitude of opportunities to package Beats music service with the purchase of iPhones, iPads, iPods and other Apple products.

Apple Buys Beats For $3 Billion

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appleApple announced Wednesday (May 28) that it has acquired Beats Music, and Beats Electronics, which makes Beats headphones, speakers and audio software, for a total of $3 billion, according to a statement. The purchase consists of an estimated $2.6 billion and an estimated $400 million that will vest over time. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple.
As part of the deal, Apple will receive Beats’ audio accessories business; Beats Music will now also be part of Apple.
“Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.”
“I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” said Jimmy Iovine. “The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple’s unmatched ability to marry culture and technology. Apple’s deep commitment to music fans, artists, songwriters and the music industry is something special.”

AIMP To Host Business Manager Talk in Nashville

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AIMP111AIMP Nashville will host a conversation, titled ‘Business Managers Talk Music Publishing with AIMP Nashville,’ with several leading Nashville business managers on June 3 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. at ASCAP’s Connie Bradley board room.
The event will feature Kella Stephenson Farris (Owner, The Kella Stephenson Company), Charles Sussman (President, Sussman & Assoc.) and Dwight Wiles (President, Smith Wiles and Co.) speaking on catalog evaluations, capital gains taxes, emerging income streams, the Songwriters Equity Act, and tracking income/collection. David Crow of Milom Horsnell Crow Rose Kelley PLC will moderate.
The reservation deadline is May 30. To register, visit aimp.org.

Trace Adkins To Resume Touring in June

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Screen shot 2014-05-28 at 3.06.58 PM1111Trace Adkins will return to the stage beginning June 5 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, N.J.  The tour will feature Adkins’ six-piece band, the Sarepta Gentleman’s Club. Adkins stepped out of the spotlight earlier this year to overcome some personal challenges. The tour will launch on June 5, and will wrap Sept. 26 in California.
“I’m excited, recharged and ready to get back on the road,” Adkins says. “I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone for the outpouring of encouragement and support over the past few months. It’s hard to put into words how much comfort you take from hearing ‘We’ve got your back.’ So these shows are for you guys – thanks.”
Trace Adkins Upcoming Tour Dates:
6/05 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
6/06 Mt.Pocono, PA Sherman Theater Summer Stage at Mt. Airy Casino Resort
6/07 Atlantic City, NJ The Concert Venue at Harrah’s Atlantic City
6/13 Niagara Falls, NY Seneca Niagara Casino Theatre
6/14 Fredericton, NB Countryfest
6/20 Biloxi, MS Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
6/21 Baton Rouge, LA Dixie Landin’ Summer Concert Series
7/12 Green Bay, WI Oneida Casino
7/13 Sault Ste Marie, MI Kewadin Casino
7/18 Sloan, IA Riverfest 2014 – WinnaVegas Casino & Resort
7/19 Prior Lake, MN Lakefront Music Fest
7/20 Peoria, IL Country Life Music Festival
7/23 Helena, MT Last Chance Stampede
7/24 Boise, ID CenturyLink Arena
7/25 Eugene, OR Lane Country Fair
7/26 Wendover, NV Peppermill Concert Hall
8/01 Huntington, NY Paramount
8/02 Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus
8/03 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent
8/07 Clear Lake, IA Surf Ballroom
8/08 Ft Wayne, IN Headwaters Park
8/09 Washington, MO Washington Town & Country Fair
8/11 Beaver Creek, CO Vilar Performing Arts Center
8/12 Douglas, WY Wyoming State Fair
8/15 Mahnomen, MN Shooting Star Casino
8/16 Thunder Bay, ON Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
8/27 Woodstock, VA Shenandoah County Fair
8/28 Cincinnati, OH Horseshoe Casino
8/29 Elkhorn, WI Walworth County Fair
8/31 Nichols, NY Tioga Downs Grandstand
9/06 Hot Springs, AR Hot Springs Rally
9/26 Rohner Park, CA Weill Hall

Southland Conference In Nashville Next Month

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The Southland conference will be held June 9-11 at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. The technology and entrepreneurship conference will host speakers including former Vice President Al Gore, PayPal President David Marcus, Evernote CEO Phil Libin and Box CEO Aaron Levie.
Ten early-stage companies will pitch at the conference for a grand prize of $100,000. They will be judged by a panel of 10 investors and entrepreneurs who have agreed to put up an individual investment of $10,000 each. Terms of the investment will be negotiated on stage at the Ryman Auditorium.
The second annual event co-produced by Launch Tennessee and PandoDaily highlights southern culture, including local music, restaurants and distilleries.
Each night of the conference will feature live performances under the Southland Music by Bonnaroo umbrella, produced by A.C. Entertainment and Superfly. Among the artists on the conference schedule are Moon Taxi, J Roddy Walston and The Business, and St. Paul and The Broken Bones.

Industry Ink (5/28/14)

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SESAC has signed songwriter/musician Byron House for representation. As a bassist, House has played with Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Nickel Creek, Sam Bush and with Robert Plant on his Band Of Joy album and tour.

Pictured (L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink, House and SESAC’s Amy Beth Hale. Photo: Peyton Hoge

Pictured (L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink, House and SESAC’s Amy Beth Hale. Photo: Peyton Hoge

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Photo credit: Victoria Huff

Photo credit: Victoria Huff

Abigail Rose has signed a co-publishing agreement with Twenty Ten Music, as well as a limited production deal with company co-owner and producer Charlie Peacock. Rose is prepping an album for later this year. Peacock has produced The Civil Wars, Holly Williams, The Lone Bellow and others.

Peacock says, “Abigail is everything that I look for when choosing to work with an artist: authentic, hard-working, humbly confident, and most of all, ridiculously talented. She represents the absolute best of the young artistry that Nashville is giving birth to.”

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Zach Allen

Zach Allen


Catch This Music has added Zach Allen to its staff. “We are excited to add Zach to our team of creators. His high level of passion, knowledge and professionalism make him an ideal fit for our team,” CTM President/CEO Eddie Roba says.

Allen previously spent six years at The Tracking Room.