Todd Cerney in his home recording studio.
Songwriter
Todd Cerney passed away this morning, March 14, after a battle with cancer. The musician, known for hits including “I’ll Still Be Loving You” recorded by Restless Heart, and “Good Morning Beautiful” recorded by Steve Holy, was a much loved member of Nashville’s music community.
Cerney was a Grammy-nominated songwriter, and past winner of ASCAP’s Country Song of the Year Award. Among his writing credits is “No Mercy” by Ty Herndon, as well as cuts by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Etta James, Cheap Trick, The Four Tops / Aretha Franklin, Levon Helm, Jason And The Scorchers, John Anderson, The Whites and many more.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma last year. Cerney is survived by wife
Kip Kirby.
Cerney made a mark on the Nashville music community, as evidenced by the turnout of performers and attendees at a recent concert to help with his medical expenses. The Feb. 28 event staged at the Red Rooster Bar & Music Hall featured Restless Heart, Steve Holy, Bo Bice, Rivers Rutherford, Fred Knobloch, Buzz Cason, Mac Gayden, Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and a 25-year reunion of Nashville cult favorite The Piggys.
A bank account to help with medical costs has been set up at Regions Bank’s Music Row branch. Donations can be made at any Regions branch or can be mailed to: Friends of Todd Cerney Account, Regions Bank, 1600 Division St., Nashville, TN 37203 or call 615-748-2792. Messages can be posted at
www.caringbridge.org/visit/toddcerney.
Photos below of Todd Cerney at the No. 1 party for “I’ll Still Be Loving You,” and receiving the ASCAP Song of the Year Award. Photos: Alan Mayor
Todd Cerney and wife Kip Kirby on the night he won ASCAP Song of the Year for "I'll Still Be Loving You."
Pictured in 1987: Cerney, front row second from left, at the No. 1 party for "I'll Still Be Loving You," recorded by Restless Heart and co-written by Cerney, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, and Pat Bunch.
Artist Action
/by Sarah Skates(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
/by FreemanBMI'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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Marking Milestones
/by Sarah SkatesEric 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 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.
Netflix Enjoys Strong Streaming Lead But Future Is Cloudy
/by admin“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.”
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
/by Sarah SkatesFor 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
/by Sarah SkatesRay 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.
Lytle Management Adds Denise Roberts
/by Sarah SkatesDenise Roberts
Radio promotion executive Denise Roberts has joined Lytle Management Group where she will be heading up radio and tour promo campaigns for its artists. The hiring was announced today by President John Lytle.
Gary Allan is among the artists on Lytle’s roster, and Roberts will coordinate promotion efforts with Allan’s label home UMG Nashville.
“Gary Allan and I are honored to have a music professional the caliber of Denise Roberts join our team,” said Lytle. “Her experience across the record and radio worlds makes her a great fit for this job.”
Roberts was most recently VP Country Promotion at CO5 Music. She held that post since September 2009, overseeing the company’s regional promo staff. Her other career stops include a similar job at Stoney Creek Records, and Director of National Promotion for Universal South.
Roberts can be reached at denise@lytlemgmt.com or 615-770-2688 (office) or 818-679-5479 (cell).
Chesney Partners With Hooters, Costa Sunglasses
/by Sarah SkatesChesney wearing his new signature Costa shades.
As he gears up for his big summer tour, Kenny Chesney today announced marketing partnerships with Costa sunglasses and Hooters.
The Corona Presents Kenny Chesney’s “Goin’ Coastal” Tour will be his biggest outing in five years when it launches Thursday (3/17) in West Palm Beach, Fla. The nearly 60-date North American tour includes eleven shows at NFL stadiums, and wraps with a two-night stand at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. on Aug. 27–28.
He is working with Costa to design his first line of signature sunglasses. Proceeds generated from the sale of the Kenny Chesney Limited Edition series will benefit ocean conservation group Coastal Conservation Association. The shades will be available at his tour stops as well as at www.costadelmar.com beginning March 17.
Hooters will have a presence on the tour, and has been named its “Official Happy Hour.” As the pre-concert destination in select markets, Hooters customers will have an opportunity to win Chesney autographed memorabilia, swag and concert tickets. Hooters is also launching a national Happy Hour promotion with in-store marketing collateral featuring Chesney, and a text-to-win contest for a VIP Fan Flyaway to the tour’s closing night. Beginning in April, stores will also be giving away a limited edition Hooters Kenny Chesney CD.
Howard, Morrow Named Women of Influence
/by Sarah Skates(L-): Linda Edell Howard, and Lynn Morrow
Attorneys Linda Edell Howard and Lynn Morrow, partners at Adams and Reese’s Music Row office, were named “Women of Influence” recently by the Nashville Business Journal. Listed in the publication as a “dynamic duo” they were highlighted in a recent issue, and honored with other winners at an awards luncheon.
Howard and Morrow have worked together for more than 10 years at the firm. They celebrated an outstanding 2010 with superstar clients and top executives including Lady Antebellum, songwriter Tom Douglas, manager Bob Doyle (the Band Perry) and the Nashville Symphony. Adams and Reese’s Nashville office also represents Love and Theft, Charlie Daniels, the Gospel Music Association and the Christian Music Trade Association.
Songwriter Todd Cerney Passes
/by Sarah SkatesTodd Cerney in his home recording studio.
Songwriter Todd Cerney passed away this morning, March 14, after a battle with cancer. The musician, known for hits including “I’ll Still Be Loving You” recorded by Restless Heart, and “Good Morning Beautiful” recorded by Steve Holy, was a much loved member of Nashville’s music community.
Cerney was a Grammy-nominated songwriter, and past winner of ASCAP’s Country Song of the Year Award. Among his writing credits is “No Mercy” by Ty Herndon, as well as cuts by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Etta James, Cheap Trick, The Four Tops / Aretha Franklin, Levon Helm, Jason And The Scorchers, John Anderson, The Whites and many more.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma last year. Cerney is survived by wife Kip Kirby.
Cerney made a mark on the Nashville music community, as evidenced by the turnout of performers and attendees at a recent concert to help with his medical expenses. The Feb. 28 event staged at the Red Rooster Bar & Music Hall featured Restless Heart, Steve Holy, Bo Bice, Rivers Rutherford, Fred Knobloch, Buzz Cason, Mac Gayden, Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and a 25-year reunion of Nashville cult favorite The Piggys.
A bank account to help with medical costs has been set up at Regions Bank’s Music Row branch. Donations can be made at any Regions branch or can be mailed to: Friends of Todd Cerney Account, Regions Bank, 1600 Division St., Nashville, TN 37203 or call 615-748-2792. Messages can be posted at www.caringbridge.org/visit/toddcerney.
Photos below of Todd Cerney at the No. 1 party for “I’ll Still Be Loving You,” and receiving the ASCAP Song of the Year Award. Photos: Alan Mayor
Todd Cerney and wife Kip Kirby on the night he won ASCAP Song of the Year for "I'll Still Be Loving You."
Pictured in 1987: Cerney, front row second from left, at the No. 1 party for "I'll Still Be Loving You," recorded by Restless Heart and co-written by Cerney, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, and Pat Bunch.