Viral Video Campaigns Entice ACM Voters

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Hand-shaking, baby-kissing politicians have long been aware that winning elections is all about getting out there and campaigning, and with the advent of fan-voted awards shows, country artists have gotten that message in a big way. While CMT were early champions of the concept with their “fan-voted” CMT Awards, things seem to have reached a critical mass with the upcoming fan-voted ACM Awards “Best New Artist” category, as nominees for Top New Solo Vocalist, Top New Duo and Top New Group take to the Internet with “campaign” videos designed to motivate fans to go to the online “polls.”

Avoiding the serious issues and hot-button topics favored by politicians, artists including Luke Bryan, Joey + Rory and Gloriana have released viral videos that utilize music and humor to win the hearts and minds of their voting fans. What part those videos played in the election results is still an open question, but, tellingly, each of the above artists emerged as a winner in their respective categories.

As effective (and entertaining) as these campaign videos can be, not every country artist is ready to hit the campaign trail just yet. ACM Entertainer of the Year nominee Brad Paisley has been up front regarding his distaste for the process.

“I’m uncomfortable campaigning,” Paisley said at a recent No. 1 party. “Honestly, I don’t like that part of it. I understand that people love to get involved and it’s cool that they can, but vote for who you want.”

MusicRow won’t be polling our readers on the issue, but we’ve compiled a few of the current ACM campaign videos for your perusal. You be the judge.

Luke Bryan

Joey and Rory

Gloriana

Rare Country Music Footage Discovered

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LA-based music footage library Reelin’ In The Years Productions has uncovered a 30-minute film of home movies from the 1950s featuring country legend Hank Williams Sr. along with Marty Robbins, the Carter Family, Merle Travis, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Snow, Maddox Bothers & Rose, Bill Monroe and a host of others.

Hank Williams, Sr.

The Carter Family

The images, shot in pristine 16mm color film, capture the artists in performance and in rare candid moments. Highlights include Williams singing at a disc jockey convention in Nashville, Robbins playing guitar on a front lawn, Kitty Wells standing in front of her tour car and Travis preparing to board a small plane.

The newly recovered footage was shot by John Banks, part owner of radio station KRDU in Dinuba, CA while these artists were at the station and at his home. In addition to filming these artists in California, Banks took his 16mm camera to Nashville and captured many artists backstage during a convention of disc jockeys held in the early 1950s.

“There exists precious little footage of many of these artists shot so early in their careers,” says David Peck, President of Reelin’ In The Years Productions. “To now have pristine color film documenting Hank Williams just a few short years before his untimely death, is thrilling. This is an important piece of country music history.”

Ernest Tubb

Lefty Frizzell

The forgotten original 16mm color films had been in the garage of Banks’ widow Bernice until their recent discovery. The film has now been restored and transferred directly to digital

format, highlighting the richness of depth and color that 16mm film offered.
Another recent discovery by Reelin’ In The Years is 50 minutes of home movies from the Louisiana Hayride in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s featuring color 8mm footage of Johnny Cash, George Jones, Ray Price, Faron Young and Hawkshaw Hawkins, among others.
For more information and licensing inquiries visit www.reelinintheyears.com.

Jimmy Wayne Walks and Grills Out

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When Valory Music Company artist Jimmy Wayne walks into Amarillo, TX this Saturday (4/3), he will reach the halfway point of his walk halfway across America after spending 93 days on the road and covering approximately 977 miles. He will end his walk in Phoenix, AZ, with a goal of raising  His goal is raising awareness of America’s homeless teens.

Wayne began the walk on New Year’s Day, leaving Nashville on an icy cold morning to kick off an initiative he calls Meet Me Halfway. The singer was inspired to create the Meet Me Halfway campaign by the almost epidemic number of homeless teens in the US and the foster children who ‘age out’ of the system without any sort of support system. Wayne’s own childhood was spent in and out of foster and group homes, and at one time he was also homeless.

The halfway point will be marked be a celebration at the Hastings Record Store in Amarillo, where Wayne will share his experiences on the road, and the reasons he undertook the walk.

In other news, Wayne will be joining The Rick & Bubba Show and Bryan Foods for The Ultimate Bryan Neighborhood Grill-Out.
Potential contestants can submit their favorite Bryan Foods-related family memory to The Rick & Bubba Show website, www.rickandbubba.com/contests.php, by April 30. The winner will receive a neighborhood grill-out hosted by Wayne, who also will perform. Bryan grill masters will prepare the food, categorized as “southern grill-out fare.” Four runners-up also will be awarded a year supply of Bryan food products, T-shirts, aprons and more. Bryan Foods is making a large food donation to Wayne’s Meet Me Halfway project.

Billboard Announces Country Music Summit

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Billboard has announced the launch of its first-ever Billboard Country Music Summit in association with the Country Music Association. The event, set to take place in Nashville on June 7-8 at the historic Hermitage Hotel, will gather today’s top country music executives and artists to network and discuss all aspects of the country music business.

Featuring two days of panel sessions, roundtable discussions and keynote interviews, the key stakeholders in country music will break down the most challenging issues and exciting opportunities in recording, radio, touring, publishing, sponsorships, digital/mobile, and other areas. The Billboard Country Music Summit program will include the most influential executives and artists in the genre, and will kick off the activities leading up to the annual CMA Music Festival.

Gloriana Films Pre-ACM Web Series


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Emblem Music Group/Warner Bros. artists Gloriana will give fans an exclusive look at their life on the road leading up to the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards with a weekly web series, beginning today (3/31). Gloriana is nominated for ACM’s fan-voted Top New Artist of the Year Award. Fan voting will take place at www.VoteACM.com beginning tomorrow (4/1) and ending Sunday (4/18) at 7:00 p.m. CT, when the live broadcast of the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards starts.

Each Wednesday leading up to the ACM Awards, fans can check in at www.people.com/people/videos/0,,20355772,00.html to get a glimpse into Gloriana’s life leading up to their first country music nomination for Top New Artist of the Year alongside Luke Bryan and Joey + Rory. The web series will give fans a look at Gloriana’s life on the road as they continue their opening slot on Taylor Swift’s Fearless 2010 Tour as well a look behind-the-scenes at a photo shoot the foursome did for the upcoming issue of People Country. Gloriana will also perform in Las Vegas’ Freemont Street Saturday, April 17 at 7:45 p.m.

Gloriana was chosen by country music fans as the winner of the ACM Top New Vocal Group of the Year Award. Fans can check out a special performance by Gloriana and their acceptance of the ACM Top New Vocal Group of the Year trophy at the Grand Ole Opry last week on the Trace Adkins-hosted GAC special ACM Top New Artists, premiering tomorrow (4/1), at 9:00 p.m. CT.

Rick Murray Promoted at Premiere

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Rick Murray

Premiere Radio Networks has announced that  Rick Murray has been promoted to Vice President, Integrated Marketing and Promotions, from Director of Marketing and Brand Development for After MidNite with Blair Garner. In this newly created position, Murray will be responsible for the marketing, brand development, partnerships and promotions of Premiere’s nationally syndicated country programs – After MidNite with Blair Garner, The Big D & Bubba Show and The Crook & Chase Countdown. He will also focus on client-based program integration and marketing solutions, in addition to working closely with Clear Channel Radio Digital. Based in Nashville, Murray will report to Jennifer Leimgruber, Premiere Radio Networks SVP of Programming, and Beth Tepper, Premiere Radio Networks SVP Integrated Marketing and Promotions.

“I’m very excited to expand my role with Premiere and its country properties,” says Murray. “There’s an incredible opportunity to package our assets and drive benefits for advertisers, listeners, affiliates, record labels and artists. I look forward to being a part of such an exceptional team!”

“Since joining Premiere last year, Rick’s marketing expertise and creativity have been key to the continued success of After MidNite with Blair Garner,” says Leimgruber. “We’re delighted to have Rick expand his role and confident he’ll continue to drive growth and success across our country programs.”

A former Vice President of Strategic Marketing for the Country Music Association, Murray has more than 25 years of entertainment marketing and event production experience. He joined Premiere Radio Networks last year as director of marketing and brand development for After MidNite with Blair Garner. In that position he also worked closely with record labels and handled all promotions for the program. Prior to joining Premiere, Murray was President of Greylock Entertainment, a full-service integrated entertainment marketing and promotional company which worked with such clients such as the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, actor Jason Alexander, country music artist Katie Armiger and many others.

Country Quarter Ends Up 15%

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Followers of SoundScan, a division of The Nielsen Company, regularly note that winds of scan blow in tandem with new releases. With that logic in mind, it easily justifies the all genre uptick this week riding on the heels of three new releases, which landed in positions 1, 2 and 3 on the Top current Albums chart—Justin Bieber, Monica and Capitol’s Now33 project. Number four on that list, was Lady Antebellum, scanning another 78,000 units, boosting the trio’s RTD (release-to-date) total to 1.56 million.

Unfortunately, the new release principle didn’t augment sales on the Current Country Album chart since there weren’t any new releases this week. Lady A and Zac Brown Band (24.6k) are now ruling the top two of the country album list. Ms. Swift remains a close third (21k). Swift and ZBB have product that has been on the chart for 72 and 71 weeks respectively, however, the big difference between them is RTD numbers of 1.75 million-ZBB and 5.7 million-TS. Blake Shelton’s six-pak holds down the No. 4 position with sales slightly over 18k this week and a four-week RTD of 138.6k. Newcomer and AI alum Danny Gokey, whose regular price CD was also released four weeks ago sits in the No. 10 spot on this week’s chart with RTD sales of 111.8k.

Country YTD album sales 2010 vs. 2009 are up a healthy 15% as we complete the first quarter which compares nicely with all genre sales, down 8%—a 23 point spread! So while your Humble Scribe is pleased to report great news, one must be reminded that a quarter does not a full year make….and as noted at the top of this report, new releases going forward will determine the year’s upcoming numbers.

In the digital tracks department, witness the sudden new entry inclusion of Uncle Kracker’s “Smile” in the No. 4 position, with almost 25k downloads for the week. (“Smile,” has been on the all genre digital chart for 35 weeks and already sold over 1.1 million downloads.) Is Atlantic getting ready to work the song at country radio?

Treehouse Hires Nate Ritches; Compass Adds Emilee Warner

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Emilee Warner

Compass Records Group has tapped Emilee Warner as Director of Publicity and Promotions. She started the role earlier this month and can be reached at [email protected], W: 615-320-7672, or M: 615-418-4846.

Compass Records has also signed Richard Julian and will release his album Girls Need Attention May 4. The project was recorded at Norah Jones’s home studio.

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Tony Benken, VP of Promotion for Treehouse Records, has hired Nathan “Nate” Ritches for Midwest regional promotion duties. Ritches will be based out of Nashville and will start immediately.

“Nate has the kind of experience that regionals need these days…not only radio experience through a syndicator, but he’s worked for a production company, a talent buyer, and his own business,” says Benken. “He’s a tenacious self-starter that fits into what Treehouse is all about, and I’m happy to have him join us!”

The label is currently working Blaine Larsen’s single, “Chillin.'”

Ritches can be reached at 541-678-4282 or [email protected].

MP3 Players Plug In To More Cars

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Listening to an iPod or other MP3 player via connection to a car stereo is growing in popularity. Just released information from an Arbitron/Edison Infinite Dial national survey shows that 24 percent of persons over age 12 have ever listened to an iPod, iPhone or other MP3 player while connected to a car stereo.

The results, which will be revealed in full on April 8, come from a national survey of 1753 Americans age 12 and up. Forty-four percent of respondents said they own an MP3 player, and 54 percent of those said they have connected their players for listening in the car. The study shows that most of those who listen by connecing in the car do so more than once a week.

Larry Rosin, President of Edison Research, says this is a significant development because he calls the car “a crucial battleground for people’s attention.”

The complete study, “The Infinite Dial 2010 – Digital Platforms and the Future of Audio,” will be presented in a webinar on April 8, details here.

Jackson’s “Freight Train” Runs Today

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The Big D and Bubba Show kicked off a week-long series of interviews with Alan Jackson yesterday in conjunction with the release of "Freight Train." Pictured left to right: Bubba, Alan Jackson and Big D

The latest album from superstar Alan Jackson comes out today (3/30) and he’s marking the release with street-date performances on NBC’s Today show and CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman. Freight Train has already produced the hit single “It’s Just That Way,” currently No. 15 on MusicRow’s Country Breakout Chart.

During his time in New York, Jackson is also set to tape A&E’s acclaimed interview and performance series, Private Sessions with Lynn Hoffman. It will premiere Sunday, April 11, at 9 AM ET.

Upcoming television visits also include NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 14, and the syndicated Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 16. Jackson’s summer tour opens April 8 and he will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a public ceremony on April 16.