MTV, CMT, VH1 and Topspin have extended an open invitation for the Nashville music community on Thursday, April 4, to hear first-hand best practices for connecting with fans on the recently launched artist platforms Artists.MTV, Artists.CMT and Artists.VH1. Singer/songwriter/musicians will be able to discover how to connect new tracks and videos to new fans, meet members of the MTV/CMT/VH1 music and talent teams, meet Topspin staff and discuss direct-to-fan campaigns for albums, tours and merchandise, and learn how to get songs featured in original shows or get videos into music hours.
Nearly 20 thousand artists ranging from such established major label acts as Rihanna, to emerging artists like Ashley Monroe and BLACKBEAR, have already claimed or created their pages. More than 12 million fans have visited the site, and the coming months, MTV/VH1/CMT will launch a mobile app for iOS and Android smartphones.
WHEN: Thursday, April 4 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Ruby (2411 Blakemore Ave., Nashville, 37211).
• • •
Noted music journalist Michael Azerrad has launched a new online music magazine called The Talkhouse, where smart, notable musicians of all genres and generations write about currently released albums. Some of the writers already on board include: Laurie Anderson, Andrew W.K., James McNew (Yo La Tengo), jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, Claire Boucher (Grimes), avant gardist Elliott Sharp, Rosanne Cash, Duff McKagan, Dean Wareham, Dave Douglas, Josephine Wiggs, Bob Mould, Mish Way (White Lung), and many others.
The Talkhouse will feature one piece on one album written by one musician each day, five days a week. On weekends, the site will feature a long-form music feature piece written by artists across many genres: film, comedy, literature, etc. Each day, the artist writing the piece and the artist whose album is being written about will each get a log-in to the site and will be able to have a one-on-one public dialogue which will be updated in real time. For the weekend feature pieces, any artist with a log-in will be able to weigh in with their thoughts on the piece.
Azerrad is best known for his 2001 book Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 and Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, as well as his work in Rolling Stone in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He will serve as editor-in-chief for the Talkhouse. He is joined by Michael Tedder (Village Voice, Spin, Paste), who will serve as managing editor. The Talkhouse is published by Figure Eight Media.
• • •
The crew of The Bobby Bones Show visited the CMA office Wednesday afternoon to meet with staff members and provided lunch for the staff. The Bobby Bones Show is broadcasted locally on WSIX-FM and syndicated to 40 affiliates nationwide.
Pictured (L-R):Rick Murray; Betsy Walker; Eddie; Alayna; The Bobby Bones Show’s producer, Ray; Lunchbox; Bobby Bones; Steve Moore; Amy;Sheri Warnke; Brandi Simms and Justin Cole. Photo Credit: Christian Bottorff/CMA
Category: Featured
About the Author
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.View Author Profile
