Jason Delkou Signs With SESAC
Singer/songwriter Jason Delkou, who is signed to Bigger Picture Group, affiliated with SESAC during a recent visit to its Nashville headquarters.
This week, Sherrie’ Austin performed on StageIt.com promoting her independent CD, Circus Girl, coming out in the fall. The June 15 performance was one in a series, as part of her “Jumpstart” campaign to help fund her new independent venture.
Accompanied by Will Rambeaux who was out of view, Austin performed with her guitar from the living room couch and offered an interactive connection with her fans. Viewers simultaneously chatted online. In between songs, Austin read and responded to many of the comments.
She told us this was the first time she has co-produced a record and is very excited about the songs on the upcoming CD.
After a couple of songs, she brought out on stage (i.e., her couch), Shane Stevens, who co-wrote the No. 1 hit by Lady Antebellum, “American Honey.” Both Stevens and Austin performed the song and thanked the audience for their “tips.” (Viewers purchase credits online and award performers by tipping them during the show.)
After I chatted “How did you write that song?” Shane saw the comment and shared the story of how he, Hillary Lindsey, and Cary Barlowe got the idea from a bottle of whiskey bearing the same name.
Although performances usually broadcast “one to many,” this was the definitive “one to one.”
Throughout the show, Austin teased us with a “big announcement” coming soon. Viewers tried to get it out of her, but her lips were sealed. One thing viewers did get from her was another show. After fans chatted they wanted to do this again, she spent a few minutes with Shane checking their schedules, and set her next date on StageIt for June 28, 8pm. She even asked the fans if that date worked for them and solicited song suggestions she should sing next time.
She ended the show with a haunting acoustic version of “Streets of Heaven” and gave viewers a true interactive experience.
In between dates opening for Taylor Swift, Frankie Ballard made his second CMA Music Festival appearance. Ballard’s schedule included autograph signings, a performance at the Chevrolet™ Riverfront Stage and a surprise appearance at Blake Shelton’s fan club party. Ballard also had the chance to hang with a bunch of media girls at the famed Wildhorse Saloon. Ballard’s Top 30 hit “A Buncha Girls” is quickly climbing the country radio singles charts.
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Power-trio Lady Antebellum recently stopped by CMT Top 20 Countdown to chat with host Evan Farmer about their third studio album, Own the Night, along with their newest single, “Just a Kiss.” This all new episode of the show premiered this morning, June 17 at 10am CT.
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Jimmy Wayne opened for his idols Daryl Hall and John Oates recently (6/15) at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY. Wayne has often spoken of his admiration for the pop duo legends, and even covered their hit “Sara Smile” on his last CD. Wayne, who made his debut at LP Field during Music Fest last week, is currently at work on a new CD.
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During the 2011 CMT Music Awards, Keifer Thompson, half of the duo Thompson Square, who grew up right outside Joplin, MO, wanted to show his support for the victims of recent tornados. He did so by wearing a black tee-shirt with white lettering simply saying, “Joplin, MO.” The tee-shirt worn by Keifer Thompson is now available for purchase with all proceeds being donated to the Joplin Red Cross to assist in relief efforts. For more details visit www.thompsonsquare.com.
Lately Forbes magazine is rivaling even Santa Claus when it comes to list making. The financial sheet compiles all kinds of entertainer lists, including highest paid bosses, Top Celebs, and more. This week’s revelation comes in the form of the World’s 25 Highest Paid Musicians.
Six Nashville notables grace the list along with brief descriptions of how they amass all the loot. Here’s a brief synopsis of our local boys (and girls) who made good. For the complete list click here, but be prepared to wade through an annoying photo slider that makes you click 25 times to see the entire list.
11. Toby Keith ($50 million)
Keith profits from music plus an endorsement deal with Ford, a mezcal line and a restaurant chain called I Love This Bar And Grill.
13. Taylor Swift ($45 million)
Swift’s new album Speak Now is certified triple-platinum; touring grosses some $750,000 per night.
15. Brad Paisley ($40 million)
Country star had a banner year, thanks to strong touring backed by sponsorships from Chevy, Skinny Water, and Sea Ray boats.
18. Tim McGraw ($35 million, tie)
McGraw made big bucks in 2010 despite his label’s decision to delay his new album. In addition to a lucrative tour, McGraw starred in Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow and his line of cologne is among the best selling celebrity scents.
23. Rascal Flatts ($34 million)
The country stars grossed $45 million on 61 shows over the past 12 months, adding to their coffers with heavy radio play and endorsements from JC Penny and others.
24. Kenny Chesney ($30 million)
Chesney grossed nearly $40 million on 24 shows in support of his new album, Hemingway’sWhiskey.
Upcoming Singles
June 20
Sara Evans/My Heart Can’t Tell You No/RCA
JT Hodges/Hunt You Down/Show Dog-Universal
Colt Ford/She Likes To Ride In Trucks/Average Joe’s
Shania Twain/Today Is Your Day/Mercury
DJ Miller/Between Sundays/Evergreen/Nine North/Spinville
June 27
Christian Kane/Let Me Go/Bigger Picture
Brett Eldredge/It Ain’t Gotta Be Love/Atlantic/WMN
Marlee Scott/Beautiful Maybe/bigride/CO5
Ronnie Dunn/Cost of Livin’/Arista
Alan Jackson/Long Way To Go/ACR/EMI
Rascal Flatts feat. Natasha Bedingfield/Easy/Big Machine
Brian Robinson/Without God, Where Does That Leave America/Lamon
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New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Toby Keith/Made In America/Show Dog-Universal — 34
Alan Jackson/Long Way To Go/EMI — 63
Ronnie Dunn/Cost Of Livin’/Arista —73
Craig Campbell/Fish/Bigger Picture — 74
LoCash Cowboys/You Got Me/R&J Records — 75
Sara Evans/My Heart Can’t Tell You No/RCA — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Toby Keith/Made In America/Show Dog-Universal — 785
George Strait/Here For A Good Time/MCA — 504
Brad Paisley feat. Carrie Underwood/Remind Me/Arista — 408
Scotty McCreery/I Love You This Big/19 Ent./Mercury — 399
Alan Jackson/Long Way To Go/EMI — 368
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Toby Keith/Made In America/Show Dog-Universal — 55
George Strait/Here For A Good Time/MCA — 36
Alan Jackson/Long Way To Go/EMI — 35
Dolly Parton/Together You And I/Dolly Records/Warner Music Nashville — 27
Ronnie Dunn/Cost Of Livin’/Arista — 21
Scotty McCreery/I Love You This Big/19 Ent./Mercury — 15
Jerrod Niemann/One More Drinkin’ Song/Arista — 14
Brad Paisley feat. Carrie Underwood/Remind Me/Arista — 11
Joe Nichols/Take It Off/Show Dog-Universal — 11
Darius Rucker/I Got Nothin’/Capitol — 10
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Shawna Russell/Get Right or Get Left/Way Out West Records — 218
Jody Booth/Golddigger/Vigilante Music — 205
Brother Trouble/Summer’s Little Angel/Blaster Records — 201
J. T. Hodges/Hunt You Down — 199
Alison Krauss & Union Station/Paper Airplanes/Rounder — 193
Sunny Sweeney performed to a packed crowd in Louisville, KY recently (6/10) at 4th Street Live! Her set included several tunes from her album, due out on August 23, including her current single, “Staying’s Worse Than Leaving” and the Top 10 hit, “From A Table Away.”
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Margaret Durante dropped by the MusicRow offices on Tuesday (6/14) to visit with the staff and perform a few songs from her Maybe Tonight digital EP.
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LeAnn Rimes released her new song “Give” this week (6/14). “’Give’ is a powerful song with a message that I believe needs to be shared with the world, especially in these times,” Rimes says. “I’m so honored to sing this song and help spread that message.” Click to listen to the song.
Skyline Signs Stealing Angels Members
Earlier this week songwriters Caroline Cutbirth and Tayla Lynn signed to Skyline Music Publishing. Together with Jennifer Wayne, Cutbirth and Lynn make up Skyville Records trio Stealing Angels. The band’s latest single “Paper Heart” was produced by Paul Worley and is climbing the country radio charts.
Global music publisher Warner/Chappell Music has signed a co-publishing agreement with singer, songwriter and actress Jana Kramer. Kramer recently signed with Elektra Nashville for her upcoming major label country debut. The actress, who plays Alex Dupre on One Tree Hill sold over 40,000 copies of her song “I Won’t Give Up,” in one week after it was featured on an episode of the show. For more info and music visit www.janakramer.com
“The force is strong with that one,” confided Yoda in one of the Star Wars epics. Judging by this week’s Nielsen SoundScan numbers he might have been talking about the power of TV to sell music. For example, the Tony Awards prominently featured the Cast of Book of Mormon and sales of the recording jumped 999% to over 60k units, (almost 52k were digital albums). Luke Bryan’s CMT Awards performance sparked mouse clicks for “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” sending digital downloads up 41% week over week to almost 74k units. And Jason Aldean most definitely didn’t get lost on a “Dirt Road…” After CMT featured a duet “Dirt” performance with Ludacris, the track remained pinned at the top of the Country Digital tracks list jumping 99% from 85k units last week to 169k units. Sales of The Band Perry “You Lie,” also performed on the CMT stage, advanced 37% reaching just shy of 38k for the week.
TV also played a role in the launch this past week of Ronnie Dunn’s solo career. His new self-titled album sits at No. 1 on the country album list shifting over 45k units (17% digital).
So for those who are wondering if Award shows can still boost sales in this era of fragmented media, the answer is a profound YES.
In other highlights this week, Randy Travis’ Anniversary Celebration collection landed at No. 4 on the country chart moving about 19k units (11.5% digital).
Future Hit
If you like to stay ahead of what’s happening, pay attention to the new Trace Adkins track “Just Fishin’.” Over the last three weeks this song climbed from No. 62 to 49 to 43.
Sales this week increased 36% from about 7.7k to 10.5k. The track is Top 10 on the Country Breakout Chart (No. 9) but mainstream radio still hasn’t given it much play (BB No. 18). This column isn’t normally for reviews, but the numbers show the story and if you hear the record your ears will do the rest. This track has the potential to be a career, Song of The Year-type smash for the Show Dog dude.
Overview
The numbers are slowly improving as we head for the six month intermission. Not to cast any shadows, but the second half year is where the action is, and the majority of sales.
So far (through week ending 6/12/11) total all genre album sales are up .6%. Included in that number are digital album sales, which looked at alone are up 19.2%. Zeroing in on Nashville, Country album sales YTD are down 4.1%. As with all genre digital album sales, the category for country is up 26.2%. Country music’s share of digital track sales this year is 10.8%. The genre’s overall market share this year is 11.8%.
Big Machine Label Group has hired Jake Basden as Director of Publicity. In this position, Basden (pronounced Bays-den) will oversee all aspects of media relations for the three labels under the BMLG umbrella (Big Machine Records, The Valory Music Co., and Republic Nashville). Basden will relocate from New York to join the company.
“We have been on a search to find just the right dynamic to head up the Big Machine Label Group Publicity Department and in Jake Basden I think we’ve found just that,” says BMLG President/CEO Scott Borchetta. “There were many great candidates but Jake’s passion and get-it-done attitude, as well as a great background with Edelman NY, tipped the scales. He’s a big thinker and has a unique perspective on how we are going to move forward.”
Basden most recently worked as a Director in the Sports and Entertainment division for Edelman New York, the world’s largest independent public relations firm. During his tenure with Edelman, Basden worked on programs for companies such as Unilever, Pepsi and Shell Oil. He also worked on campaigns and endorsements with a variety of artists including Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Weezer, T.I., Craig Morgan and more. Prior to Edelman, Basden worked at Ogilvy Public Relations in New York. His work with Ogilvy earned him a “Young PR Professional of the Year” award by PR Week magazine in 2008.
“New York was very good to me and taught me a lot,” says Basden. “I am looking forward to bringing my big agency work ethic and key learnings from the Big Apple to the Big Machine Label Group and its roster of artists.”
Basden’s official start date is July 11 and can be reached at 615-324-7769 or jake.basden@bigmachinemail.com