Tag Archive for: featured-2

Lambert Readies Album Launch

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For Miranda Lambert fans, the two year wait since her last solo outing is almost over. The feisty CMA Female Vocalist of the Year will take the wraps off her new collection Four The Record Nov. 1. The new 14-track set includes the self-penned Lambert songs “Safe,” and “Dear Diamond,” two songs that paint a portrait of both sides of the relationship spectrum. She covers the Gillian Welch & David Rawlings song “Look At Miss Ohio,” and the album closes with the ethereal “Oklahoma Sky,” written for Miranda by singer-songwriter friend Allison Moorer.

Before the official release, five tracks from the album will be “leaked” beginning Oct. 24 and a new track will premiere each day. Fans can click HERE to find info about how to listen to the music. After listening to each song there will be a QR code to unlock and collect an exclusive Miranda Lambert badge. Those collecting all five badges will be eligible to enter for a flyaway trip to meet Miranda and see her in concert.

Lambert’s launch week will kick off with a performance of “Baggage Claim” on The Today Show. On Wednesday, Nov. 2, she will appear on Live With Regis & Kelly where she will be interviewed and also perform the song. Miranda will also appear on the cover of the current issues of Billboard Magazine and Ladies Home Journal.

A Limited Deluxe Edition version of the album that includes a bonus song and a DVD featuring Miranda sharing stories behind each song will also be released.

Miranda will perform on the 45th Annual CMA Awards on Wed., Nov. 9. She is nominated in the Female Vocalist and Musical Event categories. Last August the newly married Texas-born singer songwriter released a unique album with trio Pistol Annies. Titled Hell on Wheels, the disc was only available in digital format and sold almost 42,000 units.

 

Songwriters Share Insight

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(L-R): John Oates, Matraca Berg, Jim Lauderdale, Angel Snow

Songwriters John Oates, Matraca Berg, Jim Lauderdale and Angel Snow teamed for a panel discussion about their craft at the recent Americana Music Conference, sharing stories about influences, mentors, co-writing and more.

Lauderdale’s humor kept the session rollicking along, minus a minor interruption from his ringing cell phone. “Hold on, it’s Lady Gaga,” he laughed.

With hits by George Strait and the Dixie Chicks, Lauderdale explained that developing songwriting talent is a gradual process. He also shared how some of his best songs are ones that veer a little off the beaten path. “When I think a song sounds like a hit for a particular artist, those don’t get cut,” he noted. “And it’s the other, more unique ones, that get recorded.”

Berg agreed, “The songs I was afraid to play for my publisher Pat Higdon were always the ones he liked the most.”

All four panelists are active artists, and many of them have used the money from their mainstream cuts to help fund their artist careers.

Snow’s first big break came from three recent tracks released by Alison Krauss and Union Station. Panel moderator John Allen of Bug Music noted Krauss’s love of serendipitously finding previously unknown writers such as Snow. The rising writer also discussed her mentor and frequent co-writer Viktor Krauss.

Panelists agreed on the virtues of co-writing. Having another talent in the room is a good sounding board for ideas, can help complete a song, and aid in the editing process. Oates shared that some of his biggest hits have been written with women because they bring a new perspective to the song. Trust and putting egos aside is key to successful co-writing. Panelists likened it to a dance; trying not to step on toes or control the session. And if a writing appointment isn’t going smoothly, Allen noted that it is important to “know when to take your marbles and go home.”

Berg told the story about her most recently successful co-write, “You And Tequila,” written with Deana Carter and currently nominated for CMA Song of the Year. In 2002 Berg was at a memorial service for renowned songwriter Harlan Howard, who had given the younger tunesmith her first shot of tequila. Howard’s children continued the tradition, giving Berg so many tequila shots that night that she still hadn’t fully recovered two days later when Carter showed up to write, resulting in the lyric “You and tequila make me crazy.”

The writers discussed their influences and the importance of publishers in their careers. Philadelphia-bred Oates grew up on the city’s R&B scene. Younger artist Snow joked that she grew up on Jim Lauderdale and Hall and Oates.

Oates was originally hired along with Daryl Hall as a songwriting team at Cameo Records, a Philly label that acted as a local incarnation of New York City’s famed Brill building. With numerous smashes to his credit, Oates explained that writing a hit is no easy task, because on some level it must tap into society’s collective subconscious.

Berg penned her first No. 1 with mentor Bobby Braddock at age 18. She also cited early influence Red Lane, who often made up nursery rhymes for her as a child. Berg elaborated on how Higdon has relentlessly fostered her career over the years. “[The publisher-writer relationship] is a very personal and fragile thing. Pat let me find my own way. He was there with advice, or to critique if I wanted, but was hands off and didn’t force me to write with the latest hit songwriter. He never told me to write for the market.”

From their experiences, these song experts agree that unique, honest writing will continue to win.

For more on Matraca Berg, check out the recent Publisher Special issue of MusicRow magazine, which includes her essay “My Journey to the Core of Country Music.”

Singles Only Hosts Oktoberfest

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(L-R): Jon Stone, Shane Tallant, John Ozier, Lee Brice and Kelly Lynn.

Singles Only, a group of independent publishers, hosted Oktoberfest on Oct. 19 at Rebar in Nashville. The event was sponsored by BMI and Merrill Lynch. Hitmakes Bob DiPiero, Jeffrey Steele, Liz Rose, Jeff Stevens and other special guests performed all uncut material. Singles Only is made up of Nashville song pluggers Daniel Lee, Scott Ponce, Shane Barrett, Denny Carr, Taylor Lindsey, Natalie Harker and Penny Everhard.

Left: Lee Ann Womack and Brian Wright. Right: Taylor Lindsey, John Rich and Natalie Harker.

Left: Darrell Franklin, Steve Markland and Cliff Audretch. Right: Jeffrey Steele.

2012 Country Radio Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

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This morning, CRS announced the 2012 Country Radio Hall of Fame inductees Beverlee Brannigan, Ron Rogers, Rusty Walker, Moby, Eddie Stubbs, and Bill Whyte. Brannigan, Rogers and Walker are the 2012 Radio category inductees, while Moby, Stubbs and Whyte are the On-Air category inductees.

Brannigan, whose career began at Northwestern University’s college radio station, is a trailblazer for women in Country Radio programming. Since 2003, she has served as Operations Manager for six stations in Wichita and Program Director for three, including market leader KFDI, which won CMA Station of the Year in 2003.

Rogers also got his broadcasting start as a student, while at the University of Texas. Inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2004, he has held positions as Program Director at WACO, Sales Manager at KNOW, General Manager at KOKE and President/Co-Owner at KLAW, KVET and KASE.

Since the start of Walker’s radio career in 1970, he has either programmed, advised, created, consulted, overseen, served as a strategic partner or performed as an air personality for more than 750 Country radio stations. A few of his personality and Program Director stints include: WQYK, WQIK, WZZK and KFKF. He also has a seven-year consecutive run as Billboard’s Consultant of the Year.

Moby is a 40-year veteran air personality, whose career began at the age of fifteen in his hometown of Crossville, TN. Moby is the recipient of numerous national Air Personality awards, including winning Billboard’s Major Market Country Morning Show of the Year five times.

Stubbs has been the longest tenured evening host on Nashville’s 650AM WSM, since the station went to an all Country format in 1979. He is nationally recognized as the announcer of the Grand Ole Opry, a position he has held for more than sixteen years. Stubbs also won the CMA Large Market Broadcast Personality of the Year award in 2002.

Whyte began his career as a teenager on KCPR, “Kow Pasture Country Radio,” in Missouri. His career spans successes at WUBE, WMIL, WSM-FM and WFMS. He has won numerous broadcast awards including the CMA Award for Best Large Market Personality. He’s also won an AIR Award for best new Morning Show in Nashville.

The Country Radio Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony unofficially kicks off Country Radio Seminar each year. The six inductees will be honored and inducted during a dinner ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. The event will be held at 6 p.m. in the Nashville Convention Center.

Sugarland Wraps Tour With Spectacular Hometown Show

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A montage of color and energy lights the stage.

Story and photos by Ellen Barnes

Sugarland rocked the house at the jam-packed Philips Arena in Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 22, reinforcing their reputation as energetic, dynamic and passionate performers. Being the last stop on the band’s Incredible Machine Tour, and the hometown of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, the city has a soft spot in the band’s heart. “Let’s get it going, Hotlanta,” yelled Nettles after opening with “All We Are” from the newest album, The Incredible Machine.

Nettles and Bush dominated a very large stage set with special effects focusing on multi-colored lights throughout the performance. The stage backdrop was a hybrid of artwork from the group’s two most recent albums, combining the well-known winged heart from Love on the Inside, with the engine and machine-inspired Steampunk vibe of their latest project.

Nettles shined in a simple yet true-to-character all-black outfit, accented by a sheer sparkly vest and bold necklace.

The duo made a fine display of their newest album, playing hits such as “Tonight,” “Stuck Like Glue,” and “Incredible Machine,” during which Bush rocked a near-minute-long solo on his sizzling red electric guitar.

The band made sure to intertwine older hits along with new material, not forgetting favorites such as “Baby Girl” and “Something More,” from first album, Twice the Speed of Life. Before playing “Something More,” Nettles proclaimed to the audience, “People tell us we’re so lucky to be able to go on the road and play our own music for a living. I look at all your smilin’ homecoming faces and I say you’re damn right.”

An emotional Nettles performs "Stay."

Other hits included “Settlin’,” a harmonized rendition of “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” and a heartfelt “Stay,” during which Nettles’s face was tear-streaked, reminiscent of the song’s music video. Her emotion was contagious, causing the audience to sway while sentimentally singing along. It is clear why Nettles is beloved by fans for her sense of realness and humanity, especially while performing.

The group spiced up the performance by sprinkling in snippets of cover songs, including a rock version of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” into “Find the Beat.” There was a unique take on “Everyday America,” with Nettles splicing in Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You,” Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” and Detiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious.” Adding to the entertainment was four men dressed as each of these artists and dancing onstage with the band.

Opening act Sara Bareilles returned to the stage dressed like Bush, amusing the crowd with her imitation. Other pranks included popcorn raining down on the keyboardist as Nettles introduced him—Nettles laughed, declaring, “This show will go down in infamy.”

Sugarland’s energy radiated throughout the entire show, with Bush constantly running and skipping back and forth to opposite ends of the stage, and even sitting down on speakers inches away from the audience. Nettles and Bush make a dynamic performing duo, sharing a charming live chemistry whether dancing, playfully fighting or laughing at one another.

Among the evening’s highlights was the band’s emphasis on audience interaction. After playing “Baby Girl,” Nettles asked, “Do you like surprises? ‘Cause it’s a good one.” Bush added, “Somebody needs a new guitar,” causing uproar in the stands. Bush hopped off stage and walked through the audience while holding one of his acoustic guitars high above his head. The lucky recipient was a young boy near the back who was wide-eyed with shock and gratitude.

Another special moment was during the song “Little Miss.” Prior to the concert each audience member was given a sign reading the lyrics “I’ll be alright again, I’m ok” to hold up during the song as part of the “Little Miss Project.” Later, while Nettles was singing, the lights shown on the crowd and thousands of the signs were displayed in the air. Nettles was truly touched, calling it a “wonderful surprise.”

For the encore, fans watched as Nettles spray-painted “LOVE” onto a flag and then passed it around the audience while she and Bush sang “Stand Up.” Many people were waving their own smaller “LOVE” flags as well. The group ended with their rendition of Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Come on Eileen,” with Bareilles returning to the stage. It was a fitting close, representing Sugarland’s embrace of musical diversity, talent and fan love.

Fans hold up signs during the Little Miss project.

 

 

Friday Photos

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BMI’s Thursday Throwdown

During the 2011 Americana Music Festival and Conference, BMI gave roots music lovers a reason to rise and shine with Kenny Vaughan and Phil Hummer & the White Falcons playing sets on Thursday morning, the second day of the festival. Vaughan, a longtime member of Marty Stuart’s band the Fabulous Superlatives, just released his debut solo album, V, on Sugar Hill Records. (L-R): BMI’s Clay Bradley; Phil Hummer; Ray Doll Hummer; Kenny Vaughan; Matthew Paige of Phil Hummer & the White Falcons and Blackfoot Gypsies; and BMI’s Jody Williams and Kay Clary.

Photo: Erika Goldring

Rascal Flatts Perform at “Warrior Open” Golf Event

Earlier in October, Rascal Flatts participated in the “Bush Center Warrior Open” golf tournament in Dallas, Texas, a special 2-day golf event held by former President George W. Bush for soldiers who had been severely wounded during their tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. At President Bush’s request, Gary, Jay and Joe Don were the surprise musical performers for the tourney’s banquet held on the first evening and the following morning they sang the National Anthem and met with some of the warriors on the golf course. (L-R): Joe Don Rooney, Jay DeMarcus, President George W. Bush, Gary Levox and Pro Golfer Ben Crendshaw.

Photo: Grant Miller

LoCash Cowboys Welcome Home 116th Batallion

LoCash Cowboys’ Chris Lucas and Preston Brust helped the Idaho Falls, Idaho community welcome home the 116th National Guard unit Tuesday night (10/18) at Melaleuca Field. Returning soldiers were treated to a meal, welcome home bags and then a high-energy performance by the duo. (L-R): General Alan Gayhart, Brust, Idaho Governor Butch Otter, Lucas and Captain Eric Sharp.

CountryBreakout No. 1 Song

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Love is a battlefield, and nobody emerges without collecting some scars along the way. Most of us try to maintain the necessary courage to stay in the fight, but few of us can recount love’s combat stories quite as tunefully as young Taylor Swift.

Case in point: Swift’s “Sparks Fly,” which is now the CountryBreakout Chart’s No. 1 song. Many of us inevitably fall for someone who probably is bad news, but trying to resist those intangible “sparks” is next to impossible. Amazingly, Swift was playing a version of this song around five years ago when she was 16 years old, but had never recorded it until her 2010 album Speak Now. The song’s video relives the vivid spectacle that is the Taylor Swift live experience, with tons of footage from her globe-conquering Speak Now Tour.

Somehow between sell-out world tours and recording multi-platinum albums, Swift still finds time to do things like introducing her signature fragrance Wonderstruck, which is in stores now. She’ll also have a special album, Speak Now World Tour: Live, a CD/DVD package of her tour performances available Nov. 21 just in time for the holidays. Before that, she’ll perform live Nov. 9 on the CMA Awards, where she’s nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist, Album (Speak Now), Music Video (“Mean”), and Song of the Year (“Mean”).

Weekly Chart Report (10/21/11)

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Jesse Keith Whitley (L) visits with Gordon Stack of WOWF WOW-FM in Crossville, TN. Whitley’s latest single “Kentucky Thunder” is currently No. 61 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart.

 

 

RADIO NEWS
RJ Jordan has joined CountryBreakout reporting station WCJW/Warsaw, NY as PD following the recent exit of Lee Richey. Most recently he was with Max Media’s WWBE/Selinsgrove, PA, and previously held promotion positions with Stroudavarious, 903 and Country Thunder. Reach out to him here.

SPIN ZONE
The folks over at Big Machine Label Group might be feeling pretty happy about this edition of the CountryBreakout Chart, because Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly” just hit No. 1 and Brantley Gilbert’s “Country Must Be Country Wide” is occupying the No. 2 spot. Lady Antebellum’s “We Owned The Night” will likely soon give them some competition as it moves up to No. 3, as will Miranda Lambert’s “Baggage Claim” at No. 4. Jason Aldean’s “Tattoos On This Town” and Eric Church’s “Drink In My Hand” are also moving quickly, and add an amped up sensibility to the Top 10 at No. 7 and 8.

Kenny Chesney’s “Reality” experiences a second consecutive increase of 500+ spins, which propels it onward to No. 23 in its third week charting. Brad Paisley’s three-week-old “Camouflage” is pretty much keeping pace with it at No. 27 after a 446 spin gain. Toby Keith’s unofficial single “Red Solo Cup” seems to have intoxicated programmers, as it leaps on the chart at No. 50. Also appearing for the first time is Keith Urban’s “You Gonna Fly,” pulling in enough stations to debut at No. 60.

Other chart debuts include Taylor Made’s “Good Love” at No. 77, Donny and Marie’s “A Beautiful Life” at No. 78, and Clay Dustin’s “I’ll Take That Job” at No. 80.

Frozen Playlists: KTTI, KTWI, KYKX, WBKR, WBYZ, WKWS, WMEV, WUCZ, WQNZ

Upcoming Singles
October 24
Gloriana/(Kissed You) Good Night/Emblem/WMN
Bill Gentry/This Letter/Tenacity

October 31
Trace Adkins/Million Dollar View/Show Dog – Universal
Katie Armiger/Scream/Cold River
Uncle Kracker/My Hometown/Top Dog/Atlantic/BPG

• • • • •

New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Toby Keith/Red Solo Cup/Show Dog-Univeral — 50
Keith Urban/You Gonna Fly/Capitol — 60
Taylor Made/Good Love — 77
Donny and Marie Osmond/A Beautiful Life/MPCA — 78
Clay Dustin/I’ll Take That Job/Pure Heart Records — 80

Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Kenny Chesney/Reality/BNA — 511
Toby Keith/Red Solo Cup/Show Dog-Univeral — 495
Brad Paisley/Camouflage/Arista — 446
Billy Currington/Like My Dog/Mercury — 359
Keith Urban/You Gonna Fly/Capitol — 349

Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Toby Keith/Red Solo Cup/Show Dog-Univeral — 42
Keith Urban/You Gonna Fly/Capitol — 30
Billy Currington/Like My Dog/Mercury — 25
Brad Paisley/Camouflage/Arista — 21
Kenny Chesney/Reality/BNA — 19
Neal McCoy/A—Ok/Blaster Records — 13
Trace Adkins/Million Dollar View/Show Dog-Universal — 13
Rodney Atkins/He’s Mine/Curb — 12
Jake Owen/Alone With You/RCA — 11

On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Landon Michael/Might As Well Be Me/Big Dog Records — 166
Corey Wagar/I Hate My Boyfriend/GTR — 156
Erica Nicole/Shave/Heaven Records — 148
Attwater/Never Gonna Happen/Twenty Ten Music — 143
Casey James/Let’s Don’t Call It A Night/BNA — 141

EMI Records Nashville artist Eric Paslay recently paid a visit to KIIM/Tucson in support of his debut single “Never Really Wanted, which lands at No. 31 on the CountryBreakout Chart this week. (L-R) EMI Nashville’s Ron Bradley, Paslay, KIIM PD Buzz Jackson

Bold Gold Media’s WDNB/Liberty, NY “Thunder 102” recently raised over $42,000 for St. Jude in its first ever Country Cares For St. Jude Radiothon. Sponsors for the event held Sept. 15-16 included M & M Auto Group, Yellow Cab, Formaggio Cheese, Catskill Regional Medical Center, Hilltop Homes and Bethel Woods Center For the Arts. (L-R): WDNB’s Paul Ciliberto, Regina Hensley, Mike Sakell, Michelle Semerano, and St. Jude’s Courtney Lynch.

Coy Taylor (Flying Island/Twang City) toasts WTHT in Portland, ME during his recent visit to support his current single, ‘Fall For You.” (L-R): Corey Garrison (WTHT MD), Michelle Taylor (APD and morning host), Coy Taylor, and Dave Winsor (morning host)

Charlie Cook On Air

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Arbitron just released its new “Radio Today” 2011 edition. There are a number of things in the report that will be interesting to MusicRow readers beyond radio personnel.

There is a lot of good news, like the fact that Country Radio is the number one format. Arbitron lists Country + New Country as scoring 12.7 percent (with persons 25-54) of all listening to radio. Country Radio is way ahead of the number two format, Adult Contemporary, with 9.5 percent.

Country is the number two format in terms of number of outlets, when you add in HD and streaming. News and Talk is number one by a huge number but Country has almost three times more outlets on the FM dial versus News and Talk. And FM is still the number one source of listener usage.

In fact, Country Radio reaches more than 65 millions listeners each week and a fourth of all radio listeners in non-metro countries. The places where people still visit Wal-Mart and Target to buy their music.

Radio has given away usage in the house. I work with stations every day trying to recapture listening in the home, particularly in the morning. As more and more radio stations have gone away from providing news and information in the morning, TV has come and taken away that position. Now TV is the source for school closings, weather and even traffic information during early morning hours.

In fact, two thirds of Country Radio listening is done away from home. This has been the trend for six years now.

What I like about this information is that Arbitron reaches out and talks to people engaged with radio. You can quote a number of researchers and you might find some different results but Arbitron talks to people that are most important to me—people who have agreed to carry a meter or fill out a diary to track their media usage.

We should all care about these people because they are the kind of people that are willing to participate. They wouldn’t have agreed to participate in the ratings process if they weren’t active.

Nearly 50 percent of Country listeners live in households earning at least $50,000 a year. According to the report, this might be because our listeners are becoming increasingly more educated. Funny how one follows the other.

Similar information has come out of CMA studies that also show the growing income and educational levels.

Loyalty to the format has been so important for artists and radio stations through the years. Arbitron publishes numbers based on Time Spent Listening (TSL) to specific radio stations. As a station programmer you have two goals: attract as many people as possible to the station and then keep them there as long as possible.

The first is called cume, which is the total number of different persons who tune in during the course of a daypart for at least five minutes. Remember when I wrote a few weeks ago that making songs like “Need You Now” and “Remind Me” would be good for radio? That’s why.

TSL is an estimate of the amount of time the average listener spent with a station during a particular daypart. The explanation was made to point out that Country Radio is ranked first among English-language music formats. This is a format that appeals to its fans way beyond any other format.

I suspect that many in the music community do some sort of perceptual research on their artists and their music. But I wonder how many do research on the listeners. What do the listeners do with their discretionary time?

Again, using the new Arbitron information, we can learn a lot about those same people who spend so much time with Country Radio. The most popular recreational experiences and hobbies are camping, fishing and sewing/crafts. Swimming, bowling and photography are also high on the list.

Coupons are really big with the Country core, and I suspect every American today. Seventy-nine percent of the respondents use grocery coupons and 54 percent use coupons for other goods and services. Does it make sense to partner with radio stations and provide coupons for CDs/downloads and or concerts?

Despite what you see at concerts, remote broadcasts, and NASCAR, light beer is preferred over regular beer. And like at my house, salty snacks, candy and ice cream are very popular.

Where are you going to find these folks? At a country concert, rodeo, monster truck rally, or NHRA drag racing event. The Country radio listener is more likely to be a Republican than a Democrat and less likely to embrace environmental causes.

None of the above is earth-shattering information, but hopefully some of it is enlightening when thinking about how to interact with your listeners and your fans. We don’t tell our radio stations to adjust their thinking or to put on a front if they don’t understand or participate in the same things.

But you are more likely to run into your fans in a bowling alley than you are at an Occupy Yazoo City rally.

ACM Establishes New Award

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The Academy of Country Music is establishing a Songwriter of the Year Award, to be presented in conjunction with next year’s 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The trophy will be handed out at the ACM Honors in Nashville in fall 2012.

Among the Awards committee members who helped create the new category are Pat Higdon, Dale Bobo and Ben Vaughn. “At the ACM, we want to show as much respect for the great craft of songwriting as we possibly can,” explains Vaughn. “I’m a songwriter guy, and I don’t think they get enough recognition—ever. The entire business is built around what a songwriter crafts, so anytime we can recognize them we should. For the ACM to take the lead in this is really gratifying.”

According to Michelle Goble, ACM Sr. Vice President, Membership & Events, “The Academy has always paid tribute to songwriters, whether it was through Song of the Year, hosting songwriter No. 1 parties or honoring legends with the Poet’s Award, as we do every year. We are thrilled to dedicate this annual award to the composers that make the country music genre so special in its rich history of storytelling.”

The ACM Songwriter of the Year award was previously presented only once, to Roger Miller in 1965.

The winner will be announced with the Special Awards recipients, Industry and MBI winners next spring, prior to the televised 47th Annual ACM Awards.

Award Criteria and Nominee Selection: This award is presented to an individual known predominately as a songwriter. The Songwriter of the Year final nominees will be selected by a Blue Ribbon panel of judges comprised of songwriters, publishers, producers, and performing rights organization (PRO) representatives. The Panel will submit 5 (five) nominees, which will be placed on the ballot once approved by the Board.

The final nominees will appear on the third ballot and be voted on by the ACM professional members in Artist-Entertainer/Musician-Bandleader-Instrumentalist, Composer, Music Publisher/PRO, Record Company, and the Producer/Engineer/Studio Manager subcategory (contained within the Affiliated category).

The factors to be considered include, but are not limited to, a commercially released single crediting the songwriter that charted on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs (BDS) or Country Aircheck (Mediabase) country charts during the prior calendar year of Dec. 1 – Nov. 30. If the single was released prior to the eligibility period, but achieved its highest charted position during the eligibility period, it is eligible, unless it appeared on a final ACM ballot.

Membership to vote in the 2012 cycle: New membership applications for the ACM must be completed by 5:00 PM PT on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 for members to be eligible to vote during the 2012 Awards cycle. Existing membership renewals must be completed by 5:00 PM PT on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011.

Nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards will be revealed in February 2012 at a date to be announced. For more information on ACM Awards criteria, please click to download.