Decosimo Nashville Adds Larry Felts

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Larry Felts

Larry Felts, CPA, has joined the Nashville office of Decosimo as assurance principal. He has more than 30 years of accounting and management experience, including serving as an office managing principal with two Big Four international accounting firms.

“Adding Larry supports our firm’s strategic initiative for growth in our current markets,” said Nick Decosimo, managing principal of Decosimo. “His leadership strengths and strong relationships across many of our firm’s industry focus areas like manufacturing and distribution, healthcare and financial services groups will be critical to our firm as we grow in Nashville and beyond.”

Felts’ experience with both public and private company clients extends into industries such as manufacturing and distribution, higher education, financial services, retail, government and technology. His significant experience with financial institutions has ranged from major public clients to many Tennessee community banks, credit unions and savings banks. He has extensive experience in SEC services, including initial and secondary public offerings, periodic reporting, and advisory services for client and audit committees. He is also experienced in performing employee benefit plan audits.

Felts is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA), where he has served on the Financial Institutions and Sports and Entertainment Committees.

With the addition of Felts, Decosimo has 38 active principals across the firm’s nine locations in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio and the Cayman Islands. Decosimo is a nationally recognized firm, perennially ranked by Accounting Today as a Top 100 accounting and business advisory services firm. Additionally, Decosimo is an independent firm associated with Moore Stephens International Limited to provide clients with access to a depth of resources and expertise comparable to Big Four accounting firms.

Swift Among Highest-Paid Women In Music

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Taylor Swift is the second highest paid woman in music according to the latest report from Forbes. She grossed $57 million between May 2011 and May 2012, and is the only country star on the top 10 list.

Significantly contributing to Swift’s coffers were her tour, which reportedly raked in about $1 million per night before expenses, and major marketing partnerships with CoverGirl and Sony.

Barely edging out Swift for first place is Britney Spears with $58 million, followed by Rihanna in third place with $53 million. Touring, endorsements, and fragrances boosted their income.

See the complete list and methodology here.

Black Keys Drummer to Host SiriusXM Series

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Patrick Carney

SiriusXM Radio announced Patrick Carney, drummer of The Black Keys, as host of a new series featuring a wide range of independent music from his personal collection.

The show, titled Serious Boredom, premieres on SiriusXM channel 35 tonight (Dec. 20) at 8:00 p.m. ET with new episodes debuting the first Thursday of every month beginning in January 2013.

“When an influential artist like Patrick Carney gets behind the mic and invites listeners for an inside look into his inspirations and personal favorites, it’s a special, must-hear moment for our subscribers,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM, via a release. “And we know Patrick’s Serious Boredom will be anything but.”

During the first broadcast, Carney will play music by artists like Pavement, Guided By Voices and Yo La Tengo as well as a new duet by Adam Green and Binki Shapiro.

After each broadcast, Serious Boredom will be available on SiriusXM On Demand for subscribers via Internet Radio App or online at siriusxm.com.

Nashville’s Filmworkers Edits Faith Hill’s Video

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Nashville’s Filmworkers provided editorial, color grading and other post-production services for “American Heart,” the new music video from Faith Hill. Film and television editor Adam Little edited the video, which includes a dance duet between Hill and 10-year-old sensation T.J. Jones. Working simultaneously with Little, colorist Jimmy Cadenas performed color grading, applying the final polish to the video’s rich, playful, All-American look.

Directed by Trey Fanjoy, the video weaves performance imagery with dance sequences in which Hill and young T.J. Jones perform on a stage in front of a giant American flag made of flashing red, white and blue lights. A large projection screen, also positioned behind the dancers, displays images of American cities, people and icons. “American Heart” is the first single from Faith Hill’s forthcoming album of the same name.

Fanjoy notes that editing and grading the video at the same facility offered both practical and artistic advantages. Among other things, Cadenas’ grades could be immediately applied to Little’s cuts. “Raw footage from digital cameras has a very flat look,” she says via a release. “Although this allows for great color flexibility in grading the final video, showing rough cuts to clients with milky, non-color-corrected footage is not optimal. In doing the post production at Filmworkers, we were able to work simultaneously on different parts of the process. As we were editing with Adam, we were color grading the rough cuts with Jimmy. This way each version was always presented to the artist with stunning color.”

Alive at the Bluebird 20th Anniversary

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January 2013 marks the 20th anniversary of Alive At The Bluebird, a fundraising concert series that helps Alive Hospice provide hospice care and grief support in Middle Tennessee. More than 80 songwriters are joining in again this year at The Bluebird Café.

The series kicks off Jan. 2 at 9 p.m. with Lionel Cartwright, Lari White and Tom Douglas. Reservations will become available Dec. 26 online at www.bluebirdcafe.com. Others who have signed on to participate during the month of January include Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Kim Carnes, Matraca Berg, Charles Esten, Lori McKenna, Jonathan Edwards, Marc Beeson and Bob DiPiero, just to name a few.

This concert series has raised more than $470,000 for hospice care and grief support services over the years.

Artist Updates (12/20/2012)

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Brad Paisley will star in a PSA that will debut tonight (Dec. 20) during the ABC Television Network’s holiday special CMA Country Christmas. The PSA will help raise awareness of the Country Music Association’s Keep The Music Playing initiative, putting the spotlight on the importance of music education.

The spot features footage of Paisley rehearsing with two talented Nashville student musicians–Nashville School of the Arts student Marcus Wanner and Hume-Fogg Magnet High School student Joey Santoro.

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Florida Georgia Line will appear on NBC’s The Better Show today (Dec. 20) at 11:00 a.m. CT. The spot will feature FGL in an interview on-campus at their alma mater, Nashville’s Belmont University.

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Jake Owen wrapped up his first headlining tour, CMT On Tour with Jake Owen: The Summer Never Ends 2012, with a sold-out annual foundation concert in Owen’s hometown of Vero Beach, Fla. on Saturday (Dec. 15).

Proceeds from the concert went to the Jake Owen Foundation, which supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and youth organizations in Indian River County, Fla. Over 6,200 fans attended the concert, helping to raise over $125,000 for the charities.

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Photo (L-R): Lauren Lane, Habitat for Humanity, Josh Turner, Amelia Griswould, Sarah Gaffney, CMT One Country

Josh Turner made a special holiday delivery with CMT One Country and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville by delivering handmade wreaths from Barefoot Mountain Farms to several Nashville families.

“The holidays have always been about giving back for me and my family,” explains Turner via a release.  “I really enjoyed being able to visit with these families.  I applaud the work that Habitat and CMT One Country are doing for the folks in our community.”

 

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Matt Stillwell will appear on Fox & Friends on Monday (Dec. 24), performing his Christmas single, “Our Christmas.”

 

Journalist, Author Martha Hume Passes

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Noted music journalist and author Martha Hume died in her sleep at home in Nashville on Monday night, December 17.

The former managing editor of Country Music magazine was the author of the books You’re So Cold I’m Turnin’ Blue: Martha Hume’s Guide to the Greatest in Country Music (1982) and Kenny Rogers: Gambler, Dreamer, Lover (1980). Hume was the wife of CMT columnist Chet Flippo.

Born in 1947, she grew up in Stearns, Kentucky, a company-owned, coal-mining town. Her first journalism experience was writing for the McCreary County Record, a weekly newspaper owned by her parents. She graduated from the University of Kentucky, then obtained a Master’s Degree in Journalism at the University of Texas in 1974.

Martha Hume and Chet Flippo initially rose to prominence as music journalists in New York. He became a reporter for Rolling Stone. She became managing editor at Country Music. By the early 1980s, she had also written for Texas Monthly, The Chicago Sun-Times, US magazine, McCall’s, Rolling Stone and more. She was the pop-music columnist for The New York Daily News.

After relocating to Nashville, she became the editor for several educational publications based in Knoxville. Martha Hume was the first writer to reveal the story of Hank Williams “lost” daughter, Jett Williams. She also wrote liner notes for recordings, including 1999’s Intimate Portrait: Women of Country. In later years, she worked for agencies combating substance abuse.

It was her wish to be cremated. Funeral and/or memorial services have not been announced.

Guitar Center’s Singer-Songwriter Contest–Four Days Left To Enter

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There are four days left to enter Guitar Center’s Singer-Songwriter Contest, a nationwide search for the next great undiscovered singer-songwriter. Dec. 23 is the last day for unsigned singer-songwriters across the United States to submit an original live music performance video at www.guitarcenter.com/songwriter.

Submissions will be ranked through the use of WHOOZNXT, a leading digital music company that tracks an artist’s fan growth across top social networks. All artists who enter will be ranked based on their online fan growth during the first round. In the second round, the top-ranked 140 artists will be reviewed by a panel of judges (including producer John Shanks), who will handpick 10 finalists. The finalists will perform live at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, where one winner will be chosen.

The contest was first introduced last fall, receiving over 17,000 submissions. The program has quickly become a viable platform for aspiring songwriters to achieve opportunities for a successful career.

The winner will receive multiple prizes, including the chance to record a 4-song EP with Shanks, a live performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, the chance to design his or her own electric or bass guitar courtesy of Fender, $10,000 cash, a feature in American Songwriter Magazine, recording studio time at Converse Rubber Tracks Studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., worldwide digital music distribution from TuneCore and gear from Martin, Bose, Korg, Zoom, Shure, D’Addario, TC-Helicon and Converse.

“Last season was such a positive experience that I am thrilled to be back for another round of Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter,” says Shanks. “Working with up-and-coming artists to help them hone their sound and refine their style is what I love to do, and this program has laid out the perfect platform to allow me to do just that.”

For contest rules, click here.

* Winner must be 21 or older to qualify for a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

YouTube video

Zac Brown Inks Admin Agreement

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Reach Music Publishing has entered a global administration, synch licensing, and creative support agreement with Zac Brown, other members of the Zac Brown Band and artists affiliated with the Southern Ground Label.

Under the terms of the deal, Reach Music will provide back-office functions for the Band’s entire catalog and affiliated Southern Ground Artists including Nic Cowan, Sonia Leigh and Levi Lowrey.

Michael Closter founded the Burbank, Calif. publishing and administration company in 1993. The independent company, which maintains catalogs for additional artists including John Mayer, was honored as AIMP’s Publisher of the Year during a ceremony held in Los Angeles last week (12/13).

For more information, visit www.reachmusic.com

Reach Music Staff. Pictured (L-R) Top: Michael Cusimano, Shilpa Das, Nancy Matalon, Scott Rubin, Megan Grosz. Bottom: Joe Mondry, Michael Closter, Mike Phegley, Jean Montiel

Yamaha’s Nashville Headquarters Launches Label

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Chris Gero, Founder of Yamaha Entertainment Group.

Yamaha Corporation of America has been securing strategic branding partnerships with talent for the past 10 years from its headquarters on Main Street in Franklin, Tenn. This year, Chris Gero’s artist relations offices founded a new division called Yamaha Entertainment Group (YEG).

Traditionally, Gero maintains additional offices in New York, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles, which oversees marketing partnerships with over 3,500 North American acts including Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum’s Dave Haywood, Michael W. Smith, and Michael McDonald. It now offers recording and video production studios to help artists record, produce, and market their original content.

MusicRow spoke exclusively with Gero about founding the new initiative.

“The current state of the music industry is evolving,” said Gero. “As a method of delivering our brand, we started producing videos, concerts, and promotional campaigns including websites for artists. As a result, a shift took place where talent was approaching us to provide these services and partnerships and we were turning away too many opportunities.

“YEG is a significant step forward for us. Our aim is to release five titles a year to have small successes. We have the leverage to keep the costs down and a much higher equity return to the artist. Every deal is different and right now, A&R is under my lead along with the artist services, marketing, film and record production.”

Yamaha’s 18-year partnership with Elton John not only led to the department overseeing the production and direction of John’s Million Dollar Piano Live DVD from Las Vegas, but also led YEG to its first signing of Leogun, a 3-piece rock band associated with the musical icon’s management company.

“We recorded Leogun in Nashville,” said Gero. “We have already released an EP, with a full-length album expected in the spring of 2013.” Following that will be a release by jazz bass player Nathan East, a founding member of Fourplay and collaborator with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock.

“One end of the spectrum is searching for emerging artists or established artists without a record deal. Another part is a for-hire service, placing product for strategic partnerships and branding opportunities. I’m looking at every possible partnering opportunity that upholds what Yamaha represents.

“Warner’s [Alternative Distribution Alliance] will be our distribution partner for the next three years,” continued Gero. “I outsource publishing and marketing and promotion, indicative of that genre, to work each specific record.

“We have one of the most recognizable brand names on the planet,” he added. “We have an international reach because we’re a global corporation. Yamaha is a very patient company. We’re a big company and we’re not afraid to take these chances. We’re strong enough to be isolated, but we’re in an age where we have to partner with a bunch of other people and help support each other.”

For more information on the company, click here.