Rascal Flatts Feted For No. 1 Single, Platinum Album

MusicRow Pres./Owner Sherod Robertson (R) presents a plaque to Jason Sellers (L) for the song reaching No. 1 on MusicRow's CountryBreakout chart. Photo: Christie King


Music executives gathered last night (8/3) to celebrate the recent chart-topping success of the Rascal Flatts hit “I Won’t Let Go,” from the pens of songwriters Jason Sellers and Steve Robson. It was the band’s 13th career No. 1 single.
ASCAP and the Flatts’ label home Big Machine Records hosted the evening at Nashville’s downtown Hard Rock Cafe. Big Machine boss Scott Borchetta upped the ante when he shared news that Rascal Flatts’s Nothing Like This album has been certified platinum.
“As we all know, the one-million sales mark of any album by any artist in the current environment is a big, big deal and I’m proud as can be that our first album with Rascal Flatts has hit this milestone,” said Borchetta. “Working with Gary, Joe Don and Jay over the last year has been an absolute blast and I look forward to making a lot more great Rascal Flatts music with them. They are consummate professionals, are ridiculously talented and it seems that they are having more fun than ever being in Rascal Flatts. I’m honored to have them with us at Big Machine.” Since 2000, the band has sold more than 20 million albums.
Publishers were on hand to salute the songwriters behind the “I Won’t Let Go.” Sony/ATV’s Troy Tomlinson toasted Sellers, and BMG Chrysalis’s Darrell Franklin read a letter from Robson, who was in London with his family and unable to attend.
Jay DeMarcus spoke for the band, “With God’s help we have been able to bring together a wonderful group of people to surround and reinvigorate our career. We are living a dream come true.”

Jay DeMarcus, Jason Sellers, Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox and Scott Borchetta. Photo: Ed Rode


 

CRS Sneak Peek

Country Radio Seminar organizers are giving an early look into what lies ahead at CRS 2012. The annual event will return to the downtown Nashville Convention Center Feb. 22-24, 2012.
Keynote—Bob Pittman, Clear Channel’s Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms, kicks off CRS 2012 with the keynote address on Wed., Feb. 22.
Research—CRS has commissioned a far-reaching national Country radio study, which will debut exclusively at CRS 2012.
Education—Panels will cover social media in-depth, digital transition challenges, promotion strategies, branding and ratings, as well as the latest in PPM and radio diary technology.
Musical Performances—A special Wednesday night performance event is debuting at CRS 2012, along with Friday’s popular New Faces show, the PRO songwriter showcases and three label luncheon concerts.
Awards—The Country Radio Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony unofficially kicks off CRS 2012 in the Nashville Convention Center on Tues., Feb. 21, 2012.
More than 2,600 industry professionals attended Country Radio Seminar last year. Details and the early bird registration rate of $399 are available for a limited time at www.CountryRadioSeminar.com or by calling (615) 327-4487.

Richard Falken Joins Cumulus Nashville

Richard Falken


Cumulus Radio is beefing up its Nashville team with the addition of radio vet Richard Falken. The CMA and ACM award-winning radio producer has been named Director of Promotion over all of the cluster’s local stations. Falklen makes the move from Clear Channel where he served as producer of Gerry House and The House Foundation for the past six years.
At Cumulus Falken will report directly to VP/Market Manager, Mike Carpenter. The cluster includes Super Talk 99.7/WTN, 92Q/WQQK, 95.5-FM/WSM, Classic Hits 97.1/WRQQ, and i106/WNFN.
Falklen is also the owner and president of Lighthearted Productions, Inc., and has held positions at Wolf Fang Productions, Ltd., Music Sales Corporation and The Lou Levy Music Company in New York City.
A graduate of Arizona State University and Florida State University, Falklen is a committee member for the Music City Tennis Invitational and current president of the Middle Tennessee Tennis Association.

Promo Change at Warner Music Nashville

Warner Music Nashville’s W.A.R promotion team member Rhonda Christensen will be leaving the company on Aug. 31. She has chosen to step down from her post as West Coast Regional in order to spend time taking care of her family, in the wake of health issues on the homefront.
Christensen says, “It was an honor for me to help launch the W.A.R. Promotion team and to make a significant impact on new artists like Frankie Ballard, Brett Eldredge and Gloriana…but right now, I need to focus on my family.” Warner Music Nashville is accepting applications for her position, send resumes to Carolyn.Drosey@WMG.com.

Mike McVay Headed To Cumulus

Programming consultant Mike McVay has announced that he will head to Cumulus Media in Atlanta September 1, where he will become Sr. VP/Programming alongside Jan Jeffries. He will exit the consultancy he founded 28 years ago, which has grown to include divisions for syndication, new media, and Listener Driven Radio. The move should take place around the time that Cumulus Media’s $2.4 billion purchase of Citadel closes.
McVay Media also recently added radio veteran Charlie Cook as President, and it will soon be renamed McVay/Cook & Associates. Cook’s new weekly radio column for MusicRow, “Charlie Cook On Air,” started last week.

Weekly Chart Report (7/29/11)





MCA’s Kip Moore (“Mary Was The Marrying Kind”) dropped by the KEGA studios in Salt Lake City (L-R): KEGA MD Jon Watkins, Moore, KEGA PD Alan Hague




SPIN ZONE
Third time continues to be a charm for Lady Antebellum, whose “Just A Kiss” earns its third consecutive week at No. 1 on the CountryBreakout Chart. Inching toward the top on its heels are Zac Brown Band’s “Knee Deep” at No. 2, Trace Adkins’ “Just Fishin’” at No. 3 and Kenny Chesney’s “You and Tequila” at No. 4. But seeing as how Toby Keith’s “Made In America” just piled on 232 new spins and jumped 8-5, it could shoot right past some of these titles in the next week.
Montgomery Gentry has a new label home in Average Joe’s, and radio clearly hasn’t lost its love for the hitmaking duo. Eddie and Troy’s latest, “Where I Come From” had a big debut at No. 63 last week, and it’s already moved on up to No. 44 following a gain of nearly 300 spins. That puts them right behind labelmate Corey Smith, whose “Twenty One” is at No. 41.
New debuts for the week include Justin Moore’s “Bait A Hook” at No. 69, Mark Willis’ “Crazy Bein’ Home” at No. 79, and Teea Goans’ “Letter From God” at No. 80.
Frozen Playlists: KMKS, KTKS, KVWF, KYYK, WBKR, WDGG, WIBL, WKKW, WKWS, WTCR



Upcoming Singles
August 1
Justin Moore/Bait A Hook/Valory
Amber Hayes/Wait/Flying Island
August 8
Danny Gokey/Second Hand Heart/RCA
The Band Perry/All Your Life/Republic Nashville
• • • • •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Justin Moore/Bait a Hook/Valory — 69
Mark Wills/Crazy Bein’ Home/Tenacity — 79
Teea Goans/Letter From God/Crosswind — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Blake Shelton/God Gave Me You/Warner Bros./WMN — 459
Taylor Swift/Sparks Fly/Big Machine — 309
Montgomery Gentry/Where I Come From/Average Joe’s — 297
Justin Moore/Bait a Hook/Valory — 238
Toby Keith/Made In America/Show Dog-Universal — 232
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Montgomery Gentry/Where I Come From/Average Joe’s — 24
Blake Shelton/God Gave Me You/Warner Bros./WMN — 17
Justin Moore/Bait a Hook/Valory — 17
The Band Perry/All Your Life/Republic Nashville — 12
Eric Paslay/Never Really Wanted/EMI Nashville — 11
Taylor Swift/Sparks Fly/Big Machine — 11
Tracy Lawrence/The Singer/Lawrence Music Group — 11
Martina McBride/I’m Gonna Love You Through It/Republic Nashville — 10
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
The McClymonts/Wrapped Up Good/BSM — 223
Brad Wolfe/Love Ought To Be Perfect/Evergreen — 198
Ashton Shepherd/Where Country Grows/MCA — 170
Kevin Fowler/Hell Yeah, I Like Beer/Average Joe’s Ent. — 170
Cash Creek/Unlikely Angel/Ohana Music Group — 163

Stokes Nielson (formerly of the Lost Trailers) recently launched his own entertainment brand marketing company called Stokes Tunes. The company is working with artist Corbette Jackson among others and the two recently visited WUSY/Chattanooga. (L-R): Mo from WUSY Mid-day show Dex & Mo, radio vet and former Clear Channel Nashville market manager Tom English, WUSY PD Gator Harrison, Jackson and Nielson.


WPOC/Baltimore presented its Six Flags Catch A Rising Star Country Festival on Saturday, July 23 in Bowie, Maryland. The concert featured performers Margaret Durante, Dustin Lynch, Randy Montana, and host Kix Brooks. (L-R): Montana, Lynch, Brooks, Durante and WPOC's Justin Cole


Permian Records/Nine North artist Brian Milson introduced his James Stroud-produced, Jeffrey Steele/Shane Minor-penned single “The Man I’m Not” at Country Giant 94.7 (WGSQ) Cookeville, Tenn. (L-R): WGSQ's Styckman, Milson, Nine North's Larry Pareigis, WGSQ's Philip Gibbons and Operations Manager Jonathan Monk.

Spins.FM Turns Dial Toward Nashville


David Baker


Since last week (7/19), when MusicRow wrote about Spins.fm, an interactive tool designed to convert social networking fans into radio requests, there are rumblings that a few high profile country artists are set to take the technology for a “spin.”
Spins.fm has created two widgets to help leverage an artist’s social networking success into FM radio success. One widget goes on radio station Facebook pages and the other can be embedded in Facebook pages for labels and/or artists.
David Baker, Spins.fm founder is excited about the possibilities. “I’ve been making websites for 12 years and over the last five years working exclusively with artists,” says Baker who was born in Hawaii and currently lives in New York. “Artist websites, social media campaigns, everything related to the internet with artists. We started exploring this radio opportunity last year. There is lots of activity with online and streaming radio, but the fact remains that for local artist shows and appearances there is nothing that comes even close to the power of FM terrestrial radio. We wanted to bridge the gap between social media and local radio.”
The company has had early success with urban and Top 40 radio formats, but Nashville and country music is still an untried destination. “Regardless of the format,” says Baker, “we are staying focused on our core products for artists, labels and stations and trying to improve on them by incentivizing fans to participate and allowing artists to reward the fans for a request.”
What is the million dollar question? As the embedded widgets leverage social networks turning the followers, likes and fans into the tip of the request spear, will those requests actually cause the desired result—more airplay?
“Yes, that is the million dollar question,” says Baker. “Right now we can’t explicitly state that if you sign up for a Spins.fm campaign your song will be No. 1 on the radio. However, we have developed a number of case studies showing some really positive correlations and results. Hot Chelle Rae is our most recent success story. When we started they were at 0 and the record is now No. 7 on Billboard. We can’t take all the credit of course, but their team is giving us lots of credit for that. In terms of case studies, we are getting more data each month.”
Baker is intent upon continuing to fine tune the interactive process. “In a few weeks we will introduce a new audio feature that allows fans to record their requests,” Baker says. “A lot of stations say they love the social media requests, but would also like the ability to play the audio requests on the air, like they do traditionally from call ins. From the fan side it gives them another outlet to show support for their favorite artists and from the stations side we’re hoping it will drive adoption. We are also rolling out new features on the FaceBook side, so that after a fan makes a request they can dedicate the request to one of their friends which makes it more viral and gets more people involved.”
With the powerful role that fm radio plays for country artists, it certainly seems sensible to give Spins.fm a test drive. Should it prove capable, it could become a powerful career force for the artists most able to wield its power.

Charlie Cook On-Air


Charlie Cook

The R Word

I know many of you as I have been in this business for 40 years. All of my business life has been in radio and most of it in Country Music. I lived in Nashville in the mid and late ’80s but have been coming to town since the mid ’70s for the Country Radio Seminar.
I am currently on the board of both the ACM and the CMA. I was chairman and president of the ACM in the old days and served on the CRB board for over 20 years. I was president of the CRB for a year or two during that span.
Today I am Director of Programming and Brand Management for West Virginia Radio Corp, based in Morgantown, WV and president of McVay/Cook and Associates a media consulting company based in Cleveland. I live in Morgantown and pay property taxes in California. That’s for another article.
This introduction is to lay out some credentials as David Ross has asked me to write a weekly column for MusicRow and I am most often going to come at it from my perspective of being from the radio community.
Hanging out as much as I do with record employees, and others making their living in Country Music I can feel the boos rising from Nashville. I don’t think that the two industries are at cross purposes, but we have some things that should be addressed with a blunt force. I trust that David knows what he is getting into with me as a contributor. I am closer to the end of my career than the beginning of my work life. I am not looking for a job. I have enough friends and I will say what I believe to be true.
I also understand that many others will have a different, very worthwhile opinion. I hope that we can all listen and maybe even change…not our stand on things, but our rigidity towards the other side.
I will talk about things that impact the record, publishing, production and promotion community from the radio side. I want to explore playlist size, PPM (a new system for measuring the radio audience in the top 48 markets), promotion for play, research and many other things that make our jobs easier and harder at the same time.
The R Word
I would like to start off today with the R word. I hear from record promotion staffers (I suspect that this is coming from higher up the chain) that research is the devil’s tool. It is only evil when it presents an excuse for radio to not play or stop playing one of their songs. John Hart is the most popular guy in town when the information is positive. Research cuts both ways and it is only as credible as the source. It is also only as credible as the question asked.
Many music research projects are done in a vacuum. Listeners should be informed why the information is being collected. If you ask a person, “do you like chocolate?” you’re going to get on answer based on how they feel right now about chocolate. If you ask them, “do you like chocolate more than vanilla to the conclusion of not having vanilla for the next ten weeks?” you might get a completely different answer.
“I am going to play you the new Dudley Doofus song. Please tell me, on a scale of one to five how much you like the song.” This is a very different question than, “in the context of the radio station you listen to everyday, how would you rate this Dudley Doofus song? Would you like to hear it more or less than your current favorite song on the radio?”
Let’s get back to my first comment about giving something back to the listener. Giving them more of what they like is all about understanding what makes them gravitate to a specific radio station and a particular artist.
In Nashville you have three radio stations that play current-based Country Music. The top songs are all the same across these three music stations. I can tell you the one station in that mix who is doing some music research. It is WSM-FM. I can tell by the difference in the songs once you get below the top tunes.
You know that there is more than just music in the mix on successful radio stations. If, as I contend, WSM-FM is researching their music, how come they are not the number one Country station in town? Well, they are still trying to find their footing with their morning show. They have been many different things over the years. Live 95, 95 the Wolf and now WSM-FM. The listener knows that 95.5 plays Country Music, but what is happening around the music is less defined.
The company has been successful in Dallas and Indianapolis with their Country products, where they get the morning shows right. Both of these stations have had long time images, built by another company and not tinkered with (outside of personnel) by the parent company. I know that research has driven those decisions.
Asking the listener, understanding the listener and delivering the goods, based on that, will win. Everytime.

CRS2012 Names Pittman Keynote Speaker

Bob Pittman


CRS 2012 will kick off Feb. 22-24 with keynote speaker and media legend, Bob Pittman, MTV Founder and currently Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms for Clear Channel. A 35-year industry veteran, Pittman’s keynote is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Nashville.
“Bob Pittman’s resume speaks for itself,” says CRS President Mike Culotta. “His experience in radio, television and marketing will undoubtedly provide our CRS attendees with unique insight into the issues the Country radio industry is facing today. We are once again anticipating another informative keynote address at Country Radio Seminar, and we encourage everyone to do themselves a favor and attend.”
CRS 2012’s limited-time, $399 Early Bird registration is now available.  To register, visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com.
 

Weekly Chart Update (7/22/11)


Davison


RADIO NEWS
John Davison has been named the new PD at Citadel’s WHWK/Binghamton, NY and is on the job now. He fills the spot vacated by Don Brake, who left the station in May to join WFRE/Frederick, MD. Reach Davison here.
SPIN ZONE
It’s a tight configuration at the top of the CountryBreakout Chart, with just over a hundred spins separating positions 1, 2, and 3. Lady Antebellum’s “Just A Kiss” emerges victorious for a second consecutive week, holding off Zac Brown Band’s “Knee Deep.” Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” drops to No. 3, followed by Trace Adkins’ “Just Fishin’” at No. 4 and Kenny Chesney’s duet with Grace Potter “You And Tequila” at No. 5.

Toolpusher recording artist Jason Sturgeon (R) recently fulfilled a longtime dream when he opened a show for his idol Gary Allan (L) at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana. Sturgeon’s latest single “The Cover” is impacting radio now and its video was shot in his hometown of Petersburg, Indiana.


It’s also a relatively young chart, judging by the fact that “Just A Kiss” climbed to No. 1 in only 11 weeks, and there is only one title inside the Top 20 over 20 weeks old still gaining spins. On the other hand, there are five titles in the Top 20 younger than 10 weeks. The nine-week-old Paisley/Underwood collab “Remind Me” leads the pack at No. 7, followed by Toby Keith’s six-weeks-on “Made In America” at No. 8. At No. 12, George Strait’s “Here For A Good Time” has only ticked seven weeks, while Keith Urban’s “Long Hot Summer” (No. 15) has been around for even less at five weeks.
Soon to be joining the crowd are Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You” and Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly,” both of which are in their second week charting. Shelton’s latest debuted at No. 52 in the previous chart, and flew up to No. 32 with a boatload of new adds. Swift’s new single originally debuted at No. 48 and zoomed to No. 33 with a gain of 339 spins.
Frozen Playlists: KITX, KTTI, KWWR, KXOX, Nashville XM 11, WDHR, WEZJ, WYVY



Upcoming Singles
July 25
Montgomery Gentry/Where I Come From/Average Joe’s
Blake Shelton/God Gave Me You/Warner Bros./WMN
Martina McBride/I’m Gonna Love You Through It/Republic Nashville
Sonia Leigh/My Name Is Money/Southern Ground/BPG
Eric Paslay/Never Really Wanted/EMI Records Nashville
Keith Bryant/Can’t Tell Somebody Who To Love/Jordash
August 1
Justin Moore/Bait A Hook/Valory
Amber Hayes/Wait/Flying Island
• • • • •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Martina McBride/I’m Gonna Love You Through It/Republic Nashville — 57
Montgomery Gentry/Where I Come From/Average Joe’s — 63
Deborah Allen/Anything Other Than Love/Delta Rock — 77
Katie Armiger/I Do But Do I/Cold River — 78
Tracy Lawrence/The Singer/Lawrence Music Group — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Blake Shelton/God Gave Me You/Warner Bros./WMN — 413
Taylor Swift/Sparks Fly/Big Machine — 339
Martina McBride/I’m Gonna Love You Through It/Republic Nashville — 306
Keith Urban/Long Hot Summer / Capitol — 290
Toby Keith/Made In America/Show Dog — Universal — 237
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Blake Shelton/God Gave Me You/Warner Bros./WMN — 23
Martina McBride/I’m Gonna Love You Through It/Republic Nashville — 22
Taylor Swift/Sparks Fly/Big Machine — 19
Montgomery Gentry/Where I Come From/Average Joe’s — 14
Tracy Lawrence/The Singer/Lawrence Music Group — 13
Justin Moore/Bait a Hook/Valory — 11
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
The McClymonts/Wrapped Up Good/BSM — 202
Kevin Fowler/Hell Yeah, I Like Beer/Average Joe’s Ent. — 190
Mark Wills / Crazy Bein’ Home / Tenacity — 176
Brad Wolfe/Love Ought To Be Perfect/Evergreen — 175
Teea Goans/Letters From God/Crosswind — 160

Brad Paisley’s H2O Wetter & Wilder Tour made a stop in Boston this past Saturday for WKLB's CountryFest. (L-R): WKLB's Ginny Rogers and Mike Brophey, Paisley, Sony Music Nashville’s Skip Bishop, and Arista Nashville’s Lesly Tyson, John Sigler, Ryan Dokke.


Gloriana was recently in Oklahoma City, and hung out with KJKE 93.3 JakeFM staff members. The Emblem Records group’s single “Wanna Take You Home” is currently climbing the charts:(L-R): Gloriana’s Tom Gossin, KJKE’s Crash Poteet, Gloriana’s Mike Gossin and Rachel Reiners, KJKE’s Kevin Christopher