Artists Testing The Country Waters

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They may have gotten their starts in the pop/rock world, but The Doobie Brothers and Uncle Kracker are among a group of artists warming up to country.
As reported earlier this month, The Doobie Brothers have been working their single “World Gone Crazy” at country radio. Now comes the news that the band will make its Grand Ole Opry debut on Sat., Feb. 26. Founding members Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston, along with members John McFee (formerly in Southern Pacific) and Guy Allison, will be joined by touring member John Cowan, of New Grass Revival fame.
The band, celebrating its 40th Anniversary in April, has long flirted with country sounds, with songs such as “Black Water” and “Long Train Running.” Their newest album, World Gone Crazy, continues the country connection with a guest performance from Willie Nelson on “I Know We Won.”
Uncle Kracker has enjoyed some country crossover success for several years, spurred originally by his connection with Kenny Chesney and their hit “When The Sun Goes Down.” Uncle Kracker’s recent radio hit “Smile” was also a success on the country charts. His collaboration with Kid Rock, “Good to Be Me,” is nominated for ACM Vocal Event of the Year at the upcoming awards show.
Now Kracker is in Nashville recording his new album with hitmaking producer Keith Stegall, according to Billboard. Among the writers contributing songs are J.T. Harding and Shane McAnally, who scored as co-writers of Chesney’s latest hit, “Somewhere With You.”
Kracker is set to hit the road with Chesney next month.
Other rockers venturing into the country world as of late include Staind frontman Aaron Lewis. Of course, the biggest crossover success story in recent memory is Darius Rucker, whose 2008 country debut Learn To Live spawned three No. 1 singles and helped earn him a Top New Artist CMA Award.

More Vehicles Add Streaming Radio

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A growing number of automobile makers are partnering with streaming radio services, and other entertainment apps for upcoming models.
The latest addition is Pandora streaming radio teaming with GM. The offering is expected to debut in the car manufacturer’s Chevrolet Volt and Equinox 2012 models. Users will be able to control Pandora via the car’s factory stereo system.
Pandora has already partnered with Ford, Mini, Mercedes, Toyota, and Hyundai. More here.
The streaming service offers a free version with advertisements, or a paid subscription with no ads. It has about 80 million registered users.
This news follows Pandora’s IPO filing earlier this month.

Industry Ink: Black River Celebrates

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>>Black River Entertainment hosted an event in Nashville to celebrate the release of new projects including Sarah Darling’s Angels & Devils, Due West’s Forget The Miles, and Jeff Bates’ One Day Closer CD & DVD. Label owners Kim and Terry Pegula were on hand, and newly-named COO Gordon Kerr emceed the evening.
This is Darling’s second album for Black River Entertainment. Of the eleven songs in the new collection, she co-wrote nine, including first single, “Something To Do With Your Hands.” Vince Gill sings with her on “Bad Habit.” Jimmy Nichols produced Angels & Devils with an assist on two of the cuts from Darling’s frequent co-writer Adam Shoenfeld. Also on the project are her covers of U2’s “With Or Without You,” and Elton John’s “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.”

(L-R): Terry Pegula, Bates, Darling, Brad Hull of Due West, Matt Lopez of Due West, Kim Pegula, Tim Gates of Due West, and Kerr. Photo: Alan Mayor


>>The Financial Times reports that Warner Music is seeking preliminary bids this week for its music publishing company or for the entire group.
>>BMG has appointed Steven Moran global Chief Operating Officer. He will be based in the company’s headquarters in Berlin, and joins BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch. Moran spent more than ten years at Bertelsmann, BMG’s joint venture parent with KKR, as well as time on the European start-up team for iTunes.
>>Hip-hop executive Steve Stoute purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times in order to print a scathing open letter to NARAS. Here’s his point: “Where I think that the Grammys fail stems from two key sources: (1) over-zealousness to produce a popular show that is at odds with its own system of voting and (2) fundamental disrespect of cultural shifts as being viable and artistic.” Read on.
>>TechCrunch reports that popular European streaming music service Spotify could receive $100 million or more in funding. The company is nearing its U.S. launch.
>>Americana singer-songwriter Jalan Crossland has signed with Ted Wagner for artist management representation. Crossland is a flat-picking champion whose primary instrument is the guitar, but also plays the banjo. Wagner’s 25-year career includes time at RCA Records, Equity Music Group, Montage Music Group, Nine North Records and Columbia Nashville, where he was VP of Promotion. Ted Wagner Entertainment Services is located at 3730 Vulcan Dr., Nashville TN 37211. Wagner can be reached at 615-613-3292 or tedwagner@rocketmail.com.

(L-R): Ted Wagner, Jalan Crossland, Andy Phreaner (drums), Shaun Kelley (bass)


Jeff Johnson has joined the GammaBlast team.


>>Video production and editing house Gamma Blast has added director/DP/editor Jeff Johnson. His experience includes directing projects for artists such as Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Josh Groban, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Lindsay Buckingham. As a Director of Photography and Editor, he’s shot and cut projects for everyone from Carrie Underwood to Timbaland and numerous major news and music networks. Johnson joins Gamma Blast owner Chad Denning as the company’s directing talent. To solicit Johnson or Denning for music videos or webisodes, please contact Executive Producer Matt Nahay at 615-321-9552.
>>Local music journalist Jewly Hight will celebrate the release of her first book Right By Her Roots: Americana Women and Their Songs (Baylor University Press) at Music City Roots, Live from the Loveless Cafe on Wed., March 2, 2011. The book delves into the music of Lucinda Williams, Julie Miller, Victoria Williams, Michelle Shocked, Mary Gauthier, Ruthie Foster, Elizabeth Cook and Abigail Washburn.
>>On Feb. 25 Mac McAnally will be recognized with a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail in Belmont, Miss. The producer, guitarist, artist and songwriter is also in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Swift Leads Country Money Makers

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Taylor Swift netted more money than any other country entertainer last year, according to Billboard’s Money Makers 2011 issue (Feb. 19). The recently released list is based on net earnings derived from U.S. touring, music sales, and music and video streams.
21-year-old Swift saw her bank account swell by about $20.7 million, and ranked No. 6 on the all-genre tally. Her income came from 4.4 million in album sales, which translated to about $7.4 million in mechanical royalties for the star, not including publishing. Her tour grossed over $30 million, netting Swift around $10 million.
CMA reigning Entertainer of the Year Brad Paisley netted almost $14 million, sliding into No. 12 on the list. According to Billboard Boxscore, his H20 Tour was the top-grossing country run, with receipts nearing $38 million. He also pocketed a cool million from music sales.
With about $13.5 million each, Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw came in 13th and 14th on the list, respectively.
Rounding out the country names on the tally are Rascal Flatts (No. 16, $11.9); Toby Keith (No. 21, $9.8); Lady Antebellum (No. 24, $9.1); Brooks & Dunn ($8.6); George Strait (No. 31, $7.3); Reba (No. 32, $7.1); and Sugarland (No. $4.4).
Lady Gaga was the year’s biggest money maker, pocketing about $30.5 million. More from Billboard.

Radio Host Danny Winchell Passes

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WAMB radio show host Danny Winchell has died at age 84. He was also a pop singer, magazine publisher, record producer and music promoter.
Winchell died on February 16 in Nashville. His weekly program, “The Danny Winchell Show,” aired on Fridays at 2:05 p.m. on WAMB, at 1200 on the AM radio dial. He sometimes sang on it with his pop trio Moonlight & Memories, which included vocalists Carole Shaw and Lisa Webb.
He was a New York native who began his show-business career in the early 1950s. In 1952, he scored a pop hit singing the standard “Carolina in the Morning” on MGM Records. Other pop singles included “Two Who Love as One” (1951), “There Goes My Heart” (1952), “Joshua” (1953), “Por Favor” (1956), “Dungaree Doll” (1956), “Don’t Say You’re Sorry” (1959) and “We’re Gonna Have a Rockin’ Party” (1959).
He also took credit for co-producing “Blue Moon” by The Marcels, a No. 1 hit in 1961.
In later years, he wrote the syndicated column “The Winch Line” and published the entertainment periodicals Panorama and In & Around.
Danny Winchell is survived by Judy, his wife of 56 years, daughter Jerri Findley, son Kenny and brother Sam. Memorials may be made to the Community Foundation/ Danny Winchell Music to help fund musical education for disadvantaged youth. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Eastland Funeral Home. According to http://dannywinchell.com, a celebration of Winchell’s life will be held in Nashville next month.

Industry Voices Criticizing iTunes; Google Applies Pressure

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A few years ago iTunes looked like the music industry’s knight in shining armor. Unfortunately, today with the added inventory of apps, books, movies, TV shows and more, plus some new rules, stakeholders are beginning to feel the relationship is getting strained. Apple’s latest skirmish is with book and magazine publishers. They are unhappy with the Cupertino giant’s new plans to take a 30% cut of all digital publications sold on its iPad and iPhone devices. Porter Bibb, a consultant at Mediatech Capital Partners and the first publisher of Rolling Stone magazine told the LA Times, “You’ve seen what Apple did to the music industry —they decimated it. Apple owns the music industry now, and publishers are loath to have that happen to them.”
Adding to the rukus is Apple’s plan [press release here] to withold highly valued personal subscriber information from the publishers unless the buyer specifically opts to share the data. Apple also demands that all apps allow for in-app purchasing. On the plus side publishers can now sell subscriptions by the week, month, year or other period of time instead of hoping readers will buy each one separately. “We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement.
If the art of negotiation is finding and applying leverage, then the weight of Apple’s 15 million iPads in the marketplace and over 160 million users with credit cards on file surely sits heavily of the back of the book industry.
Google has entered the discussion by offering a new payment system for digital content, charging publishers a more modest 10% fee and offering to share the consumer data with publishers. Tension has been building between Apple and Google for a considerable period now. They compete with mobile operating systems—Apple’s IOS and Google’s Android plus Google is rumored to be opening a music store soon.
Blogger Chris Holmes suggests the music industry fight back against Apple with what he calls the Privateer System which gives bloggers, pirates and fans an opportunity to “make money while spreading music. Bloggers that host an up-and-coming act would host their music and take a percentage of the sales. Fans too.”
Rhapsody CEO John Erwin called the idea of having to pay a 30% “Apple tax” on music subscriptions, “economically untenable.” Rdio CEO Drew Larner also voiced strong concern, “That fee is certainly untenable for us. It creates a situation where it’s not financially possible for us to be in the environment, that’s a loss for consumers and I don’t think that’s a good thing.”
But what about consumers? Ultimately, Apple has to be careful not to upset the value proposition that drives them to purchase its hardware. For example, if Pandora apps are no longer available for the iPad or Rdio or Kindle books how will consumers react? And book publishers also have to carefully consider if they want to ignore the power of the Apple technology train and its dedicated cadre of consumers.

Television Roundup: Chesney Doc, Judds Series

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Chesney Football Documentary Airing Sunday • The Judds Docu-Series To Premiere On OWN
Many football luminaries turned out for the orange carpet premiere of the ESPN film The Color Orange: The Condredge Holloway Story in Knoxville last night (2/17). Kenny Chesney served as Executive Producer and narrates the film, which documents the life and career of University of Tennessee quarterback Condredge Holloway, the Southeastern Conference’s first African American starting quarterback. Created as part of ESPN’s “Year of the Quarterback” initiative, the film will debut everywhere Sunday, February 20 at 7 pm CT on ESPN.
In attendance for the event were University of Tennessee head coaches past and present Bill Battle, Phil Fulmer and Derek Dooley; ESPN College Game Day announcer and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit; Super Bowl-winning Indianapolis Colts and former UT quarterback Peyton Manning; Monday Night Football commentator and Coach of the Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jon Gruden and many more.
“We have a lot of my heroes, that played with Condredge, a lot of my friends that came from all across the country, different parts of the world to be here tonight because they love football, and they love Condredge,” Chesney said to the audience during his introduction of the film.

(L-R); Jason Witten, former UT player and current Dallas Cowboys tight end; Bailey Malchijah, Soul Shine Films; ESPN College Game Day announcer and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit; Shaun Silva, of Tacklebox Productions and director of The Color Orange; UT Head Coach Derek Dooley; Monday Night Football commentator and Coach of the Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jon Gruden; Condredge Holloway; ESPN/ABC commentator Brad Nessler; Kenny Chesney; ESPN Executive Producer John Dahl; Super Bowl-winning Indianapolis Colts and former UT quarterback Peyton Manning; former Penn State quarterback and ESPN/ABC announcer Todd Blackledge; former UT and National Championship Coach Phil Fulmer; Chesney Tour Manager David Farmer, former UT wide receiver great Larry Seivers and former UT Head Coach Bill Battle.


•  •  •  •  •
Naomi and Wynonna Judd will star in their very own real life series on the Oprah Winfrey Network starting in April. The six-episode series titled The Judds will follow mother and daughter as they hit the road for their first concert tour in a decade. Cameras will follow the duo onstage and off, offering a rare glimpse into the private struggles and triumphs of one of country music’s most celebrated pairings. The first episode airs April 10, 8 pm CT on OWN.
Viewers will be immersed in the world of the The Judds, from traveling city to city for concert performances to returning home to their farm in Tennessee to emotional closed doors sessions with their life coach. The Judds is produced for OWN by Gay Rosenthal Productions, Inc. The executive producers are Gay Rosenthal, Bruce Toms, Kerry Hansen, Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd.

Community Benefits

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>>Charlie Daniels, Wynonna, Montgomery Gentry and The Grascals are set to perform for Operation Yellow Ribbon at Lipscomb University March 29, 2011. Accoring to David K. Hughes, Lipscomb University Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Yellow Ribbon Program, the daylong symposium aims to “provide an informative day for those who work with veterans at universities across the country to help equip them with knowledge and expertise to make their campuses more accessible and friendly for veterans.” Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program offers eligible Post 9/11 GI Bill veterans and their family members an undergraduate degree tuition-free or a graduate degree tuition-free or at a greatly reduced tuition rate. For more information or to register visit yellowribbon.lipscomb.edu or call 615.966.5176.

Charlie Daniels (l) and Wynonna (r)


>>Employees with the Tennessee State Treasury Department donated money for Jimmy Wayne’s project Meet Me Halfway, inspired by Wayne’s 1700 mile walk from Nashville to Phoenix in 2010. Wayne was on hand at the State Capitol yesterday (2/17) to accept the donation. Wayne began Project Meet Me Halfway in 2010 to raise awareness of the problems faced by children in the foster care system, particularly those who age out at 18 and without any support system, often find themselves homeless.

Pictured (l-r): Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Wayne and Tennessee Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr.


Todd Cerney


>>On Monday, February 28, Restless Heart, Steve Holy, Ty Herndon, Bo Bice and Jeff Bates will come together to headline a night of music honoring songwriter Todd Cerney, recently diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma. Cerney is a Grammy-nominated songwriter best known for his hits “I’ll Still Be Loving You” by Restless Heart, “Good Morning Beautiful” by Steve Holy, and “No Mercy” by Ty Herndon. The event will kick off with a series of songwriter rounds featuring Rivers Rutherford, Fred Knobloch, Rich Fagan, Pete Huttlinger, Lisa Carver, Wood Newton, Trevor Finlay, Doug Gill, Lynn Langham and Jim Parker, followed by performances from Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden (“Everlasting Love”), Casey Kelly and Leslie Ellis, Bill Lloyd, and Thom Shepherd & the Nashville Hit Songwriters Band. Special guest Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits will join Restless Heart onstage to sing his 1967 classic, “A Kind of a Hush.” Also reuniting especially for this fundraiser will be  The Piggys, a Nashville rock band that hasn’t played live together in more than 25 years. The Todd Cerney Benefit Concert will be held Monday, February 28 at the Red Rooster Bar & Music Hall located at 1530 Demonbreun Street. Doors open at 6 pm, and music starts at 6:30 pm.  Admission is $15 at the door, and all proceeds from the event will go toward the mounting medical bills for Cerney’s illness. Donations may be made at any time to the Friends of Todd Cerney account through Regions Bank in Nashville. Donations by check may also be made through Nashville Songwriters Association.
>>Nashville singer/songwriter Jason James suffered a near total loss of the residence he was renting recently when a two-alarm fire devastated the Green Hills home. James and the other residents got out safely with no injuries. James is a songwriter for Pacific International Music. Gift cards for personal effects, household items and clothing are needed and preferred. To make a contribution or donation, contact James’ manager Becky Lynn Street at beckylynn@jasonjamesmusic.com or 615.499.3561. For more details click here.

Friday Cluster: Artists and Benefits

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>>Ronnie Dunn was in Dallas this week, where he previewed music from his upcoming debut solo album, which includes first single, “Bleed Red.”

Pictured (l-r): KSCS PD Dave Kelly and MD Chris Huff; Arista Nashville’s Lesly Tyson; KSSN PD Chad Heritage; Bob Kingsley’s wife Nan; Dunn; Citadel Media’s Kris Wilson; KPLX PD Mark Phillips; Citadel Media’s Carl Anderson; Bob Kingsley; and Arista Nashville’s Diane Monk.


Joe Nichols


>>Joe Nichols is in New York to support the Boot Campaign, an initiative featuring celebrities wearing combat boots to show support for troops and help raise funds for partner charities. Nichols’ media schedule includes these dates: The Country Network’s Nashville Nights on Wednesday, February 16 & 23; online during FoxNews.com Live and ABC.com What’s The Buzz on February 17 Fox News Channel’s America’s Newsroom, Fox Business, and All Night w/ Joey Reynolds on Friday, February 18; syndicated show BETTER on February 24, and featured on Fox affiliates and various SiriusXM channels throughout the week of February 21. Nichols is among the many celebrities, politicians and sports figures that have slipped their feet into a pair of combat boots for the campaign. To see these celebrity photos and more visit www.bootcampaign.com
>>To mark his 25th career anniversary, Randy Travis has begun posting previously unreleased videos, photos, media clips and more from specific time periods during his career on his website. Currently, material from 1986-1990 is available on the site. More years, including 1991-1995, 1996-2000, 2001-2005 and 2006-2010 are also planned to be unlocked in the future. www.RandyTravis.com
>>Five time Grammy Award and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners The Blind Boys of Alabama will release a traditional country-gospel album for the first time in their 70-year career on May 3 on Saguaro Road Records. Artist Jamey Johnson, co-produced the album and performs on it along with Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., Lee Ann Womack, and The Oak Ridge Boys, backed by an A-list of top Nashville studio musicians. Recorded live in just a few days at Ben Folds’ Javelina Studio, the album includes songs such as Hank Jr.’s energetic re-working of his father’s “I Saw the Light,” and some more recent tunes like Danny Flower’s “I Was a Burden.”
>>Music entertainment television program Honky Tonk TV has teamed with CountryMusicIsLove to host an eBay auction in conjunction with the 2nd Annual CountryMusicIsLove Concert to be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 (sponsored in part by HT-TV). Bidders can vie for a personal luncheon at Nashville’s Hard Rock Café with the artist Ty Brown and tickets to the concert. The auction is currently underway on eBay (http://bit.ly/iejh0B) and closes on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 @ 10:50AM CST. The event will help raise funds for City Of Hope, a research center dedicated to finding cures for life-threatening illnesses. The concert will feature performances from Ty Brown, Chris Cavanaugh, Troy Olsen, Brett Eldredge, Thompson Square, Chuck Wicks and Josh Thompson. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.countrymusicislove.com. Brown appeared on season 6 of ABC’s The Bachelorette, when he made it into Ali Fedotowsky’s “Top Five.” For more information visit www.tybrownmusic.com.

Tech Bits n' Bytes

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>>Fast Company, a magazine which describes itself as “the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design” has announced its 2011 Ranking of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. In the publication’s music category the top three companies were Pandora—for bringing its custom-curated music mix to a new venue…cars; Coca-Cola—for a daring marketing model that redefines the relationship among consumer brands, record companies, and artists; and Big Champagne—for developing a more modern business measurement that factors in social media. Named as the World’s Most Innovative companies overall were Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Nissan (for the first mass-market electric car) and Groupon (for reinvigorating retail and turning down $6 billion.)
>>Topspin orchestrated an about face in its direct-to-fan software platform in the form of a major update set for March 2011 that essentially opens up the previously closed marketing platform to all bands for a cost that starts at $9.99 per month. Also announced was a $5,000 marketing grant open to any artist or band with the best direct-to-fan business plan. Applications will be judged by a panel of music industry professionals including Rick Rubin (co-president of Columbia Records), Marc Geiger (William Morris Endeavor), Richard Jones (manager of the Pixies), Glenn Peoples (Billboard Magazine), Mike King (Berklee Music), Jennie Smythe (Girlilla Marketing), and others. For grant application, please visit www.topspinmedia.com. Entry deadline is March 7, 2011 at 6:00pm PST.
>>Soundexchange, the non-profit performance rights organization that collects statutory royalties from satellite radio, Internet radio, cable TV music channels and other services that stream sound recordings (similar to the way ASCAP, BMI and SESAC do for songwriters and publishers) has announced a new “Label It” camnpaign. Each year, distribution of millions of dollars in royalties get held up due to a lack of data resulting in “artist unknown” or “label unavailable” files. Soundexchange’s plan is to educate artists on how to label their work to facilitate collection of royalties through the addition of metadata to digital files.