Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Touring, Sponsorships Among The Bright Spots In The Country Music Biz
On the sponsorship and touring fronts, it was all good news for country music at last week’s Billboard Country Music Summit in Nashville.
The tone was downright sunny at a panel on marketing and branding for country music, with panelist Anthony Barton, senior VP of integrated marketing for CMT, reporting that 14 different sponsors had been lined up for last week’s CMT Music Awards. The Country Music Assn.’s VP of strategic partnerships, Sheri Warnke, said the recently completed CMA Music Festival had a whopping 30 new brand sponsors this year.
“The genre is really hot right now,” Warnke said. And while the current strength of the country genre is not reflected in record sales, she added, it is reflected in brand awareness and sponsorships.
Panelist Marcie Allen, president of MAC Presents, agreed. “Country music is hot right now,” she said, “and being up in New York meeting with these brands weekly, they all know it.”
Panelists at a session on the country touring market were also generally positive about their end of the industry. Artist Gary Allan said for his own tours, “I haven’t seen the falloff like we have for CDs. Touring’s kicking ass.” Added Creative Artists Agency’s John Huie, “Any format out there would trade spots with us right now.”
On the down side, Triangle Talent CEO Dave Snowden, said he’s not seeing enough headliners being developed for the major fairs he books. “I’m looking down the road and not seeing mid-level artists coming up, and I think that’s because of country radio [not playing enough new music.]”
Added Greg Oswald of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, “We have to find new ways to break acts and not be so dependent on radio.”
Huie disagreed with Snowden, noting, “We have enough headliners. To be honest, we don’t have enough support [acts].”
Snowden also took aim at record labels, comparing them to airlines. “The biggest problem with country music today is the labels,” he said. “They have hurt our business [due to their] lack of innovation and new ideas.”
Oswald disagreed, saying, “Look at the artists who are going to make you the most money this year. They all have labels attached.” But, Oswald added, “I don’t disagree that [labels] are cumbersome and not nearly as [innovative] as they could be.”
Asked if labels should get a piece of the artists’ touring business, Allen gave an emphatic no. “They screwed up their end of the business,” he said. “That’s not my fault.”
The music publishing panel had a somewhat more somber tone than some of the earlier sessions.
Grammy-nominated songwriter Bob Regan lamented how the current economic climate leaves little room for proper artist development. “I hate to see the nurturing environment publishing companies provided go away,” he said, “because some writers and artists don’t [write] hits for 10 years.”
Added Sony/ATV Music Publishing Nashville president/CEO Troy Tomlinson, “If we don’t invest in new artists and new writers, we can kiss [our business] goodbye.”
ASCAP VP/managing executive Tim DuBois said we’re in a “creative and important time. I’ve been here [in Nashville] for 33 years, and have seen more changes in the last three than the first 30.
“The roller coaster has left the station, and it’s not coming back,” Du Bois continued. “This is a radical change in the way people access and buy music. If someone tells you they’ve got it all figured out, they’re bluffing.”
Added DuBois, “These days all it takes for a CD to be born is three days, four guys and two kegs of beer.”