Tag Archive for: Musical Chairs

Warner Ups Reeves To VP Promotion

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Bob Reeves

Warner Music Nashville announced today (2/8) the promotion of Bob Reeves from National Promotion Director to VP Promotion. In this new role, Reeves will continue to work with artists in the Warner Music Nashville family, which includes Atlantic Nashville, Reprise and Warner Bros. Nashville.

“When I came on board and saw all of the terrific A&R team we had working to develop our wonderful roster of artists, I also saw that we have in Bob an incredibly talented executive with the breadth of experience and creativity to help us take WMN to the next level,” says WMN Pres. John Esposito. “Throughout the course of his 20-year career, Bob has exhibited entrepreneurial initiative and has brought a very creative approach to getting the music of so many great artists to their fans. I look forward to working with him to drive even greater success for all of Warner Music Nashville artists.”

Reeves’ career includes time at Albany, NY’s WPTR radio; promotion gigs with CORE Records, River North, and Sony Music’s Monument and Epic; his own marketing and promotion partnership Integrity Nashville; and National Promotion Director stints with Midas and Montage. Since joining Warner Bros. Nashville in 2006, Reeves has been a part of No. 1 singles by Big & Rich, James Otto, and Blake Shelton.


BBR Adds Ferris; Capitol CRS Lunch

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Dawn Ferris

Broken Bow Records VP of Promotion Lee Adams and SVP of Promotion Carson James have added Dawn Ferris as Manager Regional Promotion, Midwest. She takes office Monday, Feb. 8 and will report directly to Adams. Ferris is a veteran of the Midwest region, having worked over 10 years at Arista Nashville, followed by a year at Equity Records. She can be reached at [email protected] or via phone at 214-924-1020.

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Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® has announced Eric Church and Emily West as this year’s performers for the Capitol Nashville luncheon during CRS 2010, to be held Feb. 24-26, 2010. The Capitol Nashville luncheon will be held on Friday, Feb. 26, from noon – 1:50 p.m. in the newly renovated CMA Performance Hall inside the Nashville Convention Center.

Church recently released his sophomore effort, Carolina, which yielded the Top 10 single, “Love Your Love the Most,” and the current single, “Hell on the Heart,” which is Top 25 and climbing.

West is known for powerful vocals and an energetic and engaging stage presence. Her new single “Blue Sky” features Keith Urban. She co-wrote the song with Gary Burr.

Registration for Country Radio Seminar 2010 is available at www.CRB.org.

Former Echo Execs Launch Sponsorship Agency

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Rockhouse Partners (l-r): Tawn Albright, Kevin Brown, and Joe Kustelski

Former echo/Ticketmaster executives Tawn Albright, Kevin Brown and Joe Kustelski have formed sponsorship agency Rockhouse Partners, which officially launches today (2/2) with a full slate of clients. The Nashville based company will focus on connecting sponsor brands to consumers in the music and sports industries through digital marketing strategy, online/offline activation programs, and new digital products, along with data aggregation and analysis.

Rockhouse Partners’ initial clients include C3 Presents (Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival), Lance Armstrong and the RadioShack Pro Cycling Team, Next BIG Nashville, the Tennessee State Fair, Nashville agencies like redpepper, and other entities across the entertainment vertical. The company’s target clients are sponsorship brokers, live entertainment properties, brands and their agencies, sports entities, advertising/marketing firms, and media companies.

In addition to Rockhouse Partners’ initial clients, the company has formed partnerships with Nashville entities including American Songwriter magazine and email marketing firm Emma; along with Austin-based design/development shop Smith & Robot.

Co-founders Albright, Brown, and Kustelski bring to Rockhouse Partners over 40 years combined experience in technology, digital media, consumer products, ticketing, live entertainment, artist management, promotions, start-ups, advertising, and Fortune 500 brands. The trio met at Echo, Ticketmaster Entertainment’s digital marketing firm, where Albright served as CEO, Brown led Strategic Marketing, and Kustelski was Vice President of Product & Technology. While collaborating at Ticketmaster/Echo, the Rockhouse Partners founders fine tuned their eye toward data by managing 15 million consumer database relationships, 200,000 paid fan club subscriptions, one million mobile fan records, and more than $25 million in ticket sales annually.

“From my days at The Coca-Cola Company in corporate development to Ticketmaster and Echo where we managed the digital presence for more than 250 artists, festivals, and properties; sponsorships have become the glue in connecting brands to the entertainment industry. The way the industry is moving, brands are demanding more value in the form of measuring data and proving ROI. We see a major opportunity to activate brands and fans in a meaningful, relevant, and interactive way,” stated Albright.

“We launched this venture hell-bent on not creating just another digital marketing firm. We’re creating scalable technology products that address specific business opportunities, we understand the value of data, and we bake measurement into everything we do,” said Kustelski.

“The response so far to our unique model has exceeded all expectations. We’re busy growing the team, building out our technology platform, and we’re beyond excited to take this next step,” said Brown. “2010 looks bright as we’ll be focusing on business development, with programs planned at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin and the annual IEG Sponsorship Conference in Chicago.”

“We can’t say enough great things about Rockhouse,” offers Courtney Graber, Director of Sponsorships for C3 Presents. “They have the unique ability to grasp digital strategy and technology at the highest level, combine that knowledge with an in-depth understanding of brand sponsorships, all the while being able to manage and measure the most critical success metrics.”

Contact Rockhouse at [email protected] or 615-772-4326. The Rockhouse offices are located at 2120 8th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37204.

Konicki Named Country Weekly Editor-In-Chief (updated)

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Lisa Konicki

Lisa Konicki

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — American Media, Inc. (AMI) announced today that Lisa Konicki, former Photo Editor of Country Weekly magazine, has been named the new Editor-in-Chief effective February 1. Konicki will also have responsibility over the brand’s web site, countryweekly.com.

It remains unofficial, but sources confirm that Larry Holden, the previous Editor-in-Chief has exited. Also leaving are David Scarlett and Jerry Holthouse.

In making the announcement, David Pecker, AMI president and CEO, said, “Lisa’s wealth of leadership qualities and exciting ideas will continue to make our magazine and its web site a must-read for fans of country music’s biggest stars.”

Konicki, who has been with the magazine for 13 years, said, “I’m excited to have the opportunity to serve Country Weekly as its new Editor-in-Chief. I look forward to making it the most influential voice in the country music market, both in print and online.”

Along with Konicki, other important staff changes included the appointment of new Managing Editor, Ken Tucker, who currently serves as Editor of Billboard Country Update. As managing editor, Tucker will oversee the writing and editorial staff.

Additionally, Country Weekly welcomes back former staffer Eva Elliott. Elliott, who has held the art director position at Relish and Spry magazines for the last four years, formerly served Country Weekly as the assistant art director and will now serve as art director. She will oversee the layout and design of the magazine.

Larry Holden can be reached at 615-491-2745 or [email protected].

David Scarlett can be reached at 615-500-1965 or [email protected].

About American Media, Inc.

American Media, Inc.  publishes  Star, Shape, Men’s Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, and The National Enquirer.  In addition to print properties, AMI manages 14 different web sites. The company also owns Distribution Services, Inc., the country’s #1 in-store magazine merchandising company.

Turnpike Staff Revealed; Republic Nashville Adds Blythe

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turnpikemusicNine North Records President Larry Pareigis has announced a new division of the virtual label/artist services company called Turnpike Music. The new division’s focus will be promotion and marketing of artists to secondary country radio.

“Establishing Turnpike will allow an entirely new level of highly targeted service to both new and existing clients moving forward,” says Pareigis. “This will fit hand-in-glove with what we’re already doing with mainstream Country radio at Nine North.”

Nine North staffers Greg Stevens ([email protected]) and Ryan Barnstead ([email protected]) will transition to National Director roles for Turnpike. Stevens will handle the West region and Barnstead has been stations in the East region. Both have been on staff with Nine North since its opening in 2007. “I’m excited about what the future will bring with Ryan and Greg superserving currently underserved indicator, activator and secondary stations with Turnpike,” Pareigis says.

Turnpike opens for business Monday, February 1. Announcements about the roster are forthcoming.

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Stacy Blythe headshot

Stacy Blythe

Republic Nashville has hired Stacy Blythe for the newly-created position of Southeast Promotion rep. She will be based in Nashville and report to Republic National Promo Dir. Bobby Young.

“Stacy’s passion, creativity and professionalism makes her the perfect addition to our amazing promotion staff,” says Young. “Hiring her is another great catch for Republic Nashville, and I’m confident it won’t take long for her to get up and running in the Southeast, becoming another key component of our organization!”

Blythe’s resume includes stops at 1720, Category 5, and most recently, Stoney Creek Records. She is a graduate of MTSU’s Recording Management program. Reach her at 615-887-9860 or [email protected]. 

Crook & Chase On WSIX; Paradiso Hires King

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ccNashville’s Big 98/WSIX-FM has added The Crook & Chase Countdown to the station’s lineup, starting yesterday (1/24). The Nashville-based program will air Sundays from 6 – 10 p.m. CT. Each week, Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase count down the top 30 Country music songs and interview the genre’s superstars and rising artists. The show is nationally syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on nearly 200 stations.

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Paradiso Music, LLC has added Steve King as Creative Director and Staff Producer. He will oversee production and artist development for the company founded in 1994 by John Pisciotta. During his twelve years in the Nashville music industry, King has held a variety of positions, working with unsigned independents to multi-platinum superstars. He has recorded and toured with Keith Urban, Jason Aldean, and Big Kenny among others. 
Paradiso Music is part of the Ripcord Entertainment parent company.

Blue Steel Builds Promo Team

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bsrBlue Steel Records’ label head Steve Pope has been building the radio promotion team. Steve Freeman will head the division as Promotion Director and oversee the Southeast territory. Joining Freeman are Blake Hunter handling the Midwest region, and Faron Smith as the West Coast rep. First on the schedule is working Burns & Poe’s new single, “Don’t Get No Better Than That.” The duo is gearing up for a full album release and radio promotion tour. The single is set to impact country radio on Feb. 2, 2010, with a music video following in the coming weeks.

Freeman is a songwriter and producer who also spent 14 years in radio as on-air talent and Program Director. He held positions at KSSN/Little Rock, KMVK/Little Rock, WKXJ/Chattanooga, KFAY/Fayetteville and KTTI/Yuma. Contact: 615-478-4593;  [email protected]

Hunter began his radio career at KSSN/Little Rock as an on-air personality and image director. Over the last ten years, he’s spent time as an on-air talent at KCJC-KVOM/Russellville, AR, and others, and secured KCJC-KVOM and KCNY as reporters for the MusicRow Country Breakout chart. Contact: 501-553-2982; [email protected]

Smith has spent the last 10 years fine-tuning his relationships with all forms of media, including working promotional campaigns for BMW/MINI, Bronco Camp For Kids, and Texas Motor Speedway. He has also had experience handling radio promotion on the West Coast. Contact: 505-990-9641; [email protected]

Leadership Music Begins Exec. Dir. Search

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lmuNashville-based Leadership Music has begun its search for a new executive director to replace Kira Florita, whose resignation as the chief staff executive becomes effective Jan. 18. Pat Collins, SESAC chief operating officer and president of the Leadership Music Board of Directors, is chair of the five-member search committee.
Applicants must have experience leading small teams, a history of working well with volunteers as well as board members, and a background in accounting/finance. Resumes and letters of interest should be sent to [email protected]. A more detailed description of this position can be found at www.leadershipmusic.org . Resumes will be accepted through Feb. 8.
Leadership Music, Inc. is an educational non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1989. Its mission is to nurture a knowledgeable, issue-oriented community of music industry professionals through an annual education program and other events.

Conway’s New Firm Consulting For Ronnie Gilley Entertainment

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tonyVeteran Nashville talent executive Tony Conway has formed an entertainment consulting firm and will be acting as talent consultant and executive producer for Ronnie Gilley Entertainment. RGE’s live entertainment interests include the annual BamaJam Music & Arts Festival, as well as the multiplex of venues at the new multi-million dollar Country Crossing destination near Dothan, Alabama, which is having its grand opening this weekend.

This is the first of several projects and companies Conway will announce in the next few weeks.

Last November Conway left his post as CEO and co-owner of Nashville based Buddy Lee Attractions after 33 years with the agency.

Conway is currently serving as Executive Producer of RGE’s 2010 BamaJam Music & Arts Festival, running June 3-5 in Enterprise, Alabama; as well as the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, June 10-13.

As part of his new association, he will consult on talent and the development of additional special events, festivals and live music concert presentations in the planning stages for the Ronnie Gilley Entertainment group.

Conway is taking the talent reins for RGE’s 3rd Annual Verizon Wireless BamaJam Music & Arts Festival, with more than 40 artists scheduled to appear on four music stages, including Hank Williams, Jr., Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, Miranda Lambert, and LoCash Cowboys. The event near Enterprise, Alabama drew in excess of 125,000 fans last year.

Conway is also overseeing this weekend’s (Jan. 15-17) Grand Opening celebration at Country Crossing. Twenty artists are set to perform at the three-day extravaganza, including Tracy Lawrence, Joe Nichols, Darryl Worley, Neal McCoy, Lorrie Morgan, John Anderson, The Commodores, and Pam Tillis. The attraction’s venues set to celebrate official openings this weekend are the George Jones Possum Holler Bed & Breakfast, Lorrie Morgan’s Hot Chicken, John Anderson’s Cafeteria, Darryl Worley’s Worley Bird Saloon, and The Grascals Bluegrass Hollow RV Park.

In his work with RGE, Conway will continue to based in Nashville. Contact information for Conway is: [email protected] / 615-478-4989

Show Dog-Universal Music Makes Staff Announcement

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toby-mark

Toby Keith and Mark Wright

Staff members are in place for the newly merged Show Dog—Universal Music label. Toby Keith, who started Show Dog Nashville as an independent record company in 2005, is Principle of the combined outfit, and previous Universal South Pres. Mark Wright will remain on as President of the merged venture. The artist rosters for both labels remain intact at this point, led by hit acts Keith, Joe Nichols, Randy Houser and Phil Vassar.

Show Dog—Universal Music staffers:
George Nunes, General Manager, [email protected], 615-324-7780
Teddi Bonadies, VP Strategic Marketing and Promotion, [email protected], 615-259-5308
Bill Kennedy, VP Sales, Marketing & New Media, [email protected], 615-324-7771
Rick Moxley, VP Promotion, [email protected], 615-324-7766
Cliff Audretch, III, Sr. Director A&R/Staff Producer, [email protected], 615-259-5309
Carie Long, Sr. Director A&R Operations, [email protected], 615-259-5303
PJ Olsen, Director, Research & Information Systems, [email protected], 615-324-7775
Sloane Cavitt, Manager Sales, Marketing & New Media, [email protected], 615-324-7772
Laurie Gore, Manager of Promotion, [email protected], 615-259-5380
Natalie Moore, Manager of Artist Development & Creative Services, [email protected], 615-259-5390
Suzanne Durham, Regional Promotion & Marketing Director, [email protected], 615-324-7768
Rick Hughes, Regional Promotion & Marketing Director, [email protected], 615-259-5371
Lisa Owen, Regional Promotion & Marketing Director, [email protected], 310-376-2258
Jordan Pettit, Regional Promotion & Marketing Director, [email protected], 615-259-5383
Greg Sax, Regional Promotion & Marketing Director, [email protected], 615-324-7778
Macy Morgenthaler, A&R Coordinator, [email protected], 615-259-5307

Others on the roster include Carter’s Chord, Mica Roberts, Trailer Choir, Baylie Brown, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Eli Young Band, Andy Gibson, Jennifer Hanson, Shooter Jennings, Jonathan Singleton & The Grove, Ashley Ray, Angela Wolff, and Kevin Costner & Modern West.

Contact information for exiting staffers:
Jay Bradley, 615-500-3436, [email protected]
Arturo Buenahora, 615-417-4573, [email protected]
Bruce Burton, 615-428-3077, [email protected]
Rhonda Christensen, 818-521-8593, [email protected]
Marty Craighead, 615-545-3111, [email protected]
Karin Cupit, 615-305-9657, [email protected]
Van Fletcher, 615-210-2920, [email protected]
Fletcher Foster, 615-519-9071, [email protected]
Karen McGuire, 512-639-8997, [email protected]