Sony's Bush Hawg In Japan

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New RCA Nashville recording group Bush Hawg was on a two-week tour of Japan and Guam for Armed Forces Entertainment when the area was struck by last week’s record 9.0 magnitude earthquake. The six-man group, consisting of band members Jim Phipps, Russ Caldwell, Craig Hand, Shaun Ames, Alex Wilshire, and Ben Helton, are now safe in Guam.
They were loading in for a performance at Yokota Air Base when the quake registered 5.0 at their base location, less than 30 miles from Tokyo. Temporarily stranded at Yokota, the band was able to assist in preparing barracks for relief workers. Bush Hawg has been sharing some of their experiences via their Facebook page.
The group is currently recording its debut album with multi-Platinum producer Michael Knox, with a release slated for later this year.

In this photo from earlier in their journey, several band members shared a ride in a Humvee. Pictured (l-r): Bush Hawg’s Shaun Ames, Craig Hand, Alex Wilshire, and Jim Phipps.

IODA Debuts Open API

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IODA, has released a metadata and content API designed to increase exposure and revenue opportunities for content owners while enabling partners to monetize artist content more effectively. Open API provides access to metadata, buy links and media assets for partners and third party developers. The announcement was made March 15 at SXSW in Austin, TX.
Open API is a means to offer accurate data on demand—from release notes and track info to release dates, artist bios, images and more. All data is provided and approved directly by IODA’s rightsholders to ensure the accuracy and completeness. Metadata, as it is referred to is essentially the information required to properly compensate rightsholders. It is only possible to  pay those involved if one knows who they are and where to send the payments. As the range of uses for content becomes ever more complex, the Open API, like several other systems that have been announced previously, endeavors to make this important information available in real time to the appropriate parties. Click here to see an example use of this data. Interested developers should click here.
Known as the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, IODA is one of the industry-leading digital distribution companies for the global independent music and video community. IODA provides comprehensive services to record labels, physical distributors, artists, and filmmakers, including license negotiations; media encoding and metadata management; royalty payment administration and reporting; and marketing and promotional support. Founded in 2003, IODA represents a rapidly expanding roster of more than two million music tracks and thousands independent film and video titles. IODA distributes its music and video catalog to hundreds of digital storefronts worldwide, including all major digital music services like iTunes®, Amazon MP3 and Spotify, and mobile carriers and outlets such as Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Vodafone. The company’s website is www.iodalliance.com.

CMT Original Movies Division Launches With Two Projects

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LeAnn Rimes (L) and Laura Bell Bundy (R) are slated for new projects from CMT Original Movies.


CMT is expanding with a new division focusing on made-for-television movies including romantic comedies and music-related projects.
 CMT Original Movies already has two projects in the works. To The Mat stars Ricky Schroder and Laura Bell Bundy, and Reel Love stars LeAnn Rimes.

Mary Beth Cunin, SVP, Programming, CMT, explains, “We’ve had great ratings success programming with acquired theatrical romantic comedies, so it is only natural for us to create original stories that are tailor made for the CMT audience.”
The department’s previous incarnation, CMT Films, produced and distributed films from 2005-2010. It was a full-service film studio that used theatrical and network premieres to distribute the films before premiering them on CMT, and releasing them for DVD sales. Films included Broken Bridges (Toby Keith, Kelly Preston), Beer For My Horses (Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington), the Emmy-nominated Dale about NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, and Petty Blue, a documentary about NASCAR’s royal racing family.
As for the new projects, To The Mat (working title) was written by C. Jay Cox (Sweet Home Alabama), and stars Schroder (24, NYPD Blue) and UMG Nashville artist Bundy (Legally Blonde: The Musical, How I Met Your Mother). It tells the story of a laid-back ex-wrestler (Schroder) who’s trying to keep his family’s down-and-out southern wrestling school above water. Bundy is the uptight consultant from New York charged with getting the books in order to save the business. Directed by Rob Iscove (She’s All That), To The Mat is currently in production and is set to premiere in August on CMT. It is taping in British Columbia.
Reel Love stars Rimes as a successful, big city girl who returns to her small town roots after a family emergency, and reconnects with family and friends and finds romance along the way. Written by Sharon Weil Aaron and directed by Brian K. Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond), Reel Love is set to begin production in late April and will premiere in September on CMT. It is taping in Ontario.
Both films will be produced by Entertainment One Television with John Morayniss, Noreen Halpern, Margaret O’Brien and Ira Pincus as Executive Producers. Lisa Silfen, Robin Palmer, Lewis Bogach and Mary Beth Cunin serve as Executive Producers for CMT.

Martina Releases New Music

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Martina McBride has released her first music since 2009 with new single “Teenage Daughters.” It is the lead single from the superstar’s label debut for Republic Nashville, due out this fall. The song, co-written by McBride and The Warren Brothers, deals with the experiences of both children and parents during the teenage years.
McBride has co-written seven more tracks for her new album. After 18 million career album sales, the upcoming project will be her first on a new label, first working with co-producer Byron Gallimore, and first to have written the majority of the material herself.
McBride, a mother of three daughters, comments, “I love the fact that ‘Teenage Daughters’ blends humor, sass and sweetness. It shows a very real side of my personality that I’m not sure I’ve shown in a song before. It’s definitely a very personal song and, to me, it just feels like an honest conversation between mothers and fathers of teenage daughters everywhere.“

Artist Action

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(L-R): Gracin, contest winner Shelagh Brown, album engineer Aaron Chmielewski


Average Joe’s recording artist Josh Gracin used a unique radio promotion to find a duet partner for a song on his new album. Radio stations across the country encouraged listeners to send in their video entries for consideration. Gracin and his team sorted through countless submissions until they found Shelagh Brown.
Gracin surprised the fellow Michigan native live on Kalamazoo’s B93 (WBCT) with the news that she had been selected to join him in Nashville to record his self-penned, “Only When It Rains.” The song is slated for his album Redemption, due out this summer. See behind-the-scenes video here.
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Guy Penrod


Guy Penrod turned to Facebook for his latest promotional contest. The “March Madness Song Tournament” lets fans vote on their favorite Penrod track. A total of 46 titles from his solo and Gaither group careers were nominated by fans; with the top 16 most-popular songs rounding out the bracket. The winner gets an Apple iPod Touch, loaded with Penrod’s music.
In 2010, Penrod’s combined album sales exceeded 100,000 units of new release Breathe Deep, and The Best of Guy Penrod. Moving 54,000 units, Breathe Deep was the best-selling new Southern Gospel CD last year, and the second best-selling new Country Gospel CD.
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Pheromone/MegaForce/Sony Red recording artist Greg Hanna is gearing up for his next venture into U.S. radio with “Makin Love Real,” which goes for adds next week. He has enlisted the help of veteran radio promoters Rick Kelly, Sarah Matlock, Lisa Smoot, Jen Trail, and Jerry Duncan. Marco Promotion’s Craig Bann will handle video promotion. Webster & Associates is on board for publicity duties.
Hanna has charted several singles in his native Canada, including his 2005 Top 10 hit “In My Head.” He had success on the MusicRow chart with his last two singles: “It’s A Man’s Job,” and “What Kind Of Love Are You On.”

SOLID and YEP Events Tonight

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BMI's bowling team from last year's Music Row Madness Showdown.


SOLID and CAA have partnered for the 3rd Annual Music Row Madness Showdown, a bowling tournament to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. 16 teams of music industry servants will compete and prizes will be awarded to the best fundraisers (both team and individual), highest team score, best team name, and best team spirit. The event is expected to raise over $10,000 for the cause. The fun starts 6-9 pm tonight (3/15) at Hillwood Strike and Spare, and both CAA and SOLID have teams competing.
“We are thrilled to not only sponsor a team but to be partnering with CAA for this event benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters,” says SOLID President Ian Wolczyk. “This has been a great event for the past few years and SOLID is ecstatic to be a part of it.”
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If you’re out of your element with bowling, then Young Entertainment Professionals Network (YEP) is hosting a free mixer and EP release tonight at Tin Roof. The mixer portion starts at 5:30, followed by an acoustic round with Hailey Whitters, Cassidy Lynn and Smith Ahnquist 7-7:30, another round featuring Drake White, Jason Cole Saenz, and Heather Morgan 7:30-8, and a full band performance from Cheryl LuQuire at 8 to celebrate the release of her EP.

Marking Milestones

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Eric Church

Eric Church, Sunny Sweeney, and Word’s Francesca Battistelli had recent cause for celebration.

Eric Church was already riding high from his ACM Top New Solo Vocalist win, when he received the news that his single “Smoke A Little Smoke” had been certified Gold by the RIAA. The track was co-penned by Church and bandmates Driver Williams and Jeff Hyde. Now Church is working new single “Homeboy,” the first music from his third studio album to be released later this year. He is a nominee for ACM Top New Artist, at the April 3 show.

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Sunny Sweeney

Sunny Sweeney is celebrating the success of her Republic Nashville debut single, “From A Table Away.” It has entered the Top 10 on the country singles charts, including MusicRow’s Country Breakout chart, where it is No. 6 and climbing. “From A Table Away” garnered Sweeney the highest-charting debut single of a solo female Country artist in the last four years, since Taylor Swift’s “Tim McGraw.” Sweeney is also joining her first major tour, Brad Paisley’s H2O II: Wetter & Wilder World Tour, this spring. She has released an EP, and is working on her album, coming later this year.

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Fervent Records artist and reigning Dove Female Vocalist Francesca Battistelli received a surprise from the staff at Word Entertainment recently. Her label family and producer Ian Eskelin showed up at Bridgestone Arena after her performance at Sunday’s sold-out Winter Jam concert, wearing foam No. 1 fingers in celebration of her sophomore album Hundred More Years debuting at the top of the Christian SoundScan Album Chart. Battistelli also secured the top spot on the AC Indicator radio chart with her current single “This is the Stuff.” With four nominations, Battistelli is the most nominated female heading into the 42nd annual Dove Awards.

Francesca Battistelli (front row, red shirt) cheers with Word staffers.

Netflix Enjoys Strong Streaming Lead But Future Is Cloudy

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According to NPD VideoWatch Digital tracking service, Netflix’s share of digital movie units, downloaded or streamed totaled 61% during Jan. and Feb. 2011. Comcast earned 8% and DirectTV, Time Warner Cable and Apple enjoyed a three-way tie with 4% each. The data for this study was gathered via online interviews with U.S. consumers age 13 and older conducted between Jan. and the third week of Feb. 2011. There were 10,618 completed surveys.
“Sales of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs still drive most home-video revenue, but VOD and other digital options are now beginning to make inroads with consumers,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. “Overwhelmingly, digital movie buyers do not believe physical discs are out of fashion, but their digital transactions were motivated by the immediate access and ease of acquisition provided by streaming and downloading digital video files.”
NPD also asked consumers to compare satisfaction from the four modes of digital-video acquisition: electronic sell-through (EST), Internet VOD (iVOD), cable VOD, and subscription streaming. EST services like iTunes were credited with having the most current releases, while Netflix was called “Best Shopping experience and value for price paid.”
According to a recent Wrap.com Netflix discussion, “perhaps 5 million or more of its 20 million monthly subscribers are now using the streaming service instead of getting their DVDs in the mail. In the process Netflix saves hugely in its postage and handling charges.”
However, there are clouds on the horizon for this company that streams its content from the cloud. Netflix’s 3-year licensing contracts for the electronic transmission of both movies and TV programs will begin expiring in just 7 months. Because the streaming business is now viewed as a competitive challenge to more mature licensing areas such as cable and satellite, it is expected that Netflix will end up paying much higher rates going forward. This means that either prices for the service will rise or Netflix will need to add a large additional number of subscribers, or both. This impending crunch also comes at a time when other competitors such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are entering the space.

Miss Willie Brown Debuts EP Today

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The major label debut EP from rising country duo Miss Willie Brown is out today (3/15). Comprised of Amanda Watkins and Kasey Buckley, the band is also gearing up for its first major tour, an outing opening for Dierks Bentley. Miss Willie Brown is the first country act signed to New York based A&M/Octone Records, the UMG label which is also home to star act Maroon5.
For the four-song project, Miss Willie teamed with top producer Keith Stegall, who has worked with Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson and George Strait. “Keith really jumped into our heads in terms of knowing what we like,” explains West Virginia native Watkins. She and Texas native Buckley share lead vocals on the tracks, which they co-wrote. Check out the fast-paced rocker “Sick of Me.”
“Amanda can write music that sounds like what I’m saying,” adds Buckley, “and I can write words that sound like her music. We definitely believe that we were brought together for a reason.” The two women met while waiting tables at a BBQ joint and instantly bonded over a love of songwriting and country music.
Miss Willie Brown will celebrate the EP’s release and the tour kick-off with a show tonight at the Rutledge in Nashville at 6 P.M. Immediately following the performance, the duo will head out for a 30-date run on the Jagermeister Country Tour Featuring Dierks Bentley, going through mid-May with special guest Josh Thompson.

Signing News From Ray Stevens, Amber Hayes

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Ray Stevens


The Bobby Roberts Company Inc. has signed Ray Stevens for exclusive booking representation.
Thanks to hits like “The Streak,” and “Everything is Beautiful,” Stevens has career sales totaling more than 25 million albums. He is a two-time Grammy winner and 11-time Grammy nominee.
Stevens has recently released a new album, titled One For The Road. See a video recap of Stevens’ career. BRC can be reached at 615-859-8899 or www.bobbyroberts.com.
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FUNL Music recording artist Amber Hayes has entered into an exclusive booking agreement with Nashville-based talent agency and marketing firm, Brand N Music Partnerships. Brand N Music VP/Operations Greg Burns is representing Hayes as well as her FUNL labelmate Ty Hernodon.
Hayes’ current single, “Wait,” continues to gain momentum at Country radio.  It is the second release from the Oklahoma native’s 2010 EP, C’mon, which produced a Top 40 hit on the MusicRow Country Breakout chart with its title-track single.

Amber Hayes


“I was absolutely thrilled when Brand N Music was given the opportunity to work with Amber Hayes,” says Burns. “Amber’s recent success with her debut single and the early reaction from radio to her new song, ‘Wait,’ is creating a lot of positive attention. I’m also finding that there’s a substantial interest in Amber that dates back to her days starring in the Conway Twitty musical.”
For booking requests on Amber Hayes or Ty Herndon, contact Burns at greg@brandnmusic.com, 615-562-3726, or visit www.BrandNMusic.com. More on Hayes here.