Country music icon Loretta Lynn was showered with industry awards and heartfelt praise at a celebration marking her 50 years in country music on Friday (9/24) at her Hurricane Mills ranch outside Nashville. The Academy of Country Music, Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. and BMI each made award presentations during the invitation-only event billed as “A […]

Jamey Johnson recruited actor pal Matthew McConaughey to direct and star in the video for his latest single “Playing The Part.” The shoot took place last week at the famed Los Angeles intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Ave. The song is the lead single from Johnson’s double album, The Guitar Song, which debuted at […]

Influential and beloved music executive Frances Preston will be presented with the Mentor Award during the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony on October 17. “Frances is the consummate mentor,” said Roger Murrah, Chairman of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation. “She has mentored an industry of dreamers and professionals. The […]

Starting Oct. 4, fans can hear one new track per week from Taylor Swift’s upcoming Speak Now release. The star’s label home Big Machine has partnered with iTunes, Comcast, XfinityTV.com and E! News Daily to debut songs for the three weeks leading up to the album’s Oct. 25 street date. On Mondays starting Oct. 4, […]

SESAC hosted a “Give + Love” blood drive and spare change/canned food donation event for the American Red Cross and Second Harvest Food Bank at its Nashville headquarters. A steady stream of artists, songwriters and Music Row personnel stopped by to lend a hand with donations. The event, which was sponsored by Urban Flats, Provence […]

Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson and special guest John Rich will headline a concert at Nashville’s newest outdoor concert venue, The Woods at Fontanel, on Sunday, Oct. 24. “This is the kind of star-studded event we built The Woods for,” said Marc Oswald, who co-owns the venue with fellow superstar manager Dale Morris. “It’s outdoors, it’s […]

James “Jim” A. King has joined BMI as Senior Vice President of Business Technology. From his base in the Nashville office he will be responsible for technology, operations, and product development, including Landmark Digital Services group. King was most recently with United Business Media, PR Newswire, where he was Senior Vice President, Audience Platforms, and […]

Social media has become a staple in the artist development/exposure toolkit, especially for country music. Howard and David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers harnessed the power of YouTube to promote the duo’s somewhat controversial “Jalapenos” video which has now garnered over 1 million user views. “I am truly amazed we have had over a million […]

IEBA (International Entertainment Buyers Association) has added to the eclectic lineup of the IEBA 40th Anniversary Conference scheduled for October 3-5, at the Hilton Suites in downtown Nashville. On Monday Oct. 4, attendees will be treated to a performance by Kevin Costner and his band Modern West at 10:45 am in the main ballroom of […]

The Country Music Hall of Fame presented its second All For The Hall Los Angeles fundraiser on Sept 23. The sold out event at Club Nokia featured a diverse group of artists ranging from young Taylor Swift to legendary singer-songwriters such as Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Lionel Richie and Vince Gill. Performances lasted over two […]

The Academy of Country Music and ACM Lifting Lives has announced new officers for each organizations’ separate Board of Directors for their 2010-2011 term, following elections held last week. Newly elected Officers for the Academy of Country Music include: Chairman of the Board – Bill Mayne, Country Radio Broadcasters President – Sarah Trahern, Great American […]

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is gearing up for the 6th annual Stars For Second Harvest benefit on September 28 at 7:30 PM at the Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Hosted by acclaimed songwriter Craig Wiseman, the concert will feature an unplugged acoustic style performance by some of music’s brightest stars including Uncle Kracker, […]

The glamour, history, backstage stories, and memorable moments from more than 40 years of the annual CMA Awards are collected in a new, unique book, The CMA Awards Vault, now available nationwide. Author Deborah Evans Price traces the show’s 43-year run from a one-hour, radio-only broadcast in 1967 to the glittery three-hour, network television spectacle […]

Mercury Records artist Shania Twain has signed an agreement with Atria Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, to publish her autobiography, it was announced today by Judith Curr, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Atria Books and Washington Square Press. Atria plans to publish the book in spring 2011. In this yet to be titled […]

Master country-soul craftsman Dan Penn will treat guests to a rare Nashville performance and an in-depth interview on October 16 as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 1:30 PM program, which will be held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum […]

The Grand Ole Opry returns to its historic home – the Grand Ole Opry House – for the first time since being displaced as a result of May’s historic Nashville flood and Great American Country (GAC) will present it live in Country Comes Home: An Opry Celebration on Tuesday, September 28 at 8:00 PM/CT. Among […]

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® and the Academy of Country Music ® have announced Reprise Records artist Blake Shelton as headliner of the 2011 CRS Music City Jam, to be held Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The annual Music City Jam is one of Country Radio Seminar’s premier events and has showcased some of the biggest stars […]