Music Row Awards Coming Tuesday

06/19/2008

Reminder! Join us for the 20th annual Music Row Awards on Tues., June 24 at 5:30 PM. Hosted at BMI’s Nashville offices, the event recognizes reader voted awards for Breakthrough Songwriter, Breakthrough Artist, Song of the Year and Producer of the Year. We will also celebrate the publication’s 2008 Top Ten Musician All Stars as tabulated by appearances on recent hit albums.

Trace Adkins Celebrates No. 1 Song

06/19/2008

Trace Adkins, ASCAP songwriter Ashley Gorley and Lee Miller celebrated their 3-week No. 1 hit “You’re Gonna Miss This” on Wednesday (6/18).

(L-R): Miller, Adkins, ASCAP Sr. VP Connie Bradley, Gorley and ASCAP VP Dan Keen. Photo: Kay Williams

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Names Nominees

Nominees for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame were announced today. Two inductees will be selected from ten nominees in the songwriter category, and one inductee will be chosen from five nominees in the songwriter...

Benefits/Lifenotes Thursday (6/19)

The Big 98 WSIX is helping with the Nashville St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway. A $100 raffle tickets enters the purchaser in the drawing to win the $650,000 home in Franklin’s Westhaven community. Tickets are...

Eric Church Means Business

06/18/2008

Students of the Accelerator 2008 program, Vanderbilt’s Summer Business Institute, will be working with the William Morris Agency and its client Eric Church. To acquaint the students with Church's music, history and projects, WMA sponsored a June 16 presentation at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theatre. The students and 150 members of Church's fan club, The Church Choir, were treated to a blend of concert and interview, led by noted country music historian Robert K. Oermann. Church’s sophomore project for Capitol Records Nashville, Carolina, will be released in the fall.

(L-R): Jay Williams, WMA; Professor Kimberly Pace, Vanderbilt; Church; Oermann; Paul Moore, WMA; Fielding Logan, Q Prime; Sue Ann Cordell, WMA and WMA's Kevin Meads.

Industry News Thursday (6/19/08)

National Music Publishers' Assn. Pres./CEO David Israelite said yesterday (6/18) that music publishers, record labels and digital music providers have reached a settlement on royalty rates for limited downloads and Internet streaming. According to...

Artist News Thursday (6/19/08)

Rascal Flatts will perform on the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, broadcast live from the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Friday, July 4, (9 PM CT) on CBS. The band will join conductor Keith Lockhart, The...

Phillip Fulmer Golf Classic Raises Over $165,000 For The Jason Foundation

06/18/2008

The Tenth Annual Phillip Fulmer Golf Classic was held on June 10 at Hermitage Golf Course to raise money for The Jason Foundation, a national leader in youth suicide prevention. University of Tennessee Head Football Coach Phillip Fulmer and country music legend Charlie Daniels co-hosted the event. Fulmer serves as the foundation's National Spokesperson and Daniels is the foundation's Celebrity Ambassador.

(L-R): Fulmer; Clark Flatt, Pres./CEO The Jason Foundation; Daniels; and Bob Kesling, The "Voice of the Vols."

One Million Units Gets Good Rap

David M Ross – 06/18/2008

Click To Sample Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop”

Lil Wayne blew the rap doors off the sales barn scanning an unbelievable one million plus units this week of his new release, Tha Carter III. Though the album is his first official release since 2005, Lil Wayne has remained highly visible by releasing numerous free mixtapes and performing on tracks by other stars. His single “Lollipop” currently sits at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Lil Wayne’s big week accounts for more units than double the entire Top 75 Country Current chart this week which saw a 23% jump week over week but still failed to break the 500,000 barrier, even with debuts from Montgomery Gentry (27,175) and Emmylou Harris (26,938) plus Father’s Day shopping.

YTD digital albums are up 34% overall, and a more modest 22.5% for country. YTD overall album sales lag 11%, while the country deficit expands to 15.4%. Looking ahead to upcoming country releases, Sugarland will hit store counters toward the end of July with two packages. The especially sweet deluxe fan edition of Love On The Inside debuts July 22 and the regular version drops July 29. Taylor Swift’s Wal-Mart Exclusive “on-sales” July 15.

NMPA Meeting Today in New York

Sarah Skates – 06/18/2008

The 2008 Annual Meeting of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is today (6/18) at the Marriott Marquis in New York. Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, was scheduled to offer a keynote address. NMPA President and CEO David Israelite planned to deliver his annual state of the industry address.

Also at the event, Taylor Swift will receive NMPA’s Gold and Platinum Composition Awards for “Our Song” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.” The event will feature a performance by NMPA’s 2008 Songwriter Icon Award honoree Amy Lee, the Grammy Award-winning co-founder and lead singer of rock band Evanescence.