Weekly Register: House Of Discs

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(A Music City Adaptation. Based upon House Of Cards, Netflix’s new 13-episode Washington political drama.)
HOCEpisode One
Announcer: Although the thermometer says Music City’s winter has been quite temperate, a mid-winter funk has descended upon Nashville label boardrooms. Jobs could be at stake. As measured by the Nielsen SoundScan sales charts, strong consumer headwinds and chilling indifference have hit Music City marketers.
[Background music–hauntingly plays Barbara Mandrell singing “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool…”]
[Ruggedly handsome, middle-age label head] 
[Talks directly to the audience as way of introducing his character]
Scott Espodungerton: Yeah, there is a disturbing downward trend YTD on our sales charts, but so what? Country music is also enjoying a surge in cultural popularity. Nashville has its own self-titled TV show, the format boasts numerous arena-filling songslingers and is well represented on national award shows (including the upcoming Grammys). In addition, country is reaching foreign shores with new initiatives such as the CMA’s International Marketing Summit in Paris on March 1. Don’t chase the quick money, I always say. To dominate, real power is created by accumulating top artist brands—for the long term.
weeklygrid2-3-13[Knock on the door. Assistant shows in a stunning young female journalist, ambitious, determined and very frank…Chloe Barnes]
Chloe Barnes: Scott Espodungerton, you and I should become news buddies. If you start leaking inside news to me then in episodes 3 or 4 we can provide some love interest to move the plot of this series along. Your insider tips will make me look smart (I already have sexy covered…)
Scott Espodungerton: Chloe, point your readers to the Weekly Grid which shows country music is off almost 6% YTD and far deeper than the all-genre deficit of -2.5%. Then note that this week’s Top 75 Current Country chart shows sparse total sales of about 265k or 13.5% less than the same time last year. Also throw in some concerns about low streaming royalties.
Chloe: [Furiously tapping the information into her phone which she somehow uses to write her stories. Subtle swoon] Oh, that’s perfect.
Scott Espodungerton: Come over here. Take off your heels… [Scene fades quickly as label head confidently wraps his arm—quid pro quo—around Chloe’s waist]
weeklygrid1-27-13Episode Two
Announcer: Country sales analysts continue to show concern over country’s upcoming album release schedule for February and March. Debuts this week from Kris Kristofferson (No. 28) and Blue Sky Riders (No. 30) each failed to crack the 2k mark. A Tim McGraw effort from the artist’s new label Big Machine hit bins earlier this week and will be reflected in next week’s numbers. However, Curb released a McGraw project which after two weeks has registered a disappointing 6k units. Fortunately, last year’s Q1 list was also devoid of “register ringers” until the Lionel Richie release (week ended 4/1/12), so although the deficit will likely increase it may not plunge over the next two months.
Chloe Barnes: [Texting Scott Espodungerton] Need something new to feed the news machine. Whatcha got?
Scott Espodungerton: [Texting back] Check digital download tracks chart and YTD Albums with TEA. CU this evening?
Announcer: This morning a new reporter seemingly out of nowhere has the front page on MusicRow magazine and a feature GAC interview with Storme Warren to discuss her startling behind-the-scenes breaking sales updates. The town is buzzing about where this bright new reporter came from and how she could possibly have gotten “inside” so fast…
[MusicRow article]
Tracks Talk While Country Tops YTD TEA List
by Chloe Barnes
Announcer: [Reading out loud] “Despite naysayers pointing to the deficit in country music album sales (-5.9%) there are bright signs on the horizon,” says an unnamed, but high-placed, industry source. “One of the best measures of overall sales power is YTD TEA which aggregates albums (digital and physical plus tracks).”
Topping that chart this week is Nashville flag waver Taylor Swift with over 412k TEA units YTD. (Bruno Mars is No. 2 with about 321k units. Dualtone’s Lumineers are No. 4 with almost 300k TEA units.)
Country track downloads also continue to be a bright spot, up 7 percent YTD. Blake Shelton’s “Sure Be Cool…” leads with over 65k downloads followed by The Band Perry (No. 2; 60k), Gary Allan (No. 3; 57k), Hunter Hayes (No. 4; 49k) and FGL (No. 5; 46k).
Country and Nashville are also represented in top Grammy nominee categories—Record, Album and Best New Artist. Taylor Swift earned a nod for Record of the Year with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and Hunter Hayes is nominated for Best New Artist. Other artists with Nashville ties in the categories include Record—The Black Keys, Kelly Clarkson; Album—The Black Keys, Jack White; and New Artist—The Lumineers. Stay tuned next week as we investigate and analyze the upcoming Tim McGraw launch and more…
[Announcer fades, enter label head at his desk]
Scott Espodungerton: [Talks directly to the audience] Power in Music City is controlled by those who spend the most money. Yes, we are facing shrinking retail shelf space and margins, plus increased marketing costs, but we’re still at the top of the Music Row food chain. But those who play the game long term realize humility beats arrogance every time. It’s important to remember one’s friends on the way up, that’s what I always say…
[Scene fades with teaser for Episode 3 showing Scott Espodungerton taking a phone call from the New York boss to explain slumping sales…]

YouTube Debuts Country Now Channel

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cnbYouTube’s first channel exclusively featuring original country music content launched today (Feb. 6) at www.youtube.com/countrynow.
Country Now is home to the original series Country Download, Hear & Now, OMC! and I Luv My Country, which are created and produced in Nashville. Former Sony Music Nashville executive Butch Waugh is among those leading efforts for Country Now.
GreenLight Media & Marketing, a West Hollywood based company headed by longtime branded entertainment executive Dominic Sandifer, produces the Country Now channel. GreenLight is an independent agency within a network of sister companies that includes Red Light Management, ATO & TBD Records, and several major music festivals. Its clients and partners have included the GRAMMYs, AOL, YouTube, Pandora, Hyundai, adidas and American Express. Prior to launching GreenLight, Sandifer led the Entertainment & Integrated Brand Marketing Group for TBA Global, working with Chase, Nestle, Nike and McDonald’s. He also headed Universal Music Group/IGA’s Strategic Marketing team where he helped develop music-driven marketing strategies for Coca-Cola and XBox, and helped create tie-ins between Sting and AOL Broadband, and Black Eyed Peas and iTunes.
As a consultant for GreenLight, Waugh is working with labels, managers, and artists to provide content for Country Now. He explains, “Dominic looked to me for the lay of the land in Nashville, to make sure we were presenting country music in the right way, and also to share Country Now’s vision with Nashville.”
GreenLight tapped Randy Brewer’s Revolution Pictures to create the series I Luv My Country and Country Download, and Stokes Nielsen is producing and hosting Hear and Now. “What really impressed me about Dominic and the folks at GreenLight is they wanted to use Nashville based companies to create the channel,” adds Waugh. “I could see his energy for it and that he wanted to create something great.
“We talked about addressing the needs of country music fans,” Waugh continues. “If you look at it, there are consumers for labels, viewers for TV and YouTube, fans who buy tickets, and listeners for radio. They’re not always the same people, but they bleed over. So we looked for ways to expose country music and country artists to all these different types of country fans. We want to help connect the dots between the music and the fans and increase the awareness process. With Country Now, fans get to hear the song, see the video with the image of the artist, and discover the lifestyle behind the artist. It is especially valuable for new artists.”
While music programming will anchor the channel, Country Now will also feature lifestyle programs about fashion, sports, cars, southern cooking and culture. Additional series are expected in the near future, including live music programming.
More about the series:
cn Hear & Now, hosted by Stokes Nielsen of The Lost Trailers, is the YouTube version of Country radio. Premiering every Tuesday, artists provide a video intro to their new songs before pressing play on the full track. Screen images include album artwork, photos, and links to purchase the song.
OMC! (Oh My Country!) showcases the best country fashion with new episodes debuting every other Wednesday. It offers red carpet coverage by the “Twang Gang,” made up of Laura Bell Bundy, Brooke Engen, Tiffany Engen and Hugh Howser. It also includes style essentials from country stars, and the “Red-Neck Carpet.”
Country Download is a weekly show highlighting country music news, reviews, and recommendations from Emmy award winning personality Shane Tallant, WSIX afternoon drive personality The AntMan, and country radio and TV personality Samantha Stephens. New episodes will launch each Friday.
I Luv My Country is an animated series that features user-submitted country music videos combined with commentary from comedic hosts Jimmy Dale and Cleave, who appear exclusively on the channel. The premiere episode will debut soon with new content released each Monday.
“We’ve never had a country music dedicated channel on YouTube,” sums Waugh, “so I was pretty excited about having a destination for country music fans. I come from the Joe Galante school of thought, so I’m all for anything you can do to get country music artists in front of fans, especially in front of YouTube’s 22 million viewers.”

YouTube video

Artist Snapshots (2/6/13)

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On Jan. 29, Lady Antebellum and Stevie Nicks teamed up to film an episode of CMT Crossroads in Culver City, Calif. The episode will air later this year.

CMT's "Crossroads" Presents: Stevie Nicks and Lady Antebellum

Pictured (L-R): Van Toffler, President of Viacom’s Music and Logo Group; Charles Kelley; Brian Philips, President of CMT; Hillary Scott; Stevie Nicks; Bill Flanagan, EVP/Editorial Director, MTV Networks; Dave Haywood; John Hamlin, SVP of Music Events and Talent, CMT; Margaret Comeaux, Senior Director of Music and Event Production, CMT. Photo: Frank Micelotta

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Family trio The Henningsens made their Grand Ole Opry debut on Saturday (Feb. 2). Introduced by John Conlee, they performed their debut single, “American Beautiful,” and “To Believe,” another co-penned song from their forthcoming summer album debut, American Beautiful.

henningsens opry debut1

Pictured (L-R): Paul Barnabee, Senior VP, Marketing, Sony Music Nashville; Alicia Jones, Dennis Entertainment; Brian, Clara and Aaron Henningsen; Pete Fisher, Vice President, General Manager, Grand Ole Opry; John Dennis, Dennis Entertainment and, Lesly Tyson, VP, National Promotion, Arista Nashville. Photo: Chris Hollo/Grand Ole Opry

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Tunesmiths Jimbeau Hinson (Wrinkled Records) and JT Hodges (Show Dog-Universal) were all smiles Tuesday (Jan. 29) after Hinson performed for a packed house at Nashville music bar 3rd & Lindsley. The free concert supported Hinson’s recently released album, Strong Medicine.

jt hodges1

Pictured (L-R): JT Hodges and Jimbeau Hinson. Photo: Chris Somerville

 

 

BMI Nashville Welcomes New Director of Public Relations

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Natasha Powell

Natasha Powell


Natasha Powell has joined BMI Nashville‘s Corporate Communications & Marketing department as Director of Public Relations. In her new role, Powell will be responsible for corporate communications strategies for BMI, while also managing public and media relations efforts for key events in Nashville and regionally. She will report to Silvia Davi, VP and Head of Strategic Communications & Marketing at BMI’s New York City headquarters.
“We are thrilled to welcome Natasha to BMI’s Nashville office,” said Davi. “Her experience working at CMT and in Nashville combined with her passion and energy for this business make her the perfect candidate to lead public relations efforts for BMI in the region.”
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 is an active member of Women in Cable & Telecommunications (she was selected as a WICT Rising Leader in 2012) and is on the planning committee of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s recently launched Troubadour Society. Powell is also a member of the Big Brothers & Big Sisters Music Industry Task Force. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Public Relations in 2003.
She can be reached via email at npowell@bmi.com or via phone at 615.401.2728.
 

DisClaimer: Baby Acts Look Promising

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Jimbeau Hinson

Disc of the Day winner Jimbeau Hinson


The narrative this week belongs to the baby acts. I can’t remember any prior listening session when there were so many promising newcomers. Vying for attention this week were Chris Janson, The Henningsens, Danny Griego and Shelly Fraley. I’m giving the DisCovery Award to Texan Danny Griego, but it could just as easily have gone to any of the others.
Longtime Music Row tunesmith Jimbeau Hinson has recorded only sporadically over the years. His Strong Medicine CD and its “Distant Vision” track are ample evidence that he should do so more often. Give the man a Disc of the Day award.
DEBBIE COCHRAN/Honky Tonk Yourself Right Out of Heaven
Writer: Debbie Cochran, Producer: Kent Wells, Publisher: DMC Anniston, BMI
-It’s a fiddle and steel-soaked two-step. Country, country, country all the way.
THE HENNINGSENS/American Beautiful
Writers: Aaron Henningsen/Brian Henningsen/Clara Henningsen/Brett Beavers, Producer: Paul Worley, Publisher: none listed, BMI
-The chunky, choppy sonic bed contrasts with a smooth lead vocalist and a catchy, tuneful chorus. Solidly written and sung. I’m intrigued. Send more.
DANNY GRIEGO/I Wear My Own Kind of Hat
Writers: Merle Haggard, Producers: Danny Griego, Ed Seay, Publisher: Sony Tree, BMI
-This 1979 Haggard oldie is given a classy update with a rockin’ “outlaw” backbeat and a gritty, soulful, slightly raspy, baritone vocal performance. I dig it.
Discovery Award winner

DisCovery Award winner Danny Griego


KATIE ARMIGER/Playin’ With Fire
Writers: Katie Armiger, Ricky Davis, Micol Davis, Producer: Chad Carlson, Publishers: Purple Monkeys/Hits of Tom Lies/Go Ahead On/Dorvin and Bubba/Squeeze Me
-Armiger continues her winning ways with this bluesy attitude number that sounds as dangerous as a hissing sidewinder. The kid rocks.
CHRIS JANSON/Better I Don’t
Writers: none listed, Producer: Keith Stegall, Publishers: none listed
-It’s a snappy country rocker with a well written lyric about a reformed wild man who knows better than to tempt fate with booze or babes. Promising.
KENNY CHESNEY/Pirate Flag
Writers: Ross Copperman, David Lee Murphy, Producers: Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney, Publishers: EMI Blackwood/Ross Copperman/4 Tunes/Old Desperados/N2D; BMI/ASCAP
-He kicks normal living aside for “a pirate flag and an island girl.” In other words, familiar Chesney territory, and extremely well produced.
SHELLY FRALEY/Wastin’ Time
Writer: Waylon Jennings, Producer: Ian Fitchuk, Publisher: none listed
-The deep echo-chamber effect is ear catching. She sings in a drowsy, world-weary sigh. The ballad’s love-is-gone lyric and wafting melody are both terrific. Extremely inventive and well worth your spins.
JIMBEAU HINSON/Distant Vision
Writers: Jimbeau Hinson, Producer: Kim Tribble, Publisher: American Romance; ASCAP
-Veteran hit songwriter Hinson really packed ‘em in at his album-release party last week. If you want to hear what all the excitement was about, check out this free download on the Wrinkled Records website. It’s a textbook example of blue-eyed soul singing, gospel-tinged lyric writing and shoulder-shaking-rhythm production. The CD is titled Strong Medicine. You need it in your life.
TYLER & THE TRIBE/Heaven and Hell
Writers: none listed, Producer: none listed, Publisher: none listed
-The band plays okay, in a quirky kinda way, but is poorly mixed. Also, the too-wordy songwriting could use some tightening up.
B.J. THOMAS & STEVE TYRELL/Rock and Roll Lullaby
Writers: Barry Mann/Cynthia Well, Producer: Kyle Lehning, Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Summerhill, BMI
-The upcoming The Living Room Sessions CD by B.J. Thomas features many of his classic hits reworked as duets with the likes of Keb Mo, Vince Gill, Richard Marx and Lyle Lovett. The noteworthy thing about this track is that Tyrell produced Thomas’s 1972 original version. He proves to be a worthy vocalist, although nowhere near the still-thrilling pipes of the iconic star. The label, Wrinkled, is off to a splendid start with consistently excellent platters from Buffy Lawson, Etta Britt, Jimbeau Hinson and Thomas. It’s great to know there’s still a company in town that’s all about the music.

Music City Center To Hold Grand Opening May 19-20

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MusicCityCenter1The grand opening for Nashville’s Music City Center will take place on May 19 and 20. The grand opening will include a free open house for the community on both days and will feature live, local music as well as a free street party and outdoor concert on May 20.
Mayor Karl Dean will present his State of Metro address at the Music City Center at 10 a.m. on May 20.
“I continue to be impressed by the size and beauty of the Music City Center and encourage Nashvillians to see it for themselves during the grand opening,” Dean said. “There’s no doubt we are a city with momentum, and with the opening of the Music City Center in May, even more tourists and conventioneers will get to see that first hand. We know it’s not going to be the biggest convention facility in the country, but I’m absolutely certain it will be the best.”
Major features in the $585 million facility include a public art collection comprised of more than 80 pieces and the 57,500 square feet Grand Ballroom, which seats 6,000 people. The Music City Center includes 1.2 million square feet of public space and a 900,000 square-foot garage (that includes 1,800 parking spaces).
 

MusicRowRecess: Sophia Grace & Rosie Sing Taylor Swift

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During a recent episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show, charming entertainers (and cousins) Sophia Grace & Rosie performed a version of Taylor Swift‘s “I Knew You Were Trouble” from the singer’s latest album, Red. Sophia Grace (the 9-year-old brunette) sang the lead vocals while Rosie (the 6-year-old blonde) contributed dance moves.
The girls have been correspondents during the Grammy Awards and even have a skit titled “Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie,” where they interview various celebrities.

 Watch a clip from the episode

http://youtu.be/GRm7AesY8aM

BMLG Enters Deal With Beasley Broadcast Group

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Beasley_BMLG_LogosBeasley Broadcast Group and Big Machine Label Group have reached an agreement to share certain over-the-air broadcast and digital revenue related to the use of Big Machine’s music.
Through this agreement, Beasley will share a percentage of its terrestrial revenues with Big Machine Label Group, and its artists including Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Reba. Big Machine has agreed to an innovative approach to allow digital simulcasts of the over-the-air signals by Beasley Broadcast to scale affordably to support the growth of Beasley’s digital platform.
Since BMLG announced a similar and groundbreaking deal with Clear Channel last June, the model has been used to forge agreements between BMLG and Entercom, as well as Clear Channel and labels including rpm entertainment, Glassnote Entertainment Group, Naxos and DashGo. The deals mark the first time in history that artists have been paid performance royalties for radio broadcasts. In turn, the artists and labels have agreed to scale digital royalties to a predictable or lesser amount.

Country On Television

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bshelton Blake Shelton and Reba are teaming up again. Shelton, a coach on NBC’s The Voice, will appear on an upcoming episode of Reba’s current ABC television sitcom, Malibu Country, on March 1. Shelton will play Reba’s character’s brother in the clip.
The cast also includes Lily Tomlin portraying Reba’s mother and Sara Rue as Reba’s neighbor Kim.

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HillaryScott1Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is set to appear on  The Voice as a mentor. However, she won’t be assisting coach Blake Shelton‘s team–instead, she will be joining with Adam Levine.
“I was so excited to join Adam for a couple days on The Voice,” Scott told Access Hollywood. “It’s an honor to mentor his team…he’s going to have some tough choices to make!”

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Hunter HayesHunter Hayes will get plenty of television coverage this week.
He is set to appear on Live from the MTV Newsroom: Hunter Hayes at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday (Feb. 5). On Wednesday (Feb. 6), Hayes will perform on The View at 11 a.m. ET and on Thursday (Feb. 7), fans can watch the multi-talented musician on GAC’s Headline Country at 3 p.m. ET and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:35 p.m. ET.
He will wrap the week with an appearance Friday (Feb. 8) on Access Hollywood Live before heading to the Grammy® Awards on Sunday (Feb. 10), where he is nominated for Best New Artist, Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance for “Wanted.”
 

Industry Ink (2/5/13)

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axs ticketing1Staples Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Club Nokia have transitioned to AXS Ticketing from Ticketmaster. Since launching in August 2011, AEG has installed the new platform in 24 venues in less than 18 months. Beyonce‘s June 26 concert at Staples Center will be the first event in the downtown Los Angeles venue to be offered exclusively through the AXS.com platform.
“With the addition of AEG’s largest and most iconic venue to date – Staples Center – the ticketing platform now powers the No. 1 arenas in both North America and the United Kingdom [London’s 02 Arena], with true momentum forward,” said Tom Andrus, AXS Digital SVP & GM. “AXS is more than just ticketing and was created as a complete platform to redefine the live event experience by empowering venues across every phase of an event – from event discovery to ticketing to in-venue engagement and beyond.”

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SOURCE–an organization of women executives in Nashville’s music industry–held its monthly members’ luncheon at ASCAP on Jan. 24. The group welcomed new members Denise M. Stevens (Loeb & Loeb), JoAnn Berry (Berry Management Group) and Jensen Arrowsmith (Sweet Talk Publicity).

SOURCE1

Pictured (L to R): Debbie Carroll (SOURCE Pres. & Exec Dir. Music Cares), Denise M. Stevens, JoAnn Berry, Jensen Arrowsmith and Lainie Allbee (Dir. SOURCE Membership & Martin Allbee & Associates).

• • •

shamrock media group11Shamrock Media Group has added Christian radio promoters James Riley and Shane Boyd, who will serve as VP of National Promotions and Director of National Promotions, respectively. They will join AC/Soft AC National Promotions Manager Alan Garrett and Rhythmic Promotions Manager Mike Laxton under the direction of founder and President Chris Chicago.
In addition, Shamrock has expanded production and music video services, hiring Rhyan Shirley as Video Promotions Manager and Jeff Savage (tobyMac, Jars of Clay, dcTalk) as Creative Director. Savage will provide in-house mixing and production services to Shamrock’s growing stable of artists and labels.
Founded in 2005, Shamrock Media Group provides radio and video promotion for Christian artists in nearly every format, including AC, Hot AC/CHR, Soft AC/INSP, Rock, Rhythmic and Triple A.