DISClaimer Single Reviews (2/2/11)

Country music’s major labels seem to be slumbering in winter doldrums, but Nashville’s pop/rock community is livelier than ever.

Musical Chairs

New gigs for Megan Knutson, Emilee Warner, and Wayne Leeloy

ACM Noms Highlight New Country Class

Today’s ACM nominations were filled with new names and rising superstars, including Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert who landed Entertainer of the Year nominations for the first time.

Artists On Tour: Paisley, Shelton, Campbell

Brad Paisley’s H2O Frozen Over • Blake Shelton’s 2011 All About Tonight Tour • Craig Campbell Joins Willie Nelson’s 2011 Country Throwdown Tour

Signings: Alan Jackson, Emerson Drive, Mountain Heart

Alan Jackson inks publicity deal • Emerson Drive partners for radio promo • Mountain Heart finds PR home

Leah Seawright

“On The Backroads” Skytone Records Leah invites friends in radio to join her for a special performance during CRS on Wednesday, March 2, at 10 pm in the Renaissance Hotel’s Fisk Room. Leah Seawright’s “On The Backroads,” which she co-wrote with producer Frank Green, is the tale of young and rebellious love set to a […]

Jacob Lyda

“I’m Doin’ Alright” Davis Music Group/Nine North Davis Music Group’s singer/songwriter Jacob Lyda’s debut single, “I’m Doing Alright” has been released to country radio and is going for adds. Nine North Records has been tapped to oversee radio promotion initiatives. Showcasing Lyda’s traditional honky-tonk vocal style, “I’m Doing Alright” was written by Lyda and Paul […]

Citigroup Acquires EMI

EMI Group has been taken over by Citigroup, the bank who financed Terra Firma’s 2007 purchase of the music company for £4 billion. The bank seized 100% of the share capital and reduced EMI’s debt by 65% from £3.4 billion to £1.2 billion. Following this development, EMI has more than £300 million cash available. Last […]

Firm Renamed Crownover, Blevins

Attorney Derek Crownover has added partner Allen Blevins and renamed the firm Crownover, Blevins. Crownover’s previous partner Joel Tisinger has relocated to his hometown Carrollton, Georgia and taken an in-house legal position at a healthcare technology company. Blevins and Crownover have been friends since law school. Blevins is a Knoxville native, where he previously managed […]

ACM Off-Camera Noms

The Academy of Country Music is announcing nominations for the Musician/Bandleader/Instrumentalist (MBI) and Industry Awards categories, which, due to time constraints, are not televised during the ACM Awards. Instead, these awards will be presented at the ACM Honors, held each fall in Nashville. Musician / Bandleader / Instrumentalist (MBI) Awards Producer Of The Year Nathan […]

ACM Radio Nominees Announced

The Academy of Country Music announced nominees in the radio categories, which due to time constraints, are not televised during the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, but are instead honored at a special pre-Awards reception. ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – NATIONAL Kix Brooks – American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks Big D and […]

Lambert Leads Final ACM Nominees List

Nominations were announced today (2/1) for the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, set to air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3, 2011 on CBS. Miranda Lambert leads the artist nominations with seven, including Top Female Vocalist, her first nod for Entertainer of the Year, as well as […]

Red Light To Manage Wynette Legacy

Red Light Management will partner with Bicycle Music and its affiliate, The AF Circle C Fund, to exploit Tammy Wynette’s name, likeness and image rights. Through its affiliate the AF Circle C Fund, Bicycle Music controls substantial copyright interests in Wynette’s catalog of works and master recordings as well as her name, likeness, image rights and trademarks (Stand By Your Man™, Tammy Wynette™, and First Lady of Country Music™).

The Revolution Continues For Miranda Lambert

Columbia Nashville’s Miranda Lambert is preparing to hit the road again through 2011. The Revolution Continues tour will pick up February 24 in St. Louis, featuring special guests Justin Moore and Josh Kelley. Additionally, Lambert will join Alan Jackson for his first Australian tour in March, which is already sold out. Full dates are included […]

CRS News: UMG Luncheon, Digital Rodeo Party

UMG Nashville announces luncheon line-up. Digital Rodeo party to close seminar.

Jon Loba To Head Broken Bow/Stoney Creek

CEO Benny Brown has appointed Jon Loba Senior Vice President/Label Group of This Is Hit, Inc., parent company of Broken Bow Records and Stoney Creek Records. Loba will report directly to Brown, effective tomorrow (2/1). “I am thrilled to have Jon Loba back on our team,” says Brown. “Jon has an insurmountable amount of knowledge, […]

Loss Named Valory Promo Boss

Chris Loss has been promoted to VP Promotion for The Valory Music Co. effective immediately. This follows the announcement of Jon Loba’s exit from the label today to run Broken Bow. Loss previously served as Dir. National Promotion/West Coast Promotion for Valory, as well as Dir. of West Coast Promotion for Lyric Street prior to […]

Sugarland's Latest Ships Platinum

Sugarland’s latest album, The Incredible Machine, recently received platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) indicating shipments of more than one million units. This marks the duo’s fourth consecutive release to reach platinum or multi-platinum status. It brings Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush‘s career total to more than 9 million records. Sugarland’s […]

Peermusic Inks Vicky McGehee

Peer Music has purchased Vicky McGehee‘s Middle Child 2 Music catalog, and signed her to an exclusive songwriter and co-publishing deal. The announcement was made by peermusic’s Kevin Lamb and Michael Knox, both of whom are based in peer’s Nashville offices. The deal includes Vicky’s back catalogue as well as her future works. Among McGehee’s hits is […]

Industry Updates: ACM Noms Tomorrow

ACM noms • ASCAP Christian Music Awards • CountryRadio.TV launches • Dreamcatcher Management/Kenny Rogers Productions • Cara Owen’s new gig • Road To Bonnaroo • Sam Phillips documentary

SS Debuts Digital Song Genre Rpts

One of the latest offerings from Nielsen SoundScan, the company that tracks sales of recorded product, is a series of Digital Song Genre Reports. These new lists compliment the Digital Song Genre charts which were created at the start of 2010. “Nielsen SoundScan’s new digital song genre capabilities are an additional tool to help our […]

Bobby Karl Works Taylor Swift's Heavy Metal Party

The occasion was “Heavy Metal at the Hard Rock,” a bash staged downtown on Friday evening (1/28). We gathered to celebrate world conquest by the 21-year-old music phenom. Specifically, her Triple Platinum success with her Speak Now CD, her No. 1 triumph with “Mine” and her cumulative U.S. sales of 13 million.

Photo Roundup: Carter's Chord; DiPiero and Anderson

KNIX/Phoenix morning show personality Barrel Boy saw that the Robertson sisters of Carter’s Chord tweeted how much they love In n’ Out Burgers so he thought he would surprise them with lunch. The girls are also slated to play the Grand Ole Opry with Toby Keith and Trace Adkins tomorrow (1/29) and they just finished […]

Henley Goes Country?

Eagles member Don Henley is reportedly in Nashville working on a solo album of country songs with Stan Lynch of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fame. The collection would be Henley’s fifth studio album as a solo artist and his first since Inside Job (2000). “Stan is one of my best friends, my son’s godfather,” […]

Twitter Rankings Back On Track

Nashville music trade publication MusicRow and new media marketing group AristoWorks have re-launched a chart to track Country music artists’ popularity among Twitter users. MusicRow’s Country Twitter Chart first debuted in June 2009 and has consistently been a top traffic destination at www.musicrow.com. Recently Twitter made changes to its Active Programming Interface (API) which temporarily […]

EMI—The Hands Saga Continues

Financial analysts believe that there is a strong likelihood that Hands/EMI will be unable to produce the $200 million necessary to satisfy the company’s agreements with Cititgroup at the end of March 2011. If that shortfall does indeed occur, then the music business would default to Citigroup. And here is where the plot gets thicker…

Artist News: Carrie Underwood To Sing National Anthem

Carrie Underwood To Sing National Anthem At CRS • Luke Bryan Prepares For Spring Break • Lyda Offers Music For Free >>Carrie Underwood will perform the national anthem to officially open Country Radio Seminar 2011 on Wednesday, March 2. This marks the first time she has performed the national anthem at CRS, which runs March […]

Weekly Chart Report (1/28/11)

SPIN ZONE The battle for CountryBreakout No. 1 song is heating up, but Luke Bryan’s “Someone Else Calling You Baby” remains on top for a second consecutive week. But a trio of superstar hits—Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking,” Lady Antebellum’s “Hello World,” and Taylor Swift’s “Back To December”—is right behind Bryan, […]

Skyville's First Promotion Team Hire

Theresa Ford is joining Skyville Records as the label’s first promotion team hire. A former Lyric Street promo rep, Ford has more than fifteen years radio promotion experience. She will help the label establish a top promotion team to work with Stealing Angels and all future Skyville artists. Ford’s new role at Skyville Records has […]

McSpadden Re-Ups with Red Light

Manager Shawn McSpadden has re-signed with Red Light Management/Nashville and will oversee the careers of Universal Recording artist Kip Moore, Ryder Lee and Reunion/Provident Label Group artist Kerrie Roberts. McSpadden will also work alongside Red Light Management owner Coran Capshaw managing the group Third Day. McSpadden has worked with GHM/Red Light Management for the past […]

Capitol Adds Bannen; James Joins Sugarland Tour

Kelleigh Bannen is the newest artist on Capitol Nashville. Produced by Paul Worley and Jerry Smith, Bannen recently (1/18) performed a set of her music in front of music publishers and fellow BMI songwriters. >> American Idol 2010 finalist Casey James has been signed to BNA Records and will join Sugarland on the March leg […]

MusicRow.com Traffic Bustin' Loose

MusicRow’s digital content distribution engine [web site] has been enjoying a steady surge in traffic thanks to our dedicated readers. The above graph, compiled by Google analytics, compares www.musicrow.com traffic from Dec. 27, 2010 to Jan 26, 2011 with that of the same period one year ago. As the report shows, all key indicators are […]

Sneak Preview of Tonight's Nashville "Idol" Auditions

American Idol’s Nashville auditions air tonight (1/27) on Fox at 7 PM/CT. The first round of auditions took place in July at the Bridgestone Arena, drawing 16,000 hopefuls. In October, judges Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez returned for the second round, held at the Ryman Auditorium. Of the historic venue, Tyler remarked, “There’s […]

Photos From GMA Hall of Fame Inductions

Bill “Hoss” Allen, Johnny Cash, DeGarmo & Key and the Golden Gate Quartet joined the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame on Monday.

Artist News: Swift Sets Nashville Dates

Plus the latest from Joanna Smith, Sarah Darling, Frankie Ballard, Kenny Chesney, Chuck Wicks, the JaneDear girls, and more.

"Nashville Scene" Compiles Country Critics Poll

The Nashville Scene corresponded with 77 writers from across North America for this year’s Country Music Critics Poll. Jamey Johnson led the pack, being voted Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year. Meanwhile, his ambitious two-disc effort, The Guitar Song, as voted the year’s best album. Miranda Lambert’s […]

Industry Photos

Great Britain’s Allan Watkiss Receives CMA International Broadcaster Award • Joe Galante Toasted at Surprise Party in His Honor • Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Entertainment Industry Relations Visits the WMBA

Eventful Launches Nashville Post

Web site Eventful has established a Nashville office to be headed by Ryan Bitzer as Director of Tour Marketing. Bitzer previously helped launch and run the Nashville division of Sparkart Group, Inc., a digital agency that specializes in online entertainment marketing. Prior to that he was Chief Strategy Officer at RPM Management, overseeing the web […]

[Updated w/ Arrangements] Charlie Louvin Passes

Arrangements: Louvin’s funeral service will be at 1:30PM Sunday, Jan. 30 at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home, with burial to follow at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. Visitation will be 11AM –4PM Saturday, Jan. 29, as well as one hour prior to the funeral on Sunday. Harpeth Hills Funeral Home is located at 9090 Hwy 100, Nashville, […]

The Band Perry Celebrates First No. 1

BMI honored sibling trio The Band Perry and their hit song “If I Die Young” at the company’s Music Row office. Written by Kimberly Perry and performed by her and her brothers Reid Perry and Neil Perry, the song marks Kimberly’s first trip to the top of the charts as a songwriter as well as […]

Colt Ford

“Country Thang” Average Joes Entertainment Colt Ford will be playing at MusicRow’s Annual CRS Meet & Greet Tuesday, March 1, 2:30-5 pm at Cadillac Ranch. Colt Ford’s latest offering “Country Thang” is the title track to his upcoming album. He penned the song with the white-hot writing trio of Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins, and Ben […]

Nielsen IPO A Success

Nielsen Holdings (NLSN) concluded a successful IPO today with gains of over 9% as the company surged to $25.00 during trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange. The company which measures consumer behavior, and also gathers the SoundScan bar code information from music sales, originally offered to sell 71.4 million shares at $23 for […]

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due: Oscar Noms Omit Writer

Yesterday (1/25) Nashville was beaming with pride when local songwriters Tom Douglas, Troy Verges, and Hillary Lindsey scored an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Together, with Bob DiPiero, they wrote “Coming Home” for the Country Strong soundtrack. So why isn’t DiPiero’s name on the official nominations list?

ACM Tapes Girls Night Out For CBS

If you had your pick of all the talented, and attractive women in country music for a night out who would you pick? Well, you don’t have to choose because the Academy of Country Music is making the decisions for you with the organization’s latest CBS TV Special to be called—Girl’s Night Out: Superstar Women […]

The Boot Campaign

One-by-one country music stars are taking off their cowboy boots and replacing them with army boots. The Boot Campaign, started by five Texas women—the “Boot Girls” (Ginger, Leigh Ann, Sherri, Heather and Mariae)—was inspired by retired US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, author of the book Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost […]

Artist News

ACM Welcomes Steel Magnolia • Ty Herndon Fights ALS • Little Jimmy Dickens at The Palm • Adam Brand Aids Flood Relief

T.J. Martell Announces New Board

The Southern Region Division of the T.J. Martell Foundation introduced its new board members during the Board of Directors meeting on January 6. Joining the board are Charlie Brusco, Alliance Artists – Artist Management; Gil Cunningham, Neste Marketing; Holly Hawkins, Community Volunteer; Deana Ivey, Nashville Visitors and Convention Bureau; Brock Jones, Powers Management Group; Ben […]

Shelton Extends "All About Tonight" Tour

Blake Shelton may have an important co-hosting gig with Reba coming up at the 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards April 3, but he’s certainly not going to sit around and worry about it. In fact, the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year is making use of the time by extending his first ever […]

Living In The Sales Moment

Wouldn’t it be nice? If you could just enjoy the present without worrying about the future? And, as a life recipe there may be merit in that approach. However, for Nielsen SoundScan number jockeys, we can’t help but peer around the corner, (even if it is piled high with snow) to see what lies ahead. Today, country music album sales are a healthy 10.6% ahead of last year. (So if all you want to know is today’s good news, stop reading and switch to another article.)

Hall of Fame Receives NEA Grant

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum has received a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which will allow the Museum to expand its Words & Music program. “The Museum has offered its Words & Music program, which allows students to express themselves creatively and to learn the craft of lyric […]