WMN Adds Michaels as National Director

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Adrian-Michaels1

Adrian Michaels


Warner Music Nashville has welcomed Adrian Michaels as National Director. Michaels was formerly Sr. VP of Curb Records for 10 years, and has worked with Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Rodney Atkins, Lee Brice and others. Prior to Curb, Michaels worked the Southwest region for RCA.
Additional hirings include Pat Surnegie, who has been added as a West Coast regional. A 22-year veteran of Mercury records, Surnegie has worked with Shania Twain, Billy Currington, Billy Ray Cyrus and Sugarland.
Stephanie Holzer has been hired as a coordinator. She is a former ALL-SEC basketball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores. She majored in Human & Organizational Development.
 

Swindell Celebrates "Chillin' It" Reaching No. 1

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(back row, L-R): Kevin Herring (VP National Promotion, WMN), Terry Wakefield (Sr. VP Creative, Sony ATV Music Publishing), and Clay Bradley (Asst. VP, Writer/Publisher Relations, BMI Nashville); (front row, l-r): John Esposito (President & CEO, WMN), Cole Swindell, co-writer Shane Minor, and producer Jody Stephens.

(back row, L-R): Kevin Herring (VP National Promotion, WMN), Terry Wakefield (Sr. VP Creative, Sony ATV Music Publishing), and Clay Bradley (Asst. VP, Writer/Publisher Relations, BMI Nashville); (front row, L-R): John Esposito (President & CEO, WMN), Cole Swindell, co-writer Shane Minor, and producer Jody Stevens.


WMN Artist Cole Swindell’s “Chillin’ It” is one of those rare debut songs that reaches No. 1 for a new artist. As this accomplishment doesn’t happen very often, many industry well-wishers showed up to Swindell’s No. 1 party on Tuesday (May 27) to show their support.
As a crowd gathered on the rooftop of the BMI Nashville building, several familiar faces were seen in attendance. The Warren Brothers, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Luke Bryan joined the party and Bryan even took the microphone to offer congratulations. Swindell’s first job in the industry was selling Bryan’s merchandise at his shows just to get his break in Nashville. That led to a publishing deal, and then to several of his songs being cut and some taken to No. 1, including Florida Georgia Line’s “This Is How We Roll.”
“Chillin’ It” was Swindell’s first chart-topper as an artist. Swindell told the crowd of industry members, “I always wondered what I’d say if I ever got up here. It’s all about showing up and doing the work. And always surrounding myself with talented people.”
Swindell’s co-writer Shane Minor was honored during the party, and commended as being one who always takes pride in helping new songwriters. Minor is a 15 year BMI writer and has had his songs reach No. 1 seven times.
Producer Jody Stevens was also recognized for his efforts in taking a rough cut of the song and making it sound like a hit song. This marks Stevens’ first No. 1 as a producer.
Warner Bros. Nashville President John Esposito spoke of Swindell’s “depth as a songwriter” and said confidently that he will be around for many years. Esposito also credited his promo staff for their work.
Ron Cox of Avenue Bank announced a donation to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital on behalf of the songwriters. The party also saw Swindell’s manager Kerri Edwards, BMI’s Terry Wakefield, and Country Aircheck’s Lon Helton share stories and present plaques to the “Chillin’ It” team
“Chillin’ It” first went to No. 1 on MusicRow’s CountryBreakout Chart on Jan. 9, 2014, marking MusicRow’s first No. 1 of the year.

Nashville Memorial Planned To Remember David Haley

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DavidHaley

David Haley


A Nashville memorial service for Country radio promotion veteran David Haley will be held Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 10 a.m. at the W.O. Smith Music School, located at 1125 8th Ave. S. in Nashville.
Haley passed away on May 3, 2014 in Oxford, Miss. He was 56. Haley moved to Nashville in 1984 at age 28. He held radio promotion roles at various labels, including 17 years with MCA Nashville, where he rose to VP, Promotion. He followed his time at MCA with roles at Equity, InstiGator, Edgehill, and Tenacity.
Haley’s daughter Crystal Polk and her husband Jeffrey will be attendance at the Nashville memorial, as well as Haley’s sister Brenda Davis and husband Charles from Mississippi.
Contributions can be made to the Music Health Alliance in the name of David Haley.

Weekly Chart Report (5/16/14)

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chartreport1Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report

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Eric Paslay's "Friday Night" Earns Gold Status

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Pictured (L-R): Marshall Altman (producer of Paslay’s self-titled album), Cindy Mabe (UMGN SVP, Marketing), Paslay, Mike Dungan (UMG, Chairman & CEO), Pete Fisher (General Manager, Grand Ole Opry). Photo: Chris Hollo, 2014 Copyright Grand Ole Opry

Pictured (L-R): Marshall Altman (producer of Paslay’s self-titled album), Cindy Mabe (UMGN SVP, Marketing), Paslay, Mike Dungan (UMG, Chairman & CEO), Pete Fisher (General Manager, Grand Ole Opry). Photo: Chris Hollo.


Eric Paslay‘s chart-topping hit “Friday Night” has earned Gold status from the RIAA. Paslay was surprised Tuesday (May 13) after his performance at the Grand Ole Opry with a Gold plaque by UMG Nashville Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan.
This marks Paslay’s first chart-topping song as an artist and his fourth as a songwriter. Paslay penned “Friday Night” with Rose Falcon and Rob Crosby; it was the first single from his self-titled debut album, which was released in February. Paslay is currently out on the road with Brantley Gilbert‘s Let It Ride Tour.

Cumulus, BMLG Partner For NASH Icons

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bmlgcumulusCumulus and Big Machine Label Group have entered a strategic partnership to create NASH Icons, which includes the launch of a record label and live events business.
The venture will showcase Nashville’s most iconic talent from the last 25 years, and release future recordings by those artists.
NASH Icons will also create live events, merchandise, video and a section in NASH magazine.
NASH Icons will be based at the NASH Campus in Nashville, which includes three studios designed for a combination of TV and radio programming, indoor and outdoor event space, a print newsroom and extensive office space.
Cumulus will separately introduce NASH Icons branding on some of its owned-and-operated radio stations, as well as create and syndicate NASH Icons content to affiliate stations through its WestwoodOne subsidiary.
NASH Icons will be a complement to the more contemporary-focused NASH brand, so ideally, the same markets would be able to have both types of stations.
All 68 Cumulus-owned Country stations are “Powered by NASH” and exclusive programming from the NASH campus currently airs on more than 400 radio stations nationwide through WestwoodOne. Cumulus is also an investor in digital audio provider Rdio, which will soon feature dedicated NASH and NASH Icon programming.

Republic's David Nathan Moves To BMLG

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Pictured (L-R): David Nathan and Scott Borchetta

Pictured (L-R): David Nathan and Scott Borchetta


Republic Records’ Sr. VP Promotion and Artist Development David Nathan is heading to Big Machine Label Group. He will continue to be based in New York, and will spearhead promotion efforts for artists across Big Machine Records, Republic Nashville, The Valory Music Co., and Dot Records, including artists Taylor Swift, Brantley Gilbert, Florida Georgia Line, The Band Perry, Cassadee Pope, and Rascal Flatts.
Republic Records co-founder and chief executive Monte Lipman comments, “David has been one of the pioneers of Republic since its inception. As the company continues to grow its relationship with Nashville’s No. 1 hit-making machine, it only makes sense to invest in the future expansion of Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group.”
“We’re thrilled to formally welcome David to the team. He’s an incredibly talented and energetic executive who’s always thinking big,” said Big Machine Label Group President and CEO Scott Borchetta. “David has been involved with Taylor Swift’s history-making crossover success from the very beginning as part of the mighty Republic pop promotion department. I simply could not pass up the opportunity to acquire 100 percent of his focus to the artists at the Big Machine Label Group. This is another step in the evolution of our company and we know it’s going to bring mega pop muscle for our initiatives. We can’t wait to begin working together.”
Nathan joined Universal in 1996, and has worked with Republic Records co-founder Lipman since the label’s launch. He started out as National Director of Pop Promotion and worked his way up to Sr. VP of Promotion and Artist Development in 2012.

Weekly Chart Report (5/9/14)

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Screen shot 2014-05-09 at 9.52.22 AM111Click here or above to access MusicRow‘s weekly CountryBreakout Report

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Black River Entertainment's Lubitz Exiting

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Bill Lubitz

Bill Lubitz


Black River Entertainment‘s West Coast regional Bill Lubitz is leaving to pursue another opportunity. Lubitz took on the role in 2011.
Lubitz also shared duties as Director of National Promotion with Mike Wilson. Wilson continues in that role.
Black River VP/Promotion Bill Macky is currently searching for a replacement. Resumes can be sent to [email protected].

CRS Agenda Committee Adds Ten New Members

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crs 20151CRS has added to its 2015 Agenda Commitee. No Shoes Radio’s Jon Anthony, HitShop’s Tim Gerst, Warner Music Nashville’s Jeremy Holley, Jacobs Media’s Lori Lewis, CBS Radio/Houston’s Bruce Logan, Fusion Music’s Daniel Miller, Streamsound’s Steve Richardson, Steele Imaging’s Dave Steele, KZPK/St. Cloud, MN’s Brook Stephens and KFRG/Riverside’s Robin Ward will take part in planning the program for CRS 2015. They will join 14 members from last year’s committee to plan events for next year’s seminar.
Jeff Green (Partner/Stone Door Media Lab), Tom Hanrahan (Regional Program Manager/Clear Channel Media and Entertainment) and John Trapane (SW Regional/EMI Nashville) are leading this year’s committee.
CRS 2015 takes place Feb. 25-27 in Nashville’s downtown Convention Center.

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Additionally, CRS is seeking a replacement for Director of Brand Marketing and Strategic Relationships Michelle Kammerer, who will exit CRS at the end of this month to pursue a new opportunity. Kammerer has been with the company since 2011 and can be reached at [email protected]. Resumes for the opening can be sent to [email protected].