CMA Honors Walter C. Miller

The Country Music Association recently presented the Irving Waugh Award of Excellence to longtime and treasured former CMA Awards Executive Producer, Walter C. Miller. He was recognized for his 40-years of working with the CMA Awards, as producer, executive producer, and now consulting producer, on Friday, Nov. 6, at a reception in the Suite Level […]

Photos From The Walk of Fame Ceremony

Music City, Inc. yesterday (11/8) inducted the seventh class into the Music City Walk of Fame: Tootsie Bess, Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton, Kid Rock and Ernest Tubb. The honorees were recognized officially with the unveiling of commemorative sidewalk markers in the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. The induction ceremony, sponsored by Great American […]

Videos: CMT’s Aldean Exclusive, Covington’s Hometown Shoot

CMT will host the television premiere of Jason Aldean’s new video, “The Truth,” on Nov. 13. The week leading up to the premiere will include various multi-platform exclusives across CMT properties. Fans can visit CMT.com or m.CMT.com on their mobile phones for a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the video. Twitter followers of @jason_aldean and @FollowCMT get […]

HFA Inks Gracenote Lyrics Deal

U.S. music rights licensing organization, the Harry Fox Agency has entered into a digital lyrics licensing arrangement with Gracenote, a provider of lyrics for digital music applications. The agreement includes lyric delivery with permanent downloads, CD playback, online subscription services, lyrics search, mobile services and consumer devices. HFA’s over 37,000 represented publishing catalogs will have […]

Chesney In 3-D

Known for his blockbuster roadshow, Kenny Chesney has his own concert movie coming to theaters in April. He teamed with Sony Motion Pictures’ The Hot Ticket Division to release Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D. The film was shot over six nights in five cities—Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston and Indianapolis—using 22 different 3-D cameras. Other 3-D […]

Moraine Inks Admin Deal With Nettwerk

Moraine Music Group has completed a worldwide administration deal and joint venture with Vancouver-based Nettwerk One Music. Moraine recently celebrated a No. 1 country single, “Small Town USA” recorded by Justin Moore. Moraine writer/artist Johnny Reid with producer/writer Brent Maher swept the CCMA Awards winning a total of six trophies. Nettwork has publishing, label and […]

New Music Coming From Montgomery Gentry

Montgomery Gentry is planning a new album to be released in early 2010. The lead single “Oughta Be More Songs About That,” is at radio now and has an official impact date of Nov. 30. The song, co-penned by Eddie Montgomery, recognizes the importance of hard work, forgiveness, and social responsibility. It will be on […]

Wariner, Morgan Find Inspiration In The Past

Artists are looking to the past for inspiration for their new albums. Steve Wariner salutes Chet Atkins with his release out tomorrow (11/10) and Lorrie Morgan revisits Country classics for her new project. Wariner’s My Tribute to Chet Atkins, is a self-produced ode to the legendary guitarist and producer who was also his friend, mentor, […]

Sony Moves McKinley, Reworks Marketing Dept.

Sony Music Nashville Marketing Vice President Tom Baldrica announced today (11/9) that Laura McKinley has assumed the post of Manager, Marketing & Artist Development for the label group’s Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville imprints. A seven-year company veteran, McKinley first became Manager, Marketing & Artist Development in 2007, most recently working with the BNA and […]

Trent Tomlinson

“Angels Like Her” Lyric Street Records Trent Tomlinson has recently released his newest single, “Angels Like Her,” from his upcoming sophomore album, A Guy Like Me. “Angels Like Her” was written by Tomlinson with Arlos Smith and Aaron Barker and was produced by the singer and Leigh Reynolds. “This has to be my favorite song […]

Underwood Plays On; More Artist News

Carrie Underwood will make her first ever appearances on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (11/16) and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (11/19), and is set for a return visit to Ellen (11/18). She is making the rounds in support of her new album Play On. Unofficial estimates are expecting debut week sales to hit close to […]

Flatts Wrap First Leg of Tour

The first leg of the Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour wrapped last weekend, just in time for Gary, Jay, and Joe Don to make it home for the CMA Awards on Nov. 11. Since the run began in June, the Lyric Street act sold 550,000 tickets and played 39 shows. This total includes the […]

John Rich To Grand Marshal Parade

John Rich will serve as Parade Grand Marshal for the 57th annual Nashville Christmas Parade, hosted by Piedmont Natural Gas. The parade benefits Piedmont’s Share the Warmth Round Up program, and kicks-off the Christmas season in downtown Nashville on Friday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m. CST. Rich and Mayor Karl Dean will light the Nashville […]

Swift on SNL

AOL country fan site TheBoot.com is kicking the media competition when it comes to reporting on Taylor Swift’s upcoming Saturday Night Live experience as host and musical guest (11/7). Here’s a few of the insider tips being revealed. Swift will participate in a spoof of the Kanye West incident which involves a promo with SNL […]

Pahanish at 12th And Porter, Avetts at Ryman

BMI Presents at 12th Porter attracted a wall-to-wall crowd last week. The quarterly showcase featured Music Row buzz artist Dave Pahanish, who co-wrote Jimmy Wayne’s chart-topper “Do You Believe Me Now?”; southern California roots duo the Pawn Shop Kings; and promising young honky tonker Tyler Farr. —————————- The Avett Brothers rocked the Ryman Auditorium on […]

Gary Nicholson Celebrates 60 With NSAI Benefit

Top notch tunesmith Gary Nicholson will celebrate his 60th birthday this Saturday, Nov. 7 with a benefit for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI). The Grammy winner has recruited tons of songwriter/artist friends to join him for the show at 3rd & Lindsley. Set to perform are Fortunate Sons (Kenny Greenberg, Michael Rhodes, Chad Cromwell, […]

Kenny Rogers’ Christmas Tour, Symphony Show

Kenny Rogers will join the Nashville Symphony for a special performance on Fri., Feb. 5, 2010. From the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, he will be backed by the expansive sound of the orchestra to perform his most beloved songs such as “Lucille,” “The Gambler” and “Buy Me a Rose.” Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 6, […]

More Music Debuting Via Exclusive Agreements

An increasing number of artists are sharing their new music with select partners first. R&B/pop star Rihanna will showcase her much-anticipated new material exclusively to Nokia mobile phone users, in the latest such agreement. Nokia owners will get to hear the songs more than a week before the album, Rated R, streets on Nov. 23. […]

McMurry Entertainment Opens On The Row

Longtime music businessmen Howard Fields and Everett Zinn have launched McMurry Entertainment Group, an independent music company based in Nashville. The enterprise is a three-way partnership between Fields, Zinn and Wyoming entrepreneur Doris McMurry, and is comprised of a record label and management company all under the MEG moniker. In the works are a distribution […]

CMA Update: Kid Rock Duets W/ Jamey Johnson; Martina Sings

The carefully managed 43rd Annual CMA Awards info stream continues to tantalize with new details regarding performers and presenters. Just announced is a duet with Kid Rock and four-time nominee Jamey Johnson—their first ever on TV, and Martina McBride will perform during the show. Newly announced presenters include nine-time CMA Award winners The Judds, Country […]

Reba Makes Media Rounds, Wy Joins Tribute Show

Reba is busy on the talk show circuit this week. She will make her first visit to Rachael Ray’s kitchen table today (11/5) as the show’s only  celebrity guest. Later in the evening, she visits ABC’s Nightline to discuss her musical influences,  career and new album. Earlier this week she stopped by Live! with Regis […]

Tracy Lawrence Turkey Fry, Guitar Center Food Drive

Tracy Lawrence’s 4th annual Mission Possible Turkey Fry will take place Tues., Nov. 24 from 8 AM-5 PM at the Nashville Mission parking lot (639 Lafayette St.). Lorrie Morgan, Burns and Poe, Sarah Darling, and Brad Arnold are among the guests who will join Lawrence that day. Since the food drive’s inception, Lawrence and celebrity […]

Free LimeWire Compilation Of Nashville Acts

The LimeWire Store has unveiled a compilation featuring promising indie talent straight out of Music City. The Ear to the Ground: Nashville compilation is a free digital download available exclusively at store.limewire.com/ettg. Curated by the staff of Nashville Scene, Ear to the Ground: Nashville is a 17-track compendium featuring rising talents including Cortney Tidwell, Those […]

Cracker Barrel Opens Store Downtown For CMA Awards

A temporary Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® will be open from Nov. 7-12, at 1st & Broadway in downtown Nashville in conjunction with the CMA Awards. The retail shop won’t have a restaurant, but it will have an appearance by Alan Jackson. The superstar just released a new collection of signature merchandise exclusively via Cracker Barrel. […]

CMA To Host Marketing Summit

The Country Music Association will host its fourth annual Marketing Summit next week, designed to inform executives from national corportations about entering successful partnerships with country music and its artists. Brown-Forman, Chevy, Coca-Cola, Cotton Inc., Cracker Barrel, Dollar General, General Mills, Nissan, Shoney’s, Tasti D-Lite, TIAA CREF and Wrangler are among the big name companies […]

3 Doors Down Local Side Project, Golf Tournament

Local musicians Todd Harrell (3 Doors Down), Jon Nicholson (Muzik Mafia), Kenny Olson (Kid Rock’s band), and Shannon Boone have formed a new band called 7dayBinge. They recorded their self-titled debut album recently at the Sound Kitchen and will release it via Rock Ridge Music. The self-produced album will be available digitally on Dec. 8, […]

Industry Poll: Who Will Win Entertainer?

MusicRow.com has just posted an industry poll on the home page. Vote anonymously and tell us who you think will take home the big prize at next week’s CMA Awards. A new fan poll by CMT.com says Taylor Swift will win Entertainer of the Year on Nov. 11. If Swift wins, she’ll become the youngest […]

Artists Lend Names To Charity

Buddy Jewell, Stella Parton and Adam Gregory will be the Ambassadors of Goodwill for World Orphans Day 2009 on Nov. 9. They will hold a candlelight vigil to raise awareness at the The People’s Church East Lawn in Franklin, TN at 4:00 p.m. CST. Gregory will also lead students and youth groups in a mile walk […]

Currington To Macy’s Parade, Martina on Oprah

Billy Currington will perform during the 83rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The event in New York City will be co-hosted by Today’s Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, and Al Roker, and will air on NBC from 9:00 a.m.-noon in all time zones. Other guests include Andrea Bocelli, Boys Like Girls, Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, Gloria […]

Lifenotes: Billy Deaton [updated 11/3]

Updated: Arrangements for Billy Deaton. Visitation will be Thursday, November 5 from 4-7 PM at Woodlawn Funeral Home. The funeral will be Friday, November 6 at 11:30 AM, also at Woodlawn Funeral Home. ———————- Longtime Music Row talent agent Billy Deaton died Saturday evening, Oct. 31. He was 74 and had battled a lengthy illness. […]

Music City Walk of Fame Names New Class

Tootsie Bess, Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton, Kid Rock and Ernest Tubb will join the Music City Walk of Fame. This seventh class of inductees will be recognized with the unveiling of commemorative sidewalk markers on Sun., Nov. 8, beginning at 2 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Park in downtown Nashville. The induction ceremony, which […]

Bug Music Adds Emerson Hart To Roster

Bug Music has signed Emerson Hart, best known as the songwriter and frontman of multi-platinum rock group Tonic. Under terms of the agreement, Bug Music and Hart have entered into a co-publishing deal encompassing Hart’s future recordings and his critically-acclaimed 2007 solo album Cigarettes and Gasoline. Hart, who relocated to Nashville within the last few […]

Lyric Street Shutters Carolwood Imprint

[Press Release] Lyric Street/Carolwood Records President Randy Goodman announced today (11/3) the restructuring of that Group’s imprints, which functionally will mean the shuttering of the year-old Carolwood Records while strengthening the Lyric Street promotion staff as both John Ettinger and Chris Palmer, Carolwood Sr. Directors, will move to Lyric Street Records, augmenting that already seasoned […]

Strait, Reba Set For Big Arena Tour

George Strait’s 2010 arena tour will feature fellow superstar Reba McEntire. The outing will kick off Jan. 22 in Baltimore, MD, and has concerts scheduled through April 10 in Des Moines, IA. Dates include nearby stops in Memphis, Knoxville, and Atlanta but not Nashville. Strait recently released Twang, which debuted at No. 1 on the […]

Lofton Creek Debuts New Acts

Mike Borchetta and the team at Lofton Creek Records have two new artists on the rise. The label recently signed Adam Fisher and his first single, “Cotton Town,” is impacting radio via CDX, Vol. 486. Fisher, a North Carolina native, is busy visiting radio stations. He recently signed with Pam Lewis’s publicity firm PLA Media. […]

Royalty Debate: Lock Labels And Broadcasters In A Room

The growing royalty spat between radio broadcasters and record labels continues to deepen as labels demand a performance rights royalty for themselves and artists, while radio asserts it simply is not affordable. As industry observers know, currently songwriters and publishers are the only stakeholders to get paid a performance fee by U.S. terrestrial radio. According […]

ZBB Sets Sail

The Zac Brown Band is planning their own Sailing Southern Ground Cruise for Labor Day Weekend 2010. About 2,000 fans are expected to board the Carnival Inspiration in Tampa, Fla. and cruise to Grand Cayman Sept. 2-6. There will be almost round-the-clock music, including the main stage ticketed shows, as well as dozens of general […]

Foster Headlines Benefit Tonight; Lisa Smoot Update

A group of top songwriters and musicians are set for tonight’s (11/3) benefit for Sylvan Park Elementary. Radney Foster, Jeff Black, Matthew Ryan and Jonathan Yudkin will play at 3rd & Lindsley starting at 7 PM. Fans can expect a 90 minute set. All proceeds go to improve the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $12 at […]

Country Week on Letterman

Carrie Underwood opens Country Week on The Late Show With David Letterman tonight (11/2) at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York. She’ll perform a new song from her album Play On, set to be released tomorrow. This week the Late Show offers a mix of the genre’s biggest stars like Brad Paisley and Keith […]

Swift’s Record Breaking Chart Run

Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut album broke the record this week as the longest charting album of the decade on the Billboard Top 200. Released in October 2006, the album is spending its 157th week on the all-genre chart, surpassing the previous record held by Nickelback. Her more recent quadruple-platinum album Fearless has spent more weeks […]

Country Throwdown Tour In The Works

The brains behind the Vans Warped Tour are getting together a Country tour for this summer. Montgomery Gentry will headline 4 FINI, Inc.’s first Country Throwdown Tour, running May 13 through June 20. Also set for the amphitheater run are Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Jack Ingram, Eric Church, the Eli Young Band, Jonathan Singleton […]

ACM Taking Noms For Radio Awards

Submissions opened today (11/2) for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards radio categories. The nominations will end at 12 noon PT on Fri., Dec. 11, 2009. The eligibility period runs Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 11, 2009. Nominees for the radio awards listed  below, will be announced in the spring of 2010. •   […]

DJ and Radio Hall of Fame Names Inductees

Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced that Bill Bailey, Laurie DeYoung and Rudy Fernandez will be honored as the 2010 Country Music DJ inductees, while Cy Blumenthal, Dan Halyburton and Michael Hammond will be inducted into the Country Music Radio Hall of Fame. The class of 2010 will be officially instated at a dinner ceremony on […]

Book Review: Appetite For Self-Destruction

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age by Steve Knopper (The Free Press, 2009) Ever wonder how the music industry REALLY got into such a problem with the Internet, illegal downloads and all that? Well, this is the book for you. Steve Knopper takes the reader on the […]

CMA Research: Country Fans And The Economy

Country consumers are feeling the effects of the economic downturn and have reduced spending in the last year, according to a new survey commissioned by the Country Music Association, called the CMA Prime Prospect Study. Data indicates that the most devoted fans, called CountryPhiles and MusicPhiles, are less likely to monetize their support for the […]

Cumulus Radiothon; Josh Ragsdale Reminder

Cumulus Broadcasting in Nashville is hosting an all-day radiothon tomorrow (11/3) to benefit Feed The Children, which helps hungry families in Middle Tennessee. Stations in the local cluster (92Q WQQK, i106 WNFN, 97.1 WRQQ, 95.5 WSM, 99.7 WWTN) will go commercial-free from 6 AM-7 PM and ask for donations via toll-free call 888-582-4453 (888-58-CHILD) or […]

Industry News: APA Inks Tritt, Bass Berry Moves, Etc.

The digital music delivery platform AirPlay Direct held a Summit / Think Tank in Nashville last week led by CEO Robert Weingartz. Board Members, investors, and advisers met to exchange ideas and discuss company growth.

Testing Google Music Search

Google’s new music search plan makes finding and listening to music a breeze. To test the new system that is a partnership with MySpace and Lala for streaming, plus includes links to services such as Rhapsody, Pandora and imeem, I searched for “Need You Now,” a current hit from Lady Antebellum, and Billy Currington’s “People […]

Sony Wins Melrose Meat and Greet

Ryan Beuschel, Joe Fisher, Van Haze, Brian Wright, Juli Newton Griffith, Joe Putman, and Damon Moberly. Photo: Shannan Neese The 2nd Annual Melrose “Meat” & Greet was held this week. Sony Music won first place in the grilling competition, followed closely by Universal Music in second place, and Curb Records in third. The event also […]

Shelton/Adkins Video Premieres on Yahoo

The video for “Hillbilly Bone,” Blake Shelton’s new single featuring Trace Adkins, premieres exclusively on Yahoo! Music today (10/30). Both artists star in the video and it will be available for purchase on iTunes beginning Nov. 3. “Hillbilly Bone,” written by Luke Laird and Craig Wiseman, is the first single from Shelton’s forthcoming CD release—the follow […]