Billboard Country Music Summit 2011 Hub

June 8, 2011 | VIDEO Q&A
Steve Moore, CEO of the Country Music Association, on the State of Country: Video
Steve Moore, CEO of the Country Music Association, is an industry vet and former promoter. Here he explains the many reasons why he’s “bullish on country music!”

June 8, 2011 | PHOTO GALLERY
Kenny Chesney, Kellie Pickler, Mel Tillis, Kristin Chenoweth: BBCMS Photo Gallery – Day Two
Day two of the Billboard Country Music Summit in Nashville was filled with country stars (including Kenny Chesney, Mel Tillis, Kellie Pickler), key industry players of every possible stripe (label heads, digital entrepreneurs, promoters, etc.) and titillating panels (topics ranged from the changing role of record labels to why country radio continues to thrive while other formats wane). Here then are some of the best images from the day.

June 8, 2011 | Country Music Fan SurVEY
New Statistics About Country Music Fans Revealed at Billboard Country Summit
The two-day Billboard Country fans have generally been thought to be rural, less educated, less technically savvy and a lower earning group of people than the general public. But new research from MRI and independent research by the CMA indicates that the new demographic for country music fans puts them on average or above with most Americans, according to CMA market research director Greg Fuson.

June 8, 2011 | Performance
Kellie Pickler Closes 2011 Billboard Summit With Rousing Performance
The two-day Billboard Country Music Summit, held in Nashville this week, ended with a rousing performance by Kellie Pickler at Tuesday evening’s closing reception.

June 8, 2011 | Record Labels
Record Company or ‘Entertainment Company’? Labels Grapple With the Future
As the old ways of operating in the music business adapt to the digital age, the very definitions of the central pieces of the puzzle-the most popular music and the companies that distribute it-are ripe for re-examination. The idea was among numerous topics at the “Making and Selling Recorded Music” panel at the second annual Billboard Country Music Summit on Tuesday.

June 8, 2011 | Publishing
Nashville Publishers Say a Hit Is Still a Hit, But Album Cuts Alone Won’t Cut It
Nashville songwriters may be fewer in numbers than in years past, but they can rest well knowing that hits still pay well. The publishing panel explored the new road map for a changing business with more artist-songwriters and synchronization licensing than evder and less mechanical royalties.

June 8, 2011 | Radio
Radio Panel Attributes Success To ‘Difficult Times’ at Billboard Country Summit
Moderated by Country Weekly managing editor Ken Tucker, “The Country Radio Dead Or Alive?” panel explored the questions of how and why country radio thrives while other formats struggle. Some panelists suggested its success has to do with difficult and uncertain times.

June 7, 2011 | Global Country
Kenny Chesney Talks Touring, Music, and Keeping Fans Happy at Billboard Country Summit
How does Kenny Chesney keep fans happy? Since he can’t really join them for drinks at tailgate parties anymore, he goes to the last row of the stadium before each show so he knows how far he has to reach. This and many other great stories were told during his Q&A at the Billboard Country Music Summit on Tuesday.

June 7, 2011 | Global Country
Country Gigs in Croatia? Panel Explores International Opportunities at Billboard Country Summit
International touring for U.S. country artists is as close as crossing the border into Canada or as exotic as performing in Croatia. Either way, the performers are in a win/win situation because they are adding to their fan base and expanding their sales of tickets, music and merchandise.

June 7, 2011 | Global Country
Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban: Photo Gallery From Day One of the Country Music Summit
The second annual Billboard Country Music Summit in Nashville kicked off its first day in high style with luminescent country stars (including Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Charlie Daniels), music industry reps from across the country music spectrum and topical panels discussing everything from touring saturation to social commerce to the international country music market. Check out then our photographic evidence.

June 7, 2011 | Global Country
Keith Urban Honors Tommy Emmanuel at CMA Global Artist Party During Billboard Country Music Summit
Keith Urban surprised the crowd at the CMA Global Artist party during the Billboard Country Music Summit by jumping onstage to present his friend Tommy Emmanuel with the CMA Global Country Artist of the Year Award. Acts from all over the world – including Scotland, Australia, Canada and France – performed during the party.

June 7, 2011 | Video
Video: Carrie Underwood Talks Scotty McCreery, the Opry, New Album at Billboard’s Country Music Summit Q&A
From her beginnings as an “American Idol” champ (she can relate to Scotty McCreery) to her multi-platinum country success (including duets with Randy Travis and Brad Paisley) to her recent foray into acting (“Soul Surfer”), Carrie Underwood covered a lot of ground (a gospel album?) during Monday’s Superstar Q&A at the Billboard Country Music Summit.

June 7, 2011 | Roundtable
Execs Talk Turkey About Touring, Media, Stars at Billboard Country Summit Roundtables
The opening cocktail reception for the second annual Billboard Country Music Summit in association with CMA was slightly different from similar events, where industry VIPs and newcomers rub shoulders and exchange business cards. Monday night’s session, held at the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom in Nashville, offered Roundtable Discussions hosted by industry veterans who offered their opinions and expertise to peers and newcomers alike.

June 6, 2011 | Roundtable
Toby Keith, Zac Brown, Trace Adkins’ Managers Break It Down at Billboard Country Music Summit Roundtable
The Manager Roundtable at today’s Billboard Country Music Summit unraveled the complex puzzle that is being an artist manager today. The discussion featured Bernie Cahill of ROAR Mgm’t (Zac Brown Band), T.K. Kimbrell of TKO Artist Mgm’t (Toby Keith), Ken Levitan of Vector Mgm’t (Trace Adkins), Doc McGhee of McGhee Ent. (Kiss), Virginia Davis, of B.A.D. Mgm’t (Jewel) and Erv Woolsley of the Erv Woolsley Co. (George Strait).

June 6, 2011 | Social Media
Social Commerce Execs Praise Facebook At Billboard Country Summit
“There’s a huge different between MySpace and Facebook,” ReverbNation co-founder/CEO Mike Doernberg said during the “Songs in the Stream: Social Commerce and the Future of Online Retail” panel at Monday’s Billboard Country Summit in Nashville. MySpace let you post music while letting you amass friends from whom you never received messages, he said. “It didn’t work so well, did it?”

June 6, 2011 | Branding
Branding Panel at Billboard Country Music Summit Emphasizes Authenticity
The message at the branding panel at Billboard’s Country Music Summit can be summed up in one sentence, from Clorox’s sponsorship director Drew McGowan: “It’s all about authenticity.”

June 6, 2011 | Touring
Charlie Daniels, Live Nation, AEG Live Reps Discuss Touring Saturation at Country Music Summit Panel
The perils of discounting tickets, the importance of placing acts in appropriate venues and the large numbers of country headliners hitting the road this summer were just a few of the topics addressed by some of the industry’s key players at the Billboard CMA Country Music Summit’s “Touring Saturation: Are We There Yet?” panel.

June 6, 2011 | Digital & Mobile
Topspin, RootMusic Form Partnership to Sell Merch, Music, More on Facebook
Topspin and RootMusic have joined forces to offer artists a new social commerce option on Facebook, it was announced June 6 during Billboard’s Country Music Summit in Nashville.

June 6, 2011 | Panel
Jason Aldean and His Team Describe Their Long Road to Success at Billboard Country Music Summit
Jason Aldean has become one of country’s biggest acts – on his own terms. The singer and his team came to Billboard’s Country Music Summit Monday to deconstruct the strategies they’ve executed on the way to Aldean’s platinum-plus success.

June 6, 2011 | Digital & Mobile
Billboard Country Music Summit Explores Ways Songwriters Can Thrive in the Digital Age
The impact of piracy on the income of country songwriters and publishers was an ever-present theme throughout the songwriting panel at Billboard’s Country Music Summit, but increased avenues for song usage and new legislation to combat piracy were citing as bright spots in a challenging industry.

June 3, 2011 | Announcement
Billboard Country Music Summit Kicks Off Monday
The programming for the Billboard Country Music Summit, which takes place Monday and Tuesday at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, will cover it all: radio, touring, publishing, labels, digital, international, sponsorships and more. There will also be Q&As with Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney, and a panel looking at the success of this week’s Billboard cover star Jason Aldean. We’ll see you there!

June 2, 2011 | Announcement
Global Showcases Help Kick-Off Billboard Country Music Summit
Eighteen Country artists representing five different countries were announced for this year’s annual Global Events showcases, set for June 6-7 and coinciding with the Billboard/CMA Country Music Summit, which kicks off CMA Music Festival week in downtown Nashville.

May 26, 2011 | Radio
Better Know a Panelist: Julie Talbott of Premiere Radio
Julie Talbott leads the operation of Premiere Radio Networks’ 90 radio programs and services, and more than 5,000 radio affiliations, which reach an audience of more than 190 million listeners weekly. As such, Talbott has a unique influence on the critical touch point between artists and radio listeners, which in country music is the linchpin that drives all aspects of the artist’s career. She and others will examine the evolving radio marketplace, and the vitality of country radio specifically, at a Billboard Country Music Summit panel, June 6-7 in Nashville.

May 26, 2011 | Announcement
Kellie Pickler to Perform at Billboard Country Music Summit’s Closing Party
Kellie Pickler, who has enjoyed great success as a BNA/Sony Music Nashville recording artist since her stint as an “American Idol” finalist, will perform at the Billboard Country Music Summit’s closing party on Tuesday, June 7 in Nashville.

May 25, 2011 | Recording Business
Better Know a Panelist: Average Joe’s Tom Baldrica
At the Billboard Country Music Summit June 6-7 in Nashville, Average Joe’s Entertainment President Tom Baldrica will participate on a panel called “Making and Selling Recorded Music: Telling Time or Building a Watch? The New Record Label Business Models Under a Microscope.” Baldrica is known for shooting straight from the hip, as this “Better Know a Panelist” installment shows…

May 24, 2011 | Touring
Better Know a Panelist: NS2’s Darrin Lashinsky on Country Music Summit’s ‘Touring Saturation’ Panel
Third generation concert promoter Darin Lashinsky left a senior VP post at Outback Concerts last year to launch Nashville-based independent concert promotion company National Shows 2 and he will most appropriately sit on a panel entitled “Touring Saturation: Are We There Yet?”

May 18, 2011 | Digital Marketing
Better Know a Panelist: Topspin’s Ian Rogers
Billboard sat down with Topspin Media CEO Ian Rogers to discuss how country artists can take advantage of the opportunities in digital marketing and social networking, a topic that he will be discussing in a panel at the Country Music Summit.

April 19, 2011 | Announcement
Kenny Chesney to Sit for Q&A at Billboard Country Music Summit
Country superstar Kenny Chesney will sit down for a candid Superstar Q&A during the second annual Billboard Country Music Summit, taking place June 6-7 in Nashville.

March 22, 2011 | Announcement
Carrie Underwood For Superstar Q&A At Billboard’s Country Music Summit
Billboard has announced that multi-platinum-selling country artist Carrie Underwood will participate in the Superstar Q&A at the second annual Billboard Country Music Summit in association with the Country Music Association.

February 19, 2011 | Announcement
Billboard, CMA Reteam For Country Music Summit
It was announced today that the second annual Billboard Country Music Summit, in association with the Country Music Association (CMA), will take place June 6-7 in Nashville.