Dierks Down Under

/by

dierksCapitol artist Dierks Bentley is prepping this week for his first-ever Australian tour with superstar duo Brooks & Dunn beginning May 1 in Perth and continuing on to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane through May 9. Bentley will flank both ends of his Australian tour with stops in Los Angeles to perform his current single, “Sideways,” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 28 and The Bonnie Hunt Show on May 14, followed by a trip to New York for a performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

“I’ve heard that Australia has some hard-core country music fans, so I am looking forward to getting down there and playing for them,” Bentley said. “You can’t go to Australia without exploring the local culture in the pubs, so I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t equally as excited about that.”

Bentley’s second single “Sideways” is currently climbing toward the Top 10 after six weeks on the chart. The video for the track premiered last week on iTunes and went straight into heavy rotation on both CMT and GAC. To listen to “Sideways,” click here.

Paradigm Acquires Third Coast

/by

paradigmHollywood talent agency Paradigm, continuing its expansion into music, announced today (4/23) that it had bought Nashville-based Christian music booking firm Third Coast Artists Agency. The deal is the latest move by Beverly Hills-based Paradigm to increase its presence in the music sector through a series of low-key acquisitions. In the last five years, Paradigm has acquired Monterey Peninsula Artists and Little Big Man Booking, specialty talent boutiques with a niche in music. The move comes as a merger between rival talent agencies William Morris, which has a strong music department, and Endeavor moves closer. Co-founded in 1999 by Mike Snider and his wife, Lisa, Third Coast Artists Agency’s Christian music clients include MercyMe, Natalie Grant and Hawk Nelson. The firm’s 10 employees and 30 artists will move into Paradigm’s Nashville offices just off Music Row, which currently house a major part of Paradigm’s music business, alongside the agency’s offices in New York and Monterey. Financial terms were not disclosed. Music clients at Paradigm include Coldplay, the Black Eyed Peas and Toby Keith.

“It fits strategically into our music business, which is an important, growing and profitable area,” said Paradigm Chairman Sam Gores. “We’re very committed to taking the great platform we already have and building on that by tapping into Christian music. And this allows us to expand in Nashville, which is a very important market.”

CMA Songwriters Series Returns to NYC

/by

joesReturning to Joe’s Pub for the fifth year, the CMA Songwriters Series remains one of New York City’s most popular nights of music. Showcasing some of Nashville’s finest songwriters, the series is back for another show on Thursday, May 21. Host Bob DiPiero (“If You Ever Stop Loving Me,” “Blue Clear Sky,” “Take Me As I Am”); will welcome fellow hit writers including Dean Dillon (“The Chair,” “Unwound,” “Ocean Front Property”); Scotty Emerick (“I Love This Bar,” “Good As I Once Was,” “Beer For My Horses”); and Valory Music Company artist Jimmy Wayne (“Stay Gone,” “I Love You This Much,” “Paper Angels”).

Tickets for the May 21 CMA Songwriters Series at Joe’s Pub are $25 each. For information about Joe’s Pub or to order tickets, visit www.joespub.com or call (212) 967-7555 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 8:00 PM/CT. Joe’s Pub is located at 425 Lafayette St. in New York City.

Hall of Fame Re-elects Steve Turner, Vince Gill

/by

halloffamelogoAt the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s recent quarterly board meeting, cultural arts activist Steve Turner, founder of Butler’s Run LLC, was tapped for a second term as Chairman; and Hall of Fame member Vince Gill was re-elected to an eighth consecutive term as President. New trustees, elected for three-year terms, include Creative Artists Agency talent agent Rod Essig; Vector Management President Ken Levitan; and Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy President Mary Ann McCready.  Trustees Keel Hunt (Secretary) and Turner were re-elected. New officers include Mark Bloom, Senior VP-investments, UBS Financial Services; and renowned record producer Tony Brown, Tony Brown Enterprises. Country Music Hall of Fame member Frances Preston was named trustee emeritus. Preston joins Trustees Emeriti Nelson Andrews, Jim Foglesong, Richard Frank, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hinton, Kenneth Roberts, Chairman Emeritus E. W. “Bud” Wendell and Janice Wendell.

Remaining trustees include David Conrad, J. William Denny, Randy Goodman, John Grady, Henry Juszkiewicz, Ernie Williams (Treasurer) and Tim Wipperman.  The new officers join re-elected board members Al Giombetti (Executive VP); and VPs Earl Bentz, Connie Bradley, Mike Dungan, Francis Guess, Lon Helton, Kevin Lavender, Don Light, Steve Lynn, Donna Nicely, David M. Ross, Troy Tomlinson and Jody Williams.

CMA Chief Executive Officer Tammy Genovese remains as an ex-officio member. Chris Horsnell and Mike Milom of Milom Joyce Horsnell Crow PLC continue as the not-for-profit educational organization’s legal counsel.

Chicks With Hits Celebrate Tammy Brown

/by

Songplugger’s collective The Chicks With Hits recently held a luncheon in honor of longtime Music Row executive Tammy Brown to celebrate her recent cancer free status after a year long battle with leukemia. Brown is a former employee of ole Songs and Sony Music. The Chicks released balloons containing prayers and well wishes for Brown’s future.

chicks

(l-r) (front) Robin Palmer, Tammy Brown, (second row) Kim Jones, Whitney Daane, Janie West, Ree Guyer Buchanan, (third row) Shawn Heflin, Celia Froehlig, Judy Harris, Lisa Johnson, (back) Melanie Howard, Debbie Zavitson.

CMA Says “Here Come The Judds”

/by

cma2Plans continue to come together for the 2009 CMA Music Festival, and now comes the announcement that the CMA will add country stars Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, and Wynonna (with a special appearance by The Judds) to the performance lineup for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field.

“Rascal Flatts remains one of today’s great musical entertainers and we are thrilled to have them at CMA Music Festival,” said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We’re also excited to welcome Darius Rucker to our event for the first time, and to welcome back Wynonna and Naomi. We know our attendees are going to have a fantastic time.”

Artists currently scheduled to appear at LP Field include (in alphabetical order):

Thursday, June 11 – Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Julianne Hough, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, and Darius Rucker.

Friday, June 12 – Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen, and Zac Brown Band.

Saturday, June 13 – Trace Adkins, Jamey Johnson, Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, and Wynonna (with a special appearance by The Judds).

Sunday, June 14 – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, John Rich, and Taylor Swift.

The four-day CMA Music Festival takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 11-14, in Downtown Nashville. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

Full Circle Signs Hitmaker Bob Regan

/by

Full Circle Music Publishing has announced the signing of Grammy-nominated hit-maker Bob Regan. Regan has the current BomShel single, “Fight Like a Girl,” and a 2009 Grammy nomination for “Dig Two Graves,” recorded by Randy Travis. Regan has had over 200 songs recorded, with hits including “You’re Everything” (Keith Urban), “Something About a Woman” (Jake Owen), “Thinking About You” (Trisha Yearwood) and “Soon” (Tanya Tucker). He also played on thousands of recording sessions and performed on the Grand Ole Opry from 1989 to 1996. “I’m very excited to be working with Mike, Lynn and the Full Circle team,” Regan said. “We’ve all known each other and have shared successes over the years so it feels like a natural fit. I look forward to a long and productive relationship.”

regan

(l-r) Lynn Gann (Full Circle Music), Bob Regan, Michael Hollandsworth (Full Circle Music).

Playboy Presents Jamey Johnson “Uncovered”

/by

jjYou never know where you’re going to run into ACM Song of the Year winner Jamey Johnson. The editors of Playboy magazine recently caught up with the hirsute singer/songwriter at Music Row watering hole Loser’s Bar. The magazine featured Johnson in an online segment called “Uncovered.” Sitting at the bar — fully clothed — Johnson discusses what inspires him musically before delivering a heartfelt version of the Waylon Jennings classic, “Dreaming My Dreams With You.” When the boss isn’t looking, you can check out Johnson’s stirring solo performance here on the Playboy website. “Dreaming My Dreams with You” is featured on Johnson’s latest album, That Lonesome Song, which was certified gold this week.

Presenting Randy Houser … and Drake!

/by

randyhouserFor several weeks, country fans have been watching and forwarding a YouTube video of a 4-year-old named Drake lip syncing Randy Houser’s new hit single “Boots On,” (currently  the  fastest climbing single in the Top 25 by a new artist). Drake’s nanny captured the young performer on video when he was in his car seat in the back of her vehicle. The viral video hit was seen by Universal Records South execs and like everyone else, they were amazed by Drake’s unique interpretation complete with facial expressions and tapping boots. You can check out Drake’s car seat performance here. When it came time to shoot the video for “Boots On,” everyone agreed that Drake had to be a part of it. Footage from the nanny’s video was cut into footage of Houser to make a complete video. On the set it was discovered that Houser and rising star Drake share the same birth date.

Debt Load Chafes Clear Channel

/by

clear-channelClear Channel Communications went private last July after being purchased by THL Partners and Bain Capitol. In the process, the company’s debt load greatly increased. Last week CCC released a preliminary filing stating that its first quarter revenue had fallen 23% to $1.2 billion while at the same time its debt increased trifold to $21 billion. Complete results are scheduled to be unveiled on May 11.

In the meantime, Moody’s Investors Service cut its ratings for Clear Channel Communications by four levels, saying there was an increasingly high probability that CCC would breach its debt covenants. According to the New York Times, Regulatory filings earlier this week (4/20) show that CCC hopes “to exchange two classes of bonds which mature in 2016 by midnight on May 18. Through the exchange, investors would receive new bonds of the same value but they would be senior to existing and future notes.”

Unlike the original bonds, the newly offered version, registered under the Securities Act, could be sold and/or transferred. The bonds to be exchanged total $2.3 billion.

YTD Clear Channel Communications has reduced its work force by about 9%, eliminating 1,850 jobs.