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Gill Named Honorary Prof., Wraps Artist Residency

Vince Gill has had a busy week. On Tuesday night (2/24) he concluded his residency at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and on Wednesday he was recognized as an honorary professor by the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. The final night of his sold-out three-show stint as the Country Music […]

Parties Fete “Don’t” Songwriters

Many in the music industry spent Tuesday afternoon (2/24) celebrating Billy Currington’s recent No. 1 hit, “Don’t.” Parties at BMI and ASCAP marked the occasion for the song’s co-writers Jim Beavers and Jonathan Singleton. It is the pair’s second trip to the top of charts together; they also co-wrote Gary Allan’s “Watching Airplanes.”

Outsourcing Service Propel Music Opens

Longtime A&R executive Peter Robinson and former publishing executive Alex Heddle have opened Propel Music, which will offer creative outsourcing for music publishing companies, songwriters, and others in the music industry. The company currently provides song pitching and writer management for Jeff Cohen, Greg Crowe, Jenn Schott, Lila McCann and Evie Nicole. Robinson started his […]

Americana DISClaimer (2/25/09)

They may call this genre “Americana,” but the Disc of the Day comes from overseas this time. Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson have a current CD called Rattlin’ Bones that is a must-own for anyone in love with soulful, mountain-soaked music. My other two favorites in this listening session both came from veterans. It sure […]

Country DISClaimer (2/20/09)

All I have to say is, “wow.” I can’t remember the last time so many records deserved a Disc of the Day award. How to choose between Alan Jackson’s sweet/sad acoustic ballad, The Zac Brown Band’s groove-a-thon, Wynonna’s celestial performance, Love and Theft’s dizzy pop confection, Dierks Bentley’s party platter and Jefferson Ross’s brilliant songwriting? […]

Gershon To Head Warner/Chappell Nashville

Tracy Gershon has joined Warner/Chappell Music in the newly created position of Senior Vice President and Head of A&R, Nashville. After more than twenty years in the music business, she most recently spent three years as Vice President, A&R at Warner Bros. Records Nashville, working with artists including Big & Rich, Faith Hill, and Blake […]

New Procedures For Election to the Country Music Hall of Fame

Updated 2/27: From the CMA “We received several questions about the criteria for the Modern Era and Veterans Era categories from the original release that went out on 2/25/09. After consulting with the Chairman and Co-Chairman of the CMA Awards & Recognition Committee, we have corrected and updated these two paragraphs to what is written below.” […]

CDs: Where Is The Love?

This week’s Nielsen SoundScan wrap covers results through the week ending Feb. 22. After last week’s love-filled Valentines Day/post-Grammy bump, overall sales slid, dropping 13% week to week. For country, the story was more pronounced as the format’s scans fell a full 26%. The Top 75 Current Country list accounted for a total of 358k […]

Derek Joseph

“No Cool Way” Little House Records Derek Joseph was raised in the small rural farming community of Phelps, in upstate New York. The singer’s Grandfather was a banjo player and had a big influence on Derek’s love of music. Derek began his musical education at age 8 with piano lessons, and by his teen years […]

Jamey Johnson Set For Downtown Shutdown

UMG Nashville is planning a Downtown Shutdown during Country Radio Seminar, a unique event which is open to the public as well as CRS attendees. On Wed., March 4 at 11:30 AM, Mercury’s Jamey Johnson will take to an outdoor stage at the corner of 5th Avenue and Commerce to perform a free concert, weather […]

North of the Border Natives Hang In Nashville

Hit songwriter/producer Victoria Shaw was cutting tracks for reigning Canadian Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year Jessie Farrell last night (2/23) at Sony Tree studios. The session included three songs co-written by Shaw, Farrell and Gary Burr especially for the project. After leaving the studio, Shaw and Farrell headed to the Sommet Center […]

ACM Radio Award Winners Revealed

Radio award winners for the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were notified of the good news this morning by Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town, who is also an ACM Board member. Winners were revealed ahead of time because the awards will not be given out during the live awards broadcast on April […]

Oscar Ratings Up, But Still Low

Last night’s (2/22) Academy Awards saw a 9 percent increase in ratings following an all-time low in 2008. An estimated 36.3 million people tuned in to see sleeper hit Slumdog Millionaire win eight statutes, including Best Picture. This is an increase of more than 4 million from last year, but still among the bottom three […]

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