Fifty-four new members have been selected to participate in the twenty-first annual class of Leadership Music. The annual program is designed to create a forum for established music community leaders to identify and explore issues currently affecting the music industry.
“The selection committee, composed of more than 50 Leadership Music alumni from all areas of the industry, has chosen an outstanding group of leaders from hundreds of candidates for the Class of 2010,” explained Ken Robold, immediate Past President of the Board of Directors and chair of the selection committee, and Executive Vice President of UMG Nashville.
Members of the Class of 2010 are: John Allen, Vice President, Bug Music Publishing; Sherrill Blackman, Owner, The SDB Music Group; Diane Blagman, Senior Director of Government Affairs, Greenberg Traurig (Washington D.C.); Niko Bolas, Producer/Engineer; Daniel Bowen, Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Communications, CMA; Jim Bradfield, CEO, Bradfield Stage Lighting; Carey Nelson Burch, Consultant/Manager/Producer for TV/Film, My Own Shingle; Gary Burr, President, Gary Burr Productions; Christina Calio, Director Music Relationships & Strategy, Microsoft (Seattle); Shawn Camp, Songwriter/Artist, Big Yellow Dog Music; Cameo Carlson, SVP, Digital Business Development, UMRG (NYC/Nashville); Michael Carpenter, General Sales Manager, Clear Channel Communications; Gary Churgin, President & CEO, The Harry Fox Agency (NYC); Gil Cunningham, President & Owner, Neste Event Marketing; Craig Currier, Sr. Director of Advertising Markets/Executive Producer, peercommercialmusic (a division of peermusic); Ansel Davis, Managing Member, Ansel L. Davis & Associates, PLLC; Mayor Karl Dean, Mayor, Metro Nashville Government; Bob Doyle, Owner, Major Bob Music; Trey Dunaway, Director of Taxes & Royalties, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.; John Esposito, President & CEO, WEA, Inc. (NYC); Rory Feek, Artist/Writer, Joey & Rory; Tim Fink, Associate VP Writer/Publisher Relations, SESAC; Mitch Glazier, Executive VP, Government & Industry Relations, RIAA (Washington D.C.); Mike Grimes, Co-Owner, Grimey’s/The Basement; Mary Hilliard Harrington, President/Owner, The Greenroom; Ben Howard, SVP Marketing & Sales, Provident Label Group; Craig Krampf, Secretary/Treasurer, AFM; Jason Lehning, President, Jason Lehning; Lee Levine, Grant Writer, Clarinetist, ALIAS Chamber Ensemble; Kent Marcus, Owner, KMM, PC; Ralph Mastrangelo, Sr. Director of Touring, Clair Audio; Barry Mazor, Freelance Journalist, Author; Kim McCollum, Owner, Words & Music; Jason McCoy, President, Airstrip Music/Road Hammers; Pat McGrew, Vice President, Morgan Keegan; Rasheed Muhammad, First Vice President, SunTrust Wealth Management (Atlanta); Denise Nichols, Vice President, Spalding Entertainment; Kathleen O’Brien, President & CEO, TN Performing Arts Center; Vance Powell, Chief Engineer, Blackbird Studio; Melissa Preisler, VP Finance, The Disney Music Group; Steven Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music & Music Marketing, Electronic Arts (Playa Vista, CA); John Shomby, Director of Programming & Operations, Max Media of Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, VA); Cheryl Slay, Assistant Professor of Music, Belmont University; Jennie Smythe, Owner, Girlilla Marketing; Dave Steunebrink, Owner, Showdown Management; Jeff Stoltz, Sr. Director Sales & Analysis, UMG Nashville; Bonnie Sugarman, Senior Vice President, APA, Inc.; Beka Tischker, VP A&R/Publishing, Razor & Tie (NYC); Deborah Varallo, Varallo Public Relations; Wes Vause, Sr. Director, Media, Sony Music Nashville; Storme Warren, Partner, Surfing Moose Productions; Lane Wilson, Agent, Senior VP, William Morris Agency; Tommy Womack, Singer/Songwriter; and Rolff Zwiep, Manager, Blackbird Audio Rentals.
CMA Music Fest Draws Near: Chesney To Close Week, Street Closures
/by Sarah SkatesA set by Kenny Chesney will be the grand finale of the 2009 CMA Music Festival on Sunday when he closes out the Nightly Concerts at LP Field. In addition to Chesney, Jason Michael Carroll, Heidi Newfield, and Jimmy Wayne will be performing acoustic sets during the Nightly Concerts.
Festival related events start tonight (6/8) with the “CMA Global Artist Party,” at 6:15 PM at The Stage, hosted by Jace Everett and featuring performances from a variety of international Country Music artists. The celebration of the genre’s worldwide appeal continues Tuesday at 3:30 PM at The Second Fiddle, when Robert Reynolds hosts the AristoMedia Global Showcase.
Also Tuesday night, Darryl Worley and friends will perform at the 103 WKDF Country Beach Party benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The event will be at The Stage, and tickets can be purchased here.
Getting things started on Wednesday is the GAC Fan Breakfast and this year’s sold-out event at the Country Music Hall of Fame will feature performances by Darius Rucker, Eric Church, Emily West, Lane Turner and Jesse Lee as well as autograph sessions and museum tour.
On Wednesday, beginning at 2:00 PM, “The Fifth Annual CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade” will feature Country Music artists and other celebrities riding in Chevy vehicles, with Rodney Atkins as Grand Marshal.
Now in its second year as an official CMA Music Festival event, Marty Stuart‘s Late Night Jam” takes place Wednesday (10:00 PM) at the Ryman. Benefitting MusicCares and CMA’s “Keep the Music Playing” music education campaign, this event will feature Cherryholmes, The Oak Ridge Boys, Connie Smith, Tanya Tucker, Stuart and more. A separate ticket is required via www.ticketmaster.com.
For the first time, the Daytime Riverfront Stage will be free to the community and Gretchen Wilson will kick off four days of concerts beginning Thursday (10:00 AM).
The lifestyle exhibits and autograph booths in the Greased Lightning Fan Fair Hall at the Nashville Convention Center are a traditional favorite. For the first time in 13 years, Reba McEntire will be among the artists meeting fans and signing autographs. Taylor Swift will also be signing all day Sunday.
Other happenings include the Sommet Center Plaza Stage, the Hard Rock Outdoor stage, and the Dr Pepper®-McDonald’s® Family Zone Mainstage featuring shows geared toward kids and families such as storytelling. The Music City Zone will have the GAC Stage, a Guitar Hero competition, the NowPlayingNashville.com autograph booth and more. And the Sports Zone will host the Field & Stream magazine Total Outdoorsman Challenge, the New Holland Celebrity Tractor Race, and 20 PlayStation®3 gaming stations with Jason Michael Carroll stopping by to game with fans.
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Downtown Nashville will experience some changes in traffic flow to accommodate the numerous events and activities that are part of the Festival.
On Tuesday, June 9, one lane of Fifth Avenue from Demonbreun to Broadway will be closed until early morning on Monday, June 15.
On Wednesday, June 10, Fifth Avenue from Demonbreun to Broadway will close as well as First Avenue from Demonbreun to Church Street. Broadway from First and Third Avenues will also close on this day. Second Avenue will remain open; however, vehicles will be prohibited from turning at the Broadway and Second Avenue intersection. These closures will all be cleared by early morning on Monday, June 15.
During the afternoon of Wednesday, June 10, there will also be temporary road closures for “The Fifth Annual CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade” and “The Fouth Annual CMA Music Festival Block Party.” Beginning at 2:00 PM/CT, Broadway will close from Third to Seventh Avenues, Demonbreun will close from Third to Sixth Avenues and Third, Fourth and Sixth Avenues will close from Broadway to Demonbreun. These road closures are scheduled to be re-opened at the end of the Kick-Off Parade (approximately 4:00 PM/CT).
Alan Jackson To Play Europe For First Time in 19 Years
/by Sarah SkatesCMA Awards Voting Schedule
/by Sarah SkatesThe Country Music Association has alerted members of the voting schedule for the 2009 CMA Awards.
The ballot schedule is:
Nominating Ballot (round 1): Email sent/polls open Tues., June 30 and close Wed., July 16 at 5:00 PM/CDT
Second Ballot (round 2): Will be sent Tues., Aug. 11 and close Mon., Aug. 24 at 5:00 PM/CDT
Final Ballot: Will be sent Friday, Oct. 16 and close Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 5:00 PM/CDT
Voting will be conducted entirely online and members will receive an e-mail on the “Polls Open” dates above. If your e-mail address changes during the balloting schedule, you must contact CMA at vote@CMAworld.com or at (800)788-3045. If you do not receive an email on the above “Polls Open” dates above, contact Election Services Corporation at CMAhelp@electionservicescorp.com. Members will need their CMA Member Number and PIN number to vote. The CMA member numbers will be e-mailed out separately. Only current CMA members, along with approved new CMA members whose applications were received by June 26 will receive the second and final ballots.
Twitterific: MusicRow Debuts Chart, Twitter Stops Fake Accounts
/by Sarah SkatesMusicRow has a new Twitter chart, ranking the Country music artists with the most followers. Click here to check it out.
Leadership Music Names Class of 2010
/by Sarah Skates“The selection committee, composed of more than 50 Leadership Music alumni from all areas of the industry, has chosen an outstanding group of leaders from hundreds of candidates for the Class of 2010,” explained Ken Robold, immediate Past President of the Board of Directors and chair of the selection committee, and Executive Vice President of UMG Nashville.
Members of the Class of 2010 are: John Allen, Vice President, Bug Music Publishing; Sherrill Blackman, Owner, The SDB Music Group; Diane Blagman, Senior Director of Government Affairs, Greenberg Traurig (Washington D.C.); Niko Bolas, Producer/Engineer; Daniel Bowen, Vice President of Strategic Marketing & Communications, CMA; Jim Bradfield, CEO, Bradfield Stage Lighting; Carey Nelson Burch, Consultant/Manager/Producer for TV/Film, My Own Shingle; Gary Burr, President, Gary Burr Productions; Christina Calio, Director Music Relationships & Strategy, Microsoft (Seattle); Shawn Camp, Songwriter/Artist, Big Yellow Dog Music; Cameo Carlson, SVP, Digital Business Development, UMRG (NYC/Nashville); Michael Carpenter, General Sales Manager, Clear Channel Communications; Gary Churgin, President & CEO, The Harry Fox Agency (NYC); Gil Cunningham, President & Owner, Neste Event Marketing; Craig Currier, Sr. Director of Advertising Markets/Executive Producer, peercommercialmusic (a division of peermusic); Ansel Davis, Managing Member, Ansel L. Davis & Associates, PLLC; Mayor Karl Dean, Mayor, Metro Nashville Government; Bob Doyle, Owner, Major Bob Music; Trey Dunaway, Director of Taxes & Royalties, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.; John Esposito, President & CEO, WEA, Inc. (NYC); Rory Feek, Artist/Writer, Joey & Rory; Tim Fink, Associate VP Writer/Publisher Relations, SESAC; Mitch Glazier, Executive VP, Government & Industry Relations, RIAA (Washington D.C.); Mike Grimes, Co-Owner, Grimey’s/The Basement; Mary Hilliard Harrington, President/Owner, The Greenroom; Ben Howard, SVP Marketing & Sales, Provident Label Group; Craig Krampf, Secretary/Treasurer, AFM; Jason Lehning, President, Jason Lehning; Lee Levine, Grant Writer, Clarinetist, ALIAS Chamber Ensemble; Kent Marcus, Owner, KMM, PC; Ralph Mastrangelo, Sr. Director of Touring, Clair Audio; Barry Mazor, Freelance Journalist, Author; Kim McCollum, Owner, Words & Music; Jason McCoy, President, Airstrip Music/Road Hammers; Pat McGrew, Vice President, Morgan Keegan; Rasheed Muhammad, First Vice President, SunTrust Wealth Management (Atlanta); Denise Nichols, Vice President, Spalding Entertainment; Kathleen O’Brien, President & CEO, TN Performing Arts Center; Vance Powell, Chief Engineer, Blackbird Studio; Melissa Preisler, VP Finance, The Disney Music Group; Steven Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music & Music Marketing, Electronic Arts (Playa Vista, CA); John Shomby, Director of Programming & Operations, Max Media of Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach, VA); Cheryl Slay, Assistant Professor of Music, Belmont University; Jennie Smythe, Owner, Girlilla Marketing; Dave Steunebrink, Owner, Showdown Management; Jeff Stoltz, Sr. Director Sales & Analysis, UMG Nashville; Bonnie Sugarman, Senior Vice President, APA, Inc.; Beka Tischker, VP A&R/Publishing, Razor & Tie (NYC); Deborah Varallo, Varallo Public Relations; Wes Vause, Sr. Director, Media, Sony Music Nashville; Storme Warren, Partner, Surfing Moose Productions; Lane Wilson, Agent, Senior VP, William Morris Agency; Tommy Womack, Singer/Songwriter; and Rolff Zwiep, Manager, Blackbird Audio Rentals.
Trailer Choir Gets MusicRow Ready For The Weekend
/by Sarah SkatesTV Time Pays Off
/by Sarah SkatesDolly Parton is set to perform on Sunday night’s Tony Awards on CBS, where she is nominated for Best Original Score for 9 to 5: The Musical. Joining her on the show will be the cast of the musical.
Julianne Hough will host the 2009 CMT Music Awards Video of the Year Special, premiering Saturday, June 13 at 1 PM/CT. Voting is going on now at CMT.com and the final four nominees in the Video of the Year category will be announced at the beginning of the live awards show so fans can vote online and via text on Verizon phones throughout the broadcast.
Dateline: On Tour With Taylor Swift, originally broadcast May 31 on NBC, is being re-broadcast Sunday, June 7, in the network’s All Night time period. The program’s original air time was disrupted in several markets due to NBC’s live telecast of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup.
Cox Promotes Garth Book
/by Sarah Skates(L-R): Terry Stevens, Allen Reynolds, Patsi Bale Cox, Joe Mansfield and Virginia Team. Photo: Alan Mayor
Patsi Bale Cox sold out of copies of her new book, The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country’s Big Boom, at her Davis Kidd booksigning last night. The former Capitol Records staffer, who spent 16 years handling Brooks’ publicity, chronicles his career, the huge popularity surge of country music, boardroom drama, and more in the new book. She details his life from humble beginnings in Oklahoma to becoming the bestselling solo artist of all time with nearly 130 million records sold.
Shane Allen Joins Capitol As VP Promotion
/by Sarah Skates“I’m extremely excited to be returning to Capitol Nashville in this capacity, and am especially grateful to Mike Dungan and Steve Hodges for giving me the opportunity,” said Allen. “I can’t say enough about the people, artist roster and incredible culture inside those halls on West End. I’m also very grateful to Greg Hill and all of my friends at GHM/Red Light Management for teaching me so much.”
Before his time at Capitol Records Nashville, Allen worked as the National Director, West and Southwest Promotion for Universal South Records. Before that Allen held several positions at MCA and Mercury Nashville in the Promotions department. Allen first got his start at San Diego’s KSON radio station.
Universal Republic, Big Machine Launch Republic Nashville
/by Sarah SkatesJimmy Harnen, Scott Borchetta
Big Machine Records and Universal Republic have combined resources to form the new label Republic Nashville, which will be run by President Jimmy Harnen and headquartered on Music Row.
Republic Nashville’s inaugural roster will include honky tonkin’ singer/songwriter Sunny Sweeney and new country duo Fast Ryde, among other artists. A major staff announcement regarding the new label will be forthcoming.
Big Machine and Universal Republic—headed by Scott Borchetta and Monte Lipman, respectively—first worked together in 2007 to promote country superstar Taylor Swift.
Previously, Harnen was Senior Vice President of Promotion for Capitol Records, Nashville. From 2000 to 2003 he was Co-National Director of Promotion for DreamWorks Records in Nashville, working closely with Borchetta, who was a DreamWorks executive at the time. Harnen can be reached at Jimmy.Harnen@republicnashville.com and at 615-324-7777.