Lady Antebellum onstage in Little Rock.
Lady Antebellum debuted its Own The Night World Tour concert film Thursday (10/11) at Nashville’s Green Hills theater. Band members Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley were on hand to introduce the flick which mixes front-of-house performances and backstage fun into a 90-minute ride, set for release Dec. 4.
The band’s arena tour stop in Little Rock, Ark. was recorded for the movie, offering plenty of special crowd connection moments. Kelley and Scott make wonderful duet partners, seemingly going into character on “A Kiss Goodnight,” and bonding with fans amidst a sea of cell phone lights on “Dancing Away With My Heart” and “Hello World.” Haywood rocks a guitar solo while standing on a red grand piano (behind-the-scenes footage shows how he spent hours selecting the right shade of red paint).
Lady A keeps life on the road exciting and busy with ping-pong tournaments and a backstage bar named Club LaBellum. The band also focuses on songwriting with a road studio dubbed R2D2, and helmed by Haywood.
The Own The Night tour visited Switzerland, England, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway, the latter of which the band agreed was the most humbling concert on the run. Moviegoers chuckled when an Irish teenage girl quipped, “He looks like someone who smells really nice,” though no one knew which “he” she was talking about.
The film alternates between the Little Rock concert and band flashbacks. In 2007 Lady A’s concerts were mightily different from its present day headlining stops, including an early show at a Citgo gas station where Haywood laughed, “Nothing says the kick-off of deer season like Lady Antebellum.” Back then, the band cruised from stop to stop in Kelley’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, and eventually upgraded to a Winnebago. Now the operation has grown to 14 buses and the band is acutely aware of the responsibility of having so many employees.
Before the screening, CMA members and industry guests gathered at a reception in the downstairs lobby. It was a rare occasion to enjoy free Oktoberfest and popcorn trail mix from a movie theater concession stand.
For more on Lady A’s tour, see MusicRow’s exclusive interview with the band.
IEBA Executive Director Announces Resignation
/by Freeman“I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments achieved the past five years,” said Davis. “Since 2008 the organization and the annual conference have been completely transformed in a very short time into something more dynamic than any of us dreamed.”
Davis is exiting on a high note, as the 2012 IEBA conference broke previous records for attendance with over 700 people present. Registration and sponsorship revenue are also up over 100 percent, and the number of showcasing artists has more than tripled since she assumed leadership.
Additionally, IEBA has raised over $300,000 in scholarship funds and helped place numerous graduates in industry jobs through its mentoring program IEBA Interactive.
Following her exit, Davis can be reached at tiffany@tiffanydavis.com.
A search is being conducted to find Davis’ replacement. Interested parties should submit cover letters and resumes to info@ieba.org.
HFA Names New Pres./CEO
/by Sarah SkatesMichael Simon
Irwin Z. Robinson, Chairman of the Boards of the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has announced the promotion of Michael S. Simon to President and CEO for HFA. Simon was previously the organization’s Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer. Simon succeeds Gary L. Churgin.
“Since he joined HFA in 2001 to head the licensing division, Michael Simon has been a strong advocate to modernize HFA and move the company into new lines of business, progressively overseeing more of HFA and proving himself a leader and visionary within the organization,” said Robinson. “We are grateful to Gary Churgin for leading HFA though its technology transformation while also navigating some of the most radical changes to music licensing in the past fifty years.”
“I’m deeply honored that Irwin, the HFA, and NMPA Boards have put their trust in me to continue to transform an institution founded in the 20th century around the breakthrough technology of recorded music into the organization critical for the 21st century’s digital music business,” said Simon. “With our Slingshot service, which simplifies the licensing and royalty payment process for clients, we are delivering HFA’s expanded rights management expertise to all music distributors and music publishers, and I will be working with the team to grow that initiative aggressively. I am also committed to supporting HFA’s current music publishing and licensee base and delivering to them the support they need to run their businesses most effectively.”
Before joining HFA, Simon was the Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for Razorfish, Inc. His career also includes founding artist management and consulting firm Simon Ventures, Senior Director of Legal Affairs at Polygram Records, and time at law firms Levine Thall Plotkin & Menin and Rubin Baum Levin Constant & Friedman.
Lady A Premieres Concert Film In Nashville
/by Sarah SkatesLady Antebellum onstage in Little Rock.
Lady Antebellum debuted its Own The Night World Tour concert film Thursday (10/11) at Nashville’s Green Hills theater. Band members Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley were on hand to introduce the flick which mixes front-of-house performances and backstage fun into a 90-minute ride, set for release Dec. 4.
The band’s arena tour stop in Little Rock, Ark. was recorded for the movie, offering plenty of special crowd connection moments. Kelley and Scott make wonderful duet partners, seemingly going into character on “A Kiss Goodnight,” and bonding with fans amidst a sea of cell phone lights on “Dancing Away With My Heart” and “Hello World.” Haywood rocks a guitar solo while standing on a red grand piano (behind-the-scenes footage shows how he spent hours selecting the right shade of red paint).
Lady A keeps life on the road exciting and busy with ping-pong tournaments and a backstage bar named Club LaBellum. The band also focuses on songwriting with a road studio dubbed R2D2, and helmed by Haywood.
The Own The Night tour visited Switzerland, England, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Norway, the latter of which the band agreed was the most humbling concert on the run. Moviegoers chuckled when an Irish teenage girl quipped, “He looks like someone who smells really nice,” though no one knew which “he” she was talking about.
The film alternates between the Little Rock concert and band flashbacks. In 2007 Lady A’s concerts were mightily different from its present day headlining stops, including an early show at a Citgo gas station where Haywood laughed, “Nothing says the kick-off of deer season like Lady Antebellum.” Back then, the band cruised from stop to stop in Kelley’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, and eventually upgraded to a Winnebago. Now the operation has grown to 14 buses and the band is acutely aware of the responsibility of having so many employees.
Before the screening, CMA members and industry guests gathered at a reception in the downstairs lobby. It was a rare occasion to enjoy free Oktoberfest and popcorn trail mix from a movie theater concession stand.
For more on Lady A’s tour, see MusicRow’s exclusive interview with the band.
ZBB Follows Successful Southern Ground Festival With More Events
/by Sarah SkatesSouthern Ground Music & Food Festival in Nashville. Photo: Southern Reel Nashville
Zac Brown Band doesn’t slow down. It’s Southern Ground Music & Food Festival in Nashville was a big success, and will be followed with the Charleston edition, and a Southern Ground Tailgate Show benefit in Fayetteville, GA. Over 15,000 fans turned out for the Nashville debut of the festival at the Lawn at Riverfront Park last month. The two dozen artists included David Gray, Amos Lee, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Lumineers, Southern Ground Artists Nic Cowan, Blackberry Smoke, Levi Lowrey and more. Each evening was capped off with supersets from Zac Brown Band that included special guest appearances by Gregg Allman, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam. On hand were local food trucks Biscuit Love, Riff’s Fine Street Food, Bistro Truck and Delta Bound, as well as ZBB’s mobile kitchen “Cookie.” Stage Box ticket holders were treated to a three-course on-stage meal prepared by Southern Ground Executive Chef Rusty Hamlin and chefs Matthew Lackey (Flyte, Nashville), Bob Waggoner (Watermark, Nashville), and RJ Cooper (Rogue 24, Washington, DC),
The Southern Ground Music & Food Festival will return to Nashville in 2013 and heads to Charleston this weekend, Oct. 20-21, with many of the same artists who played the Nashville event.
On Sat., Nov. 3, the band will perform at the Southern Ground Tailgate at Fayetteville, GA’s Southern Ground Amphitheater. The event is limited to 1500 fans who will watch the University of Georgia football game on a big screen followed by a ZBB performance. Proceeds benefit Camp Southern Ground for kids with special needs.
CRS Scholarship Program Created in Rusty Walker’s Honor
/by FreemanThe scholarship will provide an all-expense paid trip and attendance to CRS 2013, Feb. 27-March 1, 2013. Included are airfare, hotel expenses, and one ticket to the Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner. Three scholarships will be awarded.
Interested applicants must fill out an online application and write a paragraph explaining why he/she deserves to be considered. Eligible applicants must be employed full-time at a radio station and a first time CRS attendee.
Applications can be submitted through Friday, Nov. 16 at countryradioseminar.com. Winners will be announced Monday, Dec. 3.
In other CRS news, the deadline for CRS Digital Liners is Oct. 31, the same day the $399 Early Bird registration rate ends. Direct radio inquiries to kristen@crb.org and artist inquiries to chasity@crb.org.
Hunter Hayes To Release Live EP
/by Eric T. ParkerStudio versions of several tracks from Hunter Hayes: Live are available on his self-titled debut album, which will go on sale for $7.99 for a limited time beginning October 16.
Hayes is currently touring with Carrie Underwood on the Blown Away Tour and has appearances scheduled for The Ellen DeGeneres Show October 22 and the 2012 CMA Awards Nov. 1, for which he is nominated for New Artist of the Year.
His latest single “Wanted” is currently nearing Double Platinum status.
Hayes recently partnered with Country Financial’s Road Trips and Guitar Picks campaign, offering a free download of the previously unreleased title, “Light Me Up.”
Hunter Hayes: Live track listing:
1. Storm Warning
2. Wanted
3. Somebody’s Heartbreak
4. More Than I Should
5. Love Makes Me
Industry Ink (10/15/12)
/by Freeman• • • • •
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SESAC recently welcomed SOCAN singer/songwriter Corb Lund to the family for US representation. The Alberta-born artist, named CCMA’s Roots Artist of the Year seven consecutive years, recently released his new album Cabin Fever.
(L-R): SESAC’s Tim Fink, Lund and SESAC’s Shannan Hatch. Photo: Peyton Hoge
• • • • •
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Rascal Flatts Extends “Changed” Tour
/by Caitlin RantalaRascal Flatts will extend the Farmers Insurance Presents Changed Tour with a winter leg of 20 additional dates starting Jan. 10, 2013 in Green Bay, WI. Special guest The Band Perry will join Rascal Flatts for the new dates.
Remaining Farmers Insurance Presents Changed Tour 2012 dates:
10-20 Atlanta, GA Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
10-26 Tampa, FL 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
10-27 W Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
Farmers Insurance Presents Changed Tour 2013 dates:
1-10 Green Bay, WI Resch Center
1-11 Moline, IL i wireless Center
1-12 Springfield, MO JQH Arena
1-17 Sioux City, IA Tyson Events Center
1-18 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
1-19 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena
1-24 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena
1-25 Missoula, MT Adams Event Center
1-26 Billings, MT Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark
2-7 Terre Haute, IN ISU Hulman Center
2-8 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
2-9 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
2-14 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum
2-15 Greensboro, NC GreensboroColiseum
2-16 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
2-23 Pikeville, KY Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center
2-24 Youngstown, OH Covelli Centre
2-28 Topeka, KS Landon Arena
3-1 Jonesboro, AR ASU Convocation Center
3-2 Tupelo, MS BancorpSouth Arena
Visit www.rascalflatts.com or www.livenation.com for tour dates and information.
New Site Aims to Discover the Hits
/by Eric T. ParkerSkip Bishop and Jane Crossman
Music industry veteran Jane Crossman has created www.songstash.com, a new website featuring uncut songs for artists looking for material to record.
Crossman initially met with Nashville publishers and songwriters to build a collection of songs and discuss her idea to build a more efficient process. The result was a design that links singers with the writers and publishers who manage copyrights.
The company will also sign songwriters without publishing deals. “If you have a deal or if you are looking for a deal, contact us and we can help,” Crossman says.
To complete the project, Crossman brought on promotion veteran Skip Bishop. “Jane approached us at Studio1Bee with one of the more innovative ideas we’d seen in some time,” Bishop says.
Crossman has previous experience as a Program Director, Marketing Director and Web Director. Before launching his new company Studio1Bee, Bishop was a Senior Executive at Sony and is credited with facilitating over 40 number one hits at Country radio.
Contact them at jane@songstash.com or skip@studio1bee.com.
Microsoft Launches Xbox Music Service
/by Freeman“The launch of Xbox Music is a milestone in simplifying digital music on every type of device and on a global scale,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “We’re breaking down the walls that fracture your music experiences today to ensure that music is better and integrated across the screens that you care about most.”
Users of Microsoft devices will have access to a 30 million song global catalog, from which they will be able to stream curated playlists, subscribe to all music, or download-to-own, integrated across all platforms. The Xbox Music services includes a free on-demand streaming, Xbox Music Pass for ad-free unlimited playback to the tune of $9.99/month, the Xbox Music Store to purchase and keep mp3 files, artist-based streaming radio Smart DJ, cloud storage for music files (including ones purchased outside Xbox), and a new social component.
Xbox Music Pass will be available tomorrow (10/16) on Xbox 360 in 22 markets worldwide; Free streaming will be offered to devices in select markets beginning Oct. 26.