After each TV awards show we get information about sales increases because of the TV exposure. I’ve been wondering if programmers were as tuned in with the TV performances and then translated that to their rotations.
Obviously Clear Channel had a huge impact on the chart position of the new Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw song, as they played it every hour on their Country stations.
I am NOT taking any credit for this but weeks ago I suggested, in this space, that stations use this particular song as a way to promote the TV show and take credit for owning the song. First off, Clay Hunnicut is much smarter than me so he isn’t using my ideas and Clear Channel did something similar with the Madonna single around the Super Bowl months ago.
Certainly this song will perform better than the Madonna single that died a fiery death shortly after this stunt.
I do believe though that there is no media that responds like radio can, if programmers make the effort. How many stations were playing the winner’s songs on their evening shows? The program ended at 11 PM (or 10 PM CST) local time and stations could have done an ACM recap for the rest of the evening. That is, if they had live programming in the evening.
How many stations played the new music from the program the next morning? The Kenny and Tim song was available at midnight on Play MPE but unless the morning show is hosted by the programmer or music director, it is unlikely the song was available for airplay until later in the day.
So I looked at CD sales after the show and quite frankly I am not seeing the normal bounce. The big winner was the Zac Brown Band who saw a jump of 5000 CDs from week to week and a jump of 13 spots on the sales chart. Jason Aldean saw an increase of about 3000 from week to week with My Kinda Party. It jumped nine slots on the CD sales chart but the sales increase was not all that spectacular. It deserved more.
Other significant jumps were seen for Taylor and Lady A. Overall this was a poor CD sales week. The number one seller was, wait for it, Adele. 21 sold 88,000 CDs last week. Come on. Are there even 88,000 people who still don’t own this CD?
So let’s look and see if the performances had any impact on programmers and what they scheduled.
Only four songs had 400 plus spins: the aforementioned Kenny-Tim duet (which doesn’t count, because it wasn’t played at all the week before), Jason, Miranda and the Band Perry. All three had big performances on the show and two of them carted off trophies.
Looking at just Monday (4/2), the biggest spin increases were from Jason, ZBB, Miranda, Luke Bryan and Eric Church.
Some of the other memorable performances on the show went without sales or spin increases. The Rascal Flatts performance was fabulous. Spins were up but more in line with the growth of the record.
I have written that I think Luke Bryan is the next big guy and his performance was less hip shaking than the CMA appearance (read: that’s good) but it was not reflected in sales. Spins were up about 300, but the two previous weeks spins were up 500 each.
Sara Evans, who I thought hit a home run on the ACM show (versus losing attention to a near naked lady flying over the CMA Awards audience), had a steady sales week but does not have a current single on the chart to measure. Maybe that speaks more strongly for the show’s performance.
The Band Perry really was a double winner: up over 400 spins (with “Postcard From Paris”) and up 18 spots on the sales chart, albeit with only a 1500 increase in sales from week to week.
Toby had a big increase with “Beers Ago” even though “Red Solo Cup” was his show performance. Certainly there are enough Toby Fans that associate Beer and Red Solo Cups. I do not see an increase in digital or single sales on the song though. Apparently we already all have it on our phones and iPods.
We know that radio is the number one source for introducing and ultimately selling more Country music than anything else but TV must have something to say. Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” sold 138,544 digital downloads last week. He was on TV more than any other performer with the ACM hosting duties and The Voice.
With the incredible success of the ACM awards show, and the fact that this was one of the best-produced shows in memory, I would have liked Country radio to be more aggressive in taking advantage of this huge tune in.
Friday Photo Roundup (4/13/12)
/by MichelleMerle Haggard made a surprise appearance at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s public interview program My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers this week. He was joined on stage by Norm Hamlet and Don Markham, longtime members of Haggard’s band, the Strangers. The men began the discussion by paying tribute to Fuzzy Owen, the man who gave Haggard his first recording contract, produced and played steel on his early records, and has managed his career for decades. The program was presented in support of the major exhibition The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and California Country.
(L-R): Museum Editor and Co-Curator Michael Gray, Norm Hamlet, Merle Haggard, Don Markham, Vice President of Museum Services Carolyn Tate and Fuzzy Owen. Photo: Donn Jones
• • •
Luke and Beth Laird celebrated the opening of their new music publishing and management company Creative Nation with music row friends recently. Their new office space is also shared with Ready Set, the management and record company owned by Trent and Kristen Dabbs (Ten out of Tenn, Sugar and the Hi-Lows).
(L-R): Jennifer Dean, Barry Dean (Creative Nation Writer), Luke Laird (Creative Nation Co-owner, Songwriter, Producer), Beth Laird (Creative Nation Co-owner and General Manager), Kristen Dabbs (Ready Set Co-owner and General Manger) and Trent Dabbs (Ready Set Co-owner, Artist, Writer)
• • •
Craig Morgan appeared on Conan April 11 to perform the title track from his new CD, This Ole Boy. To view a clip of the show click here.
Photo: TBS
Martina McBride Invites Fans on Unique Theater Tour
/by Eric T. ParkerPhoto: Republic Nashville/Randee St. Nicholas
Martina McBride kicked-off the first of several intimate theater performances yesterday evening (4/12) in Panama City, FL. Tonight (4/13) the tour makes a stop in St. Augustine, FL, and tomorrow (4/14) it will hit Durham, NC.
The songstress will take her fans through a unique journey of music she wrote and recorded for her album Eleven (Republic Nashville) in one-night only experiences. Each night, Martina will change up her set to perform fan favorites from her catalog of eleven studio albums. Fans will also hear stories behind the songs, including her current single “Marry Me,” which is a duet with Pat Monahan from Train.
“I believe the concert experience is about sharing,” said McBride. “It’s not just an artist up on stage singing songs for an audience. There has to be a connection for it to work…for both of us. In an arena, I always feel like my mission is to keep people up on their feet all night. These theater shows are going to be more about making memories I hope they never forget.”
Martina McBride Theater Event Schedule:
April 13 St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine Amphitheater
April 14 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center
April 28 Ivins, UT Tuacahn Center for the Arts
May 12 Clear Lake, IA Surf Ballroom
May 13 Wabash, IN Honeywell Center
May 17 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Live
May 18 Houston, TX Arena Theatre
June 13 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap Filene Center
June 14 Kettering, OH Fraze Pavilion
June 22 Interlochen, MI Kresge Auditorium
August 24 Wallingford, CT Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre
August 25 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent
August 26 Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus
Weekend Updates (4/13/12)
/by Freeman• • • •
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The Nashville Chapter of Autism Speaks will host its inaugural gala, “A Blue Affair” on Saturday (4/14) at 6 pm at the Gaylord Springs Golf Club. Performers include Burning Las Vegas and Austism Speaks’ Tennessee Youth Ambassador Katie Chance. All event proceeds will benefit Autism Speaks’ work.
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Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will cut the ribbon to officially open Cumberland Park at 1:30 pm on Sunday (4/15). The innovative new public space offers nature-inspired play features, a climbing wall, and spray-grounds with jets. The park is located near LP Field between the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Casey James to Open Shows For Alan Jackson
/by FreemanBMI recently invited Casey James to perform at the 2012 NAB State Leadership Conference in Washington, DC. The NAB SLC attracts radio and TV executives from across the country who come to DC to discuss legislative issues affecting the broadcast industry. (L-R): BMI’s Dan Spears, Casey James, and NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith. Photo: Eddie Arrossi
Casey James’ single “Let’s Don’t Call It A Night” is currently approaching the Top 20 on all the charts, and now the American Idol alumnus is scheduled to open shows this weekend for iconic country star Alan Jackson.
Tonight (4/13), James will open for Jackson in Benton, TX and tomorrow (4/14), the show will take place in Las Cruces, NM. James is set to play the Country Thunder Festival in Florence, AZ on Sunday (4/15).
“It’s Alan Freakin’ Jackson!” said James. “He is a poetic storyteller, and one of the best artist/writers there is. And as a performer, he has been entertaining and selling out shows year after year. It’s a huge honor to open for him.”
James’ self-titled debut album recently hit No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart. Nine of the album’s tracks were co-written by James, and he contributed his own guitar work.
Lauren Alaina Becomes Special Olympics Ambassador
/by Eric T. ParkerLauren Alaina (first row second from L) spends time with a group from the Special Olympics at the 23rd Annual National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis.
Special Olympics Project UNIFY has made 19/Mercury Nashville artist Lauren Alaina Ambassador for North America. The announcement was introduced by Special Olympics Minnesota athlete and National Youth Activation Committee member, Danielle Liebl as part of the 23rd Annual National Service-Learning Conference.
In her capacity as Ambassador, the American Idol Season 10 runner up will assist efforts to raise awareness and change the attitudes of youth toward people with intellectual disabilities. Alaina will play a role influencing young people across the nation to embrace and live the Special Olympics’ message of inclusion.
“I am honored to be asked to be an Ambassador for Special Olympics,” said Alaina. “I have been involved with the local chapter in my hometown since I was in 6th grade. I have made friends for life and they did their part to support me throughout my run on American Idol. Now, it is my turn to support them and help bring awareness to this wonderful organization.”
Project UNIFY brings youth from school community with and without intellectual disabilities together through education, sports and related initiatives to provide the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for promoting acceptance, respect and human dignity.
Alaina is currently touring with Sugarland as part of the “In Your Hands” tour. In addition, she is performing in select cities with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan as part of the “My Kinda Party” tour.
No. 1 Party: Keith Urban’s “You Gonna Fly”
/by Sherod Robertson(L-R): Capitol Records’ Tom Becci and Steve Hodges, ASCAP’s Marc Driskill, producer Dann Huff, co-writer Jaren Johnston, Keith Urban, co-writers Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, Sony ATV Music Publishing’s Troy Tomlinson, and BMI’s Jody Williams.
On Wednesday (4/11), the day after being invited to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry, Capitol Records’ Keith Urban joined songwriters Preston Brust, Chris Lucas, and Jaren Johnston at Chappy’s to celebrate their No. 1 hit “You Gonna Fly.” BMI and ASCAP co-hosted the event, which honored Urban’s 14th time to hit the top spot. Urban co-produced the hit with Dann Huff.
Following presentations by BMI’s Jody Williams and ASCAP’s Marc Driskill, other industry executives on hand to bestow honors were Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson, Capitol Records’ Steve Hodges, CMA’s Brandi Simms and CRB’s Bill Mayne. Avenue Bank’s Cooper Samuels also presented a financial contribution in the name of the honorees to St. Jude.
Huff gave high praise to Urban saying, “To work with a guy like this, it makes me and everybody who works with him better.”
Brust and Lucas, also known as the duo LoCash Cowboys, and Johnston, the lead singer in The Cadillac Black, each shared their intriguing recollection of receiving calls of gratitude from Urban for the song.
To the writers, Urban said, “It’s so cool this song has so many firsts; first cut for you guys, your first No. 1, first one on hold for the record. I want to thank you for trusting me with your song. Thank you for letting me cut your song.” He also thanked his wife Nicole who was in the crowd, saying “Baby girl, thank you so much for coming down.”
The party ended with a special treat for the attendees, a performance of “You Gonna Fly” by Urban, the writers and his band.
CountryBreakout No. 1 Song
/by FreemanWell, Big Machine’s Rascal Flatts is aiming to set the record straight with CountryBreakout No. 1 song “Banjo,” penned by Tony Martin, Wendell Mobley, and Neil Thrasher. The uptempo single makes the deep woods sound like a place of fantastic escape and respite, built on a bed of chugging guitars and mixed with some incredibly deft banjo pickin’. The superstar trio recently played the song on the ACM Awards stage with comic legend and banjo aficionado Steve Martin.
This No. 1 accolade is well-timed, of course. Rascal Flatts’ eighth studio album Changed just hit stores on April 3, debuting at No. 1 with over 130k units sold. The group went for a unique and high-visibility approach for the release, offering a one-night-only movie theater concert experience which aired on more than 650 screens nationwide.
Grammy Block Party Lineup Revealed
/by MichelleThe event is free for Recording Academy members, who may purchase one guest ticket for $50.
Weekly Chart Report (4/13/2012)
/by FreemanErica Nicole visited MusicRow’s Reporter of the Year, Jim Quinton, at WPPL, Blue Ridge, GA. She celebrated Quinton’s 50th birthday during the visit and promotd her current single "What You Think About Us." The single lands her a spot ‘on deck’ on this week's chart.
SPIN ZONE
Kudos to Rascal Flatts, Big Machine Label Group, and associated promotion personnel on earning the new CountryBreakout No. 1 song with “Banjo.” Flatts’ latest picks up 147 extra spins in the latest chart and stays ahead of Miranda Lambert’s “Over You.” Eric Church’s “Springsteen” charges ahead to No. 3, followed by Jason Aldean’s “Fly Over States” and Carrie Underwood’s red hot “Good Girl” at No. 5.
Also red hot: Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw’s duet “Feel Like a Rock Star.” Unveiled in live performance on the ACM Awards stage, the superstar collaboration debuted at No. 39 last week and picked up an additional 937 (!) spins to grab the No. 20 spot. Dierks Bentley’s “5-1-5-0” is also going a little wild, gaining 360 spins and moving onward to No. 28.
Keith Urban’s “For You,” which also had its first televised performance on the ACM Awards Stage, is the week’s big debut at No. 61. Urban’s Capitol label mate Jon Pardi is right behind at No. 62 with “Missin’ You Crazy,” now in its second week charting. Outside the Top 80, Montgomery Gentry’s new “So Called Life” looks poised for a strong debut in the next chart.
Frozen Reports: KITX, KVVP, KYKX, WKBQ, WQNZ
Upcoming Singles
April 16
Greg Bates/Did It For The Girl/Republic Nashville
Rachele Lynae/Party ‘Til The Cows Come Home/Momentum
Tammie Davis/ It’s a Beautiful Life/ ATP Records.
Kellie Pickler/100 Proof/19/BNA
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol
Hali Hicks/I Can Still Breathe/Phull
April 23
Rick Monroe/Crazy Not To/Render
Kelly Clarkson/Mr. Know It All/19/RCA
Eric Lee Beddingfield/Come On/Rebel Dawg
Neal McCoy/Shotgun Rider/Blaster/Rodeowave
• • • • •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol — 61
Brad Wolf/Too Many Mondays/Evergreen — 74
Jerrod Niemann/Shinin’ On Me/Sea Gayle/Arista — 76
Lucas Hoge/Give A Damn/Animal House — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw/Feel Like A Rock Star/BNA — 937
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol — 381
Dierks Bentley/5-1-5-0/Capitol — 360
Toby Keith/Beers Ago/Show Dog—Universal — 259
Luke Bryan/Drunk On You/Capitol — 231
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw/Feel Like A Rock Star/BNA — 32
Keith Urban/For You/Capitol — 29
Dierks Bentley/5-1-5-0/Capitol — 13
Montgomery Gentry/So Called Life/Average Joe’s — 12
Martina McBride feat. Pat Monahan/Marry Me/Republic Nashville — 10
Jon Pardi/Missin’ You Crazy/Capitol — 10
Jaida Dreyer/Guy’s Girl/Soundstream — 9
Greg Bates/Did It For The Girl/Republic Nashville — 9
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Steve Richard/Toothbrush/Force MP — 204
Chad Warrix/Rain On The Roof — 193
Justin Haigh/People Like Me — 186
Josh Abbott Band/Touch/PDT — 180
Erica Nicole/Tell Me What You Think About Us/Heaven Records — 172
Flying Island’s flagship artist Gwen Sebastian visited WIVK/Knoxville and shared some experiences about filming NBC’s The Voice, and being on tour with Blake Shelton. (L-R): Katherine Torbett, WIVK; Bob Raleigh, PD WIVK; Frog; Flying Island’s Gwen Sebastian; Jill Tomalty, FIE; Louis Newman, FIE Exec.; and Spencer Bassett, band member.
Blair Garner’s After MidNite remote studio at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas found country music artists including Justin Moore and The Band Perry immediately following the 47th Annual ACM Awards.
Up-and-coming duo Florida Georgia Line passed through Pulaski, TN recently and visited with MusicRow CountryBreakout reporter WKSR. The duo, comprised of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, is promoting the new single “Cruise” which appears on the forthcoming EP produced by Joey Moi. (L-R): Hubbard, WKSR PD Ed Carter, Kelley
Charlie Cook On Air: Do Award Shows Translate to Spins?
/by contributorObviously Clear Channel had a huge impact on the chart position of the new Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw song, as they played it every hour on their Country stations.
I am NOT taking any credit for this but weeks ago I suggested, in this space, that stations use this particular song as a way to promote the TV show and take credit for owning the song. First off, Clay Hunnicut is much smarter than me so he isn’t using my ideas and Clear Channel did something similar with the Madonna single around the Super Bowl months ago.
Certainly this song will perform better than the Madonna single that died a fiery death shortly after this stunt.
I do believe though that there is no media that responds like radio can, if programmers make the effort. How many stations were playing the winner’s songs on their evening shows? The program ended at 11 PM (or 10 PM CST) local time and stations could have done an ACM recap for the rest of the evening. That is, if they had live programming in the evening.
How many stations played the new music from the program the next morning? The Kenny and Tim song was available at midnight on Play MPE but unless the morning show is hosted by the programmer or music director, it is unlikely the song was available for airplay until later in the day.
So I looked at CD sales after the show and quite frankly I am not seeing the normal bounce. The big winner was the Zac Brown Band who saw a jump of 5000 CDs from week to week and a jump of 13 spots on the sales chart. Jason Aldean saw an increase of about 3000 from week to week with My Kinda Party. It jumped nine slots on the CD sales chart but the sales increase was not all that spectacular. It deserved more.
Other significant jumps were seen for Taylor and Lady A. Overall this was a poor CD sales week. The number one seller was, wait for it, Adele. 21 sold 88,000 CDs last week. Come on. Are there even 88,000 people who still don’t own this CD?
So let’s look and see if the performances had any impact on programmers and what they scheduled.
Only four songs had 400 plus spins: the aforementioned Kenny-Tim duet (which doesn’t count, because it wasn’t played at all the week before), Jason, Miranda and the Band Perry. All three had big performances on the show and two of them carted off trophies.
Looking at just Monday (4/2), the biggest spin increases were from Jason, ZBB, Miranda, Luke Bryan and Eric Church.
Some of the other memorable performances on the show went without sales or spin increases. The Rascal Flatts performance was fabulous. Spins were up but more in line with the growth of the record.
I have written that I think Luke Bryan is the next big guy and his performance was less hip shaking than the CMA appearance (read: that’s good) but it was not reflected in sales. Spins were up about 300, but the two previous weeks spins were up 500 each.
Sara Evans, who I thought hit a home run on the ACM show (versus losing attention to a near naked lady flying over the CMA Awards audience), had a steady sales week but does not have a current single on the chart to measure. Maybe that speaks more strongly for the show’s performance.
The Band Perry really was a double winner: up over 400 spins (with “Postcard From Paris”) and up 18 spots on the sales chart, albeit with only a 1500 increase in sales from week to week.
Toby had a big increase with “Beers Ago” even though “Red Solo Cup” was his show performance. Certainly there are enough Toby Fans that associate Beer and Red Solo Cups. I do not see an increase in digital or single sales on the song though. Apparently we already all have it on our phones and iPods.
We know that radio is the number one source for introducing and ultimately selling more Country music than anything else but TV must have something to say. Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” sold 138,544 digital downloads last week. He was on TV more than any other performer with the ACM hosting duties and The Voice.
With the incredible success of the ACM awards show, and the fact that this was one of the best-produced shows in memory, I would have liked Country radio to be more aggressive in taking advantage of this huge tune in.