Artist Television Appearances (6/17/11)

Television appearances from Josh Turner, Randy Travis, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Mel Tillis, Chuck Wicks, and Billy Dean.

Friday Facts

Folk Festival Comes To Nashville • Miller Harris Foundation • Skaggs Visits Boston Pops • Songwriters Join With Musicians On Call

Weekly Chart Report (6/17/11)

At least No. 1 isn’t so far away, Justin Moore. After a two week run at the top by Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee,” Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” takes over the CountryBreakout Chart’s No. 1 spot to give the young Valory Music Co. artist his second No. 1 single.

Stiff Competition For Endorsement Deals

Celebrities are seeking licensing endorsement deals more actively than ever. Ad Age reports that celeb reps were working overtime at the Licensing International Expo, which took place this week in Las Vegas.

Music Industry Art Director Bill Johnson Passes

Grammy Award winning art director Bill Johnson has died at age 68. He passed away at home in Nashville on Wednesday (6/15) following a battle with lung cancer. As the art director at CBS Records in the 1980s and 1990s, he left his visual imprint on an entire generation of country record makers. Johnson was […]

NMPA Board Honors Bob Doyle

Bob Doyle was recently re-elected to the board of the National Music Publishers’ Association and honored for his five years of service to the organization. Elected members are Martin Bandier, Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Caroline Bienstock, Carlin America; Helene Blue, Helene Blue Musique Ltd.; Bob Doyle, Major Bob Music; John Eastman, MPL Communications; Roger Faxon, EMI […]

Are Netflix and Cable Operators At War?

As the entertainment world continues to fragment there is growing concern and questions over consumer habits. Conventional wisdom seemed to say that added choices meant engaged TV/video viewers would watch more across all distribution channels. However, recent Nielsen SoundScan research and reports from The Diffusion Group are beginning to question that supposition. For example, the […]

Leadership Music Names New Class

Forty-five new members have been selected to participate in the 23rd 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 Leadership Music Class of 2012 is an impressive group of industry professionals with a wealth […]

"Live A Little" At No. 1

BMI toasted the team behind the Kenny Chesney No. 1 hit “Live a Little” at a party in its Music Row lobby on June 2. The single, Chesney’s twenty-second trip to the top of the charts, was co-written by Shane Minor and David Lee Murphy. BMI songwriter Minor has lived more than a little: He […]

Artist Updates: Sunny Sweeney, Margaret Durante, LeAnn Rimes

Sunny Sweeney in Louisville • Margaret Durante visits MusicRow • LeAnn Rimes releases “Give”

Photos: Stealing Angels, Toby Keith, Bonnaroo

Earlier this week songwriters Caroline Cutbirth and Tayla Lynn signed to Skyline Music Publishing. Together with Jennifer Wayne, Cutbirth and Lynn make up Skyville Records trio Stealing Angels.

Luke Bryan Sets New Album Release

Luke Bryan’s career engines are heating up with the recent announcement that this Fall he will headline CMT On Tour: Luke Bryan Tailgates & Tanlines. Not unexpectedly his new album also named Tailgates & Tanlines, is set for release on August 9, in time for the tour. The 13-track disc will include Bryan’s current hit, […]

Garth Brooks To Songwriters Hall of Fame Tonight

Garth Brooks will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame tonight (6/16) during a ceremony in New York City. Trisha Yearwood and Dwight Yoakam are among the celebrities who will present or perform as part of the 42nd annual event at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Others joining the hallowed hall include Nashvillian Leon Russell, […]

Musician Tony Lopacinski Passes

Local musician Tony Lopacinski passed away on Wednesday, June 15. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family after a 15-month battle with cancer. The Virginia native moved to Nashville in 2005 after a successful career on the road as Train’s touring guitarist. Since coming to Music City, he worked as Josh Gracin’s bandleader […]

OMG Signs Burns & Poe

  Burns & Poe, MusicRow magazine’s Independent Artist of the Year have signed a management agreement with Ontourage Management Group (OMG), founded by Tony Conway. OMG will be responsible for day to day activity plus sponsorships, appearances and recording plans. Keith Burns and Michelle Poe debuted as a duo in 2009 and during that time […]

Nashville Entertainment: Film Festival Fundraiser; Visitors Get Live Music App

Film Festival is raffling a car to increase membership • Nashville’s visitors get a new live music app

Warner Chapppell Signs Artist/Actress

Global music publisher Warner/Chappell Music has signed a co-publishing agreement with singer, songwriter and actress Jana Kramer. Kramer recently signed with Elektra Nashville for her upcoming major label country debut. The actress, who plays Alex Dupre on One Tree Hill sold over 40,000 copies  of her song “I Won’t Give Up,” in one week after it […]

Industry Ink: Black River Ups Dawn Delvo

Pickin’ on the Patio • Pandora • Details about the Eminem Supreme Court case • BMLG’s Ashley Jeanette • Robyn Ludwick

Albums From Jake Owen and Randy Montana On The Way

New albums from RCA’s Jake Owen and Mercury’s Randy Montana are due this summer.

Legacyworks Reunites Songs With Heirs

Legacyworks LLC reports it has successfully reclaimed deceased songwriter Tommy Durden’s ownership of “Heartbreak Hotel” and in the next few months it will be returned to the writer’s heirs. Copyright grant termination was filed by Legacyworks in 2005 on behalf of Durden’s daughter. Later this year the company will also see songwriter Richard Dehr’s copyright […]

Signings, Events And Certs.

Avenue Re-elects Board • Recording Academy Hosts Rap Panel • This Music Signs Ruttan •The Platinum/Gold Report

Big Gifts For Good Causes

ACM, Swift Support St. Jude • Darryl Worley and Friends In-The-Round • MCTI Makes Big Donation To Children’s Hospital • GRAMMY In the Schools

Lambert Reaches No. 1, Revs Up Pistol Annies

Hot on the heels of her latest chart-topping single, Miranda Lambert officially released the first music from her new trio, Pistol Annies. The newlywed was in Nashville to toast the success of “Heart Like Mine” on June 2 at Virago, where BMI hosted an intimate, celebratory dinner. Co-written by Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Travis Howard, […]

The TV Force Impacts Sales

“The force is strong with that one,” confided Yoda in one of the Star Wars epics. Judging by this week’s Nielsen SoundScan numbers he might have been talking about the power of TV to sell music.

BMLG Appoints Jake Basden Director of Publicity

Big Machine Label Group has hired Jake Basden to the position of Director of Publicity. In this position, Basden (pronounced Bays-den) will oversee all aspects of media relations for the three labels under the BMLG umbrella.

Randy Travis' Anniversary Celebration

Randy Travis is busy promoting his new duets album, Anniversary Celebration. He and Josh Turner performed a track from the release last night (6/14) on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Tonight, Travis’s 25-year career will be honored at The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, where he will discuss his career and new record […]

Hartigan Joins Rodeowave, Arista Appoints West Coast Regional

Promotion veteran Lori Hartigan has joined newly formed Rodeowave Entertainment as Partner. In this role Hartigan will serve as key principal for the label in sales, marketing, radio, management, and promotion.

Entertainment Attorneys Launch New Firm

Attorneys Jordan Keller, Jason Turner, TD Ruth, Chris Andrews, Jennifer Ghanem and Jaime Heller have started a new, full-service entertainment law firm, serving clients in the music, film, television and sports industries.

DISClaimer Single Reviews (6/15/11)

You can tickle my dancing feet or dazzle my brain with word play, but if you really want to get my attention, pierce my heart.

Elements Align For Sony/ATV Success

Just like the weather, Sony/ATV is on a hot-streak. The publishing company has scored the top spot on Billboard’s Country Publishers Airplay Chart for four of the last five quarters. The most recent chart (issue date 5/28/11) measures country radio airplay during the first quarter of 2011, showing Sony/ATV with 15.9% market share. Troy Tomlinson, […]

Ride For A Cure Raises $70,000 for T.J. Martell

This past Sunday (6/12) over 450 riders rallied at the Roundabout Plaza in downtown Nashville for Ride For a Cure in support of the T.J. Martell Foundation and its research for leukemia, cancer, and AIDS. The event was a huge success, raising $70,000.

Swift and Underwood Among Best Paid Celebs Under 30

Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are part of an elite group of young celebrities who know what that feels like, according to Forbes (“The Best Paid Celebrities Under 30”).

750 Heat Sufferers • Jones House For Sale • Facebook Growth Slowing?

>>>The Tennessean reports that 750 people were treated for the heat at this year’s CMA MusicFest, according to a spokesperson from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. At last year’s festival 400 were treated. The record breaking heat wave that accompanied MusicFest this year was named as the obvious cause for the huge increase. >>>George Jones’ home […]

CMA Fest By The Numbers

The Country Music Association released its preliminary statistics on its 40th annual fan festival on Monday, and the results are impressive. There is no official estimate on how much economic impact this year’s festival had on downtown, but it is a safe bet that it surpassed last year’s $24 million.

Festival Fundraisers: Celeb Softball, Music City Gives Back

Saturday’s (6/11) Celebrity Softball Challenge raised big bucks for City of Hope, which fights cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. Among those going to bat at Nashville’s Greer Stadium were Vince Gill, Dierks Bentley, David Nail, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Brett Eldredge, Chuck Wicks, Jake Owen, James Wesley, Jaron and the Long Road to Love, Kerry Collins, LoCash Cowboys, […]

"O Brother," Where Has The Time Gone?

The tenth anniversary of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack will be marked with the release of a new two-disc set. With more than nine million units sold, the original album is among the top-10 bestselling soundtracks of all time. On August 16, UMe will release the expanded Deluxe Edition, including a 17-track bonus […]

Notable Nashville Gospel Personality Passes

Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame member J. Harold Lane died last week in Nashville at age 82. His funeral was held Monday (6/13), and he was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Lane initially rose to prominence as a founder of the Gospel Harmony Boys. He is best known as a performer for his 22 […]

BMI Promotes Jeff Burrow

Jeff Burrow has been promoted to Senior Director, Business Affairs, Licensing, for Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). In his new capacity, Burrow will have greater responsibility for BMI’s infringement matters in its General Licensing area, as well as handle BMI’s negotiations with its customers and markets in the General Licensing area. He will continue to provide […]

MusicFest Sellout Sets New Attendance Record

CMA is reporting its second consecutive CMA MusicFest sellout. The country music organizations which puts on the massive downtown event has released the following informatin. Average daily attendance over the four days was 65,000. In 2010, Festival attendance jumped 16.7 percent over 2009 when attendance was 56,000. The 65,000 attendance in 2011 includes four-day ticket […]

Industry Ink Monday (6/13)

Crystal Shawanda • Doak Turner • Jolene Mercer Dakil • Springbarrel Songwriter Services • Steep Canyon Rangers • BMI’s East Side Sounds

More Hot CMA Fest Pics

Brad Paisley, Brantley Gilbert, Joe Nichols, Dierks Bentley, Eli Young Band, and more.

Industry Watch

Independent Music Publishers Panel (6/14) features music supervisors • Gaga Facing Physical Returns? • Spotify Inks Universal

Bobby Karl's Fan Fair Finale

Chapter 369: I am pretty sure it was the hottest one on record, and I am fairly confident that it was the best attended, but I am absolutely positive that this has been the most star-loaded CMA Music Fest in history. On Wednesday (6/8), we had the legendary Oak Ridge Boys and Hall of Famer […]

CMT's Next Superstar Inks With Elektra

Matt Mason from Fairland, Indiana was crowned the winner of the first season of CMT’S Next Superstar. Mason will receive a record deal with Warner Music Nashville’s Elektra imprint and will be the opening act for CMT on Tour this fall, headlined by Luke Bryan and sponsored by the network. President and CEO of Warner Music Nashville, […]

Vicki Vann – This Is Where I Get Off

Newcomer Vicki Vann’s debut country radio single is “This Is Where I Get Off,” which was written by top Nashville tunesmiths Casey Beathard, Michael Heeney and Rebecca Lynn Howard. The song was originally a part of a demo collection for the California native to record when she visited Nashville for the first time. Her debut […]

Adkins Announces New Album

Trace Adkins has announced the release of his new album Proud To Be Here, due August 2 on Show Dog-Universal Music. Adkins revealed details about the album during his CMA Music Festival performance at LP Field Saturday night (6/11). “Proud To Be Here was chosen as the album title some weeks ago because it’s how […]

Fab Photos From Music Fest

Little Big Town host Ride For A Cure • “Idols” on the Opry • Fan Fair Hall with Dolly, Robin Meade and Due West

Photos: CMA Fest, Hot Dog Day, CMHOF

SunTrust Hot Dog Day • Shania Twain honored for 75 million in sales • Songwriter Don Schlitz at Hall of Fame • Joanna Smith at CMA Music Festival

Country, Bluegrass and Americana News (6/10/11)

New albums from Randy Travis and Ricky Skaggs • Foundation for Bluegrass Music establishes grants • Larry Cordle and “Pud Marcum’s Hangin'”

Review: Marty Stuart's Late Night Jam Delivers

Marty Stuart sold out the historic Ryman Auditorium June 8 for his 10th Anniversary Late Night Jam. The event raised over $30,000 for MusiCares with a portion also going to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Guests included country music icons Parton, Mel Tillis and Connie Smith, along with The Quebe Sisters Band, Doug Kershaw and surprise […]