DISClaimer Single Reviews (5/24/11)

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It’s John Rich’s world, we just live in it.

On Sunday, he won this season’s Celebrity Apprentice championship. He’s a publisher on the No. 1 hit “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” He has two new Warner “Six Pak” albums, Rich Rocks! and For the Kids. And now he has two tunes in the same “DisClaimer” column, the St. Jude’s fund-raiser, “For the Kids,” plus his romping Big & Rich reunion with Big Kenny, “Fake ID.”
Nevertheless, it’s Ladies Day here at MusicRow. How can you deny a Disc of the Day award to Taylor Swift after “The Story of Us” zips through your ears?
And among our four newcomers—Glen Templeton, Whitney Mann, Jessica Ridley and David Adam Byrnes—there is no doubt about who is the strongest vocalist. Glen might have a mighty winning song, but Jessica Ridley has the performance, and therefore the DisCovery Award.
JOSH KELLEY/Gone Like That
Writer: Josh Kelley/Clint Lagerburg/Nicole Galyon; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; MCA Nashville (track)
—His pop/rock background shows in the vocally compressed mix and the overall dominance of production over lyric. A little more audio clarity would be welcome. That said, it’s a very cool, hooky song and a compelling, well-phrased performance.
JOHN RICH/For The Kids
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Warner Bros. (ERG)
—Little kids face grim medical conditions while their parents pray. The chorus is an overt plea for donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. But it’s still catchy as all get out.
KID ROCK & SHERYL CROW/Collide
Writer: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Roadrunner (ERG)
—The most “country” outing yet for both of these artists. The simple tune and spare accompaniment, plus sincere and straightforward vocal performances make this a solid winner. Not to mention the sexy “hook-up” lyric.
TAYLOR SWIFT/The Story Of Us
Writer: Taylor Swift; Producer: Nathan Chapman & Taylor Swift; Publisher: Sony-Tree/Taylor Swift, BMI; Big Machine (track)
—Her Speak Now CD is a really special collection, full of delightful hooks and dandy textures. This frothy rocker is one of its high-energy pleasures. The sizzling, fizzy guitar work, relentless rhythm and her personality-packed vocal are all fabulously infectious. Love this.
SARA EVANS/My Heart Can’t Tell You No
Writer: Simon Climie/Dennis Morgan; Producer: Tony Brown; Publisher: Kobalt/Little Shop of Morgan Songs, ASCAP/BMI; RCA (track)
—Sara’s limp remake of this 1989 Rod Stewart pop smash adds little to the song. And let’s face it, there are very, very few—in any genre—that are as gripping a vocalist as he is.
BIG & RICH/Fake ID
Writer: John Rich/John Shanks; Producer: John Shanks & John Rich; Publisher: Reservoir/WB/Sony ATV, ASCAP; Warner Bros.
—Rousing and spirited, this has “good times” written all over it. The kid in his daddy’s Caddy is buying a fake ID in a back alley, and he’s in a rush. Extremely likable.
DAVID ADAM BYRNES/She Only Wanted Flowers
Writer: David Adam Byrnes/Jay Brunswick/Adam Fears; Producer: Rob Rappaport; Publisher: Canalco/Byrnes Country/Better Angels/Croton U/Faverett Tracks/LRB, ASCAP/BMI; Better Angels (track)
—She didn’t care about all of the material things he bought her, so now he’s lost her. He has a sturdy, if limited, country vocal range, but the ballad never really grabbed me.
GLEN TEMPLETON/I Could Be The One
Writer: Jay Knowles/Tom McHugh; Producer: Mark Lambert; Publisher: none listed; Capstone (615-686-8344)
—Glen has pleasing vocal confidence on this easy-going toe tapper. The track is mixed to perfectly showcase what a cleverly written song this is. Spin it.
JESSICA RIDLEY/Flaming Red
Writer: Bob Carlisle/Dennis Patton; Producer: Michael Lee & Don Somerville; Publisher: Jacque’s Retirement Fund/McHouse/Fun Attic, SESAC; EMG/Fontana (track) (www.jessicaridley.com)
—This lilting pop-country confection has a wafting, breezily bopping production. Her rapid-fire vocal is bursting with optimism and sunny self-assurance. Highly promising and recommended.
WHITNEY MANN/Home
Writer: Whitney Mann; Producer: Whitney Mann; Publisher: 100 Fake Kisses, SESAC; Mud Dauber (track) (www.whitneymannmusic.com)
—She wrote all the tunes on her seven-song outing titled The Western Sky and sings them in an appealing, down-home drawl. The backing is a jaunty, O Brother, string band that sounds as comfy as a living-room couch. Rootsy and charming.

Industry Ink Tuesday (5/24)

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Pictured seated (L-R): Kenneth Johnson (BNG Music Group), Samantha Stroh, Ray Bruce (BNG Music Group). Standing (L-R): Gary Stroh, Nicholas Carsner (BNG Music Group), Amy Stroh


Sharp Objects has expanded with the launch of BNG Music Group; the label joins its songplugging and artist/writer development services. CEO Kenneth Johnson and Pres. Ray Bruce have signed Samantha Stroh for recording and publishing as the independent label’s flagship artist. Her debut album is expected this fall. The Georgia native was the State Winner of the Texaco Country Showdown in 2009, and has been writing and performing since she was a teenager, opening for The Band Perry, Montgomery Gentry and more.
“Samantha has been working hard to hone her songwriting craft and sound, and writing with some of Nashville’s most talented songwriters,” said Bruce. “She is as genuine a person as she is a talent. With an undeniable passion for country music, her direction, intuition and foresight align perfectly with our vision at BNG Music. We are excited to welcome Samantha as part of the family.”
Now in its eighth year, Sharp Objects Entertainment represents Jan Buckingham, Bobby Carmichael, Michael Peterson, Randy Sharp, Maia Sharp and Jeff Silbar. The Sharp Objects/BNG Music Group offices are located at 62 Music Sq. W., Nashville, TN.

Clay Bradley


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BMI Asst. VP Writer/Publisher Relations Clay Bradley has joined the Advisory Board of Fifth Third Bank, Tennessee.
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Bill Catino and Tim McFadden have hired Kelsey Lantrip as Promotion Coordinator for R&J Records. The recent graduate of Trevecca Nazarene University, has completed internships with the promotion department at Big Machine Records as well as Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing and Bullseye Marketing’s NashvilleCountryClub.com website. Lantrip can be reached at (615) 290-9559 or kelsey@randjrecords.com.
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The Ram Truck brand and its experiential marketing partner George P. Johnson (GPJ) took home a coveted Gold Ex Award for the Zac Brown Band Letters for Lyrics campaign at the recent Event Marketing Summit in Chicago. The Gold Ex Award acknowledges the campaign’s unconventional, cause-based approach to brand storytelling through experiences delivered online, at concerts, dealerships and through mobile devices.

Richard Marx


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Richard Marx will receive the 2011 Songwriter Icon Award at the NMPA’s Annual Meeting in New York City on June 15. In addition to selling more than 30 million records, Marx has achieved great success writing and producing songs for some of the biggest names in music, including country stars Keith Urban, Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers, and Travis Tritt.

Jamey Johnson Plans New Album, Produces Other Artists

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Jamey Johnson and the Blind Boys of Alabama


Jamey Johnson has been working on a new album for Mercury Nashville, as well as manning production for other acts. His upcoming project will be his follow-up to the gold-certified, critically acclaimed two-disc set The Guitar Song. “I’ve written some and recorded a bunch,” he says, “not necessarily new songs that I wrote, but just finding songs that I’ve never done before. That has been a lot of fun for me. Songs that I never thought to break out onstage, it seems kind of easy in the studio when you have a little help from musicians and can put a little more focus into it and a little more style on it.”
Johnson also produced the new album for the Blind Boys of Alabama, Take the High Road. He offered guest vocals for the project and recruited Hank Williams Jr., Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson and the Oak Ridge Boys to do the same. The album includes classics such as “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” “I Saw the Light,” and “Jesus, Hold My Hand.” They celebrated the release with a recent listening party at Ben’s Studio in Nashville.
Johnson is also producing a project for up-and–coming singer-songwriter Erin Enderlin. She will be one of the numerous artists joining Johnson on Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour 2011 this summer. The outing kicks off May 27 in Philadelphia, stops June 3 at Nashville’s The Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel, and ends July 4th at Nelson’s famed picnic in Fort Worth.

Grady Forms Management Alliance

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New York based Crush Management and Nashville music vet John Grady have joined forces to form a new venture. Along with Crush principals Jonathan Daniel and Bob McLynn, Grady will open Crush Nashville.
The first two artists on the Crush Nashville roster are Sony Music Nashville recording artist Kristen Kelly, and the duo of Sarah Zimmerman and Justin Davis.
“Getting to know Jonathan, Bob and their staff in New York has been an enormous gift for me,” said Grady. “We have been working on this for months, and during that time there has never been one conversation that did not include music. What I see in the Crush operation is very inspiring to me. It is all about the present, the future and an absolute respect for the music we represent and the artists who create it. I see Crush as a major player in the future of this industry, and that is what I want to do with the rest of my career.”
The Crush artist roster spans numerous musical genres and includes Train, Fall Out Boy, Panic At the Disco, Travie McCoy & Gym Class Heroes and Courtney Love.
Crush Management Nashville will be located at 1227 17th Ave. S., #2, Nashville, TN 37212 and John Grady can be reached via email at grady@crushmm.com.

Kristen Kelly signs with RCA. (L-R): Paul Overstreet, Gary Overton (Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville), Kristen Kelly, John Grady (artist manager), Skip Bishop (Sr. VP, Promotion), Jordan S. Keller (Lassiter, Tidwell, Davis, Keller & Hogan, PLLC), Paul Barnabee (Sr. VP, Marketing), Kerri Fox-Metoyer (VP, Sales)


 

Gaga's Fans Put Their Paws Up For New Album

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Lady Gaga’s fans (affectionately known as “Little Monsters”) attacked Amazon on Monday when the retail giant offered one-day-only full downloads of her new album Born This Way for 99 cents. The resulting surge in traffic and purchases choked Amazon’s servers, leaving many customers unable to download or stream the album.
At 99 cents, Amazon’s download was $11 cheaper than the equivalent iTunes download. The loss-leading move could be viewed as a way for Amazon to bolster its Cloud Drive and Player service, as Apple prepares to launch its own cloud music service. Amazon users get 5 GB cloud storage by default; purchasing the album grants them a full 20 GB.
Despite the price difference, iTunes users still purchased enough downloads of Born This Way to push it to the No. 1 spot ahead of Adele’s 21. There is also a bonus track digital edition of the album available for $15.99.
Other retailers also went Gaga with clever promotional deals. Best Buy gave away copies of Born This Way for free, provided that the customer purchased one of three smartphones with a two-year service plan. Visitors to Starbucks.com could stream the entire album for free, and download single “The Edge Of Glory” for keeps.
The hype over Born This Way also raises questions about first week sales figures. Easily one of the most anticipated releases of the summer, Billboard estimated its first week sales would fall in the 450k-750k range. Following the flurry of promotional deals, however, that number could shift upward.

Picture Party

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Songwriters Go Coastal
Some of Nashville’s finest songwriters took a bus to the Kenny Chesney Goin’ Coastal 2011 Tour stop in Lexington, KY, where they hung with opening star Billy Currington.

(L-R): David Lee, Shane Minor, Jerry Flowers, Troy Verges, Billy Currington, Rivers Rutherford, Monte Criswell, George Teren, Kelly Lovelace, and Jim Beavers


Book Party For Business Wisdom of The Beatles
Authors George Cassidy and Richard Courtney celebrated the release of their book Come Together: The Business Wisdom of The Beatles, with a recent reception at Regions Bank on Music Row.

(L-R): George Cassidy, Richard Courtney, Midsouth Region President of Regions Bank Keith Herron, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, fine art photography printer Dave Leonard, Senior VP of Regions Bank/event co-chair Lisa Harless, and event co-chair Jerri Malloy. Photo: Steve Lowry.


Justin Moore Visits ACM
The Academy of Country Music welcomed Valory Music Co. recording artist Justin Moore to its offices when he was in Los Angeles recently. While at the Academy, he sang his current single “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” and others from his upcoming CD Outlaws Like Me, which will be released June 21.

(L-R): Justin Moore and Bob Romeo, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. Photo: Michel Bourquard

Bentley's Miles & Music for Kids Riding Strong

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Dierks Bentley’s “Miles & Music for Kids” rolled through Columbus, Ohio on Sun., May 22, raising over $143,000 for Columbus’ Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Nearly 1,000 bikers stretched eight miles behind Bentley as he led the pack of motorcycles to the LC Pavilion where an additional 4,000 fans joined for the afternoon concert featuring Bentley and pals Joe Nichols, Uncle Kracker, Josh Thompson, Miss Willie Brown, and CMT’s Adam Black as emcee.
Over the series’ five-year history, Bentley has raised over $1.5 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In 2009, Bentley joined forces with Nationwide Insurance, CMT ONE COUNTRY and the Children’s Miracle Network to expand the successful “Miles & Music for Kids” first held in Nashville across the country, visiting Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Atlanta and now Columbus. Events in Chicago and Nashville are also planned for later this year. Each “Miles & Music For Kids” event begins with a motorcycle ride that starts at a local Harley dealership and continues through city landmarks before ending at a local venue for a concert.
As part of CMT’s involvement, “Miles & Music For Kids” and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals will be promoted on all of its media channels: on-air, online at CMTONECOUNTRY.com and CMT.com and via radio. CMT talent will be on-site at each event to serve as emcee.

Cook and Plant Lead Americana Honors Nominations

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Elizabeth Cook and Robert Plant lead the 2011 Americana Music Honors and Awards Nominees


Nominees for the 2011 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards were announced today at a special event held at New York City’s Gibson/Baldwin Showroom.
Elizabeth Cook and Robert Plant lead the field of nominees, earning three acknowledgements apiece including Artist of the Year nominations for both. Additionally, Cook’s Welder is up for Album of the Year, and her song “El Camino” got a nod for Song of the Year. Robert Plant and the Band of Joy are nominated for Duo/Group of the Year, and the group’s album Band of Joy is also up for Album of the Year.
Previous New/Emerging Artist of the Year winners Justin Townes Earle and Hayes Carll each received two nominations. Earle’s Harlem River Blues is up for Album of the Year and its title track is nominated for Song of the Year, while Carll will compete for Artist of the Year and his song “Kmag Yoyo” is vying for Song of the Year.
Rosanne Cash revealed the nominees, and guests were treated to music from The Civil Wars, Levon Helm and His Dirt Farmer Quartet featuring Jim Lauderdale, and then Cash backed by keyboard player Benmont Tench. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and producer/songwriter T Bone Burnett were also present.
The 10th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards is scheduled for Thursday, October 13 at the Ryman. The event is the cornerstone of the Americana Festival and Conference, which runs October 12-15 in Nashville.
2011 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Nominees:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Band of Joy, Robert Plant
Welder, Elizabeth Cook
Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
Blessed, Lucinda Williams
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Elizabeth Cook
Hayes Carll
Robert Plant
NEW/EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
The Civil Wars
Mumford And Sons
The Secret Sisters
Jessica Lea Mayfield
DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Avett Brothers
The Civil Wars
Mumford And Sons
Robert Plant and the Band Of Joy
SONG OF THE YEAR
Decemberists with Gillian Welch- “Down By The Water”
Elizabeth Cook – “El Camino”
Hayes Carll – “Kmag Yoyo”
Justin Townes Earle – “Harlem River Blues”
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Gurf Morlix
Kenny Vaughan
Sarah Jarosz
Will Kimbrough

Pictured at the event are (L-R): AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly, Benmont Tench, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Rosanne Cash, Levon Helm, Joy Williams, T Bone Burnett, John Paul White, Jim Lauderdale, Byron Isaacs. Photo: Taylor Hill)

Serletic Snags $10.8 Million For Music Platform

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Music Mastermind was founded in 2007 by Matt Serletic, former Virgin Records Chairman/CEO and the GRAMMY Award‐winning hit maker behind Matchbox Twenty, Gloriana, Carlos Santana, and others; and Bo Bazylevsky, a top Wall Street bond trader, senior hedge fund portfolio manager, and the former Global Head of Emerging Markets Corporate Trading at J.P. Morgan.
The independent entertainment and technology company today announced it has closed $10.8 million in Series B funding. Liberty Global and Intel Capitol  contributed $6.8 million and angel investers participated with an additional $4 million.
Music Mastermind is the developer of SoundBetter, the audio processing suite at the core of its upcoming consumer‐focused platform. This groundbreaking technology eliminates the traditional effort required to make music, breaking down barriers to creativity and allowing anyone to instantly create, publish, and distribute their own music. “At Liberty Global, we understand that digital technology is uniting people around the world and that music is a common thread among us,” said Bruce Dines, VP of Liberty Global Ventures. “We believe Music Mastermind’s cutting‐edge technologies will connect the international community in a completely new way.”
“We’re at the forefront of the next evolution of music entertainment,” said Matt Serletic who also heads Emblem Records. “It’s time to break down the barriers that prevent people from expressing themselves musically.”
The company raised its first round of funding in February 2010 with nearly $5 million from angel investors.

Industry Ink Monday 5/23

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Digital Music News is reporting that RIAA President Cary Sherman made a salary of over $3.1 million in 2009, working 50 hours a week. RIAA CEO and Director Mitch Bainwol reportedly made $1.62 million the same year. The RIAA is paying $16.2 million in salaries, other compensation, and benefits in total.
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Lady Gaga’s highly-anticipated Born This Way is out today and retail giant Amazon is offering a digital download of the full album for a market-low of $.99 today only. The predictably high demand has already caused slow wait times for Amazon mp3 users.
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Miranda Lambert will get the documentary treatment when VH1 airs Behind The Music: Miranda Lambert July 13, at 9 pm CT. The special follows Miranda’s rise to stardom, from playing East Texas dives at 18 to winning a Grammy Award for “The House That Built Me.” Guest commentators include Blake Shelton, Miranda’s parents Rick and Bev, Tracy Gershon, Joe Galante, Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Chesney and Hillary Scott.
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RPM writer and fiddler Nathan Stoops has been playing music recently with American Idol finalist Lauren Alaina, and has now been tapped to play the show’s finale Wednesday, May 25. Stoops is a member of the country group Scarletta, which also includes RPM writers Aubrey Collins and Benji Harris. The group is co-managed by MTM’s Rusty Harmon and RPM’s Scott Siman.

Scarletta: Benji Harris, Aubrey Collins, and Nathan Stoops