Journalist Chris Neal Passes

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MusicRow sends its condolences to friends and family of music journalist Chris Neal, who passed away at his Nashville home on Sun., June 17. He was 40 years old.

A veteran journalist, Neal was serving as a Senior Editor for M Music & Musicians magazine and was part of the team that launched the publication in January 2010. He previously spent 10 years with Country Weekly, and freelanced for a variety of publications such as Village Voice, Salon.com, Nashville Scene, Performing Songwriter, American Photographer and many others. Over his 12 years in Nashville he interviewed hundreds of artists that hailed from every musical genre.

He is survived by his wife, Katie Dodd Neal.

Visitation will be held Thurs., June 21, 4 – 8 pm at Hibbett & Hailey Funeral Home (429 Donelson Pike). Funeral services will be held Fri., June 22 at 10 am.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the Humane Society.

BMI Presents Christian Music Awards

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Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Mike O’Neill; Universal Music Publishing Group’s Dale Matthews (accepting Song of the Year Award for Kirk Franklin); Publisher of the Year, EMI CMG Publishing’s Eddie DeGarmo; Christian Songwriters of the Year Kyla Rowland, tobyMac, and Chris Stevens; and BMI’s Jody Williams and Phil Graham.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) celebrated the songwriters and music publishers behind the past year’s most-performed songs in Christian music last night (6/19) during the organization’s annual Christian Music Awards, held at BMI’s Nashville offices on Music Row.

Consistent chart-topper tobyMac earned his third consecutive Christian Songwriter of the Year crystal and shares the 2012 honor with Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall, singer/songwriter Matt Maher, Southern gospel staple Kyla Rowland and hit songwriter/producer Chris Stevens. The unusual five-way tie occurred because the hit-makers each wrote or co-wrote two of the songs on the year’s most-performed list.

The Isaacs perform “Why Can’t We."

Cross-format superstar Kirk Franklin earned Christian Song of the Year honors for his smash “I Smile,” published by Aunt Gertrude Music Publishing LLC and Bridge Building Music.

With the highest percentage of copyright ownership among the year’s most-performed songs, powerhouse EMI CMG Publishing clinched the Christian Publisher of the Year win.

During the ceremony, prolific family group the Isaacs, 2012 Dove Awards Artist of the Year Jason Crabb and dynamic contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Chris Tomlin each delivered inspirational performances.

Jody Williams, BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville, and Associate Director Leslie Roberts served as the evening’s hosts alongside Phil Graham, BMI Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations.

All photos by John Russell

EMI CMG Publishing celebrates its BMI Christian Publisher of the Year title. Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Phil Graham; EMI CMG Publishing’s Eddie DeGarmo; BMI’s Jody Williams; EMI CMG Publishing’s Matt Ewald, Jeremy Ash, Jimi Williams, Casey McGinty; BMI’s Leslie Roberts; and EMI CMG Publishing’s John Thompson.

BMI Christian Awards 2012

Songwriters of the Year
Mark Hall
“Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)”
“If We’ve Ever Needed You”

Matt Maher
“Hold Us Together”
“I Lift My Hands”

tobyMac
“Hold Me”
“Hold On”

Kyla Rowland
“Did I Mention”
“This Old Sinner Testifies”

Chris Stevens
“Hold Me”
“Stronger”

Song of the Year
“I Smile”
Kirk Franklin
Aunt Gertrude Music Publishing LLC
Bridge Building Music
Kirk Franklin

Publisher of the Year
EMI CMG Publishing
“Better Than A Hallelujah”
“He Wants It All”
“Hold Us Together”
“I Lift My Hands”

Universal Music Publishing accepts Kirk Franklin’s Song of the Year award for “I Smile Do” at the 2012 BMI Christian Music Awards. Pictured (L-R):BMI’s Phil Graham, Universal Music Publishing’s John Andrade, BMI’s Jody Williams, Universal Music Publishing’s Dale Mathews, BMI’s Leslie Roberts, and Universal Music Publishing’s Stacey Wilbur and Eric Hurt.

2012 BMI Christian Awards
Award-Winning Songs

“Better Than A Hallelujah”
Sarah Hart, Chapin Hartford
Chapin Hartford Music/Michael Puryear Music/River Oaks Music Company/Spiritandsong.com Publishing
Amy Grant

“Born Again”
Wesley Campbell, Michael Tait
Don’t Chase Music/Tait Music/Te Puke Publishing
Newsboys

“Did I Mention”
Kyla Rowland
Christian Taylor Music
The Perrys

“Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)”
Mark Hall
My Refuge Music/Sony/ATV Tree
Casting Crowns

“He Wants It All”
Dominique Jones
Four Jones Publishing/Meaux Mercy Publishing
Forever Jones

“Hold Me”
Toby McKeehan, Chris Stevens
Achtober Songs/Regisfunk Music
Jamie-Grace featuring tobyMac

“Hold On”
Jesse Frasure, Toby McKeehan
Achtober Songs/Rio Bravo Music, Inc.
tobyMac

“Hold Us Together”
Matt Maher, Steve Wilson
Meaux Mercy Publishing/Skyline Apartments Music/Spiritandsong.com Publishing/Worship Together Music
Matt Maher

“I Believe”
Ay’Ron Lewis
Black Smoke Publishing/Straightchurch Publishing
James Fortune And Fiya feat. Zacardi
Cortez & Shawn McLemore

“I Choose To Worship”
Jonathan Brown, Wess Morgan
Wess Morgan Music
Wess Morgan

“I Lift My Hands”
Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin
Valley Of Songs Music/Worship Together Music
Chris Tomlin

“I Smile”
Kirk Franklin
Aunt Gertrude Music Publishing LLC/Bridge Building Music
Kirk Franklin

“If We’ve Ever Needed You”
Mark Hall, Bernie Herms
My Refuge Music/ Sony/ATV Tree
Casting Crowns

“I’ve Never Known A Day”
Van Mitchell, Jr.
True Testament Music
The Inspirations

“Lift Me Up”
Jordan Mohilowski
Miracle In My Hand Music Publishing
The Afters

“Listen To The Sound”
Jason Roy
Havery Publishing/Sony/ATV Tree
Building 429

“My Help Comes From The Lord”
Jon Abel, Barry Weeks
45 Degrees Music/Bridge Building Music
The Museum

“Rain On Us”
Daniel Moore, II; Daniel Moore, Sr.
Dem Two Music/S4Dt Publishing
Earnest Pugh

“Somebody Died For Me”
Kyle Matthews, Christy Sutherland
Catalytic Songs/Mattmoosic
Triumphant Quartet

“Starry Night”
Ed Cash
Alletrop Music
Chris August

“Stronger”
Chris Stevens
Regisfunk Music
Mandisa

“This Old Sinner Testifies”
Kyla Rowland
Christian Taylor Music/Lonesome Bend Publishing
The Perrys

“You Love Me Anyway”
Dave Frey, Ben McDonald
Dayspring Music
Sidewalk Prophets

“You Were Faithful Yesterday”
Rodney Griffin
Songs Of Greater Vision
Greater Vision

“Your Great Name”
Michael Neale
Integrity’s Praise! Music
Natalie Grant

(L-R): Chris Tomlin, BMI’s Jody Williams, Jason Crabb, Jason Roy of Building 429, Susan Stewart of NARAS, Brandon Heath, and Provident Label Group’s Blaine Barcus.

Chely Wright Releases Documentary

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Chely Wright’s Wish Me Away documentary, which recently received Nashville Film Festival’s Audience Award, is available in select theaters and for rent and pre-sale on iTunes before its July 31 official release.

Filmmakers Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf use a mixture of the singer’s public and private moments surrounding her 2010 Pantheon book release, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer, which discussed her homosexuality.

Nashville industry executives Tony Brown, Clarence Spalding, Rodney Crowell, Bill Cody and Don Cusic offer interview commentary while Fletcher Foster serves as Co-Executive Producer of the film.

Cusic offers, “Country fans are loyal to an artist until they feel betrayed.” The documentary tells the story of a Country artist revealing a secret to a traditionally conservative market, anticipating abandonment from those fans.

“We have paid a lot of attention to how we present Nashville, not as a monolith of homophobia, but as a very successful business that markets to a predominantly conservative audience, much like the rest of the country,” says Birleffi.

Wright reveals the ways she protected her secret and used her celebrity to keep the world at an arm’s length. As a child, she prayed away feelings of homosexuality and negotiated with God to replace her desire for love with a successful career.

When she secured a record deal from Polygram and her first No. 1, “Single White Female,” Wright thought God had answered her prayers. She recalls developing evasive skills to distract speculation from her love life and focused energy on public service, for which she started her charity Reading, Writing and Rhythm.

It was after her success had snowballed around her secret when Wright felt cornered and contemplated suicide.

“Young people in every corner of America are being told by their churches—and their parents are echoing what the churches are telling them—that they’re damaged goods, and they’re not,” Wright remarks in the documentary.

The title, Wish Me Away, comes from one of the song on Wright’s 2010 album release Lifted Off The Ground.

Last Friday, the documentary opened in Los Angeles and Sebastopol, CA; Columbus, OH; and Denver, CO; joining Berklee, CA; and NYC’s Quad Cinema.

Guitarist Dave Stewart to Debut Documentary at Belcourt Theatre

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Songwriter and guitarist Dave Stewart (Eurythmics, Superheavy) stars in the upcoming documentary The Blackbird Diaries and the Ringmaster General, which was shot in Nashville during recording sessions at Blackbird Studios.

The film follows Stewart through the recording process of two albums, his 2011 release The Blackbird Diaries, and the forthcoming The Ringmaster General (Weapons of Mass Entertainment/Surfdog). Guests and muses who join in the fun include Alison Krauss, Martina McBride, Colbie Caillat, The Secret Sisters, Joss Stone, Stevie Nicks, Jessie Baylin, Diane Birch, and Orianthi. Some of Nashville’s finest session musicians back Stewart on both recordings including Tom Bukovac, Chad Cromwell, Michael Rhodes, Dan Dugmore, and Mike Rojas.

The Belcourt Theatre will host a VIP premiere on Wednesday, August 22, and tickets are available here. See the trailer here.

Stewart is also set to open a handful of shows for Sugarland in August:

8/23 – Alpharetta, GA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
8/24 – Memphis, TN – Fedex Forum
8/25 – Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre

UMG, NMPA Deal Covers Videos on YouTube, Vevo

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The NMPA has reached an agreement with Universal Music Group, where UMG will pay songwriters and music publishers when music videos of their songs are played on YouTube and Vevo. UMG is the first major label to reach a licensing agreement of this kind, traditionally songwriters and publishers weren’t paid for video plays, which were considered promotional uses.

NMPA publishers who opt into the North American agreement will grant synchronization rights for music videos, and, in return, receive royalties from the videos based on a percentage of UMG’s receipts. Both Vevo, which is owned in part by UMG, and YouTube are ad supported sites.

Under the agreement, UMG will also provide songwriter and publisher compensation for ringtones, dual disc, multi-session audio and locked content products.

The agreement, which will be administered by the HFA, is retroactive for past use of musical works in UMG’s music videos.

Additional details will become available in the coming weeks, however Billboard reports the deal, which extends to concert footage, backstage videos and artist interviews, will pay 10% of advertising revenue from 2008-09 and 15% from 2010-present.

NMPA President and CEO, David Israelite, commented:

We’re all navigating through a rapidly changing business environment. The agreement announced today is an important first step in resolving industry-wide music video issues. UMG deserves credit for being the first record label to partner with the entire songwriting and music publishing community through this model licensing deal. We have raised the issue with [the other majors] and will now turn our attention to pursuing similar agreements. We intend to enforce our rights.

Pistol Annies Welcome Fans to The Henhouse

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Pistol Annies at the Wrigley Field show in Chicago on June 9. Photo: Blu Sanders

The Pistol Annies have created a new online community for fans called The Henhouse. Fans are invited to join and share their inspirations and explore the discoveries of other Annies fans.

“Tune in to ‘Live from the Henhouse’ with Hippie Annie (Ashley Monroe), Holler Annie (Angaleena Presley) and me, Lone Star Annie, for advice that your momma won’t give you,” said Miranda Lambert.

“Be as creative as you want; show us your inner Annie or Andy!” added Ashley.

The site also features Henhouse Radio, which plays an eclectic mix from Old Crow Medicine Show to Blake Shelton to Tom Petty. The Henhouse can be found at www.pistolannies.com/henhouse.

The Pistol Annies have also been added to more dates on Miranda’s “On Fire” tour. In September, the trio will head out for a series of headlining dates.

Pistol Annies on Miranda Lambert “On Fire” tour dates:
July 6 – Varysburg, NY – Jam in the Valley at Buffalo Hill Village
July 7 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion
July 12 – Orange Beach, AL – The Amphitheater at the Wharf
July 13 – Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
July 14 – Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
July 26 – Verona, NY – Turning Stone Resort Casino Event Center
July 27 – Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavilion
July 28 – Harrington, DE – Delaware State Fair
August 10 – Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Civic Center
August 11 – Hinckley, MN – Grand Casino Hinckley Event Center
August 12 – Des Moines, IA – Iowa State Fair
August 17 – Fayetteville, AR – Taste of Country Festival at Arkansas Music Pavilion
August 18 – Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fair
September 4 – Dawson Creek, BC – EnCana Events Centre
September 6 – Lethbridge, AB – Enmax Centre
September 7 – Regina, SK – Brandt Centre

Pistol Annies-only shows:
September 15 – Frederick, MD – Great Frederick Fair
September 23 – Pomona, CA – Los Angeles County Fair
September 28 – Biloxi, MS – IP Casino Resort and Spa
September 29 – Ft. Worth, TX – Billy Bob’s Texas
September 30 – Norman, OK – Riverwind Casino

UMG/EMI Merger Path Lined With Hurdles

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Universal Music Group still has a few hurdles to clear before it can purchase EMI’s recorded music division. UMG said today (6/20) that the European Commission has responded to the proposed merger with a statement of objections.

When very large corporations merge it is not uncommon for regulators to ask them to sell off pieces or make other concessions to receive antitrust clearance.

Meanwhile, the $1.9 billion transaction is also under scrutiny in the US. According to Reuters, Universal Chairman Lucian Grainge and EMI CEO Roger Faxon, the top players in the deal, will appear Thurs., June 21 before an antitrust subcommittee to speak on behalf of the merger. Live Nation’s Irving Azoff is also scheduled to appear in support. Opposing the transaction in front of the subcommittee will be Warner’s Edgar Bronfman Jr., Martin Mills of the Beggars Group (4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings) and Gigi Sohn of the public advocacy group Public Knowledge. The subcommittee is holding these hearings despite the fact that is has no formal influence over federal antitrust regulators.

UMG, owned by Vivendi, is buying EMI’s recorded music unit from Citigroup, which broke apart the publishing and label divisions in order to sell them off. The European Commission has already approved Sony/ATV’s $2.2 billion purchase of EMI Music Publishing.

Willie Nelson to Host Celebrity Golf Tournament

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Willie Nelson will host his First Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament at Pedernales Cut N Putt Golf Club on June 30 in Travis County, Texas. The event will celebrate the re-opening of Nelson’s 9-hole golf course and proceeds will benefit the Pedernales Fire Department, Helping Hands Ministries of Spicewood, The Children’s Music Foundation of Austin, and RunTex Carrozza Foundation.

Golf begins at 10 am, and there will be a silent auction starting at 11 am. The day will conclude with a Night Life Golf competition. Attendees will also be treated to music from Paula Nelson, Sonny Throckmorton, Folk Uke, Zach Edwards, Jeena & Her Band of Brothers, Billy Joe Shaver, and Jamey Johnson with more expected to be added.

To register, visit www.willienelsongolftournament.com.

Blogs Set Off Facebook Frenzy

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A blog post about the importance of paying for music is the hottest topic on Facebook among members of the Nashville music community—proof that the fight for compensation is a passionate as ever.

David Lowery, lead singer of Cracker and an instructor at the University of Georgia, unleashed an abrasive 4000 word diatribe on the subject at a blog called The Trichordist. It was in response to a post on NPR’s All Things Considered blog by intern Emily White, 21, who openly admitted that she doesn’t pay for music. White wrote:

As monumental a role as musicians and albums have played in my life, I’ve never invested money in them aside from concert tickets and T-shirts… I can’t support them with concert tickets and T-shirts alone. But I honestly don’t think my peers and I will ever pay for albums. I do think we will pay for convenience.

This is a tiny portion of Lowery’s response, which includes many pertinent points:

Is it really that inconvenient to download a song from iTunes into your iPhone? Is it that hard to type in your password? I think millions would disagree.

As MusicRow readers well know, the industry has been fighting illegal downloading and file-sharing for years, with little headway being made.

Today when the subject surfaces, social media quickens the spread of news, links, comments and opinions. So far, songwriters, publishers, studio managers, publicists and reporters have weighed in on the blogs penned by Lowery and White. Share your own thoughts below.

Lady A Sells Out Australian Shows

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Friday afternoon (6/15), Lady Antebellum officially sold out its Australian Own The Night 2012 World Tour dates in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney where they added and sold out a second night at the Opera House due to demand. The group has now sold over 900,000 tickets to the global tour with upcoming dates scheduled in the US, Europe and Australia.

Before heading overseas, the tour continues this week in the US with stops scheduled in Birmingham, AL (6/21), Atlanta, GA (6/22), Greenville, SC (6/23) and Indianapolis, IN (6/24). For a full list of tour dates, visit www.ladyantebellum.com.