Musical Chairs: W.A.Y. Ent., Republic Nashville

wayFormer Sony execs. Jon Elliot and Christian Svendsen have formed W.A.Y. Entertainment, a fully integrated entertainment company. The Nashville-based outfit will specialize in artist management and marketing services, and also offer merchandise and TV production through partnerships with A3 Merchandise and Relay Productions. With combined experience of more than 30 years and backgrounds in promotion, marketing and artist development, Elliot and Svendsen will support their client base across all platforms.

Elliot was most recently VP of Marketing & Artist Development for Arista/Nashville and the RCA Records label, overseeing all of the branding and imaging for artists including Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley and Martina McBride, among others. Previously, Elliot was at RCA (NY) where he was part of the marketing team that launched the Dave Matthews Band. Svendsen was most recently Director of Strategic Marketing for Sony Nashville and was responsible for the TV film initiatives for all four Sony labels. Svendsen began his career at Sony as Southwest Regional and was responsible for radio promotion and marketing for Kenny Chesney, Lonestar, Kellie Pickler and Lorrie Morgan, among others.

Contact information for W.A.Y Entertainment:
Jon Elliot, 615-390-6773, jon@way-entertainment.com
Christian Svendsen, 214-557-0097, christian@way-entertainment.com

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Weslea Bartholomew has joined the Republic Nashville team as Director of Southwest Promotion. A graduate of the University of New Mexico, Bartholomew has more than 5 years of radio experience, serving as both an on-air talent and as Assistant Program Director of WBEE in Rochester, NY. Bartholomew will be based out of her hometown of Albuquerque, NM. She may be reached at weslea.bart@republicnashville.com

Alicia Torres will serve as Label Resource Manager/ Executive Assistant to Republic Nashville President Jimmy Harnen. A graduate of Appalachian State University, Torres’ previous professional endeavors include serving as Booking & Promotions Agent for Mountain Cowboy Music; Regional Marketing & Advertising Rep at HQ Management and New Monkey Studios; Sponsorship Coordinator and Street Team Manager for Music on the Mountain; News Anchor for WASU-FM as well as the President and Concert Organizer of the MEISA Music Festival. Torres most recently served as SAG/ AFTRA Licensing Coordinator for MTV Networks Viacom in New York. She may be reached at alicia.torres@republicnashville.com.

Whisperin’ Bill Still Making Noise

Bill Anderson is having a good week with the release of two new co-writes.

Bill Anderson is having a good week with the release of two new co-writes.

Whisperin’ Bill Anderson was already having a wonderful vacation when he received a phone call from Terry Wakefield at Sony/ATV that made his trip that much better. Wakefield let him know the status of two of Anderson’s co-writes: Sugarland‘s “Joey” hit the national country charts at No. 50 yesterday (6/29), and today (6/30) Brad Paisley released a new album containing his cut “No.”

Coincidentally, Anderson says, “Some of my biggest hits in the past have been songs with only one-word titles, so if I’m lucky, maybe I can add a couple more to that list in the near future.”

Brotherly Love w/ Bellamys & Bacons; Plus Artist LifeNotes

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Pictured (L-R): David Bellamy, Kevin Bacon, Howard Bellamy and Michael Bacon.

The Bellamy Brothers have released a new single and video with The Bacon Brothers titled “Guilty of the Crime.” The song is currently in medium rotation on CMT Pure and featured worldwide on CMT.com. Directed by Laura Lyness, the video was shot in a single day inside a prison in Memphis.  The video features both sets of brothers and former Beverly Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty. “Guilty of the Crime” is the first single from the Bellamy Brothers’s forthcoming album, The Anthology, Vol. 1.  It will be available Aug. 1 on their Web site (www.BellamyBrothers.com) and at iTunes. The collection will be released in stores on Sept. 29.

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MCA recording artist Josh Turner and his wife Jennifer welcomed their second son, Colby Lynch Turner, to the family on Friday, June 26. The Turner’s are also parents to two-year-old Hampton. “I’m just a proud daddy right now,” says Turner. “Jennifer gave birth to another healthy baby boy. Hampton loves being a big brother and we’re just one big happy family.” Turner has spent the last several weeks in the studio recording his fourth album. “My producer, Frank Rogers, jokingly told Jennifer that she needed to wait until we finished my record before she had the baby,” recalls Turner. “We finished the album last Thursday at 6:00pm. After I got home, Jennifer went into labor and we were at the hospital by 10:30pm that night. Now that’s what I call perfect timing.”
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SheDaisy’s leading lady Kassidy Osborn became the bride of longtime boyfriend Derek Williamson recently in a private ceremony in San Diego, California. Joined by their families, the couple exchanged vows at the LDS Temple. SheDaisy is gearing up for the release of its fifth album on Lyric Street Records. The multi-platinum sister trio is in the midst of summer tour dates.

Lady A Added To Now! 31 Pop Comp

e1246301407Lady Antebellum’s current Top 5 single “I Run to You” has been added to the upcoming Now! 31 compilation disc scheduled to be released June 30. The Capitol Nashville trio is the only country act on this latest in a series of discs, part of the long-running Now That’s What I Call Music series that has sold over 75 million units worldwide.

“It is hard to describe what it feels like for me to see our name on the same CD package as Beyonce,” says lead vocalist Hillary Scott. “I’m seriously pinching myself.”  Other artists with tracks on Now! 31 are Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Jamie Foxx and Nickelback.

Lady Antebellum is currently on the road playing arenas and stadiums across the country opening for Kenny Chesney. They are also scheduled to pair with Keith Urban in the fall for a series of dates that will take them across Canada.

Browser Battles—FireFox Launches 3.5

ffWhile it might be easy to wave aside upgrades in surf technology as being unconnected to the entertainment industry, it would be an over simplification and a mistake. The browser opens our window to the online world, the growing point of contact between artists and fans, plus buyers and sellers of; tickets, music files, merchandise and more.

Currently the latest statistics show Internet Explorer (66%), FireFox (22%) and Safari (8%) leading the pack in terms of marketshare. Google’s new Chrome browser, with less than a 2% share, is also attracting early attention.

“One of our biggest challenges is helping people to understand that they have a choice about their Web browser, and how big a difference that choice can make,” Firefox Director Mike Beltzner told Cnet. “Every release is an opportunity for us to bring improvements directly to our growing user base, but also help many users indirectly by putting pressure on Microsoft to improve their product as well.”

Firefox 3.5, available today (6/30) is loaded with improvements, the most noticeable of which is speed and complexity. Using a new javascript engine it named TraceMonkey, the browser can render pages faster, plus handle new file formats. It can also utilize new design options and functionality to improve platforms we use every day such as social networking and messaging.

Apple’s Safari product also just released a new updated version which accomplishes many of the same benefits found in FireFox 3.5. FireFox and Safari, the new kids on the block have steadily gained marketshare against Internet Explorer which has failed to keep pace with younger upstarts. The rebalancing of consumer preferences means that artists, labels and companies must be sure that online offerings work smoothly with all three browsers.

Browser MarketShare

Q406: IE 80%; FF 13.5%; Safari 4%

Q407: IE 77.3%; FF 15.85%; Safari 5.25%

Q209: IE 66%; FF 22%; Safari 8%

source: Hitslink Market Share

Artists Celebrate Summer on Field and Water

Photo: Randi Radcliff

Carrie Underwood at the Celebrity Softball Challenge. Photo: Randi Radcliff

Last month’s Nashville Celebrity Softball Challenge, held each year in conjunction with CMA Music Festival, raised over $100,000 for City of Hope’s research, treatment and education for cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The Grand Ole Opry team defeated the After Midnite team. Stepping up to the plate to help the charity were notable Nashvillians and country music celebrities including Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Josh Turner, Jake Owen and many more.

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The 6th Annual Vince Gill and Amy Grant Golf Classic will be held Aug. 3-4 in Aspen, with proceeds benefiting the charity Challenge Aspen. As part of the gala and golf tournament, Gill and Grant will headline an evening of  cocktails, auctions, dinner and a concert, and the following day will join event co-host and golf legend Fred Funk on the links at the Aspen Golf and Tennis Club. Challenge Aspen provides year-round recreational, cultural and competitive experiences for anyone with a disability.

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(L-R): Tennessee Titan's head coach Jeff Fisher and Carter's Chord's Becky, Emily and Joanna Robertson

(L-R): Tennessee Titan's head coach Jeff Fisher and Carter's Chord's Becky, Emily and Joanna Robertson

Show Dog Nashville’s Carter’s Chord recently sang the national anthem at the 2009 Jeff Fisher & Friends Charity Softball Game at Greer Stadium to benefit the Nashville Children’s Alliance, Mercy Ministries, Soles4Souls, Catch-A-Dream and several other local charities.

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You don’t need a ticket, you just need a boat to see Alan Jackson rock Lake Martin, Alabama on July 25. He will headline SeaRay’s Aquapalooza Signature Event on the lake where he and his family often spend time on their boat. AquaPalooza is a series of on-water celebrations held during the last two weekends in July at more than 100 locations around the world. Each gathering features family activities such as live entertainment, games, giveaways and more. Organizers expect the fourth annual World’s Largest Boating Party will break the record of 12,000 boats and 56,000 attendees set last year.

Kristofferson Named BMI Icon, Awards Date Set

photo: Mary Ellen Mark

photo: Mary Ellen Mark

Kris Kristofferson will be honored as a BMI Icon at the U.S. music rights organization’s 57th annual Country Awards. Slated for Tuesday, November 10 in Nashville, the black-tie, invitation-only gala will celebrate the songwriters of the past year’s most-performed country songs from the BMI catalog. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Nashville Writer/Publisher VP Jody Williams, the event will honor the Country Songwriter of the Year, Country Publisher of the Year and Most Performed Country Song of the Year, also known as the Robert J. Burton Award.

The Icon designation is given to BMI songwriters and artists who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Kristofferson, who will be saluted with an all-star musical tribute that evening, joins an elite list of past honorees that includes country music stalwarts Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Charlie Daniels, Loretta Lynn and last year’s honoree Hank Williams Jr., along with multi-genre nobility like the Bee Gees, James Brown, Crosby, Stills & Nash and more.

With the penetration of a poet and the humbling grace of a troubadour, Kristofferson built a legendary career recognized for versatility and authenticity. He has received 48 BMI Country and Pop Awards for his compositions including “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Why Me,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” Three Grammys line his shelves. He is a three-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, and eight of his compositions have generated substantially more than one million performances.

While he wrote most of his masterpieces alone, his co-writers include giants Shel Silverstein, Marijohn Wilkin, and Fred Foster. He has starred in numerous films, including Lone Star, the Blade trilogy, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, A Star Is Born, for which he garnered a Golden Globe, and Songwriter, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Along with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash, Kristofferson also formed the Highwaymen. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Recording now for New West Records, he will release a new album in September. A Rhodes Scholar capable of choosing virtually any path, Kristofferson decided to write songs, and for that, purveyors and lovers of American music are eternally grateful.

821 Grows the Hollywood-Nashville Connection

821821 Entertainment, the Music City company headed by Pres. Anastasia Brown and CEO Eric Geadelmann, has optioned the film rights to one of John Grisham’s biggest bestsellers. That project, along with the company’s upcoming Roy Rogers trilogy, will offer many possibilities for the use of Nashville music, says 821 COO Graham Chalfant.

Grisham has been declining offers to make a movie of his novel The Testament—one of his personal favorites—since its release in 1999. But well-known producers Mark Johnson (Chronicles of Narnia, The Notebook, Donnie Brasco, Rain Man) and Hunt Lowry (Grisham’s A Time To Kill, Last of The Mohicans, Blue Collar Comedy Tour) convinced him otherwise. Johnson, an Academy Award winner, and Lowry partnered with 821 to co-produce The Testament and provide development financing.

The film, set in Washington DC and the Brazillian outback, is about a billionaire who leaves his fortune to an illegitimate daughter living in Brazil, and the lawyer who helps her fend off her father’s other relatives.

Chalfant, a former banker, says 821 is now focused on finding a screenwriter and adapting the novel in a way that Grisham sees fit. The company could finance the project but would prefer to co-finance with a studio. According to Variety, 821 is “in the throes of raising $250 million in equity and debt to finance productions with ‘heartland appeal.’”

With plans to work on 16 films in the next five years, 821 is also busy with its newly announced King of the Cowboys film trilogy based on Roy Rogers. Through a partnership with Rogers’ heirs, there will be a family fantasy adventure movie, as well as animated TV, interactive game and merchandising efforts.

Geadelmann and Chalfant recently sat down with Fox News to elaborate on the company’s effort to turn stories from America’s heartland into movies and television shows. Watch it at http://www.821entertainment.com/foxbusiness.cfm

CMA Fest To Rock TV, First Awards Ballot Coming

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Country Music takes center stage when CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock airs Monday, Aug. 31 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network. Filmed in Nashville June 11-14, the special has been expanded to three hours. Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Sugarland and Taylor Swift are the first performers to be confirmed, with more artists to be announced soon. This year an average of 56,000 fans attended each day of CMA Music Festival, its biggest turnout yet. CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock is executive-produced by Robert Deaton and directed by Gary Halvorson.

In related CMA news, ballots for the Nominating Round of the CMA Awards will be emailed out tomorrow (6/30). Below are the changes for the upcoming CMA Awards:
• The top 20 qualified vote recipients on the Nomination Ballot will advance to the Second Ballot in categories 2-12. In category 1 (Entertainer of the Year), the top 15 qualified vote recipients will advance to the Second Ballot.
• The Horizon Award is now the “New Artist of the Year” Award.

Revolving Door: Stoney Creek, Sony, LifeNotes

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Ash Bowers

Stoney Creek Records, the new label founded by Broken Bow owner Benny Brown, has signed Ash Bowers. and is planning the release of his first album. The Buddy Cannon produced project contains seven songs penned by Bowers, as well as the new single, “Stuck,” which was written by Billy Montana and Frank Myers and goes for adds Aug. 17. Bowers is managed by Shawn Pennington of Matchless Management.
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Sony Music Nashville announces that Jon Elliot, VP, Artist Development & Marketing, and Christian Svendsen, Director, Strategic Marketing, are departing the company to form a new venture. Exact exit dates are pending. Interested persons may submit resumes at www.sonymusic.com once the position is posted.
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The Lost Trailers’ Stokes Nielson and his wife Maria are proud parents of a healthy baby boy born Mon., June 22 in Nashville. Weighing in at 7.7 lbs, both the little one and his mom are doing well. He is also happily welcomed by a big sister.

Cindy Watts, entertainment writer at The Tennessean, and her husband Richard Kimzey welcomed their first child together on Thurs., June 25. Kansas May Halcyon Watts-Kimzey weighed 7 lbs 12 oz, and was 21 inches long. Baby and mother are happy and healthy. Kansas joins nine-year-old half-sister Madison.