Final nominees for the nation’s t
op Country radio stations and broadcast personalities were delivered to Country Radio today, when Chuck Wicks revealed the 2009 CMA Broadcast Personality and Radio Station of the Year finalists live from Premiere Radio Networks’ New York City studios. The winners will be notified in mid-October and will be acknowledged at “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards.”
A tough race to call this year is who will claim bragging rights for the National Broadcast Personality of the Year. Nominee Bob Kingsley has won the trophy two times, in 2001, which was the inaugural year for the CMA National Broadcast Personality Award, and 2003. Lia Knight was nominated in 2003 and won in both 2005 and 2007. Nominated for the first time in 2008, Kix Brooks, of Brooks & Dunn, host of “American Country Countdown,” is nominated again in 2009 and if he wins it would be the first time that a County artist would claim a CMA Broadcast Awards trophy.
CMA BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:
National
“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Citadel Media
“Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40″ (Bob Kingsley) – KCCS Productions, Inc.
“The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Dial Global
Major Market
• “The All New Dr. Don Morning Show with Doc, Grunwald, Rachael, and Jason” (Don Carpenter, Steve Grunwald, Rachael Hunter, Jason “The 300 Pound Cowboy” Raithel) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.
• “Cliff and Company: Cliff, Morgan, Tanner, and Tori” (Cliff Dumas, Morgan Thomas, Bill Tanner, Tori Peck) – KSON, San Diego, Calif.
• “The Cornbread Morning Show featuring Cornbread, Pat James, Producer Annie, Father Harry, and Captain Mac” (Cornbread, Pat James, Annie Henson, Harry Schroeder, Mac “Captain Mac” Douglas) – WIL, St. Louis, Mo.
• “The Laurie De Young Morning Show” (Laurie De Young) – WPOC, Baltimore, Md.
• “Paul Schadt and Sarah in the Morning” (Paul Schadt, Sarah Waters) – WKKT, Charlotte, N.C.
Large Market
• “Bucky & Bob: The Talk of Austin” (Bucky Godbolt, Bob Cole) – KVET, Austin, Texas
• “Chris Carr & Company” – (Chris Carr, Jeffrey “Maverick” Bolen, Jason Statt) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
• “Jeff Roper in the Morning” (Jeff Roper, Angie Ward, Adam “Flash” Dellinger) – WTQR, Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.
• “Jim Denny and Friends” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt, Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
• “Karen, Scott and Radar. . .The Moo Crew” (Karen Dalessandro, Scott Dolphin, Tony “Radar” Hess) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
Medium Market
• “The 97 Country Breakfast Club with Roger, Tom, and Melissa” (Roger Todd, Tom O’Brien, Melissa Moran) – WPCV, Lakeland, Fla.
• “Brian and Kellie Morning Show” (Brian Pierce, Kellie Michaels) – KFDI, Wichita, Kan.
• “The Kat 103 Morning Show with Steve Lundy, Gina, and Craig (Steve Lundy, Gina Melton, Craig Allen) – KXKT, Omaha, Neb.
• “Tom & Becky in the Morning” (Tom Owens, Becky Palmer) – WBBS, Syracuse, N.Y.
• “WIVK at Night with Jack Ryan” (Jack Ryan) – WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.
Small Market
• “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene, Ore.
• “Bearman and Ken in the Morning” (Benny “Bearman” Martin, Ken Hicks) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• “Gator & The StyckMan” (Gator Harrison, Greg “StyckMan” Owens) – WGSQ, Cookeville, Tenn.
• “Mee in the Morning” (Kevin Mee, Brenda Mee) – KIZN, Boise, Idaho
• “Middays with Philip Gibbons” (Philip Gibbons) – WGSQ, Cookeville, Tenn.
CMA RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
Major Market
KMPS – Seattle/Tacoma, Wash.
KYGO – Denver/Boulder, Colo.
WPOC – Baltimore, Md.
WUSN – Chicago, Ill.
WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
Large Market
KAJA – San Antonio, Texas
KASE – Austin, Texas
WQDR – Raleigh, N.C.
WTQR – Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.
WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
Medium Market
KSSN – Little Rock, Ark.
KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
KXKT – Omaha, Neb.
WBBS – Syracuse, N.Y.
WGNA – Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y.
Small Market
WAXX – Eau Claire, Wis.
WBKR – Owensboro, Ky.
WKSF – Asheville, N.C.
WUSY – Chattanooga, Tenn.
WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.
Photos From CMA’s Big Announcement
/by Sarah SkatesCMA hosts a breakfast at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City to view the CMA Awards nominations announcements live on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Sept. 9. (l-r) Dan Bowen, CMA VP of Marketing and Communications; RCA Nashville recording artist Chuck Wicks; CMA CEO Tammy Genovese; MCA Nashvhille recording artist Lee Ann Womack; CMA Board President Steve Moore, Senior VP, AEG Live!; Julie Talbott, Executive VP of Affiliate Marketing, Premiere Radio Networks and incoming CMA Board President Steve Buchanan, Sr. VP, Gaylord Entertainment. photo: Stuart Ramson
CMT hosts Cody Alan and Alecia Davis and Universal Records South artist Randy Houser announce some of the final nominees for "The 43rd Annual CMA Awards" on CMT’s “CMT Insider” broadcast live from their studio in Nashville on Sept. 9. (l-r) Hank Adam Locklin, CMA Senior Manager of Membership and Industry Relations; John Hamlin, SVP Production and Development, CMT; Alan; Davis; Houser; Laurissa Ryan, Senior Director Talent Relations, CMT; and Jay Frank, SVP Music Strategy, CMT. photo: John Russell
Save The Date: Grammy Noms To Be Announced
/by Sarah SkatesNominations in several categories will be revealed and there will be performances by past GRAMMY winners and/or nominees. Presenters, performers and additional information will be announced shortly.
The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, airing live at 7 PM/CT on CBS.
Twestival Hits Nashville
/by Sarah SkatesThe first global Twestival was held Feb. 12, 2009, and 202 cities participated. The 24-hour “‘tweet-up’ with a social conscience” inspired thousands and raised $250,000 for charity, with Twestival Nashville raising more than $2,200.
Twestival Local gives every city in the world the chance to hold their own Twestival benefiting a local charity of their choice. More info at www.twestivalnashville.com. @twestivalnash
Apple Updates iPod Lineup
/by FreemanThe popular iPod Touch will now be offered in a beefy new 64GB model, priced at $399. The existing 32GB and 8GB models will now be offered at $299 and $199, respectively. And though the iPod Classic is the last of Apple’s iPod devices to use a hard drive instead of flash memory, a new 160GB version will be introduced at the current price of $249. Also announced was Version 9 of iTunes, available for download now.
The event also marked the return of Apple CEO Steve Jobs to the spotlight, since announcing his medical leave from the company in January. Jobs returned to work in June following a successful liver transplant in spring. At the conference Jobs thanked his donor, a young adult who died in a car accident, and urged the audience to become organ donors.
Georgia Boys Give Back: Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band
/by Sarah SkatesCapitol Rec
ords Nashville artist Luke Bryan is planning a Farm Tour to benefit charities in local farming communities. With the inaugural show set for Oct. 5 in Statesboro, Georgia, these special one-off shows will continue throughout Bryan’s career with additional dates already planned for 2010.
GAC’s Top 20 Countdown will film their show on site at the Oct. 5 event at Hurricane Plantation outside Statesboro. Money raised that night will go to a scholarship fund for students at Georgia Southern University, Bryan’s alma mater. Tickets are available tomorrow (9/10) at lukebryan.com.
The first-ever Farm Tour sh
ow is also the kick-off for Bryan’s Doin’ My Thing album launch where he plans to head to multiple cities in a two week timeframe to meet his fans and play new music. Doin’ My Thing is due in stores Oct. 6.
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CMA New Artist of the Year nominee Zac Brown Band will take their Breaking Southern Ground tour to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Oct. 30 to headline a benefit to rebuild the Athens, GA landmark the Georgia Theatre. Prior to a devastating fire earlier this year, the movie-palace-turned-music-club hosted performances by ZBB and local legends including R.E.M., B-52s, Drive-By Truckers and Widespread Panic.
Zac Brown Band are hosting the show and are the first confirmed performers, but they hope to add other successful acts who came up through the beloved venue. Tickets will cost $100 and are available via Ticketmaster. Presented by Outback Concerts.
All For The Hall Adds Etheridge
/by Sarah SkatesAcademy and
Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum artist Melissa Etheridge has been added to the star-studded line-up of performers at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s All for the Hall Los Angeles fundraiser, which will take place on Thurs., Oct. 1 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Etheridge joins previously announced performers Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Dwight Yoakam. www.allforthehall.com/LA.
Meanwhile, several upcoming events at the Hall in Nashville will be presented in conjunction with Americana Week. There will be a screening of Behind the Confessions: Radney Foster’s Revival featuring opening remarks by Foster (9/17), a Songwriter Session with Will Kimbrough (9/19), Banjo Demonstration with Ned Luberecki (9/20) and a screening of 35 Years of Austin City Limits: The Anniversary Show with Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel with opening remarks by ACL founder Terry Lickona (9/19). Free to Americana Music Association conference registrants with badges, and Nashville Film Festival members.
Other happenings: Interview and Performance with Jerry Chesnut as part of the Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters series on Sept. 26. And free Workshops for Teachers on Sept. 17, 22 and Oct. 1. Details for teachers at education@countrymusichalloffame.com.
CMA Broadcast/Radio Nominations
/by Sarah SkatesFinal nominees for the nation’s t
op Country radio stations and broadcast personalities were delivered to Country Radio today, when Chuck Wicks revealed the 2009 CMA Broadcast Personality and Radio Station of the Year finalists live from Premiere Radio Networks’ New York City studios. The winners will be notified in mid-October and will be acknowledged at “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards.”
A tough race to call this year is who will claim bragging rights for the National Broadcast Personality of the Year. Nominee Bob Kingsley has won the trophy two times, in 2001, which was the inaugural year for the CMA National Broadcast Personality Award, and 2003. Lia Knight was nominated in 2003 and won in both 2005 and 2007. Nominated for the first time in 2008, Kix Brooks, of Brooks & Dunn, host of “American Country Countdown,” is nominated again in 2009 and if he wins it would be the first time that a County artist would claim a CMA Broadcast Awards trophy.
CMA BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:
National
“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Citadel Media
“Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40″ (Bob Kingsley) – KCCS Productions, Inc.
“The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Dial Global
Major Market
• “The All New Dr. Don Morning Show with Doc, Grunwald, Rachael, and Jason” (Don Carpenter, Steve Grunwald, Rachael Hunter, Jason “The 300 Pound Cowboy” Raithel) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.
• “Cliff and Company: Cliff, Morgan, Tanner, and Tori” (Cliff Dumas, Morgan Thomas, Bill Tanner, Tori Peck) – KSON, San Diego, Calif.
• “The Cornbread Morning Show featuring Cornbread, Pat James, Producer Annie, Father Harry, and Captain Mac” (Cornbread, Pat James, Annie Henson, Harry Schroeder, Mac “Captain Mac” Douglas) – WIL, St. Louis, Mo.
• “The Laurie De Young Morning Show” (Laurie De Young) – WPOC, Baltimore, Md.
• “Paul Schadt and Sarah in the Morning” (Paul Schadt, Sarah Waters) – WKKT, Charlotte, N.C.
Large Market
• “Bucky & Bob: The Talk of Austin” (Bucky Godbolt, Bob Cole) – KVET, Austin, Texas
• “Chris Carr & Company” – (Chris Carr, Jeffrey “Maverick” Bolen, Jason Statt) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
• “Jeff Roper in the Morning” (Jeff Roper, Angie Ward, Adam “Flash” Dellinger) – WTQR, Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.
• “Jim Denny and Friends” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt, Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
• “Karen, Scott and Radar. . .The Moo Crew” (Karen Dalessandro, Scott Dolphin, Tony “Radar” Hess) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
Medium Market
• “The 97 Country Breakfast Club with Roger, Tom, and Melissa” (Roger Todd, Tom O’Brien, Melissa Moran) – WPCV, Lakeland, Fla.
• “Brian and Kellie Morning Show” (Brian Pierce, Kellie Michaels) – KFDI, Wichita, Kan.
• “The Kat 103 Morning Show with Steve Lundy, Gina, and Craig (Steve Lundy, Gina Melton, Craig Allen) – KXKT, Omaha, Neb.
• “Tom & Becky in the Morning” (Tom Owens, Becky Palmer) – WBBS, Syracuse, N.Y.
• “WIVK at Night with Jack Ryan” (Jack Ryan) – WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.
Small Market
• “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene, Ore.
• “Bearman and Ken in the Morning” (Benny “Bearman” Martin, Ken Hicks) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• “Gator & The StyckMan” (Gator Harrison, Greg “StyckMan” Owens) – WGSQ, Cookeville, Tenn.
• “Mee in the Morning” (Kevin Mee, Brenda Mee) – KIZN, Boise, Idaho
• “Middays with Philip Gibbons” (Philip Gibbons) – WGSQ, Cookeville, Tenn.
CMA RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
Major Market
KMPS – Seattle/Tacoma, Wash.
KYGO – Denver/Boulder, Colo.
WPOC – Baltimore, Md.
WUSN – Chicago, Ill.
WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
Large Market
KAJA – San Antonio, Texas
KASE – Austin, Texas
WQDR – Raleigh, N.C.
WTQR – Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.
WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
Medium Market
KSSN – Little Rock, Ark.
KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
KXKT – Omaha, Neb.
WBBS – Syracuse, N.Y.
WGNA – Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y.
Small Market
WAXX – Eau Claire, Wis.
WBKR – Owensboro, Ky.
WKSF – Asheville, N.C.
WUSY – Chattanooga, Tenn.
WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.
Swift’s Sales Pass 10 Million Mark
/by Sarah SkatesYou can also catch Swift on Sunday night's (9/13) MTV VMAs. Pictured here in an ad for the Awards show.
Just three years after the release of her debut album, Taylor Swift has surpassed the 10 million milestone for album sales. The 19-year-old’s sales tally is comprised of actual full albums sold and doesn’t include track equivalent albums (TEA), which is made up of paid downloads. Additionally, Swift has sold over 20 million paid song downloads, more than any other Country artist.
Swift, who pens all of her own material, released her now quadruple-platinum self-titled debut album in October 2006 on Big Machine Records. She followed it up with Fearless two years later, which has also sold 4 million copies in the US. It has also earned Gold and Platinum certifications in fourteen countries. The singer-songwriter has had singles top both the Country and Pop radio charts, and sold more albums last year than any other recording artist, in any genre of music.
Here’s how she got to the 10 million mark (sales figures provided by Big Machine Records):
Taylor Swift 4,369,749 units US
Fearless 4,020,725 units US
Taylor Swift & Fearless 1,297,059 units International
Beautiful Eyes 256,822 units (Wal-Mart only)
The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection 151,844 units
Reba Making The Media Rounds In L.A.
/by Sarah SkatesLast week Universal Music Group Distribution surprised Reba and her label The Valory Music Co. with two awards. One recognizes Reba’s "Keep On Loving You" as No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, and the other recognizes the superstar as UMGD's top revenue-generating artist for the week of release. Pictured above (l-r): UMG’s Keriann Shults, Valory’s George Briner, UMG’s Cliff O’Sullivan, Reba, and Valory’s Scott Borchetta, John Zarling, Andrew Kautz, Kelly Rich, JoJamie Hahr, Brooke Yancey, Natalie Kilgore, Sandi Spika Borchetta and Jon Loba.
Reba McEntire’s new album, Keep On Loving You, holds steady at the top of the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart for the second week in a row. Reba’s first solo studio album in six years—and her first on new label The Valory Music Co.—remains in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, landing at No. 6.
Reba’s new single, “Consider Me Gone,” is rising as she travels to Los Angeles this week for some big media appearances. She is set to perform on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien tomorrow (9/9), and she will join Craig Ferguson for an interview and performance on The Late Late Show on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Reba will also drop by the syndicated Bonnie Hunt Show on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and is the subject of a new A&E Biography premiering Thurs., Sept. 10 on the Biography Channel.
Treehouse Expands Promotion Staff
/by Freeman