She’s Country Tour To Feature Newfield and Tatum

Heidi Newfield Paradigm Talent Agency and 343 Agency are partnering on an all-girl country genre club tour aptly titled, She’s Country. Presented by Pendleton Whisky, the first 13 dates will feature Heidi Newfield and Bridgette Tatum plus special guests. “Heidi and Bridgette both bring high-energy performances and a ‘let’s party’ attitude that are perfectly suited […]

Industry Ink Thursday (9/29)

The Farm at Pickin’ On The Patio • Way Out West taps Mike Severson • Buddy Cannon contact update and more

Familar Faces Grace “Most Beautiful” List

Nashville Lifestyles’ “25 Most Beautiful People” list includes several familiar faces from Music Row.

McBride Orchestrates ELEVEN; Songwriter Agency Signings; and Marlee Scott Visits CMA

Tune in to watch Martina McBride sing the National Anthem at the Oct. 2 NFL Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets, broadcast on NBC at 8:30 PM EST. The contest also kicks off NFL Breast Cancer Awareness which will continue throughout October and be highlighted with pink ribbon decals on the […]

New UMG Artist Builds Team

This rising artist/writer has signed with ASCAP, Vector Management and EMI Music Publishing.

NBN SoundLand: A Whirlwind Experience

It was a whirlwind of sights, sounds, lessons, and people. From the Opening Reception at TPAC until My So-Called Band’s closing set, Next BIG Nashville’s SoundLand Music Festival carried over a hundred local and national acts through a very strong schedule of invaluable experiences.

The Civil Wars Case Study

The industry took note when the first album from indie act The Civil Wars debuted with sales of 25K units. In the almost eight months since, Barton Hollow has passed the 180K mark. How’d they do it?

Paisley Wraps “H2O II Tour”

Next up, co-hosting CMA Awards with Carrie Underwood.

Country’s Album TEA Party

The largest and final sales quarter of 2011 is almost upon us and the list of planned album releases is mostly revealed (except for a few possible last minute surprises). The above graph is intended to help readers quickly grasp how album sales are trending. Last week for example (week ended 9-18-11), country hit its […]

Top Songwriters To Perform Benefits

Wake Up Nashville with Gibson, Wood • Delbert McClinton At Franklin Theatre • Barefoot In The Round with Beathard, Laird, O’Donnell • Shantell Ogden For Book ‘Em

David Nail Sets Sophomore Release Date

Plans MCA follow-up to I’m About To Come Alive.

Warner/Chappell Signing News

Who’s the newest writer on the Warner/Chappell roster?

Country Johnny Mathis Passes

‘Country’ Johnny Mathis, not to be confused with the pop singer, passed away at his home September 27 at the age of 80.

Rascal Flatts To Join The Grand Ole Opry

Tuesday night (9/27), Opry member Vince Gill invited Rascal Flatts to join the Grand Ole Opry. Gill surprised to group on stage with the invitation, after they’d finished performing “Bless The Broken Road.” Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney, members of Rascal Flatts, will be inducted Saturday, Oct. 8. The induction will take […]

DISClaimer Single Reviews (9/28/11)

This week at the Convention Center, it’s round-the-clock picking and singing at the IBMA World of Bluegrass confab. Among the week’s highlights are the presentation of the IBMA Awards at the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday evening. The discs in this week’s column all belong to nominees. […]

Bobby Karl Works IBMA Week

Chapter 375—Boy, I sure hope what I witnessed on Tuesday afternoon (9/27) is the beginning of a new IBMA tradition.

iTunes Crowd Continues To Swell

NPD’s latest research reports one in four U.S. Internet users now use iTunes—almost 51 million people—and an increase of 3% since last year. Music remains the primary activity of iTunes users, although app downloads is also seeing growth. 54% of iTunes users downloaded or listened to music this year and 28% downloaded a free app […]

Walk The West, Cactus Brothers Leader Dies At Age 48

Paul Kirby, who co-founded the Nashville rock band Walk the West and also led the country-rocking Cactus Brothers, has died of cardiac arrest at age 48.

Make It 10 For Chesney

Kenny Chesney has reached another significant milestone with his latest album, Hemingway’s Whiskey (BNA), which has […]

Industry Toasts Moore’s No. 1 “If Heaven…”

BMI and ASCAP teamed up at CMA headquarters to honor the songwriting team behind Justin Moore’s No. 1 “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.”

Bluegrass Blooms In Downtown Nashville

The IBMA World of Bluegrass is this week and MusicRow critic Robert K. Oermann picks the best showcases and events.

Armiger Launches Deluxe Package With Opry Performance

Katie Armiger finally got to stand in country music’s inner circle […]

Promoting #Hashtag Happiness

Twitter is becoming a favored source for entertainment industry news and promotion, however the volume of tweets is reaching tsunami proportions. One way to fine tune the tweet-flow, is by using hashtags, a word preceded by the poundsign, i.e. #mynews. Hypebot.com recently wrote about some of the favorite tags its readers are using to parse […]

Honky Tonk TV Acquired

Weekly country music news and entertainment television show Honky Tonk TV has been acquired by Phoenix-based Morgans Media Group…

Johnnie Wright Passes

[Updated with arrangements] Country singer Johnnie Wright died this morning (9/27) at age 97 following a lengthy illness. He is known as a solo artist, as husband of female pioneer Kitty Wells, and as part of the duo Johnnie & Jack.

peermusic Adds Creative Manager

The music publisher has added a key new member to its team.

NBN SoundLand: Day 4

After late nights with Next Big Nashville’s SoundLand on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I spent the rest of the weekend dragging. I guess there’s always a price for pursuing good times.

Industry Ink: Republic Nashville Hiring

Plus Capitol Street Party attendance, news from IEBA/Paradigm, CRS, and more. 

Luke Bryan Launches CMT Tour With Sold-Out Show

Luke Bryan kicked-off his headlining tour earlier this month. CMT ON TOUR: Luke Bryan Tailgates & Tanlines launched with a sold-out show at Terminal 5 in New York City, and setting an attendance record in Utica, New York. The tour features special guests Lee Brice, Josh Thompson and CMT’s Next Superstar winner Matt Mason. Dates […]

Photo Spread: Octagon Ent., Bill Anderson, Edens Edge

Octagon Entertainment and Ramblin Music hosted an open house and block party earlier this month to mark Octagon’s official Music City launch.

CMA Celebrates Country Music Month, Honors Mayor Dean

The Country Music Association is celebrating Country Music Month with 45 days of promotions, events, and activities leading up to the annual CMA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Aaron Lewis’ “Country Boy” Goes Gold

Aaron Lewis’ debut single “Country Boy” recently went gold, selling over 500,000 copies. The song is one of seven tracks on his Town Line EP, which was produced by James Stroud and released earlier this year on Nashville’s R&J Records. “Country Boy” also features vocals by George Jones and Charlie Daniels. The “Country Boy” music […]

Conrad To Be Honored At Songwriters Dinner

John Van Mol, Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, announced today that music publisher David Conrad will be honored with the Frances Williams Preston Mentor Award. The award will be presented at the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony on Oct. 16. “David is everything a songwriter could want […]

InstiGator Hires Quigley; Thorpe Joins Warner

InstiGator Entertainment recently hired Brooks Quigley as Director of Promotion. Quigley will join Gator Michaels and Mallory Opheim at InstiGator Entertainment’s Nashville office. “I’ve had the honor of working with Brooks over the last decade and am fortunate to bring someone with his blend of expertise and experience, in both radio and records, into our […]

NBN SoundLand: Day 3

It’s all about the music, and Day 3 of Next Big Nashville’s SoundLand offered a ton of sounds from regional and national artists.

Artist Updates: Aldean, Bryan, Bentley, Kane

Artist news from Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, and Christian Kane.

NBN SoundLand: Day 2

Day two of SoundLand, presented by Next Big Nashville presented more musical options, more musical genres, and more Nashville locations. Following the work day, festival VIPs schmoozed at the super-swanky new location of Virago prior to the music start, where they enjoyed complimentary drinks and food courtesy of SunTrust, The Orchard, and Loeb & Loeb. […]

Word Entertainment Celebrates 60 Years

Word Entertainment, the Christian music division of Warner Music Group, commemorates its 60th anniversary in the industry this year. The label’s 60 year milestone coincides with the Sept. 20 release of Word: Six Decades of Hits, a 3-CD set including 51 songs and bonus recordings. The set is divided up into three parts: The Early […]

TV Show “Troubadour, TX” Follows Rising Singers

The show from London Broadcasting and 41 Entertainment follows Stephanie Urbina Jones, Rick Trevino, Zane Williams and more.

Sony Music Nashville Names New VP Sales

Sony Music Nashville Chairman/CEO Gary Overton and Sony Music Entertainment Executive VP Sales & Distribution Darren Stupak name a new VP Sales for Sony Music Nashville.

Rimes To Release New Album With A New Perspective

In her upcoming album, Lady & Gentlemen, LeAnn Rimes puts a feminine twist on songs previously recorded by male artists. Slated for release Sept. 27, Rimes covers country artists such as Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Merle Haggard. “This album was born out of the memories of when I first fell in love with country […]

Hank Williams Box Set Released

Time Life and the Estate of Hank Williams released Hank Williams: The Legend Begins earlier this month as a 3-CD box set. The newly-released material features previously unreleased recordings from Hank Williams when he was fifteen and seventeen years old, including the songs “Fan It” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” The set also features recordings of […]

Hall Of Fame Exhibit To Feature Owens And Haggard

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opens a new exhibit, The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and California Country, on Saturday, March 24, 2012. Slated for a two year run, the exhibit will explore the significance of the Bakersfield Sound and follow the timeline of its development. The exploration is specifically geared […]

Party Pics: Leadership Music Reunion

Party pictures from Leadership Music’s Alumni Reunion at the Noah Liff Opera Center last week (9/13).

Weekly Chart Report (9/23/11)

Texas makes a strong showing on this week’s CountryBreakout Chart.

CountryBreakout No. 1 Song

Words you’ll never hear an artist say: “Aw man, do I have to be No. 1 again?”

Charlie Cook On Air

I attended the National Association of Broadcasters meeting in Chicago this month and a lot of the meeting was really good. There were great panels, great food, and good networking. But some of it was upsetting.

Photos: Capitol Street Party, ACL, Gloriana, BJE Conference

Photos from Capitol Street Party, Austin City Limits Festival, Belmont’s Best Job Ever Conference and Gloriana

NBN SoundLand: Day 1

SoundLand, presented by Next Big Nashville kicked off last night (9/21) with an opening VIP reception at TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall. Complimentary beverages were provided by Starr Hill brewery and Firefly Skinny Vodka.

Industry Ink (9/22)

News from Catt Gravitt, Kenny Vaughn, Tiffany Bearden, Melissa Schleicher, Sue Fabisch and Ilene Angel