Show Dog Universal Hosts Fan Event During CMA Fest

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Josh Thompson, Mark Wright, Joel Crouse, Krystal Keith and Rose Falcon with Brandon from Make A Wish

Clockwise from left: Josh Thompson, Mark Wright, Joel Crouse, Rose Falcon and Krystal Keith welcome Make A Wish child Brandon to the event.


Show Dog Universal hosted its first Fan Appreciation event during CMA Music Festival on June 6. The party at The Rutledge featured performances by Joel Crouse, Rose Falcon, Krystal Keith, Josh Thompson and JT Hodges.
A Facebook contest determined which fans were invited to the event. At the venue they enjoyed meet and greets with the artists and some fans were asked to introduce the artists before their performances. Giveaways included a pair of Thompson’s boots and an autographed guitar. Fan gift bags were stuffed with CDs, koozies, event poster, ear buds, hats and autographed photos.

Warner Music Nashville Teams With Vanderbilt For Summer Business Institute

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wmnVanderbilt Accelerator Summer Business Institute has teamed up with Warner Music Nashville for a project in its intense month-long business boot camp run by the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.
For Warner Music Nashville, The Accelerator students (college students and recent graduates) are challenged with proposing innovative cross-branding opportunities between artists and products with the goal of driving positive impressions through partnerships with existing brands.
Accelerator Summer Business Institute helps students hone essential skills in marketing, sales, finance, real estate, research and corporate strategy.
The program launched on Thursday (June 13) at 9:30 a.m. at Warner Music Nashville on Music Row. The Accelerator teams will give their final presentations on Friday, June 21 at 9 a.m. at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management’s Averbuch Auditorium.

Nashville Artists Up for Online Music Awards

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o music awards logoNashville artists will take part in the upcoming Online Music Awards (O Music Awards), presented by MTV/VH1/CMT. The event, to be held June 19, is a 24-hour live-streaming party which celebrates the best in digital music and features performances from Nashville’s Ashley Monroe, along with Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson and more. Nashville duo Striking Matches will also perform as part of “Live Music Day.”
Additionally, Nashville-based rocker Jack White is nominated for the Best Analog Genius Award alongside Beck, Daft Punk, Neil Young and Shone.
Miranda Lambert‘s clip for “Fastest Girl In Town” is up for Best Interactive Music Video, alongside “Lost In The Echo” by Linkin Park, “Not The Same” by Tanlines, “Sound and Vision” by Beck and Chris Milk, and “e.m-bed.de/d!” by Yung Jake.
Striking Matches is the only country artist of 10 nominees in the Make A Band Famous category.
For more information and voting, visit omusicawards.com.

Kenny Chesney's No Shoes Nation Tour Sells More Than 1 Million Tickets

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kenny chesney 2013 photoIt is only mid-June, and Kenny Chesney‘s 2013 No Shoes Nation Tour has already sold over 1,089,000 tickets. The No Shoes Nation Tour began in March and has played to 19 stadiums thus far.
“I’m glad people hear their lives in this music,” Chesney says of the successful tour. “I am always humbled when people tell me they plan their summer around coming to the show, because I remember being that kind of fan. I try to be the artist I would’ve wanted my favorite singers to be – and make sure that we give people the best show we can every time we get up there. To me, that’s the most important thing… and the fans can tell. Maybe that’s why we’ve hit that million ticket mark so early this year.”

BMI Files Suit Against Pandora

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BMI logoBroadcast Music Inc (BMI) filed an action in New York City today (June 13) asking the Federal Rate Court to set royalty fees for internet radio service Pandora on behalf of the organization’s 600,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, the performing rights organization (PRO) said in a statement. The action asks the court to set reasonable, market driven fees for Pandora after negotiations did not result in an agreement.
This comes after Pandora recently signed an agreement to purchase Rapid City, S.D. radio station KXMZ-FM, a small-market Hot AC format broadcast radio station. The strategic purchase is reportedly a way for the company to qualify for Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) agreements regarding royalties and public performances of musical works from the PROs.
 
 
 

Darius Rucker, Wade Bowen Host Charity Fundraisers

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"Darius And Friends" 2013 performers Dustin Lynch, Darius Rucker, Sam Bush, Luke Bryan and Radney Foster. Photo: Randi Radcliff

“Darius And Friends” 2013 performers (L-R): Dustin Lynch, Darius Rucker, Sam Bush, Luke Bryan and Radney Foster. Photo: Randi Radcliff

Darius Rucker lit up the stage at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon on June 3 for his fourth annual “Darius And Friends” concert to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, presented by Transitions® lenses and Visionworks®. The concert, auction and golf tournament raised $95,260.

The benefit concert line-up included an introduction from GAC’s Suzanne Alexander and performances by Luke Bryan, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Radney Foster, Mallary Hope, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch, Justin Moore and surprise guest Joel Crouse.

The June 4 celebrity golf tournament included Lynch, Moore, Dierks Bentley, Jay DeMarcus, Colt Ford, JT Hodges, Charles Kelley, David Nail, Joe Don Rooney, Chuck Wicks, NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and Nashville Predator J.P. Dumont.

Fans can also catch Rucker performing on ABC’s The Bachelorette on Monday, June 17 at 8/7c.

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Pictured (L-R): Pat Green and Wade Bowen performing at the 15th Annual Bowen Classic Concert in Waco, TX on June 2 to benefit the rebuilding efforts of the West, Texas community. Photo: Todd Purifoy Photography

Pat Green (L) and Wade Bowen (R) performing at the 15th Annual Bowen Classic Concert in Waco, TX on June 2 to benefit the rebuilding efforts of the West, Texas community. Photo: Todd Purifoy Photography

Wade Bowen hosted his 15th Annual Bowen Classic celebrity golf tournament and concert to benefit The Bowen Family Foundation on June 2 and 3 in his hometown of Waco, TX. This year’s record-breaking event raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars with the help of approximately 4000 fans, friends and locals who came out to support the cause.

Thanks to presenting sponsor, 1-800 Flowers Franchising, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the townspeople and organizations affected by the tragedy in nearby West, Texas.

The event kicked off with an all-star concert on June 2 featuring Bowen and friends including Roger Creager, Pat Green, Cody Johnson, Josh Abbott Band, Neal McCoy, Reckless Kelly’s Willy Braun, Billy Joe Shaver, The Departed’s Cody Canada & Seth James, Aaron Watson, Josh Weathers and Charlie Worsham.

Over the past four years, Bowen has raised close to half a million dollars for various local organizations in need.

NMPA Reveals New Board Members During Annual Meeting

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nmpaThe National Music Publishers Association revealed the results of the NMPA’s biannual board election during its annual meeting. All board members are active U.S. music publishers and will serve a two-year term, effective immediately. Nashville publishers Barry Coburn and Bob Doyle are on the board.
Elected members are:
Willard Ahdritz, Kobalt Music Group
Martin Bandier, Sony/ATV
Caroline Beinstock, Carlin America
Helene Blue, Helene Blue Musique
Barry Coburn, Ten Ten Music Group
Bob Doyle, Major Bob Music
Lee Eastman, MPL Communications
Mark Fried, Spirit Music
Neil Gillis, Round Hill Music
Laurent Hubert, BMG/Chrysalis
Zach Horowitz, Universal Music Publishing Group
Dean Kay, Demi Music Corp
Leeds Levy, Leeds Music
Ralph Peer II, peermusic
Matt Pincus, Songs Music Publishing
Irwin Z. Robinson, The Richmond Organization
Cameron Strang, Warner/Chappell
Richard Stumpf, Imagem Music

Concrete/TEC Direct Media Launches "BuyNow"

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tecdirect111Concrete/TEC Direct Media, a media planning and buying agency for music and entertainment marketing, has partnered with TriVu Media, a provider of broadcast-style advertising data for online video, to create a new service called “BuyNOW” to connect online video advertising with entertainment sales.
The solution leverages TEC Direct’s M3D® media buying platform with TriVu Media’s ability to search the Web for targeted video advertising inventory. The approach matches video advertising opportunities for auction/sale on various exchanges and demand-side platforms, with highly detailed information about the actual video.
“BuyNOW” identifies the right content most likely to generate the intended outcome, like a sale on a partner web site (Amazon or iTunes), a studio-owned web store or artist site.
Working with the Concrete/TEC Direct media team, entertainment marketers can implement their own buy-side strategies by aligning with content most likely to drive purchases. Areas of specialization include: Adult Contemporary, Hard and Modern Rock, Pop, Country and Urban music as well as theatrical and Blu-ray disc releases.
“Buy-like-TV is the oft-stated digital marketing goal of many entertainment marketers,” said Charles Fetterly, President of TEC Direct Media. “Much like cable TV revolutionized music marketing in a previous generation, online video is doing the same today. The segment-exclusive partnership with TriVu Media creates a scalable and predictable marketing platform nobody else can match.”
“Concrete/TEC-Direct is constantly vetting out different online platforms and presenting our clients only those we feel meet entertainment industry requirements,” said Concrete Marketing CEO Bob Chiappardi. “We’ve successfully tested “BuyNOW” and we believe it’s head and shoulders above other platforms. Best of all it comes with a cost of entry that is affordable to all our clients.”
For more information, visit tec-direct.com.
 

[Updated] Pandora Purchases Broadcast Radio Station

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pandora_logo[Update (6/13/13)]: BMI has ended negotiations for publishing rates with Pandora and has decided to file suit in rate court. Billboard’s sources claim BMI management believes further negotiations with Pandora would be futile, in light of what publishers are calling a questionable maneuver to obtain lower rates than the 4.1 percent of revenue that Pandora paid to publishers last year.
• • •
Pandora has signed an agreement to purchase Rapid City, S.D. radio station KXMZ-FM, a small-market Hot AC format broadcast radio station.
The strategic purchase is reportedly a way for the company to qualify for Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) agreements regarding royalties and public performances of musical works from the PROs.
An op-ed by assistant general counsel at Pandora, Christopher Harrison explains the streaming service has been discriminated against and exposed to copyright infringement as a result of ASCAP members withdrawing new media rights:

ASCAP and its members have abruptly shifted away from 100 years of business practice and attempted to create a new right to ‘withdraw’ from ASCAP the right to license certain songs on what is essentially a case-by-case basis.
Terrestrial broadcasters and their Internet properties were given preferential treatment via a January 2012 agreement between the RMLC and ASCAP and BMI. To put this in perspective, at least 16 of the top 20 Internet radio services that compete with Pandora operate under the RMLC license that has not been made available to Pandora.
So, today we are also announcing the purchase of KXMZ-FM. This acquisition allows us to qualify for the same RMLC license under the same terms as our competitors. While this might seem like an unexpected move for Pandora, it makes sense even beyond the licensing parity. Pandora excels in personalizing discovery and terrestrial radio is experienced in integrating with a local community. We look forward to broadcasting our personalized experience to the community in Rapid City, an area where over 42,000 residents already use Pandora. And we will apply Pandora’s insights about listening habits to program music that accurately reflects local listeners’ evolving tastes.

ASCAP and NMPA responded harshly to the acquisitions on June 12. “Pandora is trying every trick in the book to brazenly and unconscionably underpay and take advantage of the creative labor that produces the core offering of their business — music written by individual songwriters and composers,” said ASCAP president Paul Williams (see his full statement). David Israelite, president and CEO of the NMPA stated: “While other digital partners are making voluntary deals, Pandora chooses to sue the very creators who make its business possible.”
In addition to EMI and Sony/ATV withdrawing new media rights from ASCAP and BMI in previous years, Billboard highlights forthcoming new media withdrawals dates from ASCAP as follows:
BMG/Chrysalis: July 1, 2013
Universal Music Publishing: July 1, 2013
Warner/Chappell Music Publishing: July 1, 2013
Kobalt Music Publishing: Oct. 1, 2013
Ruminating Music: Oct. 1, 2013
Sea Gayle Music Publishing: Jan. 1, 2014

– Jessica Nicholson & Eric Parker

Toby Keith's Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert Set For July 6

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toby keithToby Keith’s Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert will be held Saturday, July 6 at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. The lineup of performers, now being assembled, will include Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood and Ronnie Dunn. Proceeds will benefit The United Way Of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund. Updates on the event and lineup will be posted at www.tobykeith.com.
Doors open at 1:30 p.m., show time is 3 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 21 at 10 a.m.; all seats are $25, all inclusive, all seats reserved – eight-ticket purchase limit.
“I grew up in Moore [Okla.], I live in Norman and I’ve got lots of family and friends who were directly affected,” Keith says. “I know these folks and they’re resilient, but we’re going to keep helping them any way we can. I’m proud to get together with some others from around here who are just as committed as I am to supporting these communities.”
“Once we got the news that the tornado had hit Toby’s hometown, Miss Yearwood and I told Toby we were at his service for whatever he chose to do,” Brooks says. “I am amazed at the human spirit the tornado victims have shown. I am humbled by the giving of the volunteers. It is an honor to get to be a part of this healing process.”
Keith’s publicist tells MusicRow.com that plans to televise or stream the concert are currently being discussed.