Tag Archive for: In Charge

Markland Moves To Warner/Chappell

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Steve-Markland-08Veteran music publisher Steve Markland has joined Warner/Chappell Music as Vice President of A&R, Nashville. He will report to Tracy Gershon, Senior Vice President and Head of A&R, and they will work together on signing emerging and established songwriters, catalog acquisition, and song placement.

Markland most recently served as VP/GM of Crossfire3, the publishing venture launched in 2007 by Vector Management, Red Light Management, and Chrysalis Music Group.

Prior to that he spent 11 years as Vice President at Windswept Publishing, after opening the company’s Nashville office in 1996. Under Markland’s leadership, Windswept won more than 50 BMI and ASCAP “Most Performed Songs” awards and worked with star tunesmiths including Jeffrey Steele, who won multiple “Songwriter of the Year” awards.

In addition, Markland has managed a number of other established songwriters, such as “Big” Al Anderson, and producer/writer Angelo. From 1993 to 1996, Markland was Director of Creative Affairs at Patrick Joseph Music in Nashville. In this role, the Ohio native helped develop the careers of award-winning songwriters including Brett James, Matraca Berg, Tim Mensy, Randy Sharp, Vince Melamed and Jim Photoglo. The Belmont University graduate’s background also includes founding Coyote Moon Music and signing a young James, as well as time at Warner/Chappell Music in Los Angeles, and RCA Nashville.

When announcing the hiring, Gershon said, “With more than 20 years of music industry experience, Steve has a solid track record in discovering and nurturing talented songwriters, and with successfully pairing songs with recording projects and artists. As a label executive, I grew to respect Steve’s talent and dedication to the artists and the music with which he worked. I look forward to having him on our team as we continue to expand Warner/Chappell’s Nashville footprint.”

Driskill Returns to ASCAP as VP/GM, Nashville

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Nashville, marcTN, Sept. 9, 2009: Connie Bradley, Senior Vice President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) today announced that Marc Driskill has joined ASCAP as Vice President & General Manager, Nashville. In this newly established position reporting to Bradley, Driskill will direct the goals and objectives of the Nashville Membership staff as well as focus on ASCAP’s general membership efforts.

Bradley commented, “We are delighted to have Marc rejoin us at ASCAP. His business skill and acumen have been well regarded in Nashville both during his previous tenure at ASCAP and in the intervening years at Big Loud Shirt. He will bring a focus and energy to our operations here that will be crucial to our continued success.”

Driskill rejoins ASCAP from Big Loud Shirt and Big Loud Bucks Administration, music publishing and copyright administration companies respectively, where he served for more than three years as Chief Operating Officer for both entities. Prior to his experience at these companies, Driskill was Assistant Vice President, Nashville with ASCAP for nearly eight years.

“I am grateful to be rejoining Connie Bradley and the ASCAP team in Nashville. Connie has been an incredible mentor to me and I look forward to working with her in this new capacity to help ASCAP achieve its ultimate success,” stated Driskill about the appointment.

Levitan To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

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Ken Levitan will receive the Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement Award for alevitann Executive at the Americana Music Association’s 8th Annual Honors and Awards ceremony, on Thurs., Sept. 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

As founder and Co-President of Vector Management, Levitan guides the careers of Americana stalwarts Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Buddy Miller and others. Also signed to his powerhouse roster are Kid Rock, Kings of Leon, Hank Williams Jr., Bon Jovi, B-52s, Ben Folds, Michael McDonald, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Trisha Yearwood, Peter Frampton, Trace Adkins, and Dierks Bentley.

Levitan, whose first foray into the music business was as chairman of the Vanderbilt Concert committee, is also a Grammy Award-winning producer for his work on The Apostle soundtrack. Of note, others serving on that same Vandy committee are now current industry leaders Steve Buchanan, Ted Mankin and the namesake of the lifetime achievement award, Jack Emerson.

Slated for Wed., Sept. 16 through Sat., Sept. 19, the 10th Annual Americana Festival and Conference will offer daily seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Nashville Convention Center. The event’s highlight will be the 8th Annual Americana Honors and Awards ceremony, Thurs., Sept. 17 at the Ryman Auditorium.

John Styll Exits GMA

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John-Styll-07John Styll, President and CEO of the Gospel Music Association and the Christian Music Trade Association, has left the organization. No further details have been confirmed at this time.

During his six year tenure leading the organization, Styll served as Executive Producer of the GMA Dove Awards, and oversaw GMA Music Week, the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and GMA Music in the Rockies which became Immerse.

His 30 years in the Christian music industry has also included serving as President of CCM Communications at Salem Communications, and Publisher of CCM Magazine.

The GMA has faced financial struggles this year and in May announced that it had reduced its full-time staff by more than 50% in the eight months prior.

Leadership Music Elects Board, President Pat Collins

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Pat-Collins-07

Pat Collins

SESAC Pres. & COO Pat Collins has been elected president of the board of directors of Leadership Music. Since joining the board in 2006, Collins has served as President-Elect and on the Executive Committee.

Collins came to SESAC in 1995 after a 21-year career at ASCAP, where he held various positions in the licensing division, ultimately being named Director of General Licensing and National Sales. At SESAC, Collins served as Senior Vice President of Licensing for several years before being named President & COO.

Recognized as one of the leading performing rights experts in the United States, Collins has appeared before various sub-committees of the United States Congress on legislative matters impacting copyrights. He also has given testimony before numerous state legislatures on matters of copyright and has appeared as both guest and moderator on panels focusing on performing rights in the U.S.

Additional Officers include President Elect – Jamie Cheek, Business Manager/Partner, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy, Inc.; Secretary – Beverly Keel, Professor of Recording Industry at MTSU; and Treasurer – Tim Wipperman; President and CEO, Wipperman Music Group.

Other members of the Executive Committee are songwriter J. Fred Knobloch, producer Garth Fundis, SunTrust VP Lori Badgett, former CMA Exec. Dir. Ed Benson, and NSAI/Bluebird Cafe Dir. of Development/Manager Erika Wollam-Nichols.

New board members elected to two-year terms include John Beiter, Attorney, Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes, PLLC; Linda Bloss-Baum, VP Public Policy & Government Relations, Warner Music Group; Mark Bright, President & CEO, Word Entertainment; Vincent Candilora, Sr. VP/Director of Licensing, ASCAP; Jay Frank, Sr. VP Music Strategy, CMT; Bill Lee, Sr. VP Licensing Operations, SESAC; Bruce Phillips, Managing Partner, Lyon & Phillips, PLLC; Thom Schuyler, Songwriter and former board member; Larry Stessel, President, Trillium Entertainment; John Styll, President & CEO, Gospel Music Association; Bethel “Bo” Thomas, VP for University Advancement, Belmont University; Stacy Widelitz, President, Stacy Widelitz Music, Inc.

Board members serving through June 30, 2010 include Drew Alexander, Director of Publishing, Curb Music Group; Mitch Bainwol, Chairman & CEO, RIAA; Tom Baldrica, VP Marketing, Sony Music Entertainment Inc.; Fred Buc, GM, Tuned In Broadcasting/WRLT-FM, Lightning 100; Jamie Cheek; Pat Collins; Garth Fundis; John Grady, President Nashville Operations, Borman Entertainment; Jeff Gregg, Agent, Creative Artists Agency; Kerry Hansen, CEO/Personal Manager, Big Enterprises; Liz Kiley, VP Broadcast Affiliations & Operations, MTV tr3s; Pam Matthews, Owner, DuVoyant Music; Mark Montgomery, Entrepreneur, hellomarko.com = ideas and execution; Robert K. Oermann, Owner, R.K.O. Media Products; and Randy Wachtler, President, 615 Music Companies.

Board members re-elected to serve through June 30, 2011 include Lori Badgett; Ed Benson; Caroline Davis, Communications Consultant; Beverly Keel; Dave Pomeroy, Bassist/Writer/Producer, Earwave Music Group and President, AFM; Ralph Schulz, President and CEO, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce; Tim Wipperman; and Erika Wollam-Nichols.

Leadership Music’s executive director, Kira Florita, continues to serve as an ex-officio member of the board. Wayne Halper, Esq., Bruce Phillips of Lyon & Phillips, PLLC, and Robert Sullivan of Loeb & Loeb, LLP serve as the not-for-profit educational organization’s legal counsel.

For a complete list of the Board of Directors, visit www.leadershipmusic.org.

Bennett To Exit Warner

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Bennett-EspitoIt’s unofficial and unconfirmed, but MusicRow has learned that Exec. VP/GM Warner Bros. Records Nashville Bill Bennett is exiting the label. Bennett moved to the Nashville division in Sept. 2004 after previously heading the Geffen and Maverick record labels. During his watch he saw success with Big & Rich, Blake Shelton, The Wreckers, James Otto and more.

It is believed, but also unconfirmed that Bennett’s successor will be New York-based President/CEO of WEA, Corp.—Warner Music Group’s U.S. sales and retail marketing company—John Esposito. In New York Esposito oversaw sales, marketing activities and distribution. He also oversaw global management and distribution of WMG’s digital assets, the E-Commerce department, and mobile and online business for WMG’s U.S. labels.

It is not known if the transition will result in additional restructuring among staff and/or artist roster.

Photos: Aquapalooza, Rascal Flatts, Jimmy Wayne on Crook & Chase

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aquapalooza

Pictured (back row, l-r): CMT Sr VP Production, Development and Talent John Hamlin; Arista Nashville Promo VP Skip Bishop; Sony Music Nashville Exec VP A&R Renee Bell; Arista Nashville National Promo Director Lesly Tyson; and Sony Music Nashville Exec VP Butch Waugh. (front row, l-r): Cracker Barrel Marketing VP Peter Keisner; Caitlin Lynn; Sony Music Nashville Marketing VP Tom Baldrica; Will Snyder; Sony Music Nashville Chairman Joe Galante; Jypsi's Scarlett, Lillie Mae, Amber-Dawn, and Frank; and Grand Ole Opry VP/GM Pete Fisher.

Alan Jackson headlined AquaPalooza 2009 on Lake Martin, Alabama on Sat., July 25. Numerous Nashville music biz execs made the trip to the boating and music festival which also featured performances by Columbia Nashville duo Caitlin & Will and Arista Nashville group Jypsi. More than 4,000 boats and 35,000 people attended, setting a new record for any single event on a lake. Boats were packed bow to stern for over a mile, and many fans donned their inner tubes and water noodles to paddle close to the water-pit at the bottom of the stage. During the show, which was taped for CMT’s Labor Day special, Jackson spoke about childhood visits to Lake Martin with his family.

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Photo credit: Will Byington

Photo credit: Will Byington

Elsewhere on Saturday (7/25), Rascal Flatts became the first country act to perform a concert in historic Wrigley Field in Chicago. The group entertained a sold-out crowd of 37,000 fans, at one of only four concerts ever played in the Chicago Cubs’ home stadium. Vince Gill and Darius Rucker opened. The Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour visits its second stadium show of the summer Aug. 9 in Columbus, Ohio.

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jw1

Jimmy Wayne will appear on RFD’s Crook & Chase this week, performing his new single “I’ll Be That” and his No. 1 smash “Do You Believe Me Now.” He is pictured above with Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase on location at the Nashville Palace. The episode premieres Thursday 7/30.

Trade Organizations Work Best As Separate Entities

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While the goals of Nashville’s top three music trade groups are closely aligned, each has issues and objectives specific to its genre. The Country Music Association, Americana Music Association, and International Bluegrass Music Association work tirelessly to promote the music they represent to consumers and the industry.

A recent poll on MusicRow.com posed the following question: “Would Music City would be better off if the CMA, AMA and IBMA merged and became one large trade organization?” Our readers responded with an overwhelming “no.” The results were 77 percent “No,” and 23 percent “Yes.” The feeling is shared by the leaders of the three groups.

Dan Hays

Dan Hays

IBMA leader Dan Hays explains, “As genres of music…Bluegrass, Americana and Country music have important and interrelated connections with one another, but they’re three distinct communities. Each of the organizations listed, functions as the ‘chamber of commerce’ for their community and each has its own unique culture, economic climate and professional development needs. I believe both Music City and the music industry around the world benefit from having healthy organizations devoted to each. We work together with AMA and CMA whenever mutual opportunities arise (in addition to many other music trades), but having ‘one large trade organization’ would be akin to suggesting one Chamber of Commerce to serve New York, L.A. and Nashville.”

Tammy Genovese

Tammy Genovese

“While there are some artists and industry employees whose work crosses between them, Country, Bluegrass and Americana are three distinct genres of music,” agrees CMA CEO Tammy Genovese. “Each format is better served by having a specific trade association to represent them and their unique needs instead of one combined organization. However, we highly respect both the other organizations and all that they do.”

Jed Hilly

Jed Hilly

“I think the missions of each of these three organizations are very different as are the expectations of their respective memberships,” says Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the AMA. “While I believe in change and in collaboration, I don’t believe such a merger into one large trade association would make sense. As far as Nashville goes, the IBMA feels like a brother, CMA a cousin, but today, the cute girl at school is the NSO, and I am looking forward to that first date!”

Vote in the new poll on the home page of MusicRow.com—Do you follow MusicRow on Twitter, Facebook or both social networks?

Evergreen: Barker Leaves, Drops ICG Moniker

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john-barker-08John Barker resigned his position as President of Integrated Copyright Group (ICG) and Vice President of Evergreen Copyright Administration on Monday.

Following that, today Evergreen co-CEOs David Schulhof and Richard Perna announced that ICG has formally changed its company name to EverGreen Copyrights. All ICG remaining staff will continue as employees of EverGreen.

ICG, the Nashville-based global independent administration company now in its nineteenth year, was built by Barker and purchased by Evergreen more than three years ago. During this time he says, “many positive changes have occurred, including adding a number of very talented and experienced personnel. This progression has brought us to the point where I can now step away and know that the company will continue to provide the excellent services it always has.”

Barker will remain a stock holder in Evergreen Copyrights, and will stay on as a consultant for them for at least 12 months. His old email addresses should also continue to work.

Universal Republic, Big Machine Launch Republic Nashville

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harnen-borchetta

Jimmy Harnen, Scott Borchetta

Big Machine Records and Universal Republic have combined resources to form the new label Republic Nashville, which will be run by President Jimmy Harnen and headquartered on Music Row.

Republic Nashville’s inaugural roster will include honky tonkin’ singer/songwriter Sunny Sweeney and new country duo Fast Ryde, among other artists. A major staff announcement regarding the new label will be forthcoming.

Big Machine and Universal Republic—headed by Scott Borchetta and Monte Lipman, respectively—first worked together in 2007 to promote country superstar Taylor Swift.

Previously, Harnen was Senior Vice President of Promotion for Capitol Records, Nashville. From 2000 to 2003 he was Co-National Director of Promotion for DreamWorks Records in Nashville, working closely with Borchetta, who was a DreamWorks executive at the time. Harnen can be reached at [email protected] and at 615-324-7777.