Is radio losing the mantle as the number one source for music introduction to the country fan? In a word, no. In a full sentence, maybe just a little bit.
Part of this may be because radio programmers have become increasingly conservative in their approach to what music they play and how they instruct their air staff to approach the music. The increasing use of voice tracking has also impacted some artists’ growth.
There is music that has generated downloads way past their radio play and chart successes. My friend Tom Roland at Billboard pointed out earlier this week that Florida-Georgia Line’s “Cruise” has collected 450,000 digital downloads with only recent broadcast radio play.
I do know that FGL played a ton of live shows this spring and summer. I doubt that they got out in front of a half a million fans but they worked very hard to press the flesh and that helped for sure. Let’s also say that the song is catchy enough and we are still very much a song-driven format for everyone but the top 10 acts.
A recent CMA study confirmed that broadcast radio is still the big driver and no one wants to chance success without AM or FM.
Mr. Roland also referenced Colt Ford and Lionel Ritchie as examples of huge sales performances without much radio play. In fact Mr. Ritchie is the number one selling “country” CD so far this year.
Both of these cases come with caveats as big as the Grand Canyon.
Colt Ford is the new Hank Jr. I ripped into his new CD when it arrived in the mail. It is one of those “turn it up and lower your car windows” so your neighbors know that you’re cooler than Google Earth.
People south of the Mason-Dixon Line wake up every day wondering when the next Colt Ford CD is going to drop.
Lionel Ritchie got a turbo boost from the Academy of Country Music with a 2 hour TV special crowning Mr. Ritchie the king of crossover country. That didn’t hurt. Additionally, the Ritchie/Twain duet got some Adult Contemporary radio play.
I mentioned above that programmers are conservative. Without question this is true but I wonder if this is a chicken/egg deal. I thought that the Colt Ford/Jake Owens record had legs. I encouraged the stations that I work with to try it out at night and see if there was interest in the song for more high profile play. The CD sold nicely but those were apparently the fans. Plus broadcast radio could not play a few of the songs. This is was where I rolled my windows up so my neighbors would not come to other conclusions.
Should programmers swallow hard and schedule Colt and Lionel based on the significant sales or are they legitimate in saying, “yeah there is a lot of interest in these acts, but they are not radio (my) listeners.” Who gets hurt the most there?
I also mentioned that the preponderance of voice tracking hurts new acts. You would have to understand the distance an announcer has from the music when voice tracking.
As a slight aside here, while I am writing this note, I am listening to “Kiss Me Like That” by Toby Keith. I have to stop writing so that I can sing along. I LOVE that song. When I was on the air I would dance around the studio (an ugly sight) and sing at the top of my lungs (a painful experience for all involved) and that exuberance would come across on the air.
If I was voice tracking, that energy would not make it through the speakers. First, too many announcers think of voice tracking as a chore but I loved being on the air. Loved it more than anything I have ever done for money. Voice tracking is something that you do after your air shift or instead of coming in on the weekend. The thought and passion does not come through. I agree that some jocks are better than others but I contend the best is doing 80% of doing it live.
When you come across a group or song like FGL too many stations are not giving it the enthusiasm needed to make the listener stop and notice.
Losing the authority of being the source of music discovery to the listener would be disasterous for radio. Many music stations have already lost the information authority. Don’t give up the territory by being too conservative or dispassionate.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow. Stay tuned for a future article about Florida Georgia Line’s early success with small market radio)
Avenue Bank Promotions and New Hires
/by MichelleDavid Driggs is a new Vice President, Mortgage Loan Officer, for Avenue Bank’s Mortgage Team and has over 20 years of experience in mortgage lending. Richard Stone joins Avenue Bank’s Commercial Banking Team as a Commercial Relationship Manager. He has been a commercial banker for the past eight years.
The bank has added four new Concierge Bankers including Stephanie Carr and Sharon Mejia at the Cummins Station branch, Josh Slater at the West End branch and Emeline Thrash at the Cool Springs location.
Major Publishers Awarded $6.6 Million in Lyrics Lawsuit
/by Eric T. ParkerThe U.S. District Court of California awarded awarded damages of $12,500 per infringement for 528 copyrights, including “China Girl,” “Moondance,” “Georgia On My Mind” and “(Don’t Go Chasing) Waterfalls.”
The first-of-its kind case established liability for posting unlicensed song lyrics websites, which potentially generate millions in advertising revenue.
“Although the music industry continues to feel the impact of their work being illegally provided online, this victory and legal precedent will serve to aid songwriters and music publishers as they continue the fight to protect their creative rights in the digital world,” commented NMPA President and CEO David Israelite.
The publishers were represented by Arent Fox intellectual property partners Ross Charap and Paul Fakler.
“One of the principal purposes of our lawsuit was to obtain a large statutory damage award which would serve as a warning to persuade illegal lyric site operators that it makes good business sense to become licensed and avoid having their site shut down and damages awarded against them,” said Charap.
Greenspan himself received more than $60 million from the sale of Myspace to News Corps, which he unsuccessfully challenged in court on the grounds the company had been undervalued. He founded LiveUniverse, featuring dozens of social media sites under its umbrella including the three that were at the heart of this lawsuit.
CMT On Tour Artists Celebrate in New York City
/by FreemanJake Owen was presented with a giant ticket for his sold-out opening night in New York City on Oct. 10. (L-R): Sony Music Nashville VP Media/Corp Communications Allen Brown; RCA Nashville VP Promotion Keith Gale and Director, National Promotion Josh Easler; Sony Music Nashville Chairman/CEO Gary Overton; Owen; CMT SVP of Music Strategy, Leslie Fram; and Morris Artists Management VP Brandon Gill and GM Mike Betterton. Photo: Scott Gries for CMT
RCA Nashville’s Jake Owen launched his first headlining tour CMT On Tour: Jake Owen – The Summer Never Ends 2012 with a sold-out show Wednesday night (10/10) at New York City’s Best Buy Theatre. After performing his smash hits “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “Alone With You,” and “The One That Got Away,” Owen was joined onstage by his tourmates Love and Theft and Florida Georgia Line for a rendition of Van Halen’s “Jump.”
At the New York City show, all three artists were honored for recent achievements. Owen was saluted for selling out the opening show of his first-ever headlining tour. Love and Theft was bestowed with a plaque commemorating the duo’s CMT No. 1 video for “Angel Eyes.” Florida Georgia Line was surprised with a plaque recognizing the Gold certification of the duo’s single “Cruise.” Both artists are nominated for honors at the forthcoming American Country Awards.
The Summer Never Ends 2012 tour already has sold-out dates in Detroit (10/18), Chicago (11/29-30), and St. Louis (12/8). More concert dates here.
While in New York City, Florida Georgia Line was surprised with plaques commemorating their Gold-certified single “Cruise.” Tyler Hubbard (Georgia) and Brian Kelley (Florida) celebrated at Carmine’s with their extended label families from Big Machine in Nashville and Universal in New York. Photo: Sweet Talk Publicity
Love and Theft was presented with a plaque commemorating a CMT No. 1 video for "Angel Eyes" at the CMT On Tour sold-out show in New York City. (L-R): Sony Music Nashville SVP Marketing Paul Barnabee; Love and Theft’s Eric Gunderson; Sony Music Nashville Chairman/CEO Gary Overton; Love and Theft’s Stephen Barker Liles; Sony Music Nashville VP Marketing & Web Initiatives Heather McBee; CMT SVP of Music Strategy, Leslie Fram; Sony Music Nashville VP Sales Caryl Healey and Assoc. Director Marketing Rachel Fontenot. Photo: Scott Gries for CMT
Memphis Launching Music Hall of Fame
/by FreemanThe press conference will be webcast live by DittyTV starting at 2 pm/CT at www.dittytv.com, or fans can follow on Twitter here.
The official Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Thursday, November 29, 7 pm at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Memphis. Tickets will be on sale following the Oct. 16 announcement.
Snapshots (10/12/12)
/by MichelleBrentwood Benson recently signed Kevin Max to a publishing agreement. Kevin is former member of multi-platinum group dcTalk and is now frontman for the newly reformed Audio Adrenaline, which is currently working on a new album.
The new video for the group’s single “Kings & Queens” is available here. The video was shot in Haiti in support of Hands & Feet whose mission is to “… care for the orphaned and abandoned children of the world..”
( L-R): Penny Everhard (BMI), John Andrade (Brand Manager), Kevin Max, Dale Mathews (President - Brentwood Benson), Eric Hurt (Creative Director), Stacey Willbur (Sr. Creative Director)
• • •
EMI Records Nashville artist Kelleigh Bannen made her Grand Ole Opry debut last Friday, October 5th. She performed her current single, “Sorry On The Rocks,” as well as “Why Now Why.” Her debut album, produced by Paul Worley and Jerry Smith, will be released next year.
(L-R): Producer Paul Worley; Capitol Records Nashville COO Tom Becci; Kelleigh Bannen, VP/GM of Grand Ole Opry Pete Fisher; Capitol Records Nashville SVP Marketing Cindy Mabe; Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan
• • •
ASCAP hosted two unique showcases across Music City in early October. The first, held on Monday, October 1st at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville in downtown Nashville, became the fourth installment of ASCAP’s AMPED showcase series. Songwriter-artists Austin Jenckes, Madeleine Slate and Allison Veltz each took the stage to play 30-minute sets in front of an industry audience.
On Wednesday, October 3rd, The Bluebird Café set the stage to showcase the talents of the ASCAP Guidance from Publishers for Songwriters (GPS) Project’s class of 2012. The twelve participants performed on the Bluebird’s stage in the “songwriters in the row” format, and included Hannah Dasher, Jordan Dean, Jason Duke, Jen Foster, Kenny Foster, Ward Guenther, Ryan Hurd, Dustin James, John King, Sandy Lawrence, Emily Lynch and Graci Phillips.
(L-R): ASCAP Evyn's Mustoe, Madeleine Slate, Austin Jenckes, Allison Veltz and ASCAP's Robert Filhart
GPS - ASCAP's GPS Program class of 2012 with ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan (second from right)
Additional Incentives Sought by ‘Nashville’ Production Team
/by Eric T. ParkerIn the show’s first year, incentives have accounted for 32 percent of Tennessee-based costs. This is all about to change, notes Brian Reisinger of the NBJ:
Show producers argue that Music City lacks a infrastructure to support a long-term film-related market without providing government tax incentives to offset the costs. This could be an important bargaining chip for producers, as city and state officials will undoubtedly want to keep the production based here. “[Each episode is] a 43-minute advertisement, prime time, once a week [for the city],” said the show’s producer, Loucas George, who noted that the Nashville team had incurred extra costs to build infrastructure.
According to the NBJ, estimates of the show’s direct spending in Tennessee total $44 million. Seventeen percent ($7.5 million) of that spending will be covered by a reimbursable grant if the show airs all 22 episodes.
State economic and community development spokesman Clint Brewer will be making further decisions based on the show’s success. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Gov. Bill Haslam will make final decisions regarding additional incentives.
“It’s hard to understand how a show called Nashville could be done in an authentic way without being shot in Nashville,” said Dean.
A production of Lionsgate, ABC Studios and Ryman Hospitality, the network drama is currently filming 13 episodes in anticipation to be picked up for a full 22 episodes this season.
Read MusicRow’s recap of the pilot episode here and catch an exclusive feature about the show in our 2012 MusicRow Publisher print magazine, out next week (10/16).
Luke Bryan Announces First Arena Headlining Tour
/by Eric T. ParkerLuke Bryan
Luke Bryan has announced his first major headlining tour, the Dirt Road Diaries Tour featuing openers Thompson Square and Florida Georgia Line.
Twenty dates have been announced for tour’s first leg, which runs through March and kicks off in Evansville, Ind. on January 17. Tickets go on sale October 26.
Citi, the official credit card for the tour, will offer select market pre-sale tickets beginning October 22 through its Private Pass Program.
“I have dreamed about this day for a very long time,” said Bryan. “We are having the best time putting together all the bells and whistles for the tour. I have spent a lot of time out on tours with some really great artists and each night we have tried to learn from them.”
In the past year, Bryan has celebrated three back-to-back Platinum singles “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” “I Don’t Want This Night To End” and “Drunk On You,” from his Platinum-certified album, tailgates & tanlines. He is currently on his fourth annual Farm Tour, which runs through October 13.
Bryan is nominated for two CMA Awards, two American Music Awards and garnered seven nominations, the most for any artist, at the upcoming American Country Awards.
Log on to www.lukebryan.com or www.livenation.com for information.
“Dirt Road Diaries Tour”
1-17 Evansville, IN Ford Center
1-18 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center
1-19 Southaven, MS Landers Center
1-25 Estero, FL Germain Arena
1-26 Orlando, FL Amway Center
2-7 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
2-8 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center
2-15 Toledo, OH Huntington Center
2-16 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
2-17 Bloomington, IL US Cellular Center
2-21 Ft Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
2-22 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
2-23 Columbia, MO Mizzou Arena
2-28 Green Bay, WI Resch Center
3-1 Sioux City, IA Tyson Events Center
3-2 Moline, IL i wireless Center
3-14 Orange Beach, AL Amphitheatre at the Wharf
3-21 Florence, SC Florence Civic Center
3-22 Fayetteville, NC Crown Center
3-23 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
MusicRowPics: Dean Alexander Artist Visit
/by Caitlin RantalaOn Wednesday (10/10), Warner Music Nashville artist Dean Alexander stopped by MusicRow headquarters. The West Virginia native played a couple of songs, including his single “Moments” and a cut called “Nothin’.”
When asked about his style, Alexander was quick to point out that he’s mainly influenced by Dwight Yoakam. “I had a chance to meet him once, but chickened out,” he laughed.
Alexander started his radio tour yesterday (10/11). Details on his upcoming album are still forthcoming. For more information, click here.
[slide]
Charlie Cook On Air: Losing Ground
/by contributorPart of this may be because radio programmers have become increasingly conservative in their approach to what music they play and how they instruct their air staff to approach the music. The increasing use of voice tracking has also impacted some artists’ growth.
There is music that has generated downloads way past their radio play and chart successes. My friend Tom Roland at Billboard pointed out earlier this week that Florida-Georgia Line’s “Cruise” has collected 450,000 digital downloads with only recent broadcast radio play.
I do know that FGL played a ton of live shows this spring and summer. I doubt that they got out in front of a half a million fans but they worked very hard to press the flesh and that helped for sure. Let’s also say that the song is catchy enough and we are still very much a song-driven format for everyone but the top 10 acts.
A recent CMA study confirmed that broadcast radio is still the big driver and no one wants to chance success without AM or FM.
Mr. Roland also referenced Colt Ford and Lionel Ritchie as examples of huge sales performances without much radio play. In fact Mr. Ritchie is the number one selling “country” CD so far this year.
Both of these cases come with caveats as big as the Grand Canyon.
Colt Ford is the new Hank Jr. I ripped into his new CD when it arrived in the mail. It is one of those “turn it up and lower your car windows” so your neighbors know that you’re cooler than Google Earth.
People south of the Mason-Dixon Line wake up every day wondering when the next Colt Ford CD is going to drop.
Lionel Ritchie got a turbo boost from the Academy of Country Music with a 2 hour TV special crowning Mr. Ritchie the king of crossover country. That didn’t hurt. Additionally, the Ritchie/Twain duet got some Adult Contemporary radio play.
I mentioned above that programmers are conservative. Without question this is true but I wonder if this is a chicken/egg deal. I thought that the Colt Ford/Jake Owens record had legs. I encouraged the stations that I work with to try it out at night and see if there was interest in the song for more high profile play. The CD sold nicely but those were apparently the fans. Plus broadcast radio could not play a few of the songs. This is was where I rolled my windows up so my neighbors would not come to other conclusions.
Should programmers swallow hard and schedule Colt and Lionel based on the significant sales or are they legitimate in saying, “yeah there is a lot of interest in these acts, but they are not radio (my) listeners.” Who gets hurt the most there?
I also mentioned that the preponderance of voice tracking hurts new acts. You would have to understand the distance an announcer has from the music when voice tracking.
As a slight aside here, while I am writing this note, I am listening to “Kiss Me Like That” by Toby Keith. I have to stop writing so that I can sing along. I LOVE that song. When I was on the air I would dance around the studio (an ugly sight) and sing at the top of my lungs (a painful experience for all involved) and that exuberance would come across on the air.
If I was voice tracking, that energy would not make it through the speakers. First, too many announcers think of voice tracking as a chore but I loved being on the air. Loved it more than anything I have ever done for money. Voice tracking is something that you do after your air shift or instead of coming in on the weekend. The thought and passion does not come through. I agree that some jocks are better than others but I contend the best is doing 80% of doing it live.
When you come across a group or song like FGL too many stations are not giving it the enthusiasm needed to make the listener stop and notice.
Losing the authority of being the source of music discovery to the listener would be disasterous for radio. Many music stations have already lost the information authority. Don’t give up the territory by being too conservative or dispassionate.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MusicRow. Stay tuned for a future article about Florida Georgia Line’s early success with small market radio)
Weekly Chart Report (10/12/12)
/by FreemanJason Aldean visited Blair Garner at After MidNite studios to promote his forthcoming CD "Night Train," which is available for preview on iTunes before it hits shelves next week (10/16). Blair and staff welcomed the Georgia native by donning University of Georgia attire. Pictured (L-R) Aldean Blair, AME MD Robin Rhodes, AME Intern Matt Brum and Blair Garner.
SPIN ZONE
The promotion grind has slowed down the action considerably in this week’s MusicRow Chart, leaving positions 1-3 exactly as they were in the previous week. Luke Bryan’s “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” stays at No. 1 for a second week, trailed closely by Eric Church and Lee Brice. In spite of the slow week, Jake Owen’s “The One that Got Away” and Greg Bates’ “Did It For the Girl” are maneuvering into position at No. 4 and 5, respectively.
Not terribly affected by the grind are Brad Paisley’s new “Southern Comfort Zone,” moving 24-19, Zac Brown Band’s “Goodbye In Her Eyes,” which advances 30-24, and Little Big Town’s “Tornado,” which jumps 35-26 after picking up 17 adds. Taylor Swift’s “Begin Again” is also off to a great start, hitting No. 29 in its third week charting.
New additions include Uncle Kracker’s “Nobody’s Sad on a Saturday Night” at No. 71 (released to radio via EMI/Sugar Hill), tied with Taylor Swift for most adds this week, plus RoseHill’s “When the Flame Goes Out,” Kix Brooks’ “Bring It On Home,” and John Karl’s “Redneck Rich.”
Frozen Playlists: KITX, KYTN, WEIO, WTHO, WUCZ, WXXK
17-year-old singer Brooke Hudgins recently stopped by for an early morning interview with KFAV/Warrenton, MO MD Mike Thomas to promote her single “80 Acres of Stars.”
Upcoming Singles
October 16
Kristy Lee Cook/Airborne Ranger Infantry/BBR
Josh Turner/Find Me A Baby/MCA
Chris Young/I Can Take It From There/RCA
Heartland/The Sound A Dream Makes/R&J-Triple Crown
Montgomery Gentry/I’ll Keep The Kids/Average Joes
October 18
Tracy Lawrence/Stop Drop and Roll/LMG
October 22
Hunter Hayes/Somebody’s Heartbreak/Atlantic-WMN
Josh Abbott Band/I’ll Sing About Mine/PDT-Atlantic-WMN
Sarah Darling/Home To Me/Black River
Sweetwater Rain/Starshine/Curb
Brinn Black (R) recently finished a radio tour in the Northeast promoting the single “That Should Have Been Us.” Black is pictured with staffers at WOLF in Syracuse, NY.
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Uncle Kracker/Nobody’s Sad On A Saturday Night/EMI Nashville-Sugar Hill – 71
RoseHill/When the Flame Goes Out – 78
Kix Brooks/Bring It On Home/Arista Nashville – 79
John Karl/Redneck Rich – 80
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Taylor Swift/Begin Again/Big Machine – 20
Uncle Kracker/Nobody’s Sad On A Saturday Night/EMI Nashville-Sugar Hill – 20
Little Big Town/Tornado/Capitol – 17
Montgomery Gentry/I’ll Keep The Kids/Average Joes – 15
Faith Hill/American Heart/Warner Bros. – 13
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Southern Ground/Atlantic – 12
Gary Allan/Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)/MCA – 11
Kacey Musgraves/Merry Go Round/Mercury – 11
LiveWire/Lies/Way Out West – 10
Chris Young/I Can Take It From There/RCA Nashville – 10
Rosehill/When The Flame Goes Out/Tenacity Records – 8
Katie Armiger/Better In A Black Dress/Cold River – 8
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Taylor Swift/Begin Again/Big Machine – 453
Zac Brown Band/Goodbye In Her Eyes/Southern Ground-Atlantic – 379
Little Big Town/Tornado/Capitol – 378
Brad Paisley/Southern Comfort Zone/Arista Nashville – 294
Kenny Chesney/El Cerrito Place/Blue Chair-Columbia Nashville – 199
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Joanna Mosca/Dream On Savannah/Dolce Diva Music – 199
Chris Young/I Can Take It From There/RCA Nashville – 193
Levi Riggs/Still a Place for That/Windridge Records – 180
Lost Trailers/American Beauty/Stokes Tunes – 174
Randy Rogers Band/One More Sad Song/MCA Nashville – 163
Brad Paisley is currently promoting his new “Southern Comfort Zone” single and his Virtual Reality Tour 2012 recently played the Cruzan Rum Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, FL. The single lands at No. 19 on the MusicRow Chart. Pictured (L-R): Rachel Fontenot (Arista Nashville Associate Director, Marketing), Paisley, Leslie Fram (CMT SVP Music Strategy), Lesly Tyson (Arista Nashville VP Promotion)