CMT/MTV/VH1 Debut Opportunities for Artists Pages

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Artist-PagesCMT/MTV/VH1 have announced the launch of an artist opportunities hub, where for the first time artists can opt into a selection fan engagement opportunities across CMT Pure, MTV, VH1, CMT, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, VH1 Soul, and Palladia.

Beginning yesterday (April 18), artists having claimed or created an account are able to be selected by fans to receive on-air, editorial and partnership opportunities among the site’s affiliates.
“For the first time, we’re opening our gates and providing artists with a massive entry point to have their music spotlighted and heard across and beyond all of our channels and screens,” said Van Toffler, President of MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo. “We’re handing the power over to the fans and their rallying cries and artist support will help decide which artist’s breakthrough.”
Inaugural offerings include selection as Hunter Hayes’ opening act; all-expense-paid performances at Hangout Festival for two artists with recording opportunities; videos/track submission for editorial features across CMT/MTV/Vh1 networks; and on-air music video rotation during 1200 hours of weekly music video programming in addition to potential MTV/VH1/CMT shows features, Palladia, and advertiser sponsorships. Evaluations will be based on fan engagement on each artist’s page.
More than 100 million potential homes are reached by these artist sites (Artists.CMT, Artists.MTV, Artists.VH1), which launched less than one year ago as part of Viacom Music and Logo Group’s Connected Content Network.
In the coming months, CMT/MTV/VH1 will introduce a mobile app, an artist commerce tool and more.

Weekly Chart Report (4/19/13)

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SPIN ZONE

Susan Ashton recently met with Lake Broadcasting's Steve Culberson at WKGA while on a radio tour. Pictured (L-R): Susan Ashton, Steve Culberson and guitarist Jesse Michael Howard.

Susan Ashton recently met with Lake Broadcasting’s Steve Culberson at WKGA while on a radio tour. Pictured (L-R): Susan Ashton, Steve Culberson and guitarist Jesse Michael Howard.


Kenny Chesney‘s “Pirate Flag” is flying high atop the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart this week with 3671 spins. Darius Rucker‘s “Wagon Wheel” rolls into the No. 2 slot, while Eric Church‘s “Like Jesus Does” ups one notch to No. 3. Florida Georgia Line‘s former No. 1 single, “Get Your Shine On,” sits at No. 4, while Brantley Gilbert‘s “More Than Miles” holds steady at No. 5 for another week.
Tim McGraw w/ Taylor Swift‘s “Highway Don’t Care” rises from No. 8 to No. 6 this week, while Brad Paisley‘s “Beat This Summer” lands at No. 7. The Band Perry‘s “Done” leaps into the Top 10 this week, rising from No. 12 to No. 8, as does Jake Owen‘s “Anywhere With You,” jumping from No. 11 to No. 9. Kelly Clarkson featuring Vince Gill‘s “Don’t Rush” holds steady at No. 10 this week.
Big gainers this week include Luke Bryan‘s “Crash My Party,” the top gainer with 717 added spins and landing at No. 26. Carrie Underwood‘s “See You Again” is at No. 30, with 484 additional spins. Hunter Hayes‘ “I Want Crazy” is at No. 40, gaining 438 spins this week. Blake Shelton‘s “Boys ‘Round Here” added 376 plays, enough to take the No. 14 spot. Little Big Town‘s “Your Side of the Bed” gained 336 additional spins this week, rising from No. 45 to No. 33.
New to the chart this week are LoCash Cowboy‘s “Chase A Little Love” at No. 65, Lizzie Sider‘s “I Love You That Much” at No. 66, Danny Griego‘s “I Wear My Own Kind of Hat” at No. 75, Hoyt Hughes‘ “Happy Endings” at No. 76, Adam Dean Mullins‘ “All My Favorite Memories” at No. 77, Maggie Rose‘s “Better” at No. 78, Michael Lynne‘s “Missing You” at N0. 79 and JB & The Moonshine Band‘s “The Only Drug” at No. 80.
Frozen Playlists: WRHT, KMKS, WBKR, WXXK
Upcoming Singles
April 15
Carrie Underwood/See You Again/19-Arista
Hayden Panettiere/Hypnotizing/Big Machine
Rachel Holder/Five Days/Curb
Chris Cagle/Dance Baby Dance/BPG
Casey Donahew Band/Whiskey Baby/Almost Country Entertainment
Chris Weaver Band/ So Damn Beautiful/American Roots
Tracy Delucia/Night Swim/GTR
April 22
Jared Ashley/Last Train to Memphis/Blaster
Eric Paslay/Friday Night/EMI Nashville
Hunter Hayes/I Want Crazy/WMN
Randy Rogers Band/Fuzzy/MCA Nashville
LoCash Cowboys/Chase A Little Love/Average Joes
Sins Country/Romeo and Juliette Sparks/GTR
 April 25
Steve Richard/Keep On Rollin’/Force MP
April 29
Joanna Smith/Girls Are Crazy/RCA
IMAJ/Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner/Triomphe Records
Dakota Bradley/Somethin’ Like Somethin’/Streamsound
David Shelby/Kick A Little Dirt Around/Highway South
May 6
Scotty McCreery/See You Tonight/Mercury-19-Interscope
• • •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
LoCash Cowboys/Chase A Little Love/Average Joes Entertainment – 65
Lizzie Sider/I Love You That Much/Lizzie Sider Music – 66
Danny Griego/I Wear My Own Kind Of Hat – 75
Hoyt Hughes/Happy Endings/BlueBolt Records – 76
Adam Dean Mullins/All My Favorite Memories/PLC Records – 77
Maggie Rose/Better/RPM Entertainment – 78
Michael Lynne/Missing You/CMG – 79
JB & The Moonshine Band/The Only Drug/Average Joe’s – 80
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Luke Bryan/Crash My Party/Capitol-UMG Nashville – 38
Hunter Hayes/I Want Crazy/Atlantic-WMN – 30
Carrie Underwood/See You Again/Arista – 26
LoCash Cowboys/Chase A Little Love/Average Joes Entertainment – 15
Little Big Town/Your Side Of The Bed/Capitol – 15
Lizzie Sider/I Love You That Much/Lizzie Sider Music – 14
Eric Paslay/Friday Night/EMI Nashville – 12
Kacey Musgraves/Blowin’ Smoke/Mercury Nashville – 12
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Luke Bryan/Crash My Party/Capitol/UMG Nashville – 717
Carrie Underwood/See You Again/Arista – 484
Hunter Hayes/I Want Crazy/Atlantic-WMN – 438
Blake Shelton/Boys Round Here/Warner Bros. – 376
Little Big Town/Your Side Of The Bed/Capitol – 336
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Casey Donahew Band/Whiskey Baby – 154
Joanna Smith/Girls Are Crazy/RCA Nashville – 153
Chris Cagle/Dance Baby Dance/Bigger Picture Group – 151
Breelan Angel/It’s My Turn/MisBhavin’ – 147
Amy Rose/I Just Want You To Know/Wild Rose – 146
Toby Keith gave Arizona’s Country Thunder festival its first-ever complete sell-out in its 25 year history and celebrated KMLE/Phoenix. Pictured (L-R): Tim Richards (PD); Drew Bland (MD); Lisa Owen (Show Dog Universal); Toby Keith; Brad Booker (morning show host); and Tim Pohlman (GM)

Toby Keith gave Arizona’s Country Thunder festival its first-ever complete sell-out in its 25 year history and celebrated KMLE/Phoenix. Pictured (L-R): Tim Richards (PD); Drew Bland (MD); Lisa Owen (Show Dog Universal); Toby Keith; Brad Booker (morning show host); and Tim Pohlman (GM)


Charlie Worsham visited with Eddie Haskell of KYGO while in Denver recently.

Charlie Worsham visited with Eddie Haskell of KYGO while in Denver recently.


 

Charlie Cook On Air: The Hottest Music Genre

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CCook-onair-sm11The shifts in musical tastes are interesting to watch as a radio person. I am involved with all radio formats in my jobs as a programmer and consultant. That said, country music radio is what I watch most closely.

Country music is hotter than any other music genre today. The recently aired Academy of Country Music Awards show was more proof of this popularity. The broadcast was up 39 percent in audience appeal from last year and everyone I have spoken to agrees that it was the best ever ACM show.

First, congratulations to Bob Romeo and his hard-working staff, the Board of the ACM and Rac Clark, who has directed and produced this show for years now. The beginning of the show is always so important for locking the viewer into the program. Watch for the beginning of the shows every year on both the ACM and the Country Music Association shows. The opening in Las Vegas last week was exciting, energizing and enticing. The opening chat bit was funny; a little blue for my 11-year-old daughter who was my date to the show, but played right into the relationship that Blake has with the viewers of The Voice and with Luke Bryan, who is a star in his own right, playing the role of Adam Levine.

It was 45 minutes into the program before the first award was handed out. These shows are really all-star concerts with a few awards sprinkled in. The viewers are very happy with this format and 10-12 performers get to add a trophy to their resumes.

No other single musical format could pull this off. NARAS draws a good audience each year as long as the music from that year is balanced for the mainstream consumer. No other format can pull off ACM week in Las Vegas, the CMA Music Fest/Fan Fair and the CMA Awards show in the fall. This is not just because those of us involved with the format play well together for the health of the format (think Country Radio Seminar) but because the fans love and support the music and the artists to the highest levels.

The shift towards country music and country music radio are documented in CD sales and increased ratings with the younger demos. Overall Country Radio is at its highest 12+ national share ever scoring 14.1 percent of the listening. (Arbitron Fall 2011). Even in PPM markets (the top 48 markets in America) the format is the fourth most popular. This is before Cumulus put a Country station in New York City, so we expect that number to increase.

This increased interest in Country music was also reflected in CD sales this week, a consequence of the tune in of the ACM show. The much talked about Wheelhouse by Brad Paisley sold over 100,000 copies. Also in the Top 20 of sales were Eric Church (with two different titles), Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan (also with two different titles). Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert also all saw increases from the preceding week.

If you doubt the increased visibility of Country music, think about this. An album cut from a Country artist, even a superstar like Brad Paisley, stopped the media in its tracks for almost a week.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow.)
 

George Jones Hospitalized in Nashville

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George Jones

George Jones


George Jones was admitted to a local Nashville hospital for observation today (April 18). During a routine checkup, Mr. Jones was running a slight fever with irregular blood pressure.
This weekend’s shows in Atlanta, Ga. and Salem, Va. have been postponed. Information on the rescheduling of these concerts will be available soon. For more information on George Jones, please visit georgejones.com
 
 

Jim Ed Norman Named Chief Creative Advisor for Curb Records

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curb-logo Jim Ed Norman, former 22-year President of Warner Bros. Records Nashville, has accepted the position of Chief Creative Advisor for Curb Records. Bryan Stewart will continue to be Vice President of A&R and Kelly Lynn Janson will continue in her role as A&R Consultant.
While President of Warner Bros. Records Nashville, Norman launched artists including Blake Shelton, Faith Hill, Big & Rich, Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis and more. During the same timeframe, Norman worked closely with Curb Records Chairman, Mike Curb in the joint ventured label, Curb/Warner. Norman will continue his association with the Curb Family Foundation and in his role as Sr. Fellow at the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt.
Stewart has been with Curb Records for 20 years and has overseen hits with the label including LeAnn Rimes’ “Can’t Fight The Moonlight,”  from the motion picture film, Coyote Ugly. Stewart is currently completing new albums from Rimes and Wynonna.  Stewart is responsible for also signing Kyle Jacobs, who along with Jon Stone has produced No. 1 records for Lee Brice, including his current number one single “I Drive Your Truck.”
Having worked with the label since 2004, Janson has a history of finding songs that have been recorded by the likes of Tim McGraw (“Better Than I Used To Be”), Rodney Atkins (“Cleaning This Gun” and “Farmer’s Daughter”), Clay Walker (“Fall”) and more.
Mike Curb said, “We are very excited about our A&R team and particularly the fact that all of us have worked together for so many years, and we’re proud of the tremendous roles that these individuals have played in our company’s success.”

BMI Stage To Be Featured During 2013 Hangout Music Festival

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BMI logoBMI will introduce the first-ever BMI stage during the 2013 Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Ala. The festival is slated for May 17-19 and the BMI stage will include three days of music from an eclectic lineup of emerging bands and songwriters. 

The musical lineup will include:
Friday, May 17
Colin Lake
Luella & the Sun
The Weeks
Anders Osborne
Saturday, May 18
Wild Cub
The Mowgli’s
The Kingston Springs
The Tontons
Sunday, May 19
The Wild Feathers
Chancellor Warhol
Space Capone
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
 
 

Artists Announced For 2013 Christmas 4 Kids Celebrity Golf Tournament

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christmas for kids golf tournament11The 2013 Christmas 4 Kids Celebrity Golf Tournament Presented By Prevost will be held Tuesday, April 23 at Pine Creek Golf Course (1835 Logue Road, Mt. Juliet, TN, 37122).
Hosted by duo The Roys, the event will include celebrities including Tracy Lawrence, David Ball, Bo Bice, Ty Brown, Del Gray (Little Texas), Fox17’s Kelly Sutton and Nick Paranjape, NASCAR driver TJ Bell, Lucas Hoge, Lisa Matassa, Mark Cooke, Eric Heatherly, Joanna Smith, Frankie Ballard and many others.
Registration will begin at 10 a.m., followed by lunch at 11 a.m. The event will feature a three-player scramble with a celebrity as the fourth player. The event includes lunch, dinner and drinks.
For more information, visit christmas4kids.org.

[Updated] Industry Signings (4-18-13)

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Pictured: (L-R) Keith Richards (Agent, Elite Talent Agency), Mark Claassen (President, Elite Talent Agency), Matthew Perryman Jones, and Lanny West (Manager)

Pictured: (L-R) Keith Richards (Agent, Elite Talent Agency), Mark Claassen (President, Elite Talent Agency), Matthew Perryman Jones, and Lanny West (Manager)


Matthew Perryman Jones has signed for booking representation with Elite Talent Agency.
“Matthew Perryman Jones is one of the most captivating artists out there right now,” says Keith Richards, Indie Agent at Elite Talent Agency. “It’s difficult not to be drawn to what he is doing. There is a story being tole with him and we are just excited to help get that story out to the masses.”
Lanny West, Matthew’s manager, explains, “It is all about team building and working with forward thinking partners. We were searching for an Agency Partner–not a Booking Agent. Elite Talent brings this very strong approach to tour strategy and partnership that we have been searching for.”

• • •

Pictured (L-R): Jacob Fain (Director of A&R, Sony/ATV), Troy Tomlinson (President/CEO, Sony/ATV Nashville),Chase Rice, Bruce Kalmick (Triple 8 Management)

Pictured (L-R): Jacob Fain (Director of A&R, Sony/ATV), Troy Tomlinson (President/CEO, Sony/ATV Nashville), Chase Rice, Bruce Kalmick (Triple 8 Management)

Sony/ATV Music Publishing  signed their newest artist, Chase Rice.

“Chase is a double threat as both a songwriter and an artist,” said Jacob Fain, Director of A&R for Sony/ATV.  “It’s always a privilege when you get to work with someone who is accomplished in both regards and we couldn’t be more excited about it.”

 “It’s a huge step for me to sign with such a great publisher. Following the footsteps of Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Kenny Chesney just gives me more motivation to make sure I’m up there with those names soon, and Sony/ATV is the place to do it,” said Rice.

• • •

brett kissel11Major Bob Music has signed singer-songwriter Brett Kissel. Kissel will join a roster that includes writers The Band Perry, Garth Brooks, Karyn Rochelle, JP Williams, Shane Stevens and others.
 
 

Deep South Entertainment Launches Tennessee East Artist Management

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Jason Michael Carroll

Jason Michael Carroll

North Carolina-based entertainment company Deep South Entertainment has opened Tennessee East Artist Management and has signed country singer Jason Michael Carroll.

Tennessee East is jointly owned by Dave Rose, president of Deep South Entertainment, and Kevin Frazier, owner of City Limits Saloon in Raleigh, N.C. and Wilmington, N.C. Frazier possesses more than 15 years experience and will serve as president to lead the management group’s operations.
“I’m honored to be working alongside two people who I have respected in this business for many years: Jason Michael Carroll as one of the greatest singer-songwriters to come out of North Carolina, and Dave Rose who has managed some of the most respected artists in the business,” says Frazier.
Tennessee East is preparing for Carroll’s first radio single release since 2011, “Close Enough,” to impact radio this spring. Carroll hits the road this summer with more than 75 tour dates on the books for 2013. Plans to releases a live DVD later this year are also in the works.

Gospel Great George Beverly Shea Passes

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George Beverly Shea111

George Beverly Shea


Gospel Music Hall of Fame member George Beverly Shea has died at the age of 104.
Known as “America’s beloved gospel singer” and/or “the first international singing star of the gospel world,” Shea passed away on Tuesday, April 16, in Asheville, N.C. For decades, he was the vocalist of the Billy Graham Crusades. This made him arguably the most widely heard gospel performer of all time. It is estimated that Shea has sung in front of more than 200 million people. He is notable for popularizing the standard “How Great Thou Art.” In addition, he co-wrote the gospel classics “I’d Rather Have Jesus” and “The Wonder of It All.”
A bass-baritone with chesty resonance and impeccable diction, Shea recorded more than 70 albums during his career. His 1966 LP Southland Favorites, recorded with the Anita Kerr Singers in Nashville, won a Grammy Award. In 2011, Shea was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy.
Born Feb. 1, 1909 as the son of a Methodist minister, Shea was a native of Ontario, Canada. As a young man, he worked for Mutual Life Insurance in New York City. His singing career began with radio stints in Manhattan and Philadelphia. In 1939, he became a staff announcer and singer in Chicago on WMBI, a station owned by the Moody Bible Institute.
He met Billy Graham there in 1943. Graham recruited Shea to perform on his radio show, “Songs in the Night” (1944-52). Shea was also the host of the ABC network religious show “Club Time” (1944-52). Later, he and Graham starred on the long-running weekly broadcasts “Hour of Decision” (1950-present).
He was featured at the first Billy Graham Crusade, staged in Charlotte, N.C. in 1947. In fact, Shea was initially billed above Graham, since he was the better-known of the two at the time. He also began his recording career in 1947.
George Beverly Shea was the author of several books, including Then Sings My Soul (1968), Songs That Lift the Heart (1972) and his 2004 memoir How Sweet the Sound. He is also the subject of the 2009 authorized biography George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story.
He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1978.
Shea is survived by wife Karlene, plus children Ronald and Elaine and several other descendents.