Roots Music Report

Usher performs during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. REUTERS/STEVE MARCUS   iHeartMedia Inc has hired Moelis & Co as a financial adviser, the most significant step yet by the largest owner of U.S. radio stations to deal with its $21 billion debt pile, according to people familiar with the matter. The move comes as iHeartMedia, one of the world's largest leveraged buyouts when it was taken private by buyout firms for $26.7 billion in 2008, struggles to compete for listeners amid digital... Read More

RMR NEWS! Roots Music Report welcomes newest staff member. Music CD Reviewer Joe Safari Joe Safari teaches college communication and journalism courses in Pennsylvania, and has a wide interest in almost all popular music, from the earliest jazz to the newest contemporary rock and Americana. He is a former newspaper reporter, and has also been a working guitarist, bassist and singer in several rock and roll bands to remember for nearly four decades. RMR president:  Robert Bartosh welcomes Joe Safari to the RMR team and is... Read More

MORE THAN 1,000 MUSICIANS FROM 20 COUNTIRES PERFORMED DURING CONFERENCE IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI “…the annual conference ultimately relies on the oldest transmission form there is: the wandering troubadour.” –American Songwriter “Voices came from all over the world -- some sweet and pure, others gruff and gravelly, but the voices were all coming from one spot: their hearts.” – o Depression “[The Awards Gala] was a celebration of wisdom well earned – it was, you could say, the... Read More

      Brendon Anthony, visiting Deep Ellum last September, feels the Texas Music Office is making strides in its mission. (David Woo/Staff Photographer)     That was the challenge Anthony laid out last summer, as he traveled the state to introduce himself as the first new leader of the office in over two decades. The goal at that time was to listen and learn from industry experts – about 1,100 of them so far. But even then, people were pining for substantive results. And now... Read More

2/19/16 Fritz Byers with WGTE Media is now discovering new music releases by way of Radio Submit. WGTE FM Public Media operates four stations in the northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan area, including: Toledo 91.3 WGTE Lima 90.7 WGLE Bryan 90.9 WGBE Defiance 91.9 WGDE. WGTE FM along with thousands of other radio stations, DJ's, Music Directors and broadcast pro's are now downloading newly released music from record labels and artists direct from Radio Submit. Only radio can download music from Radio Submit using a secure... Read More

          TOUR DATES: February 13 - The Hunt Store -- Hunt,TX February 15 - The White Water Tavern -- Little Rock,... Read More

  Stephanie Urbina Jones Cracks International Market Media Takes Notice Of Her Latin-infused Country Americana Sound Nashville, TN  -  February 17, 2016  - It’s rare for an act... Read More

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk" Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap, The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern Best Pop Solo Performance: Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud" Best Rap Song: Kendrick Lamar, "Alright" Best Rap Performance: Kendrick Lamar, "Alright" Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Kendrick Lamar feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat, "These Walls" Best Alternative Music... Read More

BLUEGRASSERS LORRAINE JORDAN & CAROLINA ROAD  RELEASE LATEST VIDEO "DO YOU WANNA GO TO HEAVEN"  WITH COUNTRY LEGEND T.G. SHEPPARD Bluegrass crowd favorites Lorraine Jordan & Carolina have turned a lot of heads with their latest project, Country Grass.  The band continues to leave their mark on the genre with the latest video for "Do You Wanna Go to Heaven."  The track features 21-time country chart-topper T.G. Sheppard on the classic song, which recently... Read More

Spuyten Duyvil's 2015 love letter to Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Music, "The Social Music Hour Vol. 1" has been nominated for the International Folk Music Awards' "Album Of The Year." This is FAI's new member-driven awards program. You can listen here: www.spuytenduyvilmusic.com/p/music If you are a Folk Alliance member, we hope you will take minute to listen and vote for your favorites at www.folk.org/surveys/?id=Best_of_2015  Winners will be announced in two weeks at FAI... Read More

It’s called The Grammy Fund for Music Creators and it’s a Political Action Committee just put together by the Recording Academy and announced yesterday. In a blog post about the new PAC Daryl Friedman, chief industry, government and members relations officer for the Recording Academy, said “Broadcasters, tech companies and other large corporations are pocketing the profits from music, while music creators don’t always receive fair compensation for their work.” Broadcasters have long argued that... Read More

Big Machine Label Group Serves Up Talented Roster at CRS 2016 Luncheon  Jennifer Nettles, Justin Moore, Tara Thompson, Drake White & Tucker Beathard to Perform Wednesday, Feb. 10   (Nashville, Tenn. – Feb. 3, 2016) – Big Machine Label Group has announced a hearty line-up during Country Radio Seminar 2016. Jennifer Nettles, Justin Moore, Drake White, Tara... Read More

Prayers for Mel Tillis and Merle Haggard Today on her Facebook page, Pam Tillis, the daughter of Mel Tillis asked for prayers for her Dad. She said that he is not getting well as fast as he should.  The fact is that Tillis was operated on back on January 8, 2016 so it has been 3 weeks since his surgery.  He is still in the hospital and still struggling to heal and get well. Today, the son of Merle Haggard confirmed that his father has to cancel concerts this weekend because of the return of double pneumonia that he had before... Read More

The days of maintaining public inspection files in a dusty file cabinet will soon be over for stations in the 50 largest Nielsen Audio markets with five or more fulltime employees. Those will be the first stations required to migrate their public and political files online under modernized public inspection file rules adopted by the FCC yesterday. Responding to a request by the National Association of Broadcasters, all other radio stations won’t be subject to the new rules until March 1, 2018 although they’ll be able to... Read More

It was announced just after noon today that after nearly 16 years of supporting and legitimizing Texas Music, The Texas Music Chart will publish its final chart on February 1st. From the TMC Press Release: The first Texas Music Chart appeared November 20, 2000. Shane Media created the Chart because research done for our radio consulting firm showed growing interest in Texas and Red Dirt music throughout the region. Our visionary founder Ed Shane knew it was time to give form and focus to the scene and help the musicians spread the... Read More

Chart-Topping Bluegrass Group Continues Existing Partnerships While Inking New Deals With NS Design and Sorensen Mandolin & Guitar Co. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 28, 2016) - Nu-Blu, the fastest-growing act in bluegrass and Americana music, is kicking off 2016 with a blockbuster tour across North America, including a stop in Baja, Mexico.  The group recently performed during The NAMM Show... Read More

    FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL - NURTURES, ENGAGES AND EMPOWERS THE GLOBAL FOLK MUSIC COMMUNITY   OVER 30 EDUCATIONAL PANELS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORSKHOPS ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 ANNUAL CONFERENCE  PRESENTED IN FOUR TRACKS INCLUDING ARTISTS, INDUSTRY, PRESENTERS AND COMMUNITY Kansas City, MO - (January 20, 2016) – Folk Alliance International (FAI) is pleased to announce the educational panels and professional development workshops being presented at the 28th annual Folk Alliance... Read More

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk NEW YORK —  Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey has died at 67, the band said. He had been battling intestinal issues for months. >> Read more trending stories "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our comrade, Eagles founder, Glenn Frey, in New York City on Monday, January 18th, 2016," The band said in a statement on their Facebook page. "Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to... Read More

Hank Jr. Upcoming Appearances Include "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "The View," "CBS This Morning" and "Audience All Access" NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 15, 2016) – Country icon Hank Williams Jr.’s new Nash Icon Records album, IT’S ABOUT TIME, which includes the rowdy single, “Are You Ready for the Country,” is now available in stores and across digital retailers.   “I couldn’t be more excited about this album,”... Read More

Songwriters, Publishers: Where are your ROYALTIES going? AN OBSERVATION ON THE PROs (BMI, ASCAP, AND SESAC) RADIO LOGGING METHODOLOGY This is an opinion based on research which is periodically updated Last update: 01.05.16 Many sources of this research are found at the bottom of this page. ****************************************************************************************************************   Since the first commercial radio broadcast almost 100 years ago,... Read More

    FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES 2016 RECIPIENTS FOR THE ELAINE WEISSMAN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS   RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT, SONNY TERRY AND BROWNIE MCGHEE AND THE ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY TO BE HONORED AT AWARDS GALAFEBRUARY 17, 2016   28TH ANNUAL FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD FEBRUARY 17-21, 2016 IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI   Kansas City, MO (January 7, 2016) – Folk Alliance International is pleased to announce the 2016 recipients of The... Read More

iHeartMedia has aligned with leading Canadian radio group Bell Media to launch a Canadian version of the digital radio service north of the border. The new “iHeartRadio in Canada” streaming service will feature 106 radio stations from 54 Canadian markets.     Details at... Read More

After a lengthy search, Oklahoma Highway Patrolofficials have confirmed that the body of missing country music singer Craig Strickland has been recovered. Strickland, 29, lead singer of Backroad Anthem, was reported missing Dec. 27 while on a duck hunting trip on Kaw Lake, north of Tulsa, with his friend, Chase Morland. Severe weather struck, and a search party later found their boat capsized. Troopers recovered Morland's body from the lake last week. Strickland's wife, former Miss Arkansas Helen Strickland,... Read More

LORRIE MORGAN TO RELEASE FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS Letting Go… Slow Out February 12 on Shanachie Entertainment “I have been a daughter, a bride, a mother, a divorcee, a widow, a single mother, a grandmother, a breadwinner, and, ultimately a survivor. It seems, in many ways, I am a living, breathing country song, and I know what I sing.” – Lorrie Morgan NASHVILLE, Tenn. (December 21, 2015) – Lorrie Morgan dominated the 90s with top-charting hits like "What Part Of No,"... Read More

The Copyright Royalty Board has announced that the webcasting royalty rate that radio broadcasters must pay to SoundExchange to stream songs online will be lowered to 17 cents in January, from 25 cents. CRB increased the webcasting rate for Pandora and similar companies to 17 cents for each 100 plays of a song through 2020, from 14 cents. Inside Radio (subscription required) (12/17), The New York Times (free-article access for SmartBrief readers) (12/16), Billboard.com (12/16), The Tennessean (Nashville) (tiered subscription model)... Read More

  Performer Category: Cheap Trick Chicago Deep Purple N.W.A. Steve Miller The 31st Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction... Read More

Tickets for the tour go on sale December 17 via her official website. Adele 2016 North America Tour Dates: July 5 – Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, MN July 6 – Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, MN July 10 – United Center Chicago, IL July 11 – United Center Chicago, IL July 13 – United Center Chicago, IL July 16 – Pepsi Center Denver, CO July 17 – Pepsi Center Denver, CO July 20 – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena Vancouver, BC July 21 – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena... Read More

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan also appear on highest earning musicians list Read... Read More

  Legendary rockers AC/DC will embark on the next leg of their U.S. tour in February. The 20-show trek kicks off February 2 in Tacoma, Washington and concludes on April 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The dates are as follows: Feb. 02 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome Feb. 05 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Arena Feb. 08 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center Feb. 11 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Dome Feb. 14 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center Feb. 17 - Chicago, IL - United Center Feb. 20 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade... Read More

Message from Edward Chmelewski and Jerry Del Giudice, Co-Founders of Blind Pig Records: Blind Pig Records got its start in a very small basement blues club called the Blind Pig Café in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1977 and grew to become, as Billboard magazine put it, “one of the pre-eminent specialty labels in the world.” Now, after a very great, rewarding, and challenging thirty-eight year run we are closing down the San Francisco and Chicago offices and turning the keys to the Pig Pen over to The Orchard, a fine,... Read More