Sony Music Nashville looks to have a busy promotional schedule early in 2012, with a handful of new singles slated to hit radio. First up is Miranda Lambert’s “Over You,” the second single from her acclaimed Four The Record collection. Lambert penned the deeply personal song with her husband Blake Shelton, about Blake’s brother who died in a car accident.
Miranda says, “I’ve never cried writing a song, and I don’t know that I ever will again. After we wrote it, Blake said he couldn’t record this song for himself or sing it on stage every night but he would be honored for me to. ‘Over You’ is one of the most special songs I’ll ever be a part of.” Starting January 12, Lambert will kick off her headlining On Fire tour in Rockford, IL with Chris Young and Jerrod Niemann.
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Across the hall at Arista Records, Ronnie Dunn’s “Let The Cowboy Rock” will go for adds January 16. The third single from Dunn’s self-titled debut solo album, it follows up the reactive “Cost Of Livin'” which was the theme of episodes of Dr. Phil and The Doctors in December.
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Also vying for adds in these early weeks of January is Show Dog-Universal’s JT Hodges, whose new single is “Goodbyes Made You Mine.” Back in November, Hodges made his Grand Ole Opry debut and his single “Hunt You Down” climbed to No. 28 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.
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Following the group’s first big No. 1 song “Crazy Girl,” Eli Young Band will be sending “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” to country radio. Written by Will Hoge, the song is the second single from EYB’s first Republic Nashville album Life At Best.
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Also part of the Sony camp, BNA will be rolling out “Hot Mess,” the debut from newcomer Tyler Farr, in time for a February 6 add date. Farr’s song “That’s What They’re Bitin’ On” was also an unofficial single, and made it to No. 46 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.
Artists Tweet Holiday Happenings
/by Sarah SkatesArtists are hooked on Twitter. Here’s some of the biggest news and most re-Tweeted posts they shared with Followers over the recent holidays.
Don’t forget to keep track of who has the most Twitter Followers and Facebook Likes via MusicRow’s Twitter/Facebook Chart.
Singled Out (1/2/2012)
/by FreemanMiranda says, “I’ve never cried writing a song, and I don’t know that I ever will again. After we wrote it, Blake said he couldn’t record this song for himself or sing it on stage every night but he would be honored for me to. ‘Over You’ is one of the most special songs I’ll ever be a part of.” Starting January 12, Lambert will kick off her headlining On Fire tour in Rockford, IL with Chris Young and Jerrod Niemann.
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Across the hall at Arista Records, Ronnie Dunn’s “Let The Cowboy Rock” will go for adds January 16. The third single from Dunn’s self-titled debut solo album, it follows up the reactive “Cost Of Livin'” which was the theme of episodes of Dr. Phil and The Doctors in December.
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Following the group’s first big No. 1 song “Crazy Girl,” Eli Young Band will be sending “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” to country radio. Written by Will Hoge, the song is the second single from EYB’s first Republic Nashville album Life At Best.
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Swift, Civil Wars Combine Forces On New Song
/by FreemanTaylor revealed the news exclusively to her fans via Twitter. Thirty minutes prior to the song’s release, she posted that she was very excited about something that was “going to be happening VERY soon,” then posted a link to the iTunes download. Listen to the track here.
Burnett is producing the soundtrack, which will be released by Universal Republic and feature all newly written songs. Also appearing on the collection will be The Decemberists and Grammy winners The Arcade Fire. The Hunger Games soundtrack will debut in advance of the film’s theatrical release on March 23.
Curb Shares Details of New McGraw Project
/by Sarah SkatesMcGraw’s longtime producer Bryon Gallimore helmed the project which has already resulted in the No. 1 “Felt Good On My Lips.”
R&B star Ne-Yo guests on the song “Only Human,” which was produced by Darran Smith. According to the label, other stand-out tracks include “Touchdown Jesus” (Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip), and “I Will Not Fall Down” (McGraw, Martina McBride, The Warren Brothers).
“…Lips” has already been certified Gold for paid digital downloads, and now two more album tracks are available on iTunes—“Right Back Atcha Babe,” and current single “Better Than I Used To Be,” which is at No. 35 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout chart.
With a track record that includes 32 No. 1 singles and 44 million albums sold, McGraw previously announced plans to release music separately from his previous label Curb Records. The superstar and record company split in late 2011.
Track listing for Emotional Traffic:
1. Halo
2. Right Back Actha Babe
3. One Part, Two Part
4. I Will Not Fall Down
5. The One
6. Better Than I Used To Be
7. Touchdown Jesus
8. The One That Got Away
9. Felt Good On My Lips
10. Hey Now
11. Only Human
12. Die By My Own Hand
One Sales Week To Go
/by bossrossThe song we’re a’ singing has changed from “Jingle Bells” to “Auld Lang Syne” which means there is only one week left in the Nielsen SoundScan year. Yes, soon we’ll be talking about 2011 in past tense. But WAIT! We’re not there yet! First, let’s see what happened last week during country music’s biggest single sales week of 2011.
Country shifted 2.186 million albums this past holiday week for a YTD total of 42.843 million. (Same week sales in 2010 were 2.319 million.) Top country albums stacked up pretty much as they have for the past few weeks with Lady Antebellum on top (110k+) followed by Scotty McCreery (85k+) and Jason Aldean (75k+).
I think it was Kanye West who once said to Taylor Swift, “These numbers are good, but Michael Buble’s Christmas album is really great!” Well, it’s possible that Mr. West didn’t say that exactly, but it’s not possible to dispute the power of holiday sales when properly harnessed. Buble’s offering sold a joyous 467k+ this week placing it in first place for all albums, giving it a 9-week total sales of close to 2.5 million units and placing smiles on the faces of Warner Music execs everywhere. The year’s other prime mover has been Adele. Her 21 owned the No. 2 position as the holiday week closed with sales of close to 400k for the week and almost 5.68 million in 44 weeks.
We’ve been talking a lot about the importance of tracks on this page and this week’s tally adds fuel to the fire. Toby Keith’s incredible “Red Solo Cup,” a song that could only have been written by two pairs of brothers—the Beavers and the Warrens—was downloaded over 176k times this week followed by Taylor Swift’s “Safe & Sound” which features the Civil Wars and is included in the soundtrack of The Hunger Games which shifted over 135k copies. Luke Bryan also enjoyed a spin in the over 100k circle as his “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” sold 109k+ copies.
Fans last week downloaded 4.655 million country music tracks; YTD the tally equals 142 million. Comparing track vs. album revenue this past week shows albums contributing about $21.86 gross revenue (2.186 X $10) and tracks adding $6.005 million (4.655 X $1.29). On a revenue basis tracks accounted for an additional 28%. (Of course all the albums are not all $10 items and some of the tracks are priced below $1.29.)
Overall numbers are shown on our chart. Country is down 2.1% and overall music sales are up 1.3%. Stay tuned as we shut down the 2011 tally next week and begin slicing and dicing results to find the hidden stories, trends and look toward 2012.
A Special Message From MusicRow
/by Sherod RobertsonDear Reader,
Thank you for your support over the past 30 years. Your patronage is something we will never take for granted as we document the changing shape of the music industry in Nashville and elsewhere. We appreciate YOU and look forward to continuing our journey together as we ring in the New Year.
Our offices will be closed next week as we take time off to be with our family and friends. Have a safe and happy holiday.
Best wishes from all of us at MusicRow.
Pandora Tussles Traditional Radio Over Ad Revenue
/by bossrossSo it should be no surprise that a competitive tug of war is brewing between terrestrial and Internet radio as the two business models spar for success, and more specifically—ad dollars.
According to a Wall Street Journal article (12/22) there is “an intensifying dispute between traditional radio broadcasters and online radio service Pandora Media Inc. over how their audiences are measured.” Answers to this question will of course have a direct effect on ad revenues.
Arbitron Inc. is responsible for measuring and providing audience estimates for terrestrial radio, but doesn’t currently measure online audiences for Pandora or other services.
Realizing what was at stake, traditional radio fired back by demanding Arbitron issue a report discounting the new metrics as not being directly comparable to Arbitron audience data.
If it all sounds confusing, it is actually very simple. Traditional radio has the largest piece of the ad revenue pie, and is determined to keep it. WSJ noted, “Pandora founder Tim Westergren said in an interview that Arbitron’s statements were part of a ‘concerted effort’ to keep his company out of the radio industry even as online radio becomes a credible competitor. ‘The broadcast industry does not want the world to know about us, basically, he added.”
Earlier in the week Clear Channel subsidiary Katz 360 cut ties with Pandora and said it would cease to sell digital ad time on online services like Pandora.
Artist Updates (12/23/11)
/by Freeman• • • •
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CoverGirl Gets Lashed For Taylor Ad
/by FreemanAccording to the New York Times’ Media Decoder blog, the ad for CoverGirl’s NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara was “enhanced” to make Taylor’s lashes look even more full. Then those killjoys in the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division got wind of the doctoring and ruled it “misleading,” prompting CoverGirl owner Procter & Gamble to yank the ads.
The Times article explains that N.A.D. examined the ad’s claims and the implied benefits, determining that the enhanced photos wouldn’t provide an exact facsimile of Taylor’s lustrous lashes. Ads don’t typically get pulled for “airbrushing,” so it’s apparently a pretty thin line for what constitutes fraudulent advertising.
Which is strange, because let’s face it: advertisements, particularly in television, regularly “enhance” the truth in all manner of ways to exploit us. Like, oh no, can I really not get ripped abs without exerting any actual effort or thwart bank robberies using only a buffalo chicken sandwich? Now I suppose you’re going to tell me that it doesn’t work out between Kim Kardashian and what-his-name? Wait, don’t tell me. I want it to be a surprise.
In fairness, CoverGirl did add some fine print to the Taylor spot that reads “lashes enhanced in post production.” See? No harm done. I wonder if a generation of dudes wishes that Axe Body Spray had put fine print to the effect of “spraying Axe body spray will not make an army of scantily clad women cross the ocean for you”?
In other Taylor news, she gave fans an early Christmas present (via Instragram) last night (12/22) with the release of “Safe & Sound,” a collaboration with The Civil Wars that appears on The Hunger Games soundtrack. It is available for digital download in the iTunes store right now.
Also, these hamsters rule. Just sayin’.
Swift, Chesney Score Year’s Top Tours
/by Sarah SkatesSwift’s box office receipts totaled $97.3 million, and Chesney’s were $84.6 million, according to Billboard Boxscore, which tracked data from ticket sales between Nov. 1, 2010 and Nov. 8, 2011.
U2’s record-breaking 360 tour wrapped its final leg in 2011, raking in $293.3 million at the box office, and moving almost 3 million tickets, to become the year’s biggest outing, according to the report. Since launching in 2009 it brought in more than $736,000,000, and more than 7 million fans, all-time highs for the touring industry.