Tag Archive for: featured-2

Weak Release Slate Puts Coal In Country Sales Stockings

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Like turning lemons to lemonade, it’s coal dust soufflé when you receive lumps of the black rocks in your holiday stocking. And that’s exactly what country sales departments will be forced to munch as consumers shop their way through the final three weeks of 2011.

What’s the problem you ask? Well, if Nashville had thought to release something with the appeal of Michael Buble’s Christmas album we would have had registers ringing about 480,000 times this week, owned the No. 1 album on the Top 200 all-genre chart, plus had a disc that had sold over 1.5 million units in 7 weeks. Nashville—but not country music—does have some ownership in the Black Keys who have the No. 2 disc this week with the band’s El Camino debut selling over 206,000 units. But, I’m sorry to say, country music couldn’t even muster a top ten showing this week on the all genre Top 200 album chart. Country’s best selling bin bopper was Scotty McCreery who clocks in at lucky No. 13 for the all genre crowd with sales of almost 52,000. McCreery and other performers likely got some boost from last week’s ACA Awards show, but because of the holiday time period it is hard to measure.

A brief look at our graph shows the disappointing trend. At the end of Q3 country YTD sales were ahead of last year by 9% and stretched up to 9.8% a few weeks later before starting a steady and consistent downward slide. Country album sales (physical and digital) this week totaled 1.248 million units bringing our YTD sales unit total to 38.206 million. Doing the math against last year’s total album sales—43.72—shows that breaking even with last year will require sales of 1.838 million units each week. That’s a lot of units without some truly magic shiny disc to draw people away from other format debuts, which are plentiful. Just this past week we saw Top 20 debuts from Black Keys, Amy Winehouse, the Glee Cast, Korn, The Roots and Chevelle. From Nashville—nothing.

Tracks
As we follow the tracks trail we see a bit more vibrancy. Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup” was downloaded 96,000 times which would equal almost 10,000 TEA albums increasing his album sales this week by over 30%. I guess having the song performed on Glee last week didn’t hurt. YTD country track sales have passed the 135 million range which in TEA (track equivalent album) language means an additional 13.5 million albums worth of sales. However, as one of this column’s mentors and behind-the-scenes contributors would note, the 13.5 million TEA must be compared to last year’s TEA sales so we are ,”talking apples to apples.” Duly noted, and if anyone out there has last year’s TEA number broken out for country it would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, Nielsen SoundScan, our keepers of the data, did not break country tracks out on a separate chart last year and so that number remains a mystery.

Apples to apples. OK. But even so, 13.5 million albums worth of track sales is a large line item on the country music balance sheet and cannot be ignored. (135 million X $1.29=$174.2 million). Isn’t it time that TEAs became a larger part of the lingo? Focusing on tracks greatly changes the economics of the business. It’s like selling singles beers instead of 12 packs, but the world is a changing folks. And each of us has a choice when it comes to running our business. Stand in front of the train, or climb on board.

What are you going to do?

CMA Pledges $10 Million to Hall of Fame

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Sketch for the planned CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Association has pledged $10 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s capital campaign Working On A Building: Country Music Lives Here, which will help finance its expansion to over 350,000 square feet. The donation is the largest in the Hall of Fame’s history.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened in 1967, and the CMA has supported it with contributions of nearly $5 million since then, including a $1 million endowment to the Hall’s education program Words & Music. The Country Music Hall of Fame honor was established in 1961 by the CMA, which voted in 1964 to establish a museum and archives for country music through the Country Music Foundation.

“CMA and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum are connected by history and our shared interest in preserving the legacy, rewarding excellence, and advancing the future of the format,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “This donation is the latest example of CMA’s longstanding commitment to the Hall of Fame. We are proud to support the growth of the Hall and we look forward to using the CMA Theater in a variety of ways that will shine a spotlight on the Country Music industry and format.”

Included in the expansion will be the 800-seat state of the art CMA Theater, which will be used for concerts, films, lectures, and corporate meetings. The room will boast a 500 seat main floor and two 150-seat balconies, as well as a lobby entrance connecting to the Omni Hotel and access from the Music City Center.

“Beyond the impressive amount of this gift, it represents a major milestone in the life and history of the place known around the world as ‘Music City,'” said Museum Board Member John Seigenthaler, founder, First Amendment Center. “It reflects back on this community’s cultural history and the contributions of the Country Music Association and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as we envision a future enriched by our legacy as a center of music, entertainment, and tourism.”

“We are indebted to the CMA for a gift that serves our educational mission, benefits Music City, and serves a worldwide audience,” said Museum Director Kyle Young. “In Nashville, the CMA Theater’s seating capacity is unique and will fill a gap in available performance halls. It is sure to become a coveted venue for touring artists in many genres of music and it will be recognized as one of Music City’s cultural crown jewels.”

The Museum launched its $75 million Working On A Building campaign in July 2011 with $56.8 million in cash secured. The expansion is expected to be finished in 2014.

Artists Engage Fans With Successful Contests

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Pictured at Bentley's free concert (L-R): Derek Freeman, Pershing Center; Steve Albertsen, PD/Froggy 98; Andy Ruback, GM/Froggy 98; Dierks Bentley; Corey Smith; Stephen Linn, Sr. Director of Music Programming & Promotion, CMT; and CMT Radio Live’s Cody Alan.

Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban engaged fans with recent promotional contests.

Bentley and CMT partnered for the “Bring CMT Radio Live and Dierks Bentley to Your ‘Home’town” competition, and listeners in Lincoln, NE along with affiliate KFGE 98.1 FM/Froggy 98, won the free acoustic concert. Over 6,500 fans crowded the Pershing Center in Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 9 to see Bentley and opener Corey Smith. The event was held in conjunction with CMT Radio Live With Cody Alan On Tour, presented by Frito Lay.

Urban teamed with People.com to launch a nationwide contest to create a thirty second commercial spot for his new cologne, Phoenix. After receiving hundreds of fan-made video entries, Urban selected Eric Noffsinger of Littleton, CO as the Grand Prize Winner. Noffsinger’s commercial will air on national network television during ABC’s The View on Dec. 21. Catch a sneak peek below. Noffsinger will also receive tickets and airfare to an Urban concert in 2012 and a Phoenix gift pack. The cologne is the season’s best-selling new men’s fragrance in mass distribution.

New Sony Music Nashville Signing

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Sony Music Nashville has signed family trio The Henningsens to a recording deal. Comprised of Brian, Clara, and Aaron Henningsen, the group is working on its debut album with Paul Worley and will be assigned a label imprint soon. The trio is also the songwriting team behind The Band Perry’s hit single “You Lie.”

(L-R): Lisa Ramsey-Perkins (Senior Director, A&R, Sony Music Nashville), The Henningsens (Brian, Clara & Aaron Henningsen), Gary Overton (Chairman and CEO, Sony Music Nashville), Paul Worley (Producer)

Carole King Coming To Bluebird

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(L-R): Carole King, Gary Burr, Georgia Middleman, Jim Photoglo

Carole King is scheduled for an upcoming performance at the Bluebird Cafe. The acclaimed singer-songwriter will join revered Nashville tunesmiths Gary Burr, Georgia Middleman and Jim Photoglo at the benefit for Alive Hospice.

The concert on Mon., Jan. 2 will kick off the Alive at The Bluebird concert series, a fundraiser for Alive Hospice. Showtime is 9 p.m.

Tickets are $100 and go on sale tomorrow morning (12/13) at 8 a.m. at www.bluebirdcafe.com.

CountryBreakout No. 1 Song

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It’s December, which means it’s time for everyone to start putting together those “Best of 2011” lists so we can see what gems we might have missed during the last 12 months. One album that has been popping up consistently on those lists is Eric Church’s Chief, and it’s certainly received a few spins around our office.

Well, some magazine called Rolling Stone apparently liked Chief too, because it just landed at No. 19 on the publication’s 50 Best Albums of 2011 list. Here’s what they said:

“Church is a country singer a rock fan could love – saluting Jesus and Springsteen, mixing up backwoods twang with power chords and Stones riffs. If he’s great at playing the boozed-up tough guy, the lilting songs on his third LP show he’s got an endearing soft side when he sobers up – sometime around 11 a.m. Monday.”

He’s in full-on “boozed-up tough guy” mode for “Drink In My Hand,” which earns its second week at No. 1 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart. Though it’s been an pretty great 2011 for Church, he has plenty to look forward to in 2012: Chief is nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album, and he’s also embarking on his Blood, Sweat, & Beers tour of the U.S. in January with partner-in-booze Brantley Gilbert.

So raise your glasses, and have a great (but responsible!) weekend.

Weekly Chart Report (12/9/11)

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Stoney Creek/Broken Bow labelmates Thompson Square and Jason Aldean celebrated their multiple wins backstage after the American Country Awards in Las Vegas Nov. 5. The artists took home a combined nine honors at the ACAs, including an Artist of the Year win for Aldean and Single of the Year by a Group for Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not.”

SPIN ZONE
It’s a perpetual party on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart, as Eric Church’s “Drink In My Hand” maintains its slightly buzzed footing to stick at No. 1 for a second consecutive week. (More on that here). The Band Perry’s “All Your Life” is still at No. 2, followed by new No. 3 Luke Bryan’s “I Don’t Want This Night To End.” Angling for Top 5 status soon are Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love YOu Through It” at No. 6, followed by Dierks Bentley’s “Home” at No. 7.

Drinking is a fairly common theme in country music, of course, and there are some other boozy songs besides “Drink In My Hand” right now. Sunny Sweeney’s “Drink Myself Single” at No. 19 comes to mind, but perhaps the most notorious and polarizing of them all is Toby Keith’s consumer-friendly “Red Solo Cup,” (currently at No. 15) which just got the Glee treatment in Tuesday’s (12/6) episode. Veteran songplugger Sherrill Blackman predicts, with tongue in cheek, that Keith’s latest could signal the start of a new trend for the Nashville song machine.

“Writers and artists will want to jump on the bandwagon to try to achieve similar success with product endorsements. Thus, in the coming months, we will have singles released with such titles as ‘Yellow Post-It Note,’ ‘Black Sharpie Pen,’ and ‘Green Giant Beans.’ Writers will only be limited by their imaginations and available color schemes.”

So there’s hope someone might write “Pink Pepto Bismol”? Fingers crossed.

Frozen Playlists: KBCN, KMKS, KSED, KVVP, KYKX, WKWS, WRHT, WMEV, WOWF

Toys collected at WKDF/WGFX Toy Field on Wednesday, Dec. 7

GOOD WORKS
Congrats and kudos to Nashville Cumulus stations WKDF and sports sibling WGFX/104.5 The Zone for collecting over 8,600 toys during the annual Toy Field event Dec. 7 at LP Field to benefit Salvation Army’s Forgotten Angel Program.

Upcoming Singles
December 12
Josh Thompson/Comin’ Around/RCA
Tim Dugger/Way Past My Beer Time/Curb
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory

January 9
Canaan Smith/We Got Us/Mercury

January 16
Ronnie Dunn/Let The Cowboy Rock/Arista

• • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Tim McGraw/Better Than I Used To Be/Curb — 52
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory — 61
Love and Theft/Angel Eyes/RCA — 70
Wade Bowen/Saturday Night/Sea Gayle/BNA — 78

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine — 550
Tim McGraw/Better Than I Used To Be/Curb — 457
Keith Urban/You Gonna Fly/Capitol — 246
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory — 241
Dierks Bentley/Home/Capitol — 240

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Tim McGraw/Better Than I Used To Be/Curb — 35
Taylor Swift/Ours/Big Machine — 33
Brantley Gilbert/You Don’t Know Her Like I Do/Valory — 19
Tyler Farr/Hot Mess/BNA 9
Lady Antebellum/Dancin’ Away With My Heart/Capitol — 9
Neal McCoy/A—Ok/Blaster Records — 8
The Lost Trailers/Underdog/CO5 — 8
Love and Theft/Angel Eyes/RCA — 8

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Sawyer Brown/Travelin’ Band — 171
Oak Ridge Boys/What’cha Gonna Do/Cracker Barrel — 168
Shawna Russell/Waitin’ On Sunrise/Way Out West Records — 164
Jackie Arredondo/Rockin’ the Trailer/Gold Voice — 161
The Farm/Home Sweet Home/All In/Elektra/New Revolution — 153

• • • • •

Several major market radio outlets gathered to broadcast at the Music Row Live! Fall Remote during CMA Awards week in Nashville. Attendees also celebrated Music Row Live! Owner & Operator Sharla McCoy’s 10th year in business. The theme was Wild Wild West and Rugged Country, and PRCA Rodeo Announcer of the Year Wayne Brooks co-hosted the kickoff party.

Pictured: Marty Mitchell (WKMK/NYC-NJ); Tom Owens & Becky Palmer (WBBS/Syracuse); Mason & Remy (KSD/St. Louis); Danger Frog (WOGI/Pittsburgh); Jessie Roberts and Owens & Crockett (WGGY/Scranton); Shane Collins (WPAP/Panama City), Mike & Kera (WPKX/Springfield); Jonathan Wilde and Mudflap & Brooke (KWOF/Denver); Keith & Noelle Stubbs (KEGA/Salt Lake City); Sue Wilson, Scott Wynn & Jody Wheatley, Donna Reusser (WQMX/Akron); Cassandra Tluczek (RAM Country Music) Captain Jack and Bob Steele (Renegade Radio Nashville); John Ritter (Rise Up); Jack Waren (Nashville Music Minute), Sharla McCoy (McCoy & Associates). Photo: AJC Entertainment, LLC / Arron & Jody Christopherson

Lambert “Retweets” Pistol Annies

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The Pistol Annies have been causing a buzz and making registers ring. The band’s digital-only album was released in late August and debut sales were a remarkable 42,000 units. At the same time, the trio’s most famous member, fiery Miranda Lambert, has also been lighting torches. Lambert recently debuted Four The Record which hit the charts at No. 1 selling more than double any of her previous debut albums. Pistol Annies includes Ashley Monroe, managed by John Grady and unofficially signed to a solo deal at Warner Bros., plus Angaleena Presley, managed by Scott Kernahan.

Last week the Pistols stole the show on the American Country Awards and are now wrapping a three-show series at the House of Blues in Vegas and West Hollywood (see performance video below), plus Buck Owen’s Bakersfield Crystal Palace.

Gary Overton

“I don’t believe it’s ever been done or attempted before in country,” says Sony Music Chairman/CEO Gary Overton. “A solo artist with a current hit album who is also part of a band with a current hit album. That’s one of the things you get working with Miranda. She leads with great music and her heart, and then we all follow and try not to say ‘No’ just because it’s something no one’s done before.”

“Everyone talks about new models,” says Marion Kraft, whose Shopkeeper Management steers the careers of Miranda, Pistol Annies plus Chris Young and a few others. “But no one is trying anything. But let’s be honest about this project, I didn’t have a choice. Miranda called me one day and said, ‘I want to be in a band and this is who is in it.’ Later when it wasn’t going quickly enough she called me back and explained that she was ‘very serious’ about this. Isn’t that awesome? But in my mind I don’t see it as a dual career. I just have two different clients, Pistol Annies and Miranda Lambert.”

Two different clients, yes, but a unique case where one client sort of retweeted the other. “Miranda gave Pistol Annies a lift by putting them on her tour last year in selected cities,” Kraft continues. “Those performances generated great feedback so we went a step further, and decided to do three Pistol Annies shows. So far we’ve done a good job of building both brands by making it a bit of a dance. We put Pistol Annies in front when their album was released, then moved them aside in October/November for Miranda and her album launch. Then this last week we’ve come out again as Pistol Annies with three West Coast dates and a few other appearances to activate holiday sales.”

“We didn’t want to ask our physical retail partners to buy 50k units up front since there was no radio airplay and no tour,” says Overton. “So we decided to put it out digitally-only and see what happens. After we had a big first week it was, ‘Wow, we want that too.’ So we quickly got orders together and stocked the physical stores. Miranda pulled the trio out for a few numbers during some of her concerts, and there have been a number of key exposure moments including Good Morning America, the American Country Awards and more. Now we’re getting calls from pop radio and media people asking for tickets. The cool thing is we aren’t going to corporatize this, we’ll just let people discover it. And the band has done a great job of touching people through social networking. From an industry standpoint the dual albums may raise questions, but the fans aren’t confused at all. They don’t care that it is two projects, they just like what they like. The fans love Miranda’s record, but at the same time they love the Pistol Annies, too. It’s all driven by great music. People are telling their friends about it.”

With all the acclaim and excitement does this mean that the Pistols might shoot a single out to radio? “For this band we’ll call it ‘Focus Track,'” says Kraft. “‘Hell On Heels’ was our first focus track to guide the album. If all goes as we envision we’ll pick a second. Most likely the first 3-4 months of 2012 will be Miranda Lambert time because we are supporting her record and On Fire tour. Then hopefully around the end of April the Pistols will start gearing up and in the Fall play some shows on their own.”

Marion Kraft

Are there any thoughts about a second album for the Pistol Annies? “Since it’s all about the music,” Kraft continues, “why not give the fans more music and find some different ways of kickstarting this country format? People want more music, more often. There are young successful bands in our format that sing beautiful harmonies like The Band Perry and Lady Antebellum. It’s a style of music that’s working. As compared to Lady Antebellum or TBP the direction of Pistol Annies I would say is a little more like looking back in time. It’s blue collar and story specific, like housewives hanging out. We feel there’s room for more of it.”

A little over half of the Pistol Annies album sales have been digital. Does that mean that they are appealing to a very young digital-friendly demo? “It’s just the way it’s been marketed I believe,” says Overton. “If we had it on country radio you’d see digital and physical sales match more closely with the broader spread of the entire country music demo. But the music has been very active online which explains why digital sales have also been proportionally high. (According to Nielsen SoundScan 20% of this year’s country album sales have been digital.) Everything is going so well and it is such a special, fun project we don’t want to lock and load with respect to singles and normal marketing plans. We have every intention of keeping this about the music. The girls have been great to work with and Miranda has been able to compartmentalize her solo and band roles nicely. This is the dream thing, why we all got into the music business… to find some great music and let it get out there.”

Fact File: Through week of 12-4-11 Four The Record has sold 258k units; Hell On Heels has sold 175k. Miranda has 2.8 million Facebook likes and 535k Twitter followers. Pistol Annies has 132k Facebook likes and 43k Twitter followers.

 

Charlie Cook On Air

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Format Explosion

I was talking to my friend Lon Helton the other day about the state of the Country format and whether we are on the precipice of another explosion like the early ‘90s when Garth was the most important performer on the radio.

I won’t speak for Lon—he has the vehicle to do that—but we agreed that we are there again and this time it is because of that lovely young lady who apparently owns the musical world. Taylor Swift is a phenomenon. I am not going to say anything new here. Every one already knows how important she has been the music business and to Country radio.

Ken Kragen used to talk about the rule of three. It is important to make three impressions if you expect to make a lasting impression the consumer.

Taylor is the champion of three. In less than a week’s time she wins the Entertainer of the Year Award at the CMA show, appears on 60 Minutes (more on that in a minute) and then cleans up at the American Music Awards show.

Taylor’s 60 Minutes bit may have gotten lost on east coast and Central time zone viewers because football games on CBS went 30 minutes late. Her appearance was at about 8:15, already into the AMA (where she, Lady A and Blake Shelton won awards) on ABC and Sunday Night Football on NBC (where Faith Hill sings the game on). But I watched it. And I was blown away.

It often appears that Taylor is the only person in the room that is surprised when good things happen to her, or when she wins something and the 60 Minutes reporter asked her about that. I believed Taylor when she said that she is surprised and feels fortunate every time she wins something. She might work on a genuine smile in place of her shocked response, but that’s just me.

I was absolutely taken by how grown up she is today. Like many of you, I met Taylor early in her career. She was always confident in her ability and she was attractively gangly at the start. Today she is a real CEO of a REAL big company and she is running it like one of Scott Borchetta’s race cars. On all cylinders.

The turning point, if the format is going to explode again is when it is everywhere. When every time you turn around you see Country Music and Country Music performers. Then the sky is the limit.

Taylor is there every time we turn around. She dominates the charts. I have not seen one reviewer give her anything less than glowing accolades for her show. She wins something on every music awards show.

I believe that Taylor has opened the door for the next wave of crossover Country artists. The Band Perry had a number one AC song. Sure, it was a special song and jumped out of the radio but something had to grease the skids for AC and CHR programmers to give it a listen. Lady Antebellum continues to chart on AC stations.

Is it possible that these three are the next wave of crossover Country artists? Is it possible that they are going to nudge out Keith Urban, Faith, and Tim McGraw who were staples on many AC stations for years?

These additions would be a great move for the format because these acts have stayed true to their Country Radio roots, as did Keith, Faith and Tim. Come on, would any of us be surprised if Taylor spent more time with contemporary radio and less with Country? Not really. But she is a bigger person than I. She came to the dance with Nashville and she has stayed with us.

We can be pretty safe in knowing that the Perry Kids and Lady A are going to stay fixed in the format.

With Country acts on non-country TV and the CMA show doing so great in the ratings (and by the way kudos to the CMA and ABC for spending a LOT of money marketing the show) we stand on the edge of another explosion in the format.

Hopefully the general public brings their wallets with them.

Nashvillians Honored As Top Women In Music

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Mary Ann McCready

Several Nashville execs appear on the new Billboard Women in Music list. Included in the 40 slots are Mary Ann McCready of Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarth; Kelly Rich of Big Machine Label Group; Ellen Bligh Truley of SESAC, and Nashville native Marcie Allen of MAC Presents. Taylor Swift was named Woman of the Year, the youngest superstar to ever receive the honor. The women were celebrated recently at an event in New York City.

The Women in Music list is selected by Billboard editors based on achievements in the last 12 months from a pool of nominees sent in by readers.

• As President of business management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Mary Ann McCready represents some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment. FBMM’s roster includes Keith Urban, Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, and Blake Shelton. As a community leader, McCready helped found the Music City Music Council with Mayor Karl Dean and is a trustee of the Country Music Hall of Fame and an active supporter of MusiCares and the W.O. Smith Music School.

Kelly Rich

• Kelly Rich is VP of Sales, Marketing and Interactive at Big Machine Label Group. She and her team helped propel Taylor Swift’s Speak Now to more than 3.7 million in sales, and led success by The Band Perry (platinum album and triple platinum single) and Rascal Flatts (platinum album). She also handles social media and led the relaunch of BigMachineRecords.com with a sponsorship of the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ellen Truley

• Ellen Truley has been with SESAC for 15 years and currently serves as VP of Corporate Relations, overseeing marketing and sponsorship initiatives for the PRO. This ranges from the SESAC magazine and e-newsletter, to the organization’s multiple awards ceremonies. Her team also handles digital initiatives and SESAC EDU for high school and college music programs.

Marcie Allen

• At her company MAC Presents, Marcie Allen pairs brands and artists. Among her recent success stories are Keith Urban and Samsung Infuse, who teamed to host private dinners for fans on his tour. She also paired BlackBerry and the Foo Fighters, and Windows Phone 7 with Katy Perry and Maroon 5.