Charlie Cook
, the largest pure-play radio broadcaster in the United States, announces the appointment of
Charlie Cook as Operations Manager for the company’s Nashville cluster of stations. Additionally, Cook is named Program Director of Country-formatted 95.5 FM WSM and 103.3 WKDF.
As Cumulus/Nashville Operations Manager, Cook will oversee 95.5 FM WSM and 103.3 WKDF, Urban 92-Q, Super Talk 99.7 and Sports station 104.5 The Zone.
Cook’s new role with Cumulus/Nashville marks his return to the company, having served as VP/Programming for Cumulus’s 61 Country format stations from 2006-2008. Cook returns to Cumulus with more than 35 years of radio industry experience, most recently as VP/Programming for West Virginia Radio Corporation (WVRC). Prior to joining WVRC, Cook held the role of Program Director for Go Country 105 in Los Angeles and before that, as VP/Programming for the Westwood One Radio Network.
“I am thrilled to welcome Charlie back to Cumulus at such an exciting time for the company,” said
John Dickey, Executive Vice President and Co-COO of Cumulus. “I am confident his vast radio industry experience will contribute greatly to the success of the growing Nashville market.”
“With all of the new and exciting things Cumulus is launching in conjunction with the NASH brand I am thrilled to rejoin the company,” Cook said. “Being based in Nashville, in the middle of all of this, is an incredible opportunity. Cumulus has an unbelievable cluster here and I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with the team to reach new heights.”
Brantley Gilbert To Rev Up 'Let It Ride Tour 2014' in March
/by Jessica NicholsonBrantley Gilbert
Brantley Gilbert will launch the Let It Ride Tour 2014 on March 27 in Lacrosse, Wis. The 22-stop trek will feature Thomas Rhett and Eric Paslay. Tour stops include Evansville, Ind.; Charleston, W.Va.; Stockton, Calif; Little Rock, Ark.; Omaha, Neb., and a tour-closing show in Denver, Colo. on May 18.
The singer-songwriter recently released the video for his current single, “Bottoms Up.”
Let It Ride Tour 2014 Dates:
3.27 Lacrosse, Wis.
3.28 Bloomington, Ill.
3.29 Corinth, Miss.
4.10 Greensboro, N.C.
4.11 Tuscaloosa, Ala.
4.12 Bossier City, La.
4.17 Macon, Ga.
4.18 Louisville, Ky.
4.19 Little Rock, Ark.
4.24 Stockton, Calif.
4.25 Indio, Calif.
4.26 Pozo, Calif.
5.1 Springfield, Mo.
5.2 Evansville, Ind.
5.3 Live Oak, Fla.
5.8 Grand Rapids, Mich.
5.9 Charleston, W. Va.
5.10 Greenville, S.C.
5.15 Omaha, Neb.
5.16 Sioux Falls, S.D.
5.17 Wichita, Kan.
5.18 Denver, Colo.
Artist Updates (1/3/14)
/by Lorie HollabaughRodney Atkins
• Rodney Atkins rang in his New Year’s Eve in a big way, performing for millions of fans in New York City’s Times Square. The entertainer performed his new single “Doin’ It Right” and chart-toppers “It’s America,” “These Are My People” and more for the massive crowd. Atkins is currently on The Most Hits For The Money Tour with fellow artists Frankie Ballard and Rose Falcon.
Montgomery Gentry
• Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry filed for individual bankruptcy Tuesday in Lexington, according to Kentucky.com. Montgomery listed $13.4 million in liabilities and $1.9 million in assets in the document filed, and his debts reportedly stem from millions owed on his failed Harrodsburg restaurant Eddie Montgomery’s Steakhouse, which closed last May.
The restaurant is scheduled to be sold in a master commissioner’s sale Jan. 10 with the proceeds going to pay nearly $12.7 million in default loans to Central Bank & Trust of Lexington. He and former wife Tracy Nunan opened the restaurant in 2009 and have since divorced.
Frankie Ballard Shares Track Listing For 'Sunshine & Whiskey'
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“I’m really proud of this,” shares Frankie. “It’s got songs that really mean something to me and that I knew would mean something to other people. It’s got lots of different emotions, from partying and having fun to some really deep stuff. It’s an emotional journey as well as a musical journey.”
32nd Annual Texaco Country Showdown Finals Set For January
/by Lorie HollabaughThis year’s five national finalists, Zac Matthews, Crystal Yates, Southern Halo, Suzanne Harper, and Casey Sutton, were chosen through a series of over 500 local, state, and regional contests held throughout the country.
Industry Ink (1/3/14)
/by Jessica NicholsonTrey Gray
Drummer Trey Gray, who has toured with Faith Hill, Brooks & Dunn and Jewel, is featured in the documentary Alive and Well. The documentary follows seven resilient people living with the hereditary chronic illness Huntington’s Disease (HD).
The disease is a degenerative neurological disorder which causes mental and physical deterioration. The documentary joined Gray while he performed as part of Brooks & Dunn’s farewell tour. Watch the trailer for Alive and Well below. For more information, visit aliveandwellthefilm.com.
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Will Zuchman, who formerly worked as executive chef at Alma de Cuba’s in Philadelphia, has crafted a menu that will include salads, sandwiches and appetizers among the offerings.
'CMT After Midnite With Cody Alan' Books Swift, Brooks, Hayes
/by Jessica NicholsonGarth Brooks
Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band and Hunter Hayes are all scheduled to drop by for the launch of CMT After Midnite with Cody Alan. The syndicated Premiere Networks show will kick off with CMT personality Cody Alan as its new host on Monday, Jan. 6, from midnight-6 a.m. ET.
The show will reach nearly two million weekly listeners on more than 200 radio stations. The show will originate from the CMT Radio studio in Nashville and will be available on iHeartRadio.
Alan has more than 20 years’ experience on the air, along with TV hosting duties as co-host of CMT Hot 20 Countdown.
Weekly Register: Wrapping Up 2013
/by Michael_SmithUnfortunately, sales continued to slump in the final week of 2013. Overall album sales are down 11 percent from last week, while Country album sales are down 29 percent week over week.
Veteran stars Garth Brooks and Beyonce continue to top chart this week. Brooks holds dominion over the chart with Blame It All On My Roots (Pearl Records Inc.) remaining at No. 1 (No. 6 overall), selling another 90k units this week (770k units RTD). Meanwhile, Beyonce’s self-titled album persists as the No. 1 overall album for the third consecutive week, selling 310k more units (1.3 million RTD).
Luke Bryan’s “That’s My Kind of Night” is the top Country track this week (No. 21 overall), selling 123k additional units (1.5 million RTD). The singer’s current hit “Drink A Beer” comes in at No. 2. Florida Georgia Line also claims 2 singles in the top 5 with “Stay” at No. 3 and “Cruise” at No. 4. The top overall track goes to Pitbull and Ke$ha, with their hit “Timber” selling another 442k units this week (1.9 million RTD).
Year In Review
Analyzing the TEA index (where ten tracks equal one album), overall album sales are down 7.6 percent, while Country album sales are down 8.4 percent.
Tracks: YTD, track sales declined with respect to 2012. Overall track sales are down 5.8 percent (1.2 billion units sold in 2013, 1.3 billion sold in 2012) and Country track sales are down 2 percent (163 million sold in 2013, 166 million sold in 2012). The same time last year 44 singles sold more than 100k units, whereas this year only 32 singles sold more than 100k units.
Decline in Digital Sales: For the first time in a decade, the U.S. music industry has ended the year with a decrease in digital music sales. Digital track sales were down 5.7 percent from 2012 (selling 1.26 billion units this year and 1.34 billion in 2012) and digital album sales were down .1 percent from 2012 (selling 117.6 million units this year and 117.7 million units in 2012). The popularity of streaming services may explain the decline in digital sales. Additionally, 2013 saw fewer million selling releases than 2012, which included Taylor Swift’s RED (3.1 million units sold) and Adele’s 21 (4.4 million units sold). Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience was the only album to sell more than one million units in 2013, with 2.4 million units sold. With the continual rise of streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, we’ll need to keep on eye on how sales change in 2014.
Although there are no noteworthy debuts next week, January will see releases from several artists, including Jennifer Nettles, Jon Pardi, Rosanne Cash and Ronnie Milsap.
Cumulus Media Appoints Charlie Cook as OM for Nashville Cluster
/by Jessica NicholsonCharlie Cook
Cumulus Media, the largest pure-play radio broadcaster in the United States, announces the appointment of Charlie Cook as Operations Manager for the company’s Nashville cluster of stations. Additionally, Cook is named Program Director of Country-formatted 95.5 FM WSM and 103.3 WKDF.
As Cumulus/Nashville Operations Manager, Cook will oversee 95.5 FM WSM and 103.3 WKDF, Urban 92-Q, Super Talk 99.7 and Sports station 104.5 The Zone.
Cook’s new role with Cumulus/Nashville marks his return to the company, having served as VP/Programming for Cumulus’s 61 Country format stations from 2006-2008. Cook returns to Cumulus with more than 35 years of radio industry experience, most recently as VP/Programming for West Virginia Radio Corporation (WVRC). Prior to joining WVRC, Cook held the role of Program Director for Go Country 105 in Los Angeles and before that, as VP/Programming for the Westwood One Radio Network.
“I am thrilled to welcome Charlie back to Cumulus at such an exciting time for the company,” said John Dickey, Executive Vice President and Co-COO of Cumulus. “I am confident his vast radio industry experience will contribute greatly to the success of the growing Nashville market.”
“With all of the new and exciting things Cumulus is launching in conjunction with the NASH brand I am thrilled to rejoin the company,” Cook said. “Being based in Nashville, in the middle of all of this, is an incredible opportunity. Cumulus has an unbelievable cluster here and I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with the team to reach new heights.”
Musicpreneur Sessions To Educate Music Entrepreneurs
/by Jessica NicholsonAdditional speakers for upcoming sessions include Mark Montgomery (founder of Echo Music and flo{thinkery}) and Matt Urmy (founder of Artist Growth).
Each session will feature 15 minutes of networking, followed by 30 minutes of educational speaking and a 45-minute moderated discussion from a music industry panel.
Future sessions and topics include “Introduction to Idea Framing” (Feb. 11), “Turning Assumptions Into Facts” (March 11) and “Getting Believers” (April 8).
Attendance is limited to 100 seats for each session; cost is free for Entrepreneur Center members, and $40 for non-members. For more information, visit ec.co.
Artist Updates (1/2/14)
/by Lorie HollabaughTravis Tritt
Travis Tritt has been tapped to narrate an upcoming movie about the life of Walt Disney called As Dreamers Do. The film is reportedly set for release in Spring 2014 and will cover Disney’s early life. Tritt will film a live acoustic DVD on Jan. 13-14 at the Franklin Theater in Franklin, Tenn., over the course of the two nights, featuring guests like Kid Rock, Marty Stuart, James Otto, and more.
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Dolly
Dolly Parton and her husband Carl Dean are considering renewing their vows in an intimate celebration to mark their nearly 50 years of marriage, she recently told Closer Weekly. “We’ve talked about that — we might do it all over again! Another big wedding.”
Parton says the two will likely mark the day with a celebration close to home since Carl does not enjoy flying. “Probably be at our big old plantation home. We love it there. Carl doesn’t like to fly. Once many, many years ago, he went with me to Hawaii, and he enjoyed that, but he never wanted to go anywhere else. He’s happy staying home and I’m happy traveling,” she explains.
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“It has been one of the most rewarding projects I have done,” he said. “I had a blast doing it with Kelly. We laughed a lot, and got a chance to record songs that we both have loved for so long.”