It is time for the Brad and Carrie show (also known as the CMA Awards show) next Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and broadcast on ABC-TV. The announced performers and the nominated artists makes this a must see TV event for all, including the 12,000 or so fans lucky enough to have a seat in the arena.
As a quick aside, it is pretty incredible that both the ACM and CMA have been able to tap into hosts for their programs that turn out to be naturals at the job. Earlier this year Reba and Blake were fabulous and if you’re anything like me you too look forward all year to the show opening in Nashville with Brad and Carrie.
That naturalness and professionalism of these superstars, in what is a tough job out of their comfort zones, points to the incredible shape the format is in as we approach the Awards show this year.
Country music has the best stable of artists today. Yeah, some of the other formats have bigger, better selling stars but our bench is deeper and country acts are going to enjoy longer careers than the other contemporary format’s artists.
At the stations I work with we identify the top nine artists and assure that we’re playing a superstar every quarter hour. This gives the station a bigness that guarantees that the listeners are hearing the big stars every time they turn the station on. It is becoming harder and harder to get that list down to just nine acts.
When your brand is strong enough that you can be identified by just your first name, you have made it. Pop acts start with just one name. Rihanna, Beyonce, Pink, Adele, Ke$ha and Usher for example.
Country acts morph into one name. Brad, Carrie, Toby, Kenny and Taylor for example. Country acts earn their one name.
All kidding aside, the format is so strong today and yet there are new acts breaking into the top tier. Eric Church, Luke Bryan, and Easton Corbin, are all right on the edge of becoming superstars. Still there are new acts like Kip Moore, Dustin Lynch, and Jana Kramer finding room on radio stations.
On this topic I reached out to my “go to lady” in the record business: Lesly Tyson, Vice President of Promotion for Arista Nashville. Lesly has always helped me see the whole picture.
“We are in such an incredible place overall in the format,” Lesly told me last week. “There are new artists breaking through with big hits – 8 new acts actually made a huge impact with singles in the Top 5 in the last 9 months – that’s awesome. We have brought in younger listeners and they are responding to new, fresh music.”
That’s the beauty of the country music. The biggest selling act in our format is 22 years old. The two biggest ticket sellers are a couple of 45 year olds. (Kenny…I just went and added a year to your age. You’ll forgive me.)
The one area where the format is troubled is with female performers. A few weeks back I wrote here that only four female artists are in the top 30 played songs for 2012. Music Row and radio need to do a better job here.
Lesly agrees, “Our format is still very tough on females and we do not have to be. Look at CHR, Hot AC and the other current formats and how they embrace female artists – 10 to 15 female acts in the Top 30 at any given time. There is room at Country to open up a few spots to more female voices. Of those 8 new artists with singles that have broken though this year – only 1 was a female solo act. If given a shot, I truly believe more female artists would turn into core artists in Country, too.”
With the exception of this one issue I would not trade the excitement and potential that country music has today with any other format on the radio.
The show next week will win the TV ratings night, as it always does. Hopefully it will also be a springboard to bigger and better successes for not only the superstars like Brad, Taylor, Blake, Kenny and Jason (all nominated for Entertainer of the Year), but also for the New Artist of the Year Nominees Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Love and Theft and Thompson Square.
There is one thing we can all get behind. Good luck to all of the nominees.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow)
Charlie Cook On Air: CMA Awards
/by contributorAs a quick aside, it is pretty incredible that both the ACM and CMA have been able to tap into hosts for their programs that turn out to be naturals at the job. Earlier this year Reba and Blake were fabulous and if you’re anything like me you too look forward all year to the show opening in Nashville with Brad and Carrie.
That naturalness and professionalism of these superstars, in what is a tough job out of their comfort zones, points to the incredible shape the format is in as we approach the Awards show this year.
Country music has the best stable of artists today. Yeah, some of the other formats have bigger, better selling stars but our bench is deeper and country acts are going to enjoy longer careers than the other contemporary format’s artists.
At the stations I work with we identify the top nine artists and assure that we’re playing a superstar every quarter hour. This gives the station a bigness that guarantees that the listeners are hearing the big stars every time they turn the station on. It is becoming harder and harder to get that list down to just nine acts.
When your brand is strong enough that you can be identified by just your first name, you have made it. Pop acts start with just one name. Rihanna, Beyonce, Pink, Adele, Ke$ha and Usher for example.
Country acts morph into one name. Brad, Carrie, Toby, Kenny and Taylor for example. Country acts earn their one name.
All kidding aside, the format is so strong today and yet there are new acts breaking into the top tier. Eric Church, Luke Bryan, and Easton Corbin, are all right on the edge of becoming superstars. Still there are new acts like Kip Moore, Dustin Lynch, and Jana Kramer finding room on radio stations.
On this topic I reached out to my “go to lady” in the record business: Lesly Tyson, Vice President of Promotion for Arista Nashville. Lesly has always helped me see the whole picture.
“We are in such an incredible place overall in the format,” Lesly told me last week. “There are new artists breaking through with big hits – 8 new acts actually made a huge impact with singles in the Top 5 in the last 9 months – that’s awesome. We have brought in younger listeners and they are responding to new, fresh music.”
That’s the beauty of the country music. The biggest selling act in our format is 22 years old. The two biggest ticket sellers are a couple of 45 year olds. (Kenny…I just went and added a year to your age. You’ll forgive me.)
The one area where the format is troubled is with female performers. A few weeks back I wrote here that only four female artists are in the top 30 played songs for 2012. Music Row and radio need to do a better job here.
Lesly agrees, “Our format is still very tough on females and we do not have to be. Look at CHR, Hot AC and the other current formats and how they embrace female artists – 10 to 15 female acts in the Top 30 at any given time. There is room at Country to open up a few spots to more female voices. Of those 8 new artists with singles that have broken though this year – only 1 was a female solo act. If given a shot, I truly believe more female artists would turn into core artists in Country, too.”
With the exception of this one issue I would not trade the excitement and potential that country music has today with any other format on the radio.
The show next week will win the TV ratings night, as it always does. Hopefully it will also be a springboard to bigger and better successes for not only the superstars like Brad, Taylor, Blake, Kenny and Jason (all nominated for Entertainer of the Year), but also for the New Artist of the Year Nominees Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Love and Theft and Thompson Square.
There is one thing we can all get behind. Good luck to all of the nominees.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow)
Weekly Chart Report (10/26/12)
/by FreemanTaylor Swift sat down with After MidNite host Blair Garner to talk about all things "Red."
SPIN ZONE
It’s new No. 1 song time, with Eric Church’s latest “Creepin’” into the MusicRow Chart’s top spot after a 17 week journey. Church is chased by a trifecta of Big Machine artists, including Rascal Flatts’ “Come Wake Me Up” at No. 2, Greg Bates’ “Did It For the Girl” at No. 3, and Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” at No. 4. Lee Brice’s “Hard to Love” is a few steps behind at No. 5. Only Darius Rucker’s “True Believers” is allowed entrance to the top 10 this week.
CMA Female Vocalist nominee Carrie Underwood brought her “Blown Away Tour” to Los Angeles last week, where she caught up with KKGO PD, Tonya Campos
Already knocking on the door of the top 10 are Kenny Chesney’s “El Cerrito Place” at No. 11 and Brad Paisley’s “Southern Comfort Zone” at No. 12. Both songs are under 10 weeks old. Also hot and new in the top 20 are Zac Brown Band’s “Goodbye in Her Eyes” at No. 14, Taylor Swift’s “Begin Again” at No. 16, and Little Big Town’s “Tornado” at No. 19. Expect to see Kacey Musgraves’ “Merry Go Round” and Gary Allan’s “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” joining them very soon.
Hunter Hayes is also red hot right now and his latest single “Somebody’s Heartbreak” scored the most adds this week, jumping 75-54 with a 275 spin gain. Chris Young’s “I Can Take It From There” is also off to a great start, hitting No. 45 in its second week. New entries to the chart this week include Brantley Gilbert’s “More Than Miles” at No. 63, Josh Turner’s “Find Me a Baby” at No. 70, Randy Rogers Band’s “One More Sad Song” at No. 76, Eric Lee Beddingfield’s “That Ol Outlaw Song” at No. 79 and Sarah Darling’s “Home to Me” at No. 80.
Frozen Playlists:KICR, WBKR, WOWF
Upcoming Singles
October 29
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek
Jerrod Niemann/Only God Could Love You More/Sea Gayle-Arista
Hayden Panettiere/Telescope/Big Machine
October 30
Tracy Lawrence/Stop Drop and Roll/LMG
November 5
Jana Kramer/Whiskey/Elektra Nashville-W.A.R.
Livewire/Lies/Way Out West
Love and Theft/Runnin’ Out Of Air/RCA
Hunter Hayes recently visited with KRTY/San Jose GM Nate Deaton and GSM Tina Ferguson. Pictured (L-R): WMN’s West Coast rep Rick Young, Hayes, Ferguson, Deaton.
• • • • •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Brantley Gilbert/More Than Miles/Valory – 63
Josh Turner/Find Me A Baby/MCA – 70
Randy Rogers Band/One More Sad Song/MCA Nashville – 76
Eric Lee Beddingfield/That Ol’ Outlaw Song/Rebel Dawg – 79
Sarah Darling/Home To Me/Black River – 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Brad Paisley/Southern Comfort Zone/Arista Nashville – 286
Hunter Hayes/Somebody’s Heartbreak/Atlantic-WMN – 275
Little Big Town/Tornado/Capitol – 270
Taylor Swift/Begin Again/Big Machine – 261
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Southern Ground-Atlantic – 248
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Hunter Hayes/Somebody’s Heartbreak/Atlantic-WMN – 21
Chris Young/I Can Take It From There/RCA Nashville – 17
Montgomery Gentry/I’ll Keep The Kids/Average Joes – 14
Brantley Gilbert/More Than Miles/Valory – 11
Josh Turner/Find Me A Baby/MCA – 11
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek – 9
Faith Hill/American Heart/Warner Bros. – 9
Sarah Darling/Home To Me/Black River – 8
Jerrod Niemann/Only God Could Love You More/Sea Gayle Records-Arista Nashville – 8
Eric Lee Beddingfield/That Ol’ Outlaw Song/Rebel Dawg – 8
Tracy Lawrence/Stop, Drop, & Roll/Lawrence Music Group – 8
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Jerrod Niemann/Only God Could Love You More/Sea Gayle-Arista Nashville – 182
Thompson Square/If I Didn’t Have You/Stoney Creek – 180
Love and Theft/Running Out Of Air/RCA Nashville – 179
Lost Trailers/American Beauty/Stokes Tunes – 173
Craig Campbell/Outta My Head/Bigger Picture – 171
Scotty McCreery recently co-hosted KXKS/Shreveports's morning show, “Turner & McCoy,” before his concert date with Brad Paisley. Pictured (L-R): Gary McCoy (PD and morning show host), McCreery, Tracy Turner (MD and morning show host)
WGLR/Platteville, WI recently held the Ford Fiesta Car Giveaway Party with Render Records’ artist Lisa Torres. Contestant Sada Ruch made it to the end of the competition winning a 2013 Ford Fiesta, and Torres entertained the crowd with her single “Car That Runs.” (L-R): Torres, contest winner Ruch’s husband, WGLR’s Rob Spangler, winner Sada Ruch, WGLR Ryan McCall.
Performers, Presenters Added to CMA Awards
/by Eric T. ParkerThe CMA also revealed the first round of artists presenting trophies during the three-hour event will include Martina McBride, Kellie Pickler, Sugarland, and The Band Perry. Additional presenters include Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere, Jake Owen, Jana Kramer, Kimberly Williams Paisley, Lisa Marie Presley, Reba McEntire, and Tim Allen.
Previously announced performers include Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Clarkson, Eli Young Band, Brantley Gilbert, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Carrie Underwood, and Zac Brown Band.
The 46th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Thursday, Nov. 1, 7 pm/CT on ABC. Further details are available at CMAawards.com.
Will Hoge Inks Publishing Deal
/by Sarah SkatesFront Row (L-R): Will Hoge, BMG Chrysalis Creative Dir. Daniel Lee; Back Row (L-R): Manager Jordan Powell of Relationship Music; Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy's Duane Clark, Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy's Jaidam Kirpich
Average Joe’s Adds Publicist Claire Cook
/by Eric T. ParkerClaire Cook
Claire Cook will join Average Joe’s Entertainment to handle publicity and artist development, combining forces with the newly hired Kristin Palmer.
“I’ve known and worked with Claire for several years,” says Tony Morreale, VP of Marketing and Promotion at Average Joe’s Entertainment. “I’m extremely pleased to announce that she’s coming on board. Together, [Claire and Kristin will] be unstoppable in breaking new ground for the label and our artists.”
Most recently, Cook was Senior Director, Publicity, at Webster & Associates and had previously served as an independent publicist at her own Cook Media & Marketing firm. She has experience working in the industry at Dreamcatcher Entertainment; Magnatone Records; Windsor Publications and Capitol/EMI America in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from CSU, Northridge.
Cook’s first official day on the job will be Tuesday, Oct. 30. Congratulate Cook by email or phone at 615-733-9983.
Michaels to Helm Blaster Records Promotion
/by Freeman“With the challenges faced today in our genre and the fighting for radio airplay, hiring a great team to support our current and future roster is vital,” says Blaster CEO Tom Porter. “Gator has an outstanding reputation and we are proud to add him into our growing Blaster family.”
Michaels is a veteran promotion executive whose previous experience includes a decade in country radio, as well as eight years leading the promotion department at Warner Bros. Nashville. He also served as VP of Promotion for Dreamcatcher Entertainment, helping take Kenny Rogers’ “Buy Me a Rose” to No. 1.
Rounding out Blaster’s in-house staff will be Glenn Noblit, National Director (glenn@blasterentertainment.com); Dave Collins, Regional Director (dave@blasterentertainment.com); Weslea Neas, Regional Director (weslea@blasterentertainment.com); Luke Jensen, Regional Director (luke@blasterentertainment.com); and Mallory Opheim, Coordinator (mallory@blasterentertainment.com). The label’s physical address is 20 Music Sq. E., Nashville, TN 37203.
Primetime “Nashville”: Episode 103
/by Sarah SkatesEpisode 103: “Someday You’ll Call My Name” (a Hank Williams song)
Directed by Michael Engler
Family drama fueled last night’s (10/24) episode of Nashville. Juliette’s junkie mom showed up in town, and Rayna continued to battle with her father Lamar. Meanwhile, musician Deacon balanced the tightrope between the two women before finally making a decision about who to tour with. Ratings stayed steady compared to last week with about 6.6 million viewers, according to Zap2it.com.
But before we get to the recap, let’s talk about the new music. Scarlett and Gunnar debuted the songs “Fade Into You” (writers: Matt Jenkins, Trevor Rosen, Shane McAnally) and “I Will Fall” (Kate York, Tyler James). Scarlett—played by Australian Clare Bowen and sporting the show’s least convincing Southern accent—choked during her demo session with co-writer/potential love interest Gunnar. Watty White was producing the session at Ben’s Studio, previously known as RCA Studio A. Scarlett finally rallied with the help of alt-country boyfriend Avery and was a studio success. But supporting Scarlett isn’t his only intention, with songwriter ambitions of his own he’s making sure Watty knows his name. On a side note, last week Rayna referred to him as “Uncle Watty” but we still don’t know that relationship, perhaps her late mother’s brother?
Juliette, who is on a mission to be taken more seriously as an artist, enticed Deacon to join her at Starstruck Studios to record their co-write “Undermine.” She reserves her softer side for him—manager Glenn isn’t so lucky—and she confides to Deacon that part of the song is about her mom.
Then the mama drama begins. Juliette’s mom Jolene-The-Junkie showed up at the record label, then tracked down her daughter on Demonbreun, and then found her the way to the gates of Juliette’s neighborhood, Hill Place. Try as she might, Juliette couldn’t get mom to go back to ‘Bama, so she reluctantly took her in following an arrest at the bus station to avoid public humiliation. As the episode closed, we saw Juliette shoplifting a bottle of nail polish (likely named Ironic Red) while teenagers caught the act on cell phone video. Looks like this will come back to bite her next week.
While both have parental issues, the contrast between Juliette’s and Rayna’s upbringings becomes more clear each week. Rayna and husband Teddy are still “cash poor” so Daddy Lamar sent over a $500,000 check, but the “loan” is saddled with stipulations designed to halt her music career.
It’s hard to believe $500K would make a dent in the debt that Rayna seems to be facing. Check out the real-life listing for the $19.5 million estate which is used for Rayna’s residence. (It’s the Page Rd. home of Sylvia Roberts. After shooting on location, the Nashville crew re-created the kitchen and master suite on a soundstage.) Rayna turned down the money and had her requisite weekly fight with her dad. Then her sister Tandy revealed that Lamar hates Rayna’s singing career because their mother was having an affair with a musician before she died.
Because Teddy is largely to blame for their financial ruin, he sucked up his pride and headed to the Music City Credit Union (aka the Roundabout Building) for a line of credit. While there, he found out the Feds are auditing the bank. This could be a major problem for Teds, whose shady dealings might be discovered just as his mayoral campaign gears up.
And Rayna’s own daughters unknowingly stirred up drama by singing Juliette’s hit “Telescope” at the school talent show. Mom cheered through the tears for her girls, played by real-life sisters Lennon & Maisy Stella, ages 13 and 8.
Torn between Juliette’s rocking arena tour and Rayna’s smaller bus-sharing tour, Deacon decided to stay loyal to Rayna. Their scenes are often the most honest, such as the one at Percy Warner Park, when she told him, “You and music—there’s no difference. I feel like I’m holding these hearts in my hands, and I’m trying real hard not break ‘em, but my heart’s in pieces.”
In future episodes, look for appearances by Wyclef Jean and Kimberly Williams Paisley.
Ben Vaughn to Lead Warner/Chappell Nashville
/by Freeman“Ben’s incredible track record of songwriter development speaks for itself,” said Platt. “His A&R vision, leadership skills and business instincts have made him one of Nashville’s most dynamic and influential executives. I have worked closely with Ben for years and I’ve no doubt he is the perfect fit for Warner/Chappell and its mission to be the first-choice home for the world’s most extraordinary songwriters.”
In 2010 Vaughn was tapped to lead EMI Publishing’s Country division, making him the youngest executive to head a major publisher in Nashville, a post which he held until the company was acquired by Sony/ATV in 2012. In total, Vaughn spent 10 years with EMI, signing writers including Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, among others. The move reunites Vaughn with Platt, who previously served as President of North America Creative for EMI Music Publishing until Summer 2012, and marks a talent coup for Warner/Chappell Chairman/CEO Cameron Strang.
“Ben will bring an additional level of creativity and innovative thinking to our senior team and our thriving Nashville operations,” said Strang. “With Ben working with our General Manager, Phil May, we will continue to build our ability to provide great services to our songwriters and publishing partners, taking their success to new heights.”
Warner/Chappell Nashville’s track record over the past year has included nine No. 1 hits and a 15.1 percent share of Country radio airplay. The company has newly signed songwriters including Dean Alexander, Josh Abbott, TJ and John Osborne, and Laura Veltz.
Toby Keith Previews “Hope On the Rocks” For Fans
/by Eric T. ParkerFans can visit www.tobykeith.com/hopeontherockssweeps/ and sign up to hear the entire deluxe version of the album and enter the sweepstakes through Friday, Oct. 26. Weekly prizes have been awarded throughout the month, including custom corn hole game boards, branded guitars, red Solo cup plaque, and tour tickets, all of which are leading up to the Grand Prize Mexican vacation to Cabo San Lucas.
Pre-order Hope on the Rocks here.
American Country Awards Adds Performers
/by Sarah SkatesHosted by Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth, the event at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas will also feature appearances by Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Casey James, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Brice, Jana Kramer, Dustin Lynch and Chris Young. Additional performers and presenters to be announced soon.
Voting for all categories remains open until Mon., Nov. 12 at www.theacas.com. Voting for Artist of the Year continues until Fri., Dec. 7.
Aldean swept the ACAs last year, taking home six awards, including Artist of the Year. He is nominated five times this year. Bryan earned seven ACA nominations this year, Lady A captured six, and Bentley and Little Big Town scored one each.
American Country Awards is executive-produced by Bob Bain (Teen Choice 2012, Kids’ Choice Awards). Fletcher Foster, Paul Flattery and Tisha Fein serve as producers. Greg Sills is supervising producer. Michael Dempsey will direct the live special.