The Country Music Association is now accepting online submissions for the 2015 CMA Broadcast Awards for Broadcast Personality, Station, and National Broadcast Personality of the Year at Broadcast.CMAawards.com.
“It is central to CMA’s mission as a trade association to recognize and honor excellence in the format,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We take pride in setting the bar for awards presentation and we constantly strive to maintain the highest standards in balloting and voting for the many honors presented by CMA.”
BROADCAST AWARDS
Categories for submission include Broadcast Personality in four different market sizes (major, large, medium, and small) as well as CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year. To submit an entry, CMA member radio stations and broadcast personalities in the U.S. and Canada should log on to Broadcast.CMAawards.com, where guidelines and instructions for entries are posted. The site will continue to accept submissions until Saturday, June 27 (6:00 PM/CT).
All entries must reflect performances and events between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015. CMA’s panel of judges, which includes distinguished radio and industry professionals, will be able to view and evaluate each entry online.
CMA Broadcast Award winners will be notified in early October and recognized at “The 49th Annual CMA Awards,” which will be held later this year in Nashville. The annual gala, which is known as “Country Music’s Biggest Night™,” will be broadcast live on the ABC Television Network. For more information about CMA Broadcast Award entries please contact Brandi Simms, CMA Senior Director of Membership and Balloting, at BSimms@CMAworld.com.
CBS, NBC, the CW and ABC have joined a trade group once devoted to promoting cable TV to Madison Avenue. As such, the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, which has for years played a large role in touting cable TV’s ability to deliver ad messages effectively to marketers, will now be known as the Video Advertising Bureau, reports Variety.
“Our charter really was cable,” explained Sean Cunningham, chief executive of the group, in an interview. In 2015, however, he said, “there’s never been less” of a difference perceived by advertisers when it comes to analyzing TNT or MTV and CBS or NBC. Marketers, he added, are more interested in “premium content” that is of high quality and is distributed widely.
The move places a spotlight on the effect the rise of streaming video has had on the media industry. For decades, cable pitched itself as an alternative to the higher ad prices charged by broadcast networks, while broadcast networks touted their ability to reach the biggest audiences possible. The rise of a host of new-media options – everything ranging from new video series presented on Snapchat to high-profile efforts from Hulu, Yahoo and AOL – has given new options to consumers, while placing pressure on traditional purveyors of TV programming.
ABC’s telecast of the “Billboard Music Awards” dominated Sunday’s ratings race, hitting a 12-year high in young adults and a 14-year high in total viewers. According to Variety, it contributed to soft season finale scores for Fox’s comedies and helped sink NBC dramas “A.D. The Bible Continues” and “American Odyssey” to new lows.
Ratings for AMC’s “Mad Men” series finale were not available early Monday, but will be released Tuesday.
According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, ABC’s winning night kicked off with the season finale of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (1.4 rating/6 share in 18-49, 6.4 million viewers overall), which won its hour in all demos with what was the final episode for host Tom Bergeron. It was followed by the “Billboard Music Awards” (3.7/12 in 18-49, 11.1 million viewers overall), which was up 6% (0.2) from last year for the show’s highest rating since 2003. It also picked up 4% in total viewers to hit a 14-year high. (The kudocast had aired on Fox from 1989 through 2006, but the event wasn’t held from 2007 to 2010; ABC scooped up the property and began airing it in 2011.)
ABC’s nightly 3.1 rating in 18-49 topped the combined averages of Fox, NBC and CBS (2.6) and was the network’s third highest of the season — behind only two other kudocasts, the Oscars and American Music Awards.
ABC’s primetime likely got a boost from a high-rated NBA playoff game that aired late in the afternoon on the network. The Houston Rockets’ victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series averaged a 5.2 household rating, peaking with a 7.7 from 6 to 6:15 p.m. ET. This was the highest rated NBA playoff game in the first two rounds on ESPN since 2012.
Red Nose Day, the U.K.'s #1 television fundraising event, is coming to America in a spectacular live star-studded special Thursday, May 21 (8-11 p.m. ET) on NBC.
Hollywood's biggest stars, including Julia Roberts, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jodie Foster and more, are coming together to have fun, raise money and change lives in an incredible "fun-raising" special. Featuring great comedy, videos produced by Funny or Die, incredible music performances and Hollywood's favorite stars, the benefit event will help 12 charity organizations lift children and young people out of poverty, in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Julianne Moore, Jack Black, Coldplay and Neil Patrick Harris will also appear, along with John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Michelle Rodriguez, Gwyneth Paltrow and music sensations John Legend and "Voice" coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams. Sienna Miller, Paul Rudd, Olivia Wilde, Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Leslie Mann, January Jones and Simon Cowell will also be joining the fun, as well as Matt Lauer, Carson Daly, Nick Offerman, Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pine, Jeff Goldblum, Billy Eichner, Martin Short, Laura Linney, Anna Kendrick, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, John Michael Higgins, Bill and Melinda Gates, Stephen Merchant, Naomi Campbell, Anna Camp, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Yvette Nicole Brown, Retta, Natalie Morales, Danny Pudi and Rob Huebel.
Nick Cannon will kick off the festivities for NBC's broadcast of "Red Nose Day" with "Red Nose Day Danceathon with Nick Cannon," streaming live on NBC.com beginning Wednesday, May 20. "America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon will attempt to dance nonstop for 24 hours in honor of the inaugural Red Nose Day celebration in the United States, leading into the "Red Nose Day" telecast on Thursday, May 21. Streamed live from the NBC Experience Store at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the day of dance will be filled with guest DJs and musicians, celebrity drop-ins and a variety of dance acts and troupes. Viewers can support Cannon's endeavor through sponsorship and donation.
The money raised during Red Nose Day will be used to fund programs that address the immediate needs of children and young people living in poverty in the U.S. and internationally in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The money will be split between domestic and international poverty issues. The pre-selected charity partners are Boys & Girls Clubs of America; charity: water; Children's Health Fund; Feeding America; Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund; LIFT; National Council of La Raza; National Urban League; Oxfam America; Save the Children and United Way.
Mother Weber's oldest son, Clark Weber, is calling it a career.
Anyone who spent their teenage years in Chicago during the 1960s knows about The Big WLS-AM Radio. The names Larry Lujack, Bob Sirott, Steve Dahl and John Records Landecker bring a smile to the faces of anyone who listened to the popular station that became a major force in introducing new music and recording artists during the era.
Among the others to join those radio giants was Clark Weber, an acclaimed radio personality himself.
Weber is best remembered for his time as a DJ at WLS from 1961-1969.
He was also on the air at WCFL, WMAQ, WIND, WJJD and WAIT.
Most recently, he's been running an advertising agency, Clark Weber & Associates, specializing in radio advertising. He also currently promotes A Senior Moment with Clark Weber, a pre-recorded program series for radio stations targeting senior health issues.
This Friday Weber will give the final public event of his 60+-year career on Friday, May 22 in Glenview.
The program, “From Rock & Roll to Retirement Living,” will be presented at 10 a.m. at Chestnut Square at The Glen.
“After a very long career in radio, marketing and publishing, I’ve decided that my appearance at Chestnut Square will run out my string that started in radio broadcasting in 1954,” Weber said. “It will be my final bow.”
After leaving the Navy in 1954, Weber's first radio job was at WAUK in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He would also WBKV in West Bend, Wisconsin and WRIT in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He moved to Chicago in 1961 where he joined the staff of WLS, initially working as a graveyard shift DJ and climbing to program director.
In July 2008 he published a book, Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975. It is published by Chicago's Books Press.
SiriusXM has announced its exclusive programming to kick off summer throughout Memorial Day weekend across various channels of commercial-free music, premier live sports, and exclusive comedy, entertainment and talk.
Throughout the weekend, subscribers can hear special editions of SiriusXM's "Town Hall" series, including Q&A sessions with Seth Meyers, hosted by TODAY Show and SiriusXM host Hoda Kotb; and Snoop Dogg hosted by SiriusXM host Ed Lover. Also SiriusXM listeners will hear broadcasts of concerts and performances by Elton John and Reba McEntire, live broadcasts of DJ sets from Electric Daisy Carnival in New York and performances from Live in the Vineyard in Napa by Lifehouse, Melissa Etheridge, Oh Honey, Florida Georgia Line and more.
SiriusXM will also launch, new exclusive channels over Memorial Day weekend, including Pitbull's Globalization featuring music from the artist's music catalog which will launch on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00 pm ET with an exclusive Pitbull concert at Harlem's world famous Apollo Theater; James Taylor Channel, the limited-run 24/7 commercial-free music channel, featuring music from the iconic singer-songwriter's entire catalog; Jeff & Larry's Comedy Roundup featuring original programming produced by Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy that showcases some of their greatest material.
The full-lineup of SiriusXM Memorial Day programming and complete broadcast times are available at www.siriusxm.com/memorialday.
Also, it was announced SiriusXM will commemorate our nation's fallen service men and women of all generations this Memorial Day by broadcasting "Taps" across every music, sports, talk, and entertainment channel.
The one-minute solemn observance will be broadcast at approximately 12:00 pm ET on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, across its entire channel lineup, via satellite and online, in recognition of the national holiday honoring those who gave their lives in service to our country.
In 1960...On this day in 1960, the man who coined the term, "Rock And Roll", Alan Freed, along with Mel Leeds and 7 other disc-jockeys were accused of taking payola.
The others included: Peter Tripp of WMGM, New York, Hal Jackson-WLIB, New York, Tommy (Dr.Jive) Smalls of WWRL-New York, JackWalker (The pear-shaped talker) - exWOV, New York.
Peter Tripp was immediately fired from his popularlate afternoon airshift at WMGM.
After departing from 1010 WINS, Freed for a time was employed in New York by WABC 770 AM around 1958, about two years before it evolved into one of America's great Top 40 stations by launching its "Musicradio" format.
At this time, WABC (unlike Top40 WINS) was more of a full-service station which began implementing some music programming elements.
Freed was fired by WABC (1959) during a dispute where he refused to sign a statement certifying that he had never accepted payola.
In 1974...The #1 Popular song on the Radio was "The Streak" by Ray Stevens
In 1994....Henry Morgan, former personality at WMCA, WOR, WNBC, WNEW died of lung cancer at age 79.
In 1999...Last broadcast of the Mutual Broadcasting System. Tribute website: Click Here
Bob Liddle
In 2010…Longtime Seattle radio personality Bob Liddle, with more than 50 years on the air in the Pacific Northwest died at age 88. Liddle spent much of his nearly 60-year radio career announcing, spinning big-band records, hosting easy-listening shows and reading the news on Seattle's KIXI 880 AM.
Liddle is perhaps best known for his years hosting KIXI's "Sunday Brunch." But in his long career he also worked as the station's program director and often hosted New Year's Eve "Tuxedo Junction" celebrations at the downtown Seattle Westin Hotel.
In 2011...Worcester, Massachusetts radio legend Dick Smith, who spent 30 years as a broadcaster for WORC, died at the age of 84.
Cox Media Group/San Antonio has named Ryan McKiddy as its new afternoon personality for KCYY 100.3 FM Y100, effective May 26.
Y100 is San Antonio’s Premiere No. 1 Country Station and is a 2014 Marconi Country Station of the Year award winner.
“We’re taking Y100 to new heights and are excited to have Ryan join the Y team,” said CMG San Antonio’s Director of Operations Jeff Garrison. “We also look forward to him taking his first River Walk ride.”
Before joining Y100, McKiddy was part-time weekends on Chicago’s WUSN. Other career highlights include Started intern at iHeartMedia Chicago 103-5 Kiss FM before joining CBS Radio Chicago US99.5. McKiddy, who has interviewed everyone from local up and coming musicians to Garth Brooks, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in radio broadcasting from Columbia College Chicago.
KCYY 100.3 FM (98 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
“I am so pumped to be joining the Y100/Cox San Antonio staff,” McKiddy said. “I thank KCYY’s Jeff Garrison, as well as CMG San Antonio’s VP and General Manager Ben Reed, for bringing me onboard. I plan on gaining at least 15 pounds within my first two weeks in San Antonio from all the amazing TexMex food and BBQ.”
Country radio veteran Gwyneth Seese, better known in the indrustry as Dandalion, died Saturday.
She was 77-years-of age.
Dandalion was country music's premier female disc jockey For nearly 20 years, she was the all-night disc jockey on WRKZ 106.7 FM in Hershey. Her show was number one in the Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, and Lebanon ADI for many of those years.
Seese credited a CB radio with launching her radio career. During the 1970s, at the height of the CB radio craze, Seese drove 110 miles each night for the U.S. Postal Service. She bought a CB for protection but soon discovered the fun of communicating with other nighttime travelers, most of them truckers.
Using Dandalion as her handle, Seese developed a special respect for the individuals who were her nightly traveling companions. She wrote a book about truckers which led to her being invited to guest on radio. When Big John Trumble, a well-known trucker DJ in Richmond, VA at WRVA invited her to substitute for him during his vacation, she moved into a new career as an overnight DJ in trucker radio. At the time, she was 41 years old.
She was hired by WIOV 105.1 FM where her show debuted in 1979. Three years later, she moved to WRKZ where she became the dominant female disc jockey in the area. In 1999, she became the first woman in the history of country music to host her own network show, "Dandalion's Cat Country Network."
Seese is the first woman in country music to be nominated for the industry's top three DJ awards (Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, and Billboard). In 1989 she was nominated for all three awards simultaneously. She was named the Academy's Top Country Disc Jockey that year, the first woman so honored. She was inducted into the Country DJ Hall of Fame in 1999, one of the first women to be elected to the Hall.
She was the first female to be named Music Director of the Year (1992) by Gavin. She has won that award three additional times (1997, 1999, 2000). Billboard named her Music Director of the Year in 1993 and Local Air Personality of the Year in 1996.
Seese went off the air in 2002 to work as a music director for WRKZ and WCAT. She was fired in 2004 when the stations were sold, and she filed an age-discrimination lawsuit against parent company Citadel Broadcasting. They settled out of court.
The trial for a man charged with the murder of a Columbus, GA radio DJ David Rutherford began today.
Police believe the suspect, Cody Mathis, dumped his body behind a church.
Mathis is charged with murder after police believe he beat and shot to death the 57-year-old Rutherford in June 2013.
The former WAGH Magic 101.3 FM radio personality turned taxi driver was found dead near a church.
Prior to working in Columbus, Rutherford worked at WFDR in Manchester, Georgia and also spent time at radio stations in Miami and Washington D.C. He was known on air by his stage name, Dave Ford.
He followed in the footsteps of his father, Rudy "The Deuce" Rutherford, who is in the Black Radio Hall of Fame. He was the first African-American in the South to host a television show. It was called "Rock'n With The Deuce and it aired on WTVM in 1958.
Both Rutherford and his father coincidentally died at the same age: 57.
Authorities say the jewelry played a big role in placing Mathis near the scene of the crime and suspect robbery was the motive behind the murder.
Billboard charting artists from all walks of life were under the same roof Sunday evening for the 2015 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas.
Taylor Swift was one of the big winners of the night, taking home eight awards including Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Digital Songs Artist.
Other winners for the evening included Florida Georgia Line, Iggy Azalea and Sam Smith -- who wasn't present due to a vocal cord injury, but relayed his speech via large cue cards.
And unlike prior Billboard Award shows, the event kicked off in a very unique way with help from Swift. With Matrix kicks, body slams, slick-back ponytails and help from Zendaya, Gigi Hadid, Ellie Goulding and Kendrick Lamar -- to name a few, Taylor kicked off the 2015 Billboard Music Awards with the debut of the video for her record "Bad Blood."
The musical evening also included hit and miss jokes from hosts Chrissy Teigen and Ludacris and drinking game instructions. As well as heartfelt tributes to The Fast and the Furious' late Paul Walker, BB King, Ben E. King and The Breakfast Club.
WINNERS
TOP ARTIST - Taylor Swift TOP FEMALE ARTIST - Taylor Swift TOP RADIO SONG - John Legend, “All of Me” TOP MALE ARTIST - Sam Smith TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST- Calvin Harris TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST - Taylor Swift TOP LATIN ARTIST - Romeo Santos TOP ROCK ARTIST - Hozier TOP R&B ARTIST- Pharrell Williams TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST - Sam Smith TOP STREAMING ARTIST - Iggy Azalea TOP SOCIAL ARTIST - Justin Bieber TOP DIGITAL SONGS ARTIST - Taylor Swift TOP HOT 100 ARTIST - Taylor Swift TOP NEW ARTIST - Sam Smith TOP RAP SONG - Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, “Fancy” TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM - Taylor Swift, 1989 TOP DUO/GROUP - One Direction TOP CHRISTIAN ARTIST - Hillsong United TOP SOUNDTRACK - Frozen TOP R&B ALBUM - Pharrell Williams, G I R L TOP RAP ALBUM - J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive TOP COUNTRY ALBUM - Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt TOP ROCK ALBUM - Coldplay, Ghost Stories TOP CHRISTIAN ALBUM - Lecrae, Anomaly TOP DIGITAL SONG - Meghan Trainor, “All About That Bass” TOP LATIN ALBUM - Enrique Iglesias, Sex and Love TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM - Lindsey Stirling, Shatter Me TOP TOURING ARTIST - One Direction TOP RAP ARTIST - Iggy Azalea TOP COUNTRY ARTIST - Florida Georgia Line TOP HOT 100 SONG - Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off” TOP STREAMING SONG (AUDIO) - John Legend, “All of Me” TOP STREAMING SONG (VIDEO) - Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off” TOP R&B SONG - Pharrell Williams, “Happy” TOP COUNTRY SONG - Jason Aldean, “Burnin’ It Down” TOP ROCK SONG - Hozier, “Take Me to Church” TOP LATIN SONG - Enrique Iglesias feat. Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona, “Bailando” TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC SONG - DJ Snake & Lil Jon, “Turn Down For What” TOP CHRISTIAN SONG - Carrie Underwood, “Something in the Water” BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (FAN-VOTED) - Taylor Swift
PERFORMANCES
Van Halen hit the Billboard stage for the first-time ever, performing their record "Panama."
Fall Out Boy hit the stage to perform "Uma's Praises" with the added touch of female dancers dressed in black and white, and help with Wiz Khalifa.
Nick Jonas performed his hit "Jealous" and may have lived up to the titled of the record because all female eyes were on him.
Meghan Trainor and John Legend did a duet of Meghan's record "Like I'm Gonna Lose You."
Mariah Carey hit the stage for the first time in 17 years and although she didn't channel old Mariah, she concluded her performance of "Infinity" with a high note.
Wiz Khalifa performs "See You Again" with Charlie Puth in honor the late Paul Walker.
Introduced by their TV mom Taraji P. Henson also known as Cookie Lyon, Empire stars Jussie Smollett and Bryshere "Yazz" Gray performed a medley of Empire hits "You're So Beautiful," and "Conquerer" with help from Estelle.
Hozier performed "Take Me To Church."
Faith Hill and Little Big Town hit the stage to perform "Girl Crush."
Chris Brown added some spice to Pitbull's performance of "Fun."
Ed Sheeran gave an electrifying guitar strummed performance of "Bloodstream."
Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea gave their highly anticipated, high energy performance of "Pretty Girls."
Nicki Minaj whined her waist in a bralette and skirt during her performance of "The Night Is Still Young" and "Hey Mama" with David Guetta.
Tory Kelly -- who was honored as Kia's "One to Watch" performed her breakout single, "Nobody Love."
Simple Minds performs "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from The Breakfast Club.
Kelly Clarkson made a powerful comeback with her performance of "Invincible"
Imagine Dragons performed a tribute of "Stand By Me" in honor of the late Ben E. King.
Kanye West closed out the show with an intense medley of his tracks "All Day" and "Blkkk Skkkn Head" -- of which the major of the lyrics appeared to be blurred out, unless that was some sort of technical glitch.
Cumulus announces the launch of a unique artist development competition called “NASH Next” that will discover and release music from the most promising Country talent. NASH Next marks the latest expansion of the popular NASH entertainment and lifestyle brand, and NASH’s second launch into the recorded music business (joining the NASH Icon label).
Country fans will help find and choose the next superstars of Country radio through engagement with their favorite artists and bands. For the first time ever, online engagement between fans and artists/bands will be measured and counted in the talent competition.
NASH Next features a nationwide talent search through submissions to www.NASHNextCountry.com, which will be promoted on more than 200 Cumulus radio stations – making NASH Next the largest online talent search ever undertaken.
The grand prize winner will be signed to the new NASH Next record label, with the top 10 all participating in a 2016 NASH Next concert tour from coast to coast.
Beginning June 15, the NASH Next website will open for registration to artists and bands, as well as the fans who will judge them through a series of challenges that run through November. The winners will be decided based on a combination of three music industry judges (who will soon be announced), an original “Spin Index” of social media activity and voting on the NASH Next website.
“Country is firmly established as the most popular music format and through NASH Next we are connecting directly with the fans and talent who are most engaged with the Country lifestyle,” said John Dickey, Executive Vice President of Content and Programming for Cumulus.
“We are thrilled to partner with NASH in launching NASH Next,” said Ron Berryman, Founder and CEO of SUM, NASH Next’s technology partner. “This has to be one of the most innovative approaches in finding emerging modern Country talent, and engaging their fan base through the use of social media.”
Fans will engage with their favorite bands as they progress through a series of challenges that showcase their musical and creative talents:
Challenge 1: Bands perform the same cover song, exclusively shown on the NASH Next website
Challenge 2: Bands perform an original jingle, with the last five words selected by fans through Twitter
Challenge 3: Bands perform an original song broadcast live on Periscope, which will later be viewable on the NASH Next website
Challenge 4: Bands post an original video on Instagram
Challenge 5: Bands post original creative content on PicCollage, with fans adding their own pictures to complete the collages
Final Challenge: a fully produced original music video including animation
NASH Next will be based at the NASH Campus in Nashville, the nation's only multi-media facility devoted solely to producing and distributing content based on the Country music lifestyle.
“It is central to CMA’s mission as a trade association to recognize and honor excellence in the format,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We take pride in setting the bar for awards presentation and we constantly strive to maintain the highest standards in balloting and voting for the many honors presented by CMA.”
