Warner Chapppell Signs Artist/Actress

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Global music publisher Warner/Chappell Music has signed a co-publishing agreement with singer, songwriter and actress Jana Kramer. Kramer recently signed with Elektra Nashville for her upcoming major label country debut. The actress, who plays Alex Dupre on One Tree Hill sold over 40,000 copies  of her song “I Won’t Give Up,” in one week after it was featured on an episode of the show. For more info and music visit www.janakramer.com

(L-R) Kye Fleming; Alicia Pruitt, Sr. Director A&R Warner/Chappell Nashville; Paula Kay Hornick, Paula Kay Artist Management; Jana Kramer; Phil May, VP & General Manager, Warner/Chappell Nashville; Steve Markland, VP A&R Warner/Chappell Nashville; and BJ Hill, Sr. Director A&R, Warner/Chappell Nashville)


 

Industry Ink: Black River Ups Dawn Delvo

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Dawn Delvo


Black River Entertainment General Manager Greg McCarn announced today (6/15) the promotion of Dawn Delvo to Manager, Marketing & Publicity. She will handle the company’s public relations duties, in addition to her current new media responsibilities.
In addition, Black River Entertainment has engaged Monarch Publicity, headed by principals Cindy Heath and Heather Conley, as marketing and PR consultants.
Black River is home to Craig Morgan, Sarah Darling, Due West and Jeff Bates. The company also operates the newly renovated Sound Stage recording studios, Black River Publishing, and Black River Management.
Contact:
 
Dawn Delvo at (615) 780-3076 or dawn@blackriverent.com
Cindy Heath at (615) 429-2203 or cindy.heath@monarchpublicity.com
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Warner Music Nashville is gearing up for the next Pickin’ On The Patio, set for Thurs., June 23 at 5:30 p.m. with Jason Jones, Hunter Hayes and Brett Eldredge. The season’s first party featured Mandy Barnett performing selections from her new album Sweet Dreams. Pickin’ On The Patio will be held the fourth Thursday of every month through September on the WMN Patio.

Pictured at Pickin' on the Patio (L-R): Warner Music Nashville Sr VP Brand Management and Sales Peter Strickland, Mandy Barnett, and Warner Music Nashville President and CEO John Esposito.


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Web radio station Pandora Media, Inc. today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of approximately 14.7 million shares of common stock at a price to the public of $16.00 per share. A total of approximately 6.0 million shares are being offered by Pandora, and a total of approximately 8.7 million shares are being offered by selling stockholders.
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Entertainment attorney Richard Busch of the law firm King & Ballow, who recently represented Eminem and F.B.T. Productions in a landmark Supreme Court decision regarding digital download royalties, will lead a webinar on Friday, June 17, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. He will discuss this case and, more specifically, the court’s interpretation of record contract language; what this means for artists; and unresolved issues in digital music. The webinar will cost $99, and registration can be completed here.
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Congratulations to Big Machine Label Group’s Accounting Manager Ashley Jeanette and her husband Ryan on the birth of their first child, Harper Jane Jeanette. She was born June 4, weighing 6lbs. 15 oz. and 19 1/2 in. long. Ashley will return to the office at the end of July. Send well wishes to ashley.jeanette@bigmachinemail.com.
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Songwriter Robyn Ludwick is following in the footsteps of her big brothers, hit Texas songwriters Bruce and Charlie Robison. Her latest release is Out of These Blues, and includes guests Gurf Morlix, Slaid Cleaves and more. Her 2005 debut For So Long was named a top 10 album of the year by the Austin Chronicle. She is currently on tour in the Netherlands, before returning to the US for dates in Texas.

Albums From Jake Owen and Randy Montana On The Way

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Jake Owen (R) performs with Keith Urban during CMA Music Fest 2011.


Jake Owen will release his third studio album Barefoot Blue Jean Night (RCA) on August 30.
“It is kind of ironic that my new album is being released on August 30, two days after I turn 30 and this is my third record,” says Owen. “This album is a big step for me and my career and I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
The 11-track album splits production between the team of Joey Moi and Rodney Clawson, as well as Tony Brown. The title track and first single is quickly climbing the charts and has sold over 200k digital units.
Owen will join the US leg of Keith Urban’s Get Closer 2011 World Tour starting this weekend (6/16) in Biloxi, MS. Owen joined Urban onstage during CMA Music Fest 2011 to duet on Owen’s hit “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You.”
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Mercury Nashville will release the self-titled debut of Randy Montana on July 26 to all digital retailers. The album was produced by Jay Joyce (Eric Church) and includes singles “Ain’t Much Left Of Lovin’ You” and “1,000 Faces,” which is currently a free download on the iTunes country page. Emmylou Harris provides guest vocals on a track called “Last Horse.”
Montana has spent much of the last year touring on the road with superstars like Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Sugarland. This summer he will join Taylor Swift for select dates of her Speak Now tour.

Legacyworks Reunites Songs With Heirs

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Legacyworks LLC reports it has successfully reclaimed deceased songwriter Tommy Durden’s ownership of “Heartbreak Hotel” and in the next few months it will be returned to the writer’s heirs. Copyright grant termination was filed by Legacyworks in 2005 on behalf of Durden’s daughter. Later this year the company will also see songwriter Richard Dehr’s copyright interest for “Memories Are Made of This” returned to his children. Legacyworks also recently returned worldwide copyright ownership for two songs recorded by Elvis Presley to songwriter Beverly Ross and her co-writers.
“Copyright grant termination is here, it’s a new reality, and the increased royalty stream is going to be very rewarding to the beneficiaries for decades to come,” states Lewis Anderson of Legacyworks, also a well known songwriter. “These heirs have elected to set up their own publishing companies and use major publishers for administration.”
Legacyworks was formed in 2004 to provide services in catalog research and professional songwriter advocacy.

Signings, Events And Certs.

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>>>The May 2011 RIAA Gold and Platinum Report brought some good news for Nashville. The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young” single got a 2X Platinum award. Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me…” and Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name” also both turned Platinum. Gold singles were also handed out for Jason Aldean, “The Truth,” ZBB “Colder Weather,” Brad Paisley “Waitin’ On A Woman” and Taylor Swift’s “Mean.” Among awards for albums, Gold certifications went to ZBB Pass The Jar and Eric Church Carolina.

Avenue Bank President/CEO Ron Samuels


>>>Avenue Bank, which opened in 2007, has re-elected three founding board members—David B. Ingram, Kenneth J. Robold (Exec.VP/GM Universal Music Nashville) and Ron Samuels who serves as the Chairman, President and CEO of the bank. Other re-elected Board members with include Joe Galante and Steve Moore (CEO, CMA).
>>>The Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy will host In The Mix: Nashville Rap on June 23 at 6 pm. The event, to be held at Hard Rock Cafe, will highlight four local rap artists to perform and be featured on a panel moderated by Shannon Sanders. Panel discussions will include the DIY model that many artists are now adopting. Performers and panelists include Haystak, JellyRoll, Paper and Young Rell. Academy members free, non-members $20. RSVP required at rsvp_nashville@grammy.com.
>>>This Music has signed Deric Ruttan, co-writer of songs such as “What Was I Thinking,” and “Guys Like Me.”
 

Big Gifts For Good Causes

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ACM, Swift Support St. Jude
ACM Lifting Lives® partnered with Entertainer of the Year, Taylor Swift, to donate $50,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Erin Spahn, Executive Director ACM Lifting Lives, was on hand at Swift’s sold-out stadium show Saturday (6/11) at Detroit’s Ford Field, where she presented Swift with a $25,000 check for St. Jude, Swift’s chosen philanthropy. Swift also came prepared with her own personal check to St. Jude for $25,000, to bring the evening’s total to $50,000. Swift has donated more than $1 million to charity in the past year alone, including more than $750,000 raised for victims of the recent tornados in the Southeast and $500,000 last year to Nashville flood relief efforts.

Erin Spahn (L), Executive Director ACM Lifting Lives, and ACM Entertainer of the Year Taylor Swift (R) present checks totaling $50,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.


Darryl Worley and Friends In-The-Round
Darryl Worley is hosting a series of songwriters-in-the-round events to benefit his namesake charitable foundation. In May he played in Memphis with Brett Jones, Ira Dean and Bernie Nelson, raising more than $33,000. Next, Bumpus Harley-Davidson of Jackson will host Worley, Steve Leslie, Jim “Moose” Brown and Wynn Varble on Tuesday, June 28, at 6:30 p.m.

(L-R): Brett Jones, Darryl Worley, Ira Dean, and Bernie Nelson


MCTI Makes Big Donation To Children’s Hospital
The 38th Annual Music City Tennis Invitational 2011 proudly donated more than $73,000 to the Center for Child Development at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

The MCTI planning committee and friends.


GRAMMY in the Schools Supports Music Education
Nashville’s Glencliff High School hosted music industry execs for GRAMMY Career Day on May 19. The school also received a check for $5,500 and a GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award, recognizing outstanding music programs in learning institutions that are economically under-served. Both of these GRAMMY in the Schools® programs are offered with generous support from the Ford Motor Company Fund and others.

(L-R): George J. Flanigen IV (Chair of the Board of The Recording Academy® and Board member of the GRAMMY Foundation®), Vicki Mack-Lataillade (co-founder of Central South Distribution), Allen Brown (Sony Music Nashville), Shannon Sanders (two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Producer), Shawn McSpadden (executive manager Red Light Management) and David R. Sears (Senior Director, GRAMMY Foundation) at GRAMMY Career Day. Photo: Tony R. Phipps/WireImage.com

Lambert Reaches No. 1, Revs Up Pistol Annies

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Hot on the heels of her latest chart-topping single, Miranda Lambert officially released the first music from her new trio, Pistol Annies.
The newlywed was in Nashville to toast the success of “Heart Like Mine” on June 2 at Virago, where BMI hosted an intimate, celebratory dinner. Co-written by Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Travis Howard, the song is the fourth No. 1 off Lambert’s Revolution album, while it marks BMI songwriter Monroe’s third trip to the top as a songwriter.
Then on Sunday, June 19, Monroe and Angaleena Presley joined their Pistol Annies cohort onstage at the CMA Music Festival, where Lambert was one of the closing acts. They sang “Hell on Heels,” which is available for purchase now at www.pistolannies.com. It will be available at all digital outlets on June 28.
“I am so excited about Pistol Annies,” said Lambert. “I feel the songs we are writing are digging deeper into our country roots and getting back to music that inspired us all. Angaleena, Ashley and I are hoping more artists collaborate. This band is made up of three real country girls with three very real stories to tell.”

Pictured (L-R): BMI’s Clay Bradley, co-writer Ashley Monroe, Columbia Nashville’s Jimmy Rector, producer Frank Liddell, Miranda Lambert, co-writer Travis Howard, and ASCAP’s Michael Martin. Photo: Steve Lowry

The TV Force Impacts Sales

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“The force is strong with that one,” confided Yoda in one of the Star Wars epics. Judging by this week’s Nielsen SoundScan numbers he might have been talking about the power of TV to sell music. For example, the Tony Awards prominently featured the Cast of Book of Mormon and sales of the recording jumped 999% to over 60k units, (almost 52k were digital albums). Luke Bryan’s CMT Awards performance sparked mouse clicks for “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” sending digital downloads up 41% week over week to almost 74k units. And Jason Aldean most definitely didn’t get lost on a “Dirt Road…” After CMT featured a duet “Dirt” performance with Ludacris, the track remained pinned at the top of the Country Digital tracks list jumping 99% from 85k units last week to 169k units. Sales of The Band Perry “You Lie,” also performed on the CMT stage, advanced 37% reaching just shy of 38k for the week.
TV also played a role in the launch this past week of Ronnie Dunn’s solo career. His new self-titled album sits at No. 1 on the country album list shifting over 45k units (17% digital).
So for those who are wondering if Award shows can still boost sales in this era of fragmented media, the answer is a profound YES.
In other highlights this week, Randy Travis’ Anniversary Celebration collection landed at No. 4 on the country chart moving about 19k units (11.5% digital).













Adkins has hooked one...







Future Hit
If you like to stay ahead of what’s happening, pay attention to the new Trace Adkins track “Just Fishin’.” Over the last three weeks this song climbed from No. 62 to 49 to 43.

Sales this week increased 36% from about 7.7k to 10.5k. The track is Top 10 on the Country Breakout Chart (No. 9) but mainstream radio still hasn’t given it much play (BB No. 18). This column isn’t normally for reviews, but the numbers show the story and if you hear the record your ears will do the rest. This track has the potential to be a career, Song of The Year-type smash for the Show Dog dude.
Overview
The numbers are slowly improving as we head for the six month intermission. Not to cast any shadows, but the second half year is where the action is, and the majority of sales.
So far (through week ending 6/12/11) total all genre album sales are up .6%. Included in that number are digital album sales, which looked at alone are up 19.2%. Zeroing in on Nashville, Country album sales YTD are down 4.1%. As with all genre digital album sales, the category for country is up 26.2%. Country music’s share of digital track sales this year is 10.8%. The genre’s overall market share this year is 11.8%.

BMLG Appoints Jake Basden Director of Publicity

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Big Machine Label Group has hired Jake Basden as Director of Publicity. In this position, Basden (pronounced Bays-den) will oversee all aspects of media relations for the three labels under the BMLG umbrella (Big Machine Records, The Valory Music Co., and Republic Nashville). Basden will relocate from New York to join the company.
“We have been on a search to find just the right dynamic to head up the Big Machine Label Group Publicity Department and in Jake Basden I think we’ve found just that,” says BMLG President/CEO Scott Borchetta. “There were many great candidates but Jake’s passion and get-it-done attitude, as well as a great background with Edelman NY, tipped the scales. He’s a big thinker and has a unique perspective on how we are going to move forward.”
Basden most recently worked as a Director in the Sports and Entertainment division for Edelman New York, the world’s largest independent public relations firm. During his tenure with Edelman, Basden worked on programs for companies such as Unilever, Pepsi and Shell Oil. He also worked on campaigns and endorsements with a variety of artists including Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Weezer, T.I., Craig Morgan and more. Prior to Edelman, Basden worked at Ogilvy Public Relations in New York. His work with Ogilvy earned him a “Young PR Professional of the Year” award by PR Week magazine in 2008.
“New York was very good to me and taught me a lot,” says Basden. “I am looking forward to bringing my big agency work ethic and key learnings from the Big Apple to the Big Machine Label Group and its roster of artists.”
Basden’s official start date is July 11 and can be reached at 615-324-7769 or jake.basden@bigmachinemail.com

Randy Travis' Anniversary Celebration

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Josh Turner and Randy Travis perform on The Tonight Show.




Randy Travis is busy promoting his new duets album, Anniversary Celebration. He and Josh Turner performed a track from the release last night (6/14) on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Tonight, Travis’s 25-year career will be honored at The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, where he will discuss his career and new record before participating in an audience Q&A and performing.
Warner Bros. Records released Anniversary Celebration on June  7, featuring guests Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Don Henley, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and more. The album includes new songs in addition to re-makes of many Travis megahits. His career sales exceed 20 million units.