Passion for the Music. Compassion for the Poor.

Compassion International Benefit Show

All proceeds will go to the Global Food Crisis Fund, assisting children and their families in the most needed areas where Compassion serves.

• Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

• Mercy Lounge in Nashville 7:30pm

• Country and Pop artists, special guests

• Tickets $10 in advance and at door.

Featuring:

• CARTER’S CHORD
• ROB BLACKLEDGE
• JULIE ROBERTS
• BRYAN WHITE
• MICA ROBERTS
• BLAINE LARSEN
• TRAILER CHOIR
• CHARMAINE
• NATALIE HEMBY
• CANAAN SMITH
• RUSS ROBERTS

*****and more very special guests!

Guest hosts: Tony & Kris from “Tony & Kris in the Morning”

CNN Video on the Global Food Crisis in Guatemala: http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2009/09/16/iyw.guatemala.food.crisis.cnn?iref=videosearch

About the Global Food Crisis:  http://www.compassion.com/sponsordonor/global-food-crisis/about-the-global-food-crisis.htm

If you would like to help out in any way or if you have questions, please contact Mike Severson at mikeseverson@comcast.net

Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from economic, social, spiritual, and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled adults. Go to www.compassion.org for more information.

2009 CMA Award Winners

The List of Country Music Association Award Winners:

Musical Event of the Year: “Start A Band “  Brad Paisley and Keith Urban

Musician of the Year:  Mac McAnally

Music Video of the Year:  “Love Story“  Taylor Swift - directed by Trey Fanjoy

Single of the Year:  “I Run to You” Lady Antebellum

Song of the Year: “In Color” Jamey Johnson

Group of the Year:  Lady Antebellum

New Artist of the Year: Darius Rucker

Album of the Year:  “Fearless“  Taylor Swift

Vocal Duo of the Year:  Sugarland

Male Vocalist of the Year:  Brad Paisley

Female Vocalist of the Year: Taylor Swift

Entertainer of the Year: Taylor Swift

The Fan I Was Before, Again.

I got into the music business because I was passionate about artists and music.  I had a heart for it and wanted it to be all around me.  That dream came true and has moved me into places I could have never imagined. Despite the positive aspects of working in the radio and music industries for 20+ years, there is inevitable fallout.  Music that may have reached me as a fan now may be met with a shrug.  Artists that I idolized as a fan now are just normal people who I may still respect, but they don’t lift me to another plane.

It’s easy to reason why.  Being immersed by the music, artists, and inner workings of the business for a long period of time has tinkered with the emotional mechanism in some way. The lines can blur between what is genuine passion and what is just part of your job.  Call it jaded, over saturated, or being more critical – it happens to all of us for better or worse.  Plus the aspect of just growing up and having less and less free time.

There is no doubt I still love and am passionate about music and artists (I should find another career if not), but it takes more to move me to a purchase of music or tickets to a show.  It requires something extra special to make me commit my time, energy, and resources.  When I find those artists and music that rock my world it reminds me of why I wanted to work in the music industry in the first place.  It rejuvenates me and like some retroactive switch causes me to become the fan I was before, again.

That’s where I am currently with several artists in various genres, with the pinnacle being MuteMath.  This band had me at the first listen of a sample EP back in 2002 and then after seeing their unbelievable shows at the Exit Inn and SXSW. Boom, done!

Sometimes these musical highs cool down to earth and I move on to the next one, but this trip continues after purchasing their first three projects and catching a few more shows.  Now they are coming back to town this Sunday and I am absolutely going.  I purchased the MuteMath VIP package via their website.  Not only was it a great idea for the band to market, but it was priced right.  All of you artists and labels pay attention now……..in the package was a CD, full album download w/ exclusive bonus tracks, t-shirt, invitation to a local mobile listening party of album prior to release, signed lithograph, and a “first in line” pass. All bundled up for $49. Totally worth the price because I am a fan.

I am a freaking fan and it feels good.

A Message from Keynote Speaker for CRS 41

Dave Ramsey is an incredibly successful broadcast personality and is on over 400 radio stations.  In addition, Dave is a prominent author, speaker, businessman, and culture shaper.  He’s also a heck of a nice guy.  I should know since my wife Amy works for him.  Dave and his company do amazing things in helping people live a life of financial freedom and I’m very glad to see he is keynoting Country Radio Seminar in Nashville this February.

Throwback Thursday: Garth Brooks

In honor of his coming out of retirement to play shows in Las Vegas (did you happen to hear about that?) here is Garth’s very first single from 1989, “Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old”, captured with some nifty effects.  I do remember playing this on the radio when it was a current.  Still one of his best songs.

All for the Hall

If ever there was an industry show I was glad I went to, this one was it.  I caught myself smiling at times because of the pure talent that graced the stage and the quality of the music.  The production and sound was solid as far as I could tell too.  The award shows should have been taking notes.  As a matter of fact, I have an idea for them – use Vince Gill’s band for all non group performances.  They can play anything and knock it out of the park.

Keith and Vince announced there will be a “All For The Hall” show in October 2010 and I will be back to not only see a fantastic show, but to support the Country Music Hall of Fame.

As for individual performances, here is a brief rundown:

Keith Urban:   Hands down is the most entertaining act in country music. No need for gimmicks, this guy is a master on stage, with a guitar, and with a crowd.  He seems so comfortable and genuine as well.

Vince Gill:   I love this guy and always have. As he sang I reminisced at when I was fortunate to work hit after hit after hit including “Whenever You Come Around” which he performed and his voice sounded exactly the same.  He has not lost an ounce of his talent and we are all the poorer not hearing him on the radio.

Brad Paisley:  Would have liked to hear another song, but enjoyed the guitar duel with Urban.  Obvious talent.

Little Big Town:   Each time I see this act, the more I believe they are stars.  Sounded great.

Lady Antebellum:   This is a trio that should be welcomed as an A artist.  They are unbelievably versatile and talented.  I can’t wait to hear more.

Jason Aldean:   I know he has sold a load of albums, but I have not seen Jason in a big venue.  His ovation was eye opening.  The guy has a coolness factor and carves out his own edgy country niche.

Faith Hill:   Honestly I wasn’t expecting much just based on not seeing her for a long time, but she surprised me at how strong her vocals were.  I was reminded of why I initially fell for her back in 1993.  All she needs is some solid and relevant country songs.  I’d be glad to welcome her back into the fold.

Dierks Bentley:   He wasn’t on the bill and showed up as a special guest, and honestly it felt like he just showed up to the venue 5 minutes before and decided to go on stage.  He was good however and has such an original voice in a sea of sameness when it comes to male artists.

Taylor Swift:  I was looking forward to seeing her and I think she and her three backup singers should have probably been featured earlier in the show.  She shined and all the kids loved her, but going last on this particular show was a tough spot to be in.

Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio

From The Tennessean Tune In Music City blog by Lucas Hendrickson

Diamond Rio (photo: Russ Harrington)

The silence didn’t last all that long.

Guitarist Jimmy Olander was outlining his vision for the next Diamond Rio project to the group’s lead singer, Marty Roe. Rather than just another album, Olander thought, perhaps the story of Roe’s struggles with vocal problems and their simultaneous impact on the band needed to be fleshed out in book form.

“I went to (Roe) early because if he didn’t agree to it, I wasn’t about to go force one of my partners to leak this information or do something that was going to put him in an uncomfortable situation,” Olander says. “There was a bit of a pregnant pause on the phone when I hit him up with what my plan was. But there wasn’t any backpedaling, and in a real somber tone he said, ‘OK, what would you like me to do?’

“Within that pregnant pause, I think he saw that this was not going to be fun often, but I see him go back into that story again and again, and it’s courageous and I commend him for doing that.”

The entire band partnered with writer (and former Tennessean staffer) Tom Roland to craft the book Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio, a combination biography/redemption story that used Diamond Rio’s disastrous 2005 Fourth of July performance at Riverfront Park as the jumping-off point.

“I think everybody realized, right off the bat, that this was a real story that all of us had gone through together, even though it was my personal problem,” Roe says. “But we’re not disconnected and they all went through it with me, actually suffering some tough stuff that I didn’t go through.

“The feeling of the lack of control had to be much greater with them than it was for me, especially at first when I was going through some denial,” he continues. “I was at least working on it, they had to be in the bleachers watching and hoping that it works out OK. That may be a tougher place to be than actually being in the problem.”

Band finds ‘Reason’ for excitement

The book emerges simultaneously with Diamond Rio’s latest recorded project: an album titled The Reason, the band’s first for Christian music label Word Entertainment. The record marks another first for Diamond Rio: releasing an album for which the band’s members wrote most of the tracks.

The end result of both projects is a revelatory period for a band that has played things pretty close to the vest over its 25-year career.

“There have been a lot of different things that have made what we’re doing on this record completely new for us, even though we’ve been doing this for a long time,” Olander says. “We’ve kinda always been a little nondescript; we’ve always gone through a very laborious song-selection process, turned over every rock looking for the best possible material that other writers have written.

“We’ve had a career of that, and I’m not going to say Diamond Rio is soulless or has been, but we were kinda technicians in that and there wasn’t as much heart in those projects as there is in this one.”

Roe agrees that it’s easier for him to get excited about this new material, because of its origins and purpose.

“I have loved almost everything we cut (over the band’s career), and had an emotional connection, but it was not our words and there’s a difference,” he says. “But there’s a difference between doing an ‘I Believe’ that someone else wrote and doing ‘God Is There,’ which we wrote. You have a little more personal story to tell of how that song got created.”

The Guatemala Crew

Artists Lend A Hand To Good Causes

Pictured on a trip to Guatemala on behalf of Compassion International (l-r): Carter’s Chord’s Joanna and Emily Robertson, recording artist Rob Blackledge, Carter’s Chord’s Becky Robertson and country music artist Megan Mullins.

Carter’s Chord joined fellow artists Megan Mullins and Rob Blackledge, and media professionals on a September trip to Guatemala on behalf of Compassion International, a child development ministry working to release the world’s poorest kids from poverty.

From MUSIC ROW.  See the complete article here.  Photo: Mike Severson

The Music City Cycle

I was at the gym this morning getting a workout on the bicycle.  I plugged in my headphones to listen to one of the five television channels available to those in the facility.  My choices were a Wall Street news show, the Golf Channel, the Today Show, a country music video channel, and an investment program.  What?  No ESPN?!  Unbelievable!  I was too busy peddling to ask the staff to change one of the channels, plus I figured I needed to catch up on my music videos. The decision was made.

While on the stationary bike I saw five videos amongst promos and advertising.  All currents and all on the charts at the moment (one may be considered a recurrent).  As a fan of music and a radio listener I was incredibly disappointed.  Besides each video bringing an element of over dramatization, the songs were below average radio fodder.  Each single was from a major label, around mid-tempo, had unoriginal lyrics, overdone themes, and predictable melody.  They also had a nice hooks in the chorus and that’s all that really matters because they probably are testing well for radio stations.  The lowest common denominator typically wins and real music lovers lose because Nashville will continue to release the songs that they think will test well for radio stations across the board.  And then the time will come when radio will say, “Why isn’t Nashville sending us anything extraordinary?”  The industry cycle feeds itself.

What happened to edgy?  What’s wrong with passion and polarizing?  When did going with your gut become so passe’?  Taking a chance…..what’s that?  Seems like there is less and less of that going on every day for a number of reasons.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still amazing music being released from an array of strong artists by labels.  We are also fortunate to have the star power of Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, Keith Urban, Darius Rucker, and Kenny Chesney among others.  Still, a substantial amount of singles are background music designed to do exactly what radio needs them to do.  Be unstylish, non-offending wallpaper.  Don’t turn that dial!  TSL!  PPM!  Familiarity!  It’s okay if they all sound the same.

Take the new single from Radney Foster for example.  Think it’s too out of center?  Maybe, but that is exactly where our format gets its energy and relevancy from.  Or what about the songs and artists that are “too country”?  The heck you say!  Perhaps out of center the other direction, but they are the foundation and lifeblood of our format.  So thanks to Lee Ann Womack and those like her.

It’s always frustrating to know that the majority of  listeners will never hear ground-breaking, original, and beautiful music that is being written, performed, and recorded by immensely talented artists.  Unless of course they go to one of the numerous online options that offer discovery and personal playlists. There are, thankfully, exceptions in the radio world who push the musical envelope and you stations know who you are.

I realize this is a battle that has been going on for a long time and will continue to be fought and discussed.  Like the exercise bike I ride that doesn’t go anywhere.  It does grow tiring to be sure and everyone has an entitled opinion, but at the end of this day I’ll take exceptional music over mass mediocrity any day.

CMA Award Nominees Announced Today

The 43rd annual CMA Awards nominees were announced this morning.  The live broadcast will be on Wednesday, November 11th at 8p EST from Nashville on ABC.

Entertainer Of The Year

KENNY CHESNEY
BRAD PAISLEY
TAYLOR SWIFT
GEORGE STRAIT
KEITH URBAN

Male Vocalist Of The Year

KENNY CHESNEY
BRAD PAISLEY
GEORGE STRAIT
DARIUS RUCKER
KEITH URBAN

Female Vocalist Of The Year

TAYLOR SWIFT
MIRANDA LAMBERT
MARTINA McBRIDE
REBA McENTIRE
CARRIE UNDERWOOD

New Artist Award

DARIUS RUCKER
JAMEY JOHNSON
RANDY HOUSER
JAKE OWEN
ZAC BROWN BAND

Vocal Duo Of The Year

BIG & RICH
BROOKS & DUNN
MONTGOMERY GENTRY
SUGARLAND
JOEY + RORY

Vocal Group Of The Year

EAGLES
LADY ANTEBELLUM
ZAC BROWN BAND
LITTLE BIG TOWN
RASCAL FLATTS

Album Of The Year (awarded to artist/producers)

BRAD PAISLEY – American Saturday Night – producers CHRIS DUBOIS and FRANK ROGERS – ARISTA RECORDS
KEITH URBAN – Defying Gravity – producers DANN HUFF and KEITH URBAN – CAPITOL RECORDS
TAYLOR SWIFT – Fearless – producers NATHAN CHAPMAN and TAYLOR SWIFT – BIG MACHINE RECORDS
SUGARLAND – Love On The Inside – producers BYRON GALLIMORE, KRISTIAN BUSH and JENNIFER NETTLES – MERCURY RECORDS
JAMEY JOHNSON – That Lonesome Song – producers THE KENT HARDLY PLAYBOYS – MERCURY RECORDS

Single Of The Year (awarded to the artist/producer)

“Chicken Fried” – ZAC BROWN BAND – produced by KEITH STEGALL
“I Run To You” – LADY ANTEBELLUM – produced by VICTORIA SHAW and PAUL WORLEY
“In Color” – JAMEY JOHNSON – produced by THE KENT HARDLY PLAYBOYS
“Then” – BRAD PAISLEY – produced by CHRIS DUBOIS and FRANK ROGERS
“People Are Crazy” -BILLY CURRINGTON – produced by CARSON CHAMBERLAIN and BILLY CURRINGTON

Song Of The Year (awarded to songwriter)

“Chicken Fried” – ZAC BROWN and WYATT DURRETTE
“I Told You So” – RANDY TRAVIS
“In Color” – JAMEY JOHNSON, JAMES OTTO and LEE THOMAS MILLER
“People Are Crazy” – BOBBY BRADDOCK and TROY JONES
“Then” – BRAD PAISLEY, CHRIS DuBOIS and ASHLEY GORLEY

Musical Event Of The Year

“Cowgirls Don’t Cry” – BROOKS & DUNN with REBA McENTIRE
“Down The Road” – KENNY CHESNEY with MAC McANALLY
“Everything But Quits” -LEE ANN WOMACK with GEORGE STRAIT
“I Told You So” – CARRIE UNDERWOOD with RANDY TRAVIS
“Old Enough” – THE RACONTEURS with RICKY SKAGGS and ASHLEY MONROE

Video Of The Year (awarded to artist and director)

“Boots On” – RANDY HOUSER – directed by ERIC WELCH
“Love Story” – TAYLOR SWIFT – directed by TREY FANJOY
“People Are Crazy” – BILLY CURRINGTON — directed by THE BRADS
“Start A Band” – BRAD PAISLEY (duet with KEITH URBAN) – directed by JIM SHEA
“Troubadour” – GEORGE STRAIT – directed by TREY FANJOY

Musician Of The Year

EDDIE BAYERS, JR. – drums
PAUL FRANKLIN – steel guitar
DANN HUFF – guitar
BRENT MASON – guitar
MAC MACANALLY – guitar

CMA Radio Station of the Year

Major Market: KMPS/Seattle, KYGO/Denver, WPOC/Baltimore, WUSN/Chicago, WYCD/Detroit.

Large Market: KAJA/San Antonio, KASE/Austin, WQDR/Raleigh, WTQR/Greensboro-Winston Salem, WUBE/Cincinnati.

Medium Market: KSSN/Little Rock, KUZZ/Bakersfield, KXKT/Omaha, WBBS/Syracuse, WGNA/Albany.Small Market: WAXX/Eau Claire, WI; WBKR/Owensboro, KY; WKSF/Asheville, NC; WUSY/Chattanooga, TN; WYCT/Pensacola, FL.

CMA Personality Of The Year

National

• American Country Countdown, Kix Brooks
• Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40, Bob Kingsley
• The Lia Show, Lia Knight

Major Market

• The All New Dr. Don Morning Show with Doc, Grunwald, Rachael, and Jason, Don Carpenter, Steve Grunwald, Rachael Hunter, Jason “The 300 Pound Cowboy” Raithel, WYCD/Detroit.
• Cliff and Company: Cliff, Morgan, Tanner, and Tori, Cliff Dumas, Morgan Thomas, Bill Tanner, Tori Peck, KSON/San Diego.
• The Cornbread Morning Show featuring Cornbread, Pat James, Producer Annie, Father Harry and Captain Mac, Cornbread, Pat James, Annie Henson, Harry Schroeder, Mac “Captain Mac” Douglas, WIL/St. Louis.
• The Laurie De Young Morning Show, Laurie De Young, WPOC/Baltimore.
• Paul Schadt and Sarah in the Morning, Paul Schadt, Sarah Waters, WKKT/Charlotte.

Large Market

• Bucky & Bob: The Talk of Austin, Bucky Godbolt, Bob Cole, KVET/Austin.
• Chris Carr & Company, Chris Carr, Jeffrey “Maverick” Bolen, Jason Statt, WUBE, Cincinnati.
• Jeff Roper in the Morning, Jeff Roper, Angie Ward, Adam “Flash” Dellinger, WTQR/Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point.
• Jim Denny and Friends, Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt, Kevin Freeman, WFMS/Indianapolis.
• Karen, Scott and Radar…The Moo Crew, Karen Dalessandro, Scott Dolphin, Tony “Radar” Hess, WMIL/Milwaukee.

Medium Market

• The 97 Country Breakfast Club with Roger, Tom, and Melissa, Roger Todd, Tom O’Brien, Melissa Moran, WPCV/Lakeland, FL.
• Brian and Kellie Morning Show, Brian Pierce, Kellie Michaels, KFDI/Wichita.
• The Kat 103 Morning Show with Steve Lundy, Gina, and Craig, Steve Lundy, Gina Melton, Craig Allen, KXKT, Omaha.
• Tom & Becky in the Morning, Tom Owens, Becky Palmer, WBBS/Syracuse.
• WIVK at Night with Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan, WIVK/Knoxville.

Small Market

• Barrett, Fox & Berry, Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, Tracy Berry, KKNU/Eugene, OR.
• Bearman and Ken in the Morning, Benny “Bearman” Martin, Ken Hicks, WUSY/Chattanooga, TN.
• Gator & The StyckMan, Gator Harrison, Greg “StyckMan” Owens, WGSQ/Cookeville, TN.
• Mee in the Morning, Kevin Mee, Brenda Mee, KIZN/Boise, ID.
• Middays with Philip Gibbons, Philip Gibbons, WGSQ/Cookeville, TN.

And We’re Off

I’m quite excited about the trip we are departing on today.  A Compassion trip to Guatemala to visit child development programs and see first hand how children and families are being rescued from their dire circumstances.  I already know what to expect having been on a few of trips, but the impact nevertheless will always be the same no matter how many I eventually journey on.  Heartbreak, joy, hunger, hope, poverty, faithfulness, weakness, courage, and a multitude of emotions and sensations.  Brutal poverty will punch you in the gut and things change.  Change for the good in you, in me, and in the lives of these children.

Just tonight I was talking with our adoptive daughter about her life in Ethiopia.  She tells us random stories and we have been trying to weave them together in some sort of time frame and context.  The better she speaks English, the more we are understanding and putting the pieces into place.  So tonight’s story was about how her and her Ethiopian mother didn’t have any food to eat and were hungry all the time.  She said that they both would ask for money along side the road so they could go buy food.  They were begging.  A common sight in Ethiopia, but to imagine our daughter in dirty clothes from the dusty roads, holding her mother’s hand and just looking for their next meal, well…….how that will hit me when I see it in Guatemala I just don’t know.  But that’s reality and that’s life in these poverty stricken countries.

It will impact everyone on our trip differently depending on their own story and what touches their heart.  I look forward to telling you stories from this adventure and have even more anticipation of hearing what our artist, radio, and industry guests have to tell.

I’m proud and excited to have Megan Mullins, Carter’s Chord, Rob Blackledge and John Bollinger as our artist guests.  Musical artists have so much influence to inform and encourage people to act.  Radio obviously does as well and it will be great to finally travel with KKGO PD and Compassion advocate Tonya Campos.  I’m also thrilled to have industry pros like Megan Smith and Denise Roberts, who have already been supporters of Compassion, join in the mix.

I don’t know who will be blogging, twittering, or updating Facebook, but I will certainly try along the way.  In the meantime check out more about Compassion and intentionally look up the children from Guatemala that are needing a sponsor.  We may very well be hugging on their neck and playing games with them.

Guatemala Prep

Next Thursday an amazing crew of artists and radio folks will be traveling to Guatemala with Compassion International.  We will be in the country for 3 days visiting with local staff, volunteers, families, and children in the program.

Compassion’s work in Guatemala began in 1976. Currently, more than 33,300 children participate in 140 child development centers.

The following map shows the location on those centers.

Next week I will be documenting the preparation for the trip and facts that you may not know about Guatemala.

Keith Urban Brings It

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: How can Keith Urban not be Entertainer of the Year?  Seeing him long ago fronting The Ranch and several times as a solo artist, no one can touch his show.  The charisma, energy, musicianship, voice, and overall performance is pure entertainment.  He is a welcomed combination of artistry and commerce in a world where talent typically falls on one side or the other.

And let’s not forget the songs, which Bob Lefsetz writes about in his recent blog post.  He was at the show in L.A. and shares the experience.  I love this line:  “The Nashville market is the last bastion of real music.  Actual songs played on real instruments.  And that’s what you got with Keith Urban, real music.”

Check out the entire post HERE.

A Snapshot of Current Music Industry

From Vintage Vinyl News:

The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) has released a report in association with Nielsen SoundScan on the current state of the recording industry.

Highlights from the report:

• Digital music is now 40% of the total music purchases compared to just 8% in 2005. It is projected that it will hit 50% by the end of 2010.
• Purchases are being made less at mass and chain/electronic stores and more at value oriented outlets (dollar, mass merchandisers, clubs) and on-line. Between 2001 and 2009, chains like Best Buy’s share of the market has gone from 54% to 32%, independent music stores from 14% to 7%, mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart from 28% to 33% and non-traditional sources such as iTunes, Amazon and Starbucks from 3% to 29%.
• In 2008, the biggest percentage jump in sales was for vinyl albums, which were up 89% over 2007. The biggest drop was in current CD albums (compared to catalog) which was down 23%.
• Since 2004, CD sales are down 45% while digital sales are up 490% and video game sales up 115%.
• Between 2006 and 2008, rap music had the biggest drop in album sales, dropping 44% with country down 36% and R&B down 34%. On the other end of the scale, rock and hard rock are only down 18%.
• Digital music buying was done most by fans of rock music, with 41% of all purchases coming from an on-line source. That’s compared to only 6% of sales for country albums.
• New physical formats are not doing well. Slot Music sales are averaging 1,500 albums per week while digital album cards are only moving 590 albums. Both formats are seriously declining.
• Through the first five months of this year, rock and alternative vinyl album sales have led the way, growing between 60% and 70% from last year. The real genre gains, percentage wise, has been in country and gospel where sales are up 200% from a year ago.

There is a ton more of interesting statistics over in the NARM presentation including the impact of TV on music sales and statistics on big sellers.

Good to Great

A short but important piece from Dan Miller’s weekly newsletter.  Find Dan’s blog HERE.

There is a PBS special running right now on the music of David Foster (Hit Man – David Foster and Friends). As the hosts asked him about his early years in music, one response jumped out at me. David said he loved music as a child and his parents allowed him to take lessons in classical music. But David said: “I was good, but not great.” He went on to explain that if he had been a better musician he would likely have ended up as an anonymous face in some orchestra. Not being great forced him to look for other ways to be involved in music. So he writes and produces for other musicians. It has been said that Foster’s songs have made “many famous singers into superstars.” Many of his songs have become well known through the voices of Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Micheal Buble, and Boz Scaggs. And his own fame and fortune has far surpassed what he could have possibly hoped for as a “great” musician.

In The Millionaire Mind author Thomas Stanley looks at the common characteristics of people who have ended up extremely wealthy. Their average GPA is 2.7. Why isn’t it that all 4.0 students become wildly successful? Maybe their “greatness” came too easily and they missed the benefits of the struggle.

If “greatness” has not come easily for you have you given up the pursuit and settled for mediocrity? Or have you looked for alternative approaches for success anyway?

Maybe “greatness” that comes too easily is itself an obstacle. We’ve all seen athletes, musicians, writers, and speakers who were so naturally great they never had to exercise the discipline to survive the hard times – and quickly faded into oblivion.

Maybe not being “great” is your biggest hidden asset.

Dan Miller, President of 48 Days, LLC, in Franklin, TN, and Founder of The 212° Connection, specializes in creative thinking for increased personal and business success.

All Access 10 Questions with……Mike Severson

I recently did a 10 Questions feature with All Access and it is being featured on their site this week.  I’m re-posting it here, not to be self serving, but to continue to highlight the amazing work Compassion is doing and the way we are connecting with country artists, radio, and industry partners.  This is the time to impact the world.

If you have a question that I did not get asked here, then please feel free to contact me.

 

NAME: Mike Severson TITLE: Artist & Radio Relations for Country format COMPANY: Compassion International BLOG: www.mikeseverson.wordpress.com BORN: Cedar Rapids, Iowa RAISED: Inola, Oklahoma

Please outline your career so far:

1988 – 1994 Radio (KWEN and KCKI in Tulsa, OK)
1994 – 2002 MCA Nashville
2003 – 2004 All Access Music
2004 – 2005 Rounder Records
2005 – 2008 Midas Records
2008 – present Compassion International & Freelance Consulting/Promotion/Marketing

1. Last time we spoke with you was 2005 and you were working for Rounder Records. Catch us up on what has been going on in your life for the past few years.

Wow, it’s been too long since we have spoken! I went from Rounder directly to being hired by Bob Reeves as we helped launch Midas Records in early 2006. Worked some great music and artists, but the roller coaster ride ended in July 2008. From there I had a short stint at another indie label and most recently was hired by Compassion International this past December as their consultant in the Country format.

2. Tell us what Compassion International is and a little bit about the company’s history and focus.

Compassion International is a Christian child development ministry dedicated to helping children in need around the world through one-on-one sponsorships. Compassion’s programs help release children from poverty and enable them to become responsible, fulfilled adults. They offer educational opportunities, health care and health-related instruction, nutrition, life-skills training, social activity, and spiritual growth. As for the history, Compassion was founded in 1952 and now serves over 1 million children in 26 countries around the world. The organization is also involved in other critical areas of need including, but not limited to, disease prevention, fighting hunger, clean water projects, disaster relief, HIV/AIDS initiatives, and the global food crisis. You can check out more at www.compassion.com.

3. What exactly is your role with Compassion?

I am essentially artist and radio relations for the Country format. I am currently educating and forming relationships with artists and radio stations that are interested in partnering with Compassion on a world-wide basis. I will then be the Country point person for those artists and stations for strategic planning and implementation.

4. Compassion International has been pretty visible in the Christian music format for a while now, correct? What made the company decide to move into the Country format as well?

It just feels like a natural progression. The two formats share an enormous amount of listeners, target demos, and there is a foundational element of Faith in our format. Country artists, radio, listeners, and fans have huge hearts as well and there is incredible opportunity to make an impact on children around the world while letting our format shine beyond our preconceived borders and notions. The bottom line though is that I believe Country music can have a life changing impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of children around the globe.

5. You have been working this job for about six months now, what has the response been from the Country music community?

I am thrilled at the response and the interest. There are so many artists, radio stations, and industry professionals that are looking to connect with an organization who is involved with fighting extreme poverty and where they can make a direct impact on a child in need. Sometimes it is difficult to know what organization to support and identify where the money is actually going. But when they see how Compassion does not indiscriminately throw money at a problem, but through direct one-on-one sponsorships is lifting kids and families out of deep poverty, it gives them an opportunity to see that the monthly contribution from the sponsor is truly helping their specific child.  It also is a plus that Compassion has a 30+ year history in the music industry and knows how to build relationships and connect the dots. That’s huge.

6. You recently had the opportunity to visit El Salvador with Valory Music Co. group Emerson Drive. Tell us about that experience.

Compassion actively takes artists and radio folks who are interested in a partnership on actual trips. Typically a 3-4 day journey to Central or South America, although Africa and India are possible for those who want to dive into at least a week-long trip. Spence Smith (Compassion artist rep) and I were excited to take the Emerson Drive guys down to Central America to get a first hand experience of what Compassion is all about and see the work they do. We visited a few of the 150 Compassion programs within the heart of the communities in El Salvador. We met the children, staff, volunteers, and the families of some of the kids. The band also had the opportunity to walk the streets and visit the homes of families in these impoverished communities who live in the midst of brutal circumstances that we in the States cannot imagine. Since I was already friends with the guys in the band, I knew they had big hearts, but seeing all of this with their own eyes really made it hit home. They can now communicate what they have experienced, what Compassion actively does to change lives, and how people can get involved.

7. How can radio stations and Country artists partner with Compassion?

There are a number of ways artists can partner through incentive programs, fan clubs, social networking, live shows, CD inserts, text campaigns, and countless other relevant ways. Radio had the opportunity to partner through special events as KKGO/Los Angeles did last September. Compassion has worked with over 350 radio stations in various campaigns and combined that experience with the passion of PD Tonya Campos to set up a full day event to help find sponsors for waiting children. Tonya took a trip to Nicaragua where she met her own sponsored child and also recorded video and audio content for the event. See some of that here.  The results were so successful and powerful that they have booked another event for early 2010. Compassion provides a detailed turn-key tool kit and also is willing to offer extra revenue and compensation opportunities for participating stations. It’s a complete win for everyone involved. It’s also a very flexible model for each individual station based on their market and needs. Other opportunities could involve active web content to not only drive traffic to the site, but also generate non-traditional revenue.

8. I know you have been involved with Compassion for quite some time as a sponsor, but what made you want to take that step and work for the company?  You must have had a strong belief in the company and in the people involved in Country music to make the change.

I have sponsored a child from Brazil for 6 years. During that time we have written to one another and sent photos back and forth. She draws and colors pictures for me that I can hang up in our home. When I look at her photo I know that my monthly donation is going to help her get an education, medical attention, nutrition, and social and spiritual development. Things she would never have without my help. I’ve seen so many examples of kids who came into the program with no hope of life to graduating high school and college. I investigated how Compassion operates and how consistently high it is rated with the charity watchdog groups. Plus having artists I know and respect giving their support was a factor as well. When I started talking with the people at Compassion about the potential move into Country I wanted to help out however I could. I believe in this amazing organization more than I have believed in any record I have worked. I love the music industry and this community, but I also was at a place where I desired to make an impact on lives of those in severe poverty and suffering. I’ve never seen an organization do it better than Compassion.

9. What exciting things do you have coming up with Compassion within the Country music community in the near future?

Many ideas and plans are in the works. Obviously taking artists and radio who are interested in partnering with Compassion on trips to see first hand the work Compassion does. We are taking the model that is working successfully for KKGO and calling on other stations to join in this worldwide impact of children and families. There are artists who are excited about partnering with Compassion and we are talking with them about how they want to be involved since the possibilities are endless. Compassion is excellent at the aspect of relationship and helping to design something that works for each music industry partner whether it is in our sponsorship or child development programs or cause specific like HIV/AIDS, malaria, clean water, and global food crisis initiatives.

10. If you could pick any artist in Country music involved with Compassion, who would you chose?

Obviously I would love to have any artist that has a heart for this and is interested in what Compassion is doing. Each and every artist has something special to offer through their music, personality, passion, and experience. For obvious reasons artists like Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, and Taylor Swift come to mind. Their fan base alone could make an unimaginable impact on the lives of tens of thousands of children in deep poverty. Country radio has that same enormous potential.

Bonus Questions

1. To go from record label promotion person to working for a non-profit Christian agency must be quite a leap. What skills that you learned as a promo guy have come in handy in your new job?

It may appear to be a leap from the surface, but I’m still the same person. I came into this business because I had a passion for artists and music, not necessarily to be a label rep. That passion continues even stronger today as I combine it with a purpose to be involved in something relevant that positively impacts and transforms lives.

2. You have been on two Compassion trips now, right? Where have you been and where are you planning to go next?

I traveled to Honduras in February, El Salvador in March, and Ghana is in the works for August. Guatemala has just been confirmed for September 3-6 with Tonya Campos, Carter’s Chord, Megan Mullins, pop artist Rob Blackledge, and any other radio station or artist that is interested in exploring a partnership. Africa is being tossed around for December or January as well. We are also open to designing trips around artist’s schedules who are sincerely interested in making the journey. Any takers? It will blow you away.

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Taking Care of Your Fans

In the music business I’ve heard it said you will see artists at Fan Fair (or visiting radio) on their way up and then on their way down. Rarely in between when they are a superstar or at the top of their game.

One of the few exceptions to that rule is Garth Brooks. He is the true artist for the fan and that was never portrayed more than at Fan Fair 1996 when he signed autographs and took photos with fans for 23 hours straight without a break.

You may call it a brilliant PR or marketing ploy, but the bottom line is that he took care of his fans first and foremost and they rewarded him for it.

Here’s a short video of the master at work:

EMI-WMG Finally Set for the Merge?

From Music Row by David Ross:

What do Clear Channel and Terra Firma have in common? They both purchased assets that have declined greatly in value and as a result are struggling to satisfy debt loads that are difficult to support given the current business climate.

Terra Firma, which purchased EMI two years ago for $4.7 billion is under stress to help the music company meet some of its covenant debt obligations. If EMI is unable to meet those obligations, then Citigroup, which controls the $5 billion debt load could move EMI into bankruptcy.

On the other hand, Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman has just successfully managed to restructure his company’s debt through a very smoothly and successfully orchestrated bond offering which raised $1.1 billion thereby putting WMG in a more flexible position with regard to acquisitions.

According to the New York Post, this important change in WMG’s balance sheet could mean that a merger with EMI, a long talked about marriage—yet to be consumated, might actually have stronger than ever odds of success. “An EMI-WMG merger has always made sense, and with WMG’s newly strengthened balance sheet and the lights dimming on EMI, the stage may finally be set for a merger,” Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield commented last week.

Irving Azoff And The “De-Monetization” Of The Music Industry

The following article from Business Week is a very telling sign. Is there any reason not to believe that artist management is now in the drivers seat for the music industry?  A place where 360 deals are a natural part of the entertainment landscape and where the business of touring and sponsorships can thrive.  All that will be left for some of them to add is in house promotion/marketing/new media. Then once the current artist deals are fulfilled at labels, look out.

Posted by: Jon Fine

TicketMaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff, appearing at News Corp’s annual All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, California, proved an interesting and free-speaking interviewee. Although, churlish as it may be, he was much more interesting and free-speaking about the macroeconomics of the music industry than on the specifics of his company—and its proposed merger with LiveNation Inc.—and the criticisms lobbed at it. (I’ve hit one such lob myself.)

“Recorded music is more a marketing tool than a revenue source” for acts now, said Azoff, who also still manages the likes of The Eagles, Neil Diamond, and Christina Aguilera. His storied career, and well-earned reputation as one of the fiercest and savviest managers in the business, took flight with the Eagles, back in the Seventies when both Azoff and his artists were significantly more mustachioed and bushy-haired than they are today.

They also had a much easier time making a dollar back then. Today,“recorded music is down to less than 6%” of major musical acts’ revenues, he divulged. To put this in its proper perspective, consider that such income once was such acts’ “biggest revenue source,” he added.

Much of what Azoff said pointed to a view of music revolving around the live music experience. This, obviously, plays into his wheelhouse as one overseeing business interests so dependent on concerts. Still, his logic is convincing, and the examples he cited concerning what he called the “demonetization” of the music business were striking.

Artists walk in to his office, Azoff said, “who used to make $300,000 to $500,000 a year in royalties [from selling recordings]. And now that’s diminished to less than $50,000” a year. This means, unsurprisingly, “the creative side” of the music business is “very anxious” about the changes that have swept this landscape.

His answer, as cringe-inducing is it may be to artistic types uncomfortable with the ways of business, is understanding the branding and promotional value of music. He cited new deals like his client Aguilera working with Procter and Gamble to launch a line of fragrances.

A glimmer of hope for his old-school artists: While Azoff said CD sales have been declining alarmingly, and especially back-catalog CD sales, that business “appears to be bottoming out.” And, he added, “I don’t think the CD will go away totally.”

Compare all this candor to the following exchange regarding TicketMaster and its proposed merger with LiveNation:

Interviewer Kara Swisher: How do you answer criticisms that [the merger] creates this behemoth.
Azoff: We think everything we do revolves around what’s good fir the artist and what’s good for the fan.

As Swisher pointed out, songwriter-cum-secular-saint Bruce Springsteen, among others, strongly objects to this view. But Azoff said that Springsteen was “uninformed” about what his company did.

Guest Blogger – Shaun Groves “If the Music Business Dies”

Artist Shaun Groves posted this piece on his web site blog.  It’s some good stuff that every artist needs to read and understand.  I appreciate him allowing me to re-post.

The management company that represented icons Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant for ages just folded.

The Gospel Music Association is letting people go.

Their Gospel Music Week was a ghost town this April, with major artists no longer taking a break from touring to participate in it.

Speaking of tours – they’re losing money – big money – which means production companies are going down too.

Some say technology will save the day.  Lots of artists are going on-line to blogs, twitter, facebook, etc because of this optimism. But this new technology is not the magic bullet some claim it to be.  The bullet that works best hasn’t changed – it’s just changed hands.

The music business is about relationship. And now it’s the artist’s turn to have one.

Success in the music business once hinged on only a handful of relationships: a publicist and a magazine, a salesman and a bookstore, a radio promoter and a radio station, a booking guy and a promoter, an artist and a manager, a writer and a publisher.  If all these relationships were working, if all parties’ interests were respected and pursued, if no personalities collided to the point of impeding progress, then the project or artist they were tied to would succeed (from a business standpoint.)

Relationship is still king.

Starting a blog, hopping on Twitter, launching a Facebook fan page – these are not cure-alls because they aren’t a relationship any more than buying a basketball is spending quality time with my son.

These technologies can foster relationships.  But not without a lot of personal investment and intentionality from an artist.

This is a big shift in thinking for artists, especially at the top levels of this industry.  Artists aren’t accustomed to being so accessible, accountable and out of control.  Artists are accustomed to being in front of audiences that care about what they do, audiences they know are fans and they keep in the seats for a couple hours by charging a ticket price.  But on-line, where spending time with an artist is free, anybody can wander into the crowd, boo, change the subject, or walk out.  And they will.

Also, artists are used to hiring people to handle their relationships for them.  That’s at least 90% of what a manager does.  Labels congratulate and critique through a manager, for instance, who adds his own diplomatic spin to every word so the artist’s feelings aren’t hurt and the relationship is preserved. Not so on-line.  Someone can be hired to hit the “publish” button on a blog post that gets e-mailed over, invite people to a Facebook event and even write to people for an artist and signed their name (it happens), but no one can convincingly be the artist every day in post after post or interact with commenters regularly.  Artists can’t hire anyone to be them 24/7 and the internet demands those kind of hours.

Lastly, labels are used to creating and maintaining the image of an artist: focussing and filtering, controlling who can and can’t have access, and how much, when and where. There’s one official bio and one fact sheet carefully crafted in a record company office and then parroted by every media outlet.  That’s not possible on-line.  And that’s distressing, fatal even, if an artist has nothing to say or, worse, has lots to say about things that don’t matter to anyone but them.  Hair products, high priced jeans and guitar pedals aren’t all that interesting to folks with real jobs. The public is now discovering through an artist’s blog what publicists have known for quite some time and expertly covered up: This guy’s just a singer.  And that’s no basis for a relationship.

If the music industry dies it won’t be because everything changed.  It will be because artists didn’t.  Artists today have to – no, we get to – do what the rest of the industry and human race has been doing for eons: We get to be real human beings spending time with other real human beings.  There’s no shortcut for that.

The Man was afraid to tell us artists this before: It was never about our music.  And it’s not about new technology now. It’s always been about people.  All that matters is.

Musical Balancing Act

I was thinking about musical artists who are completely uncompromising in their art form, but are simultaneously trying to score big hits on the chart.  That’s a tough road to travel.  Decisions typically have to be made either to stick to your art for arts sake guns or target yourself commercially.  There are some rare and wonderful cases where art and commerce actually sync up and the artist can enjoy the best of both worlds.

I don’t believe in selling yourself out and compromising your music so much that the process of creating music and performing isn’t enjoyable any longer.  However, I also feel that if you’d really like to get out of the coffee house obscurity and have a desire to play the big houses, you need to lighten up and stop taking yourself so seriously.  It’s not rocket science or finding a cure for cancer.

Just like anything, you need balance.  Don’t sell your soul on one side, but don’t be a raging fundamentalist on the other.  Neither ends up being any fun.

The More Things Change….

The More They Stay the Same, Music Piracy Edition (from Techdirt):

Via Boing Boing comes this link to a NY Times article from 1897 (yes, you read that right, not 1987) about the struggle of the music industry against “pirates” (you can see the original via the NY Times site here). This really old article really does sound like pretty much any of the more recent news about music “pirates” except they’re talking about sheet music, rather than MP3 files. The fact that it focuses on Canadian copyright laws as the problem, again nearly perfectly mimics today’s claims from the recording industry. The article even talks about a recent conference held by industry members to create a committee to fight piracy. Basically, it’s the same exact story we see today — and the same bogus complaints. If the industry has shown one thing, it’s that it will consistently overreact to any new change in technology, claiming it’s some massive threat, rather than learn how to embrace it and turn it into an opportunity.

Radio Responds to the Global Food Crisis

Following is an example of one of the many ways Compassion International partners with radio and artists to help the most impoverished children and families around the world:

Nearly 1,000 Radio Stations Across the Country Join Forces with Compassion International in an Effort to Stamp Out Hunger Among the World’s Poorest

News of an economy in crisis did not stop tens of thousands of Americans from generously responding on March 11 to appeals from Compassion International and nearly 1,000 radio stations asking for help to feed the world’s poorest families during the Global Food Crisis.

From California to New York, radio stations flooded the air waves, designated as Global Food Crisis Awareness Day by Compassion, with one simple message:  “Thousands of children are dying needlessly of hunger every day, and you can do something about it.”  Some 27,000 listeners responded by giving $3.1 million-far exceeding the original goal of $1 million.  Some highlights of the day include the following:

• The Fish (Salem Broadcasting) in Nashville featured Point of Grace on air talking about the Global Food Crisis and asking listeners to help.
• A listener going through tough times shared that he is on food stamps.  Then through tears, talked about how hearing what millions of hungry people are going through opened his eyes to how much he has.  He pledged to donate half of his recent twenty-five dollar raise to help feed a child.
• A listener from Missouri called to say she wanted to share a portion of a settlement she received and pledged $60,000 to help the kids affected by the Global Food Crisis.
• A deli owner pledged to donate 100% of all cash profits on March 11.

“The way in which these stations and their supporters have answered the call to care for the poor is overwhelming,” said Wess Stafford, president and CEO of Compassion International.  “They have demonstrated the true meaning of the word compassion.”

Global Facts

* One person in seven goes to bed hungry every day.

* One-third of the world’s population is undernourished.

* There are 25,000 starvation-related deaths each day.

* Each night more than 300 million children go to bed hungry.

* Every day, over 12,000 children (one every 7 seconds) die from hunger-related causes.

* Approximately 146 million or 27 percent of children under age 5 in developing countries are underweight.

* Nearly 17 percent of babies in developing countries are born with a low birth weight compared with only 7 percent of babies in industrialized countries.

* More than 4.4 million children die from malnutrition each year.

* Worldwide, 161 million preschool children suffer chronic malnutrition.

Sources: www.one.org, www.bread.org, www.unicef.org, www.who.int, www.unep.org

Booking Shows the Social Media Way

Although not utilized as much as they should be, house concerts are nothing new to the creative touring of new or emerging artists.  What is new is using Twitter to facilitate the set up and booking of a house-concert-based, social-media-driven tour.

An artist from the UK is helping to re-invent the tour business by “sustainable, people-centered, low-impact, high-value touring”.  Is this the future of gigs?

Find all the details HERE.

Can Free Music and Profits Coexist?

A recent article from The Tennessean:

Sarah Sidwell, a 19-year-old freshman at Belmont University, loves listening to music but doesn’t buy it that often. Instead, she listens to top artists on Pandora, a free online radio station that she customizes to play her favorite songs.

It’s a phenomenon adding to the overall decline in music buying and even the legal and illegal downloading of tunes, according to New York-based NPD Group, a research firm. Instead of buying music, many consumers stream it online without ever opening their wallets to pay artists or record labels for their work.

With tens of millions of dollars in revenue at risk, music labels and musicians in Nashville have been scrambling to find new ways to make money at a time when sales are shrinking and digital downloads haven’t managed to fill the gap.

Adding to the challenge is the fact that more music is becoming available for free.

“Just as music piracy and the advent of digital music ended the primacy of the CD, we are beginning to see new forms of listening challenge the practice of paying for music,” said Russ Crupnick, NPD’s vice president and senior industry analyst.

Teen and young adult consumers increasingly stream their favorite artists on MySpace pages, listen to music over online radio while doing homework or preview an artist’s CD via an online music service before the album’s release date — all without paying a penny.

“The need to buy has diminished because (music) is so accessible,” said Heather McBee, vice president of digital business at Sony Music Nashville.

Web offers samples

Virtually all record companies and artists are trying to target music fans more aggressively on the Web.

For example, country music star Keith Urban is marketing his album Defying Gravity, which hits stores Tuesday, using iLike, an online service that lets users tell friends what music they like and track concert dates.

Since March 17, Urban has exclusively revealed a song off his album each day, along with a video explaining the song. Consumers can click on a link directing them to iTunes to purchase the song for 99 cents.

“We’re specialized for music,” said Ali Partovi, CEO of Seattle-based iLike, adding that his Web site is designed to drive sales. Partovi said even though his company is not yet profitable, about 60 percent to 70 percent of revenue comes from national brand advertising. He declined to provide annual revenues.

Urban has promoted past albums and tours on iLike. One benefit of using the Web site is it provides statistics for artists showing how many people streamed the album or checked out Urban’s profile, said Genevieve Jewell of Borman Entertainment, which works with Urban’s management.

ILike has a universal dashboard that pushes content out to other channels such as Facebook, Orkut or Ask.com, allowing Urban to reach more fans than the average social networking site can reach on its own, Jewell said in an e-mail.

“It’s hard to exactly pinpoint how successful this campaign will end up being, but I think the percentage of sales that end up being digital will be a good way to measure the success,” Jewell said.

ACM Awards 2009

The 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards are being held in Las Vegas on Sunday night, April 5th at the MGM Grand.   

I know my artist, radio, and industry friends are having a large time in Vegas and are preparing for the big night, but mostly looking forward to the after parties.  This I know for sure.

As we prepare to discover the winners, here are a few ACM tidbits in advance…..

Presenters announced for the show include Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jack Ingram, Martina McBride, Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Miller, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker and Blake Shelton will present at this year’s show.

Brad Paisley won in his fourth ACM Video of the Year award for “Waitin’ On A Woman.” Paisley also nabbed his third Vocal Event of the Year trophy for his guitar-dueling duet with Keith Urban, “Start A Band.”  These two awards were announced recently and will be handed out at the show.

Merle Haggard, Harlan Howard, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr., David Young and Beer For My Horseshave been selected to receive Academy of Country Music Special Awards this year, which are voted on by the ACM Board of Directors and are only awarded during years when the Board of Directors feels there are clear and deserving candidates.

Fan voting for both the ACM Entertainer of the Year and Top New Artist is now live at www.VoteACM.com. Visit today to cast your ballot, then watch on Sunday, April 5 on CBS to see who takes home the trophies!

 Julianne Hough, Jake Owen and Zac Brown Band have been named Top New Female Vocalist, Top New Male Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group, respectively.  The three winners are now considered nominees for the Top New Artist award.  VOTE NOW!

The multi-talented Reba McEntire will host the live broadcast and will mark McEntire’s 11th time as host. She says the ACM Awards hold a special place in her heart.  “It was my first award show that I was nominated for in 1981, the Top New Female Vocalist of the Year,” Reba recalls. “I didn’t win it-Terri Gibbs got it that year–but I was nominated! It holds lots of great memories for me.

El Salvador with Emerson Drive

The Compassion International trip to El Salvador was another amazing and overwhelming view into the lives of children and families being impacted and changed.  Emerson Drive had the opportunity to see it all first hand and bring smiles to the faces of hundreds of kids.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The first Compassion project we visited was just outside of San Salvador in the forested communities of  Reparto Santa Elana and San Martin.  Upon our arrival we were greeted by all of the children who were in lines on each side of us.  As we walked down the middle between them, they were singing, clapping their hands, giving us hugs, and shaking our hands.  It is something evident in each Compassion project I have visited – the anticipation and joy they have in making us feel welcome.  They love to have visitors and do all they can to bring smiles to our faces even though we are there for them. 

The kids performed a presentation for us full of music and dancing.  We then broke off into three groups for an hour or so where all of us played soccer, worked on art projects, or sang songs.  I tried to get involved with all three at different times.  The boys and girls were so incredible.  We then served them lunch, took a group photo, and said our goodbyes.  Hugs of course too.

Following the visit to the Compassion project, our travel group took a walk to one of the homes in the neighborhood.  A single mom and her five children, two of which were in the project we visitied.  The photos below communicate their circumstances better than I could in writing.  This was a home of deep rooted poverty, but Compassion was helping provide food, education, activities, and medical care to the entire family.  This in turn brings hope…..and the hope a future. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second project visit day was in the Pacific Coast community of Puerto de La Libertad, home to approximately 40,000 residents.   When the bus pulled up outside of this Compassion project we could hear the children singing and clapping inside the auditorium.  They were ready for us.  The Emerson Drive guys walked in and it was like they were at a sold out show as the crowd of kids exploded in cheers.  They weren’t cheering because they knew anything about the band or country music.  They just knew that people with Compassion were there to meet them and to visit their project.  They were honoring us exactly like the other projects do and it overwhelms.

 

The first thing these kids did for us was set up a band on stage.  Singers, guitars, drums, keyboard….the works.  They then proceeded to play several songs and commence church.  It was a moving display of their appreciation for us and their devotion to God.  Authentic and undefiled.

Our crew then visited each classroom where the children were participating – computer, cosmotology, educational classes, music, and seemstressing.  Compassion not only provides school resources and instruction, but gives the kids an opportunity to learn a trade in the event they don’t make it to college.  In either case a way out of poverty and incredibly difficult circumstances.  It also keeps them off very dangerous gang filled streets where the influence to join is strong.

 

Our visit to families in their homes followed and we saw more of the same suffering.  Severely impoverished neighborhoods with families living in one or two rooms.  One of the homes consisted of three families in three rooms.  Multiple children in one bed with their parent(s) in another.  No running water, open sewage in streams and ditches, and unreliable electricity.  Also the constant fear of brutal gang activity in their communities.

In each of the home visits we asked the children if they had the letters their Compassion sponsor has written them and they knew right where the papers were.  With smiles on their faces they proudly retrieve them from safe keeping and show us the letters and photos of the individual or family that sponsors them.  It is a relationship they cherish and are thankful for because they know it is because of their sponsors support that they are able to attend the Compassion project.  The one place they can dream about what they want to be when they grow up, to get a healthy meal, and find the support they need in critical areas of their young lives.

The emotions stay ripe and fluctuate between the harshness of poverty and the joys of hope.  Not only being present to see it, but to smell, taste, touch, and hear what these children and families experience on a daily basis.  And the holistic way in which Compassion International works within countries, communities, and churches to lift children out of poverty and give them the real opportunity to break the cycle and thrive.  To help them attain a high school and, in some cases, a college education.  Something they and their families would never have dreamed possible.

This is what we saw and the results will reverberate.  There will be a story about Emerson Drive’s experience in a forthcoming issue of Country Weekly.  They will also be talking about it in the weeks and months to come because these are things we are compelled to tell.  I look forward to partnering with the guys from the band.  They have big hearts and are great men to know, not to mention incredibly talented artists.

 

We will have more news soon about artists who are partnering with Compassion in various ways.  Country music is full of artists and professionals who love to help local charities, but also see the big picture when it comes to a world in critical need.  I continue to look forward with passion to help align those with a desire to help to having a genuine life changing impact on child.

 

For more photos of the trip please go to HERE.

The Rise and Fall of Indies on Music Row

It is frustrating to see more friends losing jobs as the result of independent labels closing or “restructuring”.  It is even more maddening to hear the owners blame it on the economy when it is typically their own fault for having a rotten business model.

Just a few years ago indie labels in Nashville were showing extremely high promise and giving the majors solid competition on the charts.  More and more indies were opening up ready to be a part of a positive change on Music Row.  That utopian plan quickly faded.

Since then indie labels have been failing and falling.  Many reasons can be to blame, but I will focus on what I feel are the main fault lines.

First, independent labels have so much advantage over major labels in that they can be run lean and mean.  They can really focus on artist development and are able to be quick on the turnaround.  In theory, indies should be finding niches, innovative ways of doing business, and spurring creativity.   On the chance they have found a mass appeal act and music, the company should be prepared to go after it on the charts and at retail.  The problem is most of the indie labels are banking on home run after home run.  They are operating their label as if it were a major and at once losing the essence of what an indie label is all about and all it can become.  Innovation is stifled and creativity is wrecked.

Another illness of many indies is that the owner(s) will not allow the proper time for the business to function into profitable consistency.  This is due to a misconception that hits, stars, artist development, and piles of cash will happen overnight.  Hardly.  To give it the proper go the bankrollers need at least a five year commitment and should expect many ups and downs.  Mostly downs, but with the right players in place it can be successful.

That brings us to the next problem – the owner who hires a good group of people, but then can’t keep their hands off of the controls.  They bring on a team of professionals who have the experience and can get the job done, and then the owner suddenly knows everything there is to know about the music industry and will limit the potential of their staff.  Or the owner will hire his right hand person to become the label head who proceeds to do the same.  Or my personal favorite, the label is created so the owner or VP’s will get their songs cut, become the producer on all the projects, or so it will benefit their other businesses.  I’ve seen all of them in action.

In any case, the owner basically runs it into the ground by not having a clue about how a successful indie should be operated and managed.  It starts off being more of a hobby or a fun diversion, but what the owner doesn’t realize is that it is a tough business and nothing like the cake walk they naively presumed it would be. As the result of mismanagement, ignorance, and self-indulgence, there are a lot of good people without jobs who are looking to be a part of the new and next level.

Fortunately we have indie labels in Nashville that are getting it right or are on the correct path.  They are effectively utilizing new media, signing musically relevant acts AND pushing the envelope with talented niche or regional artists.  These indies are also engaging in creative partnerships and open to new business models.  They also see the importance of having a talented staff and encouraging those individuals to flourish in being successful and innovative.  These labels are in the minority however.

What once had incredible promise of changing the landscape of Music Row and country music has now squandered the opportunity of moving the business of music into the new world.  Instead they have preferred to stay in the old world where the wheels are coming off and the engine is breaking down. 

I commend those indies in Nashville that are doing it right, or the labels and entertainment companies in Texas, California, or anywhere else who see opportunity amidst the chaos that is the music business.  The aged model will always be around, but a fresh model is emerging and it can only be embraced by those coming into all of this with their eyes open and who have a creatively bold plan.

Emerson Drive Partners with Compassion International

Nashville, TN- The Valory Music Co./Midas Records artists Emerson Drive are teaming up with Compassion International for a trip to El Salvador with Compassion executives on March 23-26. 
 
“I am thrilled to have Emerson Drive join us on this trip to El Salvador and help build a significant partnership between country music and Compassion International.  I know first hand what incredible guys they are and believe this trip will not only be an important experience for the band, but will help give hope and a future to children in desperate poverty around the world,” says Mike Severson, Country Format Artist & Radio Relations for Compassion International.
 
Emerson Drive is the first country band to ever become involved with Compassion International and they are excited about the upcoming opportunity to learn more about Compassion’s mission to release children from poverty in developing countries around the globe.
 
“One of the best things that we get to do as entertainers is support great charity organizations like Compassion International,” states lead singer Brad Mates.  “This trip will give us a first hand look at life in third world countries and I have no doubt that it will leave a lasting impact on us individually and as a band. We’re excited about the partnership with Compassion and doing whatever we can to raise awareness about their child sponsorship program.”
 
While in El Salvador Emerson Drive will visit with Compassion staff on the ground as well as some of the children benefiting from the support of one-on-one sponsorships.  The band has invited photographers from Country Weekly and an independent film crew to accompany them on the trip to document their journey.  The footage gathered from the group’s visit will be utilized in a viral video campaign in conjunction with the song, “There’s My God,” a track that will be included on Emerson Drive’s upcoming album BELIEVE, due in stores later this year.
 
Emerson Drive continues to brainstorm with Compassion executives on additional opportunities to increase the number of child sponsors with hopes of involving their growing fan base and country radio.  The guys in the band hope that their involvement will garner more awareness about Compassion International as well as encourage people to sponsor a child or make a donation to this worthwhile organization.
 
Compassion International was founded on the belief that changing the lives of children in third world countries by providing them with the basic needs and education to help them overcome poverty will empower them and ultimately change their communities and nations.  According to statistics, of the world’s 6.3 billion people, nearly 30 percent are under the age of 15.  In most developing countries, children comprise half of the population, yet almost 11 million children each year – about 30,000 a day – die before reaching their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes.  Compassion strives to influence a child’s life at the earliest stages possible, and support the child’s development through young adulthood.  Those interested in finding out more about Compassion or how you can help can visit www.compassion.com.
 
For more information about the Emerson Drive and to see video clips from their life out on the road, which will include an episode from their El Salvador trip beginning in April, log on to www.emersondrive.com or visit www.myspace.com/emersondrive.

Jotting Down CRS Mental Notes

 A few noteworthy items from Country Radio Seminar:

Only one artist made me say “WHERE?!” when a friend saw him – Michael Martin Murphy.  A legendary and authentic artist.  How cool to see him there and shake his hand later in the day. 

I didn’t catch everything, but some of the performances I saw or music I heard knocked me out.  These artists should be all over the radio if they aren’t already:

• Lady Antebellum – the next superstars.
• Darius Rucker – we are fortunate to have him in the format.  What emotion and delivery.
• Randy Houser – first heard his album at last year’s CRS and still knocks me out.
• Little Big Town – they have upped their game bigtime, what a performance.
• Miranda Lambert – she fills a void and can bring it.
• Jamey Johnson – maybe a little over-hyped by the bandwagon of coolness that is Nashville, but he is worthy.
• Josh Turner – what a voice and doesn’t sound like anyone else in a format where too many guys sound the same.
• Emerson Drive – an album of great songs is on the horizon and these guys are the best at what they do.
• Joey + Rory – distinct, fun, and foundational country.  “Cheater” was a hit that most missed.
• Jessica Harp – the new single is okay, but if they get this right in the studio for the rest of the project, she will knock it out of the park on the radio.
• What did I miss????

The turkey and dressing label lunch is always the best.  The food that is.

Putting tech panels up against typical popular industry fodder and unimaginative entertaining fluff is not helpful for growth.

There was a time when the Bridge Bar was a great hang for industry  professionals and artists.  An artist could literally walk from one end to the other during the course of the night and and visit with radio on a more personal level.  The non-CRS crowd,  or the “townies” as I hear them called, grows every year and it is less enjoyable and useful for networking and connecting.  Those connected to the people, artists, or events going on during CRS should be the only ones in the room. I don’t blame the many aspiring artists and songwriters for seeing opportunity, but why are we here again?

CRS is an amazing place for small market radio to make connections and create beneficial relationships.

Next year I hope to see more “next level” tech panels. 

Post CRS Thoughts

The 40th Country Radio Seminar started off in encouraging style with Seth Godin giving an intelligent and rousing keynote.  He knows his stuff when it comes to the music and radio industries and he certainly knows how to engage in discussion about the future.  Mr. Godin also has a keen skill of inciting vision in those who wish to move from the broken model and into the new world.  A brilliant move by the CRS agenda committee to bring him in.

I was hopeful that spirit would continue on into the panels, but unfortunately what I witnessed only took us down familiar traveled roads and led us to a big “You are here” arrow.  During the three days of CRS I heard very little discussion and insight about preparing for the changes in the years to come.  Part of the problem is no one really knows what is ahead, but at least we should be having conversations about the opportunities within new creative business models.  Instead I sensed just a reactionary tone.  

For instance, in listening to one particular panel where the guests were talking about how 85% of country retail sales come from the big boxes like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.  and how labels and distributors are handling the ever shrinking floor and stock space at these retailers.  Yes, these giants have been critical to our past success and are obviously important to our current victories, but what about five years from now?  We are still living in a Wal-Mart dominated world, but what happens if Wal-Mart continues to shrink the new music space and only increase catalog?  What if Wal-Mart decides they will only carry the Top 20 or 30 selling acts?  What if they ultimately conclude that selling CD’s is not part of their plan any longer because they just aren’t that profitable for the space they take up? 

What I really wanted to hear was a plan that does not involve CD’s, does not include Wal-Mart or Best Buy, and embraces new technology and innovative marketing.  A redefinition of our industry.  The same strategic thinking that Mr. Godin touched on in his keynote.  Though there were good panels, I wasn’t hearing anything remotely inspiring for the future.

Some within the music industry have made strides in getting up to speed with changes and technology, but we are still only making adjustments to what is happening to us at the moment.  We are not leading the way in engaging where the consumer is going and what they will want down the road.  That’s what got us in trouble to begin with. 

Overall I love Country Radio Seminar.  Walking around seeing old friends and making new ones.  Having discussions with remarkable individuals who I can learn a great deal from.  Talking with people about the partnership opportunities with Compassion International and finding them excited about the possibilities.   Checking out amazing artists and songwriters.  It’s a great time.  I simply expected more focus and vision for the future than what I encountered.

I’m hopeful things will move in the right direction with CRS, but currently the best place to engage the new world is at the Leadership Music Digital Summit being held in Nashville at the end of March.   There’s no Bridge Bar, no fans clamoring in the lobby, no free shows, no dinners at The Palm, and no labels dividing up the troops.  Yes, not as much fun, but a whole lot more relevant and affordable.

I would like to be relevant in the years ahead, how about you? 

Leadership Music Digital Summit 2009

Leadership Music’s annual Digital Summit is one of the most valuable and high-impact events in the Nashville music industry community.  Join over 600 artists, ISPs, songwriters, venture capitalists, managers, content aggregators, labels, digital music services, publishers, service providers, mobile operators, consumer product developers, retailers, and media to shape the next generation of music in the marketplace.  

FEATURED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
*Ted Cohen, TAG Strategic
*Dorrian Porter, Mozes
*Greg Scholl, The Orchard
*Jim Lucchese, The Echo Nest
*Ali Partovi, iLike
*Jim Cicconi, AT&T
*Dave Ulmer, Motorola

 

Two days & pre-event kickoff March 23-25, 2009
Added Networking Opportunities and More Live Music
Hot Topics: Mobile, ISPs, Social Net, Intellectual Property and Money
Great Value: All Registration Fees at or below 2008 prices 
REGISTER NOW for as low as $129! 

All the details are at www.digitalsummit.org  

I attended last year’s event and found it to be a stimulating time of learning, growing, and expanding new world thinking.

From Country to the World

Tomorrow morning I leave for Honduras with a group from Compassion International.  We will be traveling there to tour a couple of the projects Compassion has set up.  We’ll visit the children and families who are being directly helped by their Compassion sponsors and witness the impact that personal relationship has on releasing the grip of poverty in their lives.  There are also plans to walk through some of the neighborhoods where I know we will find roots of deep poverty.  How deep I can only guess, but that is part of the reason for going.  To see it with my own eyes and let it sink into my skin.

I have witnessed desperate poverty in Africa.  Gotten to know and cried over street kids and orphans who are its innocent victims.  Seen the ravage results of AIDS, genocide, severe malnutrition, parasites, malaria, and other diseases.   Incredible situations you will never find in the United States.  Poverty in our country is nothing at all compared to developing countries around the world.  If you have never seen it, it would shock you.  And we all need to be shocked.

I’m going to witness more of it over the next few days, but I will also see the hope and restoration that Compassion gives children and families.  Not only to provide for their needs, but to give them the genuine opportunity to break out of the poverty that has held them captive through the monthly support of individual sponsors.  Over one million children around the world are being lifted up and out of their circumstances. 

I look forward to reporting back from the trip and sharing how the country music community can link with this amazing organization and make a massive impact on the lives of countless other children.  Compassion International has a long and rich history within the music industry and there is incredible opportunity for artists, radio, media, and industry professionals to partner along and get involved.  It is a very critical time to reach out to a world in need and Compassion knows how to connect the dots and make it happen.

For those of you involved in the country music business, you can get more information here.  The rest of you can get further info on Compassion International here.

We’re just getting started, so check back for more updates.  Please contact me with any questions you might have.

New Jamie O’Neal Video

Often videos do not add anything to the single you hear on the radio.  Many times they can even ruin a vision you have already created from the lyric or the feel of the song.  You want a video to enhance the music, not to detract or distract.

This is an example of enhancing.  Jamie O’Neal’s “Like A Woman”:

Teaming Up with Compassion International

From All Access Music Group:    

1720 ENTERTAINMENT/NASHVILLE Regional Promotions MIKE SEVERSON has joined forces with COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL to serve as their Country Format Consultant on a part-time basis. COMPASSION is a Christian child advocacy ministry that seeks to find one-on-one sponsorships of children in severely impoverished nations. Currently, over one million children are receiving food, medical care, education and shelter because of their sponsors.

 

In his new role, SEVERSON will be working to recruit radio stations and artists to serve as advocates for COMPASSION and to get the word out to listeners and fans. MT. WILSON BROADCASTING Country KKGO/LOS ANGELES was the first Country station to partner with COMPASSION by holding a radiothon last SEPTEMBER where 250 listeners signed up to sponsor children. PD TONYA CAMPOS visited NICARAGUA last year and learned firsthand of the devastation and the desperation. Read more about her trip here.

To learn more about COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL visit www.compassion.com. To find out how your station or artist can help contact SEVERSON at mikeseverson@comcast.net.

The Insanity of the Typical

It is said, “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

Is the music and radio industry insane? How long will we keep trying to do the same thing and expect a miracle?

As long as we have the excuses of a weak economy or if we continue to blame others for our lack of vision, we will perish.  There will be no relevancy or need for us.

A handful of companies are diving into the future and embracing new ideas, innovation, strategies, and creativity. They are exploring new business models and coming up with original ways to market and engage the consumer where they are at and the direction they are going. These companies are not only forming atypical and interesting ideas, but putting them into practice.

So many others are still trying to sell people a product they don’t really like much in its current form and not engaging the consumer on their own terms.  Typical.  Predictable.  Boring.  Insane.

The radio and music business must grow and be the innovation. Not wait for the innovation to come to them, because by then it will be too late.  We’ve seen that happen countless times over the last decade.

There never has been more opportunity than there is at this very moment. Seize it, or move on and let those you claim to lead show you the way.

There is another quote of use here, if we just change the words a bit.

“I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.” – Benjamin Franklin

An excellent and ever relevant quote in itself, but if we change it just for the moment to:

“I think the best way of doing good to the radio and music industries, is not making them easy in their insanity, but leading or driving them out of it.”

Get away from welfare thinking and create a way out of this madness and into imagination, achievement, and victory.  Be inspired.  And how can you not like a good Braveheart quote for a time like this?!

“People do not follow titles, they follow courage.
If you will just lead them onto the battlefield, they will follow you.” -  Bravehart

My Own “Best Of 2008″ List…..

Tired of reading critics favorites, so I’m listing my own personal Best Of 2008 just for kicks.  In no particular order randomness ensues…..and I know I’m forgetting a few.

Best Musical Groups of 2008:  Chasen, MuteMath, Lady Antebellum, Emerson Drive, Daughtry, Whiskey Falls, Paramore, The SteelDrivers, Finger Eleven

Best Female Musical Artists of 2008:  Alison Krauss, Bethany Dillon, Leona Lewis, Leigh Nash, Sara Bareiles, Joey Martin (Joey & Rory), Lee Ann Womack, Francesca Battistelli

Best Male Musical Artists of 2008:  Andrea Bocelli, Darius Rucker, Brandon Heath, Dan Tyminski, Jack Johnson, David Cook, John Mayer

Best Live Show of 2008:  MuteMath, Keith Urban, Nickel Creek, Here Come the Mummies 

Best Live Show on Film:  U2 3D

Best Music Video:  MuteMath “Typical”, David Ford “Go To Hell”, Luke Bryan “Country Man”

Best DVD Release:  Billy Joel “The Stranger: 30th Anniversary”

Best Advocate Artist (who can actually bring people and politicians together to get things done rather than making them even more divided as most artists do):  Bono

Best Christmas music artists:  Harry Connick Jr., Amy Grant, Celine Dion, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Vince Gill, Vince Guaraldi, Nat King Cole, Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey, Trisha Yearwood.  For me, that’s the best the holiday season has to offer.

Best new Christmas song of 2008:  Sara McLaughlin had a solid holiday CD and Chris Rice’s “Peace On Earth” was the best new Christmas single I heard.  There weren’t that many. 

Music I’m Looking forward to in 2009:  Fiction Family (John Foreman and Sean Watkins?  From two of my favorite groups?  Duh, I’m in!), Mute Math (new music!), The Massacoustics (always – no matter the incarnation), Michelle Branch (anticipating some great solo stuff), Natalie Hemby (stellar singer/songwriter), Gloriana (have been a fan of Rachel Reneirt for a while now), Jamie O’Neal (new album), Rissi Palmer (so much potential to impact country music), Chasen (new project)

Billboard Year in Music 2008

Billboard has rolled out all the top artists, tracks, albums, box scores, and more for 2008.  They also have listed the Top 10 albums of the year from critics and fans.  Get your year end list addiction on HERE.

Top Country Albums Titles

1 LONG ROAD OUT OF EDEN
Eagles ERC
2 TAYLOR SWIFT
Taylor Swift Big Machine
3 CARNIVAL RIDE
Carrie Underwood 19/Arista/Arista Nashville/RMG/RMG/SBN
4 THE ULTIMATE HITS
Garth Brooks Pearl
5 STILL FEELS GOOD
Rascal Flatts Lyric Street/Hollywood
6 LOVE ON THE INSIDE
Sugarland Mercury/UMGN
7 ENJOY THE RIDE
Sugarland Mercury/UMGN
8 RAISING SAND
Robert Plant / Alison Krauss Rounder
9 JUST WHO I AM: POETS & PIRATES
Kenny Chesney BNA/SBN
10 REBA DUETS
Reba McEntire MCA Nashville/UMGN
11 GREATEST HITS
Keith Urban Capitol Nashville
12 TROUBADOUR
George Strait MCA Nashville/UMGN
13 FEARLESS
Taylor Swift Big Machine
14 GOOD TIME
Alan Jackson Arista Nashville/SBN
15 AMERICAN MAN: GREATEST HITS VOLUME II
Trace Adkins Capitol Nashville
16 22 MORE HITS
George Strait MCA Nashville/UMGN
17 5TH GEAR
Brad Paisley Arista Nashville/SBN
18 35 BIGGEST HITS
Toby Keith Show Dog Nashville/UMe
19 SOME HEARTS
Carrie Underwood 19/Arista/Arista Nashville/RMG
20 EVERYTHING IS FINE
Josh Turner MCA Nashville/UMGN
21 LUCKY OLD SUN
Kenny Chesney Blue Chair/BNA/SBN
22 CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
Miranda Lambert Columbia/SBN
23 SUNSET MAN
James Otto Raybaw/Warner Bros./WRN
24 LIVING HARD
Gary Allan MCA Nashville/UMGN
25 LADY ANTEBELLUM
Lady Antebellum Capitol Nashville

2009 Grammy Nominations

Okay, I have this Love/Hate thing with the Grammy Awards.  Always have.  I love how vast the genres of music are and how most years they will put it all on display – even the Jazz and Classical formats.  I hate how that vastness can steal reality away from voters.  I’m not necessarily talking about country music here, but rather the entire thing.  I’m all for non-commercial projects getting the recognition they deserve, but I can’t help but think it is partly about political posturing – both inside the business and out.

There are so many things I disagree with after reading the long list of nominees and I haven’t the time or will to mention them all.  Instead I will list some of the nominees I am most happy about and believe deserve every bit of recognition for their work and representation of their respective format:

• Brandon Heath
• Dan Tyminski
• Flight of the Conchords
• MuteMath
• Lady Antebellum
• Paramore
• Jerry Douglas
• Kings of Leon
• TobyMac
• Leona Lewis
• Alison Krauss
• Al Green
• John Mayer “Gravity”
• Daughtry
• George Strait
• The Time Jumpers
• Vince Gill for Album of the Year (all formats).

A couple other quick observations:

• How many individuals does it exactly require to record a Lil Wayne album? 
• And is it me, or does it take more people to write a single song these days?  Loads of tracks (mostly non-country) with 4 or 5 writers.  I mean, c’mon.
• James Taylor gets a nomination for doing covers??

Time to Slice Up the Country Pie?

Back in June I posted about how much older our core demo is getting.  It was based on research that I had read about and the concern was that we may be chasing the older demo off the cliff and the future with them.  We’d be in a tough place wondering how we let the younger generation slip away and regret not reaching out to them early so they will stick around for life.

Well, we now have successfully saturated ourselves with younger artists, with younger skewing music, and celebrity driven culture.  The music industry pendulum has swung and everyone seems to be chasing the young un’s all over town.  That’s as dangerous as letting your aging demo fade away into Oldies land. 

Now the debate is which is better – aiming for a fickle younger demo who could be here one moment and then gone the next or not letting the perpetual adult core of the Country format get away?  Good reason and relevant arguments on both sides.  The younger demo could leave us with our hat in our hand and ratings in the toilet when they decide to chase the next hip format and the older demo could squeeze us from ever capturing the next generation of listeners and record buyers.

The subject is once again a hot topic and was recently covered in an interesting article from Sean Ross.  The question is back.  Do we split the format up or keep it all inclusive?

On one hand I think what we need for the time being are level heads and balance.  This format has always had an amazing variety of sounds, artists, and music.  It hasn’t always been presented in the best way, but there is so much opportunity now to showcase how diverse and inclusive our format is.  There are those that think we can still remain solidly Country and include both demos, without leaning to far one way or the other. 

On the other hand…..if we can somehow make two country formats work, imagine the opportunity for new artists.  It would theoretically open up the playing field to so many deserving and talented artists that aren’t getting the break they deserve.  Some in radio will wonder if there are enough quality acts to wrap around Taylor Swift on a younger 18-34 Country format and I say absolutely yes!  I’ve heard so many fresh new artists in Nashville that challenge anything currently on the radio including Taylor.  Most have no idea the powder keg of singers and songwriters in Nashville.

Does playing to the middle of both adult and younger demos cause a dilution of our format to the lowest common denominator?  Do we need to split the format up to make let it be all that it potentially can be?

I’m torn between the two, but for the first time in my career I see a solid validity for a “Hot Country” and “Mainstream Country” or whatever you wish to title them.  It could solve the problem of what to do with all of the celebrity artists flooding over from American Idol, Nashville Star, and various other launching pads.  It would also insure George, Alan, Reba, Vince, Martina, Tim, and countless other relevant mature artists are carrying on the country tradition and satisfying the adult demos.

The timing may be right to test the waters.

Digital Sales Surpass CDs at Atlantic

By TIM ARANGO
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Since MP3s first became popular a decade ago, music industry executives have obsessed over this question: when would digital music revenue finally surpass compact disc sales?

For Atlantic Records, the label that in years past has delivered artists like Ray Charles, John Coltrane and Led Zeppelin, that time, apparently, is now.

Atlantic, a unit of Warner Music Group, says it has reached a milestone that no other major record label has hit: more than half of its music sales in the United States are now from digital products, like downloads on iTunes and ring tones for cellphones.

“We’re like a college basketball team on an 18-2 run,” said Craig Kallman, Atlantic’s chairman and chief executive.

At the Warner Music Group, Atlantic’s parent company, digital represented 27 percent of its American recorded-music revenue during the fourth quarter. (Warner does not break out financial data for its labels, but Atlantic said that digital sales accounted for about 51 percent of its revenue.)

With the milestone comes a sobering reality already familiar to newspapers and television producers. While digital delivery is becoming a bigger slice of the pie, the overall pie is shrinking fast. Analysts at Forrester Research estimate that music sales in the United States will decline to $9.2 billion in 2013, from $10.1 billion this year. That compares with $14.6 billion in 1999, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

As a result, the hope that digital revenue will eventually compensate for declining sales of CDs — and usher in overall growth — have largely been dashed.

Read the entire article HERE.

Who Decides Musical Significance?

I was recently thinking about legendary Country artists that have little significance in today’s Country music world or in the pop culture at large.  They certainly have respect and have been influences on culture, but they have either been shut out of today’s world or have purposefully decided not to participate.  It happens.

Then there are others who still have weight and significance in what is happening today.  How does that happen and who decides?  Some of it is hard work on the road, a great marketing, publishing or publicity team, and a new vision of how they can fit themselves into what’s going on now.  Sometimes it is random fortune too.

That leads me to The Bellamy Brothers.  They currently have a big hit in the U.K., but not from a new song, but rather “Let Your Love Flow” which they originally released in 1976.  It is one of the best “feel good” songs ever recorded and someone took advantage of that fact and licensed the track for a television ad in the United Kingdom.  The single is rising up the UK charts 30 years after it was a hit and they have a new found fame.  A whole new generation is discovering the Bellamy’s.

The ad is for a credit card company.  I don’t feel good about credit card companies.  I actually hate credit card companies for a multitude of reasons.  They are evil.  But I do like this advert.   

More From Digital Music Forum West

Another fine article from Wired as they covered the Digital Music Forum West last week.  This go-round is about social networks, music discovery and recommendation services.  A few morsels:

- Radio is still an essential part of the marketing mix. But I question the charts as a goal. The ability of artists to connect with fans is more important.  Exposure is a limited win game. You see a lot of exposure — the question is, once you’ve got people exposed and engaged, how do you get the user to take action — register an email address, buy something, etc.?

- The demographic for radio is trending older.  Discovery is happening exclusively online for the younger demographic.

- Terrestrial radio is a great passive experience for lots of people, but by and large, they aren’t tastemakers anymore.- The perception of the cost of music is dropping to zero. When users get music for free next to an ad, they lose the perception that music costs money.

The recap of the six executive panel can be found HERE. 

 

 

Mobile Music’s Future

The Digital Music Forum West was this past weekend in Hollywood, CA.  A Wired blog captures the highlights of “The Future of Mobile Music” panel.  Some interesting observations, predictions, and concerns are shared by the guest executives, who like typical panelists, don’t always see eye to eye.  At least they are all looking to the future as we make the transition from hard to soft media.

Check out the summary HERE.

Power Shmower

I recently checked out the “Power” rankings in Country Aircheck.  It is the issue that features the top 30 most powerful people in the radio and music industry as voted by Country Aircheck readers.  Ten years ago I would have been eagerly voting and anticipating the results.  Now I find I just don’t care anymore.

The power list is purely an ego stroke for the industry and an attention getter for the magazine.  I totally get it.  Lots of industries and magazines do it.  It’s a PR move - not a scientific study - and very open to disagreement and discussion.

Understand, I have many friends on the list this year and I don’t have anything against anyone who received the votes to make it into the ranks.  I applaud them!  I guess it is simply a concern I have with focus on power, status, and ego rather than individuals who are making a truly positive impact on the future of our businesses through innovation and creativity, and in the lives of those who work within it.  Many of the current people would remain on that list too, but others would rightly not.

In a recent conversation I had with a friend of mine who is a prominent player in the music business, we discussed how there were more important things to value in our lives besides power and prestige.  The whole power list thing does the industry no good whatsoever, but the game will continue to be played. 

If a list must be done, how about a ”Smartest” countdown rather than the usual ”Powerful” brand?  It matters most what people do with their power than how much they have. Persuade industry peers to look at the qualities of the individual and what they have to offer in the future rather than their corporate rank and how big of a sledgehammer they have.

“The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while”  – Albert Einstein

Throw it up against the wall…..

A new recording format is being introduced by SanDisk, the world’s leading supplier of flash memory cards .  It’s called “Slot Music” and it is the latest attempt by major labels to offset the major slide of CD sales.  I personally haven’t utilized it, but sure seems like more of the same to me. 

They are billed as high quality, DRM-free MP3 music on microSD cards.  The initial 29 albums are scheduled for release soon and will be available at Best Buy and Wal-Mart.  The small memory chips will be preloaded with full albums of MP3 music, art work, videos and other content.  Each card will be around $15.

The advantage of Slot Music is the convinience and ability to function in multiple devices including phones.  However, if consumers aren’t willing to pay $15 for a CD or a CD/DVD bundle, I don’t know why they would be interested in paying the same price for another full album format.  It seems like a good idea if there was real value attached to it or if the micro cards were being given away for free at shows or with other purchases.  It has potential to be a tool for labels and artists, but I have doubts about it being the answer to the industries woes.

Check it out here and make up your own mind.

Like A Woman

AWARD-WINNING POWERHOUSE VOCALIST

JAMIE O’NEAL 
 RELEASES NEW SINGLE

 “Like A Woman” Hits Radio Monday, October 13
With Album to Follow Early Next Year from 1720 Entertainment

  

ACM Award-winner and multi-Grammy nominee, Jamie O’Neal returns to country radio Monday, October 13 with “Like A Woman,” her first single release since signing with 1720 Entertainment earlier this year.

Co-written with fellow hit songwriters Stephanie Bentley and Jim Femino, “Like A Woman” proves that O’Neal’s knack for tapping into the human spirit is as compelling as ever. She delivers the song’s lyrics about the need to bring back the passion between a man and a woman with power and conviction.

“At the end of the day, all women want to feel appreciated and sexy and recapture the passion with the man they love,” says O’Neal. “That feeling and that need is what this song is about.”

With plans for 1720 to release a full album in early 2009, O’Neal has been writing and recording new music.

“Having the creative freedom to record only the songs I believe in 100% has been such a rich experience and I can’t wait to share my new music with the fans,” shares O’Neal.

For more information, visit www.jamieoneal.com.

CMA Voting: Stealing the Election or Natural Selection?

So Rascal Flatts getting shut out of the Country Music Award nominations is a big deal apparently.  It has also previously happened to Toby Keith and Tim McGraw at the height of their popularity too.  One of the leading country format trades, Country Aircheck, published a front page story in their issue this week.  Here are a couple of excerpts: 

 

 “…..but far more insidious and potentially damaging is the view from many in the industry that the voting process is flawed and skewed to the mega-labels. Some point out that the commonality among McGraw, Keith and the Flatt’s is their stand-alone label affiliation. The inference is that artists in those situations cannot overcome the perceived block-voting believed to be taking place in major label groups.” 

“…..the exclusion of Tim and Toby in the past and the Flatts this year simply doesn’t pass the “smell test.” While intense examination of the ballots does not produce a smoking gun, the preponderance of evidence seems to suggest there is, at least, something within the process that puts some artists at a distinct disadvantage.” 

This is not news to those of us who have worked in this business for a good amount of time.  There are major label groups in town that tend to sweep a majority of nominations and end up having the champagne flowing at the post show party as they celebrate all of their winners.  Although block-voting is now prohibited, many can’t help but think that certain powerful people and label groups in this town have overwhelming sway as to what artists get nominated and which get prime performances. 

Let me give you an example of something a friend of mine experienced many years ago while working at a major label.  I will withhold the name and company. 

Since the company paid for membership dues, nearly every employee at this company would receive nomination ballots for ACM and CMA awards.  The instructions to employees were to not fill them out and take the ballot to the head of the class, where they would be completed by a single person. That particular individual would then check them all off in exactly the same manner.  Certain artists would receive straight ticket votes, which was to obviously give them an advantage over other competitors.  If this is the definition of block-voting, then that’s what it was. 

I don’t know how well it actually worked, but you can imagine the impact it made on skewing those vote totals.  It was just another part of the industry that made me uneasy.  It made me uneasy because I was also part of the same company at the time.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe in supporting my artists, but to try and hijack my opinion about what I thought was the best our format had to offer, well……I just couldn’t play that game.  My friend and I refused to turn our ballots over each time they were requested. 

So, maybe there are other games going on right now.  I wouldn’t doubt it.  Some people will stop at nothing, including outright cheating, to win.  But to say that there must be something wrong if a certain popular artist doesn’t automatically get the expected nominated by their peers (not fans mind you), may be presumptuous.  After all, Alison Krauss is one of the best female voices in country music, any music actually, and she doesn’t always make it to the final round.  I’m glad she did this year.  There are many other examples as well – and you can always start with “Entertainer of the Year”.  One or two nominees in that category baffle me year after year and they end up excluding other more deserving finalists who are far more entertaining.

If this vote was indeed legitimate, maybe our peers are sending a message.  Are they purposefully shaking things up to make it more interesting and allow fresh emerging talent to enter the proceedings?  If the vote is not legitimate, then the CMA has to continue to fight the good fight because the same people will try to break the rules to win at every moment.

The Tennessean has more on the exclusion of Rascal Flatts here.

Light Drums

A little illumination to the rhythm of MuteMath drummer Darren King.  This band was the first artist featured in The Music Advisory and is a must see live.  They are currently in the studio working on their new project.

Haven’t heard of them yet?  Well, here is an introduction:

Born in the dust-laden family garage with archaic samplers, Radio Shack mics, and broken record players, Mute Math have been noisily calculating their notes for the past few years. This electro-alt rock collaboration between longtime friends Paul Meany (vocals/keys), Darren King (drums), Greg Hill (guitar), and Roy Mitchell-Cardenas (bass) has crept up on the music scene with the onslaught of a worldwide fan-base driven to their website from countless video blogs and non-stop touring.

The four piece (originating from New Orleans) has scattered influences that are apparent without being obvious, and touch on everything from DJ shadow styled beats, moments of beauty and grandeur a la Bjork, and vocals that pay legitimate homage to Police-era Sting. When asked about this vast expanse of musical territory that we are asked to find them dwelling within, Meany replied, “I blame it on the past forty years of music”. They act on the idea that their magic is to be found in the mixture of countless thoughts. Their live show thrives on this random energy too involving homemade instruments, live sampling, a junked-out keytar, and the kind of freak-outs that keep any given performance worth the price of admission.

Guest Blogger: Joel Burke

WHAT ARE YOU FAMOUS FOR?   by Joel Burke

I was digging threw some boxes and came across a couple of school yearbooks. It was an unexpected trip down memory lane. It was a one-way trip back in time to experiences that are now just a distant memory.

As I flipped through those countless pages of classmate mug shots, some pictures seemed to just jump off the page.

Even though all of the pictures are the exact same size, certain classmate photos just seemed to be larger thanks to what I remembered them for.

The picture of one person was of a natural athlete yet never put forth the effort. He later ended up in prison for armed robbery. Another picture told a sad of story of girl, who was killed in a car accident just two weeks before graduation. The song by Kenny Chesney comes to mind- “Who’d You Be Today.”

As I continue to flip through pages, there were plenty of familiar faces yet I couldn’t remember anything about them. They weren’t famous or even infamous. In fact, I doubt I could even remember their names if it wasn’t listed.

It got to me wonder what am I famous for? What do people remember about me in the past, the present and how do I want to be remembered in the future? There’s not much I can do to repair the past, but there is something significant I can do about the present and future.

If all I’m known now for is awards, the truck I drive, the house I own and my job title, then I’m truly haven’t lived up to what I should be. If that’s all I’m known for, then I have lived a life of vanity. It’s a decision of living a life of vanity or a life of value.

It’s been said, “People will not remember what you said, but how we made them feel.” Reflect on the people you came in contact with today. How did you make them feel? Will those feelings be of someone who had their spirits lifted or just another grumpy person they would like to forget?

If I were to ask 10 people who have known you very well for at least three years, how would they describe you in two sentences? Would their answer be something about how you made a positive difference in their lives? If not, it might be time to get an attitude adjustment.

If you are radio personality, what would your listeners say about you in one sentence? If your audience can’t describe you in one sentence, then you have your work cut out for you or you might just be looking for work sometime soon! What unique quality do you bring to your show that separates you from the rest of the countless pictures?

All of us can be famous! The question is, what have you done with your life to this point to define your fame? I’m not talking about being a celebrity who is on TMZ.com everyday. Rather, it’s about being known for something that truly matters now and in the future.

Joel Burke is PD of multi-award winning country radio station KYGO in Denver.