Famous Music 4 Sale

David M. Ross – 02/06/2007

Viacom Inc. has retained UBS Investment Bank to act as financial advisor in assisting Viacom to “explore strategic alternatives to maximize the value of Famous Music, alternatives that may include the sale of the business.” Paramount Pictures' predecessor, the Famous-Lasky Corporation, founded Famous Music in 1928. Today it is one of the top 10 music publishers in the United States, supplying music to a diversified range of global media. Its catalog of more than 125,000 copyrights spans seven decades and includes music from motion pictures as The Godfather, Forrest Gump and Titanic, as well as television shows including The Brady Bunch, Cheers, Mission: Impossible and the Star Trek franchise. Famous Music is led by a senior management team that includes Irwin Robinson, Chairman/CEO; Ira Jaffe, President/COO; and Margaret Johnson, Executive VP Finance and Administration. Writers and producers on the Famous roster include Irv Gotti, 7 Aurelius, Linda Perry, Tia Sillers, Charlie Midnight and Marvin Hamlisch. Viacom's leading brands include the multiplatform properties of MTV Networks, including CMT: Country Music Television, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. Famous Music’s Nashville office of four employees and ten writers is headed by VP Glenn Middleworth, Sr. Director Curtis Green and Administrator Laura McCleod.

Trace Adkins at St. Jude Radiothon

02/06/2007

Trace Adkins visited with St. Jude patients and WMZQ morning show hosts “Ben and Brian” at the station’s St. Jude Radiothon. Pictured (L-R): WMZQ DJ Ben, Adkins, Karina Hurtado and WMZQ DJ Brian.

Kice Painting, Lyric Book Auctioned In Rockies

Jon Freeman – 02/06/2007

An auction at the 13th Annual Country In The Rockies raised $20,000 to benefit the T.J. Martell Foundation and The Frances Williams Preston Research Laboratory. Nashville performance artist Rachel Kice sold her painting titled “It’s Like What They Say” as part of an auction package which also included the handwritten and autographed lyric book for “The Cure,” a song that was written by 65 artists and songwriters on the CMA Awards red carpet in November. Hit writer Monty Powell recorded the song 24 hours later and performed it in Colorado prior to the auction. Margie Geddes of the Red Stripe Beer family was the auction winner and took home the painting and lyric...Kice will also be featured on Fuse On Demand now through March 11. The segment can be viewed through Free On Demand, available on Comcast, Cablevision's iO, AT&T, Insight and Cox.

Grammy News

Sarah Gilbert Skates – 02/06/2007

Rascal Flatts will perform with Carrie Underwood on the Feb. 11 Grammys.

Rascal Flatts will join previously announced performer Carrie Underwood in a tribute to country rock on the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Both Underwood and Rascal Flatts are among the evening’s nominees. Also performing will be Shakira, along with fellow nominee Wyclef Jean; and current nominees Chris Brown, Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson will take the stage in a special segment paying tribute to the tradition of great male R&B artists. Two-time Grammy winner LeAnn Rimes is among the newly announced presenters. The Grammys will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 11, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be on CBS at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

This year’s Grammy Foundation® Music Preservation Project will celebrate the contributions of country music to the American cultural landscape. Marty Stuart will host and perform at "The Soul of Country," which will feature footage from the archives of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and film highlights from the Grand Ole Opry. Also performing will be Deana Carter, Shooter Jennings with the .357’s, Joe Nichols, Charley Pride, LeAnn Rimes and Porter Wagoner. Expected to attend is blues artist Solomon Burke, actor Terrence Howard, Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation President Neil Portnow, and Carrie Underwood. “The Soul of Country” will be held at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles on Thurs., Feb. 8. The Grammy Foundation established the Music Preservation Project to partner with archives, artists, foundations and others with significant collections to identify and preserve at-risk media.

XM will broadcast “Grammy Radio” on XM channel 200 from Feb. 9-11. The channel will be dedicated to the nominees, performers, music, artists, and events surrounding the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. In addition to “The Soul of Country” event, Grammy Radio will also spotlight all of the country Grammy nominees, as well as the first-ever live broadcast of the pre-telecast Awards show. www.xmradio.com/grammys.

Combustion Music songwriters are up for Song of the Year in three different categories at the Feb. 11 Grammy Awards. Combustion's Gordie Sampson is the co-writer of Carrie Underwood's smash "Jesus, Take The Wheel," which is nominated for Country Song of the Year, as well as Song of the Year for all genres. Combustion's Drew Ramsey is a co-writer of India.Arie's hit "I Am Not My Hair" which is up for R&B Song of the Year.

Category 5 Hires Cruise, Ups Shaw

Sarah Gilbert Skates – 02/05/2007

Nathan Cruise

Category 5 Records has added Nathan Cruise as co-national/director of Southeast promotion. He joins the Category 5 team after two and a half years at Universal South Records where he served as the national director of Southeast and Midwest promotion. Prior to Universal South, Cruise spent eight years as a regional promoter at Arista Nashville. Cruise also spent time in pop music promotion with Giant Records, in addition to the nearly eight years he dabbled in Top 40 radio in Colorado Springs, Col. Category 5 also announced the promotion of Senior Director David Shaw to co-national/senior director Northeast promotion, in tandem with Cruise. Cruise and Shaw’s new positions take effect immediately. The Category 5 roster includes Travis Tritt, Sammy Kershaw, Jerrod Niemann, Donovan Chapman, and Odiss Kohn, with Tritt’s label debut set for release this spring. Cruise may be reached at (615) 301-2285 or via email, ncruise@category5records.com. Shaw may be reached by calling (401) 233-1544 or via email, dshaw@category5records.com.

Grascals Win at SPBGMA Bluegrass Awards

02/05/2007

The Grascals won Instrumental Group of the Year and Bluegrass Band of the Year at the 33rd Annual SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards show held in Nashville on Feb. 4. This is the second consecutive year that the band took home the trophy for Instrumental Group. Their sophomore release on Rounder Records, Long List of Heartaches, is also nominated for a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.

Apples to Apples

Sarah Gilbert Skates – 02/05/2007

Apple, Inc. and the Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. have reached an agreement over a long-running dispute over the use of the name "Apple" and accompanying logos. The new deal, announced today (2/5/07), gives Apple Inc. ownership of all “Apple” trademarks. The Mac maker will then license some trademarks back to the Beatles. This settlement could give way to the music of the Beatles finally being available in digital form, particularly on Apple Inc.’s iTunes store. Each Apple will handle its own legal costs. The Beatles first used an image of a green Granny Smith apple on recordings in the late 1960s. Since forming in 1976, Apple Inc. has used the logo of an apple with a bite taken out of it.

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Face The Music

Industry News

Artist News

Famous Music 4 Sale

Trace Adkins at St. Jude Radiothon

Kice Painting, Lyric Book Auctioned In Rockies

Grammy News

Category 5 Hires Cruise, Ups Shaw

Grascals Win at SPBGMA Bluegrass Awards

Apples to Apples

Broadway Puts Gatlin & White In New York State Of Mind...

Artist News Daily (2/6/07)

Industry News Daily (2/6/07)

Lady Antebellum

Jeff Bates

George Strait

Joe Nichols

Halfway To Hazard

JASON MATTHEWS

RAWSTIN

MARK WILLS

BRANDI VALENTINE

MOORE & MOORE WITH GEORGE “GOOBER” LINDSEY

INDIAN RODEO

BILLY McKNIGHT

CERRITO

TIM WILSON

COWBOY TROY & ANGELA HACKER

CountryBreakOut - Week 51