Bill Luther Inks with Sony/ATV

03/24/2008

Hit songwriter Bill Luther has signed a publishing agreement with Sony/ATV Nashville. Luther has had songs on over 50 million records and over 50 major label cuts, including Kenny Chesney’s “What I Need to Do” and “Who You’d Be Today,” Tim McGraw’s “My Best Friend,” and Faith Hill’s “Let’s Make Love,” which also featured McGraw.

Pictured (L-R): Terry Wakefield, Sr. VP Creative Sony/ATV Nashville; Luther; and Troy Tomlinson, Pres,/CEO Sony/ATV Nashville.

Industry News Friday (5/8/08)

Memorial services for Eddy Arnold will be held next week. The Country Music Hall of Fame member passed away yesterday (5/8) at age 89. A public viewing in the Country Music Hall of Fame rotunda...

2008 Music Row Award Nominees

Industry Voting Begins May 16

It’s been an intense week at Music Row preparing for today’s announcement and we are excited to share some new developments! Drum roll please, lift the curtain and voila!—the...

Tennessee Association of Broadcasters Celebrates 60 Years

05/08/2008

BMI hosted a reception at their Music Row office for the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters (TAB) in celebration of TAB's 60th anniversary. The event was attended by nearly 100 Tennessee radio and TV broadcasters and more than a dozen songwriters. Leslie Satcher, Tim Nichols and Bob DiPiero performed many of their hit songs, and Lee Thomas Miller closed the show with a hilarious salute to Music Row's “Musica” sculpture. Among dignitaries who addressed the group were FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. BMI's Mason Hunter presented TAB President Whit Adamson with a gold record commemorating 60 years of dedicated service to the broadcast industry.

Pictured (L-R): BMI's Tom Annastas, attorney William H. Tate, FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, Governor Phil Bredesen, TAB Chairman Debbie Turner, BMI's Fred Cannon, songwriter Leslie Satcher, and TAB President Whit Adamson. Photo: John Russell

Lifenotes: Eddy Arnold

Jon Freeman – 05/08/2008

Eddy Arnold

Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold passed away early this morning (5/8) in Franklin, Tenn. at the age of 89. Known for hits like “Make The World Go Away,” “I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Until I Can Hold You In My Arms),” “I Really Don’t Want To Know” and “You Don’t Know Me,” Arnold reigned over the Billboard country charts for the latter half of the 1940s and continued to chart hits into the 1960s. He reportedly sold 85 million albums to date. Arnold was not only a driving force in the widespread popularity of country music, but a star of television and film as well.

Born in 1915 to a farming family in Chester County, Tenn., Arnold honored his roots by adopting the stage name “Tennessee Plowboy.” After his father passed and the Great Depression set in, Arnold and his family worked as poor sharecroppers and he sang for extra money at various gatherings. In 1940 he joined WSM personality and Grand Ole Opry star Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys, where he gained notoriety on the Opry and toured U.S. military bases. After heading out on his own with his band The Tennessee Plowboys, Arnold acquired a manager in Colonel Tom Parker and recorded Nashville’s first major label session for RCA Records in 1944. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of fame in 1966. Arnold’s wife Sally Gayhart Arnold passed away earlier this year. They are survived by two children, Richard Edward Jr., of Nashville, and Jo Ann Pollard, of Brentwood, Tenn., two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Pictured (L-R): Bill Monroe, Arnold and George Jones. Photo: Alan Mayor

Industry News Thursday (5/8/08)

Warner Music Group has suspended its quarterly dividend in the wake of disappointing financial results—a loss of 25¢ per share for the quarter ending March 31 compared with a loss of 19¢ per share...

Arista Nashville Adds Tyler Waugh

Sarah Skates – 05/07/2008

Tyler Waugh

Tyler Waugh has been hired as Regional Promotion Manager at Arista Nashville. He fills the vacancy left by Lesly Tyson, who was recently named Director of National Promotion for the label. A six-year promotion veteran, Waugh spent almost two years with the RCA Music Group in Atlanta where he has been Associate Director, Southeast Regional Promotion. He previously spent nearly four years as Southeast Regional Director of Promotion for Roadrunner Records.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Music Business from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Waugh began his music career as an Alternative College Marketing Representative and later as Sales & Marketing Assistant for BMG Distribution in Los Angeles. Slated to officially begin his new role later this month, Waugh will remain based in Atlanta.

Morreale Opens Firm

Sarah Skates – 05/07/2008

Tony Morreale

Tony Morreale has launched a boutique marketing and promotion firm, signing Republic/Universal South Records artist Eli Young Band as the first client. Most recently Director/National Promotion for Show Dog Records, Morreale’s career in the music industry spans more than 20 years. He has held executive positions in marketing, promotions and public relations for such companies as BNA, Columbia Records, CBS Records and Evelyn Shriver P.R. Based in Nashville, Morreale can be reached at Tony_Morreale@bellsouth.net or 615-595-2523.

The Five Month SoundScan Mile Marker

David M. Ross – 05/07/2008

As we pass the five month Nielsen SoundScan mile marker, country music sales departments are in need of special vitamins to lift our numbers back to health. Country album scans through the week of May 5 are down 15.2% compared to overall sales which are down a mere 11.4%. In actual numbers, country albums (physical and digital) sold 14,754,000 units this year and 17,392,000 for the same period last year. As expected, when country sales lag the overall industry, Music City market share suffers. Therefore, it’s no surprise to see country’s market share falling from 10.9% in ’07 to 10.4% in ’08.

Hall of Fame Salutes Reggie Young

05/07/2008

It was standing room only in the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s Ford Theater on Saturday (5/3) as legendary guitarist Reggie Young took the stage for the quarterly series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Session Players. Young demonstrated some of his signature lead licks during the program, which also included an in-depth interview highlighted by vintage recordings, photos and film clips. Young has remained an in-demand studio player for the last five decades in Nashville, backing country artists Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Jr. and many others. In attendance were several past Nashville Cats honorees.

Pictured (L-R): program host Bill Lloyd, legendary bassist Bob Moore, harmonica wizard Charlie McCoy, Young, pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins, and guitarist/producer Jerry Kennedy. Photo: Donn Jones

Garth Brooks, Bill Anderson Among ACM Winners

The Academy of Country Music will present Garth Brooks with its Crystal Milestone Award during the 43rd Annual ACM Awards on Sunday, May 18. Brooks, the first artist to receive the honor, will also perform...