photo: Mary Ellen Mark
Kris Kristofferson will be honored as a BMI Icon at the U.S. music rights organization’s 57th annual Country Awards. Slated for Tuesday, November 10 in Nashville, the black-tie, invitation-only gala will celebrate the songwriters of the past year’s most-performed country songs from the BMI catalog. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Nashville Writer/Publisher VP Jody Williams, the event will honor the Country Songwriter of the Year, Country Publisher of the Year and Most Performed Country Song of the Year, also known as the Robert J. Burton Award.
The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters and artists who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Kristofferson, who will be saluted with an all-star musical tribute that evening, joins an elite list of past honorees that includes country music stalwarts Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Charlie Daniels, Loretta Lynn and last year’s honoree Hank Williams Jr., along with multi-genre nobility like the Bee Gees, James Brown, Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.
With the penetration of a poet and the humbling grace of a troubadour, Kristofferson built a legendary career recognized for versatility and authenticity. He has received 48 BMI Country and Pop Awards for his compositions including “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Why Me,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” Three Grammys line his shelves. He is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, and eight of his compositions have generated substantially more than one million performances.
While he wrote most of his masterpieces alone, his co-writers include giants Shel Silverstein, Marijohn Wilkin, and Fred Foster. He has starred in numerous films, including Lone Star, the Blade trilogy, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, A Star Is Born, for which he garnered a Golden Globe, and Songwriter, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Along with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash, Kristofferson also formed the Highwaymen. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Recording now for New West Records, he will release a new album in September. A Rhodes Scholar capable of choosing virtually any path, Kristofferson decided to write songs, and for that, purveyors and lovers of American music are eternally grateful.
Lady A Added To Now! 31 Pop Comp
/by bossross“It is hard to describe what it feels like for me to see our name on the same CD package as Beyonce,” says lead vocalist Hillary Scott. “I’m seriously pinching myself.” Other artists with tracks on Now! 31 are Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Jamie Foxx and Nickelback.
Lady Antebellum is currently on the road playing arenas and stadiums across the country opening for Kenny Chesney. They are also scheduled to pair with Keith Urban in the fall for a series of dates that will take them across Canada.
Browser Battles—FireFox Launches 3.5
/by bossrossCurrently the latest statistics show Internet Explorer (66%), FireFox (22%) and Safari (8%) leading the pack in terms of marketshare. Google’s new Chrome browser, with less than a 2% share, is also attracting early attention.
“One of our biggest challenges is helping people to understand that they have a choice about their Web browser, and how big a difference that choice can make,” Firefox Director Mike Beltzner told Cnet. “Every release is an opportunity for us to bring improvements directly to our growing user base, but also help many users indirectly by putting pressure on Microsoft to improve their product as well.”
Firefox 3.5, available today (6/30) is loaded with improvements, the most noticeable of which is speed and complexity. Using a new javascript engine it named TraceMonkey, the browser can render pages faster, plus handle new file formats. It can also utilize new design options and functionality to improve platforms we use every day such as social networking and messaging.
Apple’s Safari product also just released a new updated version which accomplishes many of the same benefits found in FireFox 3.5. FireFox and Safari, the new kids on the block have steadily gained marketshare against Internet Explorer which has failed to keep pace with younger upstarts. The rebalancing of consumer preferences means that artists, labels and companies must be sure that online offerings work smoothly with all three browsers.
Browser MarketShare
Q406: IE 80%; FF 13.5%; Safari 4%
Q407: IE 77.3%; FF 15.85%; Safari 5.25%
Q209: IE 66%; FF 22%; Safari 8%
source: Hitslink Market Share
Artists Celebrate Summer on Field and Water
/by Sarah SkatesCarrie Underwood at the Celebrity Softball Challenge. Photo: Randi Radcliff
Last month’s Nashville Celebrity Softball Challenge, held each year in conjunction with CMA Music Festival, raised over $100,000 for City of Hope’s research, treatment and education for cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The Grand Ole Opry team defeated the After Midnite team. Stepping up to the plate to help the charity were notable Nashvillians and country music celebrities including Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, Jake Owen and many more.
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The 6th Annual Vince Gill and Amy Grant Golf Classic will be held Aug. 3-4 in Aspen, with proceeds benefiting the charity Challenge Aspen. As part of the gala and golf tournament, Gill and Grant will headline an evening of cocktails, auctions, dinner and a concert, and the following day will join event co-host and golf legend Fred Funk on the links at the Aspen Golf and Tennis Club. Challenge Aspen provides year-round recreational, cultural and competitive experiences for anyone with a disability.
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(L-R): Tennessee Titan's head coach Jeff Fisher and Carter's Chord's Becky, Emily and Joanna Robertson
Show Dog Nashville’s Carter’s Chord recently sang the national anthem at the 2009 Jeff Fisher & Friends Charity Softball Game at Greer Stadium to benefit the Nashville Children’s Alliance, Mercy Ministries, Soles4Souls, Catch-A-Dream and several other local charities.
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You don’t need a ticket, you just need a boat to see Alan Jackson rock Lake Martin, Alabama on July 25. He will headline SeaRay’s Aquapalooza Signature Event on the lake where he and his family often spend time on their boat. AquaPalooza is a series of on-water celebrations held during the last two weekends in July at more than 100 locations around the world. Each gathering features family activities such as live entertainment, games, giveaways and more. Organizers expect the fourth annual World’s Largest Boating Party will break the record of 12,000 boats and 56,000 attendees set last year.
Kristofferson Named BMI Icon, Awards Date Set
/by Sarah Skatesphoto: Mary Ellen Mark
Kris Kristofferson will be honored as a BMI Icon at the U.S. music rights organization’s 57th annual Country Awards. Slated for Tuesday, November 10 in Nashville, the black-tie, invitation-only gala will celebrate the songwriters of the past year’s most-performed country songs from the BMI catalog. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Nashville Writer/Publisher VP Jody Williams, the event will honor the Country Songwriter of the Year, Country Publisher of the Year and Most Performed Country Song of the Year, also known as the Robert J. Burton Award.
The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters and artists who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Kristofferson, who will be saluted with an all-star musical tribute that evening, joins an elite list of past honorees that includes country music stalwarts Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Charlie Daniels, Loretta Lynn and last year’s honoree Hank Williams Jr., along with multi-genre nobility like the Bee Gees, James Brown, Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.
With the penetration of a poet and the humbling grace of a troubadour, Kristofferson built a legendary career recognized for versatility and authenticity. He has received 48 BMI Country and Pop Awards for his compositions including “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Why Me,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” Three Grammys line his shelves. He is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, and eight of his compositions have generated substantially more than one million performances.
While he wrote most of his masterpieces alone, his co-writers include giants Shel Silverstein, Marijohn Wilkin, and Fred Foster. He has starred in numerous films, including Lone Star, the Blade trilogy, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, A Star Is Born, for which he garnered a Golden Globe, and Songwriter, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Along with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash, Kristofferson also formed the Highwaymen. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Recording now for New West Records, he will release a new album in September. A Rhodes Scholar capable of choosing virtually any path, Kristofferson decided to write songs, and for that, purveyors and lovers of American music are eternally grateful.
821 Grows the Hollywood-Nashville Connection
/by Sarah SkatesGrisham has been declining offers to make a movie of his novel The Testament—one of his personal favorites—since its release in 1999. But well-known producers Mark Johnson (Chronicles of Narnia, The Notebook, Donnie Brasco, Rain Man) and Hunt Lowry (Grisham’s A Time To Kill, Last of The Mohicans, Blue Collar Comedy Tour) convinced him otherwise. Johnson, an Academy Award winner, and Lowry partnered with 821 to co-produce The Testament and provide development financing.
The film, set in Washington DC and the Brazillian outback, is about a billionaire who leaves his fortune to an illegitimate daughter living in Brazil, and the lawyer who helps her fend off her father’s other relatives.
Chalfant, a former banker, says 821 is now focused on finding a screenwriter and adapting the novel in a way that Grisham sees fit. The company could finance the project but would prefer to co-finance with a studio. According to Variety, 821 is “in the throes of raising $250 million in equity and debt to finance productions with ‘heartland appeal.’”
With plans to work on 16 films in the next five years, 821 is also busy with its newly announced King of the Cowboys film trilogy based on Roy Rogers. Through a partnership with Rogers’ heirs, there will be a family fantasy adventure movie, as well as animated TV, interactive game and merchandising efforts.
Geadelmann and Chalfant recently sat down with Fox News to elaborate on the company’s effort to turn stories from America’s heartland into movies and television shows. Watch it at http://www.821entertainment.com/foxbusiness.cfm
CMA Fest To Rock TV, First Awards Ballot Coming
/by Sarah SkatesCountry Music takes center stage when CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock airs Monday, Aug. 31 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network. Filmed in Nashville June 11-14, the special has been expanded to three hours. Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Sugarland and Taylor Swift are the first performers to be confirmed, with more artists to be announced soon. This year an average of 56,000 fans attended each day of CMA Music Festival, its biggest turnout yet. CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock is executive-produced by Robert Deaton and directed by Gary Halvorson.
In related CMA news, ballots for the Nominating Round of the CMA Awards will be emailed out tomorrow (6/30). Below are the changes for the upcoming CMA Awards:
• The top 20 qualified vote recipients on the Nomination Ballot will advance to the Second Ballot in categories 2-12. In category 1 (Entertainer of the Year), the top 15 qualified vote recipients will advance to the Second Ballot.
• The Horizon Award is now the “New Artist of the Year” Award.
Revolving Door: Stoney Creek, Sony, LifeNotes
/by Sarah SkatesAsh Bowers
Stoney Creek Records, the new label founded by Broken Bow owner Benny Brown, has signed Ash Bowers. and is planning the release of his first album. The Buddy Cannon produced project contains seven songs penned by Bowers, as well as the new single, “Stuck,” which was written by Billy Montana and Frank Myers and goes for adds Aug. 17. Bowers is managed by Shawn Pennington of Matchless Management.
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Sony Music Nashville announces that Jon Elliot, VP, Artist Development & Marketing, and Christian Svendsen, Director, Strategic Marketing, are departing the company to form a new venture. Exact exit dates are pending. Interested persons may submit resumes at www.sonymusic.com once the position is posted.
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The Lost Trailers’ Stokes Nielson and his wife Maria are proud parents of a healthy baby boy born Mon., June 22 in Nashville. Weighing in at 7.7 lbs, both the little one and his mom are doing well. He is also happily welcomed by a big sister.
Cindy Watts, entertainment writer at The Tennessean, and her husband Richard Kimzey welcomed their first child together on Thurs., June 25. Kansas May Halcyon Watts-Kimzey weighed 7 lbs 12 oz, and was 21 inches long. Baby and mother are happy and healthy. Kansas joins nine-year-old half-sister Madison.
Richard Marx Catalogue Acquired By Chrysalis
/by Sarah SkatesMarx has been an internationally known singer/songwriter/producer for over 20 years. In addition to selling over 30 million records as a recording artist, he has written and produced mega-hits for other artists as diverse as Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, NSYNC, Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers and Urban.
A pop radio staple from the late ’80s through the ’90s, Marx has written 37 Top 30 chart hits, including an impressive 13 No. 1s. Among those are his own hits as an artist, “Hold On to the Nights,” “Satisfied” and the classic “Right Here Waiting.” As he continues to tour throughout the world, Marx plans to release three new albums this year, including Duo, a collaboration with Vertical Horizon’s Matt Scannell.
CMT Awards Draw Top Execs
/by Sarah SkatesThe 2009 CMT Music Awards aired live from Nashville’s Sommet Center on June 16. Many of MTV Network’s top brass came to town to mingle with Nashville executives and artists at the event.
(L-R): President of MTV Networks Van Toffler, CEO of MTV Networks Judy McGrath, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
(L-R) Senior Vice President of Development of CMT John Hamlin with Taylor Swift backstage. (Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
(L-R) President of CMT Brian Philips with CMT Music Awards host Bill Engvall after the awards show. (Photo: Charlotte Stremler/CMT).
(L-R) CMT Insider host Katie Cook; Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider of the B-52's; Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland; Keith Strickland of B-52's; and UMGN SVP of Artist Development and Marketing Jason Owen. (Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Monday Morning Rundown- WB, Ray Price, Platinum Plaques, AMA, Alana Grace
/by Sarah SkatesWarner Bros. Records’ Frankie Ballard, Michelle Branch, Blake Shelton and staff braved the flood waters of the Grand River in Iona, MI during the WBCT (B-93) Birthday Bash recently. The flooding caused the concert to end early, so Branch, Shelton, and Craig Morgan participated in a modified guitar pull, so all three could play a couple of songs and explain to the fans what was going on. Pictured (L-R, Back): Peter Strickland, SVP Sales/Mktg; Shelton; Gator Michaels, SVP Promotion; Ballard; (L-R, Front): Carole Ann Mobley, VP A&R; Julianne Hough; Branch; Bill Bennett, Exec. VP; Kristen Williams, NE Reg. Promo Mgr
Country singer Ray Price underwent surgery on June 23 to remove precancerous polyps from his colon. Doctors say the operation was a complete success and he is making a slow, steady recovery with the help of family and friends, especially his wife Janie.
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The Hannah Montana soundtrack was the only Country album which received an RIAA certification during May. The project went Platinum in only two months, marking Miley Cyrus’s ninth million selling album. Meanwhile, Country tracks by Taylor Swift and Keith Urban were part of the 30th edition of the always popular Now That’s What I Call Music! series which was certified Gold in May.
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Current registration rates for Americana Week, running Sept. 16-19, end tomorrow (6/30). The price for AMA members is $300, and the price for non-members is $400. Conference registration includes all daytime events at the Nashville Convention Center, admission to all Music Festival showcases and a ticket to the Honors & Awards show. Details and registration at www.americanamusic.org.
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Nashville rocker Alana Grace is on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour which will stop in nearly 50 cities across the U.S. and Canada. The tour opened in Pomona, Calif. on Friday (6/26).