Arista Promo Team Aligns Under Tyson, Sigler; Hires Dokke

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(L-R): Lesly Tyson, John Sigler, Ryan Dokke


Arista Nashville is announcing a reworked promotion team in time for next week’s Country Radio Seminar.
The label has promoted Lesly Tyson to Vice President, Promotion, and John Sigler to National Director, Promotion.
Joining the department effective Mon., Feb. 28 is Ryan Dokke, who will serve as Manager, Regional Promotion. Based in the label’s Nashville headquarters, Dokke arrives at Arista Nashville with more than a decade of experience in country radio, most recently as Asst. Program Director, Music Director, and on-air personality for WKKT-FM in Charlotte, NC.
The promotions of Tyson and Sigler were revealed as part of a larger company-wide restructuring earlier this month. Sony Music Nashville Sr. VP, Promotion Skip Bishop announced the promotion of Tyson, who in turn named Sigler to her previous role.
Tyson first came to the Sony family in 2004. Sigler joined Arista Nashville in 2007.

More Vehicles Add Streaming Radio

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A growing number of automobile makers are partnering with streaming radio services, and other entertainment apps for upcoming models.
The latest addition is Pandora streaming radio teaming with GM. The offering is expected to debut in the car manufacturer’s Chevrolet Volt and Equinox 2012 models. Users will be able to control Pandora via the car’s factory stereo system.
Pandora has already partnered with Ford, Mini, Mercedes, Toyota, and Hyundai. More here.
The streaming service offers a free version with advertisements, or a paid subscription with no ads. It has about 80 million registered users.
This news follows Pandora’s IPO filing earlier this month.

Radio Host Danny Winchell Passes

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WAMB radio show host Danny Winchell has died at age 84. He was also a pop singer, magazine publisher, record producer and music promoter.
Winchell died on February 16 in Nashville. His weekly program, “The Danny Winchell Show,” aired on Fridays at 2:05 p.m. on WAMB, at 1200 on the AM radio dial. He sometimes sang on it with his pop trio Moonlight & Memories, which included vocalists Carole Shaw and Lisa Webb.
He was a New York native who began his show-business career in the early 1950s. In 1952, he scored a pop hit singing the standard “Carolina in the Morning” on MGM Records. Other pop singles included “Two Who Love as One” (1951), “There Goes My Heart” (1952), “Joshua” (1953), “Por Favor” (1956), “Dungaree Doll” (1956), “Don’t Say You’re Sorry” (1959) and “We’re Gonna Have a Rockin’ Party” (1959).
He also took credit for co-producing “Blue Moon” by The Marcels, a No. 1 hit in 1961.
In later years, he wrote the syndicated column “The Winch Line” and published the entertainment periodicals Panorama and In & Around.
Danny Winchell is survived by Judy, his wife of 56 years, daughter Jerri Findley, son Kenny and brother Sam. Memorials may be made to the Community Foundation/ Danny Winchell Music to help fund musical education for disadvantaged youth. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Eastland Funeral Home. According to http://dannywinchell.com, a celebration of Winchell’s life will be held in Nashville next month.

Weekly Chart Report (2/18/11)

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SPIN ZONE

Capitol Records Nashville’s Walker Hayes isn’t kidding when he says he’s ready for winter to end. The “Why Wait For Summer” singer was in Birmingham, AL last week to perform at WDXB’s annual St. Jude event when he and WDXB morning show co-host Dollar Bill got down and ‘snowy’ together.


You knew this was coming, right? Following a huge night at the Grammys, Lady Antebellum’s anthemic “Hello World” ascends to No. 1 on the CountryBreakout Chart and holds off Taylor Swift’s “Back To December” by a mere 32 spins. Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music” is close at No. 3, and Jason Aldean’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” leaps over Billy Currington’s “Let Me Down Easy” to stick at No. 4.
Sunny Sweeney’s “From A Table Away” has taken the Jamey Johnson/Lee Brice route to heavy rotation, clocking 33 weeks of chart visibility before reaching No. 8. Other recent songs to last longer than 30 weeks include the JaneDear girls’ “Wildflower,” which stayed 33 weeks and reached No. 23. Joe Nichol’s “The Shape I’m In” hit No. 10 after 30 weeks, and Eric Church’s “Smoke A Little Smoke” lasted 31. Back in 2009, Love and Theft’s “Runaway” bested them all with a 35 week run to get to No. 2.
Several older titles have fallen subject to our 20/20 rule this week, and that means a bounty of new debuts. Highest of them all is Kenny Chesney’s “Live A Little,” which hit No. 45 nearly a full month ahead of its March 14 add date. Then there’s Toby Keith’s “Somewhere Else,” which landed at No. 53 following a gain of 431 spins. And Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” has clearly caught some programmer ears as it debuts at No. 57.
Frozen Playlists: KYEZ, WBYZ, WTCM





Upcoming Singles
February 22
Aaron Lewis/Country Boy/Stroudavarious
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory
Sarah Darling/Something To Do With Your Hands/Black River
Charley Pride/Except For You/Music City Records
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol
Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow/Me and Tennessee/Curb
Royal Wade Kimes/I’m An Ole Song/Wonderment
February 28
Jessica Ridley/Flaming Red/EMG/Universal/Nine North
Frankie Ballard/A Buncha Girls/Warner Bros./WMN
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA
Jason Thomas/I’m Your Radio/MD Records
Eric Church/Homeboy/EMI Nashville
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Kenny Chesney/Live A Little/BNA — 45
Toby Keith/Somewhere Else/Show Dog-Universal — 53
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory — 57
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA — 70
Gretchen Wilson/I’d Love To Be Your Last/Redneck Records/CO5 — 76
Badhorse/My Little Man/Global Maximus — 77
Eric Church/Homeboy/EMI Nashville — 79
Mark Wills/Looking For America/Mitzi Matlock Music — 80
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Kenny Chesney/Live A Little/BNA — 576
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista — 506
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 473
Toby Keith/Somewhere Else/Show Dog — Universal — 431
The Band Perry/You Lie/Republic Nashville — 321
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Kate Russell/Damned If I Do/Urunga/Spinville Records — 216
Bucky Covington/Hometown — 215
Curtis & Luckey/Eye Candy/KMG Music Group — 204
Tim McGraw & Gwyneth Paltrow/Me And Tennessee/Curb — 202
David Nail/Let It Rain/MCA — 201
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Toby Keith/Somewhere Else/Show Dog-Universal — 32
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory — 25
Badhorse/My Little Man/Global Maximus — 23
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 23
Eric Church/Homeboy/EMI Nashville — 21
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol — 16
Tim McGraw & Gwyneth Paltrow/Me And Tennessee/Curb — 12
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA — 11

Gearing up for his sold-out show at City Limits Saloon in Raleigh, NC, Show Dog-Universal’s Randy Houser gladly opened his bus to WQDR for some pre-show camaraderie. (L-R): WQDR's Marty Young, Houser, Billy's wife Amanda, and WQDR MD Billy Dukes.


The Dirt Drifters started their Southwest radio run with a stop at KAJA in San Antonio. (L-R): Ryan Fleener, Jeremy Little, Matt Fleener, KAJA PD Travis Moon, Nick Diamond, and Jeff Middleton.


Davis Music Group/Nine North artist Jacob Lyda brought his new single “I'm Doing Alright” to KMLE Phoenix during his recent SW tour. (L-R): Davis Music Group's Gator Michaels, KMLE's Andrew Bland, Lyda, KMLE's Jeff Garrison and Nine North's Dave Collins.

Cumulus In Talks To Buy Citadel

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Cumulus Media is in exclusive negotiations to purchase Citadel Broadcasting for about $2.5 billion. The companies released an official statement this afternoon acknowledging the negotiations were taking place.
Under terms of the proposed agreement, Cumulus would pay $37 per share in a combination of cash and Cumulus stock.
Cumulus is the second largest radio broadcaster in the United States based on station count, controlling 347 radio stations in 67 US media markets.
Late last year Cumulus offered $31/share for Citadel but was rejected. More here.

ACM Reveals Radio Winners

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ACM radio award winners were announced this morning (2/15). They will not be televised due to time constraints during the live telecast of the ACM Awards on April 3. Winners in radio categories will be invited to receive their awards at a private reception in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 2.
This marks the third ACM National On-Air Personality of the Year Award win for Blair Garner, for his show After MidNite with Blair Garner. With nearly 260 affiliates, Garner is recognized as being one of the Top 10 Most Listened To Disc Jockeys in America.
On-Air Personality Of The Year Winners
National – Blair Garner – After Midnight With Blair Garner
Major Market – Cliff And Brooks (Cliff, Brooks And Tori) – KSON-FM – San Diego, CA
Large Market – Chris Carr, Jason Statt And Maverick – WUBE-FM – Cincinnati, OH
Medium Market – Andy Ritchie, Alison Mencer And Jimmy Holt – WIVK-FM – Knoxville, TN
Small Market – Dex And Mo – WUSY-FM – Chattanooga, TN
Radio Station Of The Year Winners: (Note Tie In Major)
Major Market – KEEY-FM – St. Louis Park, MN (Tie)
Major Market – KNIX-FM – Phoenix, AZ (Tie)
Large Market – WGH-FM – Virginia Beach, VA
Medium Market – WIVK-FM – Knoxville, TN
Small Market – WYCT-FM – Pensacola, FL

Morning News From The Web

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>>Online radio outfit Pandora has filed a $100 million initial public offering, which could value the company at $1.2 billion. Pandora has 80 million users. More here.
>>A post-Grammy sales bump is expected for Lady A, Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire, and more, according to HitsDailyDouble.
>> Rumors of an Apple streaming music service have been circulating for a while. The latest clues are an expected upgrade of its cloud-based MobileMe media storage service, and the debut of a smaller, less expensive version of the iPhone. Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
>>Bonnaroo promoter AC Entertainment has signed on to present the Louisville Forecastle Festival. Read on.
>>CAA has teamed with Qualcomm to launch Creative Mobile Labs. The company will pair the creative minds CAA represents with mobile app developers. More here.

Weekly Chart Report (2/11/11)

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After MidNite’s Blair Garner (L) was sporting his 29 jersey and holding on to Sara Evans as they chatted about her latest hit single “A Little Bit Stronger” and her new RCA Nashville album, Stronger, releasing March 8.


SPIN ZONE
Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking” scores another week in the CountryBreakout Chart’s top spot, but loses a few spins in the process. Positions 2-4 are separated by approximately 120 spins, so the next No. 1 is likely going to be a shootout between Lady Antebellum’s “Hello World,” Taylor Swift’s “Back To December,” and Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music.”
Broken Bow’s Jason Aldean is also aiming for the top of the chart with “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” This week the Kelly Clarkson-assisted single picks up 249 more spins and moves to No. 6. Over at Stoney Creek, Thompson Square is the lone new entry to the Top 10 as “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” moves to No. 8. Inside the Top 20, new releases from Zac Brown Band (“Colder Weather,” No. 14), Miranda Lambert (“Heart Like Mine,” No. 15) and Rascal Flatts (“I Won’t Let Go,” No. 16) all gain over 200 spins and move up.
Walker Hayes has written the anthem for everyone in wintry Nashville, and it debuted at No. 78. Following our recent spate of snow and ice, heading for the beach like the narrator in “Why Wait For Summer” sounds like the perfect prescription for all of us. Also debuting are Sean Patrick McGraw’s “My So Called Life” at No. 79 and Lathan Moore’s “Love In Your Life” at No. 76.

Upcoming Singles
February 14
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista
Bridgette Tatum/Hillbilly Rockstar/Root 49/Quarterback
February 22
Aaron Lewis/Country Boy/Stroudavarious
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory
Sarah Darling/Something To Do With Your Hands/Black River
Charley Pride/Except For You/Music City Records
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory






New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Lathan Moore/Love In Your Life/Blue Steel Records — 76
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol — 78
Sean Patrick McGraw/My So Called Life/Little Engine Records — 79
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista — 527
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 484
Rascal Flatts/I Won’t Let Go/Big Machine — 368
Zac Brown Band/Colder Weather/Bigger Picture — 342
Reba/If I Were A Boy/Starstruck/Valory — 310
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Curtis & Luckey/Eye Candy/KMG Music Group — 178
Emma King & The Heartsets/I’m Not Forgotten/PLC — 178
Bucky Covington/Hometown — 177
The Grascals/I Am Strong/BlueGrascal — 168
Scott Lindsey/Miss Lead Me On/Gray Trailer — 163
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 32
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista — 31
Walker Hayes/Why Wait For Summer/Capitol — 18
Chris Young/Tomorrow/RCA — 12
Justin Moore/If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away/Valory — 12
Steve Holy/Love Don’t Run/Curb — 11
Jacob Lyda/I’m Doin’ Alright/Davis Music Group/9 North — 11

MCA’s George Strait recently paid a visit to WQYK/Tampa. (L-R): MCA’s Louie Newman, WQYK’ Jay Roberts, George Strait and WQYK’s Mike Culotta


EMI Records Nashville’s Eric Church was in Chattanooga, TN last weekend on a “My Kinda Party” tour stop. Church, who is currently working on the follow-up album to his critically acclaimed Carolina, is up for the ACM’s fan voted Top New Solo Vocalist award at this year’s show. Pictured L-R: Trudie Daniell (EMI Records Nashville SE Promotion Director), Gator Harrison (WUSY/Chattanooga OM/PD), his wife Tennille and Church.


Davis Music Group/Nine North artist Jacob Lyda brought his new single I'm Doing Alright to KMLE Phoenix during his recent SW trek. Pictured (L-R): Davis Music Group's Gator Michaels, KMLE's Andrew Bland, Lyda, KMLE's Jeff Garrison & Nine North's Dave Collins.

Chris Young Celebrates 3 Consecutive No. 1s

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Chris Young


Three times the charm for Chris Young celebrating his third consecutive No. 1 single. “Voices” from his sophomore CD, The Man I Want To Be has reached the summit a.k.a. chart heaven. Three-in-a-row is pretty sweet, but in this case it was the second go round for “Voices” which was originally released in 2008 and peaked at No. 37. Written by Young, Chris Tompkins and Craig Wiseman, “Voices” marks the second time that an artist has hit the top target after re-releasing a song. In fact, it was Randy Travis’ “On The Other Hand” that went to the top in 1986 after originally peaking at No. 67.
Young’s previous two No. 1 singles were “Getin’ You Home,” and “The Man I Want To Be.”
Chris Young was recently nominated for his first Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal and is currently on the road as part of the Rascal Flatts tour. He also has a new album scheduled for this summer. Young’s new single “Tomorrow” delivers digitally to radio this week.

Weekly Chart Report (2/04/11)

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Davis Music Group's Jacob Lyda performed his new single, "I'm Doing Alright," for the staff at WDRM in Huntsville, AL. (L-R): WDRM's AJ McCloud, Lyda and WDRM's Jim Tice.


SPIN ZONE
It’s Blake Shelton’s world right now, but thankfully he lets us stay here and read his Twitter feed. This week he’s on top of the CountryBreakout chart with “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking,” which surges ahead of Luke Bryan’s “Someone Else Calling You Baby” with a gain of 111 spins.
Positions 3-11 are all showing positive movement, with Taylor Swift’s No. 3 “Back To December” looking like a soon-to-be No. 1 contender. A few paces back, Billy Currington’s “Let Me Down Easy” (No. 7), Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay” (No. 8), Darius Rucker’s “This” (No. 10) and Thompson Square’s “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” (No. 11) all score triple digit spin gains.

Back Porch Productions hosted Craig Morgan, Luke Bryan, Chuck Wicks, Lee Brice, Thompson Square at the K92FM All Star Acoustic Jam with host Kix Brooks at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida on January 16. (L-R): Back Porch Productions Founder/CEO Carly Horvat; Wicks; and Back Porch staffers Ashley Roeder and Lauren Denig.


This chart also has the exciting and triumphant debut of Ronnie Dunn’s first solo single, “Bleed Red.” Programmers jumped all over the song and it easily snapped up our highest debut at No. 46. Keith Urban’s latest, “Without You,” also had a huge debut, landing at No. 65 with no prior reports.
It’s tough out there with numerous superstar singles blasting up the chart, but a few independent artists are making some noise. Burns & Poe’s “How Long Is Long Enough” is still gaining spins at No. 28, for starters. And at No. 35, Eric Lee Beddingfield’s“The Gospel According To Jones” continues to move upward. Katie Armiger’s “Best Song Ever” is just a hair behind at No. 36, and the Bellamy Brothers are now at No. 40 with “Back In The Day.”
RADIO NEWS
Bold Gold Media’s WDNB Thunder-102/Liberty, NY held its 5th Annual Thunder Blood Bowl at Monticello Casino & Raceway on Wednesday, January 26th. The event is one of the largest blood drives in New York’s Sullivan County, and this year 78 units of blood were donated for the local blood bank. “Our ‘ThunderHeads’ never cease to amaze me in their capacity to give,” comments Market Manager/GM/morning co-host Paul Ciliberto. “We even had eight first time donors during this drive.”







Upcoming Singles
February 7
Joanna Smith/Georgia Mud/Columbia
David Nail/Let It Rain/MCA
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol
Colt Ford/Country Thang/Average Joes
Doobie Brothers/World Gone Crazy/HOR/CO5
February 14
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista
Bridgette Tatum/Hillbilly Rockstar/Root 49/Quarterback
• • • •  •
New On The Chart—Debuting This Week
Artist/song/label — chart pos.
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/ Sony — 45
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 64
Jamey Johnson/Heartache/Mercury — 76
Matthew Huff/As TIme Goes By/MGH Records — 77
Aaron Lewis/Country Boy/Stroudavarious — 79
Greatest Spin Increase
Artist/song/label — spin+
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Sony — 627
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 368
Miranda Lambert/Heart Like Mine/Columbia — 331
Zac Brown Band/Colder Weather/Bigger Picture — 263
Reba/If I Were A Boy/Starstruck/Valory — 247
On Deck—Soon To Be Charting
Artist/song/label — spins
Sean Patrick McGraw/My So Called Life/Little Engine Records — 184
Lathan Moore/Love In Your Life/Blue Steel Records — 179
Emma King & The Heartsets/I’m Not Forgotten/PLC — 168
The Grascals/I Am Strong/BlueGrascal — 157
Scott Lindsey/Miss Lead Me On/Gray Trailer — 147
Most Added
Artist/song/label — New Adds
Ronnie Dunn/Bleed Red/Arista — 45
Keith Urban/Without You/Capitol — 30
David Bradley feat. Rodney Crowell/Hard Time Movin’ On/Gecko — 13
D.J. Miller/Whatever It Takes/Evergreen — 12
Reba/If I Were A Boy/Starstruck/Valory — 10
Carter’s Chord/A Little Less Comfortable/Show Dog-Universal — 10
Aaron Lewis/Country Boy/Stroudavarious — 9

Gloriana with KNCI staffers after a listener event. (L-R): Tom, KNCI afternoon jock Kodiak, Rachel, KNCI PD Byron Kennedy, Cheyenne, KNCI Promo Dir. Matt Viera, and Michael.


Sunny Sweeney played a sold out show at Club Rodeo in San Jose on Jan. 28. (L-R): Republic Nashville Pres. Jimmy Harnen, KRTY GM Nate Deaton, Sweeney, KRTY GSM Tina Ferguson and KRTY Night Jock Indiana Al.