Bob Romeo
Academy of Country Music CEO Bob Romeo will be honored with the 2013 CRS President’s Award. The presentation will take place during the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. CT in the Nashville Convention Center Ballroom.
The President’s Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the marketing, production, growth and development of the Country Radio Seminar and the multiple services that Country Radio Broadcasters provides to the Country radio and music communities.
Romeo’s 30 year career began in talent buying and concert promotion. He owns and operates Romeo Entertainment Group, an award-winning full-service talent buying agency that has worked with many country music superstars including Kenny Chesney. His accolades include two ACM Awards for Talent Buyer/Promoter of the Year and the CMA Talent Buyer/SRO Award. He has served as CEO for the Academy of Country Music for nearly 10 years, where his television producing credits include the Academy of Country Music Awards, and numerous ACM television concert specials.
“Bob Romeo truly represents the spirit of the President’s Award,” said CRS President Mike Culotta. “As well as having a great deal of passion for the music, he has proven himself to be a great friend to Country radio in general and the Country Radio Seminar in particular. It’s an honor to announce him as our 2013 President’s Award recipient.”
As previously announced, the 2013 Country Radio Hall of Fame inductees are Gaylon Christie in the Radio category, and Dr. Don Carpenter, Crook & Chase, Eddie Edwards and Bill “Dex” Poindexter in the On-Air category.
The Country Radio Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony unofficially kicks off Country Radio Seminar each year. CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27-March 1, 2013. For information about Hall of Fame Tickets, contact the CRS offices at 615-327-4487.
Artists Announced For Sixth Annual Jeffrey Steele and Friends
/by Jessica NicholsonJeffrey Steele
Jeffrey Steele will welcome Billy Ray Cyrus, Gloriana, Colt Ford, Chris Janson, The Suggah Pies and LoCash Cowboys, along with additional unannounced artists, for the sixth annual Jeffrey Steele and Friends benefit concert. The event will raise funds for the Alex LeVasseur Memorial Fund for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
The event, held in memory of Steele’s late son Alex LeVasseur, will be held on Tuesday, March 12, at the Franklin Theatre (419 Main Street, Franklin, Tenn.) beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A limited number of $1,000 VIP balcony seating packages are available, which include four seats and a VIP reception from 5:30-6:30 p.m., with wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres from Carrabba’s Italian Grill. General admission tickets are available for $75 and $100. The Franklin Threatre will have food and beverages on sale for attendees.
The event also features a live auction; items include an Academy of Country Music ticket package, an autographed guitar from Kenny Chesney and additional items.
For tickets and information, visit www.cfmt.org/attend.
Miranda Lambert Teams with Pedigree Brand
/by Jessica Nicholson“I have worked hard to help homeless dogs and to raise money for the shelters that support them tirelessly,” says Lambert, who is the owner of six adopted dogs. “These shelters are seeing a big difference in their dogs’ well-being, helping them increase their chances of finding a home.”
Now they are looking for the next neighborhood that will benefit from the Pedigree Feeding Project. From now until the end of February, visit Facebook.com/Pedigree to nominate a community.
Watch Miranda’s video for The Pedigree Feeding Project below.
http://youtu.be/diae7iOIaiw
Romeo To Receive CRS President's Award
/by Sarah SkatesBob Romeo
Academy of Country Music CEO Bob Romeo will be honored with the 2013 CRS President’s Award. The presentation will take place during the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. CT in the Nashville Convention Center Ballroom.
The President’s Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the marketing, production, growth and development of the Country Radio Seminar and the multiple services that Country Radio Broadcasters provides to the Country radio and music communities.
Romeo’s 30 year career began in talent buying and concert promotion. He owns and operates Romeo Entertainment Group, an award-winning full-service talent buying agency that has worked with many country music superstars including Kenny Chesney. His accolades include two ACM Awards for Talent Buyer/Promoter of the Year and the CMA Talent Buyer/SRO Award. He has served as CEO for the Academy of Country Music for nearly 10 years, where his television producing credits include the Academy of Country Music Awards, and numerous ACM television concert specials.
“Bob Romeo truly represents the spirit of the President’s Award,” said CRS President Mike Culotta. “As well as having a great deal of passion for the music, he has proven himself to be a great friend to Country radio in general and the Country Radio Seminar in particular. It’s an honor to announce him as our 2013 President’s Award recipient.”
As previously announced, the 2013 Country Radio Hall of Fame inductees are Gaylon Christie in the Radio category, and Dr. Don Carpenter, Crook & Chase, Eddie Edwards and Bill “Dex” Poindexter in the On-Air category.
The Country Radio Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony unofficially kicks off Country Radio Seminar each year. CRS 2013 will be held Feb. 27-March 1, 2013. For information about Hall of Fame Tickets, contact the CRS offices at 615-327-4487.
Chesney To Release First Single From Next Album
/by Sarah SkatesHis No Shoes Nation tour kicks off March 16 in Tampa, Fla. with tourmates Eric Church, Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves, as well as Zac Brown Band on select dates.
Of “Pirate Flag,” Chesney explains: “No matter where you are, no matter how you live, there is that part of you that yearns to be free, to say, ‘What the hell…’ and just do what you want to do! That’s the beauty of this song: You can fly your pirate flag in your head, tack it up behind your computer at work, tattoo it under your skin – and no one has to know. Except you and your friends, the people who really matter!”
Tim McGraw to Tape ACM TV Special
/by Eric T. ParkerTim McGraw
The Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions have announced the taping of an all-star concert special, ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night, on April 8 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where the ACM Awards will air the day prior (April 7).
The two-hour special, to be broadcast at a later date on CBS, will feature handpicked artists and friends of the fifteen time ACM Award winner across country, pop, and rock genres in addition to a few surprise special guests from the worlds of film and television.
“I hope I can help turn the fans on to some of the best live music that will be on the road this summer and really put a spotlight on the ones I know they won’t want to miss,” said McGraw. “I also feel a responsibility to help raise some money and awareness for ACM Lifting Lives. They supported me last summer with our HomeFront program and helped me give away a house to a Veteran in need in every market we played in, so I’m excited to get some of my friends together and repay the favor.”
Designed to kick off the 2013 touring season, all proceeds of the show will benefit ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy.
Tickets will be available to ACM Professional members and A-List Members first, on Wednesday, Jan. 23. General public tickets will be available Friday, Jan. 25 at the ACM’s official website.
Performers Announced for Taste of Country Music Festival
/by Caitlin RantalaTicket packages begin at just $120 and afford fans three days of live music in a picturesque locale less than two hours from New York City. Early bird discounted tickets will be available for purchase beginning Friday, Feb. 1 at 10 AM/ET. VIP ticket options, mountainside camping, resort accommodations and more are available online.
“TasteofCountry.com and our partners at Chet-5 Festivals are delighted to bring the Northeast’s first large-scale multi-day country music festival to Hunter Mountain,” shared Dhruv Prasad, Executive VP, Live Events of Townsquare Media Group. “We are focused on the audience experience – delivering our folks the artists and music they love in a beautiful setting that delivers world-class resort and camping accommodations, outdoor recreation and top-notch food and beverage service.”
“We are very excited about our new partnership with the Townsquare Media Group,” said Gary Chetkof, founder of the Mountain Jam Music Festival. “Combining our experience producing the Mountain Jam Music Festival along with Townsquare Media Group’s assets makes for a powerful partnership that will produce a world-class country music event for many years to come.”
More information can be found online by visiting www.tasteofcountryfestival.com.
Kobalt Debuts Label Services Division
/by Sarah Skates
Publishing giant Kobalt has officially launched a label services division. One of the first noteworthy releases will be Push the Sky Away, the fifteenth studio album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Releases from the company’s Nashville office could follow.
Kobalt Label Services (KLS) is designed to be a full-service solution for releasing and marketing records while letting artists maintain ownership of the masters. The division is providing a full spectrum of services including global distribution via digital retail, D2C, physical retail and subscription services, as well as marketing and promotion, advanced data analytics and royalty tracking, and synch licensing.
KLS worked closely with Cave and his management on all aspects of the release, which will be available Feb. 18 via KLS and Cave’s Bad Seed Ltd. Push the Sky Away will be released on CD, Limited CD-DVD, vinyl and digital formats.
“We look forward to unveiling a wide range of promotional activity in support of the release this year,” said Paul Hitchman, MD of Kobalt Label Services.
Two tracks from the album, “We No Who U R” and “Jubilee Street,” are available via all digital retailers, and album pre-orders are being accepted at nickcave.com.
As previously reported, BMG Rights Management is among the other major publishing companies offering label services.
Industry Pics (1/23/13)
/by Jessica NicholsonChris Janson visited the CMA offices on Jan. 22 to visit with staff and perform his new single, “Better I Don’t.”
Pictured (L-R): CMA Senior Coordinator of Member Relations & Services, Betsy Walker; Bigger Picture Group Executive Vice President and General Manager, Bob Cahill; Bigger Picture Group President, Michael Powers; Janson’s wife, Kelly Lynn; Janson; CMA Senior Manager of Membership & Balloting, Brandi Simms; CMA Chief Executive Officer, Steve Moore; and CMA Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Sheri Warnke.
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Hunter Hayes celebrated the double-platinum success of his single, “Wanted,” after a performance onstage at Ryman at the Opry.
Pictured (L-R): Dan Huff-Producer, John Esposito-President & CEO WMN, Betsy McHugh-Martingale Ent, Ansel Davis-Martingale Ent, Hunter Hayes, Scott Hendricks-Sr. VP A&R WMN, Peter Strickland-Sr. VP Sales & Marketing WMN, Justin Luffman-VP Brand Management, Chris Stacey-Sr. VP Promotion WMN
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Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Robert Filhart, Lisa Carver, John Martin, Jeffrey James, Evyn Mustoe, Matthew Perryman Jones, Austin Jenckes (front), and Dinner and a Suit’s Jonathan Capeci, Joey Beretta and Anthony Genca
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Leadership Music alumni teamed with Hands on Nashville (and some help from friends in SOLID) for their MLK Day of Service on Monday, January 21st. Working in two teams, alums painted Nashville firehouses #13 and #23.
Pictured with Mayor Karl Dean (center), Leadership Music Class of 2010, are (L-R): Tinti Moffat (kneeling), Denise Stiff Sheehan, Leadership Music Executive Director Debbie Linn, Dean, Heather McBee, Cameo Carlson, Justin Levenson, Fire station #23 Captain Caruthers, Tamara Johnson-George and Nashville Assistant Fire Chief Steve Holt. Back Row (L-R): Darin Lashinsky, Brian Jones, Erika Wollam-Nichols and Jamie Cheek. Photo Credit: Andrea Hallgren
Weekly Register: Chilly Sales Set To Warm Up
/by bossrossIt’s not so much the “weather,” as “whether or not” there’s much new product to draw buyers online or into stores. Katie Armiger provided a bright spot this week however, with her debut effort entering the Current Country list at No. 7 touting an impressive 12k in units (14% digital). But still, the entire Top 75 Country albums chart was shy of 238k, probably a new all-time low on that gauge. In fact, Taylor Swift’s Red (No. 1; 41k) was the only title able to go north of 20k units! FGL (No. 2; 18k), Music of Nashville sndtrk (No. 3; 15k), Little Big Town (No. 4; 15k) and Jason Aldean (No. 5; 14k) filled out the Top 5.
Fortunately there are a few exciting releases on our radar over the coming weeks. For example, next week bins will be stuffed with new music from Randy Houser, Gary Allan and Tim McGraw (Curb)…a few weeks later Faith’s husband will have a second title enter the charts from his new label, Big Machine (2/5). I’m also on pins and needles waiting to hear the new effort from trio Blue Sky Riders (Kenny Loggins, Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman). Complete upcoming releases here.
Hit Tracks
Speaking of digital tracks, there’s a comprehensive new report out this week from Columbia University called Copy Culture that reveals file sharing attitudes and behavior in the US and Germany. Read about it here, or see a quick infographic here.
Stay tuned for more Weekly Register, next week…
Songwriters Embark on Inaugural Seaside Retreat
/by Eric T. ParkerPictured (L-R): Bob DiPiero, Alex Heddle (Creative Dir. Love Monkey Music/Tom-Leis Music), Denny Carr (Dir.of A&R Roots Three Music), Matt Turner (Creative Mgr. ole), Emily Peacock (Office Mgr. Love Monkey Music/Tom-Leis), Micol Davis, Arthur Buenahora (General Mgr of ole), Ricky Davis, Leslie T. DiPiero (Partner of Tom-Leis), Matt Nolen, Brandon Kinney, Jeff Coplan. Center: Modica Market’s Famous Banana Pudding. (Not pictured Ryan Tyndell)
Writers and staff from Music Row publishing companies Sony/ATV, Love Monkey Music, Tom-Leis Music, ole and Roots Three Music gathered in Seaside, Fla. for the inaugural Seaside Songwriter Retreat, held January 16-20.
The annual retreat plans on inviting additional publishers each year to write songs, and enjoy seafood and the sun.