Amy Grant Returns With New Release

Amy Grant released her first new album in six years last week (3/30). Somewhere Down the Road, out on EMI/Sparrow, reached No. 1 on the iTunes Christian & Gospel iTunes chart; SoundScan numbers will be out this week. Her first radio single since 2003, “Better Than A Hallelujah,” is already climbing the charts and being […]

CMT Awards: Aldean, Lady A, Sugarland Lead First Round Noms

Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Sugarland scored four first-round nominations each to lead the pack for the 2010 CMT Music Awards. Garnering three each were Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band. Beginning today, Monday, April 5 at 11:00 a.m., ET, fans can vote on CMT.com for […]

Sony/ATV Promotes Abbey Burkhalter

Troy Tomlinson, President/CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville, has announced the promotion of Abbey Burkhalter to Creative Director. Formerly Creative Manager, Burkhalter joined Sony/ATV in February 2006. In the past four years, she has been responsible for a significant number of major recordings and singles, and has played an integral role as liaison between Sony/ATV’s Nashville roster and the publishing company’s Los Angeles and New […]

BMI Expands Duties For Sr. Execs Esworthy, Conlon, O’Neill

BMI President & CEO Del Bryant today (4/5) announced a new alignment in the company’s senior management team, with elevated responsibilities for Nashville based Bruce Esworthy, and New York based Richard Conlon and Michael O’Neill. BMI Chief Financial Officer Esworthy adds new duties as Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration, overseeing Human Resources and Facilities […]

Currington Gold, Lonestar Live and More

Currington’s Sophomore CD Goes Gold Billy Currington’s Little Bit Of Everything CD, produced by Currington and Carson Chamberlain, was awarded RIAA Gold Certification yesterday, marking sales exceeding 500k units. Amongst his peers gathered at ASCAP and BMI, Currington also received honors for single “That’s How Country Boys Roll”, which climbed to No. 1 earlier this […]

Moontoast, Gill Auction for Veterans

Social commerce network Moontoast.com has announced the launch of an auction that will partner the website with Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill to benefit the charity Challenge America, a national initiative to provide support to our country’s returning wounded military. 

Moontoast, a site which connects Guides (“those who know”) and Explorers (“those […]

Services Set for Pirates of the Mississippi Member

A memorial service will be held tomorrow, Saturday, April 3, for Pirates of the Mississippi’s Dean Townson. Townson died at age 50 on March 25. Kenneth Dean Townson was the bass player and harmony singer for the Pirates from 1990 to 1995. He sang on all of the group’s hits, including 1991’s “Feed Jake.” He […]

Will The iPad Be Idolized?

American Idol contestants aren’t the only ones to have their performance judged. New tech toys, like the iPad, must also endure a complex series of advance reviews aimed at determining their ability to “make it.”

BamaJam Sets Battle of the Bands

Verizon Wireless BamaJam 2010 has announced the 2nd Annual Jim Beam Battle of the Bands, offering contestants a chance to win a single a produced by award-winning producer James Stroud of Stroudavarious Records. The Jim Beam BamaJam Battle of the Bands competition is open to all and will afford six finalists the opportunity to perform a […]

Renee Leymon Leaves Lyric Street

Lyric Street Records’ VP, National Promotion Kevin Herring has announced that Sr. Director of Promotion Renee Leymon is exiting the label. A 12-year veteran of the label, Leymon is leaving to pursue her next opportunity. “Renee is not only an amazing promotion person, she is a 1st class human being, co-worker, and friend,” Herring says. […]

BMI Fetes Dallas Davidson’s “Roll”

On Monday, March 29, BMI celebrated yet another No. 1 song co-penned by Dallas Davidson. Recorded and co-written by Billy Currington, “That’s How Country Boys Roll” is Davidson’s third chart-topper on the heels of Brooks & Dunn’s “Put a Girl in It” and the Brad Paisley and Keith Urban collaboration “Start a Band.” His hot […]

Viral Video Campaigns Entice ACM Voters

Hand-shaking, baby-kissing politicians have long been aware that winning elections is all about getting out there and campaigning, and with the advent of fan-voted awards shows, country artists have gotten that message in a big way. While CMT were early champions of the concept with their “fan-voted” CMT Awards, things seem to have reached a […]

Tin Pan South – Day 2 Wrapup

This just in from NSAI Communications Director Erin Burr – A Report on Tin Pan South – Day 2 How much talent is in Nashville during the 18th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival Presented by Regions Bank? The Listening Room hosted Andrew Dorff, Mark Irwin, Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins, who joked around with […]

Rare Country Music Footage Discovered

LA-based music footage library Reelin’ In The Years Productions has uncovered a 30-minute film of home movies from the 1950s featuring country legend Hank Williams Sr. along with Marty Robbins, the Carter Family, Merle Travis, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Snow, Maddox Bothers & Rose, Bill Monroe and a host of others. The images, shot in pristine […]

Chrysalis Acquires S1 Songs

Chrysalis Music Publishing has announced its acquisition of Irish company First State Media Group, a music publishing firm with operations under the S1 Songs and State One Music brands. Included in the purchase is S1 Songs’ Nashville operation. FSMG controls over 45,000 music copyrights including the catalogue of Sheryl Crow, the former Dreamworks Publishing catalogue […]

Bundy to ACM’s, Jewel at the Bluebird and More

Laura Bell Bundy Will Perform on ACM’s Mercury Records artist Laura Bell Bundy is making plenty of noise with her rowdy debut single, “Giddy On Up,” and the folks at the Academy of Country Music have obviously caught the buzz. The Broadway veteran/country newcomer will perform the song on the upcoming ACM Awards, recreating the […]

Jimmy Wayne Walks and Grills Out

When Valory Music Company artist Jimmy Wayne walks into Amarillo, TX this Saturday (4/3), he will reach the halfway point of his walk halfway across America after spending 93 days on the road and covering approximately 977 miles. He will end his walk in Phoenix, AZ, with a goal of raising  His goal is raising […]

Gary Morris Joins New Frontier Touring

Award-winning artist Gary Morris has signed for booking with New Frontier Touring Agency. In making the announcement, New Frontier President Paul Lohr said, “Not only is Gary Morris one of the great voices of our time, he is a wonderful person that makes you happy to be in his presence! We are honored to be working with […]

CMA Offers Fontanel Mansion Tour

The Country Music Association has announced that Fontanel Mansion, the 27,000 square foot log home formerly owned by Country Music Hall of Fame member Barbara Mandrell, will open to the public on June 1. Fontanel Mansion has partnered with the CMA to offer CMA Music Festival Attendees an exclusive ticket and discount on admission to […]

EMI/Universal Talks at an Impasse

Billboard.com is among the media outlets reporting that licensing talks between EMI and Universal Music Group have ended without an agreement. Negotiations ended on Wednesday morning with no commitment to a deal. EMI had been pursuing a last-minute attempt to sell temporary North American rights to its catalog to Universal. One source would not rule […]

McClanahan Management Opens In Nashville

Veteran manager Trisha McClanahan has announced the opening of her own artist management firm, McClanahan Management. McClanahan Management’s initial roster of clients includes Capitol Records Nashville artist and star of Disney’s iCarly, Jennette McCurdy; pop artist Kennedy Noël; EMI Records Nashville artist Troy Olsen (in association with Rusty Gaston of This Music); and Los Angeles-based pop […]

Tin Pan South 1st Day Wrapup

Big thanks to NSAI Communications Director Erin Burr for providing us with this wrapup of the first day of the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. The 18th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival Presented by Regions Bank officially kicked off last night with some high-caliber talent sharing their tunes and eliciting a few surprise guests. […]

Marty Stuart Signs With Sugar Hill

Country music renaissance man Marty Stuart has signed with Sugar Hill Records and is set to release a new studio album this summer. Stuart and the famed independent label have a history together that dates back 27 years, when his first solo album, Busy Bee Café, came out on the label in 1982. “Everyone here […]

Billboard Announces Country Music Summit

Billboard has announced the launch of its first-ever Billboard Country Music Summit in association with the Country Music Association. The event, set to take place in Nashville on June 7-8 at the historic Hermitage Hotel, will gather today’s top country music executives and artists to network and discuss all aspects of the country music business. […]

Gloriana Films Pre-ACM Web Series


Emblem Music Group/Warner Bros. artists Gloriana will give fans an exclusive look at their life on the road leading up to the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards with a weekly web series, beginning today (3/31). Gloriana is nominated for ACM’s fan-voted Top New Artist of the Year Award. Fan voting will take place […]

Rick Murray Promoted at Premiere

Premiere Radio Networks has announced that  Rick Murray has been promoted to Vice President, Integrated Marketing and Promotions, from Director of Marketing and Brand Development for After MidNite with Blair Garner. In this newly created position, Murray will be responsible for the marketing, brand development, partnerships and promotions of Premiere’s nationally syndicated country programs – […]

More Stars Added To CMA Fest

The Country Music Association has announced that Trace Adkins, Easton Corbin, Danny Gokey, Randy Houser, Justin Moore, Blake Shelton, and Josh Turner will join the star-packed artist lineup for the Nightly Concerts at LP Field during 2010 CMA Music Festival, which will be held Thursday through Sunday, June 10-13 in Nashville. Previously announced performers include […]

Vince Gill is Belmont’s ”Best of the Best”

On Saturday, April 24, the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business will present its annual Best of the Best Showcase. This year’s show will honor Vince Gill with the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence, an annual award given to an individual who has achieved a level of excellence in the music business […]

Country Quarter Ends Up 15%

Country YTD album sales 2010 vs. 2009 are up a healthy 15% as we complete the first quarter which compares nicely with all genre sales, down 8%—a 23 point spread!

EMI Nashville Builds Promotion Staff

Senior Vice President Promotion Steve Hodges announces three new EMI Records Nashville staffers today: Chuck Swaney (Director of Promotion, Mid/Southwest), Trudie Daniell (Director of Promotion, Southeast) and Ron Bradley (Director of Promotion, West Coast). Beginning Monday, April 5 all three will work as a liaison between the label and country radio stations across the U.S. […]

Treehouse Hires Nate Ritches; Compass Adds Emilee Warner

Compass Records Group has tapped Emilee Warner as Director of Publicity and Promotions. She started the role earlier this month and can be reached at emilee@compassrecords.com, W: 615-320-7672, or M: 615-418-4846. Compass Records has also signed Richard Julian and will release his album Girls Need Attention May 4. The project was recorded at Norah Jones’s […]

Jason Sturgeon

“Simple Life” Toolpusher/Spinville/Nine North When Jason Sturgeon sings his debut single “Simple Life,” he’s not just painting a picture of small town America. He’s describing who he is. Born and raised in Petersburg, IN, (pop. 3500) Sturgeon grew up in a family of coal miners, oilmen and farmers who literally made their living off the […]

Gwen Sebastian

“V.I.P. (Barefoot Girl)” Open Road Records/Lofton Creek Gwen Sebastian describes her sound as “contemporary country music with spunk,” best evidenced by her latest single, “V.I.P. (Barefoot Girl).” Co-written by Sebastian with Brian Eckert and Dean Miller, the song’s lyrics paint a picture of her country roots. A North Dakota native who grew up in a […]

Bobby Karl Works The Tin Pan Kick-Off Party

Until a couple of years ago, Tin Pan South celebrated its successes with post-event bashes. Now it has a kick-off party that catches people while they’re still fresh for the fray. What’s more, it is a top-notch bash.

MP3 Players Plug In To More Cars

Listening to an iPod or other MP3 player via connection to a car stereo is growing in popularity. Just released information from an Arbitron/Edison Infinite Dial national survey shows that 24 percent of persons over age 12 have ever listened to an iPod, iPhone or other MP3 player while connected to a car stereo. The […]

Gretchen Wilson Release Via Redneck Records

Gretchen Wilson’s first album for her recently launched Redneck Records, I Got Your Country Right Here, hits stores today (3/30). Among the promotional stops is a performance of her hit single “Work Hard, Play Harder” tomorrow on the CBS Early Show. Wilson produced the album with Blake Chancey and John Rich. She co-wrote two songs […]

ACM, Muzak To Host Music Camps

ACM Lifting Lives™ and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities today announced plans for the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp. The Camp will have a dual purpose of studying Williams syndrome and other developmental disabilities, and providing music enrichment through performance and education. The camp will be located in Nashville, and will […]

Josh Turner And Team Toast No. 1

BMI and ASCAP co-hosted a spirited celebration at Cabana on Tuesday, March 23 to honor the four-week #1 smash “Why Don’t We Just Dance.” Recorded by Josh Turner and co-written by Jim Beavers, Darrell Brown, and Jonathan Singleton, the song marks Turner’s third chart-topper and is the debut single off his February 2010 release, Haywire. […]

Jackson’s “Freight Train” Runs Today

The latest album from superstar Alan Jackson comes out today (3/30) and he’s marking the release with street-date performances on NBC’s Today show and CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman. Freight Train has already produced the hit single “It’s Just That Way,” currently No. 15 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout Chart. During his time in New […]

Lambert, Shelton Benefit Raises $70,000

For the second year in a row, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton performed at a benefit concert in Tishomingo, OK to help local charities. Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation hosted the event which raised nearly $70,000. There were acoustic performances from Lambert, Shelton and Shelton’s cousin Clancy Davis, as well as a cocktail party, dinner and live and silent […]

CRB Board Update; 615 Music Expands

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® President Mike Culotta has finalized the CRB Board of Directors for 2010-2011 with three one-year term, At-Large appointments. This year’s appointees are: Johnny Chiang (OM, Cox Radio Houston), Dan Halyburton (President, RadioTime) and Clarence Spalding (President, Spalding Entertainment). In addition to the 27 elected CRB Directors and Director Emeritus Charlie Monk, […]

Free Downloads From CMA Music Fest; Celeb Softball Challenge

It’s hard to believe the CMA Music Festival is only a few months away. As line-ups are finalized, the CMA is working to get fans excited about the event running June 10-13 in Nashville. The Country Music Association and iTunes® have teamed up to offer a free digital music sampler, available through May 1 here. […]

Show Dog-Universal Moves Under One Roof

The Show Dog – Universal staff is now united under one roof. The label is operating out of offices at 2303 21st Ave. S. Nashville, TN 37212. See the updated contact information below. Email addresses for out-of-state Regionals Greg Sax and Lisa Owen are unchanged. The two labels announced plans to merge in December 2009.

Lambert, Lady A To Headline ACM Fremont St. Experience

The Academy of Country Music is hosting two days of entertainment leading up to the April 18 ACM Awards in Las Vegas, with Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert set to headline the Fremont Street Experience. Two stages will be set up to offer fans free concerts on April 15-16 as part of “The Week Vegas […]

Local Experts Weigh In On “Idol”

For all you American Idol junkies, Nashville’s Fox 17 is hosting a panel of music biz experts each Tues. night after the show to weigh in on what happened that evening. On the panel each week until the end of the season are MusicRow Chart Director Jon Freeman, USA Today Nashville correspondent Brian Mansfield and […]

Carpenter To Be Honored By AMA, Play Schermerhorn

The Americana Music Association and Washington D.C.’s Newseum will present Mary Chapin Carpenter with the “Spirit of Americana” Free Speech in Music Award on April 27. The heralded singer will be honored during the “Freedom Sings” event in the nation’s capital, which will include a conversation with Carpenter, and performances by Grammy winners Judy Collins […]

More Stars Added to Rogers Tribute

Smokey Robinson, Tim McGraw, Chris Isaak, Darius Rucker, Billy Currington and Sheena Easton have now signed on to perform on the television special Kenny Rogers: The First 50 Years, joining previously announced guests Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Alison Krauss, Wynonna and The Oak Ridge Boys. The array of artists will perform, along with Rogers, and a few […]

St. Jude Road Race Comes to CMA Fest

On Saturday, June 12, Curb Records artist Jo Dee Messina will serve as host for the St. Jude Music Fest Road Race, the first family run to be included in the 39-year history of the CMA Music Festival. Country music fans will walk and run in support of patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital […]

Artist News: Walker Cares, Daniels Rings, Wilson Rocks and More

Clay Walker, multi-platinum artist and founder of Band Against MS (BAMS), received the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award during the Fearless Caregiver Conference in Nashville on Wednesday, March 10. Today’s Caregiver magazine awarded Walker with its highest honor after his keynote speech on how to become a fearless caregiver. This is only the fourth […]

CEO Group Spotlights Music City Publishing Mechanics

“Generally this group is interested in the mechanics of business,” says O’Neil. “In this case they were fascinated with the orientation of publishing houses where the writers are a central part of the process, similar in a way to the old Tin Pan Alley concepts.