Tag Archive for: featured-2

Jessica Frech Hitches A Ride With Hyundai

/by

Most successful artists are driven, but the automobile will likely always hold a special significance for singer/songwriter Jessica Frech now that Hyundai Automotive has selected her for its Hyundai Holiday Catch The Spirit campaign.

“What a present it truly was to have an opportunity to impact an audience beyond the net with this Hyundai ad,” says Frech. “I hope my Granny will get a chance to finally see what I do. Lord knows she can’t master a computer or smart phone!”

Hyundai turned to Jessica for its promotion after she captured their attention on YouTube with her People Of Wal-Mart video series that had garnered millions of online views. Her first episode passed the ten million mark and the second installment has been streamed over 500,000 times in two weeks. (Check out her “Black Friday Night” parody here. The Hyundai ad can be seen here.)

Frech has been featured on FOX News, MSNBC, G4 and Jimmy Fallon. Her first Christmas EP Pull My Finger to Hear Jingle Bells hits the market Dec. 5 and will feature one original track in the same vein as her comedic online personality, one true singer-songwriter tune and two covers. For more visit www.jessicamusic.com.

CMA Elects New Board

/by

In recognition of their volunteer service to the CMA Board of Directors outgoing CMA Chairman Steve Buchanan (L), Gaylord Entertainment Senior VP of Media and Entertainment, and incoming CMA Chairman Gary Overton (R), Sony Music Entertainment Nashville Chairman and CEO, were presented the crystal gavel and globe, respectively, by CMA Chief Executive Officer Steve Moore (C). The presentations were made at the annual CMA membership meeting Wednesday in Nashville. Photo credit: Christian Bottoroff/CMA

The Country Music Association held the annual Board of Directors election meeting in Nashville this week (11/30). The new Board year begins immediately.

Steve Buchanan, Gaylord Entertainment Senior Vice President of Media and Entertainment, completes his term as Chairman of the Board and current CMA Board President Gary Overton, Sony Music Entertainment Nashville Chairman and CEO, now assumes the position of CMA Board Chairman. Troy Tomlinson, President and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, was named President-Elect. Jessie Schmidt, President of Schmidt Relations, remains Secretary/Treasurer for a second year. CMA Board President will be announced at a later date.

“On behalf of the CMA’s Board of Directors, our membership, and the CMA staff, I want to recognize outgoing Board Chair Steve Buchanan and thank him for his steady and insightful leadership over the last year and a half,” said Overton.

Following is a list of CMA Directors and Directors at Large:
Directors By Membership Category
Carryover Directors, who are serving the second year of a two-year term, are followed by newly-elected Directors (indicated in bold).

Advertising Agency/PR/Marketing
Mary Hilliard Harrington, The GreenRoom PR

Affiliated
Nancy Shapiro, NARAS
Joe Galante, Galante Entertainment Organization

Artist
Jay DeMarcus, Rascal Flatts
Luke Bryan

Broadcast Air Talent
Charlie Cook, West Virginia Radio Corp., Morgantown, W.Va.
Blair Garner, After Midnight with Blair Garner, Premiere Radio Networks

Composer
Bob DiPiero, Love Monkey Music
Brett James, Cornman Music

Entertainment Services
Stacey Schlitz, Schlitz Law

International
Ian Ashbridge, Wrasse Records, U.K.
Bob Shennan, BBC, U.K.

Music Publisher/PRO
Tim DuBois, Tim DuBois Entertainment
Troy Tomlinson, Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Musician
Biff Watson, Biff-Bangs Productions, Inc.

Personal Manager
Ken Levitan, Vector Management
Bill Simmons, The Fitzgerald Hartley Company

Producer/Engineer/Studio
Dann Huff, Dann Huff Production

Radio
Jaye Albright, Albright & O’Malley, Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Clay Hunnicutt, Clear Channel Communications, Atlanta, Ga.

Record Company
Gary Overton, Sony Music Entertainment
Mike Dungan, EMI Capitol Records

Record/Video/Online Merchandiser
Charlie Anderson, Anderson Merchandisers, Knoxville, Tenn.

Talent Agent/Promoter
Rob Beckham, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC

Talent Buyer/Venue
Larry Vallon, AEG Live!, Los Angeles, Calif.
Louis Messina, The Messina Group

Television/Video/Media
Mark Shimmel, Turner Networks

Lifetime Directors
J. William Denny
Ralph Peer II
Frances Preston

 

Ex-Officio Members
Jim Free, The Smith-Free Group, Washington, D.C.
Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Directors at Large
Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Records/Valory Music Company
Connie Bradley
Becky Brenner
Kix Brooks, Don’t Miss This, LLC
Steve Buchanan, Gaylord Entertainment Co.
Frank Bumstead, Flood, Bumstead, McCreedy, & McCarthy, Inc.
Pat Collins, SESAC
Tony Conway, Conway Entertainment Group, LLC
Ann Edelblute, XIX Entertainment
John Esposito, Warner Music Nashville
Karen Fairchild, Little Big Town
Randy Goodman, Nashville Music Council
Mark Hamilton, Apple, Inc.; iTunes Store, Cupertino, Calif.
Ed Hardy, Great American Country (GAC)
Lon Helton, Country Aircheck
Pat Higdon, Universal Music Publishing Group
Clint Higham, Morris Artists Management Group
John Huie, Creative Artists Agency
Jan Jeffries, Cumulus Media, Atlanta, Ga.
Marion Kraft, Shop Keeper Management
Luke Lewis, UMG Nashville
John Marks, SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio
Doc McGhee, McGhee Entertainment
Mike Moore, Entercom Communications, Portland, OR
Kevin Neal, Buddy Lee Attractions
Brian O’Connell, Live Nation
Jason Owen, Sandbox Entertainment
Brian Philips, CMT/MTV Networks
Rob Potts, Rob Potts Entertainment Edge, Five Dock, Australia
John Rich, Big & Rich
David Ross, Music Row Enterprises LLC
Ron Sakamoto, Gold & Gold Productions, LTD., Alberta, Canada
Jessie Schmidt, Schmidt Relations
Victoria Shaw, Songalicious Music
Clarence Spalding, Spalding Entertainment
Michael Vaden, Decosimo Vaden
Jeff Walker, The AristoMedia Group
Rusty Walker, Rusty Walker Programming Consultant, Inc., Iuka, Miss.
Jody Williams, BMI
Mark Wright, Show Dog Universal Music

More than 6,400 music industry professionals and companies around the globe are members of the Country Music Association. Formed in 1958 as the first trade association for a single genre of music, the organization’s objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry while advancing the growth of Country Music around the world. This is accomplished through CMA’s strategic imperatives – CMA Music Festival and the companion CMA Music Festival television special, the CMA Awards, and CMA’s latest television venture “CMA Country Christmas.” All of CMA’s TV properties air on the ABC Television Network through 2021. For information about CMA visit www.CMAworld.com.

Jake Owen Celebrates First No. 1

/by

(L-R): BMI’s Jody Williams, Cal IV Publishing’s Daniel Hill, co-writers Dylan Altman and Terry Sawchuk, Jake Owen, co-writer Eric Paslay, producers Joey Moi and Rodney Clawson, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, and Sony’s Gary Overton. Photo: Steve Lowry

Jake Owen celebrated his first No. 1 hit “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” with a packed house at CMA on Tuesday night (11/29). The Sony Music Nashville star was joined by songwriters Eric Paslay, Terry Sawchuk and Dylan Altman at the event co-hosted by ASCAP and BMI. “Barefoot…” is also the first No. 1 for Paslay and Sawchuck, and the second for Altman.

“I’ve been to a lot of these things, standing in the back over there, drinking a free beer,” Owen laughed, “so to be up here right now is amazing.” He quickly shared the spotlight though, thanking his band, label and songwriters. He pointed out that the song would not have been successful without a genuine team effort. “There’s no single way that one person makes the big difference, unless you’re the Indianapolis Colts,” he joked, referring to the Colts’ 0-11 record while QB Peyton Manning is sidelined with an injury this season.

Paslay, a new artist signed to Capitol Nashville, got a little choked up addressing the audience. “This is the first talk like this I’ve given to a crowd about thanking them,” he explained, taking a moment to collect himself. Like Owen, Paslay expressed his gratitude to those around him, thanking his parents for his first guitar and Cal IV for jump-starting his career with an internship.

The song, which has racked up 115,000 radio spins, was produced by Joey Moi, Rodney Clawson and Tony Brown. It is one of only six songs released in 2011 to reach Platinum download status.

Owen is following up the success of “Barefoot…” with new single “Alone with You.” The video, featuring a cameo by his bulldog Merle, is premiering on Facebook. The single is already No. 24 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout chart.

“This song changed my life,” added Owen of his first No. 1. “I’m so grateful to the songwriters, who have become really good friends of mine. Feeling the support of this amazingly talented community is hard to describe. It’s just awesome to be part of it. This has been the best year of my life.”

Paisley Talks Career In ‘Diary’

/by

Building an artistic career takes time. Building an artistic career that lasts more than 15 minutes takes even more time: hours of practicing, planning, rehearsing, and preparing for what to do when your moment arrives.

It’s a lesson Brad Paisley understands well and shares in his first book, Diary of a Player (written with David Wild). The book is part thank you to Paisley’s mentors, like his grandfather Warren Jarvis who gave the artist his first guitar and his guitar teacher Clarence “Hank” Goddard, as well as fellow artists like Steve Wariner, Buck Owens, Vince Gill and more. It’s also a document of Paisley’s journey from nascent eight-year-old musician to world class axeman and superstar entertainer, and shows him to be an incredibly decent person with an abiding love for country music and his guitar.

As a model for artistic success, Paisley’s got a remarkably sturdy foundation. Not that there’s a one-size fits all approach to becoming a superstar, but you’d be doing well to fold at least a few of the following Paisley approaches into your recipe for success:

Work hard to be excellent. That probably goes without saying. Paisley’s dazzling guitar chops were forged over years of practice, lessons, and jam sessions. He’s a monster player, but says he was never a prodigy.

“Some of you out there may have been blessed with the good fortune of being born great at something, but most of us mere mortals still have to get good first, and that process usually takes a little time. I think it was years before I was doing anything you’d call ‘great.’”

Wait your turn, and learn everything you can in the meantime. Don’t expect a publishing/recording/management deal as soon as you arrive in town, and don’t sign your life away on one at the first opportunity.

“First of all, I didn’t rush into any kind of bad deals right away as people tend to do when they’re starting out. Second, thanks to all of those connections I made during my time at Belmont, I suddenly began to feel some real interest from the Nashville music community. Since I had personally interned for a significant portion of that music community, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that some of those people liked me okay. I’m a great believer in watching and waiting your turn, and it’s worked out well for me.”

Make friends. Two of Paisley’s most important collaborators to date, producer Frank Rogers and songwriter Chris DuBois, were people he befriended through school and his internships.

“Chris DuBois was roughly my age, had just graduated, and got hired as a new membership rep at ASCAP about three months after I started my internship. Our similar sense of humor was obvious right away, and we really hit it off. When he found out I wrote songs, he wanted to hear them.”

 

“We chose Arista, and I believe we made the right choice. Arista proved that when I let them know that I wanted my Belmont collaborator Frank Rogers to produce my first album. They didn’t even flinch. Even though neither one of us had a lot of what you might call professional recording experience (as in absolutely none). But by now I had waited for my moment, and I knew the kind of album I wanted to make, and I believed in Frank and the guys I’d gathered around me.”

Know who you are as an artist. But understand that who you are may not be something a major record label knows how to market. Consider alternatives, such as The Civil Wars method. Make music because you want to make music, not because you want to be famous.

“To all the younger artists out there, here’s what I’ve learned: define yourself instead of allowing others to do that important job for you. Don’t let anybody paint you into a corner or tell you who you are. You tell them.”

And most importantly, stay humble and remember those who helped you along the way.

“…no matter who you are, or how big you get, you can’t forget where you came from. If Porter Wagoner can be nice to a fool like me backstage at the Opry, then who am I to be anything other than nice as well? This is a country tradition that other genres of music could learn from a little. Roy Acuff wasn’t a jerk, and Little Jimmy Dickens is may be the nicest guy in the world.”

Pickler Pours Holiday Cheer, Then Releases, 100 Proof

/by

Kellie Pickler and Eddie Stubbs

Kellie Pickler will offer fans her latest music on Jan. 24, when her new album 100 Proof is released. The new collection reportedly focuses more on Pickler’s traditional country roots and musical influences such as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.

However, the North Carolina native has a full slate of holiday appearances before she can get to promoting the new music project. On Dec. 1 Pickler will perform “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” on the CMA Country Christmas special. The following Tuesday, Dec. 6, she duets with Michael Buble on his special, A Michael Buble Christmas, singing “White Christmas” and joining special guests such as Justin Bieber, Thalia and Oscar The Grouch.

Country fans will also get to hear Pickler talk about some of her favorite country legends with Eddie Stubbs on the show, Reflections From The Circle. “It was exciting to sit down and talk with Eddie about something we are both passionate about and that’s country music,” she says. Taped on stage of the Grand Ole Opry, the show will air on RFD-TV on Sunday, December 4 at 7:00 pm eastern time.

2012 Grammy Nominations Revealed

/by

The Band Perry performs on the Grammy Nominations concert.

Nominations for select Grammy categories were announced tonight (11/30) during a live concert special on CBS. Among the Nashville representatives taking the stage in Los Angeles were Sugarland, Jason Aldean (who scored multiple nominations), and The Band Perry (nominated for the all-genre Best New Artist award).

Nominations among top-billing country stars were a virtual tie with Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift garnering three apiece. Stoney Creek’s Thompson Square also nabbed two, giving the Broken Bow/Stoney Creek family a total of five. That ties them with Big Machine Label Group for the most nominations among Nashville labels, who got five combining Taylor’s three with Band Perry’s Best New Artist nod and one for Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.”

Kanye West tops the nominations with seven; Adele, Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars each garner six nods; and Lil Wayne and Skrillex each are up for five awards. Drake, Paul Epworth, Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Nicki Minaj, Mumford & Sons, Radiohead, Rihanna, and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) each receive four nominations.

More Nashville-based artists and musicians received Grammy recognition. Eric Brace & Peter Cooper’s I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow [Red Beet Records] earned a nomination for Best Children’s Album. Nashville-based WannaBeatles (Nathan Burbank, Bryan Cumming, Dennis Scott, and David Toledo) scored its first-ever nomination in the Best Spoken Word Album for Fab Fan Memories – The Beatles Bond [WannaBeats Records]. Zac Brown picked up a nomination for Best Song Written For Visual Media for “Where The River Goes,” featured on the Footloose soundtrack. And the Nashville Symphony Orchestra’s Giancarlo Guerrero and Christopher Lamb got a nomination for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for Schwantner: Concerto For Percussion & Orchestra. See the full list of nominees here.

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will air at 7 PM/CT Feb. 12, 2012 on CBS.

Best Country Solo Performance
“Dirt Road Anthem”
Jason Aldean
Track from: My Kinda Party
[Broken Bow Records]

“I’m Gonna Love You Through It”
Martina McBride
Track from: Eleven
[Republic Nashville]

“Honey Bee”
Blake Shelton
Track from: Red River Blue
[Warner Bros. Records]

“Mean”
Taylor Swift
Track from: Speak Now
[Big Machine Records]

“Mama’s Song”
Carrie Underwood
Track from: Play On
[Arista Nahville]

Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“Don’t You Wanna Stay”
Jason Aldean With Kelly Clarkson
Track from: My Kinda Party
[Broken Bow Records]

“You And Tequila”
Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter
Track from: Hemingway’s Whiskey
[BNA Records]

“Barton Hollow”
The Civil Wars
Track from: Barton Hollow
[Sensibility Music LLC]

“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Thompson Square
Track from: Thompson Square
[Stoney Creek Records]

Best Country Song
“Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not”
Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy, songwriters (Thompson Square)
Track from: Thompson Square
[Stoney Creek Records; Publishers: Sexy Tractor Music/Hope-N-Cal Music, Old Desperados/N2D Publishing]

“God Gave Me You”
Dave Barnes, songwriter (Blake Shelton)
Track from: Red River Blue
[Warner Bros.; Publisher: No Gang Music]

“Just Fishin'”
Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill, songwriters (Trace Adkins)
Track from: Proud To Be Here
[Show Dog-Universal Music; Publishers: Sony/ATV Acuff Rose Music/Six Ring Circus Songs; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Five Hills Music]

“Mean”
Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)
Track from: Speak Now
[Big Machine Records; Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Taylor Swift Music]

“Threaten Me With Heaven”
Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O’Brian, songwriters (Vince Gill)
Track from: Guitar Slinger
[MCA Nashville]

“You And Tequila”
Matraca Berg & Deana Carter, songwriters (Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter)
Track from: Hemingway’s Whiskey
[BNA Records]

Best Country Album
My Kinda Party
Jason Aldean
[Broken Bow Records]

Chief
Eric Church
[EMI Records Nashville]

Own The Night
Lady Antebellum
[Capitol Records Nashville]

Red River Blue
Blake Shelton
[Warner Bros. Records]

Here For A Good Time
George Strait
[MCA Nashville]

Speak Now
Taylor Swift
[Big Machine Records]

Album of the Year
21
Adele
[XL Recordings/Columbia Records]

Wasting Light
Foo Fighters
[RCA Records/ Roswell Records]

Born This Way
Lady Gaga
[Streamline/Interscope/Kon Live]

Doo Wops & Hooligans
Bruno Mars
[Elektra]

Loud
Rihanna
[Def Jam]

Best New Artist
The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

Song of the Year
“Rolling in the Deep”
Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
Track from: 21
[XL Recordings/Columbia Records; Publishers: Universal-Songs of Polygram/EMI Music Publishing]

“Holocene”
Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
Track from: Bon Iver
[Jagjaguwar; Publisher: April Base Publishing]

“Grenade” 
Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
Track from: Doo-Wops & Hooligans
[Elektra; Publishers: Mars Force Music/Bughouse, Music Famamanem/Toy Plane Music/Art For Arts Sake/Late 80s Music/Westside Ind. Music/Studiobeat Music, Warner Tamerlane, Andrew Wyatt, Downtown DMP Songs]

“All of the Lights”
Jeff Bhasker, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
Track from: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
[Roc-A-Fella; Publishers: Very Good Beats/Hip Hop Since 1978]

“The Cave”
Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
Track from: Sigh No More
[Glassnote Records]

Record of the Year
“Rolling in the Deep” — Adele
Track from: 21
[XL Recordings/Columbia Records]

“Holocene” — Bon Iver
Track from: Bon Iver
[Jagjaguwar]

“Grenade” — Bruno Mars
Track from: Doo-Wops & Hooligans
[Elektra]

“Firework” — Katy Perry
Track from: Teenage Dream
[Capitol]

“The Cave” — Mumford and Sons
Track from: Sigh No More
[Glassnote Records]

Best Americana Album
Emotional Jukebox — Linda Chorney [Dance More Less War Records]
Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down — Ry Cooder [Perro Verde Records LLC/Nonesuch]
Hard Bargain — Emmylou Harris [Nonesuch]
Ramble At The Ryman — Levon Helm [Vanguard/Dirt Farmer Music]
Blessed — Lucinda Williams [Lost Highway Records]

Best Blues Album
Low Country Blues — Gregg Allman [Rounder]
Roadside Attractions — Marcia Ball [Alligator]
Man In Motion — Warren Haynes [Stax Records]
The Reflection — Keb’ Mo’ [Yolabelle International/Ryko Records]
Revelator — Tedeschi Trucks Band [Masterworks]

Best Contemporary Christian Album
Ghost Upon The Earth — Gungor [Brash Music]
Leaving Eden — Brandon Heath [Reunion Records]
The Great Awakening — Leeland [Essential Records]
What If We Were Real  — Mandisa [Sparrow Records]
Black & White — Royal Tailor [Essential Records]
And If Our God Is For Us… — Chris Tomlin [Sparrow Records / sixstepsrecords]

Best Gospel Album
The Love Album — Kim Burrell [Shanachie Entertainment]
The Journey — Andraé Crouch [Riverphlo Entertainment]
Hello Fear — Kirk Franklin [Verity Gospel Music Group/ Fo Yo Soul Ent.]
Something Big — Mary Mary [Columbia Records]
Angel & Chanelle Deluxe Edition — Trin-I-Tee 5:7 [Music World Gospel]

Best Contemporary Christian Song
Blessings — Laura Story, songwriter (Laura Story) [Fair Trade Services; Publishers: New Spring/Gleaning Publishing]

Hold — MeJamie Grace Harper, Toby McKeehan & Christopher Stevens, songwriters (Jamie Grace Featuring Tobymac) [Gotee Records; Publishers: Universal Music, Brentwood Benson Tunes, Songs of Third Base/Chriscendo Music, Meaux Mercy/Achtober Songs]

I Lift My Hands — Louie Giglio, Matt Maher & Chris Tomlin, songwriters (Chris Tomlin) [Sparrow Records/sixstepsrecords; Publishers: sixsteps Music/worshiptogether.com Songs/Vamos Publishing/Thankyou Music/spiritandsong.com Publishing]

Strong Enough — Matthew West, songwriter (Matthew West) [Sparrow Records; Publishers: External Combustion Music/Songs For Delaney/Songs of Southside Independent Music]

Your Love — Brandon Heath & Jason Ingram, songwriters (Brandon Heath) [Reunion Records; Publishers: Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing/Big Skwawka Music, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing/Windsor Hill Music]

Best Gospel Song
Hello Fear — Kirk Franklin, songwriter (Kirk Franklin) [Verity Gospel Music Group/Fo Yo Soul Ent.; Publisher: Aunt Gertrude Music]

Sitting With Me — Erica Campbell, Tina Campbell, Gerald Haddon & Tammi Haddon, songwriters (Mary Mary) [Columbia Records; Publishers: Precious Baby Music/T Bella Music/EMI April Music, It’s Tea Tyme, That’s Plum Song]

Spiritual — Donald Lawrence, songwriter (Donald Lawrence & Co. Featuring Blanche McAllister-Dykes) [Verity Gospel Music Group; Publisher: Quiet Water Entertainment]

Trust Me — Richard Smallwood, songwriter (Richard Smallwood & Vision) [Verity Gospel Music Group; Publishers: Universal-Z Tunes/T.Autumn Music]

Window — Canton Jones, songwriter (Canton Jones) [Cajo Records; Publisher: CAJO Music]

Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Performance
Do Everything — Steven Curtis Chapman [Sparrow Records]
Alive (Mary Magdalene) — Natalie Grant [WOW Joint Venture/EMI CMG]
Your Love — Brandon Heath [Reunion Records]
Jesus Le’ — Andria Johnson [Music World Gospel]
I Lift My Hands — Chris Tomlin [Sparrow Records / sixstepsrecords]

Best Folk Album
Barton Hollow — The Civil Wars [Sensibility Music LLC]
I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive — Steve Earle [New West Records]
Helplessness Blues — Fleet Foxes [Sub Pop]
Ukulele Songs — Eddie Vedder [Monkeywrench Inc./Universal Republic]
The Harrow & The Harvest — Gillian Welch [Acony Records]

Best Bluegrass Album
Paper Airplane — Alison Krauss & Union Station [Rounder]
Reason And Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs By Robert Hunter & Jim Lauderdale — Jim Lauderdale [Sugar Hill Records]
Rare Bird Alert — Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers [Rounder]
Old Memories: The Songs Of Bill Monroe — The Del McCoury Band [McCoury Music]
A Mother’s Prayer — Ralph Stanley [Rebel Records]
Sleep With One Eye Open — Chris Thile & Michael Daves [Nonesuch]

Best Pop Solo Performance
“Someone Like You” — Adele
“Yoü And I” — Lady Gaga
“Grenade” — Bruno Mars
“Firework” — Katy Perry
“F***in’ Perfect” — Pink

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Body And Soul” — Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
“Dearest” — The Black Keys
“Paradise” — Coldplay
“Pumped Up Kicks” — Foster The People
“Moves Like Jagger” — Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera

Best Dance Recording
“Raise Your Weapon” — Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech
“Barbra Streisand” — Duck Sauce
“Sunshine” — David Guetta & Avicii
“Call Your Girlfriend” — Robyn
“Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” — Skrillex
“Save The World” — Swedish House Mafia

Best Rock Performance
“Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” — Coldplay
“Down By The Water” — The Decemberists
“Walk” — Foo Fighters
“The Cave” — Mumford & Sons
“Lotus Flower” — Radiohead

Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
“On The Backs Of Angels” — Dream Theater
“White Limo” — Foo Fighters
“Curl Of The Burl” — Mastodon
“Public Enemy No. 1” — Megadeth
“Blood In My Eyes” — Sum 41

Best Rock Album
Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul — Jeff Beck
Wasting Light — Foo Fighters
Come Around Sundown — Kings Of Leon
I’m With You — Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Whole Love — Wilco

Best Alternative Music Album
Bon Iver — Bon Iver
Codes And Keys — Death Cab For Cutie
Torches — Foster The People
Circuital — My Morning Jacket
The King Of Limbs — Radiohead

Best Traditional R&B Performance
“Sometimes I Cry” — Eric Benét
“Fool For You” — Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
“Radio Message” — R. Kelly
“Good Man” — Raphael Saadiq
“Surrender” — Betty Wright & The Roots

Best R&B Album
F.A.M.E. — Chris Brown
Second Chance — El DeBarge
Love Letter — R. Kelly
Pieces Of Me — Ledisi
Kelly — Kelly Price

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Party” — Beyoncé & André 3000
“I’m On One” — DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
“I Need A Doctor” — Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey
“What’s My Name?” — Rihanna & Drake
“Motivation” — Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne
“All Of The Lights” — Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Best Rap Performance
“Look At Me Now” — Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
“Otis” — Jay-Z & Kanye West
“The Show Goes On” — Lupe Fiasco
“Moment 4 Life” — Nicki Minaj & Drake
“Black And Yellow” — Wiz Khalifa

2nd CMT Artist Awards Show Soars

/by

Brad and Kimberly Paisley; Jason and Jessica Aldean

[Photos: Alan Mayor]

The 2011 CMT Artists of the Year show was taped last night at the Bridgestone arena in Nashville (11/29/11). Fast becoming an “in demand” ticket for industry executives, the show honored Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney. The intimate audience was seated at round tables and treated to a gourmet multi-course meal prepared by “Top Chef” winner Stephanie Izard from the Girl & Goat restaurant in Chicago.

All the artist honorees were present. Additional presenters/performers, both live and on pre-taped video, included The All-American Rejects, The Avett Brothers, Ellen DeGeneres, Gavin DeGraw, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, Miranda Lambert, Matthew McConaughey, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, Lionel Richie, William Shatner and Joe Walsh of the Eagles. The show is scheduled to air December 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CMT and CMT.com.

Standout performances included Swift’s “Mean” covered by the All American Rejects who also worked their own “Gives You Hell” into a bridge. It was explosively original. Also sonically-satisfying was the evening finale which featured Brad Paisley and Joe Walsh cranking out “Life’s Been Good” and “Camouflage.” Lady Antebellum’s affable Charles Kelley was one of many moved by the Paisley/Walsh pairing and enjoying himself. He stood up in the audience pretending to conduct the music, with a big smile.

Lady Antebellum with show host Rob Lowe.

But there were plenty of other standout moments as well such as a great Avett Brothers performance. Insightful video clips of artist honorees reflecting upon their careers and relationships with family, friends and other country artists were also highlight. (For more live reporting search the Twitter hastag #CMTAOY.)

One moment that will likely be remembered by those at the Bridgestone, but never seen when the show airs, was an intended Hank Williams Jr./Jason Aldean duet. Unfortunately, the scene was shot a second time sans Bochephus. Hank’s publicist said the song was re-recorded without him because, “Hank didn’t feel like he was giving an adequate performance while joining Jason on the song.” Regardless of the cause for the decision, those present would likely admit it was a good decision.

CMT’s award honorees were chosen by ranking the top five artists based on the following criteria: sales (physical albums, digital albums, and single downloads); country radio airplay based on spins; concert grosses as a headliner or co-headliner; and activity on CMT.com (video streams, searches, and artist page views). The rankings were then compiled to identify the leading performers across the four categories cumulatively.

CMT Artists Of The Year was executive produced by Rac Clark. John Hamlin and Margaret Comeaux serve as executive producers for CMT. (Note to self: Be sure to RSVP YES! again for this event.) (Click here to see an uploaded Tweet photo from @Jennivercole)

Taylor Swift and posse...

[Updated] Court Says McGraw Can Split From Curb, Label Releases Single Anyway

/by

McGraw onstage earlier this year.

[Updated 4:45 p.m.]

Hours after a Nashville judge ruled that Tim McGraw was no longer contractually obligated to Curb Records, the label released a new McGraw single to radio.

Delivered via digital distribution system PlayMPE, Curb sent out the McGraw tune “Better Than I Used To Be.” The email blast states that the track is going for immediate airplay, and is the first new music from the singer in 11 months.

• • • • • •

[Original post]

Tim McGraw is no longer a Curb Records artist, according to a ruling made this afternoon (11/30) in a Nashville courtroom. This judgement leaves the superstar free to release music via another label or situation.

He first signed with Curb in 1992.

Chancellor Russell Perkins made the ruling in Davidson County Chancery Court following a four-hour proceeding. McGraw and wife Faith Hill were in attendance.

Today’s decision is part of ongoing lawsuits between McGraw and Curb Records, which will play out during a trial this July.

Representing McGraw in the courtroom was attorney William Ramsey of Nashville firm Neal & Harwell.

Black Friday Unable To Reverse Weak Release Schedule

/by

A quick look at our YTD comparison chart (above) shows that it’s seemingly going to take more than Black Friday sales, a big turkey dinner, and this year’s abbreviated release schedule to put country music buyers in a mood to buy more units than last year. The slide from +9.8% to today’s itsy bitsy +.8%  has taken only six weeks and shows faint chance of reversing direction.

Taylor Swift’s Live DVD/CD package hit bins this past week landing in the No. 2 spot with about 77,000 units behind Scotty McCreery who rang registers almost 88,000 times to earn the No. 1 position (again). McCreery’s Idol fans are on a wild sales spree, racking up close to 588,000 units in a scant eight weeks. With five weeks to go, to have the YTD% equal zero, we need to sell 7.84 million additional units for a year end total of 43.72 million. For those math wizards in the audience, it means 1.567 million for each of the remaining weeks. (We actually got close this week shifting 1.38 million.)

Tracks Story 
Like love in the Spring, a young man’s fancy turns to tracks when album sales disappoint. Increasingly, tracks and TEA seem to be where the action is, if not the large profits. Country track sales this week were off slightly from last week (-2%), but clicked in at 2.504 million downloads.

Toby Keith “Red Solo Cup” (62k) and Luke Bryan “I Don’t Want This Night…” (54k) held onto the top two spots again this week. Band Perry “If I Die Young” (43k), Lady Antebellum “Just A Kiss” (39k) and Blake Shelton “God Gave Me You” (36k) filled out the top 5.

Do we need better track sales accounting so we can measure TEA (track equivalent, albums: 10=1) both overall and by artist? Track sales aren’t as profitable as albums, and there is a smaller group of artists that are reaping a majority of the track sales benefits, but despite these issues it seems more likely each week that labels will have to adjust to these new parameters to stay in the game.

Are Music Revenue Streams Drying Up?

/by

2011 has been an eventful year for the music industry and its consumers. Apple’s “big dog” online music retailer, iTunes, remained the king of market share, but as the months rolled on music consumers welcomed a slew of new arrivals.

Amazon’s download store, although not new, benefited by offering ultra low sale prices. For example, it elicited oohs and ahhs from consumers and groans from the industry when it offered Lady Gaga’s newest album for 99¢.

The music space also got a great deal more congested with the arrival of Spotify and its subscription/access model. Instead of buying albums or tracks and owning the files, Spotify says, “Pay us one monthly subscription fee and we’ll give you access to all the music, you don’t need to own it.”

Online streaming radio giant Pandora and others such as Slacker, iHeart and Last.FM also gained momentum with their subscription hybrids as smartphone penetration continued to escalate and automobile manufacturers announced systems that would allow consumers to listen to online streaming radio while driving.

In the midst of these choices, cloud services appeared from Apple, Amazon and Google. (Google also just took the wraps off its new MP3 store tied to the cloud and G+.) These offerings differed as to terms and functions, but basically gave users the ability to upload both previously and newly purchased tracks and then stream them over mobile and desktop computer units.

And to keep observers from becoming complacent about the overall music landscape, Facebook and Google Plus ushered in a new era of social media music sharing, finding ways for users of many of the above named companies to show friends, followers and circles what sounds they were enjoying.

While consumers were trying to take advantage of some of these new functionalities and discover which ones best fit their lifestyles, record labels and DIY artists were also studying the field, feeling perhaps like students getting ready for an exam where the content keeps changing. While it’s exciting to write about and experience a new buffet of choices for enjoying music, to record labels and artists it is a confusing new landscape. What is the best way for music-makers to navigate these seas of change? What should they expect going forward and most importantly, are music’s traditional revenue streams drying up?

Jay Frank

“The largest growth area is going to come to the masters company that thinks more like a publishing company,” says DigSin record label Founder/CEO and author of Futurehit.DNA Jay Frank as he deftly renames record labels into masters companies. “With growth in digital radio, cloud lockers and subscription services, the revenue sources diversify. As a result, the money made from masters will come from those who can successfully place, market and collect from the most places. It’s not just a dollar business going to a penny business as we are seeing in the small royalties from digital airplay. It’s that there will be numerous penny businesses to collect from that will form a sizable whole. Publishers have been doing this for years, and now labels will have to adapt to that way of thinking.”

Frank continues, “From any one pure source, the largest revenue growth in the next five years will come from YouTube. Very quietly, YouTube has become the No. 2 or No. 3 digital revenue source for many indie labels and musicians. They have made great strides fingerprinting and matching, which allows for greater attribution of content. With that, you can also monetize any video that the artist can think up, even if there’s no music involved. People are going to start to figure out how to maximize that stream next year. It will provide sizable revenue gains in 2013 and beyond.”

Pinky Gonzales

Pinky Gonzales, VP West Coast Operations for Bubble Up Interactive thinks, “The biggest move will be toward streamed services, whether you call that ‘the Cloud’ or use individual company names like Pandora or Spotify. And now Google and Apple are getting into the mix. With the Cloud, you upload your own songs and have access to them from any device. With Pandora, Spotify, and others like them, they provide the music and/or let you access their catalogs in addition to your own. On a side note, MyPlay.com, a Web 1.0 “music locker” service led by David Pakman, did exactly this back in 1999. The world just wasn’t ready for it. The real question here is, ‘What does this mean for the artists?’”

Gonzales continues, “Streaming revenues are dramatically lower than revenues from sales of digital music, and especially physical product,” Gonzales continues. “The major labels have been pacified for the moment, but once these contracts are up for renewal, it will be interesting to see what kind of profit there is to show for all these advancements in technology and bandwidth availability.”

Somewhat ominously, Gonzales questions the future of music sales for musicians. “What YouTube did for the music video may well be on its way to happening in the music streaming space,” he says. “High viewership and ubiquitous availability, but very few dollars in exchange. A copyright holder currently receives about $1,000 for every million video plays on a sponsored channel, meaning that to generate a million dollars in gross revenue, one BILLION views are required. Now split that money between your label, manager, bandmates and so-on, and suddenly the whole streaming model looks pretty bleak. That said, there will always be demand for new music, people willing to make it at any cost, and a lucky few that will make enough money to make a real career out of it. As long as there are tickets, t-shirts and tour sponsorships out there to pay the bills, the industry will find a way to support itself.”

David Gales

David Gales, Founder, The Gales Network agrees that lately the industry and technology supporting it have been spinning like an out of control carousel.

“Brands face a marketplace that is running at hyper-speed and morphing constantly,” he says. “I wonder if the lending model that is rolling out in the book space will have traction in the music industry. We have purchase, we have subscription, but not institutionalized lending. Music margins have eroded so much in the last several years. Already there isn’t very much room between 99 cents and free, so I don’t know if a viable paid lending model can be constructed. But anything that gets consumers to pay something is better than paying nothing for music. Also hopefully we will begin to see micro-payments for using music in user-generated content, which continues to be a huge and growing market. Would anyone have a problem with paying 5 cents to use a song on a video of their cat dancing? I personally wouldn’t buy the song ‘Feelings,’ but I might use it in my dancing cat video. Of course publishing reform would have to make this viable. Can’t get 9 cents on a 5 cent payment.”