Nashville Music News Roundup
Scroll down to read these Music Row One Sheet news items
- Music Modernization Act inches closer
- Irish artist Mags launches ‘Strong Enough’ radio tour
- Garth goes ‘Triple Live’ with free album downloads
- Randy Houser launches ‘Magnolia’ tour, new album
- Kenny Chesney surprises one millionth fan
- Listen to Preshias on Y’All Radio
Scroll down to read these Music Row One Sheet news items
Music Modernization Act inches closer
Some encouraging news for songwriters and publishers emerged a few days ago. The Music Modernization Act (MMA) had passed the House unopposed but appeared to hit a potential roadblock as it moved toward a Senate vote.
In May, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced an alternative bill that conflicted with key parts of the MMA bill. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with the backing of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has been negotiating with Sen. Wyden to reach a compromise. The RIAA stated that they have reached a ‘handshake’ deal with Sen. Wyden, according to an article in Billboard magazine posted August 28.
However, SiriusXM is still lobbying against the bill that would not require terrestrial radio stations to pay royalties on pre-1972 recordings. Earlier, proponents of the MMA – a bill that is seen as beneficial to songwriters and music publishers – overcame objections to the bill lodged by Blackstone, owners of SESAC and the Harry Fox Agency.
See the full report on Billboard’s website, here.
Irish artist Mags launches ‘Strong Enough’ radio tour
Irish-born, singer-songwriter and international recording artist, Mags recently celebrated her debut at country radio here in the USA with the original tune ‘Strong Enough.’ Last week, Mags kicked off the first leg of her radio promotion tour making her way through the Midwest visiting radio stations in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Earlier this year, I interviewed Mags and you can find that story here at NashvilleMusicLine.com. To find the interview, just key ‘Mags’ into the search field.
As part of her itinerary, Mags personally arranged for scheduled visits at various local assisted-living centers. “It was really important to me, as part of the radio tour, to give back to the communities,” Mags said. “My heart dances when I’m able to bring joy to the lives of others with my music—especially those in need. I met so many wonderful, wonderful people over the course of the week and being able to put a smile on someone’s face is the best part of what we do.”
Currently available via all major digital outlets, ‘Strong Enough’ was officially released to country radio on June 11, 2018. The single continues its steady climb up the MusicRow chart—currently at No. 79 while internationally, the track is in the No. 3 position on the British & Irish HotDisc Top 10 Chart and ranks at No. 7 on the International HotDisc Chart. This week; Mags will visit stations in Missouri and Arkansas. More at Mags’ website and on Facebook Instagram and Twitter.
Garth goes ‘Triple Live’ with free album downloads
Garth Brooks is releasing a free live album. Titled ‘Triple Live,’ it is a specially-created mix for his fans. Garth made a limited number available for download with code revealed during his ‘Inside Studio G’ show, Monday August 27, on his Facebook page.
Garth’s first live record was his two disc album Double Live recorded during the 1996 – 1998 World Tour. It’s the #1 selling live album in history, with 21 million albums sold, certified by the RIAA.
He revealed the ‘Triple Live’ treat for fans during a press conference to announce a concert set for October 20 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. It will be the first-ever concert held at the stadium.
Free downloads of ‘Triple Live’ are available for a limited time here and are playable only on desktops.
Randy Houser launches ‘Magnolia’ tour, new album
Following his return to Country radio with ‘What Whiskey Does,’ Randy Houser will release his new full-length album, ‘Magnolia,’ November 2 via Stoney Creek Records. It is available now for pre-order digitally. Also released is ‘No Stone Unturned,’ a song off the new album, and one of Randy’s personal favorites. Houser’s ‘Magnolia Tour’ kicks off this October. Pre-order ‘Magnolia’ here.
The album marks a new era for Randy. Feeling impassionate about the music he was performing, the Mississippi native slowed things down to refocus on creating music. For nearly two years, Houser hunkered down in his good buddy and co-producer Keith Gattis’ studio in East Nashville to invest his energy into songwriting, concentrating on his guitar work and cultivating a rootsy and raw new sound that is un-polished yet authentically Houser.
Houser co-wrote every song on ‘Magnolia’ (and playing lead guitar on many of the songs). The album title is a nod to Houser’s roots growing up in ‘The Magnolia State’ which was a large influence on the homegrown, organic sound showcased throughout the record. Full tour updates, tickets, merch and music here.
Kenny Chesney surprises one millionth fan
Part way through Kenny Chesney’s sold-out second night at Boston’s Gillette Stadium, he brought Karen Duggan, who’d purchased the millionth ticket sold for Chesney’s almost annual shows at the home of the New England Patriots, onstage and told the assembled crowd, “Karen is every single one of you. Each of you is a part of selling a million tickets; you are all one in a million – and I want to thank you for loving life and loving music.”
At the end of a tour that sold just under 1.3 million tickets, where the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee saw his 18th and 19th Gillette Stadium show total 1,090,326 fans, Chesney wanted to make sure No Shoes Nation wasn’t taking their passion lightly. Beyond naming the loyal fans at the stadium, he has enjoyed a special relationship with the market since his first stadium run in 2005.
Duggan, an emergency room nurse, is being given her very own trip around the sun – to anywhere in the world she wants to go – and season tickets to see the Patriots play. But more importantly, she shared some quality time with the artist she’s seen at Gillette 15 times out of the 19 total plays.
Chesney’s album, ‘Songs for the Saints,’ is still going strong. Benefitting the ‘Love for Love City Fund’ for the rebuilding of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the project is a personal love song to Chesney’s longtime refuge and a reminder of the power of music to lift people up. Music, tour news and more at Kenny’s website.
Preshias on Y’all Radio: Miranda, Aldean, Chesney and more
Every Wednesday, I talk on-air with Jon Rawl, the host of Y’all Radio. In the most recent show, we talked about Martina McBride’s upcoming Christmas album, Jason Aldean’s collaboration with Miranda Lambert on ‘Drowns the Whiskey,’ Garth Brook’s scheduled show that could be the start of a new tour, and we did a Country Q&A from my book, ‘I Know Country.’ You can buy your own e-book copy of ‘I Know Country’ with 366 day-by-day Country Q&As at that website.
Listen to the entire August 29 podcast of Y’all Radio here.