(L-R): WCOL PD John Boy Crenshaw, Craig Morgan, Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante, Carrie Underwood, SMN VP Promotion Skip Bishop, 19 entertainment's Ann Edelblute, and SMN Sr. VP Sales & Operations Paul Barnabee. Photos: D. Ross
April 6; Columbus, Ohio—Schottenstein Center
Carrie Underwood’s latest tour, set to hit 54 cities across North America with support acts Sons of Sylvia and Craig Morgan, presents an artist who has grown into her superstar role, and arrives well-armed with a versatile “book” of material with which to showcase her ample vocal talents.
“This show has felt really comfortable since the first night,” said Underwood backstage. “Yes, there’s a few things we tweaked, but there’s so much going on up there including lots of special moments that we look forward to onstage.”
The set and costumes designed by Michael Cotten and Soyon An are a monument to the contrast between simplicity and infinite variation. A two-story, gazebo-like steel grid framework shapes the stage, also making extensive use of video screens to change the atmosphere from a gurgling country brook to an indoor botanical garden and more. Center stage, a rotating pedestal provides dramatic entrances and exits with each rise and descent. Ms. Underwood’s stylish fashion infatuation included more than 10 costume changes (with matching stilettos) throughout the show.
Carrie Underwood with Sony Music Nashville VP Sales Kerri Fox-Metoyer
Most notable was how the rich staging and costumes became almost invisible behind the singer’s pitch-perfect prowess. With power songs such as “Jesus Take The Wheel,” “American Girl,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Undo It,” “Before He Cheats,” and more, it would be easy to overwhelm. This tour, however, proves that the young woman, thrust overnight into national prominence via the American Idol platform, has matured and learned to control her instrument like a skilled heart surgeon. During one intense vocal moment, displayed on a pedestal, on her knees Carrie seemingly beat her chest trying to force out maximum emotion. The crowd reacted like bees in a hive, emoting and buzzing in sync with the performance.
Special moments were abundant. Standouts included a Grand Ole Opry-themed video duet with Randy Travis, “I Told You So” which poured like rich wine. “Just a Dream” found Ms. Underwood riding an idyllic country swing suspended from a massive tree branch. For “Country Roads,” the diminutive blonde jumped in the back of a deep blue pickup truck which climbed above the crowd and drove deep toward the back of the room, giving all fans a front row view. And then there was the incredible antebellum “video” dress, backdrop for the moving ballad “Change.” The dress became a video screen, bathing the singer in an aura of warm lights and emotional tones that might also translate beautifully for an Award show performance.
Craig Morgan also contributed to the evening. A dramatic entrance from the back of the arena showcased his vocal and entertainer skills. Well received were hits such as “Redneck Yacht Club,” “International Harvester,” and “That’s What I Love About Sunday.” Morgan’s cover of Lionel Richie’s Commodores hit “Easy,” was a surprise standout. The likable military veteran moved into the crowd frequently getting strong applause for his efforts. Morgan appears to be on the verge of striking it rich, needing only a few more song nuggets to string together to create a headline show.
“Carrie’s now enjoying every aspect of her career,” said Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante. “She’s finally gotten to that place, personally and professionally, and it shows on stage.” The sold out Columbus crowd demanded an encore, and this writer heartily agreed.
NaFF Offers Music Panels, Films
/by Sarah SkatesPANELS/WORKSHOPS (all take place at Green Hills Cinema – Theater 5)
• Music Supervisors: The ABC’s of Song Placement and Licensing–Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010 2:15 PM
Randall Poster (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Maureen Crowe (The Young Victoria), Susan Jacobs (Little Miss Sunshine), and Greg Sill (In Plain Sight) discuss submitting songs, building relationships, and how technology is changing licensing. Jim Scherer (Whizbang, Inc) will moderate.
• Music Licensing for Filmmakers: Avoiding the Pitfalls–Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010 4:30 PM
Panelists will be Aaron Mercer (Sony/ATV), Melissa Love (Songfinder), Randall Foster (Naxos Records), and Jim Scherer (Whizbang, Inc). Attorney Casey Del Casino will moderate.
• One on One with Carter Burwell–Monday, Apr 19, 2010 7:00 PM
The Mike Curb Career Achievement Award For Film Music will be presented to Carter Burwell. He was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for Where The Wild Things Are and is also the go-to composer for the Coen Brothers, creating classic scores such as Fargo and Miller’s Crossing.
• A Conversation with Shana Feste–Sunday, April18 at 2:00 PM
A chance to meet one of Variety’s “10 directors to watch” and a nominee for the Humanitas Prize for her first feature, The Greatest, which is screening at NaFF. Feste recently wrapped shooting on Love Don’t Let Me Down, filmed in Nashville and starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw.
• Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund–Monday, Apr 19, 2010 2:00 PM
Join local and international industry professionals at an open forum to discuss issues affecting film scoring such as finding work, understanding contracts, union issues, licensing, live scoring and soundtrack albums. Presented by the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund. Free Admission.
MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES AND FILMS
Country on Price Is Right, Celeb Apprentice, Idol
/by Sarah SkatesThe Price is Right will have a country themed episode on Fri., April 16 in celebration of the upcoming ACM Awards on Sun., April 18, both will air on CBS. At the long-running game show, 2010 ACM Award nominees Blake Shelton and Bomshel will be on hand to present prizes.
Trace Adkins, Luke Bryan and Emily West are headed to the Celebrity Apprentice for an episode airing Sun., April 18. Adkins, a runner-up on the 2008 season, will act as boardroom advisor to Donald Trump, overseeing the celebrity teams who are competing in a country music challenge.
Bucky Covington and fellow former American Idol finalists will be volunteering at Nashville’s Second Harvest Food Bank on Wed., April 14 as part of the “Idol Gives Back” episode. He will be joined by Melinda Doolittle, Bo Bice, Phil Stacey, and Mandissa. The program airs Wed., April 21 on FOX.
Shelton Tweets: Kiss My Country Ass!
/by contributorScreenwriters, Smith, Wynette and a Little Tennis
/by contributorNeil Landau
Attention Prospective Screenwriters
With more songwriters per capita than any other town in America, it stands to reason that there must some potentially successful screenwriters in the Nashville mix. Any tunesmith looking to expand his or her creative pallet would do well to hop over to Los Angeles film and entertainment industry website The Wrap (www.thewrap.com) and check out writer Neil Laundau’s timely and informative article, Make Your Movie Leap Off the Page.
Landau presents a point-by-point overview of what makes a great screenplay, unwittingly pointing up the many similarities in writing for the screen and composing a hit song. You can check out the article here.
• • •
The Music City Tennis Invitational is right around the corner, and some of Nashville’s best songwriters will gather on April 15 at the Bluebird Cafe to celebrate. James Slater (Rascal Flatts’ “Unstoppable,” Jamey Johnson’s “High Cost Of Living”); Tom Douglas (Lady Antebellum’s “Run to You,” Tim McGraw’s “Southern Voice”); Walt Aldridge (Ronnie Milsap’s “No Gettin’ Over Me” and Travis Tritt’s “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde”); and Marv Green (Reba McEntire’s “Consider Me Gone” and Lonestar’s “Amazed”) will perform.
Reservations are required. Tickets are $15 plus a $2 registration fee and are available online at www.bluebirdcafe.com or by phone at (615) 383-1461.
• • •
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will pay tribute to the legendary Tammy Wynette with the cameo exhibition Tammy Wynette: First Lady of Country Music. Presented by Great American Country Television Network (GAC), the exhibit will open in the Museum’s East Gallery on August 20 and run through June, 2011.
“Tammy Wynette was a true steel magnolia, a daughter of the South whose ladylike appearance and slight physical stature belied the magnitude of her grit, determination and talent,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “She helped redefine what it means to be a female country singer. Her death at age 55 came far too soon, but Tammy left behind a musical canon that is among the strongest and most influential in American music history.”
• • •
Krankit Records artist Anthony Smith is set to release his new single, “Love Is Love Is Love,” from his upcoming album, Sunshine, to radio on April 26. The song marks Smith’s debut single from the album and the first since launching his own record label, Krankit Records, earlier this year.
“Love Is Love Is Love” is a feel-good, yet heart-felt tune that makes you want to enjoy life with a care-free attitude,” Smith says. “This song makes me smile. That is the bottom line. Actually, I decided that I wanted to shoot the video in the Bahamas and we did. Can’t wait for everyone to see it! It is fun, it is colorful, and it makes you want to feel good about life.”
SoundExchange Announces Big Payout
/by contributor“This was the result of a lot of hard work by our staff, and also represents a new commitment by our registrants to help increase these amounts,” said SoundExchange’s Executive Director John Simson. “In addition to our usual distribution amounts, this total includes millions of dollars which were freed up by our commitment to cleaning up the bad data which is often reported to us by services.”
Simson has spoken publicly about the challenge posed by poor reporting by the digital services which use sound recordings. During this quarter, however, SoundExchange staff worked with registrants to resolve thousands of entries reported as “label unknown” or attributed incorrectly, by encouraging owners and artists to claim the tracks individually. SoundExchange staff also put in many man-hours of research to correct data so that funds could be distributed properly.
The independent label community received its largest-ever portion of digital revenues this quarter. Many individual recipients received their largest checks to date.
“In this time of shrinking revenues from so many other sources, our SoundExchange income was large enough to have paid the production costs of a new album and more,” said Bruce Iglauer, owner/operator of Alligator Records, “Absolutely every label and every recording artist should be a member. It’s simply all positives and no negatives.”
Simson pointed out that the higher payout resulted from more and bigger radio stations simulcasting online, the growth in streaming services like Pandora and a recent increase in satellite radio subscriptions aided by rising cars sales. Simson also credited his organization’s outreach to artists who had not previously received royalties with a portion of the growth. When artists and copyright holders register with SoundExchange, they receive lump sums of the royalties they have accrued since 1996. A flood of new registrations, fueled by SoundExchange’s ramped-up awareness efforts in mid-2009, meant lots of those checks were issued in the first quarter.
“We’re extremely proud of what we do here,” Simson said of the quarter’s achievements, “It’s a challenge and a privilege to be a part of the process that sees the creators of music fairly paid for their invaluable work.”
Lady A Grabs Biggest Slice
/by adminMomentum for Country YTD album sales stumbled this week—despite two debuts—as the format’s gain over last year slipped from 15% to 13%. Alan Jackson’s Freight Train landed at No. 2 on the Current Country Top 75, according to Nielsen Soundscan, with sales slightly over 72k. Also new this week was Gretchen Wilson’s Redneck Records debut, I Got your Country Right Here which scanned close to 15k units for a No. 6 chart position.
Top Selling 2010 Country Albums As Percentage of Total Country Sales
Unfortunately, this week’s two debuts (total of 87k units) were not enough to balance debuts last year from Keith Urban (172k) and Rodney Atkins (34k) which more than doubled the added units this year.
The consolidation trend in recent years has given rise to an endless parade of sayings such as “flat is the new up,” “doing more with less,” “circling the wagons,” etc. Today’s graph sheds some enlightenment on why standing inside the “shrinking circle of profits” is becoming ever more challenging. Through the week of 4/4/2010 total country sales are 10,368,000 units. This includes current, catalog and digital albums.
Lady Antebellum’s latest CD accounts for 16% of that total and the trio’s catalog title sold an additional 2%. The next highest selling country title YTD was Taylor Swift’s Fearless which claims about 4% of the year’s total. (For simplification we are only looking at the top 6 selling titles YTD, but Swift’s total percentage would be boosted by catalog sales.) Moving one title lower on the sales list highlights the Zac Brown Band with 3% of this year’s country sales. Using this thumbnail sketch, we find that the top three selling titles account for a whopping 23% of total country sales. The top selling act, Lady A, earns 18% or almost one out of every five country CDs sold.
Clearly, it’s a blessing—for the artist and their label—to have an album wringing a disproportionally high share of sales out of the marketplace. But with respect to the overall industry and format—not so much. Lady A is to be applauded for its accomplishment, and the rest of town should be encouraged to try harder.
Music and Marketing – Joined at the “Hip”
/by contributorWhile the once-subversive Stones are credited with pioneering today’s flourishing love affair between bands and brands with their 1981 Tattoo You tour and its Jovan Musk cologne tie-in, the master marketer among today’s reigning pop stars, according to Jorgenson, is Black Eyed Peas leader will.i.am. In fact, concert promoter Randy Phillips, President and CEO of AEG Live, posits that will.i.am has the potential to be “the best ad executive on Madison Avenue. I’ve never seen anyone more astute at dealing with sponsors’ and companies’ needs and understanding their brands.” Phillips is planning to have the rapper/DJ deliver a seminar to AEG’s global marketing team.
While Jurgenson restricts his observations to the pop side of the fence, from Miranda Lambert’s print-based campaign for the cotton industry to Carrie Underwood’s current vitaminwater and Pedigree pet products-sponsored Play On Tour, country music artists have been exceptionally sponsor-friendly.
Check out the Wall St. Journal article in its entirety here.
Carrie Underwood Play On Tour
/by admin(L-R): WCOL PD John Boy Crenshaw, Craig Morgan, Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante, Carrie Underwood, SMN VP Promotion Skip Bishop, 19 entertainment's Ann Edelblute, and SMN Sr. VP Sales & Operations Paul Barnabee. Photos: D. Ross
April 6; Columbus, Ohio—Schottenstein Center
Carrie Underwood’s latest tour, set to hit 54 cities across North America with support acts Sons of Sylvia and Craig Morgan, presents an artist who has grown into her superstar role, and arrives well-armed with a versatile “book” of material with which to showcase her ample vocal talents.
“This show has felt really comfortable since the first night,” said Underwood backstage. “Yes, there’s a few things we tweaked, but there’s so much going on up there including lots of special moments that we look forward to onstage.”
The set and costumes designed by Michael Cotten and Soyon An are a monument to the contrast between simplicity and infinite variation. A two-story, gazebo-like steel grid framework shapes the stage, also making extensive use of video screens to change the atmosphere from a gurgling country brook to an indoor botanical garden and more. Center stage, a rotating pedestal provides dramatic entrances and exits with each rise and descent. Ms. Underwood’s stylish fashion infatuation included more than 10 costume changes (with matching stilettos) throughout the show.
Carrie Underwood with Sony Music Nashville VP Sales Kerri Fox-Metoyer
Most notable was how the rich staging and costumes became almost invisible behind the singer’s pitch-perfect prowess. With power songs such as “Jesus Take The Wheel,” “American Girl,” “Cowboy Casanova,” “Undo It,” “Before He Cheats,” and more, it would be easy to overwhelm. This tour, however, proves that the young woman, thrust overnight into national prominence via the American Idol platform, has matured and learned to control her instrument like a skilled heart surgeon. During one intense vocal moment, displayed on a pedestal, on her knees Carrie seemingly beat her chest trying to force out maximum emotion. The crowd reacted like bees in a hive, emoting and buzzing in sync with the performance.
Special moments were abundant. Standouts included a Grand Ole Opry-themed video duet with Randy Travis, “I Told You So” which poured like rich wine. “Just a Dream” found Ms. Underwood riding an idyllic country swing suspended from a massive tree branch. For “Country Roads,” the diminutive blonde jumped in the back of a deep blue pickup truck which climbed above the crowd and drove deep toward the back of the room, giving all fans a front row view. And then there was the incredible antebellum “video” dress, backdrop for the moving ballad “Change.” The dress became a video screen, bathing the singer in an aura of warm lights and emotional tones that might also translate beautifully for an Award show performance.
Craig Morgan also contributed to the evening. A dramatic entrance from the back of the arena showcased his vocal and entertainer skills. Well received were hits such as “Redneck Yacht Club,” “International Harvester,” and “That’s What I Love About Sunday.” Morgan’s cover of Lionel Richie’s Commodores hit “Easy,” was a surprise standout. The likable military veteran moved into the crowd frequently getting strong applause for his efforts. Morgan appears to be on the verge of striking it rich, needing only a few more song nuggets to string together to create a headline show.
“Carrie’s now enjoying every aspect of her career,” said Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante. “She’s finally gotten to that place, personally and professionally, and it shows on stage.” The sold out Columbus crowd demanded an encore, and this writer heartily agreed.
CMA Names Warnke VP Strategic Partnerships
/by contributorSheri Warnke
The Country Music Association announced today (4/8) that industry veteran Sheri Warnke would be joining the professional staff of CMA as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, effective immediately.
“Sheri has already done an outstanding job of building marketing relationships for the industry and corporate brand partners for CMA’s core events, CMA Music Festival and the CMA Awards,” said Steve Moore, Chairman of the CMA Board of Directors. “We are fortunate to have the full resource of her time and talent focused on CMA and our mission of advancing country music.”
Warnke had been the Nashville-based representative for MS&L, one of the world’s leading communications firms. MS&L was named CMA’s sales and marketing agency last fall and will continue to consult with CMA on future marketing endeavors as needed.
In her expanded role at CMA, Warnke will develop and market sponsorship and partner packages for the CMA Awards and CMA Music Festival. In addition, she will work with CMA and the industry to develop new equities and campaigns to offer added value and opportunities for brands and companies to partner with country music.
“It is an honor for me to join CMA and to represent country music’s passionate fan base to corporate America,” Warnke said. “We have made fantastic progress this year and I’m looking forward to ramping up our efforts moving forward.”
Before MS&L, Warnke was most recently at Playboy Enterprises as regional sales manager. Warnke is an industry expert, having served on the Board of Directors for CMA, Leadership Music, T.J. Martell Foundation, and Gilda’s Club, as well as maintaining memberships in organizations including CMA, NARAS, and the National Advertising Federation. Prior to her role at Playboy Enterprises, she spent more than 15 years in high-level consumer magazine publishing roles including four years as the VP/Group Publisher of Country Weekly and Country Music Magazine.