UMPG Re-Signs Andrew Dorff

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UMPG Nashville has re-signed hit songwriter Andrew Dorff to an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement. Dorff co-wrote Ronnie Dunn’s recent hit, “Bleed Red” along with Gary Allan’s “Kiss Me When I’m Down.” His work has been recorded by artists such as Tim McGraw, Billy Currington, Sara Evans, Hunter Hayes, Laura Bell Bundy, Lori McKenna, Carter’s Chord, Tyler Farr, Greg Bates and The Lunabelles.

(seated): Dorff (standing L-R:) Attorney Jeff Biederman, and UMPG’s Kent Earls, Pat Higdon and Michael Rexford

Radio Legend, CDX Founder Charlie Douglas Passes

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Charlie Douglas

Country Radio and DJ Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Douglas passed away on Thanksgiving day (11/24). His career began in 1953 at KLIC/Monroe, LA, and eventually led him to WWL/New Orleans, where he created the first all-night radio show geared toward truck drivers. Among his numerous other station stops, Douglas spent thirteen years at WSM/Nashville.

According to All Music Guide, Douglas’ on-air stunts included broadcasting while sailing in a hot air balloon, parachuting from an airplane, and standing in a lion’s cage.

He served two terms as president of the Country Radio Broadcasters.

Douglas and Paul Lovelace opened Compact Disc Express (CDX) in 1991, and Douglas eventually retired from radio to run the music promotion service.

A memorial service will be held Saturday (12/3) at Mill Creek Baptist Church, 11 Old Kiln Rd., Picayune, MS 39466.

Ben Hayslip Extends Warner/Chappell & THIS Music Agreement

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Front Row (L–R): Tim Nichols (Co-owner THIS Music), Connie Harrington (Co-owner THIS Music), Ben Hayslip, Rusty Gaston (GM/Co-owner THIS Music), Janine Appleton (Creative Manager, This Music) Back Row (L–R): Steve Markland (VP Warner/Chappell Music), BJ Hill (Sr. Director Warner/Chappell Music), Chip Petree (Petree Law), Phil May (GM/VP Warner/Chappell Music), Alicia Pruitt (Sr. Director Warner/Chappell Music)

Warner/Chappell Music—the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp.—together with partner THIS Music—a leading Nashville-based music publishing company—today announced they have extended their worldwide co-publishing agreement for the future works of hit songwriter Ben Hayslip.

“We’re longtime fans of Ben and extremely proud of the year he’s had so far,” said Cameron Strang, Chairman & CEO, Warner/Chappell Music. “He’s one of the most talented songwriters in Nashville and we feel privileged to continue having him on our team.”

“Warner/Chappell and THIS Music have been invaluable to me and my career,” said Hayslip. “Their extensive network of talented songwriters and incredibly vast catalog of songs is awe-inspiring. Extending my partnership with them was the obvious thing to do.”

Hayslip is a staff writer for THIS Music and Warner/Chappell Music and has seen his songs recorded by acts such as Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, Billy Currington, Blake Shelton, Rodney Atkins, Joe Nichols, Jack Ingram and Willie Nelson. He was recently named ASCAP’s 2011 “Country Songwriter of the Year,” due in part to his four recent No. 1 songs: Joe Nichols’ “Gimmie That Girl,” Josh Turner’s “All Over Me,” and Blake Shelton’s “All About Tonight” and “Honey Bee.”

Warner/Chappell Music has a worldwide co-publishing agreement with THIS Music. In addition to co-publishing and administering THIS Music’s output, Warner/Chappell and THIS Music sign and collaborate with writers and artists to identify opportunities for their songs and creative efforts. THIS Music was formed in 2006 and launched in partnership with Warner/Chappell Music by songwriters Tim Nichols, Connie Harrington and GM Rusty Gaston.

Crested Butte Songwriters Festival Debuts

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Get your skiis waxed and your poles placed to enjoy the inaugural Crested Butte Songwriters Festival Jan. 13-13. The festival, presented by Texas Roadhouse, Coors, BMI, and Crested Butte Mountain Resort, will feature performances by a stellar cast of world class songwriters, staged at Crested Butte hot spots.

An event-capping benefit concert will be held on Saturday night, Jan. 14, to raise funds for Tough Enough to Wear Pink and the TJ Martell Foundation. To date, the Tough Enough campaign has raised $9 million for breast cancer charities; the TJ Martell Foundation has helped provide more than $250 million for leukemia, cancer and AIDS research.

Home base for the event is the Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Crested Butte, Colorado. Special group rates and packages are available, call 888-443-6715 or the online code: cbsongwritersfest.

Performances will feature a diverse collection of the world’s top songwriters. Texas roots country hero Robert Earl Keen; veteran troubadour Dean Dillon, writer of more than 50 classics for George Strait; country icon and hit writer Mac Davis; pop writer/producer Marti Frederiksen; up-and-coming country stars Jake Owen,Kristen Kelly, Nicolle Galyon, Emily Shackelton, and Kristy Lee Cook; modern country hit songwriter Rodney Clawson (“Amarillo Sky” and “Johnny Cash” by Jason Aldean, “Sunshine and Summertime” by Faith Hill); and Crested Butte local favoritesTyler Hansen, Steve Snyder and David Paulik. All shows will be hosted by endearing host Storme Warren.

SCHEDULE
Friday, January 13
8 p.m. at Kochevar’s featuring Dave Paulik, Steve Snyder, Kristy Lee Cook, Emily Shackelton, Nicolle Galyon, Rodney Clawson and Robert Earl Keen. Admission: Make any donation to T.J. Martell Foundation

Friday, January 13
10 p.m. at The Eldo, featuring Tyler Hansen, Marti Frederiksen, Kristen Kelly, Jake Owen and Dean Dillon. Admission: Make any donation to T.J. Martell Foundation

Saturday, January 14
7 p.m. – In-the-Round benefit show at Center for the Arts featuring Kristy Lee Cook, Rodney Clawson, Nicolle Galyon, Dean Dillon, Robert Earl Keen, and Mac Davis

9:30 p.m. – In-the-Round benefit show at Center for the Arts featuring Jake Owen, Marti Frederiksen, Kristen Kelly, Dean Dillon, Robert Earl Keen, and Mac Davis. Admission: $50 tickets benefitting Tough Enough to Wear Pink available at Western World in Gunnison / 970-641-6566; Center for the Arts / 970-349-7847; the Toggery in Gunnison / 970-641-0844; and the Adventure Center at Mountaineer Square / 970-349-4554.

New Faces Show Performers Announced

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Hunter Hayes, David Nail, Sunny Sweeney, Thompson Square and Eli Young Band will perform at the CRS 2012 New Faces of Country Music Show®.

The 2012 New Faces of Country Music Show will be held Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, at Country Radio Seminar inside the downtown Nashville Convention Center. Co-sponsored by the Academy of Country Music and Muscular Dystrophy Association, the annual new artist showcase event officially closes out the three-day seminar and remains one of the most anticipated performances each year at CRS. Tickets to last year’s New Faces show sold out more than six weeks prior to CRS 2011.

“The future of Country radio happens every twenty minutes on the New Faces of Country Music Show!  Radio has spoken clearly with this year’s wonderful lineup of Hunter Hayes, David Nail, Sunny Sweeney, Thompson Square and Eli Young Band for the crown jewel of CRS 2012,” says New Faces Committee Chair John Crenshaw.

CRS sponsor Lucchese Boots is proudly providing each New Faces performer with a custom-made pair of Lucchese Boots.

The $499 Regular Registration rate for CRS 2012 is currently available at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.

Hank Jr. Acoustic Concert To Close Hall of Fame Exhibit

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Hank Williams Jr. will give a special solo acoustic performance Tues., Dec. 6 at the Country Music Hall Of Fame’s 213-seat Ford Theater to mark the impending end of the exhibition Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy.

Williams will perform songs spanning his career and talk about the exhibit, his music, and his family’s ongoing musical legacy. In addition, the closing reception will feature meet & greet opportunities, limited-edition Family Tradition posters autographed by Hank Jr., photographs and a dessert reception all to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The award-winning, 5,000-square-foot Family Tradition exhibit will close Dec. 31, after an unprecedented four-year run.

Limited tickets available for $500 each here. Doors at 7:30; 8:00 p.m. performance.

Tootsies Birthday Bash on Broadway

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(L-R) Sam McClymont, Brooke McClymont, Kid Rock and Mollie McClymont. Photo: Jeremy Westby

The McClymonts, The Roys and The Kentucky HeadHunters performed at Tootsies 51st Birthday Bash this past Wednesday (11/23), playing the outdoor stage on Lower Broadway. The festivities took place prior to Kid Rock‘s show that night at the Ryman Auditorium.

Kid Rock later re-lit Tootsies’ outside stage for a set around midnight. Joining him to perform “Sweet Home Alabama” was son Junior, who also played earlier in the day.

Performers (L-R): Fred Young, Greg Martin, Lee Roy, Richard Young, Elaine Roy, Mollie McClymont, Sam McClymont, Brooke McClymont & Doug Phelps. Photo: Randi Radcliff

Monday Weblinks

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Jamie Lynn Spears at Puckett's.

• Jamie Lynn Spears, younger sis of Britney, debuted a set of original country tunes during appearances at The Rutledge and Puckett’s earlier this month. A short video clip from the Nashville Scene.

• A preliminary hearing is scheduled for tomorrow (11/29) in the lawsuit between Tim McGraw and Curb Records. According to The Tennessean, Davidson County Chancery Court records will “first make a final determination on whether or not Curb is entitled to prevent Mr. McGraw, by injunction or otherwise, from recording for other entities other than Curb.”

• With so many music services available, it is hard to keep track of them. The New York Post compares and contrasts subscription, cloud, and radio services including Google Music, iTunes Match and Spotify.

CMHoF Forum To Salute Sarah Trahern

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Sarah Trahern

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will present an interview with Great American Country (GAC) executive Sarah Trahern, honoring her at the fifth annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum on Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, at 6 p.m. in the Ford Theater. A reception will follow the program, which is free and open to the public.

The forum interview with Trahern, whose television career has taken her from the Democratic National Convention in 1988 to the White House in 2009, will be hosted by Vice President of Museum Programs Jay Orr. As he tracks her career arc, Orr will talk with Trahern about her memories of the various programs, producers, artists, songs, issues, opportunities and challenges she has met throughout her near 25-year career. The interview will be enhanced by video clips and vintage photos from the museum’s archives, Trahern’s personal collection and other sources.

Made possible by the Gibson Foundation, the forum was established in 2007 to explore issues related to the business side of the music industry and annually recognizes an individual who represents a legacy like that of pioneering agent-manager Louise Scruggs, wife and savvy business partner of Country Music Hall of Fame member Earl Scruggs.

Forum honorees are chosen by representatives of both the Gibson Foundation and the museum and receive final approval from the Scruggs family. Previous honorees are Denise Stiff, Liz Thiels, Mary Martin and Bonnie Garner.

2011 SOCAN Award Winners

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(L-R) Steven Page, Michelle Wright and Abdominal. Photo: Grant W. Martin Photography

Canada’s music community gathered Nov. 21 at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto for the 2011 SOCAN Awards gala, co-hosted by Michelle Wright, Steven Page and Abdominal.

Country SOCAN Awards for songs that achieved the greatest number of performances on domestic radio during 2010:

• “I Believe in Angels” (Performed by George Canyon)
Composers: Johnny Reid, Jeremy Campbell (BMI)

• “Make Hay While the Sun Shines” (performed by Steven Lee Olsen)
Composers: Steven Lee Olsen, Bruce Wallace (BMI)
Publishers: ole, Roots 3 Music Inc.

• “Up All Night” (performed by Deric Ruttan)
Composers: Deric Ruttan, Jimmy Rankin
Publisher: Doc’s Cabin Songs, Song Dog Music Company

Meanwhile, The Stampeders were celebrated with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for a 40-year career which yielded more than a dozen Top 10 hits ( “Carry Me,” “Sweet City Woman”) and four Juno Awards.

Another of this year’s standout winners was Michael Bublé, one of the most successful singers in the world today, who won a Pop/Rock Music Award and the International Song Award for the 2010 hit “Haven’t Met You Yet.”

Prairie Oyster won the SOCAN National Achievement Award for a career of more than 30 years as an award-winning, chart-topping act. The band has won Country Group or Duo of the Year honors six times from both the Canadian Country Music Awards and the Juno Awards. They have numerous hit singles, gold and platinum albums, are Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees.

Click here for a complete winners list.