Matt Stell Closes Out The Year With Free “Sunday Sessions” Virtual Concert

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Matt Stell. Photo: Dustin Haney

Matt Stell is playing a special free virtual concert on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. CT presented in 3D spatial audio exclusively on Lemonade.tv+ powered by SoundFi, as part of their “Sunday Sessions” streaming concert series. Fans can visit lemonade.tv/plus or download the Lemonade.tv mobile app (available on iOS and Android), select “Plus” and log in to watch and participate.

Fans can live chat with Stell throughout the show, and Sony Music Nashville partnered with SoundFi to present Stell and its other artists in a fully immersive environment for both fans and strategic partners like radio stations and digital service providers. The partnership gives artists the ability to perform live in SoundFi for virtual concerts, radio presentations, promotional events and more. Stell’s concert was recorded live with SoundFi’s proprietary 3D sound technology optimized for headphones and gives the listener the feeling as if they are seated front row, center stage at a concert.

“2020 has created significant challenges for all of us, and the immersive audio technology powered by SoundFi has helped us close the gap between artists and fans,” said Sony Music Nashville’s VP of Arista Nashville Promotion, Josh Easler. “We are excited to celebrate two No. 1 singles from Matt Stell and end this year with a bang!”

“We couldn’t be happier about our partnership with Sony Music Nashville and are thrilled to be their exclusive provider in this space,” SoundFi CEO and Founder Chris Anastas added. “Hosting Matt’s end of year celebration on our platform is yet another way we continue to bring fans unique entertainment experiences with our cutting-edge technology. We are excited to be working with talented artists like Matt who are keen on pushing the boundaries to reach their audiences like never before.”

Show Dog Nashville Promotes Rick Moxley, Adds Teddi Bonadies

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Rick Moxley, Teddi Bonadies

Show Dog Nashville VP/Promotion Rick Moxley has been elevated to Senior VP/Promotion, and the company has added accomplished promotion veteran Teddi Bonadies as VP/Promotion. A 12-year company veteran, Moxley continues to report to label founder/owner Toby Keith. Bonadies reports to Moxley.

Moxley’s career began in sports media with franchises including the Golden State Warriors and Oakland A’s. Transitioning to the music business with Warner Bros. Records, he went on to Giant Records, Rising Tide, and BNA. Along the way he championed hits and led campaigns for artists including Hank Williams, Jr., Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt, Faith Hill, Clay Walker, Kenny Chesney, and Lonestar. He joined Show Dog Nashville in 2008, and leads promotion efforts for the roster featuring Clay Walker, Krystal Keith, Waterloo Revival and Founder/Owner, Toby Keith.

“Show Dog Nashville is entering an exciting new phase with Teddi’s hire. Our promotion department will kick ass,” says Keith. “And we just signed the talented, chart-topping Clay Walker. Look out 2021.”

“I want to thank Toby for this next opportunity,” Moxley says. “Twelve-plus years with Show Dog, a label owned and operated by a country superstar and Hall of Fame songwriter, has truly been a highlight of my career. We are the Wild, Wild West and I’m looking forward to another year of great country music.”

Bonadies has worked 87 No. 1 country records in her career and has been instrumental in breaking artists including Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Eli Young Band, Granger Smith, and Runaway June. Her prior stops include a substantially successful stay at Arista Records/Nashville. She also held positions at CBS Records, Universal South, and Wheelhouse Records.

“A winner at every stop in her career, Teddi’s unmatched tenacity and thorough knowledge of the music business are traits I’ve admired for years,” Moxley says. “Like me, she cut her teeth during a time of unrivaled growth for country, and she’s been on the front lines of developing many now legendary acts. We share a belief in the importance of teamwork and trust, and her addition is a major asset as we look toward even greater success in 2021.”

“Joining Show Dog Nashville to work with the iconic Toby Keith, a stellar roster, and Rick Moxley is an honor for which I’m deeply grateful,” Bonadies says. “I’ve known and been peers with Mox for years and, even more, appreciate him as a quality human being. Finally having the opportunity to work together is amazing; I can’t wait to get started!”

The moves come as Show Dog Nashville completes its 15th year. 2021 looks to be a promising year for the company, with new music coming from Clay Walker and Krystal Keith, with her father, Toby Keith.

Spotify Launches New Songwriters Hub

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Spotify has launched a new Songwriters Hub to help fans, collaborators, and industry partners discover and connect with the creators behind their favorite songs.

The hub contains an extensive collection of Written By playlists, songwriting-focused podcasts, popular songwriter playlists, and a rotating slate of highlights (Featured Songwriter, Featured Releases, shelves dedicated to specific holidays or cultural moments, and more).

The company is also rolling out a new, additional slate of Songwriter Pages, honoring the extensive and versatile catalogs of behind-the-scenes creators Ashley Gorley, Gregg Wattenberg, Ant Clemons, Noonie Bao, Sia, Bebe Rexha, and Irving Berlin.  Since the Songwriter Pages launched in February, songs with clickable songwriting credits have accumulated more than 127 billion streams on Spotify.

“With the launch of the Songwriters Hub, we’re continuing to evolve how music is discovered, appreciated, and enjoyed by the world,” said Jules Parker, Head of Songwriter and Publishing Relations, Spotify. “Supporting publishers and songwriters goes hand in hand with artist discovery. People know who an artist is. They don’t know who the writers are, necessarily. If we can help make those connections, we help people discover new music and open up potential career opportunities for the songwriter. It all ties back to our mission of helping creators live off their work.”

To access the Songwriters Hub, search ‘Songwriters’ on Spotify, or use this direct link.

Carrie Underwood’s ‘My Gift’ Continues Reign Atop Charts

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Carrie Underwood’s first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, continues its reign in the sales and streaming worlds this holiday season, following its No. 1 debut across multiple global charts. Released Sept. 25, My Gift debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country, Christian and Holiday charts, marking Underwood’s eighth straight album to debut at No. 1 on the publication’s country albums chart, where it remains for the third non-consecutive week.

My Gift currently sits at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 and stays at No. 1 on the Christian chart after 11 weeks.

Additionally, Underwood has released a special behind-the-scenes look from the set of the music video for “Hallelujah,” her duet with John Legend. See the official music video here. The original song was written by Legend and Toby Gad (“All of Me”). The video was directed by Randee St. Nicholas, who has shot multiple videos with Underwood throughout her career. 

Legend appears as a guest on Underwood’s new music special My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood, which is streaming now on HBO Max. They will also perform “Hallelujah” on NBC’s Global Citizen’s Prize on Dec. 19.

Underwood is set for Late Night with Seth Meyers on Thursday, Dec. 17, followed by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday, Dec. 18.

Gabby Barrett Breaks ‘Billboard’ Hot Country Songs Record

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Gabby Barrett. Photo credit: Robby Klein

Gabby Barrett’s 3-times Platinum debut “I Hope,” has made history and is now the longest-leading No. 1 by an unaccompanied female artist in the history of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with a 20-week reign. This chart is comprised of metrics from radio airplay, sales data and streaming data.

“Wow, I’m blown away,” shares the Warner Music Nashville artist. “This year has been absolutely crazy for all of us, so to have this kind of year career-wise feels surreal. I’m so grateful for every step that my team, my fans and most importantly my family have taken to bring us here. Thank you to all of you, and to Country radio, for making this possible!”

Putting the cherry on top of her breakout 2020, Barrett was listed as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Music. “I Hope” was the most-streamed country song of the year, with the Hot AC chart-topping version featuring Charlie Puth named to Rolling Stone’s 10 Best Country Collaborations of 2020 and Best Pop Collaborations of 2020. Barrett’s Top 25-and-rising single “The Good Ones” just surpassed 100 million on-demand streams and has been officially certified Gold by the RIAA.

Bruce Kalmick’s WHY&HOW Staffs Up

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Bruce Kalmick

Artist manager Bruce Kalmick on Wednesday (Dec. 16) shared more details about his recently launched company, WHY&HOW, which represents artists including BRELAND, Chase Rice, KALEO, and many others (full roster below).

Kalmick was previously a partner at Triple 8 Management, with several artists moving from Triple 8 to WHY&HOW.

Based in Austin, Texas with representatives across several major cities, WHY&HOW is a full-service artist management company with diversified ventures across music, entertainment, digital, branding and spirits, representing clients both domestically and globally. 

Joining Kalmick on the WHY&HOW team are three artist managers who previously worked with him and are being elevated to Vice President roles: Rachel Cave (Belle Mt., ZZ Ward), Eddie Kloesel (Chase Rice, Bones Owens, Whiskey Myers) and Kelly Kresen (KALEO, Nox Holloway, FERBY).

Additional staff members include Artist Manager Pete Olson (Tyler Braden, Seaforth), Day to Day Manager Matt Stubbs (Kelleigh Bannen), Creative Director Evan Kaufmann, Senior Marketing Director Lesley DiPietro, Marketing Directors Avery Bashaw and Chelsea Cankar, Executive Assistant Chloe Strickland and Management Assistants Eric Radford, Wane Lindsey and Olivia Dahlstrom.

Olson, Stubbs, Kaufmann and Bashaw previously worked with Kalmick, while DiPietro, Cankar, Strickland, Radford, Lindsey and Dahlstrom join the team as new hires.

Wednesday’s announcement says the organization plans to diversify with focuses ranging from publishing to educational and philanthropic endeavors. “We believe the foundation of success in any business starts with paying it forward,” notes Kalmick. “Our first initiative is to give back; both in charitable donations with W&H IMPACT, and also through our W&H EDU initiative further aiding educators by being a resource and encouraging a diverse group of future industry leaders attending universities around the world.”

WHY&HOW Artist Roster: Belle Mt., Bones Owens, BRELAND, Chase Rice, Deezie Brown, FERBY, KALEO, Kelleigh Bannen, Nox Holloway, Seaforth, SRPN (Samantha Ronson & Pete Nappi), Taylor McCall, Tyler Braden, Whiskey Myers, ZZ Ward

(L-R): Rachel Cave, Eddie Kloesel, Kelly Kresen

Contact WHY&HOW Staff Members (ex. [email protected]):
Bruce Kalmick – [email protected]
Rachel Cave – [email protected]
Eddie Kloesel – [email protected]
Kelly Kresen – [email protected]
Pete Olson – [email protected]
Matt Stubbs – [email protected]
Evan Kaufmann – [email protected]
Lesley DiPietro – [email protected]
Avery Bashaw – [email protected]
Chelsea Cankar – [email protected]
Chloe Strickland – [email protected]
Eric Radford – [email protected]
Wane Lindsey – [email protected]
Olivia Dahlstrom – [email protected]

For more information, visit www.whyandhow.com and follow on Instagram and Facebook @whyandhowmgmt.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective Plans Database Webinar, Toolkit For Educators

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The Mechanical Licensing Collective is presenting a webinar about the organization’s Bulk Database Feed at 11 a.m. CT on Thursday, Dec. 17, hosted by Richard Thompson (CIO) and Raphael Amselli (Technical Consultant).

The webinar will provide an overview of the format, timing and pricing of the data feed, which will be a comprehensive and invaluable resource for DSPs, music publishers, CMOs, record labels, metadata companies and others throughout the industry. Individuals interested in participating in this free webinar can register for it here. 

The MLC has also released its new Educator Toolkit, created to help college educators teach students, particularly those studying music and music business, about the changes to the administration of digital audio mechanical rights in the U.S. that will begin taking effect in January 2021 as a result of the landmark Music Modernization Act. Beginning next month, mechanical royalties from streaming in the U.S. will be processed and paid out by The MLC at no cost to songwriters or music publishers.

The Toolkit offers instructors a range of materials they can incorporate into their existing syllabi or use to create new course modules, including a comprehensive introductory video, a white-label customizable PowerPoint presentation, suggested classroom activities and exam questions, and a list of informational videos, articles, and other resources on copyright and the history of mechanical licensing.

Instructors and educational institutions can find out more about The MLC’s Educator Toolkit here.

‘Opry Live’ Notches No. 1 on Year-End Livestreamers Chart

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Circle Network’s one-hour “Opry Live” program earned the No. 1 spot on Pollstar’s Top 100 Livestreamers Chart (year-end) across all genres, with 30,327,437 views, nearly 15 million views higher than the second runner-up.

Additionally, 28 “Opry Live” shows are in the Top 100 Livestreams Chart, with two landing in the Top 10. Country icons and Grand Ole Opry members Vince Gill and Reba McEntire’s July performance came in at No. 9 with more than 2.6 million views, directly followed by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s September performance at No. 10 with more than 2.2 million views.

As of today, “Opry Live” has reached over 50 million views from 50 countries around the world.

“Opry Live” broadcasts twice more in 2020, including this Saturday, Dec. 19 at 9:00 pm EST when Circle will air a Christmas Special hosted by Amy Grant and featuring performances by an all-star lineup including Lauren Alaina, Lady A and Kelsea Ballerini. 

Dolly Parton And Edge Beauty Team For New Fragrance Partnership

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Dolly Parton is launching her own line of fragrances through a new deal with beauty industry supergroup Edge Beauty, Inc. The company and the superstar have inked a long-term license agreement for the creation, development and distribution of the fragrances with the first collection set to launch in spring 2021.

“Fragrance has always played a major role in my life—I wear my own combination of scents every day,” said Parton. “I am so excited to share this dream with my fans. Developing my own brand and scent with Edge Beauty has been an amazing experience, and I am looking forward to becoming a big part of the fragrance community.”

“We are thrilled to share a new facet of Dolly’s personality with her millions of fans and admirers. She strikes a universal chord that resonates globally in the hearts of people across all age groups and many cultures,” said Steve Mormoris, CEO of Edge Beauty, Inc. “The Dolly Parton franchise will be a powerhouse pillar for Edge Beauty and we are delighted to build Dolly’s brand.”

Ringing In The Holidays Warner Style

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Christmas parties are going virtual for 2020, including these two jolly online festivities hosted by Warner Chappell Music Nashville and Warner Music Nashville.

Warner Chappell Christmas Costume party, click to enlarge.

The Warner Chappell Music Nashville team (above) got creative this year and hosted a virtual Christmas Costume party via Microsoft Teams. While everyone brought their A-game with Christmas sweaters, reindeer ears, and Santa hats, the clear winner was Bethany Mako (A&R/Admin Assistant) who (temporarily) dyed her hair green and turned it into a Christmas tree—with lights, ornaments, and a star on top.

Warner Music Nashville (below) hosted a Radio & Streaming Virtual Holiday Happy Hour on Monday evening (Dec. 14), raising a toast to the holidays in matching shirts.

Warner Music Nashville’s virtual gathering, click to enlarge.