Brad Paisley’s Beat This Summer Tour has been extended through the beginning of March and appropriately renamed the Beat This Winter Tour. Dates on the next leg of the tour, which will run through January and February, include a Nashville show at Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 22 and a hometown stop in Paisley’s home state at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.Va. on March 1.
Special guests on the final leg of the tour are Chris Young and Danielle Bradbery. For more information or to purchase tickets for shows, go to livenation.com or bradpaisley.com. Paisley’s Beat This Winter Tour is presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.
Beat This Winter Tour dates:
Jan. 9 Bon Secours Wellness Arena-Greenville, S.C.
Jan. 10 Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center-Pikeville, Ky.
Jan. 11 KFC Yum! Center-Louisville, Ky.
Jan. 23 Germain Arena-Estero, Fla.
Jan. 24 Leon County Civic Center-Tallahassee, Fla.
Jan. 25 Amway Center-Orlando, Fla.
Feb. 13 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum-Long Island, N.Y.
Feb. 14 Mohegan Sun Arena-Uncasville, Conn.
Feb. 15 Verizon Wireless Arena-Manchester, Mass.
Feb. 22 Bridgestone Arena-Nashville, Tenn.
Feb. 27 Allen County War Memorial Coliseum-Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Feb. 28 Ervin J. Nutter Center-Dayton, Ohio
March 1 Charleston Civic Center-Charleston, W.Va.
Powell Exiting BMI Nashville Post
/by Jessica NicholsonNatasha Powell
BMI Nashville Director of Public Relations Natasha Powell‘s last day with the performing rights organization will be Nov. 14.
She will join Austin, Texas food and hospitality PR agency Bread & Butter PR as Account Director. BMI is currently searching for a replacement. Powell can be reached at 615-347-8846 or at natasha@breadandbutterpr.com.
Powell joined BMI in February 2013. Powell previously held the position of Manager of Corporate Communications at CMT. She joined CMT in 2003 as an assistant in the Program Development & Production department and transitioned to the Corporate Communications department in 2005. At CMT, she led public relations efforts for many of the network’s series, including Sweet Home Alabama, CMT Top 20 Countdown, CMT Insider and Bayou Billionaires, and oversaw media credentialing for the CMT Music Awards.
She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Public Relations in 2003.
MusicRowLife: Gwen Sebastian Weds
/by Jessica NicholsonCountry music artist and former Voice contestant Gwen Sebastian married her longtime beau, producer/drummer Louis Newman, with family and friends in attendance last night (Nov. 12) at Mercy Lounge’s One in Nashville, TN.
Photo: Joe Hardwick
Save The Date: Nashville Happenings for November
/by Lorie HollabaughSponsored by maternity and baby skin care line Noodle & Boo, the evening will include performances by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors and feature guests including Jewel, Titans quarterback Jake Locker, Melinda Doolittle, and others. Proceeds from the evening’s events will go to benefit the expansion of Blood:Water’s work in the Suki region of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where an estimated 10 percent of the population is living with HIV/AIDS.
Music Mill Studio The Focus Of New Documentary
/by Lorie HollabaughPictured (L-R): Randy Owens of Alabama; Bart Herbison, NSAI; Harold Shedd, Exec Producer and Founder of the Music Mill; Mike McCuen, Sponsor from Del Bravo Tequilas during a private screening of The Music Mill.
The vintage water wheel out front has long been a Music Row landmark in its own right, and now the studio behind it is getting its due in a new documentary, The Music Mill, out today. Built in 1982, the legendary Music Mill not only housed a studio, but a label and publishing company as well, and was a launching pad for artists ranging from Reba and Billy Ray Cyrus to Toby Keith and the Kentucky Headhunters.
Alabama also recorded some of their most legendary material at the Mill with owner Harold Shedd, including “The Closer You Get,” which was the first song ever recorded at the studio. The Mill housed one of the first 64-track recording boards in the world, and the new documentary gives viewers an in-depth look at the studio and its place in the history of music.
“What happened here is incredible, it is history,” said Bart Herbison, Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, that now owns the building. “Few places in the American music industry housed a studio, publishing company and record label. The Music Mill did. That allowed owner Harold Shedd to have total creative license and launch artists such as Reba, K.T. Oslin, Billy Ray Cyrus, Toby Keith and the Kentucky Headhunters at the Music Mill.”
A Harold Shedd Music Mill Gallery Museum and performance venue, Milltown Music Hall, are located in Shedd’s hometown of Bremen, Ga. The new documentary can be viewed at the Nashville Songwriter Association International’s website beginning tomorrow (Nov. 14) at nashvillesongwriters.com.
Google Glass Integrates With Google Play, Adds 'Listen To' Command
/by Lorie Hollabaugh“With these new features, we’re now building a great music experience on Glass, whether you’re a classical music professor, an acclaimed sound engineer and hip-hop producer, or someone who wants to listen to their favorite tunes anytime, anywhere,” Ed Sanders, the Director of Marketing for Google Glass.
Google recently unveiled a new commercial touting the new product starring producer Young Guru wearing the glasses and using the technology. The $1500 headgear is still in beta testing.
“It’s an immense timesaver, and a great tool to make the world that much cooler, and realize some of the dreams we had as kids,” Young Guru said in an interview with the New York Times. “For all of us who grew up watching Star Trek, ” he added, “this is sort of the beginning of the holodeck.”
Nielsen To Begin Tracking YouTube Video Viewership
/by Jessica NicholsonNielsen’s tags allow marketers to monitor the performance of online ads by tracking the number of people who see the ads and how often. Nielsen also provides demographic data about who sees the ads.
“We know our clients want meaningful measurement, which is why we’re investing in brand-friendly metrics,” a Google representative said. “While we continue to build measurement options powered by Google, we’re also partnering with industry leaders, such as Nielsen and Comscore, to offer objective, credentialed, third-party measurement options.”
Online-video advertising spending is expected to top $4.8 billion this year.
Hardy To Receive CRB's President's Award In February
/by Lorie HollabaughEd Hardy
Ed Hardy has been chosen by the CRB to receive its coveted President’s Award this year. The award will be presented to Hardy during the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
The President’s Award is given to an individual who’s made significant contributions to the marketing, production, growth, and development of the Country Radio Seminar and the services the CRB provides to country radio and the industry. Hardy joins previous recipients of the award include Bob Kingsley, Bruce Hinton, Joe Galante, Bob Romeo and Erica Farber in receiving the honor.
“The Country Radio Broadcasters have been blessed through the years with the support of many key stakeholders, but few have made more impact or have been more enthusiastic in their support of the Seminar than Ed Hardy,” said CRB Board President Charlie Morgan. “We are delighted to recognize Ed’s unwavering and enduring contributions to the success of CRS with the 2014 President’s Award.”
Hardy served as President of Great American Country Television Networks from 2004-2012. He is the past President of the W.O. Smith Community Music School Board of Directors, and he currently serves as the CMA Board President and Chairman of the Board for the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also spent 20 years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves, attaining the rank of Major.
For information about the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Ceremony tickets, contact the Country Radio Seminar offices at 615-327-4487.
Weekly Register: CMA Awards Boost Sales
/by Michael_SmithThe top five Country albums this week include artists featured in last week’s CMA Awards. Not surprisingly, each album received a sales boost following the awards telecast. Once again, the Robertsons claim the No. 1 spot (No. 3 overall) with Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas (Universal Music Group Nashville) selling another 72k units (138k RTD).
Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party (Capitol Nashville) comes in at No. 2 (No. 10 overall), selling 31k units this week (1.1 million RTD). Double CMA winners Florida Georgia Line jump to No. 3, with Here’s To The Good Times (Republic Nashville) selling 28k units this week (1.2 million RTD). Blake Shelton’s CMA Award-winning album Based On A True Story (Warner Bros.) climbs to No. 4 (No. 14 overall), selling 20k units this week (up 148 percent) – 12k more than last week (324k RTD). Finally, Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park (Mercury Nashville), jumps 25 spots this week, landing at No. 5 with 15k units sold – a monumental increase (up 567 percent) from last week’s 1.3k units.
A noteworthy debut this week is Various Artists’ Divided and United, debuting at No. 32 with 2.7k units sold. The top overall album is Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP2, selling whopping 792k units. YTD, overall albums sales are down 6.7 percent, while Country album sales are down 8.3 percent.
The top overall track is Lorde’s “Royals.” The pop princess sold another 184k units this week (3.3 million RTD). YTD, overall track sales are down four percent, while Country tracks are up 1.4 percent, the same as last week.
Next week’s debuts include Lady Antebellum’s Golden Deluxe (UMG), Kellie Pickler’s The Woman I Am (Black River) and Sammy Kershaw’s Big Hits: Volume 1 (Big Hit Records).
Jennifer Nettles' Solo Project 'That Girl' To Release in January
/by Jessica Nicholson“I started writing this album three years ago,” shares Nettles. “I put no conscious guides or governors on the creation of this album other than to write songs that I want to sing. Working with Rick Rubin was a dream come true and the result is an album that plays to my roots – country, 70’s radio, gospel and singer songwriter.”
That Girl Track Listing:
“Falling” (Written by Jennifer Nettles)
“Me Without You” (Written by Jennifer Nettles, Tim Owens and Derek George)
“Moneyball” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Scott Patton)
“That Girl” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Butch Walker )
“This Angel” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Mike Reid)
“Jealousy” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Kevin Griffin)
“This One’s For You” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Sara Bareilles)
“Know You Wanna Know” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Richard Marx)
“Thank You” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Phillip Sweet)
“Good Time To Cry” (Written by Jennifer Nettles and Mike Reid)
“Like A Rock” (Written by Bob Seger)
Brad Paisley Adds Winter Dates To Tour
/by Lorie HollabaughSpecial guests on the final leg of the tour are Chris Young and Danielle Bradbery. For more information or to purchase tickets for shows, go to livenation.com or bradpaisley.com. Paisley’s Beat This Winter Tour is presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.