ole President Exits Under Restructuring

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ole Chairman and CEO Robert Ott

ole Chairman and CEO Robert Ott announced the company will not renew its contract with current President Michael McCarty, which terminates at the end of this year, and will eliminate the position.

Other changes to the company’s executive structure include the addition of a new position, Chief Operating Officer, and the recent addition of VP Finance & Administration. According to ole, these changes will strengthen the operational functions of the company given its rapid growth. In its ninth year of operations, ole recently added staff in Creative, Acquisitions, Administration and Media, and employs approximately 45 people in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and Nashville.

“ole has experienced 50% growth in the last twelve months. As a result, we have a need to continuously strengthen our operational capacity,” says Ott. “ole has nearly a quarter of its staff dedicated to the creative function and remains highly committed to growth in this area. I wish outgoing President Michael McCarty every success in his endeavors and I thank him for his contributions to ole.”

A-Blake Records Hires David Newmark

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David Newmark

A-Blake Records, home to flagship artist Jason Cassidy, has tapped David Newmark to serve as VP of Promotion and Acquisitions. He will work to strengthen the Texas label’s presence in Nashville, including securing and managing a radio promotion staff and signing new talent.

Newmark comes to ABR from CO5 Music where he formed and supervised a radio promo team as VP of Country Promotion. A 35-year promotion veteran, Newmark has enjoyed long tenures at major labels including Columbia, Epic, RCA and DreamWorks.

Cassidy scored a No. 1 on the Texas Regional chart with “Honky Tonk Heaven” which he followed with two Top 10’s, “What If,” and current single, “Ride of Your Life.” His next single, “Blame It On Waylon,” will be out early next year.

ABR was founded in 2011 in Deer Park, Texas by business owner Blake Barnes and entertainment attorney Daniel Sanders. They hired Dave Darus, who has worked with Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5, Elton John and the Bee Gees, as President in August 2011.

Darus said, “We are excited and proud to have an executive of such caliber as David Newmark join our team. His relationships and expertise in the country music industry are second to none and his experience in independent promotion will be valuable as we expand into Nashville.”

Newmark added, “I look forward to growing A-Blake Records into a major independent force in Nashville. My goal is to make A-Blake the premier place for artists to have a voice in their creative and career development.”

Newmark is on the job in Nashville and can be reached at (615) 469-1756 and factor@ablakerecords.com.

Weekly Chart Report (11/21/2012)

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SPIN ZONE

Joanna Smith recently stopped by 650AM WSM's "Coffee, Country and Cody" to chat with Bill Cody about her single, "We Can't Be Friends” and her spot on Chris Young's Liquid Neon Tour.

Rascal Flatts‘ “Come Wake Me Up” is No. 1 on the MusicRow Chart this week. Written by Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren and Sean McConnell, the song is the second single from the band’s eighth studio album, Changed. Last week’s chart topper Greg Bates‘ “Did It For The Girl” sits in the No. 2 position while Dierks Bentley‘s “Tip It On Back” jumps a position to No. 3. Darius Rucker‘s “True Believers” also jumps a spot to No. 4 while Kip Moore‘s “Beer Money” stays at No. 5.

The big mover this week is Carrie Underwood‘s “Two Black Cadillacs” debuting on the chart at an impressive No. 47.

With the holidays upon us, everyone at MusicRow wishes you and your family a very safe and happy holiday. This is the time of year to reflect and give thanks, and our biggest thanks go out to you, our readers and supporters. Happy Thanksgiving!

Frozen Playlists: WPPL, KFTX, WLJE, WKDZ, KVOM, KBXB, WEIO, KCNY, KVAY, WTHO, KZTL, KXIA, KWOX, WTRS, WTCR, WTCM, KXBZ, WDHR, WBYZ, WCMS, KTJJ, KGMN, KYKX, KITX, KCJC, KVVP, KWEY, KYEZ, KYTN, WXXK

Upcoming Singles
November 26
Carrie Underwood/Two Black Cadillacs/Sony Nashville

December 3
Lee Brice/I Drive Your Truck/Curb
Jillian Kohr/What You’ve Done
Josh Pruno/23rd Psalm/Lawrence Music Group
Big & Rich/Party Like Cowboyz/Warner Bros.-W.A.R.

Holiday Singles
Lorrie Morgan/Wrapped Up In Love/Octabrook Records
Craig Morrison/Santa Claus Boogie/Lucky 53s-GMV Nashville
Clinton Gregory/Peace On Earth Again/Melody Roundup Records
Kyle Park/Winter Wonderland

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Carrie Underwood/Two Black Cadillacs/19-Arista Nashville – 47
Brooke Hudgins/80 Acres of Stars/VBC – 76
Dustin Lynch/She Cranks My Tractor/Broken Bow Records – 79
Lizzie Sider/Butterfly/Blue Steel – 80

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Carrie Underwood/Two Black Cadillacs/19-Arista Nashville – 28
Kelly Clarkson w/ Vince Gill/Don’t Rush/19 Recordings-RCA Nashville – 13
Tim McGraw/One Of Those Nights/Big Machine – 10
Toby Keith/Hope On The Rocks/Show Dog-Universal – 10
Jana Kramer/Whiskey/WMN – 9
Tracy Lawrence/Stop, Drop, & Roll/Lawrence Music Group – 6
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek – 6
Lee Brice/I Drive Your Truck/Curb – 6
George Strait/Give It All We Got/MCA – 6
Aaron Lewis/Forever/Blaster Records – 6

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Carrie Underwood/Two Black Cadillacs/19-Arista Nashville – 388
The Band Perry/Better Dig Two/Republic Nashville – 269
Tim McGraw/One Of Those Nights/Big Machine – 245
Jason Aldean/The Only Way I Know/Broken Bow – 198
Toby Keith/Hope On The Rocks/Show Dog-Universal – 196

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Michael Dean Church/Still Not Over You/MDC – 210
Hillbilly Vegas/Little Miss Rough And Tumble/Red Dirt Music Company – 205
Luke Pilgrim/Back Road Lullaby/MMG – 194
Brent Cobb/Love On Me/Carnival – 182
The Roys/Still Standing/Rural Rhythm – 173

High Valley made a recent visit to Madison, Wisconsin's WWQM/Q106 while promoting their US debut single "Love You For A Long Time." The trio just released the music video for the single. Pictured (L-R): Stan Marczewski (Rodeowave), High Valley's Bryan Rempel, High Valley's Curtis Rempel, Fletcher Keyes (PD, WWQM/Madison), High Valley's Brad Rempel

The Cadillac Black stopped in College Station, TX fresh off the ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd tour to visit the KORA 98.3 staff. The band’s lead single, “Get Your Buzz On,” from the self-titled debut album is currently available. Pictured (L-R): Kelby Ray, Neil Mason, KORA 98.3 PD Adam Drake, Jaren Johnston

Vince Gill, Amy Grant Celebrate Christmas At The Ryman

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Amy Grant and Vince Gill are set for a three night stand next month at the Ryman Auditorium. Their Christmas at the Ryman shows will be Dec. 18, 19 and 20. Details here.

Grant and Gill are also scheduled to perform at “A Celebration of Carole King and Her Music,” Dec. 4 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. Jack Nicholson and Quincy Jones will co-host the star-studded evening which will feature performances by King, Alicia Keys, Herb Alpert, John Legend, Katy Perry, Lani Hall, Darlene Love and Nikki Yanofsky.

The event benefits Paul Newman’s The Painted Turtle Camp which provides life-changing support to children with serious illnesses and their families. The event is produced by Lou Adler and Kevin Duncan and sponsored by Clear Channel Media & Entertainment Los Angeles and iHeartRadio. Tickets are on sale at www.dolbytheatre.com.

Chesney To Perform at Cowboys v. Redskins Game

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Pictured L-R: Charlotte Jones-Anderson, Executive VP, Dallas Cowboys; Chesney; Commissioner William Roberts, National Commander, Salvation Army; and Jerry Jones, Owner, Dallas Cowboys. Photo: Kelly Alexander

Kenny Chesney will give a halftime performance during the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins game on Thanksgiving Day (11/22), starting at 3:15 PM/CT and airing on FOX. The performance at Cowboy’s Stadium in Arlington, TX will kick off The Salvation Army’s 122nd annual Red Kettle Campaign.

The nationally televised show marks the 16th year the Dallas Cowboys have helped The Salvation Army launch the campaign. The Red Kettle Campaign collected a record $147.6 million last year. Funds support people in need during the holidays, including those still recovering from Hurricane Sandy.

Since the partnership between the Dallas Cowboys and The Salvation Army began in 1997, the Red Kettle Campaign has raised more than $1.5 billion with the help of multiple top-tier musical acts including Keith Urban, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Sheryl Crow, Destiny’s Child, Toby Keith, LeAnn Rimes, Clint Black, Randy Travis and Reba McEntire.

Supporters of The Salvation Army can also ring a virtual Red Kettle bell online at www.onlineredkettle.org, donate by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY or text the word “GIVE” to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Red Kettle Campaign.

Artist Action (11/21/12)

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Black River Entertainment’s Sarah Darling is in her element as the special guest on CMT’s Southern Fried Flicks With Hazel Smith. Known for her love of baking in addition to music, the episode featuring Darling premieres Sunday, Nov. 25 at 6PM CST and showcases the film Fireproof. Tune in to watch Smith and Darling dish over delicious southern favorites as they discuss the film, her new single and Darling’s upcoming album with producer Dann Huff.

• • • •

(L-R): Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry, Pete Fisher (VP and GM of the Grand Ole Opry) and Reid Perry

Republic Nashville sibling trio The Band Perry were recently featured on Noteworthy at The Opry where they performed “You Lie” and “Independence,” as well as gave an intimate interview on upcoming music, life on the road and more. The series captures live performances on The Opry stage and gives fans an in-depth look into the lives and music of some of Country’s biggest artists.

• • • •

WGN America anchor Steve Sanders and Jason Sturgeon

Toolpusher Records’ artist Jason Sturgeon takes the stage on WGN America on Wednesday, Nov. 21 to perform his popular single, “Simple Life.” The autobiographical song was the first single from Sturgeon’s debut ablum That’s Me. See a clip of the music video here.

Americana Music Assoc. Plans Spring Celebration

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Legendary Texas singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen will perform at the 3rd annual Americana Spring Celebration on March 22-23 at Blackberry Farm, a world-class luxury resort situated in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. The event will benefit the Americana Music Association.

“This event has become an important fundraiser for our organization and I can’t imagine a finer setting or two finer performers,” said Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. “It doesn’t get better than a weekend in the mountains with Lyle and Robert Earl!”

For more information visit www.blackberryfarm.com.

Weekly Register: Navigating The Holiday Highway To 2013

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As we prepare to load up the sleigh and head over the river and through the dale to Grandmother’s house for the annual turkey fest there’s several thoughts running through our mind. We think about that favorite casserole we’re looking forward to, a glass (or two) of Granny’s homemade rum-filled eggnog and yes, we wonder, “What about country sales?”

For the week ended 11-18-12, country scanned 901k album units. To break even with last year we now need to sell 1.257 million per week for each of the six weeks remaining in the 2012 sales season. This should be quite achievable, especially with two more Big Machine debuts lined up Rascal Flatts (11/19) and Florida Georgia Line (12/4) to help boost totals. (Country albums sold 2.2 million in the last week of 2011.)

Chartwise, country holds few surprises this week, except for the No. 7 debut from Aaron Lewis (21k). The lineup includes Swift (No. 1; 144k and nearing the 2 million mark), Aldean (No. 2; 40k) and then three holiday offerings from Lady A (No. 3; 34k), Shelton (No. 4; 29k) and McCreery (No. 5; 23k). Little Big Town (No. 6; 21k), Underwood (No. 8; 16k), Bryan (No. 9;16k) and Church (No. 10; 14k) round out the Top 10.

Clicking over to the country tracks department we see Florida Georgia Line reigning again this week with “Cruise” notching 80k more units and hitting Platinum status. The duo’s upcoming album debut is rumored to hit impressive 60-90k first week numbers which could make this act one of the year’s brightest success stories.

TEA Updates
MusicRow’s TEA Index sums physical, digital and TEA albums (track equivalent albums; 10 tracks=1 album) then calculates the percentage of total album sales that come from TEA. The idea is to measure the TEA effect against total album sales. (The numbers are gathered by industry sources from Nielsen SoundScan.) As a baseline, the 2011 full year TEA Index was 25% country and 27.7% all-genre.

After staying pretty flat for most of the year the TEA Index dipped in November to 29.07%. (See graph below.) We expect it will shrink further in December, before rising sharply in January. More album buyers come into the marketplace during the holiday season and tend to choose physical product for gifts. Those that do purchase digital gift cards, give them out under the Christmas tree, and so January TEA jumps as they get redeemed song by song.

Looking at a few of the underlying Country TEA Index numbers through 11-18-12, albums scanned 35.38 million units and track downloads totaled 145 million. Comparing the current stats (29.07%) to last year’s base line number (25%) shows a continued mouse-driven shift in consumer buying habits.

As our Thanksgiving sleigh merrily slides across the frozen tundra, it’s probably best to let some of the big picture issues facing our industry wait until we return from the holiday. For example, margins and profits?

In the meantime, be safe, hug your loved ones and enjoy the moment.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tracy Lawrence Hosts Annual “Mission Possible” Turkey Fry

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With the help of friends on Tuesday (11/20), Tracy Lawrence celebrated another successful year frying more than 500 turkeys that will be served to thousands this Thanksgiving holiday.

Since 2006, Tracy Lawrence “Mission Possible” Turkey Fry has brought in an estimated 6,500 turkeys and provided more than 40,000 meals to the Nashville Rescue Mission to feed the homeless.

Teams of volunteers and sponsors such as Sam’s Club, NFL Titans, and members of the U.S. Coast Guard worked together to accomplish the mission. The NFL Titans cheerleaders cheered as people came to make donations while Lawrence’s music friends cooked turkeys for the cause.

“I am blessed to have so many friends who share the same passion that I do for those in need during the holidays,” said Lawrence. “From volunteers who labored all day to the person who came by to drop off a turkey, they all have contributed to the success of this event and I am very thankful for them.”

Pictured with Tennessee Titans (L-R): Ryan Mouton, Nate Washington, Tracy Lawrence, Rob Bironas, and Jordan Babineaux. Photo: Alex Torrez

Lawrence with U.S. Coast Guard members Chad Phillips, Commander Bob Helton, James Alter, Kevin Nicley, Brian Hunter, and Chris Snyder. Photo: Ryan Malone

Lawrence with the Sam's Club Team Photo: Alex Torrez

Jon Pardi Seeks Ultimate Party Animal in Contest

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Jon Pardi is gearing up to award a trip for two to his “End of the World Party” in Chicago on 12/21/12 through a contest on his Facebook page.

Known for his high energy stage performances, the Capitol Records Nashville artist seeks like-minded fans to send in photos that answer the question “Are You A Pardi Animal?” Personally chosen by Pardi, the grand prize winner and guest will receive airfare and hotel accommodations for the “predicted” end of the world in a party he will host at Joe’s on Weed Street.

The top 10 finalists who receive the most fan votes by Dec. 5 will receive an autographed copy of Pardi’s single, “Missin’ You Crazy.”

“We’ve named this the Year of the Pardi and if the world is really going to end that day, I can’t think of a better place to be than Joe’s on Weed,” said Pardi.

Pardi is currently touring on the Tie One On Tour with Frankie Ballard and Miss Willie Brown in support “Missin’ You Crazy.”