Industry Ink: CMHoF Highlights Eric Church Co-Writers, CSM Acquires JHE, Volvo Adds Spotify

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Highlights Eric Church Exhibit With Songwriters Round

Pictured are (L-R): Jeff Hyde, Jeremy Spillman, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young, Luke Laird, and Casey Beathard. Photo: Abi Tapia, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum closed out the Eric Church: Inside the Outsider exhibit with a songwriter round featuring some of Church’s go-to songwriters Casey Beathard, Jeff Hyde, Luke Laird, and Jeremy Spillman. The event took place on Saturday (Feb. 20) in the museum’s Ford Theater.

CSM Sport and Entertainment Acquires JHE Production

CSM Sport and Entertainment has acquired JHE Production, a live event agency founded in 1987.

JHE is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Services include event coordination, operations, production and creative services. In September 2015, the company opened an office in Nashville to service its growing client roster in the musical entertainment and corporate production market.

Zak Brown, Group CEO of CSM, commented, “This acquisition complements and expands our existing capabilities in CSM, simultaneously opening up group-wide opportunities for our clients and prospects in the North American sport and entertainment marketplace. The trend of attending live events in sport and entertainment, being led by the under 35s, looks set to continue. This group wants stadiums not sofas as they trade possessions for live experiences they can create, share and own.”

JHE Production Group President and CEO Jay Howard said, “Sports and entertainment has been the field of play for JHE since we produced our first live program in 1988. Joining an elite organization like CSM is a tremendous opportunity for JHE and allows us to be on the leading edge of their growth in North America. Our entire team is ready for the opportunities that are undoubtedly ahead.”

Volvo Supports Spotify

Volvo integrates Spotify. Photo: Volvo Car Group

Volvo has announced it will globally integrate Spotify’s music-streaming app in its product, beginning this spring with the XC90, S90, and V90. The Spotify app will be available on the cars’ Sensus touchscreen interface, which will also allow customers to include handwritten characters to access music selections.

A premium Spotify subscription will be required.

The Spotify app is currently available to be used in Volvo’s cars via Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay, but Volvo states the native application will provide a richer experience and search functionality that a phone-based application cannot deliver.