Taylor Swift
was among the winners at the recent
Radio Disney Music Awards, which took place at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. Swift was honored in two categories–So FANtastic-Fiercest Fans, and Musical Mash-up: Best Musical Collaboration for “Everything Has Changed,” featuring
Ed Sheeran.
Other multiple award winners include
Selena Gomez, Fifth Harmony, and
Demi Lovato. The event featured performances from
Becky G, Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and others.
Winners list for the 2014 RADIO DISNEY MUSIC AWARDS:
They’re The One – Best Music Group: One Direction
He’s The One – Best Male Artist: Justin Timberlake
She’s The One – Best Female Artist: Demi Lovato
The Bestest – Song Of The Year: Come & Get It – Selena Gomez
XOXO – Best Crush Song: Still Into You – Paramore
So FANtastic – Fiercest Fans: Swifties – Taylor Swift
The Buzz – Breakout Artist of the Year: Fifth Harmony
The Freshest – Best New Artist: Becky G
Musical Mashup – Best Musical Collaboration: Everything Has Changed – Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran
So Happy – Best Song That Makes You Smile: Ooh La La – Britney Spears
#Cool – Radio Disney’s Most Talked About Artist: Selena Gomez
Stuck In Our Heads – Catchiest New Song: The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) – Ylvis
That’s My Jam – Best Song To Rock Out To With Your BFF: Me & My Girls – Fifth Harmony
Soundtraxx – Favorite Song From a Movie Or TV Show: Let It Go – Idina Menzel (“Frozen”)
Move! – Best Song To Dance To: Birthday – Selena Gomez
Hit The Road – Favorite Roadtrip Song: Made In The USA – Demi Lovato
You’ve Got Swag! – Artist With The Best Style: Zendaya
Foster's Iconic Entertainment Group Adds Two
/by Jessica NicholsonBrian O’Neil
Fletcher Foster‘s Iconic Entertainment Group has hired Brian O’Neil to the position of Artist Manager, and Ally Rodriguez to the role of Assoc. Artist Manager. O’Neil and Rodriguez previously held positions at Nashville-based booking agencies CAA and Paradigm, respectively.
O’Neil, an Indianapolis native, worked at CAA before he was selected for the Agent Trainee mail room program in 2012. He then took part in the Northeast Club Territory before transitioning into the Midwest Club Territory in 2013.
Ally Rodriguez
Rodriguez worked in Paradigm’s Contemporary Christian Music Division before being promoted into the Contemporary Club Division. Rodriguez earned a Bachelors in Music Business from Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn.
It was previously reported that LeAnn Rimes and Levi Hummon are the first artists to be represented by Iconic Entertainment Group.
Country Radio Seminar 2015 Dates Announced
/by Jessica NicholsonCountry Radio Seminar 2015 will be held Feb. 25-27 at the Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville, Tenn.
“One of the first signs of spring is Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, and again in 2015, CRS will launch the year in country radio and music,” said CRS President, Charlie Morgan. “Again this year, our event will kick-off on Wednesday, February 25 and run through our New Faces Show on Friday night, February 27.”
The 2014-2015 CRS Agenda Committee, which will oversee the agenda for CRS 2015, was recently announced. Jeff Green (Partner/Stone Door Media Lab) will serve as Chairman and Tom Hanrahan (Regional Program Manager/Clear Channel Media and Entertainment) and John Trapane (SW Regional/EMI Nashville) were both named Co-Vice Chairman.
ole Adds Foster as Sr. Director, Creative Licensing
/by Jessica NicholsonRandall Foster
ole has hired Randall Foster as Sr. Director of Creative Licensing. Foster will be based in Nashville and will join ole’s Synchronization & Licensing department, where he will report to COO Lou Ragagnin.
“Foster is an excellent addition to the ole team, and we’re thrilled to have him join our already successful operation,” said Robert Ott, Chairman and CEO of ole. “With his extensive experience in digital media, digital music, DRM, music licensing, music publishing, and production, Foster is ideally suited to handle anything that may come his way in our Synchronization & Licensing department. We’re confident that he will be able to land high-quality placements for our artists and writers and ensure that they are paid fairly for the use of their work.”
Foster’s career began at MTV Latin America, where he worked in licensing and copyright clearance. He transitioned to Naxos of America in July 2005, working his way to Director of Licensing and Business Development manager. He also launched the imprint record label Naxos Wind Band Classics, working as Label Manager and overseeing A&R.
Signings & Hirings (4/28/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonIn his new role, Thomas will focus on several formats, and he will be based in New York City.
John Dickey, Cumulus Executive Vice President & Co-Chief Operating Officer, said, “Brian Thomas is an incredible programming talent and brings a successful track record in New York to NASH FM New York. His experience and credibility will be great assets to the creative and leadership capital that Cumulus is cultivating for the benefit of our audiences and customers.”
• • •
Mikel Knight
Triple 7 Public Relations has signed on to represent label exec and recording artist Mikel Knight. Knight’s blend of Country and Urban music has sold more than 300,000 albums, and has been featured on MTV’s Buck Wild.
Taylor Swift Among Radio Disney Winners
/by Jessica NicholsonTaylor Swift
Taylor Swift was among the winners at the recent Radio Disney Music Awards, which took place at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. Swift was honored in two categories–So FANtastic-Fiercest Fans, and Musical Mash-up: Best Musical Collaboration for “Everything Has Changed,” featuring Ed Sheeran.
Other multiple award winners include Selena Gomez, Fifth Harmony, and Demi Lovato. The event featured performances from Becky G, Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony and others.
Winners list for the 2014 RADIO DISNEY MUSIC AWARDS:
They’re The One – Best Music Group: One Direction
He’s The One – Best Male Artist: Justin Timberlake
She’s The One – Best Female Artist: Demi Lovato
The Bestest – Song Of The Year: Come & Get It – Selena Gomez
XOXO – Best Crush Song: Still Into You – Paramore
So FANtastic – Fiercest Fans: Swifties – Taylor Swift
The Buzz – Breakout Artist of the Year: Fifth Harmony
The Freshest – Best New Artist: Becky G
Musical Mashup – Best Musical Collaboration: Everything Has Changed – Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran
So Happy – Best Song That Makes You Smile: Ooh La La – Britney Spears
#Cool – Radio Disney’s Most Talked About Artist: Selena Gomez
Stuck In Our Heads – Catchiest New Song: The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) – Ylvis
That’s My Jam – Best Song To Rock Out To With Your BFF: Me & My Girls – Fifth Harmony
Soundtraxx – Favorite Song From a Movie Or TV Show: Let It Go – Idina Menzel (“Frozen”)
Move! – Best Song To Dance To: Birthday – Selena Gomez
Hit The Road – Favorite Roadtrip Song: Made In The USA – Demi Lovato
You’ve Got Swag! – Artist With The Best Style: Zendaya
Industry Photos (4/28/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonLeadership Music recently hosted a quarterly Off the Record with special guest K. T. Oslin, who was interviewed by Leadership Music alum Robert K. Oermann. The sold-out event was a joint lunch-and-learn between Leadership Music and SOURCE.
Pictured (L-R): Oermann, Oslin, surprise guest Lynn Anderson, former RCA Label Chairman Joe Galante, LM Executive Director Debbie Linn and Stan Moress, Oslin’s long-time manager. Photo: Deb Varallo
• • •
Alan Jackson headlined the first day of the 27th annual Merlefest. The Country star performed songs from his project The Bluegrass Album, which spent more than four months atop Billboard‘s Bluegrass Album Sales chart.
Jackson’s backing band included several top-notch bluegrass musicians, including Scott Coney (acoustic guitar), Sammy Shelor (banjo), Tim Crouch (fiddle), Tim Dishman (bass), Rob Ickes (dobro) and Ronnie Bowman and Don Rigsby (vocals) – all of whom played on The Bluegrass Album – along with Sierra Hull (mandolin).
Alan Jackson performs at MerleFest.
• • •
For the second year, CMT Edge and BMI co-hosted an event as part of the Nashville Film Festival. Top music supervisors from across the country were treated to acoustic performances in the round by Ashley Monroe, Amanda Shires, Marc Scibilia and Steve McMorran of Satellite at the CMT studios.
Pictured (L-R): Craig Shelburne, CMT.com senior editor; Penny Everhard, BMI associate director of writer/publisher relations; Marc Scibilia; Amanda Shires; Martin Clayton, CMT.com vice president; Steve McMorran (Satellite); Ashley Monroe; Jody Williams, BMI vice president of writer/publisher relations; Leslie Fram, CMT senior vice president of music strategy.
• • •
Singer, songwriter and producer David Fanning stopped by Nashville’s BMI offices to celebrate his debut single, “Drink You Away.” Fanning is best-known for his work with Thompson Square and Parmalee as part of the production group New Voice.
Pictured (L-R): Rough Hollow Entertainment’s Doug Nichols, Red Bow Records artist David Fanning, BMI’s David Preston, Penny Everhard and Clay Bradley, and Rough Hollow Entertainment’s Chris Alderman. Photo: Drew Maynard
Billy Block Fundraiser 'Play One For Billy' Slated For May 4
/by Jessica Nicholson“Billy has been a friend of all of ours and to every up and coming artist in this community for the past 20 years,” said John Grady, President of I.R.S. Records Nashville. “I would not even try and count how many young, aspiring artists he has given a stage to perform. He has constantly found time to give back to this community, now is our chance to help a friend in need.”
Organizations already supporting the cause include BMI, SunTrust Bank, City National Bank, Mailchimp, I.R.S. Records Nashville, Crush Music, Florida Georgia Line, HoriPro Entertainment Group, Razor & Tie Music Publishing, Curb Records and more. To donate, visit yepnashville.com and click on the “Play One For Billy” banner.
If you have artists who would like to perform during Play One For Billy, or have any questions about the event, please contact YEP board members Andrew Cohen – (andrew@crushmusic.com) and Marc Rucker (marc@crushmusic.com).
Industry Ink (4/25/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonChris Young previews his new stage show.
Sony Music Nashville artist Chris Young invited a small group of industry friends to a sneak peak of his new stage show and production this week (April 23) during rehearsals at Bandit Lights in LaVergne, Tenn. The new stage includes a video wall, four elevating multi-light displays, a boardwalk and other surprises. Young flawlessly performed his many hits (and future hits) for the guests, as well as, a special acoustic performance of “Text Me Texas.” Young is gearing up for his headlining dates, in addition to the upcoming Dierks Bentley 2014 Riser Tour.
• • •
AXS is set to stream the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell through the AXS app. Fans who cannot make it to the festival to witness in-person performances from Jason Isbell, Anders Osborne, Galactic, Vampire Weekend and more can have the festival experience brought directly to them.
AXS will live-stream performances from three bands on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, for a total of six free live mobile performances. The AXS app is available in the iTunes App Store or on Google Play.
• • •
Tickets are $25 and available at stayclassy.org.
• • •
WMN, Game Day Presentation Bring Music To Sports Fans
/by Jessica NicholsonSports venues utilize music in many ways, including pre-game activities, during player introductions, during timeouts, to support promotions, post-game, during rain delays and more. Music videos and movie clips are also used to entertain fans.
A previous collaboration offered a music package featuring Cole Swindell‘s “Chillin’ It,” Brett Eldredge‘s “Don’t Ya” and Blake Shelton‘s “Boys ‘Round Here,” among other titles.
Additionally, WMN made artist artwork available to teams for inclusion in “Name That Tune” and other games used in college and professional pastimes.
“Teams across all leagues and in all sports are first and foremost in the entertainment business,” Danny Murphy. “The actual game is only part of the entertainment they deliver to fans. Music is at the forefront of the complete entertainment package, and we know many baseball games will be delayed by rain. It’s only logical that we work with teams to make sure they have the music they need to entertain their fans, music for when they are winning, losing or when it rains.”
Orbison Documentary to be Screened in Nashville and Los Angeles
/by Troy_StephensonMystery Girl: Unraveled was written and produced by Orbison’s sons Wesley, Alex and Roy, Jr. The film delivers a look inside the creation of the iconic album recorded by their father, Roy, 25 years after the original release. It will feature archived footage, special appearances and on-screen commentary from stars like Tom Petty, Bono, Jeff Lynne, and more. Orbison’s sons will attend the screenings in Los Angeles and Nashville for on-stage discussions of the film.
Both screenings are open to the public. For more information, visit thebelcourt.org or grammymuseum.org