Mumford & Sons, Emmylou to Meet On “Crossroads”

English folk rock quartet Mumford & Sons will share the stage with the legendary Emmylou Harris in the latest episode of CMT Crossroads, which will tape tomorrow (9/5) in Nashville.

Over the course of her four-decades-plus musical career, Grammy winner Harris has secured her place as a highly influential artist across numerous genres. Her work has contributed to the birth and growth of country-rock, Americana, and bluegrass among others. In addition to her adventurous solo output, she remains a highly sought after collaborator. Her latest album is the Jay Joyce-produced Hard Bargain, from 2011.

Mumford & Sons gained worldwide acclaim with the release of the 2010 album Sigh No More, which contained the hit Grammy-nominated singles “Little Lion Man” and “The Cave.” The group also picked up Americana Music Association Award nominations for Group of the Year and New/Emerging Artist in 2011. Mumford & Sons’ new album Babel hits stores via Island/Glassnote on Sept. 24.

The pairing will be the first meeting for the two musical entities, who plan to play their hits as well as a few surprises. Seats for the private taping are booked solid, but fans can watch the episode when it premieres Thursday, September 20 at 9 pm/ET on CMT.

WTVF NewsChannel 5 To Be Sold

Nashville’s WTVF NewsChannel 5 Network will be sold to Journal Communications, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin based company. Subject to FCC approval, Journal will purchase the CBS affiliate from Landmark Media Enterprises for $215 million in cash plus a working capital adjustment at closing.

Journal Communications owns and operates or provides programming and sales services to 35 radio stations and 14 television stations in 12 states. It publishes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and several community newspapers and shoppers.

NewsChannel 5 Network consists of NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), NewsChannel 5+, a This TV affiliate (D3) and NewsChannel5.com, a market leading local digital news site. According to a press release, WTVF is the ratings and revenue market share leader in the Nashville market, as well as one of the top three CBS affiliates in the nation based on CBS ratings in metered markets. The station has been recognized with awards including: 2012 DuPont, 2011 National Headliner, 10 regional 2012 Emmy awards, 2011 NPPA National Photographer of the Year, and five 2011 AP Awards including Best Investigation.

Based in Norfolk, VA, Landmark owns CBS affiliate KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, data center provider Continental Broadband, and several newspapers.

CRS 2013 to Present Innovative Fan Research Study

The Country music fan research studies are always a highlight of Country Radio Seminar, but the 2013 version promises to take things in an entirely new direction from the statistical analysis and focus groups of years past.

Titled “A Day In The Life Of A Country Fan,” the project conducted by Edison Research will offer a video-based Ethnographic Research study of Country music fans as they go about their daily routines under the lens. Subjects will presented in high definition video in a variety of environments including work, home, and in their vehicles.

“We are very excited to have Edison Research bring us to a new level this year by actually taking us into the home, car, office and other natural environments of the Country fan,” says CRS Executive Director Bill Mayne. “This will allow us to see how they listen to radio, discover new music, use new media and more in their daily life. Joel Raab and his research committee have put together one of the most powerful and useful experiences at CRS 2013 for our attendees to take back to their businesses for profit. You simply cannot afford to miss this!”

Participants in the project include both male and female Country fans, aged 18-54 from Country lifestyle and non-Country lifestyle markets with varying degrees of technological knowledge. Edison Research is partnering with Prosperity Productions to conduct the study.

The results of the study will be presented by Edison Research’s Larry Rosin and Prosperity Productions’ Lori Hamilton during CRS 2013 on Wednesday, Feb. 27. CRS 2013 runs Feb. 27 – March 1 in downtown Nashville. Register here.

Baldrica Joins Show Dog-Universal Music

Tom Baldrica

Show Dog—Universal Music President Mark Wright today (9/4) announced the appointment of Tom Baldrica to Vice President Promotion and Radio Marketing. Baldrica, who recently exited his post as Pres. of Average Joes Entertainment, is already on the job at his new gig.

“Tom is such an injection of positive energy every time he walks into a room,“ remarked Wright. “We are honored to add such an experienced and passionate professional to our SDU team.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Show Dog-Universal Music promotion team and reuniting with my long time friend Rick Moxley,” added Baldrica. “We’ve enjoyed much success together in the past, and I look forward to our new successes in the future!  I am a fan of Mark Wright, George Nunes and Bill Kennedy, and I look forward to working side by side with that most talented executive trio. Sic ’em Dogs!! Woof, Woof, Woof!”

Baldrica’s lengthy career in the music business also includes promotion and marketing positions with Sony Music Nashville and BNA Records.

SDU’s promotion team had a vacancy due to the exit earlier this summer of VP/ Strategic Planning & Promotion Jimmy Rector, who moved to EMI Records Nashville.

Baldrica can be reached at tom.baldrica@sdumusic.com or (615) 324-7779.

Eric Church Plans Live Album

Photo: Jim Sutter

As he prepares to head out on another leg of his headlining Blood, Sweat, & Beers Tour, Eric Church has revealed plans to bring his concert experience home with a live album slated for release in early 2013. To create the album, Church will record his two nights of concerts at Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre October 8-9.

Church is offering fans a chance to see the special taping with his newly-launched “Captured” video contest. Fans are encouraged to submit videos about how they first got into Church’s music for a chance to win two tickets to the taping, one night’s hotel stay, and a meet and greet with the artist. Entries are due by Sept. 12. Church will announce his top 10 favorites on Sept. 17 when polls will open for the final vote. The winner will be revealed Sept. 26.

See all upcoming tour dates here.

Industry Ink (9/4/2012)


Pictured (L-R): ASCAP's Michael Martin, Nicolle Gaylon, RaeLynn, ASCAP's LeAnn Phelan and Ryan Beuschel

Republic Nashville’s previous The Voice participant, RaeLynn, has officially joined ASCAP as a writer and publisher member.

The singer-songwriter was part of Blake Shelton’s team on the NBC show, and recently opened shows in the midwest for Miranda Lambert. She is working on a forthcoming debut record with fellow TV show participant and co-writer Nicolle Gaylon. RaeLynn is managed by Judy Stakee.

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Pictured (L-R): Inna, Holly Strawn, Laura Huftless, Shanna Strassberg, Rosie, Catherine Melvin, Cindy Heath, Fiona, Montine Felso. Photo: Zac Koffler

Three teams of women from Music Row will compete in the Women’s Half-Marathon Sat., September 22 on behalf of ABLE Youth’s Run, Walk, Wheel & Roll initiative.

Catherine Melvin (High Five), Cindy Heath (Monarch Publicity), Holly Strawn (Attorney, Rubin Lublin, LLC), Laura Huftless (CAA), Martha Ivester (CAA), Montine Felso (WMG), Shanna Strassberg (GAC) and Whitney Duncan (singer/songwriter) will compete in the 13.1 miles race alongside ABLE Youth partners DoveyRosie, and J.Rod who are racing in their wheelchairs.

Since its inception in 2010, the organization has provided 1st-time race experiences for over 50 children while raising over $50,000 for programs that teach children in wheelchairs the importance of living happy, healthy, successful and independent lives. To learn more about the event and to make a donation, click here.

Jamey Johnson to Launch New Album With Ryman Concert

Singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson will celebrate his new album Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran with a release-day concert at the Ryman Auditorium Tuesday, Oct 16 at 7:30 p.m. The evening will feature Johnson with a very a special group of friends yet to be announced.

Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran, which will be released on vinyl one week later on Sept. 25, includes collaborations with artists like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Leon Russell, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Ray Price. The album also features Asleep at the Wheel, Elvis Costello, George Strait, Ronnie Dunn, Bobby Bare, Lee Ann Womack, Kris Kristofferson and Cochran himself.

Tickets for the Ryman show will go on sale this Friday (9/7) at 10 am. To purchase ticket please visit www.ryman.com.

New Owner For Dick Clark Productions, Team Behind ACM Awards

Dick Clark Productions, the company which produces the Academy of Country Music Awards, will be sold to a group which includes Guggenheim Partners, reports the LA Times.

Guggenheim also has stakes in Billboard, Hollywood Reporter, AdWeek and the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to the Times it is likely that Billboard and AdWeek’s awards shows will soon be produced by DCP and that current DCP chief executive Mark Shapiro will exit.

DCP also produces The Golden Globes, The American Music Awards, and Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance.

Joining Guggenheim in the purchase of DCP are Mandalay Entertainment and Mosaic Media Investment Partners. The deal is believed to be worth $385 million, a price much higher than competing bids placed by CBS, Core Media Group, and a consortium led by Ryan Seacrest.

Sound Kitchen Hosting Annual Veterans Benefit Concert

Sound Kitchen Studios will host the 5th Annual We Are Building Lives benefit concert on Saturday, September 8. Emceed by WKRN’s Neil Orne, the event furthers Building Lives Foundation’s mission of assisting Nashville’s homeless veterans with mentoring, health and psychological care, transportation, housing and more. The VIP experience begins at 5:30 pm, and General Admission guests will be admitted at 7 pm.

Artists scheduled to perform include 3 Doors Down, singer/author Keni Thomas, Songwriters Matt Rogers, Gary Ray, Josh Dunne, Ward Davis, and Brian Callihan with a special appearance by Rob Rappaport. There will also be a charity auction, with items including a military-themed guitar signed by all performers. Tickets are $125 apiece and can be purchased here.

Songwriting Great Hal David Passes

Hal David at the Songwriters Hall of Fame dinner in New York in 2011. Photo: Charles Sykes/AP

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Hal David has died at age 91.

Due to a series of strokes, he had been in ill health for several months. He died on Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Lyricist Hal David is best known for many huge pop hits by artists such as Dionne Warwick, Gene Pitney, Dusty Springfield and B.J. Thomas that he co-wrote with Burt Bacharach. Their Broadway musical Promises, Promises won Tony Awards, and their “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” earned the team an Oscar.

But David’s catalog also includes a string of country successes in Nashville, including the evergreen “Sea of Heartbreak.” Several of these were written with collaborators other than Bacharach.

The Brooklyn native began his career as a journalist writing for the New York Post. Hal David is the younger brother of lyricist Mack David, and he began getting his earliest songs recorded in the late 1940s. Hal David co-wrote a number of successes before teaming up with Bacharach in 1957, including hits for Sammy Kaye, Frank Sinatra and Teresa Brewer. The first big Bacharach/David hit was the No. 1 country song “The Story of My Life,” sung by Marty Robbins in 1958.

The collaborators hit their stride in the 1960s, creating a staggering number of modern pop classics – “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” “Alfie,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “Walk on By,” “What’s New Pussycat,” “This Guy’s in Love with You,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “Make it Easy on Yourself,” “The Look of Love,” “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Wives and Lovers,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” “Blue on Blue,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself.” “A House Is Not a Home.” “Always Something There to Remind Me.” “Message to Michael,” “One Less Bell to Answer,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and more.

A number of Mack David’s lyrics became popular in Nashville along the way. In addition to “The Story of My Life” and “Sea of Heartbreak” (originally sung by Don Gibson), “Only Love Can Break a Heart” (Sonny James), “Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa” (Randy Barlow) and “I Say a Little Prayer” (Glen Campbell & Anne Murray) all became country favorites.

After the Bacharach partnership was suspended in 1973, Hal David began traveling to Nashville to collaborate on songs. He co-wrote such chart-topping country hits as “It Was Almost Like a Song” (Ronnie Milsap) and “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” (Willie Nelson & Julio Iglesias).

Dottie West, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, Wynonna Judd, Bobby Goldsboro, The Anita Kerr Singers, The Everly Brothers, Billie Jo Spears, Tony Joe White, Nat Stuckey, Chet Atkins, Bobbie Gentry, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ray Stevens, Ferlin Husky, Barbara Mandrell, Merle Haggard, Highway 101, Rosanne Cash and Alan Jackson have all recorded David’s songs.

Hal David served as the president of ASCAP in 1980-86. He was inducted into the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972, was given a 1997 Trustees Award by the Recording Academy and received his star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. His induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame occurred in 1984.

In May, he and Bacharach received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize during a White House tribute concert. President Obama presented the honor. Due to his illness, David was unable to attend. His wife/widow Eunice David accepted on his behalf.