Top Country Tours of 2010

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George Strait and Reba headlined one of the year's biggest country tours.


The biggest grossing tours in 2010 belonged to George Strait/Reba/Lee Ann Womack, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
The Strait tour was the highest grossing North American country tour in 2010, according to Pollstar’s year-end chart. Grossing $41.6 million in box office receipts, the outing placed 14th on the all-genre Top 50 North American tours list (see full list containing agencies, ticket sales, number of dates).
Brad Paisley came in right behind the Strait package with $40.7 million, followed closely by Tim McGraw with $39 million, and Carrie Underwood with $38.8 million.
Other country stars on the top 50 include Taylor Swift ($34.2mm), Rascal Flatts ($28.4mm), Brooks & Dunn ($25.7mm), Toby Keith ($25.5mm) and Sugarland ($19mm).
Bon Jovi secured the No. 1 spot with $108 million.
Here are some of the Worldwide tour rankings: McGraw ($42.9mm), Paisley ($42.4mm), Strait/Reba ($41.6mm), and Swift ($40.4mm).
The magazine says box office grosses and ticket sales were down from 2009. The combined gross for the Top 50 North American tours in 2010 was $1.69 billion, down about 15% from last year. Total tickets sold was 26.2 million, a 12% decrease from 2009.

Recording Academy To Honor T Bone Burnett

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Producer T Bone Burnett will receive a salute from the Producers & Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy during Grammy Week. Titled “Shaken Rattled & Rolled,” the special event is part of the 10th Anniversary celebration of the P&E Wing. Grammy winners Elton John and Leon Russell (whose duet album The Union was produced by Burnett) will serve as honorary co-chairs of the gala, which will be held Wednesday, February 9 at The Village Recording Studios in Los Angeles.
“When the Producers & Engineers Wing was established, an essential voice was created for music makers: the voice of those ‘behind the glass’ that work so diligently to ensure that the quality and integrity of recorded music is captured and preserved,” says Recording Academy CEO/President Neil Portnow. “As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, it is only fitting that we pay tribute to one of our industry’s finest, T Bone Burnett, whose visionary talent and masterful skills have greatly impacted the landscape of audio production.”
Grammy Week ends with the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 13, airing live on CBS at 8/7 pm ET.

Toyota Adds Pandora

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Toyota's Entune telematics service integrates apps with the car's infotainment system. (Credit: CNET)


The Pandora “pandemic” may soon be rolling into a car near you!
Ford previously announced it would offer Pandora in connection with its SYNC platform.
Today, at CES in Las Vegas, Toyota revealed it will also roll with Pandora using its Entune multimedia system. The Toyota system will also reportedly engage users with other apps such as Bing, OpenTable, iheartradio and movietickets.com. Users only need to download an Entune app to their iPhone, Android or Blackberry and pair the phone via bluetooth with the car’s system. The individual apps are actually run by the Entune server.
Toyota plans to unveil the new functionality later this year.

ACM Showcase Teams With Opry, GAC

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Luke Bryan


The ACM Showcase, an evening dedicated to the newcomer nominees for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, is set for Tues., Jan. 18 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The event is open to fans and will take place as a special Grand Ole Opry performance, which is set to air on GAC.
Reigning ACM Top New Artist Luke Bryan will host the event featuring Top New Solo Vocalist nominees Eric Church, Randy Houser and Easton Corbin; and Top New Vocal Duo or Group nominees The Band Perry, the JaneDear girls and Steel Magnolia.
This special will air at 10:00PM EST on Thursday, January 27 on GAC and will kick off fan voting for these categories at VoteACM.com. Voting will close on Thursday, February 24 at 12noon EST. The winner in each category will be announced in March and those artists will move on to compete for Top New Artist, which will be announced during the 46th Annual ACM Awards broadcast on April 3, 2011 on CBS.
The complete list of nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards will be announced in February.
ACM Showcase tickets are available to the public beginning today (12/4) at opry.com or by calling 1-800-SEE-OPRY.

Pickler Weds…More Artist News

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Kellie Pickler and Kyle Jacobs


Kellie Pickler and songwriter Kyle Jacobs were married in an intimate ceremony on Saturday, January 1, 2011 on a private island in the Caribbean.
Nicole Kidman will appear at The Belcourt Theatre for a screening of her new film Rabbit Hole, and participate in a post-screening discussion moderated by WSMV anchor and filmmaker Demetria Kalodimos on Sat., Jan. 8 at 3:00 pm.

LeAnn Rimes has announced her engagement to actor Eddie Cibrian.
UMPG Nashville songwriter Lori McKenna is planning the Jan. 25 release of her new album Lorraine. The hit songwriter has recent cuts by Keith Urban, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, LeAnne Rimes, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood.
Kenny Chesney’s “The Boys of Fall” has become his ninth Certified Gold Single.
Bill Anderson has signed with Nick Meinema of The Agency Group for exclusive worldwide booking representation. Meinema has been Anderson’s exclusive agent throughout Canada since 2007. He may be contacted at nickmeinema@theagencygroup.com or (416) 368-5599.
Columbia/Legacy is planning the Feb. 22 release of Johnny Cash’s From Memphis To Hollywood, a double album featuring previously unreleased demos, live radio recordings, non-album singles and B-sides. The tracks are from Cash’s early career in the 1950s and ‘60s, including time at Sun Records and Columbia Records.
Joe Diffie has written a cookbook called Homecoming, The Diffie Family Cookbook. It is available on Amazon and www.joediffie.com.
Paramore members Josh Farro and Zac Farro have left the band. Remaining on board are lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York.

Randy Montana Debuts 3-Song EP

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Montana shot the video for "1000 Faces" in early December near the L&C Tower in downtown Nashville.


Randy Montana’s 3-song EP is hitting online outlets, just as his new single “1000 Faces” hits radio. Produced by Jay Joyce, the 1000 Faces EP contains the title track (Montana, Tom Douglas); “Assembly Line” (Montana, Natalie Hemby); and “Last Horse” featuring Emmylou Harris on harmonies (Montana, father Billy Montana, Rodney Clawson).
The Mercury artist’s debut single was “Ain’t Much Left of Loving You.” His full-length album is due out later this year.
The January issue of Southern Living magazine boasts Montana as one of five “Best New Artists” in its Best of the South feature.
Look for the premiere of the “1,000 Faces” music video at www.randymontana.com tomorrow (12/5).

Cameron Strang Named CEO Warner/Chappell

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Cameron Strang


Warner Music Group Corp. announced today the appointment of veteran music industry entrepreneur, Cameron Strang, as CEO of Warner/Chappell Music. The appointment was announced jointly by Warner Music Group’s Chairman & CEO, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., and Warner/Chappell’s Chairman & CEO, David H. Johnson.
Strang, the founder of New West Records and Southside Independent Music Publishing, will serve as Warner/Chappell’s CEO effective January 1, 2011 and will be based in Los Angeles. Johnson will continue as Warner/Chappell’s Chairman until July 1, 2011, at which point Strang will assume the additional role of Warner/Chappell’s Chairman. Johnson, who had served as WMG’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel since 1999, was initially elevated to serve as interim CEO of Warner/Chappell in 2006, and was subsequently promoted to Warner/Chappell’s Chairman & CEO in 2007.
Warner/Chappell has also acquired Strang’s Southside Independent Music Publishing, a leading independent music publishing company that was behind some of the biggest hits of 2010 including two of the songs nominated for the 2011 “Record of the Year” Grammy Award—B.o.B.’s “Nothin’ on You” and Cee Lo Green’s “F*** You.” Other recent hit songs on Southside include Brad Paisley’s No. 1 “American Saturday Night” and Uncle Kracker’s hit “Smile.”
Strang is the founder of both Southside Independent Music Publishing and New West Records, and co-founder of DMZ Records, a joint venture record label he launched with producer T-Bone Burnett, and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.
With the acquisition of Southside, Warner/Chappell gains a roster including Nashvillians Ashley Gorley, Blair Daly and Matthew West, as well as Bruno Mars, and producer Brody Brown. In 2009, Southside acquired Nashville publisher Combustion Music, and the catalog of multi-Platinum rock act Kings of Leon.
Other top Southside songs include Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” “All American Girl” and “Just A Dream;” Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This;” Brad Paisley’s “Then” and “American Saturday Night;” Kenny Chesney’s “Where I Grew Up;” Darius Rucker’s “It Won’t Be Like This For Long;” Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” and “Sex on Fire;” and Flo Rida’s “Right Round.”
Strang launched New West Records in 1995 with the signing of singer/songwriter Billy Joe Shaver. In 1998, he moved the label’s home to Los Angeles. During the last decade, Strang and New West have released numerous award-winning albums and built an impressive roster including Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam, Kris Kristofferson, Rickie Lee Jones, Drive By Truckers, Ben Lee, Old 97’s, and Buddy and Julie Miller. Recently New West acquired the Texas Music Group, and released the award-winning soundtrack to the film Crazy Heart.
Read about changes at New West following Strang’s exit here.

New West Names Ruthig GM Following Strang’s Exit

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Founder and longtime President of New West Records Cameron Strang has joined Warner/Chappell Music as CEO. New West GM

Michael Ruthig


Michael Ruthig will assume the label’s daily operations responsibilities. In this role he will continue to oversee domestic and international sales, with a more active role in Production and A&R. Prior to joining New West, Ruthig held positions at EMI, Clear Channel and Live Nation.

Katelyn Craig


Katelyn Craig will also see her role expanded in light of this change, as she is promoted to lead New West Independent Music Publishing. Her responsibilities include overseeing all creative and administrative services for NWIMP artists, as well as securing film and TV placement.
Contact Ruthig at Ruthig@newwestrecords.com or 310-246-5766. Reach Craig at katelyn@newwestrecords.com or 310-246-5766.

Solid Reviews For "Country Strong"

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Solid reviews are coming in for Country Strong, which is already showing at the Carmike 20 in Franklin, Tenn. and is slated for a wide release on Friday, Jan. 7. Many critics are saying the movie is carried by strong performances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw.
The LA Times finds “down-home comfort” in the film despite its predictable “music-drenched melodrama” centered around the “roughhouse country music industry.” According to the review:

When the starting point is a world in which even the toughest guys wear their hearts on their sleeves, the trick for filmmakers is how to walk the line without getting stuck in the muck, and that is a problem the filmmaker hasn’t yet figured out
What helps elevate “Country Strong” when the music stops is the strength of the performances. It’s not easy to play opposite [Oscar winner Paltrow] but McGraw does a credible job. He is such an appealing guy on-screen, working an easy charm in a way that seems so effortless it’s turning him into Hollywood’s good old boy of choice (see “The Blind Side”). But the scene stealer is the Minnesota farmboy, Garrett Hedlund, who took up the guitar for the film and, despite an acting hot streak that includes “Tron: Legacy,” actually could quit his day job. His scruffy Trace Adkins-style baritone and kickback charisma on-stage makes Beau irresistible to more than just [Paltrow’s character] Kelly.

The Huffington Post says:

Paltrow easily delivers the best performance of her adult life, playing a woman who has many demons to battle. The strength to keep it together threatens to fall apart constantly, yet it never once veers into melodrama.
The acting performance aside, the surprising part is seeing Paltrow belt out tunes, play the guitar and strut on stage as if she was born and raised in the heartland.

McGraw will discuss the film on upcoming television appearances including the Late Show with David Letterman (1/4), Good Morning America (1/5), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (1/5), Chelsea Lately (1/6) and The Martha Stewart Show (1/7). He returns to the road this spring on the Emotional Traffic Tour with special guests Luke Bryan and The Band Perry.
MORE
• See the L.A. Times picks for the best country music movies.
• Music videos below from the motion picture soundtrack:
McGraw and Paltrow perform “Me and Tennessee,” written by Paltrow’s husband Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Paltrow’s Yahoo exclusive performance of “Coming Home.” The song by Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, and Troy Verges is nominated for Best Original Song–Motion Picture at the Golden Globe® Awards, taking place on Sunday, January 16, 2011, airing on NBC from 8:00-11:00 p.m. (EST).

Smartphones Becoming Dominant

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According to market research company Nielsen (1/3/11), the Apple iPhone operating system remains the top mobile OS in the US enjoying a 28.6% market share. Closely following the Cupertino giant is Google’s Android system with 25.8%. Blackberry, once the top dog in the mobile platform race, slides from 33% in June 2010 to 26.1% in the current study.
According to Nielsen, 45% of customers ready to purchase a mobile phone opted for a smartphone instead of a feature phone. Also notable is a finding that among recent smartphone acquirers, 40% chose Android over the last six months, making it the leading choice.
Strong smartphone demand benefits the music industry since the handheld devices encourage and facilitate consumption of music, video and social network engagement.